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PODCAST

Polymath

Daniel Aaron Levy

Bringing academic research to the general public to make everyone a Polymath! In this show, we explore interesting topics and social issues with no agendas or opinions: just evidence. Polymath is about giving reliable wisdom; countering misinformation; and empowering you to detect BS. Each episode integrates multiple sciences and experts" perspectives to give you well-rounded answers: and shows you how to find these answers yourself. Polymath is all about encouraging real critical thinking. For

education

All Episodes

01:24:08

Episode 23 - How Vulnerable People Get Radicalised-...

Polymath ·

2025/02/16

Radicalisation: you've all heard of it, but what actually is it and how- from a scientific, not an opinion-based, perspective- does it happen? Let's find out!This episode integrates a huge range of information, encompassing a metric shit-ton of theories, models, and evidence to synthesise a definitive, evidence-based model on just how- scientifically- this process happens. We will explore all kinds of radicalisation, focusing on Islamist and Western alt-right radicalism- and what we can do

en

01:14:37

Episode 22 - How We Went From Hunter-Gatherers to States

Polymath ·

2025/02/09

How did we go from picking berries on the savannah to the world we live in now? What was it like to be a hunter-gatherer? Why did they start forming states? What did that journey look like? And was it a good - or bad - decision? Welcome back to Polymath, where we examine all these questions with facts and statistics- rather than 'hot takes'. This is a massive journey through how the world we take for granted was born. We'll be exploring this topic by combining anthropology, sociology,

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00:38:04

Episode 21 - The Beneficial Disease

Polymath ·

2025/02/01

This is Polymath's first ever video episode, meaning that you can now both hear and see me yap! Join me as we go on a journey exploring human physiology, evolution, anthropology, and hairless chimpanzees. Spotify isn't letting me use my own custom thumbnail, so please enjoy this image of me looking silly with my undecorated NPC room in the background. Enjoy!

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02:22:02

Episode 20 - What Was it Like to Live in The Past?

Polymath ·

2024/12/04

Is the world getting worse? Were you born in the wrong generation? Have we left the good old days? Let's find out! CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains graphic descriptions of physical, emotional, and sexual violence; cruelty; and brutality 👁👄👁 (wee lil hint that the past wasn't great) We'll be looking at the past- but not just a few generations back. We will examine the entire span of human civilisation to uncover what people's daily, lived experience was like back then. What was the human

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01:49:14

Episode 19 - What Actually is Anarchism? An Objective...

Polymath ·

2024/11/27

Anarchism! What's it all about? More specifically: what even is it? What do anarchists want? How do they think? Is anarchism just chaos? How do rules get enforced? How does the economy work? Are anarchists terrorists? Are they Marxists? Communists? Has anarchism ever happened? We'll be answering all these questions, and we'll be doing it properly. This colossal episode sweeps away all the emotion, the confusion, the bullshit and the bias, and presents you- as always- with only the genuine truth

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01:35:44

Episode 18 - Can We Judge Historical Figures by the...

Polymath ·

2024/11/20

Your national hero probably had some very questionable views. But are they morally culpable for them? Let's take a look! I gotta say, I almost feel bad for you- you're probably sodden with different influencers, politicians, and newspapers all sharting out their own opinions at you, all demanding your allegiance in the culture wars. But on Polymath, we examine questions with real, meaningful academic disciplines: today, we'll be using political science, psychology, sociology, and history. We

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01:29:44

Episode 17 - What if the Harry Potter World Were Real?

Polymath ·

2024/11/13

The obvious answer to a 90-minute video on this is to go and touch grass, but really: if the Harry Potter world genuinely existed, what would it look like? If there’s a wizarding world… is there wizarding communism? A wizarding Karl Marx? Was there a wizarding civil rights movement? Is there wizarding nationalism? Is Wizarding Russia currently attacking Wizarding Ukraine? The Harry Potter universe is a fictional world written for children that is not meant to be taken seriously. What does it look

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01:11:42

Episode 16 - Why People Voted for Hitler: How...

Polymath ·

2024/11/07

'Oof... messed up a little there' In 1933, Hitler got 43.9% of the vote- and it wasn't even close. What happened there? The good news is we can use some clever psychology to get right to the heart of the issue: what was actually happening in people's heads. The less fun news is that because human nature hasn't changed since- it CAN happen here. Let's find out why! This episode is a journey through that very human nature, values, politics, and how they all interact. We'll be answering how

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01:30:38

Episode 15 - Is Humanity Getting Dumber?

Polymath ·

2024/10/30

Have you been watching the news recently and been thinking 'what the hell is happening here?' This episode is for you! We're exploring how intelligence has changed in people over time- and why. What kinds of intelligence is this change mostly happening in? How does cognition and intelligence work, anyway? Where in the brain does it come from? What's the difference between intelligence and wisdom? Is social media making us less wise? We're back, and now with a brand new microphone! In Polymath,

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01:46:10

Episode 14 - What Actually is Communism? An Objective...

Polymath ·

2024/10/23

Has real communism ever been tried? What do communists want? What did Karl Marx want? Is communism democratic- or is communist democracy an oxymoron? How does the economy work in communism and what are the means of production? Who's in charge? What drugs does Dan take before recording? We'll be answering all these questions and more. This is the biggest episode on Polymath so far and my personal favourite. This episode is MASSIVE: in length, in scope, in relevance. We're taking one of the most

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01:07:43

Episode 13 - Why We Care so Much About What Other...

Polymath ·

2024/10/16

Why do we keep worrying about fitting in and being liked? What actually is social status? Why do men care so much about 'honour' or 'pride' and fight each other when they feel disrespected? What does testosterone actually do? We're back, and we're taking a little break from the politics special to explore something that affects everybody. Humans are social animals, men fight, and we all hate being lonely: but why? We explore all these questions with some evolutionary psychology, anthropology,

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00:57:11

Episode 12 - What Actually is Socialism? An Objective...

Polymath ·

2024/07/20

Has 'real' socialism ever been tried? What do socialists want? Who owns the 'means of production' and what are they? How does the economy work in socialism? Who's in charge? What's the difference between socialism in theory and socialism as has been practised? Today, we'll be answering all these questions and more as we use political science (+ some economics, history, and political philosophy) to cut through all the bias, partisanship, and confusion to identify what socialism REALLY is. There's so

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01:11:42

Episode 11 - The Different Types of Capitalism &...

Polymath ·

2024/07/13

What actually is capitalism anyway? What distinguishes the different kinds? What was the Golden Age of Capitalism and what caused it? What's laissez-faire capitalism, neoliberalism, the Nordic model, social capitalism, a mixed economy, state capitalism, the East Asian model, or economic planning? There's so many different models and variants of capitalism that it's easy to get lost, and difficult to pick out which ones really work. Today, we break down some important economics terms and explore

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00:51:04

Episode 10 - What Actually is Capitalism? An...

Polymath ·

2024/07/06

What does 'capitalism' really mean? What does it try and achieve? What actually are the means of production and what is a market? Does capitalism mean freedom and democracy? Is it left or right wing? In today's episode, we'll be answering all these questions and more. Today's episode is in fact the second part of a multi-episode special on this channel on political ideologies- but don't worry, you don't need to watch any other episodes to enjoy this one! All episodes in this series are designed to

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01:00:49

Episode 09 - An Objective Guide to Political...

Polymath ·

2024/06/29

What actually is a political ideology and where do they come from? What's the current left-right polarisation all about? What is a liberal and what is liberalism? Where do modern democracy, politics, and morality come from? Why were historical societies so brutal and unfair? What is the purpose of civilisation? Welcome to the first episode in the first ever special on this show! This episode begins a multiple part series- but each episode can be enjoyed by itself- about different political

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00:59:24

Episode 08 - What 'Left Wing' and 'Right Wing'...

Polymath ·

2024/06/22

They're terms we've all heard, but what actually are they? Where do they come from, how should we use them, what do they stand for, and how can we break them down and understand them? In today's episode, we'll be answering all these questions and more using political science, history, economics, and political philosophy. Although the intro for this episode says that we'll also be exploring whether historical figures can be judged by the standards of today, we did in fact run out of time. But that

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01:06:00

Episode 07 - Why Britain & the West Industrialised First

Polymath ·

2024/06/15

Hello everybody, today we're gonna be exploring the underlying causes behind the Industrial Revolution and why the West did it first- and came to rule the globe. We'll be answering questions like what actually was the Industrial Revolution, how did Western history lead up to it, why Britain in particular started it, and why didn't it happen/rapidly spread elsewhere outside the West? As always on Polymath, we'll be using lots of different fields to answer these big questions, including history,

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00:54:09

Episode 06 - The Science of Attractiveness

Polymath ·

2024/06/12

Excuse the brief lapse in sound quality at the start! In today's episode, we use evolutionary psychology (and some other important disciplines) to explore attractiveness: what determines what we find attractive, and why is attractiveness even a thing? We're gonna be exploring some key questions, like how do men and women differ in what they find attractive and why, what have humans evolved to find attractive, why are beauty standards what they are, and even why has love itself evolved. Tune in

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00:59:58

Episode 05 - Is Morality Innate or Learned?

Polymath ·

2024/04/13

Exploring the nature and roots of morality using evolutionary psychology, anthropology, and a little bit of neuroscience. Enjoy!

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00:54:16

Episode 04 - Why Some Countries Are More Developed...

Polymath ·

2024/03/20

My favourite episode yet, tune in for an episode on what causes countries to develop, why makes them stagnate, why the West rules (or at least ruled) the world, and why the Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain. Here we look at politics, economics, history, and of course development studies. Enjoy!

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