The Escaped Sapiens Podcast

The Future of Protein: Breeding The Super Tuber | Padraic Flood | Escaped Sapiens #73

Wheat, soy, corn, potatoes—did we really domesticate the best crops nature had to offer? In this episode of the podcast, I speak with geneticist Padraic J. Flood, who specializes in population and quantitative genetics. Padraic left academia and a position in vertical farming to pursue a dream: the domestication of the Aardaker.
The Aardaker is a small, unassuming plant native to moist temperate regions of Europe and Western Asia. It produces edible tubers similar to potatoes, but unlike potatoes, these tubers are rich in protein. This unique combination could yield several times more protein per hectare than soy. Not only that, but the Aardaker is delicious, versatile (much like a potato), and improves soil quality by fixing nitrogen.
If Padraic succeeds in domesticating the Aardaker—improving its size, uniformity, and other key traits—he could create a super crop that requires less land, enriches the soil, and potentially returns vast areas of farming land to nature.

►Find out more about Padraic's work:
www.aardaia.com

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The Andrea von Braun Foundation has provided me with full creative freedom with their support. As such, the views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
 

The "Self" Is An Illusion | Thomas Metzinger | Escaped Sapiens #72

In this episode I speak with Professor Thomas Metzinger about how our strong, consciously experienced subjectivity emerges out of objective events in the natural world. According to Thomas, no such things as selves really exist in the world: nobody ever had or was a self. All that exists are what he calls `phenomenal' selves which our brains fabricate. In this episode I try to unpack what this means exactly, and what the implications are. 

Note: The first question of this interview has been re-filmed after the interview.

Thomas has a new book, which he made open access for everybody to read for free. You can find it here:  https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5725/The-Elephant-and-the-BlindThe-Experience-of-Pure 

►Watch on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/KdHxUo8wRpY

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The Andrea von Braun Foundation has provided me with full creative freedom with their support. As such, the views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
 

Alcohol And The Birth Of Civilization | Edward Slingerland | Escaped Sapiens #71

Why is alcohol use so widespread? The usual thinking is that despite its negative effects, alcohol is pleasurable and that is why we drink it. But this can't be the whole story because if alcohol is really so bad then cultures that prohibit drinking should dominate over those that like to drink, or you might think that a genetic mutation that makes drinking less pleasurable would spread rapidly through the population. In this conversation I discuss this mystery with sinologist and philosopher Edward Slingerland, who is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, where he also holds appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Asian Studies. Our conversation ranges from the history of alcohol, to its biochemistry and impact on creativity and social life, to a discussion of whether alcohol was necessary for the development of civilization.

► Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/j36sKDsvZUg

► For more information about Edward's work see:
https://www.edwardslingerland.com/
https://philosophy.ubc.ca/profile/edward-slingerland-iii/

►Follow Stephen on X: @slingerland20

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The Andrea von Braun Foundation has provided me with full creative freedom with their support. As such, the views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
 

Building A Theory Of Everything | Stephen Wolfram | Escaped Sapiens #70

This is a conversation with Stephen Wolfram about his proposed theory of everything. Stephen is a British-American computer scientist, mathematician, physicist, and CEO of Wolfram Research. He also created Mathematica, and Wolfram|Alpha & Wolfram Language, and is the Author of 'A New Kind of Science' as well as a number of other books.

Stephen's attempt to derive all of the laws of nature (including gravitation, statistical mechanics, and general relativity) rests on two key ideas: 

1. The idea of computational irreducibility. In physics we usually deal with systems for which we are able to predict the state of the system at a later time as long as the initial conditions are known. For example, the trajectory of a bullet can be calculated at any point along its path. There are, however, complicated systems like cellular automata where there isn't a closed formula that lets you calculate the state of the system at some arbitrary later point. Instead you are forced to compute the development of the system one step at a time if you want to know how it evolves. Such systems are 'computationally irreducible'.

2. The idea of computational boundedness. This is the idea that we have finite computing power in our brains. There are many complex systems that scale so fast that our bounded computing power isn't enough follow every element of the system (e.g. we can't visualize the motion of the billions of cells in our own bodies, and so instead we develop an aggregated model of ourselves).

Starting with these two ideas, Stephen asks what a world with computational irreducibility would look like to a computationally bounded creature living in that world. He then builds a computational model based on hypergraphs (which you can think of as a kind of cellular automata), and from there attempts to re-derive all the laws of nature. This is an extraordinarily ambitious project, that lies somewhat outside of mainstream approaches to physics. The claim is, however, that significant progress has been made, and that this approach really is able to derive interesting aspects of the physical world. This conversation explores the key ideas behind the program.

►Watch on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/T0s_H9c2O28

► For more information about Stephen's work see:
www.stephenwolfram.com
www.wolframphysics.org

►Thumbnail source images can be found here:
https://company.wolfram.com/press-center/stephen-wolfram/
https://www.wolframphysics.org/visual-gallery/ 

►Follow Stephen on X: @stephen_wolfram

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. This interview is one of a series of interviews that explores the impact of economics on sustainability and the environment. The Andrea von Braun Foundation has provided me with full creative freedom with their support. As such, the views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.
 
A big thank you to anonymous for letting me use their space as a temporary studio.

Should We Deregulate Housing? | Bryan Caplan | Escaped Sapiens #69

Housing regulation is often put in place for good reasons, namely comfort, safety, environmental protection, availability of utilities and services, and more. With each additional regulation, however, restrictions are being placed on what you can build, where you can build, and how quickly you can build it. Professor Bryan Caplan argues that our current mess of regulations dramatically increases the price of housing, by limiting supply. This, he argues, has disastrous effects on fertility, and many social issues that we care about today, including social mobility and financial inequalities. Bryan argues further that inappropriate zoning and regulation creates widespread environmental damage through urban sprawl, congestion, and by limiting the number of people who are able to live in environmentally less damaging areas of the country (e.g. where heating and air condition is not required throughout the year, or where water is not scarce).

Bryan's preference would be to lift many, if not all building regulations. My approach would be somewhat more conservative. We discuss the nuances of the debate in this conversation.

►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Rh1eFIveLfE

►For more information about Bryan's work:
http://www.bcaplan.com/

►For Bryans new book:
https://www.cato.org/books/build-baby-build

►Follow Bryan on X: @bryan_caplan

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. This interview is one of a series of interviews that explores the impact of economics on sustainability and the environment. The Andrea von Braun Foundation has provided me with full creative freedom with their support. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.

 

Decoding Human Speech From Brain Signals | Julia Berezutskaya | Escaped Sapiens #67

Julia Berezutskaya is one of the worlds leading researchers working in the area of brain computer interfaces. She is part of the brain-computer interface group (dept. Neurology & Neurosurgery) at UMC Utrecht, where she works at the intersection of fundamental and clinical neuroscience research. A key goal of her work on the computational modeling of cognitive and neurobiological processes is to one day allow for the decoding of naturalistic human speech from the brain signals of patients who have lost all motor function. In this conversation we discuss the basics of her work: what do the implants look like? Where do they go in the brain? What does the signal look like? What is being decoded? How are brain signals decoded? Who is getting these implants, and what is the state of the art?

►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JrE-Ux7BnHA

►You can find out more about the EU project that Julia is a part of where she will implant individuals with an intracortical BCI here:
https://intrecom.eu/

►You can see one of the mockup implants she uses here:
 https://wysscenter.ch/advances/ability/

►Visit Julias website to find out more about her work:
https://www.juliaberezutskaya.com/

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.

Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered? | Carl Bender | Escaped Sapiens #67

Carl Bender is an applied mathematician and mathematical physicist holding positions at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Heidelberg, Imperial College, London. He was also one of my own favorite lecturers. He taught me about perturbation theory and asymptotic series which are powerful mathematical tools for solving difficult problems in physics. I invited Carl on to the podcast to discuss complex numbers, and their application in physics. At a conceptual level Carl talks about the link between mathematics and reality, the history of complex numbers and what they are good for, his research into weird new quantum systems known as PT-symmetric quantum systems, his interactions with Richard Feynman, and the role that beauty plays in Mathematical discovery.

►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/UbHaAziq6jY

►You can find out more about Carl Here:
https://web.physics.wustl.edu/cmb/

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.

 

Nuclear Energy: Rewards, Costs, and Advanced Reactors | Rachel Slaybaugh | Escaped Sapiens #66

What role should Nuclear Power play in energy production? This episode of the podcast explores the case for Nuclear Energy. I speak with Rachel Slaybaugh, who was an Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Division Director at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She also served as a Program Director at the Department of Energy’s ARPA‑E, where she created the nuclear fission program. She is currently a partner at DCVC. We discuss three of the main problems that people have with nuclear power: (i) The risk of plant meltdowns, (ii) the storage of nuclear waste, and (iii) the expense of setting up new nuclear plants. We also cover the environmental benefits of nuclear as a low carbon energy source, as well as some of the exciting new advanced reactor designs that are coming online right now.

►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/BIMj1-GAE4E

►You can find out more about Rachel Here:
https://www.dcvc.com/team/rachel-slaybaugh/

►Follow rachel on twitter:
@RachelSlaybaugh

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.

 

Marx, Capitalism, and Neoclassical Economics | Steve Keen | Escaped Sapiens #65

On this episode of the podcast I speak with UCL Honorary Professor of Economics and ISRS Distinguished Research Fellow Steve keen. Steve famously predicted the 2008 market crash. He is also known for his criticism of modern economic theory, which he views as being inconsistent, unscientific, and empirically unsupported. He is currently working on a new science of economics built upon incontrovertible facts. We discuss the history of economic theory, the problems with neoclassical economics, and the way that our economic theory causes environmental destruction. 

►Watch on YouTube: 
https://youtu.be/Ma_TiVNa9wE

►Find out more about Steve's work: 
profstevekeen.substack.com/
www.profstevekeen.com

►Support Steve on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen or Substack https://

►Follow Steve on YouTube: 
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen 

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.

Does Capitalism Destroy The Environment? | Jeffrey Sachs | Escaped Sapiens #64

On this episode of the Podcast I speak with economist and public policy analyst Jeffrey Sachs. Jeffrey is Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He served as Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General for almost two decades, and is co-founder and chief strategist of the Millennium Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty and hunger. In this conversation we cover the question: "Is Capitalism Responsible For the Environmental Destruction We are Seeing Today?"

These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. The views expressed in these episodes are my own and those of my guests.

►Watch on YouTube: 
https://youtu.be/kNv94Ggf9YI

 

►Find out more about Jeffery's work: 
https://www.jeffsachs.org/

https://sdgs.un.org/panelists/mr-jeffrey-d-sachs-29781

https://www.sipa.columbia.edu/communities-connections/faculty/jeffrey-sachs

https://csd.columbia.edu/sachs

 

►Watch more of Jeffery on YouTube: 
https://www.youtube.com/@JeffreySachsOfficial2023