Synopsis
A podcast of stories, ideas, and speculations from the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination. Each month, we'll bring you into a conversation between visionaries from the worlds of arts, sciences, humanities, engineering, and medicine on the nature of the imagination and how, through speculative culture, we collaborate to create the future.
Episodes
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Astronaut Nicole Stott: BACK TO EARTH (#188)
13/10/2021 Duration: 59minInspired by insights gained in spaceflight, a NASA astronaut offers key lessons to empower Earthbound readers to fight climate change When Nicole Stott first saw Earth from space, she realized how interconnected we are and knew she had to help protect our planetary home. In Back to Earth, Stott imparts essential lessons in problem-solving, survival, and crisis response that each of us can practice to make change. She knows we can overcome differences to address global issues, because she saw this every day on the International Space Station. Stott shares stories from her spaceflight and insights from scientists, activists, and changemakers working to solve our greatest environmental challenges. She learns about the complexities of Earth’s biodiversity from NASA engineers working to enable life in space and from scientists protecting life on Earth for future generations. Ultimately, Stott reveals how we each have the power to respect our planetary home and one another by living our lives like crewmates, not pa
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Chris Hadfield: The Apollo MURDERS! (#187)
12/10/2021 Duration: 57minIn 1973: a final, top-secret mission was planned to go to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny spaceship, a quarter-million miles from home. A quarter-million miles from help. NASA is about to launch Apollo 18. While the mission has been billed as a scientific one, flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows there is a darker objective. Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America, and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it But even as Kaz races to keep the NASA crew one step ahead of their Russian rivals, a deadly accident reveals that not everyone involved is quite who they were thought to be. With political stakes stretched to the breaking point, the White House and the Kremlin can only watch as their astronauts collide on the lunar surface, far beyond the reach of law or rescue. The Apollo Murders is a high-stakes thriller unlike any other. Chris Hadfield captures the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of space, and the fear of holding on to the outs
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Heather Heying & Bret Weinstein: A Hunter Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century. Frogs, Family, Freedom (#186)
05/10/2021 Duration: 01h49minHeather Heying and Bret Weinstein are evolutionary biologists. They both earned PhDs in Biology from the University of Michigan, where their research on evolution and adaptation earned awards. They've been visiting fellows at Princeton University, before that were professors at the Evergreen State College for fifteen years. Heather researched the evolution of social systems across a range of organisms, including humans, and my 2002 book, Antipode, is based on experiences in Madagascar studying the sex lives of poison frogs. In 2002, Bret published The Reserve-Capacity Hypothesis, which proposed that the telomeric differences between humans and laboratory mice have led scientists to underestimate the risks new drugs pose to humans in the form of heart disease, liver dysfunction, & related organ failure. They resigned from Evergreen in the wake of 2017 campus riots that focused in part on their opposition to a day of racial segregation and other college "equity" proposals. They cohost weekly livestreams of the
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Brian Keating: Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner! Why I wrote it (#185)
28/09/2021 Duration: 32minI’m so excited to share that my new book, Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner, is now live in the Universe! I couldn’t be more excited. I wrote it for YOU! ***This week only**** I have priced the ebook at 99 cents for this week only to make it easier for you to leave a “verified” review. Get it here: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/TLANPW Get the Audible audiobook edition of Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner for FREE when you start your free trial using this magic link https://audible.com/impossible Would you be so kind as to leave a “Verified review”? These reviews validate that you’ve purchased the item you’re reviewing, which makes them appear more legitimate to readers! All you have to do is follow this link to my book and click on the ‘Write a customer review’ button down in the reviewer section of the Amazon page: https://urlgeni.us/amzn/TLANPW PS: Don't forget to visit this website for Bonus Content, a link to my new Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner Podcast, and more! https://briankeating.com/think_book.php
