Ben Yeoh Chats

Annemarie is Director of Innovation for the Seetec Group. Before that, she was, Director of Policy and Strategy at Future Care Capital - a national charity that uses the insight gathered through evidence-based research to advance ideas that will help shape future health and social care policy to deliver better outcomes for society. We chat about what is under appreciated about libraries and how to think about public goods and common ownership of those goods. Annemarie discusses the idea of a Sovereign Health Fund and how to think about healthcare data as a public good, what trust is needed and how health value can be created by pooling data. We discuss the benefits and cons of social media, how tricky regulation is (partly because it always behind the times) and how there might be more benefits that commonly thought of. Annemarie talks about her work and Seetec’s on the future of justice and how leveraging data and digital technology can help shape a better justice system and also prevent re-offending. She offers insights in to how new technology is creating new forms of crime and whether more careful thinking can prevent these types of crime from occuring. How will crime in the metaverse work out? We chat about how different ownership models and for-profit or not-profit can shape the purpose and outlook for employees. The importance of optimism and the sense of looking after something for the next generation. Annemarie notes Henry VIII gave powers to the secretary of state but didn’t consider accountability provisions. She raises the challenge of accounting standards for intangible assets and proposes an idea of giving NFTs (digital assets) to children at birth (cf. Bored Ape Yacht Club). Annemarie is more of a nonfiction reader but she commissioned a work of science fiction and we speak about imagining different types of future and how to inspire people. We play overrated/underrated on: Big Tech regulation GPDR (data regulation) GDP Carbon tax Digital Health Innovation agencies Calories on menus Annemarie ends our conversation on giving out her life advice. Transcript and video are available here.

What is it like to go deaf and then gain back your hearing? On this episode, I speak to Sophie Woolley. Sophie is a writer, performer and theatre maker.  We have been friends for a while and I have learned a lot about Deaf culture and from her personal journey and one as a creative. We have a meandering chat about her creative journey, how felt she had to write about her story of going deaf and then gaining hearing again via a cochlear implant. We recorded the podcast while Sophie is in Taiwan. She chats a little on her experience there and Taiwan’s COVID management. This is a long conversation between friends discussing the complexities of Sophie’s experience. I was particularly intrigued by her thinking on what it might mean to be a cyborg and being augmented and being part of both Deaf culture and hearing culture.  I am still thinking about her comment about captioning AI being her friend and how we can often simply criticise AI in a way we would not critique a human. (But also there’s no need to anthropomorphize AI either). Transcript and Video links here. Image credit: Justin Munitz

Stian Westlake is the chief exec at the Royal Statistical Society, and before that he was a policy advisor to government and the executive director at Nesta. He is the co-author with Jonathan Haskel of Capitalism without Capital, and they have a new book out, Restarting the Future (22 March 2022).  Stian discusses how recessions might be different under an intangible economy. I ask him (H/T Tyler Cowen) how national security concerns might be different in a very intangible world. Part of his answer: ...if you are an interconnected, relatively open economy, and Russia was always the most relatively interconnected of the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China] countries, the intangible economy kind of makes it easier to turn off those taps in a way…. how dependent some of these kinds of more security based, more military based factors have been on intangible assets. We've probably all seen the stories of the dependence of the Russian air force on US GPS devices, which has led to them being more observable and perhaps has played a role in the fact that they have not been as present in the conflict as people thought they would be. I think that kind of interconnectivity is like many things in the intangible economy. It's great for winners, it's great if you're the US or if you're a US ally and it's probably not so great for the losers. … We chat about these observations: Stagnation Inequality Dysfunctional Competition Fragility Inauthenticity And Stian offers an intangible lens to explain the observations. We discuss: BS jobs and whether culture and trust might be upstream of this. Why we need new institutions to tackle intangible challenges, whether this would be more technocractic and if there is a political economy challenge on this. The importance of where the intangible meets the tangible, for instance, we have heat pump technology but not the intangible systems and ideas to install them. Sanitation is “hardware” but building and co-ordinating all this is an intangible and institutional challenge more than a hardware challege. What the trade-off is between losing red tape and increasing the risk of corruption. Stian argues for why the tax treatment of debt and equity would be a good idea (while acknowledging this would be politically hard). We play over/under rated on: Innovation Prizes, Blogging, Sugar tax, Carbon tax, Plastic Bag Tax, Innovation agencies, GDP and UBI, universal basic income. Stian ends with some life and career advice. Video and transcript are available here, with further links.

Stephan Guyenet completed a PhD in neuroscience, then went on to study the neuroscience of obesity and eating behavior as a postdoc. He’s also been involved with Givewell and Open philanthropy projects. In 2017, he wrote the book the Hungry Brain. We discuss two competing obesity models: one based around  a model of energy balance with the brain as one of the main central controllers. And one model which  s based more around an insulin - carbohydrate pathway. The carbohydrate - insulin model emphasizes the role of insulin from glycemic load inputs. While not necessarily mutually exclusive, Stephan explains how the brain centric energy balance model can explain some data, in his view, that the carb-insulin model does not. Stephan notes much individual variability and how the naming “energy-balance” is perhaps not the best type of name for the model. We discuss the challenge of processed foods, which tend to be easy to eat and tasty foods. Stephan notes that the combination of fat + carb (eg in chocolate!) is very appetising. We chat about the role of genetics, and satiety. We chat about two classes of  obesity drugs, one rimonabant (using cannabinoid receptor pathways)  which has been withdrawn; and the other being GLP-1s. We talk about the possible role of inflammation and some intriguing data on Alzheimer’s. I ask about his view on intermittent fasting, also on the microbiome. I talk about my challenges with exercise and we discuss how some people probably are not wired to enjoy intensity training whereas some others are. We talk about effective altruism and what he has learnt from his work at Givewell. We play over-rated | under rated on: Climate Change Nuclear War Rogue AI risk Giving away more wealth Animal welfare Diversity of thought We chat about making cider, growing your own food and cycling in Seattle. Stephan ends with his general diet advice.  Links to academic papers and video available here.

Alec is the co-founder and co-CEO of the Institute for Progress. The IFP is dedicated to to accelerating scientific, technological, and industrial progress while safeguarding humanity’s future. Alec and co-founder Caleb Watney are supported by prominent progress thinkers such as Tyler Cowen and Patrick Collinson. We discuss the competing interests that prevent physical infrastructure such as power lines, or cafe “parklet” structures from being easily built.   Alec explains how using a framework borrowed from Effective Altruism: impact (will it be impactful), tractability (is it possible?), under-researched (are many other people working on the challenge?) - is a useful framing.   Alex discusses why biosecurity (pandemic preparedness), meta-science (understanding how science progresses) and immigration (in particular high skilled) are the initial areas of interest and what other areas, like climate, might be next.   We speculate on what intractable bluesky policies we would potentially pursue.   We play over-rated/under-rated (in honour of Tyler Cowen):  -Carbon tax   -Planning laws   -Crypto  -Rogue AI  -Animal welfare   -Charter cities   -Innovation agencies   -Remote working    Alec ends with his life advice for others in thinking about a career on how to have the most impact in your life. Transcript and video are available here, with links.

Chris Stark is the Chief Executive of the UK’s Climate Change Committee. The committee is an independent statutory body which advises the UK and developed governments on emissions targets and preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change. I think he is one of the most important and thoughtful thinkers on climate change policy today. We discuss what is most misunderstood about climate policy, the likely co-benefits and the scale of investments needed especially in the UK in replacing “old inefficient stock”. What positives/negatives came out of COP26 (recent international climate conference) and what to hope for in COP27 and beyond. Why COP26 might have been considered a corporate COP as a criticism but why that might not be bad. Why sector specific strategies might be a better plan than a focus on carbon tax. Why adaptation or resilience has been a bit of a “Cinderella” in climate discussions. What the science suggests is already baked into 2050 scenarios and so what we should be thinking about adaptation as well as mitigation. The complexities and challenges around “behaviour change” and why it’s not a great term. Why we might not need a complete culture change (in the sense of changing lifestyles) but the intersection of behaviour and technology. (For instance, still driving cars but electric cars on a decarbonised grid.) Why a sense of fairness is one the most important climate policy (political economy) considerations and what we should think about in terms of climate impacts falling unequally across countries and peoples. What role finance has to play. Chris references the work of Nick Robins here.  We discuss: Climate assemblies (and why Chris changed his view on them) Divest/engagement strategies Carbon offsets Carbon taxes The role of nuclear Land use Road charging And we end with advice Chris has for people. Transcript and video is available here, along with links to the CC and Nick Robins work.

David Spiegelhalter is an expert on medical statistics. He was the president of the Royal Statistical Society and is Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence communication. He is also a World Champion, in a version of pool called Loop and hosts his own podcast, Risky Talk.  David has a new book out (with Anthony Masters), COVID by Numbers, which is an excellent book on COVID statistics. This follows his previous bestseller, the Art of Statistics.  David discusses what was most surprising and misunderstood about COVID statistics.  David emphasises how numbers can be emotional and weaponised and what we can do to protect ourselves. We chat about what thinking about risk and techniques we should teach children and think about in every day life. Ideas such as baseline risk and absolute vs relative risk.   We think about unintended consequences, the agency challenges of regulators and how to think of a range of risk.  David explains fat tails and extreme values and that, for instance, AI risk is an extreme existential risk but perhaps over rated.  I learn about the “Rose Paradox” and “Cromwell’s law”, in statistics. The Rose paradox suggests policy might be useful at a general population level but not at an individual basis. For instance, government messages about drinking less and things like that can be rational at the population level and yet it's also rational for individuals to take no notice of it. Cromwell’s law implies many life events are not  0% or 100% and you should take that into account in decision making.  Or, in plain English, you should always imagine there's something you haven't thought of. We discuss the risks of alcohol and touch on air pollution and cholesterol (statin drugs), and how to think about medical statistics.   David explains the attraction and beauty of stained glass art.   David ends with life advice about enjoying life and taking (good, well-managed) risks in order to have a fulfilling life. Transcript and video are available here.

Steve Uwin is a theatre director and writer. Amongst many accomplishments he has been the artistic director of the Rose theatre, founder of ETT, English Touring Theatre. He is also chair of the charity Kids, which provides services to children with disabilities.  We speak about whether we need language to be human and what non-verbal people teach us. We chat on how theatre has developed over the decades and Steve’s appreciation of Brecht and the Berliner Ensemble. We touch on Steve’s experience of theTraverse theatre, dealing with the very different stakeholders of the Rose Theatre; and how European theatre, realism and London has influenced theatre over the decades; what’s enjoyable about theatre over film. Steve discusses how much of liberal progressive thinking may overlook the history and challenges of disability. While contested, we chat about the possible roots of this in the 18th century enlightenment and its influences today. We talk about the importance of self-advocacy but also the challenges of self-advocacy if you are - for instance - non-verbal. Steve talks about going viral on Twitter around “mock gloom” and disability. He also provocatively suggests five of the greatest artists of the last century. We comment on: Bob Dylan The artist Piero della Francesca And what he has in his library of thousands of books And finish with his current projects and life advice Steve has. To let you know… The audio is a little crackly on Steve’s side. Apologies in advance. It’s still listenable, but there’s also a transcript if easier, here. Enjoy. Thanks.

Zeke Hausfather is a climate scientist and energy systems analyst whose research focuses on observational temperature records, climate models, and mitigation technologies. He spent 10 years working as a data scientist and entrepreneur in the cleantech sector, where he was the lead data scientist at Essess, the chief scientist at C3.ai, and the cofounder and chief scientist of Efficiency 2.0. He also worked as a research scientist with Berkeley Earth, was the senior climate analyst at Project Drawdown, and the US analyst for Carbon Brief. Follow his Twitter for his climate thoughts. We discuss: What is most misunderstood about climate science today. Why many doomsday scenarios are unlikely but yet serious damage from climate is happening now. Why scientists have been poor in communicating what is mean by tipping points with respect to climate. How he thinks about climate “tail risk” and how tail risk diminishes the less heating happens. The problems with “averages” and how there is uncertainty not only about our amount of emissions, but the sensitivity of the climate to our emissions. Why climate is better thought of as a gradient rather than point thresholds. The problem with climate economics due to time horizons, long time horizons and the discounting models economists use. Zeke’s view on the range of different projections coming out post COP26 and what they mean. Zeke’s thoughts on: -degrowth -carbon tax -techno-optimists -nuclear power -carbon offsetting -divestment movement -gas as a transition fuel -green New Deal -Bjorn Lomborg Zeke finishes with advice for people who want to be involved in climate. Video/Transcript available here.  Ben's Twitter here. 

Aella is perhaps most famous on twitter for shining a light on the life and economics of Camgirls and escorts; and asking challenging questions. But her independent research is larger than that and has encompassed reporting on LSD and psychedelics use, circling, the nature of faith, and enlightenment. She grew up homeschooled in a fundamental Christian household before leaving home at 17. The transcript and conversation includes adult themes and mild profanity from Aella and is recommended 18+. We discuss what is most misunderstood about escort work and the additional needs of men such as emotional intimacy. How Aella thinks of her own compartmentalisation. What you should say about male anatomy size. How insecurity can go both ways on male thinking on size. What Aella thinks about Twitter and making questions and polls. What it was like to have ideas you took for granted completely turned on their head. For instance, what she was taught to think of gays. We chatted about her interest in psychedelics, speaking to people who think they are enlightened and spirituality. And what that intersection with rationality is for her. She discusses several viewpoints of the Rationalist community and her views on Effective Altruism. Her thoughts on archaeology and  thinking about moral arguments in their place in time. Why she feels to strongly about home school. Her thoughts on losing faith. What it was like working in a factory, and what the point of secret messages she scratched at her work were. How she has struggled with cultural norms. How she answers some of her own questions: You're in a room with 10,000 people. You get to ask three binary questions. Yes or no.  For each question, the people who answer the question according to the way you want, they stay and the people who don't leave the room.  What do you ask? We play underrated / overrated on these topics: Accordion Ballroom Dancing Pronouns Abalone Sweating on command She talks about emotional pain and tells me what the practice of circling is all about. We end on what her research interests are and what her life advice is. Transcript and video here. Ben's Twitter here.