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.

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Glen Peters who is research director at the Center for International Climate Research in Norway. Glen's research focuses on human drivers of climate change, the global carbon cycle, bioenergy, sustainable consumption, international trade and climate policy, emission metrics, and more. The underlying political and economic drivers of climate change are complicated, and the issue has become political. My goal in this discussion was to get a more realistic understanding of what climate change actually means. What is the damage that we have already done, and what can we expect moving forward? Is climate change an existential threat? Have we reached peak carbon? What is being done by governments and what responsibility can we take on as individuals? ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3MALvjPYQ_M ►Find out more about Glen's work here: https://cicero.oslo.no/en/employee/30/glen-peters ►Find out about glens research here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EW93x94AAAAJ&hl=en ►Follow Glen on Twitter: @Peters_Glen

One of the most interesting features of human intelligence is that it comes with personality. We aren't all the same and our thoughts aren't purely logical. They are instead sculpted by our level of hunger, how tired we are, the presence of mind altering drugs in our systems, our sexuality, stress, and any number of internal and external factors. So how did humans end up with our peculiar psychology, and what sort of control does our evolutionary past have over the thoughts we are able to have and the behaviors we are able to express as individuals? In this episode of the podcast I speak with evolutionary psychologist Dianna Fleischman to find out. Dianna unmasks some of the more wild and curious features of our evolved psychology - this is conversation that ranges from human sexuality and fetishes, to cannibalism, to the me too movement, to disgust sensitivity, to sex differences in behavior and cognition, to the impact that modern technology has on societal structure. ►Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5cW4FrYBmtI ►Find out more about Diana's work here: https://dianaverse.com/ ►At 11:25 we discuss the Trobriand islands, a topic of which neither Diana or myself are experts. I will try to get an expert on the cultures of the Trobriand Islands on the program to dispel any myths. In the mean time more information can be found in this article by Gunter Senfr: https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_67147/component/file_468443/content

After my interview with Marion we discussed diet choices and their impact on the environment. Marion Nestle was the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. She was also a professor of Sociology at NYU and a visiting professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University. ►Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n6bJcz9Pf3k ►Find out more about Marion's research here: https://www.foodpolitics.com/ ►And here: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/people/marion-nestle ►Marion's books can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Marion-Nestle/e/B001ILIEEY%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share ►Follow Marion on twitter: @marionnestle

Our food system is complicated, and there are many competing interests that determine which products end up on shelves for purchase. In this episode of the podcast Marion Nestle discusses the different factors that control the food that ends up on your plate. We cover the influence of advertising, corporate influence on health research and policy, and positive the impact that individual consumers are able to have. Marion Nestle was the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. She was also a professor of Sociology at NYU and a visiting professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University. ►Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OpO028GYt-o ►Find out more about Marion's research here: https://www.foodpolitics.com/ ►And here: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/people/marion-nestle ►Marion's books can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Marion-Nestle/e/B001ILIEEY%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share ►Follow Marion on twitter: @marionnestle

How did life begin? Where are all the aliens? For most of human history these questions have been the realm of speculation. Today however, we have rovers on Mars, large space telescopes, and a deep understanding of evolution and biochemistry. So what does the science say? In the episode of the podcast I speak with Professor David Catling, astrobiologist, and planetary scientist at the University of Washington, whose research focuses on understanding the differences between the evolution of planets, their atmospheres, and their potential for life. ►Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jN6YMa16CM8 ►Find out more about David's work here: http://faculty.washington.edu/dcatling/ ►David's astrobiology textbook can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Astrobiology-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/0199586454 http://faculty.washington.edu/dcatling/

How do the different kinds of disgust (sexual, political, hygiene, insects, cultural, etc) relate to each other? How are our feelings of disgust formed, and what role do genetics and upbringing play? How is it that disgust is switched off or even inverted when interacting with family members or during sex, and how are studies on disgust are actually done? ►Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RQAZhDh3rVQ ►Find out more about Dan's work here: http://www.danielmtfessler.com/ https://anthro.ucla.edu/person/daniel-m-t-fessler/

Ketan Joshi is a full time communications consultant, freelance writer, analyst, researcher and author. For the past decade Ketan has been researching everything that has gone wrong in the fight against climate change, with the hope of using our past mess to highlight realistic paths towards a Fossil Free Future. In this episode of the podcast Ketan provides a realistic picture of climate change, and outlines some of the less obvious social blockades to decarbonizing. We end on a brief overview of the personal steps that can be taken to lower one's own carbon footprint, touching on divestment, lifestyle changes, and the decision to have children. ►Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sLF2d3xcxSA  ►For More information on Ketan's work: https://ketanjoshi.co/ ►Ketan's Book Windfall: https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/9781742236469/ https://www.amazon.com/Windfall-Unlocking-fossil-free-Ketan-Joshi-ebook/dp/B08GPTHJNP ►The AR6 Climate Change 2021: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/

This episode of the podcast focuses on the effects of developments in science and technology on our society - and in particular on the science of propaganda. I speak with Professor Oliver Boyd-Barrett from Bowling Green State University about the influence that social media, cyber warfare and hacking, bot armies, troll farms, and other technologies have on the spread of disinformation and misinformation throughout our society. Who is it that really wields power in the world? Note: At 01:41:50 Oliver introduces a thought experiment in which he describes the western view of the treatment of Uyghur's in China's Xinjian province as being a product of western propagandists. Oliver wishes to make clear that this is a thought experiment and that he is unable to say with certainty that the Xinjiang narrative actually is such a product. Oliver wrote an article on this topic in which his concerns and uncertainties are better articulated, which can be found here: ►Watch this episode on Youtube:  https://youtu.be/QkO29wwiEt0  ►https://citizentruth.org/the-uyghur-question-struggling-to-monopolize-the-narrative/ ►Find out more about Oliver's work here: https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/media-and-communication/faculty-and-staff/oliver-boyd-barrett.html ►Oliver's books can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/102104.Oliver_Boyd_Barrett

This is part two of an interview with Oliver Boyd-Barrett. This episode of the podcast focuses on the effects of developments in science and technology on our society - and in particular on the science of propaganda. I speak with Professor Oliver Boyd-Barrett from Bowling Green State University about the influence that social media, cyber warfare and hacking, bot armies, troll farms, and other technologies have on the spread of disinformation and misinformation throughout our society. Who is it that really wields power in the world? ►Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KdS5epaoYGY ►Find out more about Oliver's work here: https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/media-and-communication/faculty-and-staff/oliver-boyd-barrett.html ►Oliver's books can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/102104.Oliver_Boyd_Barrett