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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

52:49

Subprime Attention Crisis: The Time Bomb at the Heart...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/12/10

This week, taking a break from climate, we have a special guest on the show - Tim Hwang. Tim Hwang is a writer and researcher, and he's the author of Subprime Attention Crisis, a book about how online advertising may have become a bubble. He is currently a research fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University. He is the former director of the Harvard-MIT Ethics and Governance of AI Initiative, $26M philanthropic fund and research effort working to advance

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48:02

Climate 201: Carbon Budgets

Physical Attraction ·

2020/12/03

We explore what is meant by a "carbon budget", how and why we can determine how much CO2 is left to emit before we cross a given temperature threshold, as well as disputes in how to define these budgets and use them politically... and why the world isn't going to end in twelve years.

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23:30

The Dream of a Solar Sahara

Physical Attraction ·

2020/11/29

In this episode, we explore the tantalising - but maybe impossible - dream of blanketing the world's deserts in solar panels to supply all of our energy needs.

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38:07

Climate 201: Greenhouse Gases and Fungibility Questions

Physical Attraction ·

2020/11/25

In this Climate 201 episode, we introduce the different greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, analyse how their different lifetimes and ability to absorb radiation and warm the planet work, and discuss different ways of comparing their effects.

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01:44:42

Softbank's Singularity with Edward Ongweso Jr. of...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/11/19

To close our series on Softbank's Vision Fund, I interviewed tech journalist and scholar Edward Ongweso Jr. of "This Machine Kills" podcast about Softbank, the corrosive nature of VC on the tech sector and our society, and the Vision that Masoyoshi Son really dreams of... along with whether it will all fall apart, and how we can build a society that uses technological innovations in a less destructive way.

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01:07:03

Softbank's Blurry Vision VI: What We Lost In The Hype

Physical Attraction ·

2020/11/11

Over the course of this series, we've described how Softbank's $100bn Vision Fund promised to invest in the future and failed to deliver. In this episode, we ask: why should we care? We discuss the wider landscape of technology and innovation, and question why it can't deliver the things we really need.

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31:36

Softbank's Blurry Vision V: The Next Financial Crisis?

Physical Attraction ·

2020/11/05

In this episode of our series on Softbank's Vision Fund, we talk about how their investment in fintech company Greensill Capital is potentially part of a series of investments that might create conditions for a new financial crisis, much like that seen in 2008-9.

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01:10:47

TT Stonks III: Stocks Divorced from Reality, the...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/10/28

In this episode, we talk about why the stock market is increasingly divorced from economic reality, and the fact that COVID-19 is proving to be a great accelerator rather than a great leveller - accelerating the trends towards income and wealth inequality that we have seen over the last 30-40 years, as well as internationally. We also discuss where the show is going in the future, and respond to listener emails.

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28:03

Softbank's Blurry Vision, IV: Identifying as a Tech...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/10/21

We go further into Softbank's investments, including the $2bn-valued company that promised to develop an army of robots to cook and deliver pizzas and ended up just creating a round pizza box.

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43:52

TT, Stonks I: FinCEN Files and the Story of Fake Tesla

Physical Attraction ·

2020/10/18

In this episode, we discuss the leaked FinCEN files - which illustrate trillions of dollars in suspicious financial flows - as well as Nikola, the wannabe Tesla whose "hydrogen truck" was actually just rolling down a gentle slope.

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01:07:44

The Button: The Threat From Nuclear Weapons and What...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/10/14

Very excited to say we have a special guest on the show today. Tom Collina has had a long and storied career in nuclear disarmament for many years, in the Director of Policy at the Plougshares Fund, a non-profit foundation dedicated to trying to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons. With former Secretary of Defence Bill Perry, he has just written a book called "The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman To Trump", which is about the past, present, and future

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01:43:45

Modern Monetary Theory with the MMT Podcast II: What...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/10/08

Hello and welcome to this episode of Physical Attraction. We have a special couple of guests on the show today. Listeners to our episodes about QE for the People will remember that we briefly mentioned Modern Monetary Theory as a new perspective on how economics works, and I'd talked about getting some MMT speakers on the show to explore that in more detail. I was lucky enough to get the hosts of the MMT Podcast, Patricia Pino and Christian Reilly, who have interviewed many of the founding scholars

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50:19

Modern Monetary Theory with the MMT Podcast I: Where...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/10/07

We have a special couple of guests on the show today. Listeners to our episodes about QE for the People will remember that we briefly mentioned Modern Monetary Theory as a new perspective on how economics works, and I'd talked about getting some MMT speakers on the show to explore that in more detail. I was lucky enough to get the hosts of the MMT Podcast, Patricia Pino and Christian Reilly, who have interviewed many of the founding scholars and most active economists in MMT as part of that

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40:33

Thermonuclear Takes: China Goes For Net Zero

Physical Attraction ·

2020/09/30

In this episode of Physical Attraction, we'll be discussing the recent announcement by China that they will aim for zero net CO2 emissions by the year 2060 - a massive upgrade to their climate pledge. What would it mean for the world, and what does it mean for China?

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47:54

Softbank's Blurry Vision III: The Fall of WeWork

Physical Attraction ·

2020/09/29

In this episode, as part of our series on the Softbank Vision Fund and its risky investments, we're talking about the rise and fall of a real-estate company that posed as a tech company... WeWork (and how it lost Softbank $9bn)

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32:46

Softbank's Blurry Vision II: Uber

Physical Attraction ·

2020/09/22

In this, the second part of our series on the Softbank Vision Fund, we discuss Softbank's $10bn bet on ride-sharing firm Uber - which burns through capital and regulations in an attempt to establish an unlikely monopoly over transportation-as-a-service.

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30:15

Extremely Thermonuclear Takes: Hints of Life on Venus?

Physical Attraction ·

2020/09/14

So there's a big rumour going around that some scientists may have potentially detected a hint of evidence for phosphine gas on Venus, which they consider to be quite strong evidence of something unexplained, which may be an indicator of microbial life in Venus' atmosphere. As the saying goes, Huge If True. Because it's been such an awful year, I try to explain this story and indulge in some pretty rampant speculation.

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54:06

Climate Assembly: The World We Want to See

Physical Attraction ·

2020/09/13

This year, the UK assembled 108 citizens from across all demographics of the society and from around the country to discuss the best ways to address climate change. In September 2020, they reported back. In this second episode, we go over the Climate Assembly's mammoth 556-page report, and discuss its recommendations on how the UK should get to Net Zero emissions. You can read the report for yourself at www.climateassembly.uk

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32:11

Climate Assembly: What Is A Citizens' Assembly?

Physical Attraction ·

2020/09/13

In this mini-series, we'll be discussing the Climate Assembly in the UK - what happens when 100 randomly-selected ordinary citizens are given time and space to debate UK climate change policy. In this first episode, I talk about what a Citizens' Assembly is, and some of the pros and cons of this democratic institution. Next time, we'll discuss this specific assembly, the report and recommendations they came up with. The Climate Assembly UK released its 556-page report on Thursday 10th September,

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39:27

Softbank's Blurry Vision, or, How To (Mostly) Burn...

Physical Attraction ·

2020/09/09

In this series, we'll be telling the story of the Softbank Vision Fund, the $100bn technology venture capital fund that was supposed to revolutionise the world and bring forward a glorious techno-future. The Vision Fund that now looks like it's inflated a massive, unsustainable bubble in tech companies (and companies that pretend to be tech companies). First - the story of Softbank, pre-Vision Fund, and its visionary founder, Masoyoshi Son, who made both the best and worst investments in living

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252 results

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