Chalk Radio Podcast

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Chalk Radio is an MIT OpenCourseWare podcast about inspired teaching at MIT. We take you behind the scenes of some of the most interesting courses on campus to talk with the professors who make those courses possible.

Our guests open up to us about the passions that drive their cutting-edge research and innovative teaching, sharing stories that are candid, funny, serious, personal, and full of insights. Listening in on these conversations is like being right here with us in person under the MIT dome, talking with your favorite professors.

And because each of our guests shares teaching materials on OCW, it's easy to take a deeper dive into the topics that inspire you. If you're an educator, you can make these teaching materials your own because they're all openly-licensed.

Hosted by Dr. Sarah Hansen from MIT Open Learning.

Chalk Radio episodes are offered under a CC BY-NC-SA license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/).

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Recent Hosts, Guests & Topics

Here's a quick summary of the last 2 episodes on Chalk Radio.

Hosts

Dr. Sarah Hansen

Previous Guests

Ana Bell

Ana Bell is a lecturer at MIT who has been programming since she was twelve years old. She teaches popular introductory courses in computer science, focusing on the intersection of creativity and logic in coding. Dr. Bell emphasizes the importance of understanding programming fundamentals, especially in the context of modern technology and generative AI. She is also the author of 'Get Programming: Learn to Code with Python' and has created educational resources such as the 'Doodle Debug' coloring book.

Andrew W. Lo

Professor Andrew W. Lo is a prominent economist and finance professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is known for his research in financial markets, particularly in the areas of adaptive markets and behavioral finance. Lo has contributed significantly to the understanding of the interplay between finance and human behavior, and he is actively involved in developing innovative financial technologies, including AI-driven financial advisory services. His work aims to make financial advice more accessible to the general public, addressing the complexities and challenges many face in managing their finances.

Topics Discussed

Python growth mindset coding rubber ducks algorithm programming debugging creativity logic finance AI human behavior financial advisor drug development global decarbonization teaching influence

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Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on Chalk Radio.

0:00 30:22

MIT Programmer Ana Bell on Growth Mindset, Coding, and Rubber Ducks

May 14, 2025

Dr. Sarah Hansen

Ana Bell

Python growth mindset coding rubber ducks algorithm programming debugging creativity logic

Learn about Python, growth mindset, and the uses of rubber ducks in this interview with MIT lecturer Ana Bell. Dr. Bell, who has been programming since she was twelve and now teaches popular introductory courses in computer science, says that coding consists of almost equal parts creativity and logic. The creative part, she explains, gets exercised particularly when you have to come up with an algorithm to solve a given problem, because for any given complex problem there are many possible approaches to tackling it. The logical part comes into play when you sit down to translate that algorithm into an unambiguous sequence of rules in a programming language, and again when you discover that the code youve written doesnt work exactly as you intended it to and you have to set about debugging it. Among the topics the conversation addresses are why everyoneeven in the age of generative AI ought to study at least the basics of programming, why it can be useful to speak to an inanimate object when your coding project is stuck in the debugging stage, and how programming can help you choose your own adventure.

Relevant Resources:

MIT OpenCourseWare

The OCW Educator portal

Dr. Bells faculty page

6.100 L Introduction to Computer Science and Programming using Python on MIT OpenCourseWare

6.0001 [now 6.100A] Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python on MIT OpenCourseWare

6.0002 [now 6.100B] Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science on MIT OpenCourseWare

Get Programming: Learn to Code with Python (book by Dr. Bell)

Doodle Debug (coloring book by Dr. Bell)

Video version of this interview on YouTube

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Connect with Us

If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. Wed love to hear from you!

Call us @ 617-715-2517

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If you like Chalk Radio and OpenCourseware, donate to help keep these programs going!

Credits

Sarah Hansen, host and producer

Brett Paci, producer

Dave Lishansky, producer

Jackson Maher, producer

Show notes by Peter Chipman

0:00 39:29

MIT Economist Andrew W. Lo on Finance, AI, and Human Behavior

April 16, 2025

Dr. Sarah Hansen

Andrew W. Lo

finance AI human behavior financial advisor drug development global decarbonization teaching influence

In this the first of two pilot episodes of Chalk Radio with VIDEO, Professor Andrew Lo, who teaches finance at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, knows that many people find financial matters perplexing and scary. Lots of us don’t have a good head for numbers, and besides, how can one get advice and make sound decisions when it’s taboo to discuss one’s finances at all? That’s where a financial advisor is useful–someone who understands the concepts, can crunch the numbers, and has a fiduciary responsibility to look out for your best interests. For many people, hiring a financial advisor might be a financial impossibility, but Prof. Lo and his colleagues are working to develop an AI financial advisor that not only gives ordinary people access to sound financial advice, but acts with real fiduciary responsibility. Large language models can’t do this yet, he says, but the technology is developing fast. Other topics he touches on in this episode include the outsized influence of finance on drug development and global decarbonization and the equally outsized influence of teachers on their students–he names many who changed his own life, from his third-grade teacher in Queens to his professors at college and graduate school.

Relevant Resources:

MIT OpenCourseWare

The OCW Educator portal

Professor Lo’s faculty page

15.401 Finance Theory I on MIT OpenCourseWare

15.481x Adaptive Markets: Financial Market Dynamics and Human Behavior on MIT Open Learning Library

15.482x Healthcare Finance on MIT Open Learning Library

Video version of this interview on YouTube

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Connect with Us

If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you!

Call us @ 617-715-2517