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PODCAST

Physical Attraction

Physical Attraction is the show that explores topics in science, technology, and the future - from a physicist"s perspective. From the birth of stars to the end of the world, from interviews with experts to meticulously-researched deep dives, we"ll explore the topics that shape our world.

science physics

All Episodes

30:31

Thermonuclear Takes: Gamestop Post-Mortem, Way Too Late

Physical Attraction ·

2021/03/26

Sigh. Yeah I did a thing about the Gamestop, meme stocks, financial asset bubbles, and so on, if only so that these opinions don't have to rattle around in my head taking up space.

en

37:45

Climate 201: Energy Efficiency I: Transport

Physical Attraction ·

2021/03/23

In this episode, we discuss the vital role of energy efficiency in reducing carbon emissions, and the potential to reduce energy consumption in transportation. Thanks to Podcorn for sponsoring this episode. To find out how you can find new sponsors for your podcast, head to podcorn.com/podcasters.

en

01:20:30

The Glass Half-Empty: Debunking "New Optimism", with...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/03/16

This week, we have a guest on the show - Rodrigo Aguilera. Specifically, we're talking to him about his book "The Glass Half-Empty: Debunking the Myth of Progress in the 21st Century". We shouldn't be happy with a narrow and limited definition of "progress" when we have the capacity to achieve so much more. But if we want to see things like the elimination of poverty, the application of human ingenuity and compassion and rationality and empathy towards solving the problems that exist in the world -

en

39:42

Thermonuclear Takes: Greensill Collapses and Uber in...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/03/13

Listeners to our series on Softbank Vision Fund will be interested - albeit perhaps not surprised - to hear that one of its major investments, Greensill Capital, which we covered in the episode "The Next Financial Crisis", has imploded dramatically. We discuss it - and a new court ruling on another Softbank darling, Uber - in this Thermonuclear Takes episode.

en

01:02:30

The Glass Half-Empty: Debunking "New Optimism", with...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/03/08

This week, we have a guest on the show - Rodrigo Aguilera. Rodrigo is an economist - born in Mexico, lives in London, and his writing has appeared all over the place in various forms over the years. Specifically, we're talking to him about his book "The Glass Half-Empty: Debunking the Myth of Progress in the 21st Century". Now; this may sound like a rather gloomy take to pick, but the point that he is making is essentially that we shouldn't be happy with a narrow and limited definition of

en

19:31

Graphene and the world of 2-D materials

Physical Attraction ·

2021/03/02

From the discovery of graphene to the invention of Van Der Waals heterostructures, this episode explores the potential and possibilities surrounding 2D materials - and how a particular twist between layers of graphene could unlock a playground of superconductivity.

en

44:45

Short-Circuiting the Meaning of Life (II)

Physical Attraction ·

2021/02/25

In the concluding part of this mini-series on technological implications for being human, we discuss the idea that humans will manipulate their psychology to "short-circuit" the meaning of life - and whether there's anything wrong with doing that.

en

53:24

Short-Circuiting the Meaning of Life (I)

Physical Attraction ·

2021/02/22

In this experimental, unusual, and wildly speculative episode, we'll discuss philosophy, and the implications of the imagined techno-future for the unanswerable questions that have been with us since the dawn of consciousness.

en

01:17:12

The Democratic Challenge of Climate Change, with...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/02/16

I sat down with Professor Rebecca Willis, author of the new book Too Hot To Handle, about the democratic challenge of climate change, how politicians deal with climate issues, the Climate Assembly here in the UK, and the ten-point plan for effective climate policy.

en

30:15

Climate 201: Drawdown, Part III: Cookstoves,...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/02/08

On this episode, we conclude our series examining the work of Project Drawdown and its climate mitigation solutions, and discuss the additional benefits that arise from implementing many of them.

en

01:13:18

The Appallingly Bad Neoclassical Economics of Climate...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/02/01

This episode, we have a guest on the show that I'm very excited about. Professor Steve Keen is an economist and author who has been a longstanding critic of neoclassical economics, which has included writing the bestselling Debunking Economics book and hosting the podcast of the same name, as well as developing several alternative models of the macroeconomy. In recent years, he has turned his attention to how neoclassical economics has tried to deal with the issue of climate change... and, well, the

en

40:00

Climate 201: Drawdown II: Fridges, Regenerative...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/01/30

In this episode of our Climate 201 series, we continue discussing the practical emissions-reduction solutions from Project Drawdown - talking about regenerative agriculture, managing refridgerants, and why we abandoned electric cars which were the majority of automobiles in the 1880s!

en

01:04:35

Debunking Economics, with Professor Steve Keen

Physical Attraction ·

2021/01/26

This episode, we have a guest on the show that I'm very excited about. Professor Steve Keen is an economist and author who has been a longstanding critic of neoclassical economics, which has included writing the bestselling Debunking Economics book and hosting the podcast of the same name, as well as developing several alternative models of the macroeconomy. In recent years, he has turned his attention to how neoclassical economics has tried to deal with the issue of climate change... and, well, the

en

36:41

Climate 201: Project Drawdown's Solutions, Part I

Physical Attraction ·

2021/01/19

In this Climate 201 episode, we look at some of the climate change mitigation solutions proposed by Project Drawdown, in an effort to be more quantiative about what needs to be done to address our greenhouse gas emissions.

en

29:34

Climate 201: What Drives Global CO2 Emissions?

Physical Attraction ·

2021/01/12

In this episode, we discuss the Kaya decomposition - splitting CO2 emissions into CO2/energy, Energy/GDP, GDP/person, and population. We'll talk about its usefulness and limitations in tracking what drives carbon emissions.

en

01:05:59

Climate Conversations: How the Tech/IT Sector Should...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/01/07

I sat down with Paul Johnston (@PaulDJohnston), cloud computing expert and tech/climate scholar, to talk about how the tech sector should tackle climate change, as well as his experiences discussing climate change with businesses and helping to run a community energy company. => How should technology companies approach climate change? => Can we trust the pledges made by big tech companies?

en

01:07:54

Lord Martin Rees on Catastrophe, Cosmology, and the...

Physical Attraction ·

2021/01/01

Sometimes in this game you get to do an interview where you genuinely can say: "the person I'm about to interview needs no introduction." This is one of those occasions. But if I were to do that, it would wreck the fun of getting to introduce the interview, and why would I deprive myself of that? So, this episode, we are interviewing Lord Martin Rees. Martin Rees is one of the foremost cosmologists and astrophysicists of our time. He was made the Astronomer Royal in 1995, has been Master of Trinity

en

01:00:24

Thermonuclear Takes: Uber, Boston Dynamics, Income...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/12/21

A bumper episode with a crop of interesting news stories to round out the year: -> Uber sells its self-driving car section, and Softbank sells robot company Boston Dynamics. What can we infer from these moves about the state of the tech sector? -> Reports show income inequality rising since 1975 has resulted in $47 trillion additional income accruing to the top 10%, and that trickle-down economics doesn't work as intended -> Global emissions fall by 7% this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

en

47:55

BONUS Thermonuclear Takes: Vaccine News and Pandemic...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/12/19

It's a bonus news episode, in which I ramble on about the COVID-19 vaccines and the possibility of defending against future pandemics.

en

51:34

Climate 201: What Is A Climate Scenario? (RCP)

Physical Attraction ·

2020/12/16

In this episode of Climate 201, we deconstruct the jargon around climate scenarios. What's the difference between RCP2.6 and RCP8.5? What purpose do the scenarios serve? How should we think about them?

en

252 results

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