In this episode I speak with Professor Thomas Metzinger about how our strong, consciously experienced subjectivity emerges out of objective events in the natural world. According to Thomas, no such things as selves really exist in the world: nobody ever had or was a self. All that exists are what he calls `phenomenal' selves which our brains fabric…

Why is alcohol use so widespread? The usual thinking is that despite its negative effects, alcohol is pleasurable and that is why we drink it. But this can't be the whole story because if alcohol is really so bad then cultures that prohibit drinking should dominate over those that like to drink, or you might think that a genetic mutation that makes…

This is a conversation with Stephen Wolfram about his proposed theory of everything. Stephen is a British-American computer scientist, mathematician, physicist, and CEO of Wolfram Research. He also created Mathematica, and Wolfram|Alpha & Wolfram Language, and is the Author of 'A New Kind of Science' as well as a number of other books. Stephen's at…

Housing regulation is often put in place for good reasons, namely comfort, safety, environmental protection, availability of utilities and services, and more. With each additional regulation, however, restrictions are being placed on what you can build, where you can build, and how quickly you can build it. Professor Bryan Caplan argues that our cu…

Julia Berezutskaya is one of the worlds leading researchers working in the area of brain computer interfaces. She is part of the brain-computer interface group (dept. Neurology & Neurosurgery) at UMC Utrecht, where she works at the intersection of fundamental and clinical neuroscience research. A key goal of her work on the computational modeling o…

Carl Bender is an applied mathematician and mathematical physicist holding positions at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Heidelberg, Imperial College, London. He was also one of my own favorite lecturers. He taught me about perturbation theory and asymptotic series which are powerful mathematical tools for solving difficult pro…

What role should Nuclear Power play in energy production? This episode of the podcast explores the case for Nuclear Energy. I speak with Rachel Slaybaugh, who was an Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Division Director at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She also served as a Program…

On this episode of the podcast I speak with UCL Honorary Professor of Economics and ISRS Distinguished Research Fellow Steve keen. Steve famously predicted the 2008 market crash. He is also known for his criticism of modern economic theory, which he views as being inconsistent, unscientific, and empirically unsupported. He is currently working on a…

On this episode of the Podcast I speak with economist and public policy analyst Jeffrey Sachs. Jeffrey is Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He served as Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General for almost two decades, and is co-founder and …

In this episode of the podcast I speak with David Shapiro about some of the threats associated with AI development. We discuss the impact that generative AI will have on truth, trust in evidence, and divisive narratives. Who will pay for AI, and how will that determine the path of its development? Will artificial relationships and generated adult c…

What is narcissism, and why do so many successful people seem to be narcissists? In this conversation I speak with Professor Mitja Back from the university of Muenster, who is one of the worlds leading experts on the topic of Narcissism. We discuss narcissism as a personality trait, how narcissistic traits develop (nature vs nurture), relationship …

In this conversation I speak with Professor Kerstin Göpfrich, who works at Heidelberg University at the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), and who is also leading the Max Planck Research Group for the Biophysical Engineering of Life. Kerstin is attempting to construct living cells from scratch, piece by piece from non-living materials. So far she…

This conversation is about the history of life and earth. I speak with evolutionary biologist and author Olivia Judson, who is best known for her book 'Dr. Tatiana's sex advice to all creation''. Oliva thinks of the history of life on earth in terms of 5 energy epochs, in which life has worked out how to make use of different kinds of energy. These…

NOTE: From 0:01:07-0:02:36 the sound quality is lower than the rest of the episode as you are hearing the backup recording. This conversation is about democracy and scientific literacy. In 2023 Germany shut down the last of its nuclear plants, and is now bringing back several mothballed coal plants to keep the lights on over winter. Was this a smar…

In this conversation I speak with Dr. Gary Linkov about the ethics and practice of plastic surgery. Gary is a double board certified facial plastic surgeon who specializes in lip lift surgeries and hair restoration. He is also renowned for carrying out complex nasal surgery for US war veterans in need, and for teaching rhinoplasty procedures to the…

In this conversation I discuss distributed and decentralized organizations with Jean-Philippe Vergne, who is an associate professor of strategy at University College London. We focus on the development of blockchain technology, which at least in theory should allow for new forms of organization that don't rely on centralized authorities to function…

