Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Math, physics, history, politics, and art all rolled into one.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Math/physics concepts: chaos, predictability limits, black holes • Futurism and technology forecasting • Consciousness, AI, intelligence • Neuroscience/neuropharmacology and unusual animal behavior • Implicit bias, atrocities, social psychology • Science fiction, war history, personal resilience storyThis podcast blends math and physics with broader excursions into biology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, history, politics, and art, aiming to connect technical ideas to human and societal questions. Hosted by a particle physicist and an electrical engineer/former science teacher, it frequently uses books, research papers, and well-known science communicators as touchpoints for discussion, while also drawing on the hosts’ own projects and experiences.
Across the episodes, a recurring theme is the reach and limits of scientific explanation. Topics include what it means to predict systems that are fundamentally chaotic, and how “maximum predictability” matters to large organizations such as corporations or nations. The show also revisits past attempts to forecast the future—examining how futurist predictions hold up over time—and uses these reflections to frame how technological change is anticipated and interpreted.
Another core strand is fundamental physics and cosmology, with conversations about black holes and the possibility of unusual objects within the solar system, alongside explanations of how different kinds of black holes might form. The podcast also explores mind and behavior from multiple angles: questions about consciousness and intelligence (including distinctions between intelligence and intelligent behavior), the relationship between cognition and modern AI systems, and biological and neuropharmacological curiosities that illustrate how brains and organisms respond to chemicals and stress.
Social and ethical dimensions appear through discussions of implicit bias and how learned behaviors can shape responses to injustice, including attention to tools used to measure bias. The podcast also sometimes turns inward, incorporating personal narrative about overcoming hardship, as well as science-fiction storytelling that uses historical settings and scientific discovery to explore geopolitical consequences. Overall, it presents wide-ranging “rabbit holes” that link quantitative science to culture, policy, and lived experience.
| Episodes: |
|
Max Predictability in a Chaotic World 2021-May-10 23 minutes |
|
Antique Futurism: How Accurate are Past Predictions About The Future (and Today)? 2021-Jan-26 31 minutes |
|
Planet 9 May Be a Primordial Black Hole 2021-Jan-26 22 minutes |
|
When Flatworms are Given Prozac . . . 2020-Nov-16 63 minutes |
War and Peace: Past, Present Future- Introducing Alex's Science Fiction Trilogy!2020-Aug-18 63 minutes |
Violence, Poverty, Ignorance, and a PhD in PHysics2020-Jul-31 50 minutes |
Can Science Explain Consciousness?2020-Jul-23 42 minutes |
|
The Science of Implicit Biases 2020-Jun-22 56 minutes |
|
What is the Turing Rabbit Holes Math and Physics Podcast? 2020-Jun-06 40 minutes |