The Escaped Sapiens Podcast

A Different Look At Gender Equality. | Bryan Caplan | Escaped Sapiens #44

For many people the question of whether or not women are treated more unfairly than men is so obvious that is obscene to challenge the assumption. But if we are genuinely interested in creating a more equal society, then as society develops our biases should be routinely returning to with sober eyes. How should those issues that affect men, such as conscription, incarceration rates, suicide rates, circumcision, custody issues, steroid use, low university attendance rates, poor school performance, etc, enter into the gender equality discussion? In this episode of the podcast I speak with Professor of Economics, Bryan Caplan from George Mason University. Bryan uses a range of techniques and tools from economics to analyze today's most important social issues from a quantitative standpoint. We discuss whether the status of women as a minority or victim class still remains compatible with an evidence based approach to building a fairer, more empathetic, and more egalitarian society in 21st century western democracies.

Note: I am currently looking for a feminist academic to balance the viewpoint presented here. If you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMjEDRe5qck8BluVfFUS05iCMeAeG1F6Htng31a9qPD8w8nw/viewform

 

►Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/yOf555BoJ9k

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

►For Bryans book on feminism see: https://amzn.to/3AZ9lQl

 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. 

 

How Many Fish Should We Leave In The Ocean? | Trevor Branch | Escaped Sapiens #43

In this episode of the podcast I discuss the state of marine fisheries with Professor Trevor Branch from the University of Washington. Trevor specializes in data synthesis and constructing mathematical models to determine the health of fish populations. Often in the media one sees stories of collapsing fish populations and dire predictions of species extinction and a future with empty seas. The goal of this episode was to find out what the science says about the actual current status of our oceans, and to learn about the work that is being done to ensure that future generations continue to enjoy the abundance and diversity of the sea. What emerges is a nuanced picture of ocean protection that involves tradeoffs between the protection of different land and ocean ecosystems, political motives, and economics. This conversation was 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.

►For more information about Trevor's work: https://fish.uw.edu/faculty/trevor-branch/ 

 

►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2pds5UDB380 

 

Engineering Life And Consciousness. | Michael Levin | Escaped Sapiens #42

In this episode of the podcast I speak with developmental and synthetic biologist Michael Levin from Tufts University. Michael is a director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. He is also co-director of the Institute for Computationally Designed Organisms. We discuss the implications of Michael's research in medicine and society including cures for cancer, regenerating limbs, and the creation of artificial super intelligences. We also address the criticism that this research sometimes from those who think that it is 'unnatural' to meddle with human biology. This conversation was 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.

 

►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mY0MB0J4vTs

►For more information about Michael's work: https://allencenter.tufts.edu/our-team/michael-levin/ https://icdorgs.org/people/

 

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What’s In An Eye? | Alex Müntz | Escaped Sapiens #41

What are our digital lifestyles doing to our eyes? In this conversation I speak with Alex Müntz, who is a Romanian clinical scientist and research fellow in the department of ophthalmology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. From weird anatomy, to the disgusting mites that colonize your eyes, we talk about eye health and everything you never knew you didn't know about eyes.

 

This conversation was 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 episode of the podcast was made as a collaboration with the Bucharest science festival, to help spread the joy of Science in Romania. For more information see: https://www.bucharestsciencefestival.ro/

 

►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/JX2kYWJEeD4

 

►For more information about Alex and his work see: https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/a-muntz

 

►Tear stimulation device: https://pricevisiongroup.com/conditions/dry-eye/truetear/

 

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Is warfare a science? | John Spencer | Escaped Sapiens #40

This Episode of the Podcast was supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation. See http://www.avbstiftung.de/ for more information.

 

Is the study of urban warfare a science? In this conversation I speak with John W. Spencer, who is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, codirector of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast. The conversation ranges from John's personal experiences leading in war, to his experience on the ground doing research in Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh, to explanations of many aspects of war.

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

 

►The views expressed in this conversation by John are his own, and he is not acting as a representative of his other affiliations. For more information about John and his work see: https://mwi.usma.edu/staff/john-spencer/

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Geography is Destiny | Ian Morris | Escaped Sapiens #39

Note: This episode is not a paid advertisement for Ian's new book.

