Before Vanderbilt Student Government President Jami Cox and Vice President Ryan Connor walked across the Commencement stage, they joined Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos for one last visit as undergraduates. The conversation is the latest episode of The Zeppos Report.When asked if they distinctly remember the first time they stepped foot on…

Amitav Ghosh, a best-selling author whose work puts Asia at the center of global history, culture and environmental challenges, lectured on campus April 4 as part of Vanderbilt Asian Studies' 50th anniversary. Before his talk, Ghosh joined Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos on The Zeppos Report.Ghosh, whose books have been translated into more than 20 l…

A bestselling author and host of MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews visited campus on March 27 for a Chancellor's Lecture. Before the event, he joined Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos in his office for the latest edition of The Zeppos Report.Matthews' newest bestselling book, Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit (Simon & Schuster, 2017), explores u…

After the 2016 GOP presidential primary race, former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina refocused her energy towards equipping leaders from all walks of life.Fiorina discusses her leadership philosophy with Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos on the latest episode on The Zeppos Report. She visited campus Feb. 20 to participate in a Chance…

Professor and author Jelani Cobb preceded his keynote address to the Vanderbilt community with a conversation about free speech and open inquiry on college campuses.In the latest episode of The Zeppos Report, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos engages Cobb, the Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism at Columbia University, in a disc…

On Feb. 6, a week after President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union Address, Pulitzer Prize-winner and Visiting Distinguished Professor Jon Meacham sat down to discuss the president’s first year in office on the latest episode of The Zeppos Report podcast.“Let’s start with some general reactions to the president’s first year. … Do we have to …

Before Michael Eric Dyson, University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, took the stage at Langford Auditorium for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Series, he conversed with Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos about core American ideals that often emerge in the national discourse when remembering King’s legacy.In the latest episode…

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ commitment to public service has been actualized in varying capacities over the years.“I quickly realized what a privilege it was to serve our country,” said Gonzales, “Although I was a poor kid from a poor family, I felt like an equal.”In the latest episode of The Zeppos Report, Gonzales joins fellow …

On the latest episode of The Zeppos Report, bestselling author and writer-in-residence Andrew Maraniss tells Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos that his journey to Vanderbilt started with a poster on the wall of a high school in Austin, Texas.That is where he first learned about the Fred Russell–Grantland Rice scholarship—an award for Vanderbilt student…

Former NATO Commander talks about global leadership on 'The Zeppos Report'Before taking the stage at Ingram Hall for the Chancellor’s Lecture Series on Tuesday, Oct. 3, retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis shared about his journeys on the seas and beyond on the latest episode of The Zeppos Report.Stavridis, who now serves as dean of the Fletcher …

Neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel grew up in Rio De Janeiro with two academics as parents. She says that “informed criticism” was highly encouraged in her household, but her father—an economist—still sometimes wonders how he produced such a “rebel” scientist.In the latest episode of The Zeppos Report, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos delves deep …

After joining Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos for a discussion on “The Presidency and the Rule of Law” Tuesday night, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates joined Zeppos for an episode of The Zeppos Report.In the podcast, the two lawyers discuss the role of the Department of Justice at length, touching on topics such as the Trump administration’…

A pair of Nashville’s most influential civic leaders engage in a conversation about the dynamic city and its innovative citizenry in the 10th episode of The Zeppos Report.Nashville mayor and Vanderbilt alumna Megan Barry sat down with Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos to discuss Nashville and Vanderbilt’s shared values—and the consistent, prominent rol…

For astrophysicists, star gazing is far from a whimsical pastime.In the latest episode of The Zeppos Report, Keivan Stassun, Stevenson Professor of Physics and professor of astronomy, describes his field as one that requires a mix of extraordinary patience and uninhibited curiosity.“When I’m doing astronomy, I’m having a great time, but it’s not pa…

Holly Tucker, professor of French and professor of medicine, health and society, is familiar with that “overwhelmed” feeling at the library. For her, though, it happens at specialty collections in Paris while surrounded by tomes of 17th century French manuscripts.In the latest edition of The Zeppos Report, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas …

Legendary filmmaker Ken Burns talks about his enduring sense of discovery on ‘The Zeppos Report’Just after graduating from college, Ken Burns found himself sick in bed with pneumonia. To help him pass the time, his best friend brought Burns a paperback copy of David McCullough’s classic book on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Burns read the bo…

When Facebook’s founding engineer and Vanderbilt alumnus, Jeff Rothschild, first visited the fledgling company in 2005 at the behest of a venture capital firm, he was wary of the social media space in general and didn’t expect to stay more than two weeks.But then “I got to meet Mark (Zuckerberg) and Dustin Moskovitz and the other early members of t…

Janette Sadik-Khan discusses ‘Street Fight’ on ‘The Zeppos Report’Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos interviews Janette Sadik-Khan, one of the world’s leading voices on urban transportation policy, on his podcast, The Zeppos Report.Zeppos and Sadik-Khan discuss the evolution of her career, the keys to her work in transforming New Y…

Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos interviews Jerry Wilmink, founder and CEO of WiseWear Corporation, on the fourth episode of The Zeppos Report podcast.A Vanderbilt biomedical engineering alumnus (bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.) and self-described “mad scientist,” Wilmink also has experience as an inventor, startup business consul…

-- Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos interviews Barry Friedman, a noted constitutional law scholar and director of a project to strengthen policing through democratic governance, on the third episode of The Zeppos Report podcast. Friedman, the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Laws at New York University, is the author of a new book…

Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos' second podcast guest is David Owens, a leading thinker on innovation and creativity who is a professor at the Owen Graduate School of Management. He also has faculty appointments in Engineering and Medicine. Among the many companies he has consulted for include NASA, The Smithsonian, Nissan LEAF,…

Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos' first podcast guest is renowned Vanderbilt political scientist John Geer, who is also vice provost of academic and strategic affairs and co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll. Geer offers his informed perspective on why Donald Trump won the election and how the way he ran his campaign seems to be a …