Shohini Ghose, a quantum physics professor and advocate for women in science, discusses the fascinating world of quantum computers. She explains their development, challenges, and potential applications. Additionally, she dives into the underrepresentation of women in science, highlighting forgotten contributions and biases in prestigious awards. The podcast explores the connection between women in science and quantum physics, tracing the history of scientific discoveries.

Why do we have a negativity bias that predisposes us to focus on bad things in the world? How can we channel that natural tendency to learn and improve, rather that be afraid and depressed by it? What are the implications of negativity bias for the functioning of our society ongoing? In this episode we’ve got the important topic of the inherent Negativity Bias in human psychology to assess. This is the tendency for bad events, experiences and emotions to have more impact than good ones. We see this in relationships, social patterns, traumatic events, the media and learning processes. Research shows that bad impressions and stereotypes form quicker than good ones, that the self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones, and even that bad impressions are more thoroughly processed than good ones. This all plays out in out in the media, in the consumer markets and in politics and thus defines our culture ongoing. Is this natural? Is there anything we can do to mitigate it or use it for good? And do we even want to? Fortunately for us our guest today is a specialist in these matters, one of the most prolific and cited psychologists in the world, with over 650 publications, Professor Roy Baumeister. His 40 books include the New York Times bestseller Willpower. His research covers self and identity, self-regulation, interpersonal rejection and the need to belong, sexuality and gender, aggression, self-esteem, meaning, consciousness, free will, and self-presentation, some of which we cover today in connection with negativity bias. In 2013 he received the William James award for lifetime achievement in psychological science (the Association for Psychological Science’s highest honor). In 2001 He co-wrote a seminal paper on the very topic of today’s episode in, called ‘Bad is Stronger than Good’; and one of his latest books, co-authored with John Tierney, is called “The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It”. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 10:00 Negativity Bias Explained 12:00 Evolutionary reasons to focus on the negative 15:45 “Life has to win every day, death only has to win once” 17:45 We process the negative more thoroughly than the positive 18:45 “We learn a lot more from bad events than from good ones” 20:10 The Pollyanna principle VS Bad memories being good for learning  27:30 Negativity bias in the media, fiction and entertainment 31:50 Ai algorithms tracking our engagement with negativity, making us feel the world is worse than we it is 33:10 “The world is getting better on every index except hope”, John Tierney  35:30 Older people are happier than younger people, Laura Carstensen 37:00 Polarisation as a consequence of algorithmic driven negativity bias 41:50 Using fear for profit VS using fear for control  33:15 Tendency to see the outsiders as threats 47:30 Belonging: our need not to be thought of negatively, hence not to be thrown out of the group 49:50 Theory of mind: Primates understand how other people think of them competitively but humans also collaboratively 50:40 We act ethically because we need people to cooperate 53:50 Negativity bias leading to a sense of belonging in the camp against the ‘other’ 55:30 Self control and regulation: taking control of negativity bias, we’re good at getting better 56:30 Not doing the bad things is what makes the difference 58:50 4:1 Ratio of good things to bad things required to swing the balance 01:03:40 Ego depletion confirmed: self control fatigue over time  References: Baumeister and Tierney “The Power of Bad: How the negativity effect rules us and how we can rule it” ‘Bad is stronger than Good’ Paper, 2001 Baumeister and Tierney, “Will Power: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength” Full Show Note References on CC.net