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Anthony Aguirre: Cosmological Koans (#184)
21/09/2021 Duration: 01h27minPhysicist Anthony Aguirre studies the formation, nature, and evolution of the universe, focusing primarily on the model of eternal inflation—the idea that inflation goes on forever in some regions of universe—and what it may mean for the ultimate beginning of the universe and time. He is the co-founder and associate scientific director of the Foundational Questions Institute, which supports research on questions at the foundations and new frontiers of physics and cosmology. Anthony is also a co-founder of the Future of Life Institute, an organization aiming to increase the probability that life has a future, and of Metaculus, an effort to optimally aggregate predictions about scientific discoveries, technological breakthroughs, and other interesting issues. Cosmological Koans: A Journey to the Heart of Physical Reality, physicist Anthony Aguirre explores deep questions about the nature of reality, using an approach inspired by Zen koans to take the reader on a thought-provoking tour of the cosmos and the core
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Ben Shapiro: The Science™ of Authoritarianism (#183)
14/09/2021 Duration: 01h01minI spoke with Ben Shapiro about his thoroughly discursive new book: The Authoritarian Moment. Ben is prolific to say the least: his second book in just about a year. Some of you aren't Big Ben fans, but I hope you'll provide to me, and to him, some forbearance in this, the Yom Kippur season. Speaking of Yom Kippur we discussed forgiveness and tolerance and even Ben's biggest regret. Topics: ⚛️ Science vs. The Science™
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Part 2 of 2: Eric Weinstein n- WTF Happened in 1971: An INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Birthday Extravaganza
13/09/2021 Duration: 01h07minLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Part 1 of 2: Eric Weinstein n- WTF Happened in 1971: An INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Birthday Extravaganza
12/09/2021 Duration: 01h06minWhat happened in 1971 (besides my birth on September 9th, 1971)? Answer: a lot! Topics: GU update, Science vs. Politics, Elon Musk vs. Physics, and WTF is a Kayfabe? I'd be honored if you'd get me two (free) birthday presents
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Julian Barbour: The Janus Point and the Arrow of Time (#180)
09/09/2021 Duration: 01h48minJulian Barbour is the author of the highly regarded The Discovery of Dynamics and the bestseller The End of Time and now, The Janus Point. He received his PhD in physics from the University of Cologne in 1968. He is a past visiting professor of physics at the University of Oxford and lives on the edge of the scenic Cotswolds, UK. A major new work of physics, The Janus Point will transform our understanding of the nature of existence. In a universe filled by chaos and disorder, Julian Barbour makes the radical argument that the growth of order drives the passage of time — and shapes the destiny of the universe. Time is among the universe's greatest mysteries. Why, when most laws of physics allow for it to flow forward and backward, does it only go forward? Physicists have long appealed to the second law of thermodynamics, held to predict the increase of disorder in the universe, to explain this. In The Janus Point, physicist Julian Barbour argues that the second law has been misapplied and that the growth of o
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Stephon Alexander: Fear of a Black Universe (#179)
31/08/2021 Duration: 01h28minStephon Alexander is a Professor of Physics at Brown University and the President of the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP). Alexander has had previous appointments at Stanford University, Imperial College, Penn State, Dartmouth College, and Haverford College. He is a specialist in the field of string cosmology, where the physics of superstrings are applied to address longstanding questions in cosmology. In 2001, he co-invented the model of inflation based on higher dimensional hypersurfaces in string theory called D-Branes. In such models, the early universe emerged from the destruction of a higher dimensional D-brane which ignites a period of rapid expansion of space often referred to as cosmic inflation. Years ago, cosmologist Stephon Alexander received life-changing advice: to discover real physics, he needed to stop memorizing and start taking risks. In Fear of a Black Universe, Alexander shows that great physics requires us to think outside the mainstream — to improvise and rely on intuition. H
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Danny Miranda and Dr. Brian Keating – How Religion Helps An Astrophysicist Make Sense Of The Universe (#178)
26/08/2021 Duration: 01h31minDr. Brian Keating is an American physicist who is a Distinguished Professor of Physics at the Center for Astrophysics & Space Sciences in the Department of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. In this conversation, we spoke about Losing The Nobel Prize, his latest book, Galileo, how one of his mentors let him down, and Judaism. In this conversation, we spoke about Losing The Nobel Prize, his latest book, Galileo, how one of his mentors let him down, and Judaism. Dr. Keating's Twitter – https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating Dr. Keating's YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw Dr. Keating's Website – https://briankeating.com/ Find Danny Miranda: Podcast – https://dannymiranda.com/podcast/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/heydannymiranda Instagram – https://instagram.com/heydannymiranda YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/dannymiranda Newsletter – https://dannymiranda.com/tuesday-treasure/ Support our Sponsors! LinkedIn Jobs! Use this link to post your first
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Paul Halpern: Flashes of Creation (#177)
24/08/2021 Duration: 57minPaul Halpern is Professor of Physics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. A prolific author, he has written sixteen science books and numerous articles. His interests range from space, time and higher dimensions to cultural aspects of science. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Fulbright Scholarship, and an Athenaeum Literary Award, he has appeared on C-SPAN, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, the PBS series "Future Quest," and "The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special." Halpern's books include Time Journeys, Cosmic Wormholes, The Cyclical Serpent, Faraway Worlds, The Great Beyond, Brave New Universe, What's Science Ever Done for Us?, Collider, What's the Matter with Pluto?, Edge of the Universe, Einstein's Dice and Schrödinger's Cat, The Quantum Labyrinth, Synchronicity and Flashes of Creation. In his most recent book, Flashes of Creation, Professor Halpern breaks down the great debate over the Big Bang and the continuing quest to understand the fate of the universe. In Flashes of
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James Altucher and Brian Keating: Stop using these 3 Lazy Words! (#176)
19/08/2021 Duration: 25minDo you use these 3 lazy words daily? Do you use these words when you tried to solve problems? Create businesses? Win a game? Well, it's time to change that. James Altucher and Brian Keating talk about these 3 lazy words, and what's the meaning behind these words, and how can we change our mindset, and prevent ourselves from using these words! Support our Sponsors! LinkedIn Jobs! Use this link to post your first job ad for FREE LinkedIn.com/impossible biOptimizers for better sleep https://magbreakthrough.com/impossible Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Ashley Yeager: The Brilliant Legacy of Astronomer Vera Rubin (#175)
17/08/2021 Duration: 50minAshley Yeager is an associate editor at The Scientist. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer, editor and multimedia producer, and also at the Simons Foundation as a science writer, at Science News as a web producer and at Duke University as a writer and multimedia producer. She has an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee and a master's in science writing from MIT. She co-chairs the education committee of the National Association of Science Writers. Twitter: @ashleyjyeager In Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond, Ashley Jean Yeager tells the story of Rubin's life and work, recounting her persistence despite early dismissals of her work and widespread sexism in science. Yeager describes Rubin's childhood fascination with stars, her education at Vassar and Cornell, and her marriage to a fellow scientist. At first, Rubin wasn't taken seriously; she was a rarity, a woman in science, and her findings seemed almost incredible. Some observatories in midcentury America restri
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Tom Delonge & Jim Semivan: An Honest Talk About Government Secrets! (#174)
13/08/2021 Duration: 01h28minTom DeLonge started To The Stars Academy, a multi-pronged approach to address issues related to UFO/UAPs. TTSA has several divisions including: Science & Technology Division wherein TTSA collects documents and physical materials from public and private sources related to the UAP phenomena to study it and then transitions the transformative technologies behind it to wider applications of public benefit. The company’s consulting and research arm features top former officials from the Pentagon, CIA, Department of Defense, and Lockheed Martin Skunkworks. S.C.O.U.T. & V.A.U.L.T. : division aims to be the world’s most comprehensive intelligence tool for collecting, analyzing, and reporting unidentified aerial phenomena. Anyone will be able to instantly tap into the database via the S.C.O.U.T. mobile app to contribute and access real-time information on the phenomena globally. The VAULT: will use proprietary AI to find patterns in data from S.C.O.U.T. and cross-reference information from other global databases to f
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Eric Topol: AI Doctors, Medicine's Future, and The Delta Variant (#173)
10/08/2021 Duration: 58min#AI #FutureofMedicine #EricTopol Dr. Eric Topol M.D. is a Physician-Scientist, Author, Editor and is The Gary & Mary West Endowed Chair of Innovative Medicine, and the Executive VP, Scripps Research. We discussed the meaning of life, ways for Artificial Intelligence to improve patient outcomes…and concomitantly, benefit physicians too. We explored the ethical imperatives incumbent on doctors— is it ok to exaggerate medical benefits/risks to incentivize greater patient participation. We closed with his concerns about Elon Musk's long-term space travel from a medical perspective, including his thoughts on the Kelly twin astronaut study. Support our Sponsors LinkedIn Jobs! Use this link to post your first job ad for FREE LinkedIn.com/impossible biOptimizers for better sleep https://magbreakthrough.com/impossible 00:00 Introduction 00:05:14 Why is teaching resistant to change? 00:11:44 How do you handle authority bias? 00:15:26 What do you think of the possibility of artificial "life"? 00:19:44 What is deep
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The Joy of Ex-perimental Astrophysics with UCSB Professor Ben Mazin (#172)
09/08/2021 Duration: 49minBenjamin Mazin is the Worster Chair in Experimental Physics at UC Santa Barbara. He attended Yale University, graduating in 1997. He then attended the California Institute of Technology, graduating with a doctorate in Astrophysics in August, 2004. After a short post-doc at Caltech, he went to work as a scientist at JPL in March, 2005. He joined the faculty at the University of California Santa Barbara in September, 2008, where he leads a lab dedicated to the development of optical/UV/X-ray Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) and astronomical instrumentation for time and energy resolved studies. His current research focus is building and using MKID-based instruments for detecting and characterizing nearby exoplanets. He was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2010, and the Worster Chair in Experimental Physics in 2017.Ben Mazin, is a part of the Department of Physics at UCSB. We are focused on using a unique detector technology called Microwave
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Part 2 of 2 Lawrence Krauss: The Physics of Everything (#171)
03/08/2021 Duration: 01h42minLawrence Krauss is an internationally known theoretical physicist and bestselling author, as well as being an acclaimed lecturer. He is currently President of The Origins Project Foundation, and host of The Origins Podcast, His wide research interests have focused on the interface between elementary particle physics and cosmology, including the origin and evolution of the Universe and the fundamental structure of matter. Among his numerous important scientific contributions was the proposal, in 1995, that most of the energy of the Universe resided in empty space. Krauss previously served as Director of Arizona State University's Origins Project, and Foundation Professor for a decade from 2008-2018, and also as Chair of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists from 2006-2018. Prof. Krauss has held endowed professorships and distinguished research appointments at institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, University of Chicago, Boston University, University of Zurich, Uni
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Part of 1 of 2 – Lawrence Krauss: The Physics of Everything (#170)
27/07/2021 Duration: 01h01minLawrence Krauss is an internationally known theoretical physicist and bestselling author, as well as being an acclaimed lecturer. He is currently President of The Origins Project Foundation, and host of The Origins Podcast, His wide research interests have focused on the interface between elementary particle physics and cosmology, including the origin and evolution of the Universe and the fundamental structure of matter. Among his numerous important scientific contributions was the proposal, in 1995, that most of the energy of the Universe resided in empty space. Krauss previously served as Director of Arizona State University's Origins Project, and Foundation Professor for a decade from 2008-2018, and also as Chair of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists from 2006-2018. Prof. Krauss has held endowed professorships and distinguished research appointments at institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, University of Chicago, Boston University, University of Zurich, Uni
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Avi Loeb: Breaking News! (#169)
26/07/2021 Duration: 01h01minSupport our Sponsors LinkedIn Jobs! Use this link to post your first job ad for FREE LinkedIn.com/impossible biOptimizers for better sleep https://magbreakthrough.com/impossible Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices