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 explorations: chaos predictability, black holes, futurist forecasting • AI, consciousness, intelligence definitions • Neuroscience/neuropharmacology curiosities • Science-fiction/war history themes • Social psychology: implicit bias, atrocities, inequality • Personal adversity journey to physics PhDThis podcast blends wide-ranging “rabbit hole” explorations in math and physics with discussions that extend into biology, neuroscience, computing, history, politics, and art. Hosted by a particle physicist and an electrical engineer/former science teacher, it often uses books, research papers, and other reference material as launching points for accessible but concept-driven conversations about how scientists and engineers model the world and what the limits of those models might be.
A recurring theme is the reach and boundaries of prediction and knowledge: what can be forecast in systems that are fundamentally chaotic, how organizations and governments might care about predictability, and how earlier visions of the future compare with what actually happened. The show also spends time on foundational questions in cognition and artificial intelligence, including how to think about consciousness, the distinction between “intelligence” and merely “intelligent behavior,” and what modern AI systems imply for those debates.
On the natural science side, topics range from astrophysical speculation (such as unusual possibilities for unseen objects in our solar system) to quirky but informative findings from biology and neuropharmacology, including animal behavior, psychoactive effects, and the way simple organisms or microorganisms can exhibit unexpectedly organized behavior. Conversations can include interviews with working researchers and science communicators.
Human and social dimensions appear as well, with episodes that connect scientific ideas to lived experience and public issues—such as personal narratives about education and adversity, discussions of how societies respond to atrocities, and an examination of implicit bias and the tools used to measure it. The podcast also touches on science fiction as a vehicle for thinking about history, war, and technological change, including the introduction of a narrative work by one of the hosts.
| Episodes: |
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Max Predictability in a Chaotic World 2021-May-10 23 minutes |
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Antique Futurism: How Accurate are Past Predictions About The Future (and Today)? 2021-Jan-26 31 minutes |
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Planet 9 May Be a Primordial Black Hole 2021-Jan-26 22 minutes |
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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 |
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The Science of Implicit Biases 2020-Jun-22 56 minutes |
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What is the Turing Rabbit Holes Math and Physics Podcast? 2020-Jun-06 40 minutes |