The Escaped Sapiens Podcast

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 bailed out, who really foots the bill? Who are the winners and losers during inflation? Are those that control the means of production still the dominant class? Why powers do politicians really have? What might a non-exploitative social economy look like in practice and is there a peaceful way to get there?  ► https://youtu.be/IccRwqTThMU ►For more information about Yanis: https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/ ►Follow Ola on Twitter: @yanisvaroufakis These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.   

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 of the near east, and in particular the texts of Ugarit, which was a city state destroyed c. 1185 BC.   Assuming we work out a secure way of dealing with our nuclear waste, how do we let our descendants 10,000 years into the future know that that is what we have done, bearing in mind that the oldest written text is only around 5,000 years old. In 10,000 years our descendants will likely live in an entirely different symbolic universe. Borders (if borders still exist) will have shifted, our political systems will be entirely new, and none of the languages spoken today will be recognizable. Furthermore, even if we can make our message understandable, there is no guarantee that our descendants will listen or care. Museums all over the world are filled with deceased kings warning people not to move their bodies.   The discussion begins with the history, texts, religion, and destruction of Ugarit, as well as the links that Ugarit had to the early texts and religion of the israelites. It ends with nuclear waste, and the difficulties of transmitting information into the distant future. We cover some of the more unique suggested solutions to the problem, including `Atomic Priesthood', proposed by linguist Thomas Sebeok, a semi-religious council, responsible for passing on knowledge down the generations through artificially created ritual-and-legend.   Note: At around 13:00 minutes into the video we discuss techniques for learning new languages. Despite what was said in the video, there have been new developments: lately, an online lesson series teaching Ugaritic by immersion has actually been started by Benjamin Kantor - see here: https://biblicalhebrew.com/tv-show/immersion-ugaritic/   ►Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/WvCmG0w8vko   ►For more information about Ola's research: https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/ola-wikander   ►Follow Ola on Twitter: @OlaWikander These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests. Many thanks to Bill Edwards for suggestion the topic of this interview. 

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 conscription, incarceration rates, suicide rates, circumcision, custody issues, steroid use, low university attendance rates, poor school performance, etc, enter into the gender equality discussion? In this episode of the podcast I speak with Professor of Economics, Bryan Caplan from George Mason University. Bryan uses a range of techniques and tools from economics to analyze today's most important social issues from a quantitative standpoint. We discuss whether the status of women as a minority or victim class still remains compatible with an evidence based approach to building a fairer, more empathetic, and more egalitarian society in 21st century western democracies. Note: I am currently looking for a feminist academic to balance the viewpoint presented here. If you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMjEDRe5qck8BluVfFUS05iCMeAeG1F6Htng31a9qPD8w8nw/viewform   ►Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/yOf555BoJ9k ►For more information about Bryan's work: http://www.bcaplan.com/ ►For Bryans book on feminism see: https://amzn.to/3AZ9lQl  These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.   

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 species extinction and a future with empty seas. The goal of this episode was to find out what the science says about the actual current status of our oceans, and to learn about the work that is being done to ensure that future generations continue to enjoy the abundance and diversity of the sea. What emerges is a nuanced picture of ocean protection that involves tradeoffs between the protection of different land and ocean ecosystems, political motives, and economics. This conversation was supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. ►For more information about Trevor's work: https://fish.uw.edu/faculty/trevor-branch/    ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2pds5UDB380   

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 implications of Michael's research in medicine and society including cures for cancer, regenerating limbs, and the creation of artificial super intelligences. We also address the criticism that this research sometimes from those who think that it is 'unnatural' to meddle with human biology. This conversation was supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity.   ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mY0MB0J4vTs ►For more information about Michael's work: https://allencenter.tufts.edu/our-team/michael-levin/ https://icdorgs.org/people/   SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens Subscribe  

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 never knew you didn't know about eyes.   This conversation was supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity.   This episode of the podcast was made as a collaboration with the Bucharest science festival, to help spread the joy of Science in Romania. For more information see: https://www.bucharestsciencefestival.ro/   ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JX2kYWJEeD4   ►For more information about Alex and his work see: https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/a-muntz   ►Tear stimulation device: https://pricevisiongroup.com/conditions/dry-eye/truetear/   SOCIAL:   ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens   ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/   ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens

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 host of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast. The conversation ranges from John's personal experiences leading in war, to his experience on the ground doing research in Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh, to explanations of many aspects of war. ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KbRxQ_CGAsU   ►The views expressed in this conversation by John are his own, and he is not acting as a representative of his other affiliations. For more information about John and his work see: https://mwi.usma.edu/staff/john-spencer/ ►Subscribe And Turn On All Notifications To See More: https://www.youtube.com/c/EscapedSapiens?sub_confirmation=1   SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens    

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 the perspective of the last 10,000 years of history. ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_qJDfkNnOC8 ►For information about Ian's most recent book see: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374157272/geographyisdestiny ►For more information about Ian's work, and a full list of written works see: https://classics.stanford.edu/people/ian-morris   SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens  

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 to select interesting locations for the Reconnaissance orbiter to take imagery of. Since working as a mission specialist with NASA rovers and orbiters, Tanya continues to work as a planetary scientist and scientific director at Planet Labs, and she is also a Fellow of the University of British Columbia’s Outer Space Institute. We discuss the limits of remote research on other planets. How do scientists use meteorite impacts, and other geological signs to date a planet? What tools do the rovers have to look for life? Who gets naming rights when something interesting is found? After colonization will the rovers end up in a museum on mars? If the orbits of mars and Venus were switched, would Venus become a habitable planet like earth? These questions and more. ►View on YouTube https://youtu.be/73_ZflnnYGM ►For more information about Tanya: https://www.tanyaharrison.com/about/ ►Follow Tanya on Twitter: @tanyaofmars ►Intro music by NEFFEX SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens

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 that organisms grow and regenerate. In particular - how does the large scale structure of our bodies form (the size, shape, arrangement of all the organs)? Michael and his colleagues are learning how to read, and overwrite the bodies bioelectrical signaling, which controls the way we develop. What unfolds is a story about building two headed organisms, re-growing the legs and other organs of frogs, and the dream of one day curing cancer, reverse aging, and the cure for all current medical conditions with the exception of infectious disease. The story also touches on the definition of life and intelligence, and how the world might look once we are able to design our own organisms. Big thanks to Patreon Subscriber Bruce Burman for suggesting this guest.   ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6Q59Zx-h2Jc   ►For more information about Michael's work: https://allencenter.tufts.edu/our-team/michael-levin/ https://icdorgs.org/people/   SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens