Tag: Science

Neil Shubin on Evolution, Genes, and Dramatic Transitions

Sean Carroll’s Mindscape | 16 March 2020 | 1h 32m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Neil Shubin about his book Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA. Discusses the discovery of Tiktaalik Roseae, an ancient species of fish that was in the process of learning to walk and breathe on land; how these major transitions happen – typically when evolution finds a way to re-purpose existing organs into new roles – and how we can learn about them by studying living creatures and the information contained in their genomes.

Emilie du Chatelet: a Free-Spirited Physicist

The Forum | 27 February 2020 | 0h 39m | Listen Later | iTunes
Discusses the life and work of Emilie du Chatelet, the 18th-century French physicist, mathematician, and thinker. Du Chatelet’s insights into kinetic energy foreshadowed Einstein’s famous equation and her suggestions for experiments with the different colours of light would only be carried out half-a-century after she’d written about them. Plus she was a remarkable personality, determined to live a life of an independent woman, often pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable even in the liberal social circles of her day.

Balaji Srinivasan: Exploring Covid-19

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish | 13 March 2020 | 1h 13m | Listen Later | iTunes
A timeless, multidisciplinary conversation on Covid-19. Enduring lessons on thinking clearly include base rate versus growth rate thinking, second- and third-order consequences, scientific thinking in political leadership, top-down versus bottom-up responses, and regulatory barriers to innovation.

Freeman Dyson, Sage of Science

To The Best Of Our Knowledge | 8 December 2016 | 0h 36m | Listen Later
Freeman Dyson has died at 96 (NY Times obituary). This 2016 interview with Dyson looks back over his remarkable life in science.

Predictions for Genetics in the 2020s

The Insight | 15 January 2020 | 0h 46m | Listen Later | iTunes
Spencer Wells and Razib Khan offer 10 predictions for what genetics will bring in the 2020s, from free sequencing to going beyond “Out of Africa” for human origins.

Self Deception + Evolution

Here We Are | 23 December 2018 | 1h 36m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers about his life and work on modern evolutionary theory. Covers self-deception, reciprocal altruism, sex ratio theory, selfish genetic elements, bacterial evolution, and honour killings.

Searching for Life Beyond Earth

Time to Eat the Dogs | 27 December 2019 | 0h 30m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Claire Isabel Webb about the search for extraterrestrial life and the different strategies used by astronomers and exobiologists to look for it.

Humanimal

Science for the People | 1 March 2019 | 1h 00m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Adam Rutherford about his book Humanimal: How Homo Sapiens Became Nature’s Most Paradoxical Creature – A New Evolutionary History. Discusses the common ways we mistakenly think humans are different from other creatures.