Big Think 4e5e37

“I think the key point is that doesn't mean game over. That doesn't mean we're flipped into a world, and to a point of no return.” **🌍 The 1.5°C Climate Goal Might Be Slipping Away — But It’s Not Game Over** The once-ambitious goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C? It’s likely no longer within reach, says a climate expert. But that’s not a reason to give up. Every fraction of a degree matters — and fighting for 1.6, 1.7, or 1.8°C still means reducing risk, damage, and loss. The Paris Agreement aimed to keep temperatures "well below 2°C" and ideally at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. While 1.5°C now seems nearly impossible due to the sheer scale of emissions cuts required, staying under 2°C is *still* feasible — *if* countries hit their current targets. What needs to change? Four key sectors: **1. Energy** – Replace fossil fuels with low-carbon sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and especially **nuclear**, which has the *lowest land footprint*. **2. Transport** – Shift to electric where possible, using decarbonized electricity. **3. Food** – Reform agriculture, which uses *half* of all habitable land. **4. Construction** – Build greener, more sustainable infrastructure. The shift to renewables is now *economically viable*, with solar and wind already cheaper than coal or gas in many places. Land use fears? Overblown. Solar needs <1% of global land; even wind’s impact is mostly *visual*, not physical — and farming can continue around turbines. Nuclear, meanwhile, needs just 0.1% of land to power the world. 🌱 **The message is clear**: We may not hit 1.5°C, but every bit of progress still counts. The climate fight isn’t all or nothing — it’s a long game where every decimal degree saved can mean lives, ecosystems, and futures protected. About Hannah Ritchie: Dr. Hannah Ritchie is Senior Researcher in the Programme for Global Development at the University of Oxford. She is also Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data. Her research appears regularly in the New York Times, The Economist, and the Financial Times, and in bestselling books including Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now. She is the author of Not the End of the World. ------------------ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**🎵 The Future of Music: Diverse, Technological, and Beyond Sound** Will music survive the digital age? Absolutely — and not just survive, but evolve in ways we can barely imagine. Despite the internet’s overwhelming access and ease, music won't become a dull, uniform noise. Why? Because *every artist craves uniqueness*. There’s an innate drive to rebel against trends and innovate. Plus, music is deeply tied to **personal identity**, and with thousands of genres already in existence, this creative diversity isn’t going anywhere. Looking ahead, several bold predictions emerge: - **Music will become more functional**, like a prescription for your emotions. Imagine sounds tailored to treat anxiety or boost focus. - **Technology will empower everyone**, not just trained musicians. From home studios to AI tools, we’re reclaiming music’s communal roots — where everyone can create and participate. - Instruments like AI music programs (e.g., Watson Beat) aren't replacing humans — they're expanding our creative reach. Humans will still shape the final output. - **Future music may transcend sound entirely** — incorporating *taste, color, body sensations,* and frequencies beyond human hearing. Just as today’s music would astonish Mozart, tomorrow’s sonic landscape will likely be unimaginable to us. 🎧 In short: The future of music is deeply *human*, increasingly *technological*, and wildly *experimental*. We’re only just beginning to hear what’s possible. -------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**Love Isn't a Phase—It's Hardwired in Your Brain 🧠❤️** Anthropologist Helen Fisher reveals that sex drive, romantic love, and attachment aren't fleeting feelings—they're distinct *brain systems* rooted in our biology. Sex starts in the brain, not the body. Love activates the brain’s dopamine circuits, lighting up like an addiction, especially when love is lost. In fact, heartbreak activates pain and craving centers, proving that love, in its highs and lows, is as primal as hunger or fear. To maintain long-term love? You must nurture all three systems: - **Sex drive**: Have regular, enjoyable sex to keep the desire alive. - **Romantic love**: Seek novelty together—new places, new routines. - **Attachment**: Stay physically connected through touch and togetherness. Meanwhile, author Louise Perry warns that despite modern tools—like the pill or the internet—our Stone Age brains haven’t evolved to handle radically new mating models. While polyamory is gaining ground, she argues monogamy offers stability, especially for women and children. Drawing from evolutionary and cultural history, Perry emphasizes that monogamy, though imperfect, may be the most socially sustainable system. ------------------------ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**🧭 Who Decides What’s “Normal” Anymore? Rethinking Social Norms in a Shifting World** Why do we follow social norms — and how do we know when they’ve expired? Social norms act as **shortcuts**, like a guidebook for fitting into your time and place. They offer structure, a sense of belonging, and even emotional rewards like pride or guilt. They help us function — not just because we believe in them, but because *everyone else* does too. But today, the old rules feel... wobbly. From door-opening etiquette to gender roles, many norms seem out of place in a rapidly changing world. So how do we decide what to keep — and what to toss? 