general science

#1187 Peter Turchin: The Collapse of Complex Societies, Elite Overproduction, and Social Unrest

Dec 11, 2025

Dr. Peter Turchin is Emeritus Professor at the University of Connecticut in the departments of ecology and evolutionary biology, anthropology, and mathematics. He is a project leader at the Complexity Science Hub Vienna and a research associate at the School of Anthropology at the University of Oxford. He is a complexity scientist who works in the field of historical social science that he and his colleagues call cliodynamics. He is the author of books like War and Peace and War, Ages of Discord, Ultrasociety, End Times, and The Great Holocene Transformation. More»
#1165 Aubrey de Grey: The Science of Aging and Longevity

Oct 20, 2025

Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist. He is the author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging (1999) and co-author of Ending Aging (2007). Dr. de Grey is known for his view that medical technology may enable human beings alive today not to die from age-related causes. As an amateur mathematician, he has contributed to the study of the Hadwiger–Nelson problem in geometric graph theory, making the first progress on the problem in over 60 years. More»
#1155 Adam Chandler - 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life

Sep 26, 2025

Adam Chandler is a journalist and author based in New York. A former staff writer at The Atlantic, his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, WIRED, Vox, Slate, New York Magazine, Texas Monthly, Esquire, TIME, and elsewhere. He is the author of Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom; and 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life. More»
#1140 Will Storr: How to Use the Science of Storytelling to Lead, Motivate and Persuade

Aug 22, 2025

Will Storr is a British author, journalist and former photographer. He has been a contributing editor at Esquire and GQ Australia. He is the author of several books, including The Science of Storytelling, The Status Game, and A Story is a Deal: How to use the science of storytelling to lead, motivate and persuade. More»
#1128 Daniel Silverman: Why People Believe Misinformation in War

Jul 25, 2025

Dr. Daniel Silverman is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology (CMIST) at Carnegie Mellon University. His research focuses on international security, political psychology, and the politics of the Middle East and the wider Islamic world. He is particularly interested in the psychological factors – including the biases and misperceptions – that drive violent conflicts, and how they can be mitigated or leveraged to promote peace. He is the author of Seeing Is Disbelieving: Why People Believe Misinformation in War, and When They Know Better. More»
#1123 Philip Nitschke: Assisted Suicide and the Right to Die

Jul 14, 2025

Dr. Philip Nitschke is an Australian humanist, author, former physician, and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Australia's Northern Territory and assisted four people in ending their lives before the law was overturned by the Government of Australia. Nitschke was the first doctor in the world to administer a legal, voluntary, lethal injection, after which the patient activated the syringe using a computer. More»
#1116 Adam Safron: Consciousness, AI, Psychedelics, and The Self

Jun 27, 2025

Dr. Adam Safron is Research Fellow at the Allen Discovery Institute at Tufts University, and is leading an interdisciplinary research program at the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies. Most of his work has focused on characterizing the nature of preferences and motivation from mechanistic, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives. He has also studied the effects of brief mindfulness interventions on cognition and well-being. While conducting this research, he developed a neurophenomenological model of sensory absorption and ecstatic states via neural entrainment, which eventually led to developing a synthetic theory of consciousness attempting to integrate across seemingly conflicting perspectives. More»
#1112 Angela Potochnik - Recipes for Science: An Introduction to Scientific Methods and Reasoning

Jun 19, 2025

Dr. Angela Potochnik is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Public Engagement with Science at the University of Cincinnati. Her research addresses the nature of science and its successes, the relationships between science and the public, and methods in science, especially population biology. She is the author of Idealization and the Aims of Science, and coauthor of Recipes for Science: An Introduction to Scientific Methods and Reasoning. More»
#1108 Laurie Mintz - Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters and How to Get It

Jun 9, 2025

Dr. Laurie Mintz is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Florida, where she teaches the Psychology of Human Sexuality. She is the author of two books: Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters and How to Get It (HarperOne, 2017), and A Tired Woman’s Guide to Passionate Sex: Reclaim Your Desire and Reignite Your Relationship (Adams Media, 2009). More»
#1105 Kostas Kampourakis - Trusting Science: Why We Need to Reconsider School Science Teaching

Jun 2, 2025

Dr. Kostas Kampourakis is author and editor of several books about science. He works at the Teacher Training Institute and the Section of Biology at the University of Geneva. At the Section of Biology, he teaches the courses “Biologie et Société” and “Comprendre l’évolution”. He is the author and editor of several books, including Trusting Science: Why We Need to Reconsider School Science Teaching. More»