The Escaped Sapiens Podcast

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/

 

SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens

When Nuclear Powers Meet | Ankit Panda | Escaped Sapiens #34

This is a conversation with Ankit Panda about nuclear proliferation and deterrence. Ankit Panda is the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. An expert on the Asia-Pacific region, his research interests range from nuclear strategy, arms control, missile defense, nonproliferation, emerging technologies, and U.S. extended deterrence. We discuss: mutually assured destruction and mutual unacceptable damage - Kim Jong Un's foreign and domestic nuclear policies and capabilities. - The impact of Russian incursions into Ukraine on nuclear proliferation. - What the US, China, and Russia want from north Korea. - How Russian estrangement ties in with US geopolitical strategy. - New weapons like drones, hypersonics, and AI. - Chinas expansion in the Asia Pacific, US strategic insolvency, and peace

►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/PqC8C-Tn8YM

►For more information about Ankit's work including his podcast appearances, journal articles, books, etc: https://www.ankitpanda.com/about-me/

►Follow Ankit on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nktpnd Note: This episode was filmed just before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. If you are interested in providing humanitarian support here is one option:
https://unitedhelpukraine.org/

SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens

► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/

► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens 

Forensic Science & the Insect Apocalypse | Mark Benecke | Escaped Sapiens Podcast #33.2

This is the second part of a two part conversation with Mark Benecke, forensic biologist, forensic entomologist, NRW state chairman for German's Die Partei, chairman of the Pro Tattoo association, and much more. Both halves can be watched independently for the most part. Mark investigates how insect life develops at crime scenes. Because he works all over the world, I was wondering if he had seen a drop in insect populations during the past decades. There have been reports in Germany that populations have dropped by as much as 80% in recent years, but records are scant elsewhere in the world. I was hoping that forensic science might be able to fill in the gaps! Apart from insects we discuss modern forensic techniques, the Epstein trial, data protection laws, psychopaths, and the future of criminal investigation.

►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fLIJNhSoMR4

 ►For more information about Mark's work I highly recommend visiting his website, where you can find his research, a great gallery of photos, information about presentations, and more: https://home.benecke.com/

►Mark also has an excellent YouTube channel, which I highly recommend. It is mostly in German, but there is also interesting English content: https://www.youtube.com/user/wwwSatankade/videos

► You can also find Mark on facebook and Instagram: https://fb.com/markbenecke & https://instagram.com/markito_benecke

What We Learn At Crime Scenes | Mark Benecke | Escaped Sapiens Podcast #33.1

This is the first part of a two part conversation with Mark Benecke, forensic biologist, forensic entomologist, NRW state chairman for German's Die Partei, chairman of the Pro Tattoo association, and much more. We discuss modern forensic techniques, the impact of wealth and power on justice and the law, training to become a forensic scientist, what forensic entomology can teach us about the drop in insect popultions, psychopaths, the Epstein trial, data protection laws, and the future of criminal investigation. Note: This episode was originally edited for publication on Mark's channel. The outro was scripted with this in mind. Sorry if this causes any confusion.

►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WjfQ5LiK91I

►For more information about Mark's work I highly recommend visiting his website, where you can find his research, a great gallery of photos, information about presentations, and more: https://home.benecke.com/

 

►Mark also has an excellent YouTube channel, which I highly recommend. It is mostly in German, but there is also interesting English content: https://www.youtube.com/user/wwwSatankade/videos

 

► You can also find Mark on facebook and Instagram: https://fb.com/markbenecke & https://instagram.com/markito_benecke

The World’s First Planetary Defense Mission | Andy Rivkin | Escaped Sapiens #32

This is a conversation with Planetary Astronomer Andy Rivkin. Andy is the co-investigation team lead for NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, being designed, built, and managed by the Applied Physics Lab at John Hopkins University. The DART mission is the first demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique to change the motion of an asteroid in space. We discuss the current readiness of earths planetary defenses, the physics behind re-directing asteroids, and the DART mission itself.
►View on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/O0cJnYR2M1A
►For more information about Andy's work: https://secwww.jhuapl.edu/SpaceScience/staff/ProfileView/49
►Outside of his research Andy makes his own music, which can be found here: andyrivkin.bandcamp.com
►Thumbnail image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
►Intro footage credit: JHU Applied Physics Laboratory https://dart.jhuapl.edu/Gallery/

When Civilization Ends | Ian Morris | Escaped Sapiens #31

This is a conversation with archaeologist, historian, and professor of classics Ian Morris at Stanford University. Ian has written extensively about the progress of civilization from hunter gatherer times until now. We discuss the drivers of civilization, and the impact that religion and war have on technological and social development.