💡 Enter *Chesterton’s Fence* — a concept that says: **before tearing down a fence, find out why it was put there.** Even if a social norm feels outdated, it might have served a purpose worth understanding before dismissing it outright. Take the example: *Should men open doors for women?* It may feel old-fashioned now, but originally, it might’ve symbolized respect or protection. The key is asking: **Does it still serve a helpful function today? Or has the context changed too much?** In the past, people looked to parents, clergy, or state leaders for guidance. Now? We turn to **influencers**, coaches, and self-described gurus on everything from success to masculinity. But here’s the catch: **self-proclaimed experts might not be experts at all.** And that raises a new question: 🌍 **Are today’s norms built for *you* — or are they just viral advice designed to sell?** Norms should be adaptive — customized to the community, time, and individual. What works for a niche internet following may not work in your real life. **3 key takeaways:** 1. 🧠 *Don’t discard old norms blindly.* First, ask what purpose they served. 2. 🧍‍♂️ *Be wary of self-appointed experts.* Charisma doesn’t equal wisdom. 3. 🌐 *Seek context over consensus.* Norms should flex with culture, not freeze in time. **✨ Big idea:** Social norms aren't just rules — they’re cultural technology. If we want to upgrade them, we need to understand the code they were written in. About Christine Emba: Christine Emba is an opinion columnist and editor at The Washington Post, where she focuses on ideas, society, and culture. She is also a contributing editor at Comment Magazine and an editor at large at Wisdom of Crowds, which includes a podcast and newsletter. Before this, Emba was the Hilton Kramer Fellow in Criticism at The New Criterion and a deputy editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit, focusing on technology and innovation. Her book, Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, is about the failures and potential of the sexual revolution in a post-#MeToo world. Emba was named one of the World’s Top 50 Thinkers by Prospect Magazine in 2022. --------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**🌍 Earth’s History Hinges on Chaos — and You Are Its Luckiest Accident** What if your existence was only possible because of two massive cosmic collisions — and one lucky sperm? Biologist and author **Sean B. Carroll** unveils a breathtaking truth: the evolution of life on Earth wasn’t a planned journey but a **wild series of accidents**. A 6-mile-wide asteroid struck the *exact* spot on Earth with just the right chemical mix to wipe out the dinosaurs, giving mammals — and eventually humans — a shot at dominance. A second monumental collision — India slamming into Asia — sparked the Ice Age, a trial by fire that forged our **big-brained, tool-making ancestors**. And your individual life? It’s a 1-in-70-trillion genetic fluke — a cosmic lottery win shaped by **chance mutations and timing**. There has never been, and never will be, another you. 🧬 Life isn’t destiny — it’s improbability, stacked on improbability. **So what else in your life could be hinging on a single moment of chance?** ------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Expanding your worldview starts with understanding your brain. Stanford neuroscientist David Eagleman explains. David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford and host of the Inner Cosmos podcast, explores how our brains shape the reality we experience and why we often accept our perceptions as the only truth. From a young age, we develop our understanding of the world based on limited experiences and biases, which can lead us to form narrow views about what's true. **🧠 “Your Reality Is Just One Version” — Why Expanding Your Mind Could Save Humanity** What if everything you believe to be *true* is just one narrow version of reality? According to neuroscientist David Eagleman, that’s exactly what’s happening — and it’s shaping not just your thoughts, but society itself. We’re **born into a tiny slice of the world**, gathering experiences from a limited time, place, and culture. Our brains build internal models based on that — models we confuse with *universal truth*. But here’s the kicker: **no two brains experience the world the same way**, thanks to differences in genetics and life experiences. This isn’t just philosophical. It’s biological. 🔬 Eagleman’s work in *perceptual genomics* explores how tiny differences in our genes change how we *see* reality. You might visualize a crawling ant in vivid detail; someone else sees only the concept. Both are “true” — just different. But this brain wiring also makes us tribal. We divide into **ingroups** and **outgroups**, trusting the familiar and fearing the unfamiliar — an ancient survival instinct. And it affects empathy, **literally**. Eagleman’s experiment showed people’s brains *cared less* when an outgroup member was hurt versus an ingroup one. The same action (like a needle stab) triggered weaker pain responses if the person wasn’t “one of us.” This leads to dehumanization in conflicts, where we stop seeing the “other side” as fully human. The brain’s empathy centers don’t even light up. It’s how wars, hate, and division thrive. But there’s hope. Eagleman lays out **3 strategies** to overcome this: 1. **Recognize and blind your biases** – Like orchestras using blind auditions, remove visual cues that trigger unconscious judgments. 2. **Learn the tactics of dehumanization** – Spot things like “moral pollution,” where groups are smeared to make them seem disgusting. Awareness is your shield. 3. **Complexify your identity** – Form bonds over shared interests *before* you discover differences. That connection builds understanding and curiosity instead of rejection. 🤝 The more we **entangle our identities** — across sports, hobbies, stories, struggles — the more we see each other as *people*, not strangers. That’s the key to bridging the gap between 8 billion different inner worlds. **✨ Big idea:** You don’t live in *the* reality. You live in *a* reality. And the more you understand that, the more human the world becomes. ----------------------- About David Eagleman: David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University and an internationally bestselling author. He is co-founder of two venture-backed companies, Neosensory and BrainCheck, and he also directs the Center for Science and Law, a national non-profit institute. He is best known for his work on sensory substitution, time perception, brain plasticity, synesthesia, and neurolaw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

0:00 Why is happiness elusive? 1:36 Daoism’s analogy 2:57 Beacons of happiness 3:14 Pleasure 5:13 Finding meaning 6:00 Connection and love About Jonny Thomson: Jonny Thomson taught philosophy in Oxford for more than a decade before turning to writing full-time. He’s a columnist at Big Think and is the award-winning, bestselling author of three books that have been translated into 22 languages. Jonny is also the founder of Mini Philosophy, a social network of over half a million curious, intelligent minds. He's known all over the world for making philosophy accessible, relatable, and fun. --------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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"Being aware of your mindsets is the difference between living a conscious life, where you're making choices in accord with what you actually want and going where you actually wanna go, versus being on autopilot and having those mindsets subconsciously drive all of your decisions." Chapters: 0:00 Our mindsets’ influences 0:50 Linear vs. experimental 2:50 3 subconscious mindsets 4:58 The experimental mindset 6:30 Deg experiments 8:35 Habit vs. experiment -------------------------------- 🔥 Are Your Mindsets Secretly Controlling Your Life? We all have default ways of seeing the world—our *mindsets*. And these mindsets silently shape everything: our decisions, relationships, feelings, and even the path we take in life. But here’s the catch: most of us aren’t even aware of them. 💭 The Turning Point The speaker shares their journey—initially chasing traditional success: good grades, a job at Google, and startup life. But despite achieving all of it, they felt empty. It wasn’t until their startup failed that they paused to ask: *What do I really want?* This question led them to neuroscience, curiosity, and ultimately, fulfillment. ⚠️ The 3 Mindsets Holding Us Back 1. Cynical Mindset – Low ambition, low curiosity. You’re checked out and stuck in survival mode. 2. Escapist Mindset – High curiosity, low ambition. You binge-watch, dream-plan, and avoid responsibility. 3. Perfectionist Mindset – High ambition, low curiosity. You’re overworking, chasing success, but losing joy. These mindsets are fluid—not fixed traits. You can shift them. 🔬 Enter: The Experimental Mindset This mindset thrives on *both* high curiosity and ambition. It embraces uncertainty, treats failure as data, and turns life into a series of small experiments—each one helping you grow. 🧪 How to Build It: The Pact Method A “pact” is a mini-experiment: - Purposeful: You care about it. - Actionable: You can start it *now*. - Continuous: You repeat it regularly. - Trackable: You only track if you did it—yes or no. It’s not a habit, KPI, or resolution. It’s a test to see what *actually* works for you. **📊 Internal vs External Data** After an experiment, analyze both: - **External**: Did it bring recognition, money, results? - **Internal**: Did it *feel* good? Was it energizing or draining? The speaker tried becoming a YouTuber. It “succeeded” externally—but internally, it felt awful. So they quit. That’s the power of self-awareness. **🧠 Neuroscience Backs It Up** When we’re curious, our brain lights up the same way it does when we’re thirsty. Curiosity isn’t fluff—it’s fuel. **✨ Final Message:** Your mindset determines whether you live consciously or on autopilot. Choose curiosity. Run tiny experiments. Design a life that’s yours. ----------------- About Anne-Laure Le Cunff: Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and writer. A former Google executive, she went back to university to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology & Neuroscience from King’s College London. As the founder of Ness Labs and author of its widely read newsletter, she writes about evidence-based