What data supports the idea that Oumuamua could have been space junk from another civilisation from another civilisation? Why is it so important that the Galileo Project at Harvard looks for more such objects? Why is science finally taking the UAP Phenomenon seriously? Today we’re going to find out about new developments in the SETI discussion (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) that has been prompted by the anomalous interstellar object Oumuamua, that passed through the solar system in 2017. Since the cosmologist, sceptic and TV presenter Carl Sagan helped normalise the topic for serious scientific consideration, SETI has been a thriving, if underfunded, scientific endeavour with multiple techniques being used, not just listening for radio signals; but which until recently hasn’t found anything to write home about, despite a few false alarms. Until the arrival of Oumuamua, today’s guest, Avi Loeb wasn’t really involved in the SETI debate, but his SETI interpretation of the data on this object, and his impeccable reputation as former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University has brought him into the debate with a bang. He is the Frank B. Baird Jr Professor of Science at Harvard, author of over 700 scientific papers, and receiver of so many awards and accolades I won’t list them there. Avi is also the author of 4 books, of which we’ll be discussing two today. First his New York Times bestseller ‘Extraterrestrial’ about Oumuamua, and second his new book that’s just out “Interstellar: the search for extra terrestrial life and out future in the stars”. To add further taboo to this newly invigorated debate, we’ll also be talking about the 2017 NYTimes story on military UFO encounters, which revealed that the US Government had not only been secretly studying the UFO Phenomenon, but also covered the extraordinary ‘TicTac’ case around the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, witnessed by multiple pilots and including radar blip confirmation. All of which has led to Congress passing a new law obliging military witnesses to testify about these incidents and alleged black projects working on this kind of technology, and to the June 2021 report form the Director of National intelligence (see show notes). Having never known this was even a real confirmed phenomena, and knowing Avi has since become involved in the scientific debate on this topic too, this interview was particularly curious. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 12:45 6x anomalous data points on interstellar object Oumuamua, Oct 19th 2016 21:45 Technological relic VS natural object hypothesis 24:00 Natural origin: Solid hydrogen/nitrogen hypotheses 27.30 Avi’s New book “Interstellar” 32:00 Our star is younger than most in the galaxy so younger star’s civilisations are probably more advanced 36:00 The Galileo Project: Looking out for interstellar objects, in 3 ways 39:15 1. Exploring impact sites on earth, Finding the next Oumuamua sooner, Study of UAP 48:00 Imagining seeding of planets, creating species and creating universes in labs 01:12:30 “Science is not zero sum game its an infinite sum game, because basically everyone benefits from knowledge” References: Avi Loeb 'Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars '(2023) Galileo Project @Harvard University Office of the Director of National Intelligence Assessment on UAP, June 2021, John L. Ratcliffe VICE Magazine, Experiencers brains and Anomalous materials magazine article NY Times USS Nimitz ‘Tic-Tac’ article, Dec 2017

What is the protocol for psychedelic therapy? How does it work? Who is it appropriate for? Today we have the interesting topic to look into, of how psychedelic compounds are now being used in psychotherapy. With promising results in clinical trials from Imperial College around the mid 2010’s, a flourish of trials at other medical schools across the world has seen a renaissance of the psychedelic movement for treating, particularly depression and PTSD, that was started by transpersonal psychologists like Stan Grof in the 1960’s before then being banned.  Along with this renaissance has come interest from pharmaceutical companies and psychonauts, psychotherapists and members of the general public suffering from treatment resistant conditions. With all this activity there is confusion about what the results from the studies actually show, how the treatment should be done safely, ethically and with lasting results and who to be contacting if you want to try it out. So I thought it was important to speak about these matters here for anyone interested in getting a data led picture of the fast evolving situation, among all the noise out there on the internet. Fortunately my guest today is a clinical psychologist who’s been at the centre of the field since the beginning of the renaissance, and not just as a researcher but as a hands on psychologist in the therapy room with the subjects at all stages of the process, Dr. Rosalind Watts. Dr. Watt’s work as the Clinical psychologist Lead for Imperial College London’s psilocybin trials,  have made her one of the most prominent voices and minds in the field of psychedelic research. She has been named as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Psychedelics; however, what sets Dr Watts apart is her focus on integration, harm-reduction and inclusion in the psychedelic space.   Apart from treating she also builds tools and structures to foster connectedness after psychedelic experiences, finding inspiration for their design from nature. The most recent of which is the integration community she’s created - ACER Integration. What we speak about: 00:00 Intro 04:30 Clubbing community 07:40 The psychedelic therapy process: step by step 08:40 1. Screening: for people it could suit VS cause problems for 09:50 2. Preparation: Building trust and safety in vulnerability 11:15 The psychedelic experience is the beginning not the end of the work 13:05 Sharing meals; music and essential oils used to encourage relaxation and surrender 16:50 At least two guides needed for ethical and practical reasons 19:50 The ‘Pearl Dive’ analogy, deep down to the hidden traumas 26:50 3. The therapy session itself 28:50 A non-directed approach to the journey from the guides 33:05 4. Integration: after the experience, maximising benefits 35:10 Planting the pearl of insight to nourish and nurture them 35:40 6 months later the depression was back 44:20 The role of ritual and ceremony in effective results 46:20 Appropriated from Mexican Mazatec tradition of psilocybin for healing 49:50 How to talk about the ceremonial without deities and religions   54:50 Opening up to the sacred wound VS numbing the feelings 58:50 Ros’s first experience: Fear before and transformation after 01:07:35 The ‘brain reset’ analogy and the expectations it created 01:12:05 Mystical experience’s importance in the transformation  01:18:05 Adverse psychedelic effects: actively facing the hardest places References: ACER Community Integration Group Dr. Rosalind Watts, A.C.E. Accept, Embody, Connect model Maria Sabina, Mexican shaman - Life magazine 1957 Gaia Hypothesis Adverse effects trial at Greenwich University: Jules Evans and David Luke  Increased brain connectivity following psilocybin treatment Little Pharma (Dr. Ben Sessa)

