Tag: Science

Jason Munshi-South: Rats and Evolution

Razib Khan’s Unsupervised Learning | 13 August 2021 | 1h 03m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Jason Munshi-South about the ecology and genetics of rats. Discusses the brown rat versus other species; their interactions with mice and cats; the origins, phylogeography and genetics of brown rats; and their use as a model organism.

Science in the Time of Cancel Culture

Analysis | 12 July 2021 | 0h 28m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Michael Muthukrishna speaks to a range of experts to assess the impact of modern social justice movements on scientific research and development. Discusses whether fear of personal or professional harm is strengthening conformism or eviscerating robust intellectual debate; whether open-mindedness on controversial issues can really exist in the scientific community; and whether rigorous public assessment of scientific findings helps to achieve better, more equitable and socially just outcomes.

Why We Sweat

KERA’s Think | 2 August 2021 | 0h 31m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Sarah Everts about her book The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration. Discusses the science of sweat, the many advantages it sweat confers and the industry built to fight our body’s natural function.

The Science and Ethics of Rewriting Our DNA | Jennifer Doudna

The TED Interview | 17 June 2021 | 0h 46m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Jennifer Doudna discussing her pioneering work on CRISPR, how CRISPR works, the remarkable effects CRISPR can have on our lives – from eradicating genetic diseases to slowing the climate crisis – as well as the ethical and moral questions we must grapple with when it comes to changing who we are.

The Beginning of Infinity

Naval | 2 July 2021 | 1h 06m | Listen Later | iTunes
Naval Ravikant and Brett Hall discuss David Deutsch’s book The Beginning of Infinity. Covers the importance of good explanations; that all knowledge is conjectural; the fallibility of mathematical methods; reading the best books over and over again; probability and its relationship to the multiverse; that science is an error-correcting mechanism that should not presume to predict the future from the past; that we tend to pessimism because it’s easy to extrapolate how things will get worse, but it’s rational to be optimistic; and more.

Why Are We Living Longer Than Our Ancestors?

History Extra | 29 May 2021 | 0h 28m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Steven Johnson about his book Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer (and BBC Four series co-presented with David Olusoga). Chronicles the revolution in medicine and innovations in science and public health that have led to huge increases in life expectancy since 1900.

Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe

The Torch of Progress | 21 July 2020 | 1h 00m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Patrick Collison discussing Fast Grants’ funding of covid-19 research, progress studies, the rate of scientific progress and whether it’s slowing down, his perspective on the sciences, Effective Altruism, on being a self-described ‘fallibilist,’ the entrepreneurial mindset, and more.

David Deutsch on the Infinite Reach of Knowledge

The TED Interview | 23 October 2018 | 0h 59m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with David Deutsch discussing his theory that the potential reach of knowledge is infinite, how knowledge first developed, why it sets us apart, and what these concepts mean for our present and future. Draws on his book The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World.