Sleep and ASMR by The French Whisperer

What is this subjective experience, this awareness of existence, that we call consciousness? In tonight's episode, we will examine some of the aspects of this philosophical, scientific and spiritual question. Is consciousness a binary thing, or is it a kind of continuum with different "levels"? Do animals experience a degree of consciousness and how can it be infered of measured? Is it reductible to biology, is it the product of the treatment of information, is it something immaterial and detached from the physical world? Could an AI acquire consciousness from a silicon substrate, and if yes, what would be the pre-conditions and consequences? These are some of the questions we will try to answer, or at least understand better. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our episode tonight takes us way back to 252 million years ago, at the end of the Permian geologic period. We will discover what marine life was like in the gigantic ocean called Panthalassa, as well as the flora and fauna of the supercontinent Pangea. In the last millions of years of the Permian, marine and land species began to go extinct in larger and larger numbers, culminating in the last million years in the most severe extinction event observed in the history of our planet. What are the possible causes of this extinction: volcanism, climate change, collision with a meteorite...? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For tonight, I take you to two "lost" cities, because they were deserted or replaced with another one, but their stories are windows on chapters of human history. First we will go to Mycenae, a city-state and palace from the second millenium BC, that represents well the rise of Bronze Age palatial culture in Greece, long before the more familiar periods of Classical or Hellenistic Greece. Then we will move to Mesoamerica and discover the history of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan was a marvel of urban planning and engineering, built on an island on lake Texcoco, just where Mexico City now is. With around 200,000 inhabitants, it was one of the largest cities in the world in the 15th century, until its fall to the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this soft spoken ASMR video, I tell you about the Wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. We explore the transformation of society, politics, diplomacy and warfare that made Napoleon's destiny possible, and we follow him from his birthplace in Corsica to Toulon, Paris, Italy, Egypt until the coup that made him access to supreme power. But this was just a start: multiple conflicts saw him dominate Europe for a short time before a spectacular collapse. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight's episode is an overview of the history of gold and other precious metals: how much is there on Earth? Where is it? How was gold discovered and how did it acquire its powerful symbolism as a symbol of wealth and power, that make it a store of value? From the tombs of ancient pharaohs to the reserves of central banks, let's delve into this history. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this science talk for bedtime, I review the periodic table of the elements methodically and explain in simple terms plenty of phenomenons and concepts about chemistry and physics (the structure of atoms, valence and reactivity, isotopes, allotropes, ionic compounds, the definitions of metals, metalloids or noble gases, radioactivity...) as well as the industrial and economic relevance of some of these elements. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode will give you an overview of the concept of multiverse: where does it come from? What are the various meanings and ideas behind that term? I will detail different versions of this idea, coming from cosmology (the "Eternal Inflation Multiverse" or the "Cosmic Landscape Hypothesis", derived from String Theory), quantum mechanics (the "Many-Worlds Interpretation"), or the "Computational Multiverse" hypothesis. I will also tell you about thinkers such as Anaximander, Copernic or Giordano Bruno, who all contributed in their own ways to the intellectual revolutions necessary for this concept to emerge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this very long bedtime story, we explore every single planet of the Solar System and many of their satellites. I tell you about their formation history, what they are made of, what to expect at their surfaces, and plenty of other things about orbits, chemistry, rocketry, or concepts such as terraformation. Our journey will take us even beyond Pluto, in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In these new mystery stories set in New York City, we will travel through time at different periods of the history of the city, from its foundation as New Amsterdam to our days. Stories include: - Captain Kidd's Treasure, that could be hidden somewhere on Manhattan, Long Island or Gardiner's Island; - The wreck of the HMS Hussar in the East River with a big treasure on board during the American Revolution; - The Leatherman, a mysterious vagabond who travelled constantly on the same 365 miles loop in Connecticut and New York for more than 30 years, coming back to the same towns every five weeks; -The disappearance of Judge Joseph Crater, a Supreme Court judge who vanished into thin air in shady circumstances, that illustrate the intense corruption of the 1920's and 30's; - The existence and sometimes rediscovery of many hidden underground structures, such as the pneumatic tube mail system, the City Hall subway station, the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel or the maze of tracks, platforms and rooms under Grand Central Terminal. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode is a time travel to the Celtic era, to examine historical mysteries and discover more about Celtic culture. I will tell you about the druids: what we know of their emergence, their functions, their cultural importance, and also the many aspects of druidism that remain mysterious. We will also travel to the Hill of Tara in Ireland, examine the mystery of the vitrification of hillforts, and take a look at the enigmatic Gundestrup Cauldron. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.