This is a conversation with archaeologist, historian, and professor of classics Ian Morris from Stanford University. We discuss how factors like soft power, and geography shape the flow of history, and what contemporary issues like Brexit and the conflict in Ukraine look like from the perspective of the last 10,000 years of history.

►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/_qJDfkNnOC8

►For information about Ian's most recent book see: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374157272/geographyisdestiny

►For more information about Ian's work, and a full list of written works see: https://classics.stanford.edu/people/ian-morris

 

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The Robots Of Mars | Tanya Harrison | Escaped Sapiens #38

On this episode of the podcast I speak with geologist and planetary scientist Dr. Tanya Harrison, to find out what it is like to do research with the robots currently being used to explore Mars. Tanya worked for years on NASAs Perseverance, Curiosity, and Opportunity rovers, as well as the with Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Part of Tanya's work was to select interesting locations for the Reconnaissance orbiter to take imagery of. Since working as a mission specialist with NASA rovers and orbiters, Tanya continues to work as a planetary scientist and scientific director at Planet Labs, and she is also a Fellow of the University of British Columbia’s Outer Space Institute. We discuss the limits of remote research on other planets. How do scientists use meteorite impacts, and other geological signs to date a planet? What tools do the rovers have to look for life? Who gets naming rights when something interesting is found? After colonization will the rovers end up in a museum on mars? If the orbits of mars and Venus were switched, would Venus become a habitable planet like earth? These questions and more.

►View on YouTube

https://youtu.be/73_ZflnnYGM

►For more information about Tanya: https://www.tanyaharrison.com/about/

►Follow Tanya on Twitter: @tanyaofmars

►Intro music by NEFFEX

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Hacking The Blueprint Of Life | Michael Levin | Escaped Sapiens #37

In this episode of the podcast I speak with developmental and synthetic biologist Michael Levin from Tufts University. Michael is a director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. He is also co-director of the Institute for Computationally Designed Organisms. We discuss the way that organisms grow and regenerate. In particular - how does the large scale structure of our bodies form (the size, shape, arrangement of all the organs)? Michael and his colleagues are learning how to read, and overwrite the bodies bioelectrical signaling, which controls the way we develop. What unfolds is a story about building two headed organisms, re-growing the legs and other organs of frogs, and the dream of one day curing cancer, reverse aging, and the cure for all current medical conditions with the exception of infectious disease. The story also touches on the definition of life and intelligence, and how the world might look once we are able to design our own organisms. Big thanks to Patreon Subscriber Bruce Burman for suggesting this guest.

 

►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/6Q59Zx-h2Jc

 

►For more information about Michael's work: https://allencenter.tufts.edu/our-team/michael-levin/ https://icdorgs.org/people/

 

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This is What You Will Eat On Mars | Daniel Schubert | Escaped Sapiens #36

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Daniel Schubert from the German Aerospace Center about designing and creating bioregenerative life-support systems for use in hostile and alien environments. Daniel is the leader of the Eden initiative, which over the past few years has been testing greenhouse food production in Antarctica in preparation for the implementation of plant production in Moon and Mars Habitats. We discuss the unexpected challenges of growing plants in hostile environments, building economically viable space colonies, the value of space exploration, future plans for space faring systems, environmental destruction, and the future of humanity.

►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_bU4RCneXeM

►For more information about Daniel's work: https://eden-iss.net/index.php/contact/ 

https://www.dlr.de/irs/

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Do Animals Have Language? | Irene Pepperberg | Escaped Sapiens #35

How complex does animal communication get? How much information is encoded in dog barks, the clicks of sperm whales, or the chirps of small birds? In this conversation I speak with Irene Pepperberg, who is an expert on animal communication and cognition, best known for her work with African grey parrots. We discuss the remarkable abilities of her birds, from large vocabularies and complex verbal understanding, to counting and puzzle solving, to even competing with young children on certain cognitive tests. We also touch on deeper questions about how animals might see the world, the link between intelligence and personhood, the morals and ethics of doing science with highly intelligent animals, as well as the morals and ethics that animals themselves might have.

 

►Watch on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/HQvfs94IZYI

 

►For more information about Irene's work, or if you would like to support her research: https://alexfoundation.org/

 

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