What is the future of our oceans? On this episode of the Podcast I speak with Dr. Shawn Robinson about marine ecology, aquaculture, and the politics and economics of what ends up on your plate. Shawn is a marine ecologist who did his graduate work at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia on the giant Pacific octopus (MSc) and at the Universit…

In only 250 years since colonization, Australia has seen the extinction of 38 species of mammals. Much of the devastation to Australia's native wildlife has been caused or exacerbated by the introduction of invasive pests like cats, dogs, cane toads, camels, and rabbits. A key question is whether science will one day be able to return Australia to …

Progress in AI development seems to be accelerating, and we might be living through a period in human history that is every bit as significant as the agricultural and industrial revolutions. We might be witnessing the dawn of synthetic general intelligence. In this conversation I speak with David Shapiro who is an AI researcher and YouTube content …

Now that the dust has settled to a certain extent, how did we do with the pandemic? Which countries handled the situation best? Did we learn anything? How well did scientists do, and how well did the public, politicians, and the media do? In this episode of the podcast I speak with Australian immunologist and author Peter Doherty. Peter has won a r…

It is easy to take peace for granted. In this episode of the podcast I speak with John Kornblum about the hard work that diplomats do in the background to maintain peace between nations. John specializes in European and east–west relations, and played a defining role in many of the important events leading up to the end of the Cold War, and those t…

Most of us live nowhere near where our food comes from. which means that the food that we have access to is dictated by conderations like does it travel well, and does it have a long shelf life. Our supply chains also lead to sprawling monocrops, pesticide overuse, and agricultural runoff, as well as biodiversity loss, and a range of other problems…

In this episode of the Podcast I speak with Professor Munjed Al Muderis about a new technology that is allowing amputees to walk again. Osseointegration is the direct structural and functional connection between living bone and the surface of a load-bearing artificial implant. While dental implants have long been standard, surgeons are now starting…

In this episode of the Podcast I speak with Professor Munjed Al Muderis about his escape from Iraq as a refugee. In 1999 Munjed was forced to flee Iraq after a busload of army draft evaders were brought into the hospital where he worked to have the top of their ears amputated under Saddam Hussein's orders. The senior surgeon in the operating theatr…

On this episode of the podcast I speak with Professor Hans-Georg Moeller from the University of Macau. Georg's work focusses on Chinese and Comparative Philosophy (specifically Daoism) and on Social and Political Thought (specifically Social Systems Theory). We discuss the role that morality plays as a potent social engineering tool for establishin…

On this episode of the podcast I speak with Professor Philipp Huebl about moral myopia, political division, and the spread of "bull$&%t" and misinformation. Bull$&%t, in this case, is something that lies somewhere between lies and truth, or something created by those that are indifferent towards the truth. Philipp is a visiting professor in philoso…

On this episode of the podcast I speak with Professor Frederike Ambagtsheer about the illegal trade and trafficking in human organs. Frederike has a background in criminology and public international law, has a doctorate on organ trade, and is currently researching organ trafficking at Erasmus MC's Transplant Institute in Rotterdam, The Netherlands…

On this episode of the podcast I speak with Yanis Varoufakis about the role of banks and politicians. Yanis is an economist, politician, author and Secretary-General of MeRA25. He is perhaps best known for his role as the Greek Minister of Finance during the Greek credit crisis. In our discussion we cover some fairly big questions: When banks are b…

On this episode of the podcast I speak with Ola Wikander about the field of “Nuclear Semiotics”, the scholarly discussion concerning communicating information about nuclear waste disposal into the far future. Ola is a Ugaritologist, Hebraist, Semitist, author, and Senior Lecturer at Lund University. He specializes in ancient languages and religions…

For many people the question of whether or not women are treated more unfairly than men is so obvious that is obscene to challenge the assumption. But if we are genuinely interested in creating a more equal society, then as society develops our biases should be routinely returning to with sober eyes. How should those issues that affect men, such as…

In this episode of the podcast I discuss the state of marine fisheries with Professor Trevor Branch from the University of Washington. Trevor specializes in data synthesis and constructing mathematical models to determine the health of fish populations. Often in the media one sees stories of collapsing fish populations and dire predictions of speci…

In this episode of the podcast I speak with developmental and synthetic biologist Michael Levin from Tufts University. Michael is a director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. He is also co-director of the Institute for Computationally Designed Organisms. We discuss the imp…

What are our digital lifestyles doing to our eyes? In this conversation I speak with Alex Müntz, who is a Romanian clinical scientist and research fellow in the department of ophthalmology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. From weird anatomy, to the disgusting mites that colonize your eyes, we talk about eye health and everything you ne…

This Episode of the Podcast was supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation. See http://www.avbstiftung.de/ for more information. Is the study of urban warfare a science? In this conversation I speak with John W. Spencer, who is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, codirector of the Urban Warfare Project, and h…

Note: This episode is not a paid advertisement for Ian's new book. This is a conversation with archaeologist, historian, and professor of classics Ian Morris from Stanford University. We discuss how factors like soft power, and geography shape the flow of history, and what contemporary issues like Brexit and the conflict in Ukraine look like from t…

On this episode of the podcast I speak with geologist and planetary scientist Dr. Tanya Harrison, to find out what it is like to do research with the robots currently being used to explore Mars. Tanya worked for years on NASAs Perseverance, Curiosity, and Opportunity rovers, as well as the with Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Part of Tanya's work was …

In this episode of the podcast I speak with developmental and synthetic biologist Michael Levin from Tufts University. Michael is a director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. He is also co-director of the Institute for Computationally Designed Organisms. We discuss the way…

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Daniel Schubert from the German Aerospace Center about designing and creating bioregenerative life-support systems for use in hostile and alien environments. Daniel is the leader of the Eden initiative, which over the past few years has been testing greenhouse food production in Antarctica in preparation …

How complex does animal communication get? How much information is encoded in dog barks, the clicks of sperm whales, or the chirps of small birds? In this conversation I speak with Irene Pepperberg, who is an expert on animal communication and cognition, best known for her work with African grey parrots. We discuss the remarkable abilities of her b…

This is a conversation with Ankit Panda about nuclear proliferation and deterrence. Ankit Panda is the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. An expert on the Asia-Pacific region, his research interests range from nuclear strategy, arms control, missile defense, nonproliferation, emerg…

This is the second part of a two part conversation with Mark Benecke, forensic biologist, forensic entomologist, NRW state chairman for German's Die Partei, chairman of the Pro Tattoo association, and much more. Both halves can be watched independently for the most part. Mark investigates how insect life develops at crime scenes. Because he works a…

This is the first part of a two part conversation with Mark Benecke, forensic biologist, forensic entomologist, NRW state chairman for German's Die Partei, chairman of the Pro Tattoo association, and much more. We discuss modern forensic techniques, the impact of wealth and power on justice and the law, training to become a forensic scientist, what…

This is a conversation with Planetary Astronomer Andy Rivkin. Andy is the co-investigation team lead for NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, being designed, built, and managed by the Applied Physics Lab at John Hopkins University. The DART mission is the first demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique to change the motion …

This is a conversation with archaeologist, historian, and professor of classics Ian Morris at Stanford University. Ian has written extensively about the progress of civilization from hunter gatherer times until now. We discuss the drivers of civilization, and the impact that religion and war have on technological and social development. ►Watch on Y…

This is a conversation with Thomas Sunn Pedersen, Director of the Stellarator Edge and Divertor Physics Division at the Greifswald branch of the Max-Planck Institute of Plasma Physics in Germany. Thomas explains the progress that has occurred in fusion research over the past few decades, and how far away are we are from creating practical fusion re…

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Glen Peters who is research director at the Center for International Climate Research in Norway. Glen's research focuses on human drivers of climate change, the global carbon cycle, bioenergy, sustainable consumption, international trade and climate policy, emission metrics, and more. The underlying polit…

One of the most interesting features of human intelligence is that it comes with personality. We aren't all the same and our thoughts aren't purely logical. They are instead sculpted by our level of hunger, how tired we are, the presence of mind altering drugs in our systems, our sexuality, stress, and any number of internal and external factors. S…

After my interview with Marion we discussed diet choices and their impact on the environment. Marion Nestle was the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. She was also a professor of Sociology at NYU and a visiting professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University. ►Watch this episode o…

Our food system is complicated, and there are many competing interests that determine which products end up on shelves for purchase. In this episode of the podcast Marion Nestle discusses the different factors that control the food that ends up on your plate. We cover the influence of advertising, corporate influence on health research and policy, …

How did life begin? Where are all the aliens? For most of human history these questions have been the realm of speculation. Today however, we have rovers on Mars, large space telescopes, and a deep understanding of evolution and biochemistry. So what does the science say? In the episode of the podcast I speak with Professor David Catling, astrobiol…