Razib Khan's Unsupervised Learning

The podcast delves into the genetic origins of the Indo-Europeans, focusing on the Yamnaya group and their transformative impact on Eurasia. Topics covered include distinct populations in the region before Yamnaya, the Indo-Anatolian language family, and the genetic landscape over historical time. It also discusses genetic variants linked to pediatric cancer and embryo screening for risk mitigation.

Retired Australian engineer John Massey discusses the role of China in the world and its future history, taking a pro-Chinese stance. They explore contrasting COVID-19 responses in Hong Kong and the US, managing challenges during the pandemic, unbiased reporting in Hong Kong protests, embracing a pro-Beijing stance from a Western perspective, and shifting dynamics in Australia-China relations.

Colin Wright, fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discusses the biology of sex vs. gender, the fallout from academic fraud of Jonathan Pruitt, and the retreat of gender ideology abroad. They cover terms like cis and trans, intersex conditions, and the impact of ideological shifts in academia.

Archaeologist Eric Cline and Razib delve into the collapse of civilizations post-1177 B.C., discussing new technologies reshaping our historical understanding. They cover the disintegration of ancient Near Eastern kingdoms, the resilience of Egypt, and the impact of network collapse on societies. The conversation touches on historical revisionism, adaptation, and the importance of knowledge in shaping our perspectives of the past and future.

Kristian Kristiansen, an archaeologist, discusses the synthesis of archaeology, genetics, and historical linguistics. They explore the spread of plague in Europe, collapse of Neolithic civilizations, and the rise of steppe Indo-Europeans. Kristiansen highlights recent developments in understanding Bronze Age Northern Europe and the expansion of Corded Ware people.

Razib Khan chats with Samo Burja, founder of Bismarck Analysis and Palladium Magazine, about the future of Eurasia. Burja shares insights on China's technological dominance, challenges faced by European resistance against Russia, and the impact of Palladium Magazine on intellectual creativity.

Physicist Steve Hsu discusses cognitive and behavioral genomics, AI advancements, and academia changes post 'Great Awokening'. They explore genetic predictors, cognitive abilities, and the impact of AI on the workforce. Hsu reflects on negative press, enterprise AI deployment challenges, and navigating accusations in academia.

The podcast delves into the generational divides on Israel, Hamas vs. Israel, intellectual history of the conflict, global Left's perspective on Palestinian nationalism, US engagement in the Middle East, and the importance of dialogue and compromise for peace and understanding.

Dr. Chris Stringer discusses human evolution in 2024, including the 'Dragon Man' fossil and Denisovan genetic diversity. They delve into Neanderthal genetic integrations, exploring ancient lineages and the complexities of human evolution studies.

On this episode of Unsupervised Learning, Razib talks to Zoe Booth and Iona Italia. Booth is community engagement officer and Italia is managing editor at Quillette. An Australian, Booth has degrees in French, Politics and Law from the University of Newcastle. Italia is an erstwhile academic of British nationality and mixed Parsi and Scottish heritage, with a Ph.D. in English literature from Cambridge University. She is the author of Our Tango World, former editor-in-chief of Areo Magazine and the host of the Two for Tea Podcast. Razib discusses both of their trajectories into the heterodox intellectual sphere, Booth, from her starting point as a younger Millennial and Italia as a member of Generation X. While Booth recounts she had typical generational views on social justice and left-inflected politics, Italia admits despite being very left-wing most of her life she was never very well disposed to the identitarian trend that has crystallized into “woke” politics in the 2020s. Booth also addresses the reality that even if the existence of Quillette, a female-led bastion of free thought, with founding editor Claire Lehmann and now managing editor Italia might seem to suggest otherwise, it is not always easy to be a heterodox woman. Booth and Italia discuss how female personality orientation tends more toward making people feel comfortable and included rather than confrontations over truth claims that might hurt feelings. Italia and Razib also address her unique personality quirk of very high disagreeability, which might explain both her rejection of group-think and her earnest quest for the truth as she understands it. Booth and Italia talk about how the recent events around the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, have resulted in changes in their social life due to political polarization. Overall Quillette has taken a pro-Israel position across the editorial staff, which has resulted in some blowback among their readership. Italia also talks about her own change from solidarity to the global left because of their Hamas-friendly stance, and her continued rejection of conservative social movements, including Islam. Booth and Italia also address Quillette’s consistent trend of touching cultural and political third rails, but in the service of classical liberal values. Italia believes any blowback toward her and the magazine comes disproportionately from a small group of malcontents, and that broadly liberal values are much more popular than most people realize.