►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/f05Ogv0Wr24

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

Fusion Energy Is Coming | Thomas Sunn Pedersen | Escaped Sapiens Podcast #30

This is a conversation with Thomas Sunn Pedersen, Director of the Stellarator Edge and Divertor Physics Division at the Greifswald branch of the Max-Planck Institute of Plasma Physics in Germany. Thomas explains the progress that has occurred in fusion research over the past few decades, and how far away are we are from creating practical fusion reactors. He also discusses the obstacles that still need to be overcome, and the potential social, political, and environmental impacts of fusion technology.

►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zWAJ0QylWig

►Find out more about Thomas' research here: https://www.ipp.mpg.de/1084854/pedersen

►Images and diagrams of ITER can be found here: https://www.iter.org/press

►Images at 00:16:16 and 00:19:39 taken with permission from T. Sunn Pedersen et al. Nature Communications 7, Article number: 13493 (2016)

►The short 20s clip at 00:38:00 labelled `Wigner RCP' was taken using a high time resolution camera, and shows the genesis and growth of the plasma in Wendelstein 7-X. It was provided by Centre for Energy Research in Hungary.

The Price We Pay For Carbon (Climate Change) | Glen Peters | Escaped Sapiens #29

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Glen Peters who is research director at the Center for International Climate Research in Norway. Glen's research focuses on human drivers of climate change, the global carbon cycle, bioenergy, sustainable consumption, international trade and climate policy, emission metrics, and more. The underlying political and economic drivers of climate change are complicated, and the issue has become political. My goal in this discussion was to get a more realistic understanding of what climate change actually means. What is the damage that we have already done, and what can we expect moving forward? Is climate change an existential threat? Have we reached peak carbon? What is being done by governments and what responsibility can we take on as individuals?

►Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/3MALvjPYQ_M
►Find out more about Glen's work here: https://cicero.oslo.no/en/employee/30/glen-peters
►Find out about glens research here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EW93x94AAAAJ&hl=en
►Follow Glen on Twitter: @Peters_Glen

How Your Evolved Psychology Controls You | Diana Fleischman | Escaped Sapiens Podcast #28

One of the most interesting features of human intelligence is that it comes with personality. We aren't all the same and our thoughts aren't purely logical. They are instead sculpted by our level of hunger, how tired we are, the presence of mind altering drugs in our systems, our sexuality, stress, and any number of internal and external factors. So how did humans end up with our peculiar psychology, and what sort of control does our evolutionary past have over the thoughts we are able to have and the behaviors we are able to express as individuals? In this episode of the podcast I speak with evolutionary psychologist Dianna Fleischman to find out. Dianna unmasks some of the more wild and curious features of our evolved psychology - this is conversation that ranges from human sexuality and fetishes, to cannibalism, to the me too movement, to disgust sensitivity, to sex differences in behavior and cognition, to the impact that modern technology has on societal structure.

►Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5cW4FrYBmtI

►Find out more about Diana's work here: https://dianaverse.com/

►At 11:25 we discuss the Trobriand islands, a topic of which neither Diana or myself are experts. I will try to get an expert on the cultures of the Trobriand Islands on the program to dispel any myths. In the mean time more information can be found in this article by Gunter Senfr: https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_67147/component/file_468443/content

Diet And The Environment | Marion Nestle | Escaped Sapiens Podcast #27 (Part 2 - Out-Takes)

After my interview with Marion we discussed diet choices and their impact on the environment. Marion Nestle was the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. She was also a professor of Sociology at NYU and a visiting professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University.

►Watch this episode on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/n6bJcz9Pf3k

►Find out more about Marion's research here: https://www.foodpolitics.com/

►And here: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/people/marion-nestle

►Marion's books can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Marion-Nestle/e/B001ILIEEY%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

►Follow Marion on twitter: @marionnestle