Where Shall We Meet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest today is Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, where he is also Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Neuroscience of Consciousness Oxford University Press.Anil is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (2019-2024), which recognizes the top 0.1% of scientists in the world, by the impact of their publications.N - In 2023, he was awarded the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize, which is ‘awarded annually to the scientist or engineer whose expertise in communicating scientific ideas in lay terms is exemplary'.His 2021 book Being You: A New Science of Consciousness was a Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller, and was Economist, Guardian and FT Science Book of the Year. Anil edited and co-authored the best-selling 30 Second Brain, and also writes the blog NeuroBanter.We talk about:How to define consciousnessWhat it feels like to be a batAre we at the mercy of our brain chemistryThe concept of interoceptionThe white and gold OR the blue and black dressWe predict ourselves into existenceDoes consciousness need a bodyLet's get our neurons firing!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest today is Laura Clarke. She is the CEO of ClientEarth. She was recognised as one of the most influential climate business leaders globally in Time magazines top 100 climate list. Her background is in diplomacy and environmental advocacy. Laura was British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Governor of the Pitcairn Islands, High Commissioner to Samoa and has an OBE. Laura holds an MA in German and Russian from Cambridge University and a MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics.ClientEarth uses the law to hold polluting companies and negligent governments to account for the climate and nature crisis. It is one of the most ambitious environmental organisations that works across boarders, systems and sectors using the law to protect life on Earth. ClientEarth works in over 60 countries with around 140 active cases tackling the most pressing environmental challenges. The impact of this charity's work goes far beyond the cases that they fight in court but sets standards and creates precedents that lead to wider climate compliance.We talk about:Holding governments to climate laws2 million abandoned oil wellsUsing shareholder interests to companies accountableHolding directors personally liable for climate action not takenChina's proactive stance on climateHow we can use the law as citizensSuing multinational organisations into climate complianceHow 36 companies are responsible for half the world's total emissionsLet's go to courtWeb: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest today is Sam Harris. Sam is the host of the Making Sense Podcast and an the author of five New York Times best sellers. His books include The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, Waking Up, and Islam and the Future of Tolerance (with Maajid Nawaz). His writing and public lectures cover a wide range of topics—neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation practice, human violence, rationality—but generally focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live.Sam's work has been published in more than 20 languages and has been discussed in The New York Times, Time, Scientific American, Nature, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He has written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Economist, The Atlantic, Nature, among others. The Making Sense Podcast, which was selected by Apple as one of the “iTunes Best” and has won a Webby Award for best podcast in the Science & Education category.Sam received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. He has also practiced meditation for more than 30 years and has studied with many Tibetan, Indian, Burmese, and Western meditation teachers, both in the United States and abroad. He has created the Waking Up app for anyone who wants to learn to meditate in a modern, scientific context.We talk about:How failing at meditation is the best approachDissolving concepts that are made up by our mindHow to loose your headHis book the Moral LandscapeMoral absolutes versus moral relativismIs adversity is the only path to growthThe illusory distinction between rationality and emotionsHis book Free WillWhether we really know why we change our mindsHow losing a foot might lead to better podcastsAnd a lot moreLet's meditate!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest today is Suzanne O'Sullivan, the author of the book The Age of Diagnosis: Sickness, Health and Why Medicine Has Gone Too Far. Suzanne is a neurologist, clinical neurophysiologist, and writer. She has been a consultant since 2004 and has been at The National Hospital for Neurology and The Epilepsy Society since 2011. Her specialist interests are in epilepsy and in improving services for people who suffer with functional neurological disorders.Suzanne qualified in medicine in 1991 from Trinity College Dublin. In addition to academic publications in her field, she is an author of award-winning non-fiction books, each focusing on her medical casework.Her 2016 book, It's All in Your Head: True Stories of Imaginary Illness, won the Wellcome Book Prize, and the Royal Society of Biology's General Book Prize, for "for an accessible, engaging and informative life sciences book written for a non-specialist audience". Her book, The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness, was shortlisted for the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize.We talk about:Is there an epidemic of overdiagnosisExtending the definitions of disordersThe rise of ADHD and Autism diagnosisThe impact of this on either end of the spectrumHas this had a positive or negative effect on mental healthMedicalising natural mood swings and differencesIllness as identityCancer screening and proactive surgeryLet's analyseWeb: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest today is Nick Lane, who offers fresh insights on the theories of the origins of life. He is a Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London.Nick's research is on the way that energy flow has shaped evolution over 4 billion years, using a mixture of theoretical and experimental work to address the origin of life, the evolution of complex cells and downright peculiar behaviour such as sex.He has received many awards for his work. Among them the 2015 Biochemical Society Award for his outstanding contribution to molecular life sciences and 2016 Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture, the UK's premier award for excellence in communicating science.Nick is the author of five acclaimed books on evolutionary biochemistry, which have sold more than 150,000 copies worldwide, and been translated into 25 languages.We talk about:How it all began deep in the oceanThe similarity between a cell and the planetIs the earth only a giant batteryHow there are no clear definitions of what life isHow cloning is boring and sex creates differenceThe innovation of multi- over single cell lifeHow Genes shouldn't be in the limelight, while chemistry is doing all the workThe three domains of lifeLet's go back to the beginning!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest this week is Guy Standing, who is a British labour economist. He is professor of Development Studies at SOAS and co-founder of BIEN, the Basic Income Earth Network.He is best known as a long-standing and prominent advocate of Basic Income, but he is also responsible for redefining and revitalizing the term ‘precariat'.Guy has written extensively about capitalism and labour market policy. Among his many books are Basic income: and how we can make it happen, A plunder of the commons, a manifesto for sharing public wealth, The Corruption of Capitalism: Why Rentiers Thrive and Work Does Not Pay, The Blue Commons: Rescuing the Economy of the Sea.We talk about:A brief history of capitalismRentier capitalismThe emergence of a precariatPlutocracy and TrumpWill AI liberate us after allThe dignity of a basic income for everyoneRealisation and execution of basic income pilotsLet's debate!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest this week is David Whyte. David is a philosopher poet who, is the author of eight volumes of poetry and four books of prose, as well as a collection of audio recordings. He travels and lectures throughout the world, bringing his own and others' poetry to large audiences. He also works with corporations to teach them about conversational techniques.He holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has worked as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands. David also holds honorary degrees from Neumann University in Pennsylvania and Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, and is an Associate Fellow of the Said Business School at the University of Oxford.In our conversation we will focus on his recent books Consolations 1 and 2, which are about the nourishment and underlying meaning of everyday words.We talk about:Words as the magnifying glass of the human conditionA reading of AloneNot avoiding the difficult questionsA reading of InjuryThe interplay between the poet and the listenerA reading of HorizonThe Hawk of the GalapagosConversations we should stop havingThe difference between Oven and LoveDeath only happens to other peopleLet's listen.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest this week is William Sargent. He co-founded Framestore in 1986 and led its rise from an award winning commercials production house to world renowned film and digital studio. During three decades the company has worked on all the Harry Potter films (and the JK Rowling 'Fantastic Beasts') , Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, Paul King's Paddington, Dr Strange, Christopher Robin, Blade Runner 2049 and Marvel's Avengers Series.William and his team have won all the major creative awards including 3 Oscars, British Academy, Primetime Emmys, D&AD, Royal Television Society and most recently over 100 global awards for the newest format Virtual Reality.Equally at home in Hollywood and government, he was Permanent Secretary, Regulatory Reform, at the Cabinet Office, and Board Director of HM Treasury. He is currently a governor at Europe's largest arts complex Southbank Center, the U.K. governments innovation agency, Trinity College Dublin's Provost Council and the London Mayor's Business Council. William is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, member of BAFTA and the Academy. He received a CBE in 2004 and was knighted by the Queen in 2008.We talk about:Rear ProjectionStop motion animationAlfonso Cuaron's GravityHow music videos started the UK film industryGeorge Lucas' vision of multi-platform story tellingHow car manufacturing robots help in filmmakingTennis balls and florescent tapeHow to create dinosaursThe next decade of filmmakingLet's roll.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest today is Janine Benyus, who is the Co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8. She is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Since the book's 1997 release, Janine's work as a global thought leader has evolved the practice of biomimicry from a meme to a movement, inspiring clients and innovators around the world to learn from the genius of nature.She has personally introduced millions to biomimicry through two TED talks, hundreds of conference keynote presentations, and a dozen documentaries such as Biomimicry, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio's Tree Media, 11th Hour, Harmony, and The Nature of Things with David Suzuki, which aired in 71 countries.In 1998, Janine co-founded the Biomimicry Guild with Dr. Dayna Baumeister. That consultancy morphed into Biomimicry 3.8, a B-Corp social enterprise providing biomimicry consulting services to clients like Nike, General Electric, Herman Miller, Procter and Gamble, and Levi's.In 2006, Janine co-founded The Biomimicry Institute, a non-profit institute to embed biomimicry in formal education and informal spaces such as museums and nature centers. Over 11,000 members are now part of the Biomimicry Global Network, working to practice, teach, and spread biomimicry in their region. In 2008, the institute launched AskNature.org, an award-winning bio-inspiration site for inventors.Janine believes that the more people learn from nature's mentors, the more they'll want to protect them. This is why she writes, speaks, and communicates so prolifically about biomimicry.We talk about:Learning from biological systemsWaging war against nature rather than allyingHow profitable emulating nature can beFitting form to functionHow ant colonies inspire mobile phone networksThe dependence of the agricultural system on oilPhotosynthetic Reaction CentreNature is the best chemistAI helping the detective work of biologistsLet's get inspired by nature!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!We are talking about Ancestry today. Our guest is Maya Jasanoff who is the Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard University's History Department.Maya's teaching and research extend from the history of the British Empire to global history. She is the author of three prize-winning books. The Dawn Watch examines the dynamics of modern globalization through the life and times of the novelist Joseph Conrad. Her other books are Liberty's Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World and her first book,  Edge of Empire explores British expansion in India and Egypt through the lives of art collectors. She is currently working on a book about the human preoccupation with ancestry.In addition to classes on imperial history, she teaches a multidisciplinary Gen Ed course on the topic of "Ancestry: Where Do We Come From and Why Do We Care?". In 2015 Jasanoff was named a Harvard College Professor for excellence in undergraduate teaching. From 2019 to 2022, she is a part-time Visiting Professor at Ahmedabad University in India, where she has been helping launch new curricula in the liberal arts.Jasanoff has been a Guggenheim Fellow (2013), a fellow at the New York Public Library's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, a Kluge Chair at the Library of Congress, and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study. She has participated in several BBC documentaries, and her essays and reviews regularly appear in publications including The New York Review of Books, The Guardian, The New Yorker and The New York Times.We will be talking about:The history of ancestryCaste systems in IndiaHerder and the Idea of a NationImmigrant nationsBards as knowledge keepersRace as a factor for resource allocationAffirmative Action university admissionGenerational privilege and dispossessionTransatlantic slave tradeLet's go back to our roots!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Today we managed to catch Tim Minchin on his book tour between Brighton and Piccadilly London. He is an Australian actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter. Tim is also a piano playing comedian extraordinaire. His recent book “You Don't Have To Have A Dream: Advice for the Incrementally Ambitious” became an instant Sunday Times bestseller.He has released several albums, comedy specials, and live comedy shows that he has performed internationally. He is the composer and lyricist of the Olivier Award-winning, Tony Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated show Matilda the Musical and the Olivier Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated show Groundhog Day The Musical. In 2013, he played rock star Atticus Fetch on Californication and in 2019 he co-wrote and starred as Lucky Flynn in the TV series Upright.Tim has been awarded several honorary Doctorates for his contribution to the arts. His “9 life lessons” acceptance speech went viral and has been viewed 10s of millions of times. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours "for significant service to the performing arts, and to the community".We will talk about:Self-censoring and policing opinionFree speech absolutismLife without social mediaAssertion of tribal identityPeople just wanting a hugDecontextualising of text messagesThe sloganisation of the worlds informationGinger haired peopleBeing consumers versus creatorsBothsidesismMale Homo Sapiens are dangerous thingsLet's get into it!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest today is Tessa Clarke. She the is Co-Founder & CEO of Olio, the anti-waste app tackling the climate crisis by solving the problem of waste in our homes & local communities. Olio does this by connecting people with their neighbours so they can give away rather than throw away their spare food and other household items. It is powered by volunteers who collect unsold food from local businesses such as Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Holland & Barrett, and redistribute it to the community via the Olio app. Its impact has been widely recognised, most notably by the United Nations who highlighted Olio as a "beacon” for the world, and by Vivatech who awarded Olio "Next European Unicorn". Olio is also a proud B Corp, and Tessa is an Ambassador of the Better Business Act.Prior to Olio, Tessa had a 15 year corporate career as a digital Managing Director in the media, retail and financial services sectors, and she met her co-founder Saasha whilst they were studying for their MBAs at Stanford University. Tessa is passionate about the sharing economy as a solution for a sustainable world, and about ‘profit with purpose' as the next business paradigm. Tessa's TED talk about the power of sharing has been watched over 1 million times, and in 2023 she was awarded the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award, the longest running award for female business leaders.We will talk about:That we throw away 30% of our foodAnd that the majority of this is in our homesThe truth about plastic bottlesReframing charity as sharingUgly applesEarth Overshoot DayConnecting with your neighboursThe truth about use by and sell by datesThe Circular EconomyLet's get wasted.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!Our guest today is Maria Popova, who thinks and writes about our search for meaning — sometimes through science and philosophy, sometimes through poetry and children's books, always through the lens of wonder. She is the creator of The Marginalian (born in 2006 under the name Brain Pickings), an online publication, which she has fought to keep free and advertisement free. It features her writing on books, art, science, philosophy and poetry. It is included in the Library of Congress permanent digital archive of culturally valuable materials. She's also the author of Figuring, and maker of the live show “The Universe in Verse” — a charitable celebration of the wonder of reality through stories of science winged with poetry, which is now also a book.In addition to her writing and related speaking engagements, she has served as an MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow, as the editorial director at the higher education social network Lore, and has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired UK, and other publications.We will talk about:Dissatisfaction as propulsive forceProductivity as a band aidPerformative Identity versus SoulInstagram WisdomEveryone is a living question - the question is what is the questionPoetry as a side door to consciousnessWriting as a clarifying forceResisting Dinner PartiesThe Price of consciousness is awareness of mortality”The Republic of Letters”Now let's search for meaning.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!In this episode we talk to Ben Macintyre. He is a columnist and Associate Editor on The Times. He is also an award wining authour and one of the most acclaimed writers of espionage history. His books Agent Zigzag A Spy Among Friends, The Spy and the Traitor; Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy ; Operation Mincemeat, Double Cross and SAS: Rogue Heroes have reached bestseller status and many have been adapted for the screen.Ben's latest book Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle tells the astonishing true story of history's most infamous prison and became the biggest selling history book of 2022 and a No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller. His upcoming book The Siege is about the greatet SAS hostage drama held in the Iranian Embassy London.We will talk about:The ultimate history curriculumHow reality is always stranger than fictionHistorical quantum leapsAgent versus structre theoryUncovering the hidden stories of spiesHow much of history is the story of the victorsHow much virality could change the way we tell history in the futureYou can pre-order Ben's new book "The Siege" here.Let's travel through time!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!In this episode we speak to Dr. Roslind Watts. Dr Watts is a clinical psychologist, and a nature lover. Her work as the Clinical Lead for Imperial College London's psilocybin trial has made her one of the most prominent voices and minds in the field of psychedelic research.Dr Watts has been named as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Psychedelics. She builds tools and structures to foster connectedness after psychedelic experiences, finding inspiration for their design from nature. She co-founded the UK's first psychedelic integration group, and in 2022 launched ACER a global online integration community.We will talk about:The difference between Macro and microdosingCategorising synthetic and natural compoundsThe Importance of post trip integrationHow psychedelics are changing approaches to therapyThe condundrum of corporate interests and democratisation useRegulationACERAppropriation of indegenous practices“Doing the work” and being a tenant of your own traumaThe Default Mode NetworkMore about Dr. Rosalind Watt's ACER framework here.Now let's go on a trip!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!In this episode we talk to Ali Eslami, who is a Principal Research Scientist at Google DeepMind studying artificial intelligence. He's currently also Director of Research Strategy for Google Gemini. Prior to this, he led a team at DeepMind working on generative models, self-supervised learning, multi-modal large language models. He also led the Quantum Chemistry and Materials team in Science.Prior to DeepMind, he was a post-doctoral researcher at Microsoft Research Cambridge. He did his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, where he was a Carnegie scholar. During that time he was also a visiting researcher at Oxford University in the visual geometry group.We talk about:The emergence of the AI landscapeWhether you need a body to understand the worldHuman perception slash PlatoThe difference between how humans and AI learnHow AI models are built and trainedDifferences between Machine learning and Generative AIMarcus Aurelius and how amazing the human brain isWhether we are about to surrender our sovereignty to AILet's log in!Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!In this episode we talk to Erling Kagge who is an explorer, author, publisher, art collector, and the first person to have completed the Three Poles Challenge on foot—the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. He has written eight books on exploration, philosophy, and art collecting. They have been published in 42 different languages. His next book is 'The North Pole - The History of an Obsession', which out later this year.In this episode we talk about:Searching for infinity in the North PoleThe hardship of explorationAnd how inconvenience is good for youWearing the same clothes for 50 daysConfronting Polar BearsPooping at minus 50How a single raisin can make your dayLiving underground in sewersAnd whether silence can be measuredWe recommend listening to this episode while walking!Here a link to Erling's book 'Walking: One Step at a Time'Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!In this episode we are speaking to Nitin Sawhney, who is a multifaceted artist whose career spans music, film, theatre and dance. Nitin is a world-renowned composer, producer, and musician, celebrated for his ability to blend a wide array of musical styles, including classical, jazz, electronica, and traditional Indian music. He also produces other artists work, offering stewardship to many talented young musicians. His work has earned him over 20 international awards, a CBE, a Mercury Prize nomination and an Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award.Beyond his albums, Nitin has composed scores for film, television, and stage productions, showcasing his versatility and depth as an artist. His collaborations read like a who's who of the music and entertainment world, featuring artists such as Paul McCartney, Sting, Annie Lennox, Nora Jones, Anoushka Shankar, Joss Stone and Jeff Beck. His influence extends to activism as well, using his platform to address social and political issues.We talk about:The neuroscience of musicNature and musicHow cultures create different musical frameworksThe impact of technology on music productionWhy is it that music affects our mood?The fabulousness of Nitin's musical careerWill copyright survive AI?And the existential questions that arise form thisPress play and enjoy the music!Here's a link to Nitin's newest Album Identity.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!In this episode we'll talk to Tugce Bulut. She recently launched Luna, a GenAI dating coach that aims to transform the dating market. She is committed about providing a solution to what she believes is a loneliness crisis. Previously, Tugce was a strategy consultant at EY Parthenon advising Private Equity houses on M&A. Tugce is a published author and a Cambridge economist, specialising in the use of technology to bolster economic development. She is passionate about the power of AI and the positive change it can bring to the world. As a serial entrepreneur, Tugce started a number of AI businesses including Streetbees where she served as the CEO for 8 years.We will discuss:Are tick boxes really the way to find your life partnerHas dating become yet another jobThe rapid adoption of dating apps as a way to meet your romantic partnerHow many more men than women there are on hetero-normative appsAnd how having fewer women creates unique dynamicsDemocratising the access to relationship coachesThe tradition of arranged marriagesHow responsible Hollywood is for creating unrealistic expectationsIf you enjoyed this date, you can sign up for Luna on the My Alchemy website.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!In this episode we speak to Roy Greenslade, a renowned journalist with a career spanning over 40 years. He was the media commentator for the Guardian newspaper for 28 years and ex-editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper. He is also an author, historian and former professor of journalism at City University London where he has had an influence on the next generation of journalists. Despite his frequent criticism of the press, Roy continues to hold a sympathy for the values of traditional media and a concern for what its loss of influence means in our culture.Together we explore legacy vs social media. In particular:Benefits of citizen journalismAccountability of the traditional editorial modelMedia manipulation by powerful elitesPost trust and post truthThe virality of narratives which provide simplistic answersVersus: nuanced discussion asking complicated questionsProliferation of ‘angertainment' through algorithmsIf you want to hear more from Roy, follow him on Twitter.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

In this episode we talk to Sophie Hackford about technology. Sophie is a futurist, and has given 220+ provocative talks to boards and exec teams on novel science and tech. Sophie is an advisor to John Deere & Co, on the future of food, climate, and agriculture. Sophie is also an advisor to New Lab in Brooklyn. Sophie co-founded and chaired 1715Labs: a spinout from Oxford University's Astrophysics Department, labelling data to train algorithms. She previously worked at WIRED Magazine, Singularity University on the NASA Research Park in Silicon Valley, and the Oxford Martin School at Oxford University, where she raised $120m for frontier-bending research.Our conversation covers:the merger of biological and silicon-based systemsis technological advancement actually progress for humanitythe hidden power of "dark compute"interspecies communicationthe power of narratives to inspire and drive positive changeinnovative solutions in environmental monitoring and conservationIf you want to help make science more relevant, representative and connected  consider checking out The British Science Association.If you want to channel your inner citizen scientist how about classifying some galaxies on the Galaxy Zoo page.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

In this episode we talk to Alastair Campbell about Democracy. Alastair Campbell, who doesn't really need an introduction if you already listen to his podcast The Rest is Politics. Alastair served under Tony Blair as Downing Street Press Secretary from 1997–2000 and then became Downing Street's director of communications and spokesman for the Labour Party 2000–2003 playing a pivotal role in shaping the New Labour. He's an accomplished author, publishing both best selling novels and non-fiction books about mental health, the media, the environment and most recently two books for kids 'Why Politics Matters' and ‘How Politics Works'.Can modern democracy keep up with the pace of change in today's world? On this episode of "Where Shall We Meet," we try to tackle this critical question. Alistair offers his unique insights draw comparisons between Western democracies and city-states like Singapore, and even monarchies like the UAE, to examine the pressing need for renewed civic engagement and political accountability.Join us for a stimulating conversation that underscores the crucial need for political reform and early political education.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet

Welcome to 'Where Shall We Meet' a new podcast with your hosts Natascha McElhone and Omid Ashtari. This is a medley of our upcoming Episodes.Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyzTwitter: @whrshallwemeetInstagram: @whrshallwemeet