The podcast explores the Fractal Brain Theory, connecting neurons, brains, and intelligence to genes, evolution, and life. Topics include symmetry in science, updating the book with new research on dendrites, self-similarity and recursion in evolution, the presence of binary trees in nature, and the unified solution of fractal brain theory to the easy problem of consciousness. They also discuss meta consciousness in AI and the study of the polar frontal cortex.

What evidence is there for a connection between the microbiome and the chronic inflammation and mental health problems on the rise in western populations? Do we need to rethink hygiene practices to benefit from this new understanding? In this episode we’re going to be getting our heads around the idea that while Hygiene has revolutionised health, too much hygiene, actually weakens our immune system’s development. To understand why, we need to understand how the complex community of microbes in our intestines, on our skin and in nature around us has evolved for thousands of years, in symbiosis with our immune system; we’ll be mapping out how, as our hygiene practices and food processing have increased, so the diversity of microbiota has dropped, eventually leading to the explosion of inflammatory disorders, mental health issues and auto-immune disfunction we’re now seeing in western communities. But how to solve this problem, without loosing the great advances in health care achieved by the application of Hygiene theory? Who better to answer that question and explain these subtleties than professor of medical microbiology at University College London, Dr. Graham Rook. Rook is a specialist in infection and immunity, and has spent his career unfolding how the young immune system is ‘programmed’ by the microbial background, identifying all the medical conditions that have been worsened by the failing immuno-regulation associated with our impoverished biomes, and developing ways we can update our lifestyle to restore the diversity required to sustain healthy immune response. In his new book ‘Evolution, Biodiversity and a Reassessment of the Hygiene hypothesis’ he explains all this and his 2003 Old-Friends hypothesis, which seeks to correct the over-stretching of the Hygeine hypothesis. We have got a show from the second series with phytotherapist Alex Laird, about the dietary aspect of the microbiome and inflammation called ‘Mood Food: Inflammation, the gut and diet’ should anyone want to get into the food side of this. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 08:30 Bacterial diversity in the human body and the evolution of the immune system 12:00 The symbiotic co-evolution of internal bacteria and humankind 13:30 The ‘programming’ of the adaptive immune system by diverse bacteria: Lymphocytes 16:30 Most of our genes evolved in micro-organisms  20:55 Modern western microbiomes compared to our hunter gatherer ancestors 21:40 Variety of diet and contact with nature 22:10 Microorganisms from mother and the natural environment 24:00 The socio-economic factor: Urban poverty VS exposure to microorganisms and diverse diet 26:00 Antibiotic over-use in children contributing to allergies and obesity 26:25 Immune regulation, and how it changes with hyper inflammation 30:00 Background high inflammation in the west 31:20 Microbiota transplants in mental health, allergies and obesity experiments 33:50 The difficulty in using biota transplants to treat biome related issues  39:00 Microbiome/inflammation research into Autism, Parkinsons and Alzheimer’s  46:00 ‘Trained Immunity’ - raising immune alertness epigenetically  50:00 Reassessing the hygiene hypothesis, good diet and minimising antibiotics References: G. Rook, ‘Evolution, Biodiversity, and reassessing the hygiene hypothesis’ book G. Rook, 'The Old Friends Hypothesis’ paper ‘Pediatrics Consequences of Caesarean Section-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’, maternal microbiota paper ‘Association between antibiotic treatment during pregnancy and infancy and the development of allergic diseases’ paper ‘Gut microbiome remodelling induces depressive-like behaviour’ paper ‘Long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy on autism symptoms and gut microbiota’ paper 'Pet-keeping in early life reduces the risk of allergy in a dose-dependent fashion’ paper

