Adventures in Nutopia

John Lloyd was producer for TV’s Spitting Image, The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and all four series of Blackadder. He is the creator of the News Quiz on Radio 4 and BBC2’s iconoclastic comedy series Not the Nine O Clock News. He is the host of Radio 4’s Museum of Curiosity and creator of the long-running TV comedy panel show QI. He even once shared a flat with Douglas Adams. John has won numerous awards for his work and has a happy, stable loving relationship and three children. Despite this, he has struggled with depression and in his early forties experienced a long dark night of the soul, out of which he came to some profound revelations. In this extra topping to conclude series three John shares his wisdom and ignorance on life, the universe and everything.  With guest John Lloyd 

Alan Watts, a captivating entertainer philosopher and esteemed expert on Eastern philosophy, shares his insights on the playful nature of existence and the illusion of success. He critiques traditional views of societal achievement, encouraging listeners to seek deeper fulfillment. Watts explores the significance of interconnectedness, urging awareness of polarities in life. Through anecdotes, he highlights the importance of viewing life as a dance, promoting compassion amidst societal divides and championing the beauty of imagination in our personal narratives.

Search Google for the ‘most intelligent’ people who ever lived and the names most commonly thrown up are Galileo, Da Vinci, Einstein, Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawkin. All men, all western, all united by their contributions to science. Why is our idea of intelligence so skewed? How did IQ come to be our standard measure for intelligence? Is there a deep intelligence in the more-than-human world of animals, plants, fungi and bacteria?  What about AI? Or politicians? Big questions for one episode but with the help of an eminent guests, James Bridle, Emma Kilbey and QI’s John Lloyd – none of whose IQs we could give two hoots about – let’s see what we can uncover. With guests Emma Kilbey, Sir John Lloyd and James Bridle  https://www.qi.com/ www.jamesbridle.com https://www.emmakilbey.com/

Lucy Cooke’s Bitch tells a wildly different story of reproduction, gender and sexual habits in the animal kingdom to those passed down to us by Darwin, Dawkins and other highly influential male scientists. Bitch challenges outdated preconceptions and biases around the female of the species being sexually coy, monogamous and passive and males being sexually dominant and promiscuous. It also challenges broader expectations around male and female roles and why binary ways of looking at the world and ourselves are increasingly being challenged. David meets up with zoologist, broadcaster and author Lucy Cooke in a woodland in Sussex to talk birdsong, bonobos, same sex parenting, sex changing fish, menopausal whales, parthenogenesis and murderous meerkats. Trigger warning: this episode contains discussions about vomit bubbles and sexual cannibalism.   With guest Lucy Cooke http://www.lucycooke.tv/

Is mind contained within us, or us within it? When it comes to what science calls ‘the hard problem’, we still have no understanding about the nature of consciousness. That it could be a field, rather than isolated within us, might explain what appear to be the group minds of termites, ants and bees or the pulsating murmurations of starling. It could even help explain the pervasive global practise of prayer and magic, and non-contact forms of healing like Reiki.  This episode is not setting out to prove or disprove the existence of a field of consciousness but – in the Nutopian spirit of enquiry – to offer a voice to a variety of individuals and scientists doing pioneering work in consciousness studies.. For the making of this episode our intrepid presenter spent a week at Broughton Sanctuary for an event called Science and Consciousness: Making Wyrd the Norm. Here he learned the fascinating history of thought experiments at Princeton and Northampton Universities, tries his hand at remote viewing and meets Wyrd Experience founder Peter Merry.  With guests Jeff Dunne, Peter Merry, Karin Valis, Annette Grathoff, Chris Roe, David Luke, Kirsty Allan and John Lloyd https://gowyrd.org/ www.ubiquityuniversity.org/annual-science-and-consciousness-event/ Peter Merry https://petermerry.org  ICRL (Jeff Dunne) https://icrl.org  Kirsty Allan https://kirstylucindaallan.com David Luke https://www.instagram.com/drdluke/?hl=en Karin Valis https://www.instagram.com/mercurial_minutes/

Alan Turin’s ‘automatic machine’ remains the blueprint for nearly all of our modern computer systems. In an early paper however Turin wrote: ‘of course another type of machine is possible. This is the Oracle Machine and I will not speak of that.' Our guest for this mini episode however, will. James Bridle is the author of Ways of Being and an artist whose work deals with the ways in which the digital, networked world reaches into the physical, offline one. James shares their thoughts on why computers can’t do random and what our computers of the future might look like. We also touch on the role that randomness play in evolution and how it can radicalise our political systems.  With James Bridle and special guest ORAC  www.jamesbridle.com

In S2E1 we met Rogan Taylor, author of The Death and Resurrection Show a book which traces a path from popular entertainment to the darkened yurts of our nomadic ancestors. After writing this book Rogan went on to pioneer the world’s first post-graduate ‘football’ degree and write many books on the subject. During our conversation he talked about football in relation to myth, ritual, suffering and community. It’s a unique and fascinating perspective on the sport that will stay with you. 

Are our listening habits changing? What effects can sounds like drones and sine tones have on us physically and emotionally? Can we imagine a future in which we might receive audio prescriptions for wellbeing? Why does music played badly make us laugh? Does beetroot really taste better if serenaded with sound? And what might the national anthem of Nutopia sound like?  With guests Richard Norris, Paul Devereux, Fiona Miller, Jude Rogers, David Velez and Harry Sword.  https://pauldevereux.co.uk/ https://richardnorris.bandcamp.com/ https://fionasallymiller.bandcamp.com/ https://davidvelez.bandcamp.com/music https://oddfellowscasino.bandcamp.com/ https://greyhoundliterary.co.uk/authors/harry-sword

Our ancestors invested great importance in the power of dreams. Across traditional, indigenous and pre-industrialised cultures – including the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians – they were an integral part of the healing process and a tool for divination. So why do most of us give so little consideration to them now? What is hypnagogia? What techniques can help us lucid dream? What might precognitive dreams tell us about the nature of time? This episode dives into the poetic realms of dreams and even offers insomnia sufferers fresh advice on how to get a better night’s kip.  With guests Sarah Janes, Gary Lachman, Philip Carr-Gomm and Kate Alderton.  https://themysteries.org/ https://www.gary-lachman.com/ https://philipcarr-gomm.com/ https://dreamfishingsociety.com/

Join Kate Raworth, an economist famous for doughnut economics, Timothee Parrique, a proponent of degrowth, Inez Aponte, a storyteller promoting human-scale development, and David Barmes of Positive Money. They discuss the urgent need to rethink our capitalist model, critiquing endless growth and GDP, while exploring sustainable alternatives. Their conversations highlight community engagement, well-being economies, and innovative approaches to financial systems, emphasizing the importance of ecological and societal health over rampant consumerism.