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  

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Daniel Schubert from the German Aerospace Center about designing and creating bioregenerative life-support systems for use in hostile and alien environments. Daniel is the leader of the Eden initiative, which over the past few years has been testing greenhouse food production in Antarctica in preparation for the implementation of plant production in Moon and Mars Habitats. We discuss the unexpected challenges of growing plants in hostile environments, building economically viable space colonies, the value of space exploration, future plans for space faring systems, environmental destruction, and the future of humanity. ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_bU4RCneXeM ►For more information about Daniel's work: https://eden-iss.net/index.php/contact/  https://www.dlr.de/irs/ SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens 

How complex does animal communication get? How much information is encoded in dog barks, the clicks of sperm whales, or the chirps of small birds? In this conversation I speak with Irene Pepperberg, who is an expert on animal communication and cognition, best known for her work with African grey parrots. We discuss the remarkable abilities of her birds, from large vocabularies and complex verbal understanding, to counting and puzzle solving, to even competing with young children on certain cognitive tests. We also touch on deeper questions about how animals might see the world, the link between intelligence and personhood, the morals and ethics of doing science with highly intelligent animals, as well as the morals and ethics that animals themselves might have.   ►Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/HQvfs94IZYI   ►For more information about Irene's work, or if you would like to support her research: https://alexfoundation.org/   SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens

This is a conversation with Ankit Panda about nuclear proliferation and deterrence. Ankit Panda is the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. An expert on the Asia-Pacific region, his research interests range from nuclear strategy, arms control, missile defense, nonproliferation, emerging technologies, and U.S. extended deterrence. We discuss: mutually assured destruction and mutual unacceptable damage - Kim Jong Un's foreign and domestic nuclear policies and capabilities. - The impact of Russian incursions into Ukraine on nuclear proliferation. - What the US, China, and Russia want from north Korea. - How Russian estrangement ties in with US geopolitical strategy. - New weapons like drones, hypersonics, and AI. - Chinas expansion in the Asia Pacific, US strategic insolvency, and peace ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PqC8C-Tn8YM ►For more information about Ankit's work including his podcast appearances, journal articles, books, etc: https://www.ankitpanda.com/about-me/ ►Follow Ankit on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nktpnd Note: This episode was filmed just before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. If you are interested in providing humanitarian support here is one option: https://unitedhelpukraine.org/ SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens 

This is the second part of a two part conversation with Mark Benecke, forensic biologist, forensic entomologist, NRW state chairman for German's Die Partei, chairman of the Pro Tattoo association, and much more. Both halves can be watched independently for the most part. Mark investigates how insect life develops at crime scenes. Because he works all over the world, I was wondering if he had seen a drop in insect populations during the past decades. There have been reports in Germany that populations have dropped by as much as 80% in recent years, but records are scant elsewhere in the world. I was hoping that forensic science might be able to fill in the gaps! Apart from insects we discuss modern forensic techniques, the Epstein trial, data protection laws, psychopaths, and the future of criminal investigation. ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fLIJNhSoMR4  ►For more information about Mark's work I highly recommend visiting his website, where you can find his research, a great gallery of photos, information about presentations, and more: https://home.benecke.com/ ►Mark also has an excellent YouTube channel, which I highly recommend. It is mostly in German, but there is also interesting English content: https://www.youtube.com/user/wwwSatankade/videos ► You can also find Mark on facebook and Instagram: https://fb.com/markbenecke & https://instagram.com/markito_benecke

This is the first part of a two part conversation with Mark Benecke, forensic biologist, forensic entomologist, NRW state chairman for German's Die Partei, chairman of the Pro Tattoo association, and much more. We discuss modern forensic techniques, the impact of wealth and power on justice and the law, training to become a forensic scientist, what forensic entomology can teach us about the drop in insect popultions, psychopaths, the Epstein trial, data protection laws, and the future of criminal investigation. Note: This episode was originally edited for publication on Mark's channel. The outro was scripted with this in mind. Sorry if this causes any confusion. ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WjfQ5LiK91I ►For more information about Mark's work I highly recommend visiting his website, where you can find his research, a great gallery of photos, information about presentations, and more: https://home.benecke.com/   ►Mark also has an excellent YouTube channel, which I highly recommend. It is mostly in German, but there is also interesting English content: https://www.youtube.com/user/wwwSatankade/videos   ► You can also find Mark on facebook and Instagram: https://fb.com/markbenecke & https://instagram.com/markito_benecke

This is a conversation with Planetary Astronomer Andy Rivkin. Andy is the co-investigation team lead for NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, being designed, built, and managed by the Applied Physics Lab at John Hopkins University. The DART mission is the first demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique to change the motion of an asteroid in space. We discuss the current readiness of earths planetary defenses, the physics behind re-directing asteroids, and the DART mission itself. ►View on YouTube: https://youtu.be/O0cJnYR2M1A ►For more information about Andy's work: https://secwww.jhuapl.edu/SpaceScience/staff/ProfileView/49 ►Outside of his research Andy makes his own music, which can be found here: andyrivkin.bandcamp.com ►Thumbnail image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL ►Intro footage credit: JHU Applied Physics Laboratory https://dart.jhuapl.edu/Gallery/

This is a conversation with archaeologist, historian, and professor of classics Ian Morris at Stanford University. Ian has written extensively about the progress of civilization from hunter gatherer times until now. We discuss the drivers of civilization, and the impact that religion and war have on technological and social development. ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/f05Ogv0Wr24 ►For more information about Ian's work, and a list of written works see: https://classics.stanford.edu/people/ian-morris 

This is a conversation with Thomas Sunn Pedersen, Director of the Stellarator Edge and Divertor Physics Division at the Greifswald branch of the Max-Planck Institute of Plasma Physics in Germany. Thomas explains the progress that has occurred in fusion research over the past few decades, and how far away are we are from creating practical fusion reactors. He also discusses the obstacles that still need to be overcome, and the potential social, political, and environmental impacts of fusion technology. ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zWAJ0QylWig ►Find out more about Thomas' research here: https://www.ipp.mpg.de/1084854/pedersen ►Images and diagrams of ITER can be found here: https://www.iter.org/press ►Images at 00:16:16 and 00:19:39 taken with permission from T. Sunn Pedersen et al. Nature Communications 7, Article number: 13493 (2016) ►The short 20s clip at 00:38:00 labelled `Wigner RCP' was taken using a high time resolution camera, and shows the genesis and growth of the plasma in Wendelstein 7-X. It was provided by Centre for Energy Research in Hungary.