What is Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprogramming therapy? What could be the mechanism by which its bilateral stimulation relieves the disturbances from trauma? In this episode we have the fascinating technique of EMDR psychotherapy to look into. This is another show, like the Parenting by Connection episode #18, that’s close to home, as I personally have had extraordinary results with this method. Developed from the 80’s onwards by Francine Shapiro, Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing uses a bilateral brain hemisphere stimulation, similar to the pre-REM sleep state, to lower the physiological reaction in the present, following traumatic experiences in the past. The reason I was so struck by the method and wanted to share the science of it here, is how the model works physiologically on the reprogramming of traumatic memories, with more or less instant results - results that might take years using traditional talky therapies. Why this ‘straight to the point’ method works though is still not clear to scientists, so it will be interesting to hear the different theories. Who better to tell us all about it than EMDR therapist ex-president of EMDR Europe and the president of EMDR Italy, Dr. Isabel Fernandez. As well as more than 20 years treating patients with EMDR and training tens thousands of therapists, she sits on several boards of organisations studying science of psychotraumatology, like the Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. She has written various scientific papers, books and chapters on EMDR and trauma too. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 06:10 Trauma with a big ’T’ (threat to life) and a little ’t’ (interpersonal) 09:20 The risk of a ‘victim’ complex, lowering resilience if we focus on even little ’t’ trauma 10:00 You reach resilience through addressing and integrating trauma  11:20 Our innate ability to process adverse experience information and the overwhelming of that in PTSD  15:30 Bilateral eye movement stimulation helps the completion of our innate memory integration ability 18:25 You do need to remember the memory to work on it, but often it arises by association rather than actively remembering it 21:00 Bilateral stimulation of the left and right hemisphere: visual, sensory and auditory versions 23:00 Pre-Rem Sleep is similar to the EMDR state 26:30 Proved to be faster than other therapies, therefore more cost effective for the state health services 28:15 Its functioning is not yet completely understood: the leading theories  32:40 Iain McGilchrist’s left right hemisphere interpretation (See Episode #15)  36:45 A meta analysis - Bilateral stimulation much more effective than non-bilateral stimulation, just therapy  39:30 Adaptive information - 1. Processing of the past 2. De-sensitisation of disturbance the present 3. Imaginal future events  50:15 EMDR for kids with traumatic experiences from 2 years old 51:45 Applications for collective mass trauma: war, pandemics, floods and earthquakes 52:45 The key is to work with bilateral stimulation during the acute phase of the trauma 55:00 Bringing EMDR to the Police, the military and the hospitals   References:  Frontiers in Psychology: Slow Wave Sleep/ Pre-Rem Sleep similarities with EMDR State American Psychological Association: Neural Basis of EMDR Therapy Nature: Neural Circuits involved in EMDR suppressing fear response American Psychological Association: Chris Lee, Meta-analysis of efficacy and speed of EMDR PubMed: Meta-analysis of treatment of sexual abuse in children and adolescents EMDREurope.com EMDR.com EMDR.it 

Dean Radin, a PhD researcher delving into psi phenomena, shares fascinating insights on telepathy and precognition. He explores over a century of peer-reviewed research that challenges conventional physics, and discusses the psychological nuances of belief and emotional connections in experiments. The podcast also addresses mind-matter interaction and the intriguing cases of remote viewing in military contexts. Radin argues for a shift in scientific attitudes towards these phenomena, linking them to emerging perspectives in quantum mechanics.

Why are religious and mystical experiences important to our sense of meaning and purpose in life? What is a spiritual emergency and how can it actually help us in the long run? Are transpersonal experiences illusions of the mind or can they tell us anything about the nature of reality? In this episode, we have the extraordinary topic of Transpersonal Psychology to learn about. With the steady rise in popularity of western secular spirituality, meditation, psychedelic research, altered states of consciousness and embodied practices in general, during the 60’s some psychologists felt there was a part of psychology missing from the old humanist and behaviourist models. It was as if the overwhelmingly materialist scientific view of humans, that sees our bodies and brains as fundamentally separate from other beings, the natural world and any hypothetically transcendent reality, was missing out a huge source of data about the way our minds work. So a bunch of them coined a new term, Transpersonal psychology, and with it came a new field of study and practice.  It’s a really wide field and at its cusps starts to get into areas that science can’t actually study using the method; some of which we’re going to touch on towards the end of this episode. But above all it makes a place for the importance of the transpersonal that crosses those boundaries between our bodies and brains and everything else out there, both known and unknown. So fortunately today’s guest has over 25 years of experience both as a psychologist and a workshops leader, David Lukoff. Dr. Lukoff has published over 80 articles on spirituality and mental health, and is an active workshop presenter internationally on spiritual competency, grief, death, recovery, and spiritual crises. He is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the Sofie University, previously known as the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, in CA and previously served on the faculties of Harvard University and UCLA. He is also the co-founder of the Spiritual Competency Academy, that offers mental health professionals courses on the skills and knowledge to become more spiritual competent. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 05:30 A psychedelic psychotic episode and a spiritual crisis 07:00 Spirituality and religion as resources and practices 07:42 The history of transpersonal psychology  14:00 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs VS behaviourism 16:45 Spiritual emergencies  18:00 Jospeh Cambell’s ‘Hero’s Journey’ and Jung’s ‘Compensatory psychosis’ 22:30 David’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) entry 24:00 The post scientific revolution meaning crisis, and spiritual assessment as a solution 29:45 Ceremonial, shamanic and plant medicine approaches 32:30 Bringing altered states into mainstream psychology 37:00 Holotropic breathing: simulating an LSD-like research after LSD research was banned 40:15 The strength of the mystical experience correlates with positive outcomes 41:15 Stan Grof: NDE, OBE, psi, afterlife and interdimensional communications 45:00 The Spiritual Competency Academy: forgiveness, compassion, mindfulness References: Spiritual Competency Academy Journal of Transpersonal Psychology Rick Doblin - Founder of MAPS - Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies ‘Spiritual and religious problems’ included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders Jung’s ‘Compensatory psychosis’ The Spiritual Emergency Network Johns Hopkins and NYU studies - Intensity of mystical experiences correlation with positive clinical outcomes.

Physics researcher Vitaly Vanchurin, exploring the possibility of the world being a neural network. Discusses fine-tuning in the universe, application of learning dynamics to physics, and the reconciliation of quantum mechanics and general relativity. Explores the concept of life and consciousness as technologies. Connects the dynamics of the universe with biological systems. Examines the distinction between non-trainable and trainable variables in neural networks and their association with gravitational equations and quantum mechanics. Considers the emergence of observers in the universe and proposes learning dynamics as an explanation. Explores hidden variables and deviations from quantum mechanics, suggesting further experiments are needed. Explores the concept of subsystems of conscious learning and collective consciousness.