ways for people to make the most of their minds, navigate uncertainty, and practice lifelong learning. Her work has been featured in peer-reviewed academic journals and mainstream publications such as WIRED, Forbes, Rolling Stone, Fortune, Entrepreneur, and more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Guidara, owner of iconic restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park, explains how hospitality is the number one thing that can help your business truly succeed. Eventually, someone is going to make a better product, or build a better brand, than you have. The way to keep people from switching sides? Harboring a loyal customer base. The way to harbor a loyal customer base? Relentless hospitality. Famed restaurateur Guidara credits his successful career to what he calls “Unreasonable Hospitality” - also the title of his book - which he achieved by abiding by three main keys: Being present, taking the work seriously (but himself less seriously), and creating individualized customer experiences. By considering how you’re making your customer feel, you’re fostering connections and lifelong memories your patrons will never forget. Not only will these actions keep your customers returning to your business, but it will also work as a way of natural marketing; they’ll share stories of your service and draw even more people in, keeping your company alive. -------------------- About Will Guidara: Will Guidara is the author of the National Bestseller Unreasonable Hospitality, which chronicles the lessons in service and leadership he has learned over the course of his career in restaurants. He is the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, which under his leadership received four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars, and in 2017 was named #1 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. He is the host of the Welcome Conference, an annual hospitality symposium that brings together like minded people to share ideas, inspire one another, and connect to form community. A graduate of the hospitality school at Cornell University, he has coauthored four cookbooks, was named one of Crain's New York Business's 40 Under 40, and is the recipient of WSJ Magazine's Innovator Award. ------------ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

**We are eating our way into climate disaster.** Even if fossil fuel emissions ended *today*, our current food systems alone would still push us past the 1.5°C global warming target—and nearly exhaust our 2°C carbon budget. Food production isn’t just a contributor—it’s *the* leading driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss, freshwater stress, and pollution. 🔍 **Key Drivers of Emissions:** - **Land use change** (e.g., deforestation for agriculture) - **Methane from livestock** (especially cows burping—called enteric fermentation) - **Nitrous oxide** from fertilizers and manure These are potent greenhouse gases, much stronger than CO₂. 🥩 **The Cost of Meat:** Animal-based foods are alarmingly inefficient. - **Cows**: 100 calories in feed → only 2 calories of meat - **Chickens**: slightly better, but still 87% of feed calories lost Even protein efficiency is dismal—less than 10–20% for most animals. 🥦 **Plant-based wins**: Plant proteins can have **10–50x lower carbon emissions** per 100g of protein than beef or lamb. 📦 **Food Waste & Loss:** We produce ~5,000 kcal/person/day, yet people only consume ~2,500 kcal. Why the gap? - Feed inefficiencies (mostly from meat production) - **Biofuel diversion** - **Waste**—both consumer-level and supply chain losses. One example? Crops rotting due to lack of basic storage like plastic crates. This is fixable. 🌱 **Two Key Solutions:** 1. **More productive agriculture** using improved seeds, fertilizers, irrigation to increase yields without expanding land. 2. **Changing diets**—not preaching, but *informed choices*. Reducing meat/dairy intake can dramatically lower one’s environmental impact. 💡 A well-planned plant-based diet can meet most nutritional needs—**except B12**, which must be supplemented. -------------------------- **Bottom line:** We can’t solve climate change without transforming what we eat and how we grow it. And the good news? Many of the solutions are already within reach. 0:00 Transforming our food systems 1:14 Greenhouse gas emissions from food 6:19 Increasing crop yields 7:44 Changing our diets 10:00 Calorie efficiency of animals 14:50 Vertical farming 17:30 The solutions to solve our food crisis -------------------------- About Hannah Ritchie: Dr. Hannah Ritchie is Senior Researcher in the Programme for Global Development at the University of Oxford. She is also Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data. Her research appears regularly in the New York Times, The Economist, and the Financial Times, and in bestselling books including Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now. She is the author of Not the End of the World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How your biology and environment make your decisions for you, according to Dr. Robert Sapolsky. Robert Sapolsky, PhD is an author, researcher, and professor of biology, neurology, and neurosurgery at Stanford University. In this interview with Big Think’s Editor-in-Chief, Robert Chapman Smith, Sapolsky discusses the content of his most recent book, “Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will.” Being held as a child, growing up in a collectivist culture, or experiencing any sort of brain trauma – among hundreds of other things – can shape your internal biases and ultimately influence the decisions you make. This, explains Sapolsky, means that free will is not – and never has been – real. Even physiological factors like hunger can discreetly influence decision making, as discovered in a study that found judges were more likely to grant parole after they had eaten. This insight is key for interpreting human behavior, helping not only scientists but those who aim to evolve education systems, mental health research, and even policy making. ----------------- About Robert Sapolsky: Robert M. Sapolsky holds degrees from Harvard and Rockefeller Universities and is currently a Professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University and a Research Associate with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya. His books include New York Times bestseller, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst and Determined. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We don't have enough knowledge to precisely calculate what is going to happen, and so we assign probabilities to it, which reflects our ignorance of the situation.” What do snowflakes, glowing street lamps, and Einstein’s “crazy” idea have in common? Physicist Brian Cox unwinds the surprising origins of quantum mechanics—the theory that shattered classical physics and redefined our understanding of reality. From Kepler’s insight in a 17th-century snowstorm to Planck’s revolutionary leap in 1900, Cox traces how curiosity and confusion gave rise to the most baffling theory in science. 00:00:00 Part 1: The power of quantum mechanics 00:00:24 What are considered the earliest glimpses of quantum mechanics? 00:06:39 How did Einstein's work on the photoelectric effect impact science? 00:12:17 How does quantum physics conflict with classical theory? 00:17:11 What is the double-slit experiment? 00:26:25 Why is it important that we seek to solve the mysteries of quantum physics? 00:33:30 Part 2: The fundamental measurements of nature 00:45:15 What kinds of insights does the Planck scale reveal? 00:52:15 Where does our comprehension of scale break down? 01:01:30 Part 3: The frontiers of the future 01:10:21 How can humanity influence the universe? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Brian Cox: Brian Cox obtained a first class honors degree in physics from the University of Manchester in 1995 and in 1998 a Ph.D. in High Energy Particle Physics at the DESY laboratory in Hamburg. He is now Professor of Particle Physics at the University of Manchester, The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science and a Fellow of the Royal Society. Brian is widely recognized as the foremost communicator for all things scientific, having presented a number of highly acclaimed science programs for the BBC watched by billions internationally including ‘Adventures in Space and Time’ (2021), ‘Universe’ (2021), ‘The Planets’ (2018), ‘Forces of Nature’ (2016), ‘Human Universe’ (2014), ‘Wonders of Life’ (2012), ‘Wonders of the Universe’ (2011) and ‘Wonders of the Solar System’ (2010). As an author, Brian has also sold over a million books worldwide including ‘Black Holes’, ‘Universal: A Guide to the Cosmos’, ‘Quantum Universe’ and ‘Why Does E=mc2?’ with co-author Professor Jeffrey Forshaw. He has set several world records for his sell-out live tours, including his most recent tour Horizons which has taken in venues across the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three psychology and sociology experts, Robert Waldinger, Michael Slepian, and Richard Reeves come together in this compilation to discuss the psychology of loneliness and the way we can combat the “friendship recession.” ---------------------- It’s 2024. It’s harder than ever to foster deep connections with others. Everyone feels like they’re missing out on friendships, and every day of isolation makes it even harder to escape the rut. From keeping secrets to workism, these experts are unpacking why we feel lonely and suggesting the ways we can combat it. They encourage us to reach out, be vulnerable, and prioritize our relationships, reminding us that we are not alone in our struggle and that meaningful connections are within reach. By following their advice, we can transform our social lives and experience the joy and fulfillment that come from true companionship. Understanding the root causes of our loneliness and actively working to build and maintain connections can help us break free from isolation and create a more connected, fulfilling life. About Robert Waldinger: Robert Waldinger, MD is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a practicing psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and a Zen teacher and practitioner. For the last two decades, Waldinger has been the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. This study, conducted over more than 85 years, has analyzed the entire lives of 724 families to determine the activities, behaviors, and dynamics that enhance a person’s life-long well-being. Waldinger has dedicated his career to examining these elements and discovering what brings true fulfillment to human existence. He is the author of several books, including his most recent, The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness About Michael Slepian: Michael Slepian is the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia University. A recipient of the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science, he is the leading expert on the psychology of secrets and author of The Secret Life of Secrets. Slepian has authored more than fifty articles on secrecy, truth, and deception. His research has been covered by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and more. About Richard Reeves: Richard V. Reeves is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he directs the Future of the Middle Class Initiative and co-directs the Center on Children and Families. His Brookings research focuses on the middle class, inequality and social mobility. Richard writes for a wide range of publications, including the New York Times, Guardian, National Affairs, The Atlantic, Democracy Journal, and Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Dream Hoarders (Brookings Institution Press, 2017), and John Stuart Mill – Victorian Firebrand (Atlantic Books, 2007), an intellectual biography of the British liberal philosopher and politician. Dream Hoarders was named a Book of the Year by The Economist, a Political Book of the Year by The Observer, and was shortlisted for the Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice. In September 2017, Politico magazine named Richard one of the top 50 thinkers in the U.S. for his work on class and inequality. A Brit-American, Richard was director of strategy to the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2012. Other previous roles include director of Demos, the London-based political think-tank; social affairs editor of the Observer; principal policy advisor to the Minister for Welfare Reform, and research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research. Richard is also a former European Business Speaker of the Year and has a BA from Oxford University and a PhD from Warwick University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

### **Humanity’s Cosmic Future: Opportunities & Challenges** #### **The New Space Age** - **Reusable Rockets**: SpaceX and Blue Origin have revolutionized access to orbit, making space industrialization inevitable. - **Orbital Expansion**: Multiple space stations, commercial research, and tourism are coming. Starlink-like constellations will globalize connectivity. - **Asteroid Mining**: Near-Earth asteroids offer *unlimited resources*, potentially ending terrestrial resource conflicts. #### **Governance Challenges** - **Space Traffic Control**: Satellites now cross national borders in seconds—urgent need for international orbital management (like air traffic control). - **Global Collaboration**: Humanity struggles with planet-scale coordination (climate, AI). Space demands we overcome this to avoid chaos. #### **Our Cosmic Significance** - **Rare Thinkers**: Even if physically tiny, we may be the only conscious beings in the Milky Way—making us *uniquely valuable* to the universe. - **Future Potential**: Advanced civilizations could terraform planets, harness stars, and even manipulate the universe’s fate (*Omega Point* theory). **Why Listen?** Brian Cox bridges visionary optimism with hard science—from SpaceX’s rockets to humanity’s potential to *reshape reality itself*. A masterclass in cosmic-scale thinking. 🎧 Listen to the full discussion --- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wharton professor Ethan Mollick explains why “co-intelligence” may be the future of AI. Ethan Mollick, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of "Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI," explores the impact of AI on our work, creative endeavors, and overall lives. AI is reshaping our understanding of humanity and intelligence, evolving from simple prediction tools to sophisticated large language models, but how do we keep it from dooming us all? Should we be more afraid of it, or are we actually in control? Mollick proposes four most likely predictions of our future with AI – As Good As It Gets, Slow Growth, Exponential Growth, and The Machine God – and explains the likelihood and potential results of each one. Mollick stresses the importance of using AI as a supplemental tool to enhance your performance, not as something that will replace you entirely. According to Mollick, AI is here to stay, and it’s up to us to decide how it is used now, and in generations to come. Our choices today will shape the trajectory of AI and determine whether it becomes a force for good or a source of existential risk. About Ethan Mollick: Ethan Mollick is a professor of management at Wharton, specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation. His research has been featured in various publications, including Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He is the creator of numerous educational games on a variety of topics. He lives and teaches in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. --------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🩸 **“No, Periods Aren’t for Detox – And Humans Don’t ‘Cycle Sync.’”** Renowned OBGYN Dr. Jen Gunter busts some of the most harmful myths about menstruation, from the fantasy of pheromones and "cycle syncing" to the false idea that periods cleanse the body of toxins. Menstruation isn’t a monthly detox—it’s a complex biological process deeply tied to human evolution, reproduction, and health. She warns: most people, including many doctors, are dangerously underinformed about what a normal cycle looks like. And that ignorance isn’t just annoying—it’s being weaponized by laws that treat women as little more than vessels for pregnancy. Dr. Gunter explains the real science behind menstrual cramps, PMS, and the role of prostaglandins—the real culprits behind period pain and menstrual diarrhea. Apps and social media may glamorize menstrual tracking or fitness syncing, but she emphasizes: much of that advice is based on bad or no science—and in some cases, tracking apps could be used against women in places where reproductive rights are under attack. 🔥 "Evolution doesn’t care if you suffer,” she says. “It just wants you to reproduce." That’s why **understanding your cycle is not just about health—it's about power**. ----------- Menstrual myths debunked, cycle syncing is a myth, menstruation and toxins, real menstrual science, Dr. Jen Gunter menstrual cycle facts, understanding period cramps, prostaglandins period pain, NSAIDs for menstrual pain, endometriosis warning signs, dangers of period tracking apps, abortion laws and menstrual data, menstrual education and advocacy, real purpose of menstruation, decidualization explained, evidence-based menstrual care, hormone myths busted, ovulation pain (mittelschmerz), menstrual diarrhea causes, reproductive health awareness, menstrual cycle variability, estrous vs menstrual cycle. -------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is “identity synthesis” the remedy for racial injustice? This political scientist says no. --------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If given a chance, nature can rebound, and nature can rebound dramatically.” Biologist Sean B. Carroll discusses the resilience of nature and how humans can help it thrive. Humans litter, start wars, hunt, and poach, but history has also shown we are capable of undoing our damage. Carroll highlights Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, where a brutal civil war decimated 98% of the large animal population. Yet, through dedicated conservation efforts, the park has seen a remarkable recovery – and this is not the only example. This video explores the power of awareness and action—no matter how small. While humans have caused significant damage to wildlife, we also possess the ability to restore and protect our planet's biodiversity. Carroll shares insights on how we can coexist with nature, ensuring a healthy and happy future for both humans and other creatures on Earth About Sean B. Carroll: Sean B. Carroll is an award-winning scientist, author, educator, and film producer. He is Distinguished University Professor and the Andrew and Mary Balo and NIcholas and Susan Simon Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland, and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was formerly Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, and led the Department of Science Education from 2010-2023. He is also Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin. An internationally-recognized evolutionary biologist, Carroll's laboratory research has centered on the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. In recognition of his scientific contributions, Carroll has received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences, been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and elected an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization.. -------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The disease is the fact that liberalism, which used to be an ideology of building, has become an ideology of blocking." 00:00:00 Affordability vs upward mobility 00:00:59 From collapse to abundance 00:01:45 Supply-side progressivism 00:02:49 An agenda of abundance 00:03:18 A look at liberalism 00:04:15 The failure of liberal housing policy 00:05:54 The unraveling of The American Dream 00:07:14 City housing supply 00:11:16 The freedom of housing abundance 00:14:08 Homelessness is a housing problem 00:16:40 The tragedy of good intentions 00:18:31 A new set of problems 00:20:27 Corporate power 00:22:51 The untapped potential of government efficiency 00:23:53 The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill 00:27:02 Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) 00:30:06 Should government be more or less effective? 00:33:47 A new political order 00:36:39 Neoliberalism and deregulation 00:38:20 A fast, effective government 00:38:44 Innovation requires implementation 00:39:35 A story of technology 00:41:29 How do we accelerate science? 00:44:03 Ransacking American science 00:46:27 A culture of experimentation 00:47:30 The implementation of Penicillin 00:51:36 Operation Warp Speed 00:57:11 The anti-social generation 01:01:04 300 hours of leisure time 01:01:48 The privatization of attention 01:06:53 Optimizing ourselves out of relationships 01:07:55 The social costs of the anti-social century 01:09:13 Amistics -------------------------- About Derek Thompson: Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the podcast Plain English. He is the author of Hit Makers and the co-author of Abundance alongside Ezra Klein, which explores the case for renewing the politics of plenty in the modern world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices