Podcasts about eo wilson

How can we design our cities and towns that are not only sustainable but also help us flourish. In this podcast we explore the intersection between One Planet Living and Biophilic Design - two transformative approaches that reimagine our relationship with the natural world. Sue Riddlestone, co-founder of BioRegional, offers a compelling vision of how we can redesign our living spaces to harmonise with nature.Sue tells us about what is in effect a beautiful living laboratory and case study, BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development), a groundbreaking eco-village that serves as a blueprint for sustainable living. Sue describes it as "probably the first large net zero development in the UK," featuring 100 homes, workspace, and a school that breathes life into the concept of nature-integrated design.What makes BedZED extraordinary is its holistic approach. Sue recalls how residents could look out of windows and see green spaces, hear hedgehogs "snuffling and snorting," and experience nature as an integral part of daily life. The community didn't just design with nature - they actively enhanced it, with the residents' association continuing to plant and nurture the surrounding environment.These principles of interconnection, which both One Planet Living and Biophilic Design share are fundamental principles that prioritise human connection with natural systems. Sue emphasises this critical perspective: "We are nature. We are part of nature." The One Planet Living framework's 10 principles directly align with biophilic design goals from encouraging the specification of natural materials to processes that do not destroy life but enhance it, and also which bring community together and enhance health and happiness.I was really struck by Sue's generosity of spirit not only in what she does, but also with her advice, giving freely suggestions on how we can bring about change faster. Sue offers several transformative pieces of advice for designers, architects, and communities. First of all design for people: "Think about a day in the life" of residents, considering how design can make sustainable living effortless. With this in mind engage communities. Successful sustainable design happens when local people are involved in the planning process.Secondly, embrace natural materials, and she describes how timber buildings can transform spaces. Sue describes walking into the Black and White Building in London, noting the "wonderful smell" and how the wooden environment felt inherently relaxing.(see our podcast we did with the architect Andrew Waugh on this too https://journalofbiophilicdesign.com/podcast-journal-of-biophilic-design/tall-timber-buildings-are-they-the-future-of-our-urban-landscape ).Also Sue celebrates EO Wilson's vision of allowing "half the earth" for nature, integrating green spaces into every design. We need to make space for nature. As well as creating balanced eco systems and creating more biodiversity, integrating nature can mitigate heat island effects, reduce flooding risks, improve mental health, support biodiversity as well as create more resilient communities.Sue's ultimate vision would see us all "Living happy, healthy lives within the natural limits of the planet and leaving sufficient space for nature, wildlife and wilderness to thrive."One of the beautiful things about this podcast and community is the collaborative path that we are all treading together. It's about "bringing the best of nature into our environment" - not just through plants, but through materials, patterns, and design that reflect our evolutionary connection to the natural world.For architects, designers, and communities, One Planet Living and Biophilic Design offer a roadmap. They remind us that sustainable design is not about sacrifice, but about creating spaces that nurture both human and ecological well-being.The journey begins with understanding our fundamental connection to nature - and designing accordingly.Join us Monday 9th June at 1pm UK time to hear more about the One Planet Living framework and how it fits in with Biophilic Design: in our regular lunchtime Biophilic Design Networking - Cities, Health and Wealth - how biophilic design improves all three. Steve Hart will also be joining us where we we will exploring the fusion of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Hydrology and Biophillia through Systems Ecology. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/journalofbiophilicdesign/1679497We are organising a Learning Walk for interested designers and specifiers, Come with us to visit BedZed for yourself and ask questions on the day to people living there as well as a guide from BedZed itself.For more information on BioRegional visit:https://www.bioregional.com/one-planet-livingIf you like this, please subscribe!Have you got a copy of the Journal? You can now subscribe and become a member of the Journal of Biophilic Design or purchase a copy of the Journal journalofbiophilicdesign.com or Amazon. Watch the Biophilic Design Conference on demand here www.biophilicdesignconference.com Credits: with thanks to George Harvey Audio Production for the calming biophilic soundscape that backs all of our podcasts. Listen to our podcast on Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube and all the RSS feeds.Facebook https://www.facebook.com/journalofbiophilicdesign/Twitter https://twitter.com/JofBiophilicDsnLinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/journalofbiophilicdesign/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/journalofbiophilicdesign

Tiny Pulpit Talks is a new podcast series from First Unitarian Church of Dallas that takes a behind-the-scenes look at ministry from a Unitarian Universalist perspective. This is a rare opportunity to see what goes into crafting meaningful and inspirational sermons and how worship comes together each Sunday. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

This week, I spoke with James Plunkett, a man who has spent his career at the intersection of policy and social change. From the halls of Number Ten to the charity sector's front lines, James's unique perspective has birthed a book that critically examines what's wrong with our society and offers tangible fixes. Together, we dissect our societal challenges, from outdated institutions to the technology of gods, and discuss structured ways to mend a fractured system.James has spent his entire career thinking laterally about the complicated relationships between individuals and the state, with a particular focus on digital transformation and public policy, from the social innovation agency Nesta to the charity Citizens Advice and before that roles at 10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, and the Resolution Foundation think tank.James combines a deep understanding of social issues with an appreciation of how change is playing out not in the ivory tower, but in the reality of people's lives. As a result of all these insights, he's written an optimistic book, 'End State: 9 Ways Society is Broken and How we fix it.'  that explores how we can reform the state to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.As you'll hear, he didn't think of this as a hopeful book when he began - it was more of a response to seeing the ways the old system of the 20th century was not keeping up with the new world. How we have, in EO WIlson's words, 'Paleolithic emotions, Mediaeval Institutions and the Technology of gods' and this isn't necessarily a good combination to face the meta-crisis. But James did come out with hope for the future and structured ways our current system could make these happen. Accidental Gods often inhabits a world where the current system is broken beyond repair and the only answer is to create a new one and help people shift into it. So this was fascinating, enlivening conversation with someone who has lived and worked in the heart of the superorganism and can see ways through to a world where the human and more than human worlds flourish. James's book https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/james-plunkett/end-state/9781398702202/James on Twitter https://twitter.com/jamestplunkettJames on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/jamestplunkett.bsky.socialJames on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-plunkett-a1472827/James on Medium https://medium.com/@jamestplunkett

In November, the comedian Matt Rife released his first Netflix special, "Natural Selection." Early in the show he made a joke about domestic violence that many people took offense to. Since then, he's clapped back at a number of people on social media (including a six-year-old boy), published a fake apology that linked to helmets for people with disabilities, and has been praised by many right-wing pundits, including the focus of today's bonus episode, Jordan Peterson. Derek looks at the escalation and rhetoric that's occurred since the special, arguing that the real misogynistic thinking has taken place since the special first aired. Note: Derek states that biologist EO Wilson is famous for popularizing the term "alpha male." This was actually primatologist Frans de Waal. Show Notes Bunny Hedaya claps back at Matt Rife Should you rely on first instincts when answering a multiple choice exam? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE 1796: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Richard Rhodes, author of SCIENTIST, about E.O. Wilson and the great biologist's life in natureRichard Rhodes is the author or editor of 22 books, including The Twilight of the Bomb, the last volume in a quartet about nuclear history. The first, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, won the Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, and a National Book Critics Circle Award. He has received numerous fellowships for research and writing, including grants from the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He has been a visiting scholar at Harvard and MIT and a host and correspondent for documentaries on public television's Frontline and American Experience series. An affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, he lectures frequently to audiences in the United States and abroad.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

Masters students Mariana Kendall and Nicholas Fairbairn sit down with Dr. Carter Smith to learn about her circuitous career path to research ecology. Carter explains how her non-traditional and non-linear path to the sciences has made her a better researcher and educator. We center our conversation on the topic of ecological restoration, a field that inspired EO Wilson to deem the coming era the “Age of Restoration” and the UN to declare a “Decade of Ecological Restoration.” What is the next frontier for this field and how has Dr. Smith seen the field evolve throughout her career? What techniques are most salient and what considerations should practitioners and managers keep in mind when restoring an ecosystem? Dr. Smith shares insights into these questions and, along the way, touches on imposter syndrome in the sciences, ecological grief, and the merits of failure. This episode was recorded in Fall 2022 as part of our Lab Notes series.

Are you living your life like sand slipping through an hourglass? Or do you seize the day and make the most of every precious moment? Join us as we ponder the symbolism of the hourglass, how we can shift our mindset to make the most of our time here, and how connection and purpose enrich our lives. We grapple with EO Wilson's thought-provoking notion of our stone-age emotions amidst god-like technology and Carissa Schumacher's insights on progress without evolution, and reflect on how our instincts guide us, despite our apparent societal advancement.

Edward O. Wilson, a leading advocate of global conservation, is one of the great thinkers of the 20th century. His groundbreaking research, original thinking, and scientific and popular writing have contributed to change the way humans think of nature. He has received many of the world's leading prizes for his research in science, his environmental activism, and his writing. We spoke with Wilson, who currently is a research professor and museum curator at Harvard University, about his latest book, The Diversity of Life, that soon will be available in 14 languages around the world.

Can we imagine a world where we leave half the earth to the natural environment and use the other half for ourselves? Can we change history and protect the Indigenous, the vulnerable, and the very poorest in society?Mark Maslin is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London. Maslin is a leading expert in understanding the anthropocene and how it relates to the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. He has written a number of books on the issue of climate change, his most book is How to Save Our Planet: The Facts."EO Wilson suggested that we had to think about the world as a place that we share. And he said: Look, we always seem to need a lot of stuff. So why don't we leave half the earth to the natural environment and allow all the natural processes that we need, and then we use the other half for ourselves. And it's an interesting concept because it says to economists and to the capitalist system: you cannot use all of it. You have to leave half of it to allow the systems to produce clean air, clean water, and allow for biodiversity and ecosystems to restore themselves."www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/mark-maslinwww.penguin.co.uk/books/320155/how-to-save-our-planet-by-maslin-mark/9780241472521www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcastAll images courtesy of Mark Maslin

"EO Wilson suggested that we had to think about the world as a place that we share. And he said: Look, we always seem to need a lot of stuff. So why don't we leave half the earth to the natural environment and allow all the natural processes that we need, and then we use the other half for ourselves. And it's an interesting concept because it says to economists and to the capitalist system: you cannot use all of it. You have to leave half of it to allow the systems to produce clean air, clean water, and allow for biodiversity and ecosystems to restore themselves."Can we imagine a world where we leave half the earth to the natural environment and use the other half for ourselves? Can we change history and protect the Indigenous, the vulnerable, and the very poorest in society?Mark Maslin is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London. Maslin is a leading expert in understanding the anthropocene and how it relates to the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. He has written a number of books on the issue of climate change, his most book is How to Save Our Planet: The Facts.www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/mark-maslinwww.penguin.co.uk/books/320155/how-to-save-our-planet-by-maslin-mark/9780241472521www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcastImage courtesy of Mark Maslin

Can we imagine a world where we leave half the earth to the natural environment and use the other half for ourselves? Can we change history and protect the Indigenous, the vulnerable, and the very poorest in society?Mark Maslin is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London. Maslin is a leading expert in understanding the anthropocene and how it relates to the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. He has written a number of books on the issue of climate change, his most book is How to Save Our Planet: The Facts."EO Wilson suggested that we had to think about the world as a place that we share. And he said: Look, we always seem to need a lot of stuff. So why don't we leave half the earth to the natural environment and allow all the natural processes that we need, and then we use the other half for ourselves. And it's an interesting concept because it says to economists and to the capitalist system: you cannot use all of it. You have to leave half of it to allow the systems to produce clean air, clean water, and allow for biodiversity and ecosystems to restore themselves."www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/mark-maslinwww.penguin.co.uk/books/320155/how-to-save-our-planet-by-maslin-mark/9780241472521www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcastAll images courtesy of Mark Maslin

"EO Wilson suggested that we had to think about the world as a place that we share. And he said: Look, we always seem to need a lot of stuff. So why don't we leave half the earth to the natural environment and allow all the natural processes that we need, and then we use the other half for ourselves. And it's an interesting concept because it says to economists and to the capitalist system: you cannot use all of it. You have to leave half of it to allow the systems to produce clean air, clean water, and allow for biodiversity and ecosystems to restore themselves."Can we imagine a world where we leave half the earth to the natural environment and use the other half for ourselves? Can we change history and protect the Indigenous, the vulnerable, and the very poorest in society?Mark Maslin is a Professor of Earth System Science at University College London. Maslin is a leading expert in understanding the anthropocene and how it relates to the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. He has written a number of books on the issue of climate change, his most book is How to Save Our Planet: The Facts.www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/mark-maslinwww.penguin.co.uk/books/320155/how-to-save-our-planet-by-maslin-mark/9780241472521www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcastImage courtesy of Mark Maslin

The task of nation-building did not end with our founders, and does not stop at our politicians. It's up to us to build the India we want to see. Nitin Pai joins Amit Varma in episode 318 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his life, his learnings and his liberal nationalism. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Nitin Pai on his own website, Mint & Mastodon . 2. The Nitopadesha -- Moral Tales for Good Citizens. 3. The archives of The Acorn, Nitin Pai's blog. And its current avatar. 4. Nitin Pai's ideas, notes and current research and teaching. 5. The Takshashila Institution. 6. Seven Tenets of Indian Nationalism -- Nitin Pai. 7. In support of a liberal nationalism -- Nitin Pai. 8. A republic - if we can keep it -- Nitin Pai. 9. Saving the Nation From Nationalists -- Nitin Pai. 10. The real problem is that we have too little republic -- Nitin Pai. 11. The operating system of liberal democracy needs a major upgrade -- Nitin Pai. 12. Social harmony is a matter of national interest -- Nitin Pai. 13. Liberal democracies must protect their citizens' minds from being hacked -- Nitin Pai. 14. Understanding Foreign Policy — Episode 63 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Nitin Pai). 15. Russia, Ukraine, Foreign Policy -- Episode 268 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Pranay Kotasthane and Nitin Pai). 16. The City and the City — China Miéville. 17. The State of Our Economy -- Episode 252 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Puja Mehra and Mohit Satyanand). 18. The Tragedy of Our Farm Bills — Episode 211 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ajay Shah). 19. Who We Are and How We Got Here — David Reich. 20. Early Indians — Tony Joseph. 21. Early Indians — Episode 112 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tony Joseph). 22. The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People — Michael Shermer. 23. History of European Morals — WEH Lecky. 24. The Expanding Circle: Ethics, Evolution, and Moral Progress — Peter Singer. 25. How the BJP Wins — Prashant Jha. 26. The BJP's Magic Formula — Episode 45 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Prashant Jha). 27. Caste, Capitalism and Chandra Bhan Prasad — Episode 296 of The Seen and the Unseen. 28. Episodes of The Seen and the Unseen w Pranay Kotasthane: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 29. Rohini Nilekani Pays It Forward -- Episode 317 of The Seen and the Unseen. 30. Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar : A citizen-first approach — Rohini Nilekani. 31. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind — Gustave le Bon. 32. Crowds and Power — Elias Canetti. 33. EO Wilson on Amazon, Wikipedia and Britannica. 34. Narendra Modi takes a Great Leap Backwards — Amit Varma (on Modi, Mao and locusts). 35. FAQ: Why Anna Hazare is wrong and Lok Pal a bad idea -- Nitin Pai. 36. Sadanand Dhume on Twitter -- and this podcast! 37. Social media is an existential threat to civilisation -- Nitin Pai. 38. Reframing the social media policy debate -- Nitin Pai. 39. The coming regulation of social media is an opportunity for India -- Nitin Pai. 40. The Double ‘Thank-You' Moment — John Stossel. 41. Thinking Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman. 42. Human — Michael S Gazzaniga. 43. The Interpreter — Amit Varma. 44. The Elephant in the Brain -- Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson. 45. Freedom to Think -- Susie Alegre. 46. Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas — Natasha Dow Schüll. 47. The Importance of the 1991 Reforms — Episode 237 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan and Ajay Shah). 48. The Forgotten Greatness of PV Narasimha Rao — Episode 283 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vinay Sitapati). 49. The Life and Times of Montek Singh Ahluwalia — Episode 285 of The Seen and the Unseen. 50. The original Takshashila. 51. Understanding Gandhi. Part 1: Mohandas — Episode 104 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 52. Understanding Gandhi. Part 2: Mahatma — Episode 105 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 53. Hind Swaraj — MK Gandhi. 54. Nikita -- Elton John. 55. The Importance of Cities — Episode 108 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Reuben Abraham & Pritika Hingorani). 56. The Gentle Wisdom of Pratap Bhanu Mehta -- Episode 300 of The Seen and the Unseen. 57. The Arthashastra -- Kautilya 58. On Exactitude in Science — Jorge Luis Borges. 59. Emergent Ventures. 60. Friedrich Hayek on Wikipedia, Britannica, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Econlib. 61. Milton Friedman on Amazon, Wikipedia, Britannica and Econlib. 62. Arshia Sattar and the Complex Search for Dharma -- Episode 315 of The Seen and the Unseen. 63. Every Act of Government Is an Act of Violence — Amit Varma. 64. The Generation of Rage in Kashmir — David Devadas. 65. Counterinsurgency Warfare — David Galula. 66. We Won't Need To Fight A War If We Can Win The Peace — Amit Varma. 67. Kashmir and Article 370 -- Episode 134 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Srinath Raghavan). 68. Think the Unthinkable (2008) -- Vir Sanghvi. 69. Independence Day for Kashmir (2008) -- Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar. 70. The Anti-Defection Law — Episode 13 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Barun Mitra). 71. Our Parliament and Our Democracy — Episode 253 of The Seen and the Unseen (w MR Madhavan). 72. Abby Philips Fights for Science and Medicine — Episode 310 of The Seen and the Unseen. 73. Why Read the Classics? — Italo Calvino. 74. History Of Western Philosophy -- Bertrand Russell. 75. Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud -- Peter Watson. 76. Arthashastra -- Kautilya (translated by Shama Shastri). 77. The Upanishads. 78. The Mahabharata -- translated by Bibek Debroy. 79. Brihatkatha, Kathasaritsagara, Panchatantra and Hitopadesha. 80. Charvaka and Jayarāśi Bhaṭṭa. 81. Tattvopaplavasiṃha -- Jayarāśi Bhaṭṭa. 82. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams. 83. Catch 22 -- Joseph Heller. 84. Commanding Hope -- Thomas Homer-Dixon. 85. Paul Auster, David Mitchell, Haruki Murakami, Ryu Murakami and Terry Pratchett on Amazon. 86. Piercing -- Ryu Murakami. 87. 2021 - The Year in Fiction -- Nitin Pai. 88. Bhimsen Joshi, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Radiohead, Norah Jones, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Himesh Reshammiya and Yehudi Menuhin on Spotify. 89. Take Five -- The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. And subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter. It's free! Episode art: ‘The Bigger Picture' by Simahina.

On today's ID the Future historian Richard Weikart (Cal State Stanislaus) dissects a recent Cambridge University Press book on social Darwinism by Jeffrey O'Connell and Michael Ruse. Weikart, author of Hitler's Ethic, From Darwin to Hitler, Hitler's Religion, and The Death of Humanity, says a major shortcoming of the Cambridge UP book is the authors' attempt to put as much distance as possible between Darwin and eugenics thinking, and between Darwin and Hitler. The new book paints Darwin follower Herbert Spencer as the eugenics-championing bad guy and contends that Darwin and Darwinism had little or no influence on Hitler's warped master-race ethic. Weikart patiently highlights some key evidence to the contrary, including statements front and center in Hitler's writing. Did Darwin cause Hitler? No. Would Darwin have approved Read More › Source

Subtitle: Media trauma. Sounds scary… but (our own) Bob Hutchins and Jenny Black's new book, Our Digital Soul helps to, “guide you through the overwhelming maze of modern life to the life you really want, as it takes a hard look at the impacts of digital media and the trauma that results for all ages and every generation. Backed by research and experience, Black and Hutchins share their own personal journeys as well as those of their clients to explore a path where we can recover and thrive alongside our digital reality.” We dive deep on Bob's new book, trauma bonds, technology, social media, small-t trauma, and more on this insightful episode.    Summary: What is media trauma? In order to understand what media trauma is, we first need to acknowledge that all technology is an extension of us. Because of this it impacts and changes who we are physiologically, psychologically, emotionally, and as a community. The magnitude of this impact is partially due to the imbalance of our brains and our technology. While our technology has continued to advance, our brains have stayed the same. This imbalance can lead to overwhelming amounts of small-t traumas. Small t-traumas are things such as a breakup, the death of a pet, losing a job, getting bullied, or being rejected by a friend group. These social small t-traumas happen even more online, that compound upon each other, causing media trauma. All trauma is created through trauma bonds and trauma bonds are defined as “emotional bonds with an individual that arise from a recurring cyclical pattern of abuse, perpetuated by intermittent reinforcement through rewards and punishment.” If we changed the word “individual” into “technology” would that statement not define our relationship with technology? In order to heal from media trauma, we must become aware of it, educate ourselves and others on the magnitude of media trauma, and begin to exercise self discipline. We will dive even further into Bob Hutchins and Jenny Black's book, Our Digital Soul in the next episode; you definitely won't want to miss it! We also highly encourage you to check out their book on Amazon or ourdigitalsoul.com and let us know your thoughts or questions in the comments below.    Top 3 Curtain Pulls in this episode:    All technology is an extension of us. Though technology can be a very broad term it could include things that are considered commonplace along with computer and internet based inventions. Consider this; an airplane is an extension of our feet and a shovel is an extension of our arms. With this kind of perspective, computers could be considered extensions of our brain and the internet an extension of our nervous system. This understanding helps lay the foundation for comprehending media trauma and the magnitude of its impact. “If it's an extension of us, then it fundamentally changes us. Physiologically, psychologically, and as communities…” We have godlike technology. Bob has mentioned this quote before, “The problem with humanity is we have Paleolithic brains, medieval institutions and godlike technology”. Due to this unique combination, this can lead to overwhelming amounts of small-t traumas because of the imbalance between us and our technology. Media trauma is real. We've all experienced feeling left out, and this feeling along with others is magnified and multiplied by social media, creating repeating small-t traumas that compound upon one another. Bob defines trauma bonds as relating to an abusive relationship with a spouse, and changes “someone” into “technology”, as a stark description of our relationship with technology. He doesn't make this comparison lightly. “Trauma bonds, or emotional bonds, with a device or a technology that arise from recurring cyclical patterns of abuse, perpetuated by inner intermittent reinforcement, through rewards and punishment.”   For more tips, discussion, and behind the scenes: Follow us on Instagram @AgencyPodcast Join our closed Facebook community for agency leaders   About The Guys:  Bob Hutchins: Founder of BuzzPlant, a digital agency that he ran from from 2000 -2017. He is also the author of 3 books. More on Bob:  Bob on LinkedIn twitter.com/BobHutchins instagram.com/bwhutchins Bob on Facebook Brad Ayres: Founder of Anthem Republic, an award-winning ad agency. Brad's knowledge has led some of the biggest brands in the world. Originally from Detroit, Brad is an OG in the ad agency world and has the wisdom and scars to prove it. Currently that knowledge is being applied to his boutique agency. More on Brad: Brad on LinkedIn Anthem Republic twitter.com/bradayres instagram.com/therealbradayres facebook.com/Bradayres Ken Ott: Co-Founder and Chief Growth Rebel of Metacake, an Ecommerce Growth Team for some of the world's most influential brands with a mission to Grow Brands That Matter. Ken is also an author, speaker, and was nominated for an Emmy for his acting on the Metacake Youtube Channel (not really). More on Ken:  Ken on LinkedIn Metacake - An Ecommerce Growth Team Growth Rebel TV twitter.com/iamKenOtt instagram.com/iamKenOtt facebook.com/iamKenOtt   Show Notes: [0:32] Bob opens this week's episode with a chat about what the guys have been up to recently. [5:47] Bob talks about his book that was just released, “Our digital soul: collective anxiety, media trauma and a path toward recovery”. [8:47] Bob begins a discussion about technology and its impact on society and says that,  “good marketing is Psychology and math.” “it's getting people to respond and engage and then measuring and scaling it”. [16:06] Bob talks about the difference between video games and cell phone time/social media/work and how they impact your brain differently.  [17:16] Bob breaks down how all technology is simply an extension of us as humans. “Every new technology is an extension of us. if you think of the wheel, it was an extension of our feet, right? We have to frame it that way, versus it's just a tool, and it's separate from me, no technology is ever separate from us…If it's an extension of us, then it fundamentally changes us. Physiologically, psychologically, and as communities… What is the computer and the cell phone an extension of? It's an extension of our brains. So what then is the internet? It's a further extension of our brains, and I would argue it's an extension of our nervous systems.” [21:57] Brad adds that it can often be very easy to be overwhelmed with the high amounts of information with emotional ties that enter our brain every day. [23:06] Bob talks about a quote from a biologist, EO Wilson, “the problem with humanity's we have Paleolithic brains, medieval institutions and godlike technology.”, adding that, “you can't plug a Paleolithic brain and expect it to keep up with godlike technology.” [24:25] Brad asks Bob if he believes that AI will be able to regulate the amount of information and stimulation we receive to healthier levels.   [26:54] Bob defines media trauma, “small-t” traumas, and dives into some of the side effects (or “small-t's”) of screen life. “We define media trauma as experiences through media, and personal devices that hinder or harm our capacity to be mentally whole.” [32:22] Ken discusses how according to Dr. Andrew Huberman, “the frequency of dopamine hits that we get daily is the number one societal problem because because they're their weight, they're way more frequent than they ever have been in history.” [34:29] Bob dives deep into an explanation of his and Jenny Black's book, discussing how the internet compounds small-t traumas, three of the five symptoms that indicate that you have media trauma, and breaks down trauma bonds. “That's something called a trauma bond. Now I want to read the definition, and then I'm going to change one word. Trauma bonds are emotional bonds with an individual that arise from a recurring cyclical pattern of abuse, perpetuated by intermittent reinforcement through rewards and punishment.  But let me change one word. Trauma bonds, or emotional bonds, with a device or a technology that arise from recurring cyclical patterns of abuse, perpetuated by inner intermittent reinforcement, through rewards and punishment.” [42:58] Ken asks whether we as a society can exercise our discipline muscle now that we know the true impact of technology on our lives.  [44:36] Bob talks about the importance of self awareness, education, and collective intervention in order to, “retrofit this crazy godlike technology to our paleolithic brains.” [48:03] Ken asks what the audience should take away from this, and why should they read this book?   [49:09] Bob says that, “mental health and wellness professionals. We want to get it in the hands of all of them. So hopefully it's accessible to everyone. But it is chock full of studies and data and information that could make an impact.” [49:58] Bob says that you can buy Our Digital Soul on amazon.com or at ourdigitalsoul.com.  [50:29] Bob talks about some of the topics for the next episode. “What are some things that you can do to heal? What are you addicted to? One of the indicators is, what's the first thing that comes to your mind when you open your eyes in the morning you wake up?”  

David Sloan Wilson is one of biology's most prolific and impactful scientists. He is author of paradigmatic contributions to evolutionary theory and how organisms behave, such as multilevel selection and core design principles for the efficacy of groups. But the reach of his work is far beyond the domains of biology and sociology, in whole a toolkit for improving how we live together and weaving between areas of thought. Origins Podcast WebsiteFlourishing Commons NewsletterShow Notes:Atlas Hugged (06:30)Sociobiology by EO Wilson (12:00)Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Steven C Hayes (21:00)Science proceeds by seeing really good reasons for not believing the current model for reality Lindon Eaves (25:40)Elinor Ostrom (26:15)EO Wilson (26:15)Elliott Sober (27:00)Ostrom design principles for governing the commons (31:00)The Tragedy of the Commons [Hardin, 1968]  (34:20)The Neighborhood Project by Sloan Wilson (41:30)Richard A Kauffman (David's graduate student)Core competencies of prosociality (48:50)The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn (49:10)The knowledge commons (51:00)The Noosphere and Pierre Teilhard de ChardinLynn Margulis (53:50)Dual inheritance theory (55:00)Lightning round (01:01:00):Book: Origin of Species by Charles Darwin and The Secret of our Successand The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph HenrichPassion: being stewards of the natural worldHeart sing: stewarding prosocialityFind David online:Website: https://davidsloanwilson.world/Twitter: @David_S_WilsonProsocial Commons: https://thisviewoflife.com/introducing-the-prosocial-commons/'Five-Cut Fridays' five-song music playlist series  David's playlist

Don sits down with renowned biologist and Pulitzer Prize winning author Edward O. Wilson to talk about his new books, biology and saving the planet.

Since it's looking more and more like Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, will probably soon have ownership of Twitter, we wanted to do a special episode about what this could mean for Twitter users and our global digital democracy as a whole.Twitter is a very complicated place. It is routinely blocked by governments who fear its power to organize citizen protests around the world. It's also where outrage, fear and violence get amplified by design, warping users' views of each other and our common, connected humanity.We're at a fork in the road, and we know enough about humane design principles to do this better. So we thought we would do a little thought experiment: What if we applied everything we know about humane technology to Twitter, starting tomorrow? What would happen?This is the second part in a two-part conversation about Twitter that we've had on Your Undivided Attention about Elon Musk's bid for Twitter and what it could mean in the context of the need to go in a more humane direction.RECOMMENDED MEDIA On Liberty by John Stuart MillPublished in 1859, this philosophical essay applies Mill's ethical system of utilitarianism to society and stateElon Musk Only Has “Yes” Men by Jonathan L. FischerReporting from Slate on the subject Foundations of Humane TechnologyThe Center for Humane Technology's free online course for professionals shaping tomorrow's technologyRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES A Bigger Picture on Elon and Twitterhttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/bigger-picture-elon-twitterTranscending the Internet Hate Game with Dylan Marronhttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/52-transcending-the-internet-hate-gameFighting With Mirages of Each Other with Adam Mastroiannihttps://www.humanetech.com/podcast/56-fighting-with-mirages-of-each-otherYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

I had a seven hour delay home back from Dallas last week. While I waited, I finished the biography of Alabama-born biologist Edward Wilson and began applying Wilson's research to the mess I was experiencing with the airline.  ---------------------- Let's talk about ants. Not females, like Aunt Martha. But bugs. Ants create complex colonies where every one of them exists to support the growth and safety of the colony. Ants can't help it. It's not their choice. They're driven entirely by instinct. No ant finds food and considers keeping it for themselves. They turn and tell the colony and then lead the colony back to the food. This instinctual, non-selfish, altruistic behavior is the reason for the species' remarkable success. I learned this reading the biography of biologist Edward Wilson on a flight one week ago today that was ultimately delayed seven hours trying to get from Dallas to Mobile. Wilson has deep Alabama roots. He may not be the most famous person from our state, but he may be the most influential. His achievements are remarkable, and he is, clinically speaking, a bad ass. Wilson also said that selfishness has value, too, but only in individuals. A selfish person will win against an altruistic person. But selfish groups will fail.  Altruistic, non-selfish groups, will grow, they'll succeed. They'll eat and breed and survive and thrive. Ants don't have a choice in the matter. But people do. And our bias, our instinct, is towards individual selfishness. We must work to overcome this instinct, bond as a group, and become altruistic. It's hard, but it works. We've seen this play out on grand stages. I listened to Nick Saban discuss the loss of the national championship a few years back because some of his players played selfishly as they were thinking about their NFL draft position.   And we see this nationally, as our once unselfish nation has moved towards selfish goals and selfish politicians. As a result, no one can deny that our nation, once described as the shining light on the hill, is dimming. Now, I'm a workplace consultant and I can't help but try to apply these lessons to what I experienced on last Friday's flights. I read about one airline who has begun a new way to compensate flight attendants in a way that benefits the attendants. The airline finds ways to help their passengers, their pilots, their gate agents and on and on. That's the airline I fly the most and I've had zero issues on my nearly forty flights this year. Zero. And two of my three flights on this current airline this year have had significant delays. Are they selfish? I don't know them well enough to know. But it sure appears so. All of Wilson's research on selfish groups and their demise played out in front of me over those seven hours of flight delays. And I wish someone could get this message to their CEO and send him outside to study ants. I'm Cam Marston and I'm just trying to Keep it Real.  

Eric Smith has spent his career working at the intersection of economics and nature. Most recently he was the director of the venture capital vehicle Neglected Climate Opportunities (NCO) at the Grantham Environmental Trust, where he co-led over 40 direct investments in start-ups across all stages that can remove carbon and GHG at scale. He was previously with SJF Ventures and worked for BlackRock on climate finance, and currently is Founder/CEO of Edacious, a company working to differentiate food quality and connect the dots between soil and human health. Eric is also a dear friend and someone with whom I often converse on our shared focus of investing on behalf of nature. We were both in Mexico for a climate investing conference and caught up, beachside sand rolling in, on everything from: His personal background in forestry and building certification frameworks around natural resource operations;Working in Costa Rica on their Payment for Ecosystem Services model;The tensions in regenerative agriculture and nature conservation;Why he supports EO Wilson's Half Earth theory;If narrow metrics can ever be proxy enough for the complexity of a system;The intrinsic vs economic values of nature;Examples of start-ups and nature-serving businesses, and which ones are not suited for a venture capital model;And more…Episode Website Link: https://www.lifeworld.earth/episodes/Show Links:Finance for Nature: Lifeworlds Resource PageRegenerative Economics: Lifeworlds Resource PageGrantham Trust: Neglected Climate OpportunitiesEdaciousTask Force on Climate-related Financial DisclosuresPayments for Environmental Services Program | Costa RicaStewardEntangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our FuturesSPUN fungiEO Wilson FoundationGround EffectLook out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes.Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our conversation with artist Isabella Kirkland we talk about her detailed paintings of biodiversity both terrestrial and ocean-based and the exacting research that goes into her beautiful works. The late biologist and author EO Wilson called her works “classic in the original and best sense of the word.” Join us in a lively informative talk as we discuss nudibranchs large and small, what inspired her to do a portrait of squat lobsters and why she finds shrimp hard to paint.  Rising Tide, the Ocean Podcast is co-hosted by Blue Frontier's David Helvarg and the Inland Ocean Coalition's Vicki Nichols-Goldstein. This podcast aims to give you information, inspiration and motivation (along with a few laughs) to help understand our ocean world and make it better. The ocean is rising, and so are we!Learn more at bluefront.org

Brandon Ballengée has a unique quality of attention, one that is not constrained by traditional distinctions between art & science and working & living. He wants to share that capacity to witness to liberate everyone's imagination of what this world can be, a world we are of rather than just in. This ecological consciousness informs his work as a visual artist, biologist and environmental educator. Show Notes:biodiversity (07:00)trophic networks (13:10)ethnography and buffer zones (15:00)citizens getting involved to help biodiversityparticipatory and co-creative nature of his workcommons spaces (16:00)Garret Hardin Tragedy of the Commons (16:20)antiform and antidisciplinary (17:00)complexity (17:10)Malamp project (19:50)evince empathy not fear (21:30)consilience (23:15)the myth of either/or (24:00)the complexity in ushow do you do both art and science? (24:30)how we might approach conservation - connection (27:30)Ghosts of the Gulf exhibit (28:40)Stan Sessions (29:00)Taylor Energy Spill (32:30)What adaptation looks like (33:45)how we persist (35:00)giving yourself over to culture (38:30)Atelier de la Nature(39:00)Newton Harrison and ecological art (44:30)Project about cajun prairiethe impact of our actions (47:30)Rebecca Solnit - Hope in the DarkPoetry Unbound: Yusef Komunyakaa Praising Dark Placeslong view of time, the long arc of change (47:45)muscular hope (48:00)superorganisms and cooperation (50:00)civic engagement (50:30)Lightning round (55:00)Book: Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (and EO Wilson's the Future of Life)Passion: food as a way to educateHeart sing: learning about gardeningScrewed up: process to make crude oil paintingsFind Brandon online:WebsiteTwitter: @bballengeeAtelier de la Nature'Five-Cut Fridays' five-song music playlist series  Brandon's playlist

This summer we are revisiting some of our favorite World Ocean Radio episodes highlighting optimism in ocean news, science and advocacy. In this episode we discuss marine protected areas and their importance to biodiversity and to the mitigation of climate change and other destructive forces at work on the planet. 

In this conversation I talk with one of the leading evolutionary biologists, Dr. David Sloan Wilson. Dr. Wilson's work has focused on the important of groups in evolution and how that relates to human societies and religion. We talk about the origin of religion from an evolutionary perspective and discuss whether this undermines religious belief or whether it can strengthen it. We mention Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, Charles Darwin, Bret Weinstein, EO Wilson, Emile Durkheim, Terrence Deacon, Richard Sosis, Eric Hobsbawn, Terence Ranger, Elinor Ostrom and more. Dr. David Sloan Wilson: https://evolution-institute.org/profile/david-sloan-wilson/ Prosocial World: https://www.prosocial.world/the-science Darwin's Cathedral: https://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Cathedral-Evolution-Religion-Society/dp/0226901351/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=darwin%27s+cathedral&qid=1654269676&s=books&sprefix=darwin%27s+cathde%2Cstripbooks%2C108&sr=1-1

Subscribe to Quotomania on Simplecast or search for Quotomania on your favorite podcast app!E.O. Wilson, in full Edward Osborne Wilson, (born June 10, 1929, Birmingham, Ala., U.S.—died Dec. 26, 2021, Burlington, Mass.), was a U.S. biologist. He received a Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he taught from 1956. Recognized as the world's leading authority on ants, he discovered their use of pheromones for communication. His The Insect Societies (1971) was the definitive treatment of the subject. In 1975 he published Sociobiology, a highly controversial and influential study of the genetic basis of social behavior in which he claimed that even a characteristic such as unselfish generosity may be genetically based and may have evolved through natural selection, that preservation of the gene rather than the individual is the focus of evolutionary strategy, and that the essentially biological principles on which animal societies are based apply also to human social behavior. In On Human Nature (1978, Pulitzer Prize) he explored sociobiology's implications in regard to human aggression, sexuality, and ethics. With Bert Hölldobler he wrote the major study The Ants (1990, Pulitzer Prize). In The Diversity of Life (1992) he examined how the world's species became diverse and the massive extinctions caused by 20th-century human activities. In Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge (1998) he proposed that all of existence can be organized and understood in accordance with a few fundamental natural laws. Wilson's other books included The Social Conquest of Earth (2012) and Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life (2016). Naturalist (1994) is an autobiography.From https://www.britannica.com/summary/Edward-O-Wilson. For more information about E.O. Wilson:“E.O. Wilson - Of Ants and Men”: https://www.pbs.org/video/eo-wilson-ants-and-men-full-episode/“The Social Conquest of Earth”: https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Social-Conquest-of-Earth/“E.O. Wilson, a Pioneer of Evolutionary Biology, Dies at 92”: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/27/science/eo-wilson-dead.htmlPhoto by Sage Ross: https://flic.kr/p/3txCqE

Biophilia was first introduced as a term in 1973 by Erich Fromm in The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, which put forth that biophilia is “the passionate love of life and all this is alive.” The term was later used by legendary biologist E.O. Wilson in his 1984 work Biophilia, in which he proposed that humans tend to focus on and affiliate with nature and other life-forms because of a genetic basis.Since then biophilia has been gaining in popularity amongst architects, designers, and even urban planners and sustainable city researches like Dr. Timothy Beatley, who is a prominent advocate of biophilic cities, with a book published by the same title. What exactly is a biophilic city? It is a city that puts nature first in its design, planning, and management. It recognizes the essential need for daily human contact with nature as well as the many environmental and economic values provided by nature and natural systems. Biophilic cities and green urbanism, a term Dr. Beatley coined, can be found around the world as cities are looking for ways to create more sustainable and livable urban environments for humans and wildlife. Dr. Beatley is the Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, where he has taught for the last twenty-five years.  Much of Dr. Beatley's work focuses on the subject of sustainable communities, and creative strategies by which cities and towns can fundamentally reduce their ecological footprints, while at the same time becoming more livable and equitable places.  Dr. Beatley believes that sustainable and resilient cities represent our best hope for addressing today's environmental challenges. He is the author or co-author of more than fifteen books on these subjects, including Green Urbanism, Native to Nowhere, Blue Urbanism, and his latest, The Bird Friendly City.  To learn more about his work and to get inspired by the work cities are doing around the world to embrace biophilia and green urbanism, be sure to visit BiophilicCities.org. You can find films, articles, and other resources including a way in which your city can sign up to be a partner biophilic city.---This podcast has been sponsored by Wise Matter, a materials consultation firm that works with homeowners, architects, designers, and developers to choose materials, furnishings, and finishes that are non-toxic and do not come at the expense of human or planetary health. Get your free 30-minute consultation by visiting their website wise-matter.com.

Today's ID the Future features the second half of a recent webinar spotlighting historian Richard Weikart and his new book, Darwinian Racism: How Darwinism Influenced Hitler, Nazism, and White Nationalism. Here Weikart fields questions from the webinar audience. Along the way Weikart touches on the connection between Darwinism and scientific racism, the objection that Darwinism, properly understood, doesn't support scientific racism (much less Nazi racism), the racism inherent in Darwin's own writings and those of prominent early Darwinists such as Ernst Haeckel, and more recent manifestations of Darwinian-inspired scientific racism both academic and populist. This and much more is explored in Weikart's new book, available here. And for scientific reasons to reject Darwinism along with its racists implications, jump over Read More › Source

The meta-crisis is so vast: climate change, exponential technology, addiction, polarization, and more. How do we grasp it, let alone take steps to address it? One of the thinking tools we have at our disposal is science fiction. To the extent that we co-evolve with our stories, science fiction can prepare us for the impending future — and empower us to shape it.This week on Your Undivided Attention, we're thrilled to have one of the greatest living science-fiction writers — Kim Stanley Robinson. His most recent novel is The Ministry for the Future, a sweeping epic that reaches into the very near future, and imagines what it would take to unite humanity and avoid a mass extinction. Whether or not you've read the book, this episode has insights for you. And if this episode makes you want to read the book, our conversation won't spoil it for you.Clarification: in the episode, Robinson refers to philosopher Antonio Gramsci's "pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will." This phrase was originally said by novelist and playwright Romain Rolland. Gramsci made the phrase the motto of his newspaper, because he appreciated its integration of radical intellectualism with revolutionary activism.RECOMMENDED MEDIA The Ministry For The FutureRobinson's latest novel and the subject of our conversation — which reaches into the near future, and imagines what it would take to unite humanity and avoid a mass extinctionA Deeper Dive Into the Meta CrisisCHT's blog post about the meta-crisis, which includes the fall of sense-making and the rise of decentralized technology-enabled power Half Earth ProjectThe project based on E. O. Wilson's proposal to conserve half the land and sea — in order to safeguard the bulk of biodiversity, including ourselvesClimateAction.techGlobal tech worker community mobilizing the technology industry to face the climate crisisRECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES18 – The Stubborn Optimist's Guide to Saving the Planet: https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/18-the-stubborn-optimists-guide-to-saving-the-planetBonus – The Stubborn Optimist's Guide Revisited: https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/bonus-the-stubborn-optimists-guide-revisited29 – A Renegade Solution to Extractive Economics: https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/29-a-renegade-solution-to-extractive-economicsYour Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_  

Razib Khan returns to the show to discuss the recent controversy from that pop science magazine about the legacy of EO Wilson, the politicization of academia. He also answers impertinent questions about Celts. Cohosted by Josiah Neeley of R Street Institute (probably a Celt) and Doug McCullough (definitely a Sarmatian)

Biologist EO Wilson has been called the heir to Darwin. His decades of work in evolutionary biology and island ecology has helped shape modern thinking about species conservation and the increased extinction risks associated with shrinking wild habitats. Science author Jeremy Hance had the opportunity to interview Dr Wilson a few years prior to his recent passing and shares insights into the legendary researcher's life, work, and legacy.  Animal care Software KONG Zoo Zoo Logic

“Biophilia is the connection that human beings innately seek with the natural world.” - E.O. WilsonThis week on Biophilic Solutions, Monica and Jennifer speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes about his latest work, Scientist: E.O. Wilson: A Life in Nature. Recorded in early December, a few weeks before Wilson passed away at the age of 92, this interview delves into Wilson's extraordinary life and contributions to the field of biology, Richard's interest in him as a subject, and the important role that science plays in society. We also explore Wilson's conception of biophilia and Richard's own relationship with the natural world. Show NotesScientist: E.O. Wilson: A Life in Nature by Richard Rhodes (2021)E.O. Wilson, A Pioneer of Evolutionary Biology, Dies at 92 (New York Times)A Biography of E.O. Wilson, the Scientist Who Foresaw Our Troubles (New York Times)The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction(1987)Why They Kill: Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist by Richard Rhodes (2000)

Matthew Bannister on Sidney Poitier, the first black man to win a 'Best Actor' Oscar, known for his powerful performances in ‘In The Heat of The Night', ‘Lilies of the Field' and ‘To Sir, With Love'. His co-star in that film - Lulu - pays tribute. E.O.Wilson, the American biologist and champion of biodiversity who some have compared to Charles Darwin. Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who argued the landmark case of Roe v Wade before the US Supreme Court. The case, which is being challenged now, established the constitutional right for women to have abortions. Assunta ‘Pupetta' Maresca, the Italian mafia boss who served a prison sentence for shooting dead the man who killed her husband. Producer: Neil George Interviewed guest: Lulu Interviewed guest: Barbie Latza Nadeau Interviewed guest: Dr George McGavin Interviewed guest: Paula Ehrlich Interviewed guest: Joshua Prager Interviewed guest: Mary Ziegler Interviewed guest: Stephen Bourne Archive clips used: The Mirisch Corporation, In The Heat Of The Night (1967); BBC News, Bonnie Greer tribute to Sidney Poitier 07/01/2022; Entertainment Tonight Canada, Philip Davis tribute to Sidney Poitier 07/01/2022; YouTube, Poitier 80; Twentieth Century Fox, No Way Out (1950); Oscars / YouTube channel, Sidney Poitier wins best Actor 36th Oscars (1964); Columbia British Productions, To Sir, With Love (1967); BBC Radio 4, The Life Scientific - E.O. Wilson 28/07/2015; Texas Tribune / YouTube channel, Sarah Weddington interview 22/01/2013; ITV News / YouTube channel, Protest of anti-abortion laws in America 21/05/2019; BBC TV, Everyman - The Politics Of Life 03/12/1989.

Value: After Hours is a podcast about value investing, Fintwit, and all things finance and investment by investors Tobias Carlisle, Bill Brewster and Jake Taylor. See our latest episodes at https://acquirersmultiple.com/ About Jake: Jake is a partner at Farnam Street. Jake's website: http://farnam-street.com/vah Jake's podcast: https://twitter.com/5_GQs Jake's Twitter: https://twitter.com/farnamjake1 Jake's book: The Rebel Allocator https://amzn.to/2sgip3l About Bill: Bill runs Sullimar Capital Group, a family investment firm. Bill's website: https://sullimarcapital.group/ Bill's Twitter: @BillBrewsterSCG ABOUT THE PODCAST Hi, I'm Tobias Carlisle. I launched The Acquirers Podcast to discuss the process of finding undervalued stocks, deep value investing, hedge funds, activism, buyouts, and special situations. We uncover the tactics and strategies for finding good investments, managing risk, dealing with bad luck, and maximizing success. SEE LATEST EPISODES https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast/ SEE OUR FREE DEEP VALUE STOCK SCREENER https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/ FOLLOW TOBIAS Website: https://acquirersmultiple.com/ Firm: https://acquirersfunds.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Greenbackd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobycarlisle Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobiascarlisle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobias_carlisle ABOUT TOBIAS CARLISLE Tobias Carlisle is the founder of The Acquirer's Multiple®, and Acquirers Funds®. He is best known as the author of the #1 new release in Amazon's Business and Finance The Acquirer's Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market, the Amazon best-sellers Deep Value: Why Activists Investors and Other Contrarians Battle for Control of Losing Corporations (2014) (https://amzn.to/2VwvAGF), Quantitative Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors (2012) (https://amzn.to/2SDDxrN), and Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World's Greatest Concentrated Value Investors (2016) (https://amzn.to/2SEEjVn). He has extensive experience in investment management, business valuation, public company corporate governance, and corporate law. Prior to founding the forerunner to Acquirers Funds in 2010, Tobias was an analyst at an activist hedge fund, general counsel of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and a corporate advisory lawyer. As a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions he has advised on transactions across a variety of industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Singapore, Bermuda, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Guam.

If you appreciate my work and would like to support it: https://subscribestar.com/the-saad-truth https://patreon.com/GadSaad https://paypal.me/GadSaad _______________________________________ This clip was posted earlier today (December 28, 2021) on my YouTube channel as THE SAAD TRUTH_1351: https://youtu.be/zhh3euzo7b0 _______________________________________ The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense (paperback edition) was released on October 5, 2021. Order your copy now. https://www.amazon.com/Parasitic-Mind-Infectious-Killing-Common/dp/162157959X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= https://www.amazon.ca/Parasitic-Mind-Infectious-Killing-Common/dp/162157959X https://www.amazon.co.uk/Parasitic-Mind-Infectious-Killing-Common/dp/162157959X _______________________________________ Please visit my website gadsaad.com, and sign up for alerts. If you appreciate my content, click on the "Support My Work" button. I count on my fans to support my efforts. You can donate via Patreon, PayPal, and/or SubscribeStar. _______________________________________ Dr. Gad Saad is a professor, evolutionary behavioral scientist, and author who pioneered the use of evolutionary psychology in marketing and consumer behavior. In addition to his scientific work, Dr. Saad is a leading public intellectual who often writes and speaks about idea pathogens that are destroying logic, science, reason, and common sense. _______________________________________  

Wendy Hapgood Discusses the Ways the Wild Tomorrow Fund is Innovating how Animals are Saved This episode is brought to you by Brain.fm. I love and use brain.fm every day! It combines music and neuroscience to help me focus, meditate, and even sleep! Because you listen to this show, you can get a free trial.* URL: https://brain.fm/innovativemindset If you love it as much as I do, you can get 20% off with this exclusive coupon code: innovativemindset Wendy Hapgood is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Wild Tomorrow Fund, a wildlife conservation charity dedicated to saving threatened and endangered wildlife and their habitats. Wendy believes that biodiversity loss and climate change are the two most critical issues facing our planet today. In 2015 she left Wall Street behind to dedicate her life to the protection of the environment and biodiversity. She completed her Master's Degree in Sustainability Management at Columbia University's Earth Institute where she studied climate change science and policy, researched the intersection of poverty and rhino poaching, uncovered illegal ivory in New York City, and studied new methods for financing the green economy. Connect with Wendy www.wildtomorrowfund.org Instagram: www.instagram.com/wildtomorrowfund/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/wildtomorrowfund Twitter: https://twitter.com/wildtomorrow Episode Transcript [00:00:00] Wendy Hapgood: But I feel like when you are really emotionally connected to this project and it was truly an emergency, I think it really pushes you to do what you think is impossible. [00:00:15] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Hello and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. I am. Izolda Trakhtenberg on the show. I interview peak performing innovators in the creative social impact and earth conservation spaces or working to change the world. This episode is brought to you by brain FM, brain FM combines the best of music and neuroscience to help you relax, focus, meditate, and even sleep. [00:00:36] I love it and have been using it to write, create and do some. Deepest work because you're a listener of the show. You can get a free trial head over to brain.fm/innovative mindset. To check it out. If you decide to subscribe, you can get 20% off with the coupon code, innovative mindset, all one word, and now let's get. [00:00:59] Hey there [00:01:00] and welcome to the innovative mindset podcast. My name is Izolda Trakhtenberg, I'm your host, and I'm really happy that you're here. And I'm also thrilled and honored to have this week's guest. And you'll understand why as soon as I tell you a little bit about her, Wendy Hapgood is the co-founder and chief operating officer of wild tomorrow fund wildlife conservation, charity, dedicated to saving, threatened, and endangered wildlife. [00:01:22] And their habitats. And that last part is a really important part of what Wendy and her group, what they're doing when he believes a biodiversity loss and climate change are the two most critical issues facing our planet. Today in 2015, she left wall street behind to dedicate her life to the protection of the environment and biodiversity. [00:01:41] She's singing my song. She completed her master's degree in sustainability management at Columbia university's earth Institute, where she studied climate change science and policy research, the intersection of poverty and rhino poaching uncovered illegal ivory in New York city and studied new methods of financing. [00:01:59] The green [00:02:00] economy. Ah, Wendy, I'm so honored that you're here. Thank you so much for being here. Well, Thank you [00:02:06] Wendy Hapgood: so much as older for having me. I'm really excited to be on your show. Wow. [00:02:11] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I you're, you're you're living my dream life in many ways. It's exactly the kind of thing that I have always wanted to do. [00:02:18] So I'm so glad that you took it and ran with it and are doing it right. I love you. You left wall street and you, you went, that's it. I'm changing my whole life around and I'm doing this now. I'm going to dedicate my life to saving wildlife and saving protected lands. What sparked that for you? What, what made you go? [00:02:36] Okay. You know what? I'm making that change. I'm going to totally transform the way I live and I'm going to innovate things on my own terms. Yeah. [00:02:43] Wendy Hapgood: I mean, it was a really big jump. And I have to say that this feeling grew within me, that sort of, it happened over years where I had the sneaking feeling of, you know, unhappiness or just dissatisfaction with, with life and what I was doing with my life. [00:02:58] And I was successful [00:03:00] in finance. And I loved, I did like my job and the people I worked with and customers, but there was something really missing for me, which was sense of purpose. You know, I absolutely love animals and I feel like probably a lot of your listeners have pets that you just adore and it really starts there and, you know, hiking and. [00:03:19] Starting to feel that I needed to do something about what I was seeing around me in terms of environmental destruction and climate change. And you know, people talk about ecological grief, starting to feel really sad about what was happening to the planet and knowing I wasn't helping. I really big moment was I was actually working in Tokyo, Japan, and I was there for the big earthquake, which resulted in a nuclear crisis. [00:03:46] So being on the ground in Tokyo and living there and worrying about if my boss water was contaminated, which by the way it was and you know, it just, it was such a hosted apocalyptic scenario that I was living and [00:04:00] what really shocked me. How a lot of people weren't that concerned. They, after it went well and people from outside of Japan and friends, weren't, well, no one died, you know, after this nuclear crisis. [00:04:13] But whereas I couldn't stop thinking about how we poisoned the earth forever and that wasn't being spoken about. And it really was a sort of symbolic moment. And I felt complicit in it as someone living in the city using, you know, that's all the power being generated for that's what the nuclear power was needed for. [00:04:33] So I felt really complicit in this poisoning of the earth. And I felt very guilty about when I left later that year to, to, to come to New York about not being here. Both people that were, you know, refugees, internal refugees from that crisis and thinking about how we poison the land and, you know, I saw it with my own eyes up Mishima. [00:04:53] So that really was a huge moment in my life. I was thinking, what can I do? And how can I help. [00:05:00] Being a part of the destruction. Then in New York, I met my now husband, John Stewart, who is the other co-founder of wild tomorrow fund. He was in a similar place in life. He was an advertising executive here in New York. [00:05:13] It creative director also loved animals and was in a place like me. What next to do in life and actually make a difference and help animals in nature. So that was nice. I don't think I'm not sure I could have done it all on my own. Definitely helps to have a partner and to embark on this big journey together. [00:05:32] So that's what we did in 2015. And then personally, I felt like I needed a little more background and I love studying. So that's, I went and did my masters at Columbia, which was Columbia university, the earth Institute. Gave me, I felt like a little more confidence and background in, in sustainability and environmental problems and climate change science and all kinds of really fascinating things. [00:05:55] So that helps me on my journey as well, to feel ready, to really [00:06:00] switch careers and focus a hundred percent on saving the planet. [00:06:07] Izolda Trakhtenberg: I'm taking that all in. I sometimes take these little pauses cause I'm like, I'm overwhelmed. That's amazing. So, so here you are. You've, you've made the decision and you came out of with your masters. And w I'm I'm so fascinated. What did you do next? How did you, how did you decide, you know, what we're going to buy land in South Africa and what were the steps that you took to make that start happening? [00:06:35] I imagine the bureaucracy is monumental. [00:06:38] Wendy Hapgood: Well, again, I think we took it step by step and when John and I started Walton were fun. But we also felt like buying land and saving habitat as much as we knew that that was the really big overarching issue in the same way that climate change kind of hangs over everything. [00:06:55] Habitat loss also kind of drives so much of the [00:07:00] environmental loss and destruction we see today. But that, that, that would be a huge thing to start with. So when we started well, tomorrow flung, we started in 2015. Really just with small things, we were asking friends, family for $50 to buy boots for Rangers, because what we saw on the ground in kazoo, in a town, South Africa, which is where we're focused. [00:07:23] Was that government reserves in particular were super under-resourced they're in charge of protecting incredible biodiversity, some of the last big tusks elephants in the world. Really under-resourced trying to fight the rhino poaching crisis and, you know, here's these amazing. People who very dedicated boots on the ground, but they don't have good boots. [00:07:45] So from New York, we're like, well, what, well, we can, we can help with that. You know, or like really bad, basic things. Like they couldn't go out on patrol if the tires had punctures and of their, you know, for their patrol [00:08:00] vehicles and their budget was didn't allow them to purchase more that month, you know? [00:08:05] So it was like a week. Fundraise for that. And we can involve people in New York who would love to, you know, it's very direct impact to say, if you give, if you can give us $50 donation, we will personally have our team on the ground, buy those boots and deliver them. So that's how we started. Nice and small step-by-step. [00:08:27] And it was 2017 when the land kind of happened, which I say was a land emergency where. One of our partners on the ground told us about this piece of land that was up for sale and it had two offers on it from pineapple farmers. And when you know, these farmers want it to extend their existing fields of kind of fools. [00:08:52] And if you could see a picture of it, it's just. You know that typical monoculture farming that just extends out forever in these [00:09:00] endless rows of, you know, sameness and it's terrible for biodiversity. And you know, this land that was up for sale had, had been farmed, you know, cattle and a little bit of pineapples, but it kind of being left to go wild and it had zebra on it. [00:09:15] It had, you know, hippos that would come from the river and at nighttime feed on this land and. We went to see it and that was it. You know, our hearts were kind of stuck. We were like, we have to do something. We cannot allow this to happen. What they would do is, is if the pineapple farm was it totally clear? [00:09:34] It, we mean to tract as a chain, pull out every single tree, run off the wildlife. I mean, turn it into that. Very does it like monoculture of, of pineapple, commercial, industrial agriculture. So we were pretty determined to do that, but you know, imagine it was over a million us dollars, the price tag, and we'd been asking for 50, a hundred dollars donations, but I think those [00:10:00] emergencies make you really step up. [00:10:01] And we felt that we needed to try and also we know or knew that. There's a lot of wealth in New York city. And there's a lot of people who care deeply and, you know, we just needed, we knew we just needed to meet the right people and tell the story and, and kind of bring them along in this journey. And we also met with the landowner. [00:10:24] She was an older lady living in the city, near Johannesburg. She didn't live at the farm or anything like that. This land that was her old fence. And we kind of pleaded with her. We said, you know, we're a charity. We don't have a million dollars sitting ready to make this deal happen. Can you give us time? [00:10:43] You know, this will be your legacy too. So. Thankfully, she agreed. And she gave us five years to save, to raise all the money, to save the land. Actually that deadline's coming up next may. So we, we still have a little way to go. But in the meantime we bought another piece that was at risk, just [00:11:00] down, just nearby. [00:11:01] So. You know, created this card or vision. You know, in the meantime we established we felt it was extremely important that the land was owned in South Africa, not by a us charity. So we set up a wall tomorrow, fund South Africa. No affiliate. So it's a registered charity in South Africa. So the land is owned locally. [00:11:21] Yeah, so there were a lot of legal steps and meetings and learn a lot of learning along the way. But I feel like when you're really emotionally connected to this. This project and it was truly an emergency. I think it really pushes you to, to do what you think is impossible. So we're really proud that we were able to save it and then you know, start working on restoring it and rewilding it. [00:11:48] Really exciting and super hopeful. And I think it transformed us as an organization too. And that's really now our focus. We still help other ranges in the region and we do buy boots for Rangers, [00:12:00] but the major focus now is really saving that land, protecting it, restoring it and rewilding it. [00:12:08] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yay. Okay. Wow. [00:12:10] I wish I had pom-poms or something. So I could be doing a little cheer for, for everything that you just said. I'm you are, you are absolutely seeing my song. I've worked for NASA for over 20 years, doing earth science and environmental education outreach all over the world. So, so hearing from you that, that you, that that is your active. [00:12:31] Sort of profession that, that, that, that, that, that it's possible that you can have these, make these inroads and have such an impact on a place that probably a lot of people never think about, which, you know, raising that elevating the visibility of, of the need to say. Habitat in places like South Africa is incredible. [00:12:55] And I, I know people in South Africa who are working to educate [00:13:00] people in South Africa about that importance too. And so I'm wondering a little bit about, like you said, you made, you have this relationship with the owner of that land, which is incredible. What, what other kinds of. Innovative ways. Have you made relationships with people and government people in South Africa to make this, to make these inroads? [00:13:22] Wendy Hapgood: It's a great question because you know, nothing is ever done alone. It really is teamwork and something that was really important. And just to give a little more background into this, this land is in a biodiversity hotspot. It's one of 32 places around the world. That's recognized for really high level. [00:13:39] By diversity. So just this massive array of amazing life from insects to furry things, you know so it was really important to save this land is also right next door to a world, heritage wetland, UNESCO, world heritage park. So again, another great reason why this piece of land in particular, in this area, it was really important [00:14:00] to protect it. [00:14:00] So that was. Re that we really needed kind of local support with was this legal declaration. So turning what was kind of designated as farmland into what is now officially a nature reserve. So we reached out to a local south African NGO or conservation outcomes who are experts in navigating this process. [00:14:27] It's a Amazing initiative under the south African government, where they recognize that the state national parks can't do it alone. They need private land owners. You know, it could, could be farmers who want to protect a small piece of their land that has an endangered frog. You know, they, they want to empower Private landowners to also contribute to conservation, sort of have this framework called the biodiversity stewardship program. [00:14:52] And we worked with conservation outcomes to kind of navigate that whole process and an amazing environmental attorney [00:15:00] who is in Durban who helped us with that. And what's really, I think, amazing about our project and what makes it stand out is it's truly collaborative. So. I mean, we had donors from a lot from New York some on the west coast in other countries give $20 towards this dream or, you know, a thousand dollars or $50,000. [00:15:23] So it's been, you know, literally thousands of people who've made it possible to save this habitat. And then on the ground, we partnered as well with landowners who were. Like kind of next door to us. So literally sort of inside the borders would have had a little small 20 hectic piece. So, you know, to really expand habitat, it means to term, you know, dropping fences, you imagine a South Africa land, I guess like suburbia in America, it's all fenced. [00:15:50] So just biggest squares. And so for wildlife to have a better chance at fighting back against extinction, you know, you need to really open up that habitat [00:16:00] and Save the wild space and extend the wild spaces. So we worked with our neighbors and kind of brought them along in this journey of creating a nature reserve. [00:16:09] So this it's a collective reserve, the land that waltz Marfan's today. Two separate pieces and it's about 83% of the total. And then we have three other private landowners who, you know, they have the conservation vision too. They were excited about being a part of it and dropping their fences and opening up their land to also be habitat for wildlife. [00:16:30] So, you know, that was a really a collective. Project and we worked through this legal process and that was declared last month, which is super exciting. So the land is officially a nature reserve now in South Africa. That's [00:16:45] Izolda Trakhtenberg: incredible. And I, first of all, wow, again, and second of all, you said some things that I am super curious about, you said. [00:16:57] We were you, you were talking about breaking, you [00:17:00] know, breaking defenses and, and removing them so that, so that wildlife can, and I know I've heard the same thing with like unbroken canopy cover for certain birds that they need, that they need, you know, that tree canopy cover in order to feel like this is their habitat. [00:17:16] What. What are the species that are either most impacted or, or the ones that are in that now nature preserve, which I think is incredible, that are going to benefit the most from those kinds of fence lists areas. [00:17:34] Wendy Hapgood: Well I would say, oh, you know, oh, wildlife benefits from. Having more space. We're a huge fan of EO Wilson, who is a very famous American biologist and his book is called half earth. [00:17:48] And he did all of a sudden he did all the math for us, but basically if we save 80% of life on earth, you know, 80% of species on earth today, we have to. [00:18:00] Kind of protect 50% of land and Marine spaces for wildlife. If we don't do that, if we can't get to 50%, we can't say. Species, you know, we can't save 80% of species on earth, basically wildlife and animals need, especially the longer ranging ones. [00:18:19] So the ones that really need space or the big megafauna. So elephants lions, leopards. Hyena, you know, the ones that re African wild dogs, they need a lot of protected space to range. They have bigger ranges, but wild space connected wild space. So, you know, when you talking about birds, it's the canopy. [00:18:39] They need like a card or a green card, or to reverse these spaces that we've, we humans have basically kind of cut up old. Space on our planet and dissected it with farms and fences and housing developments. And so wildlife can't cross from a to B and they need to do that so they can [00:19:00] exchange genetic information and without that populations become essentially inbred and cannot survive long longterm. [00:19:07] So that's why card or is, is so important and why connecting wild space. Super important. Yeah. And, and the vision for our land. So now it's a nature reserve. It's 3,200 acres which is about 1200 hectares. And I like to give people a frame of reference. That's like four times central park. So, you know, in a way it's big. [00:19:30] In the grand scheme of things is kind of relatively small, but why it's so important is that it acts as a card or so this land that we've protected and stopped from being destroyed and joined together with neighbors and opened up wild space. It lies between two very big existing wildlife reserves. [00:19:51] One side is the money wanna, it's a home to a very well-known. Wildlife reserve called [00:20:00] pin the private game reserve. They're amazing. When it comes to conservation, they're home to one of the most important cheetah breeding sites in South Africa. They're doing really good job. They are. WWF black rhino range expansion sites. [00:20:13] So that means they're so good at keeping the rhinos safe that they actually they're black rhinos, which are critically endangered. They've increased in number so much so that they could give those rhinos to other reserves where they were lost and start to repopulate. Wow. Black rhinos in other reserves in Africa, they recently actually sent Jordan. [00:20:32] With the two, I think Malawi to help repopulate giraffe. The, so they're doing an incredible job, keeping wildlife safe and being able to help, you know, other places. And then on the other side of the land that connects, you know, a, to B as a card, or is the UNESCO world heritage, you see ma mango Lisa wetland park. [00:20:51] I mean it's name and Zulu means a place of wonder. It is a natural wonder, you know, of global significance that. [00:21:00] Incredible. It's got the biggest hippo pod in the breeding Cod in South Africa, over 500 bird species you know, and this card, or it will open up. So our long-term vision is dropping fences on both sides. [00:21:13] So that wildlife from. The Pinta, the reserve inland the elephants, the rhinos can actually traverse through our card or to iSimangaliso and it goes all the way to the ocean. So yeah. Eons ago, you know, that little wildlife in South Africa also used to migrate the wildebeest would migrate through there. [00:21:34] You know, this will create a path for wildlife to, to move again. And that's incredibly important in coming decades with climate change where wildlife will be. The conditions where they are, will change. They need water, they'll move to two. They need to be able to move, to find water and resources. [00:21:53] So, you know, we're excited. That's our big, big vision. And that's why this land is so important.[00:22:00] [00:22:02] Izolda Trakhtenberg: A [00:22:02] Wendy Hapgood: shock to you again is older. [00:22:03] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yes, no, yes and no, I'm, I'm actually just full of sitting here going, I'm so grateful you're doing the work you're doing because yeah. I mean, without, without a way to move. Where they need to move in order to survive. And dare I say thrive. They will die. It's that simple. [00:22:22] Eventually they will die. So I'm, I'm in, I'm grateful that that was the, that was the word that was coming to mind is as I was listening to you talk, and this corridor is going to is, and is going to be something that, that allows for that movement. But then you mentioned something earlier that I, that I wanted. [00:22:44] Touch on. You said the word rewilding and what that, the stuff that you, the things that you've been talking about up to now have, have been about the animals that are already out in the wild w is rewilding something different than that. And if so, what [00:23:00] is it and how does it impact that that notion of habitat that protection? [00:23:05] Wendy Hapgood: That's a great question. So Rewilding I have to say is probably what I love most about what we do. It's so hurtful. So it, and it can mean a lot of different things. It could mean bringing back to some people rewilding, maybe Maine bringing back long extinct animals. I mean, what we're doing is, so we save the land, we protect it, we start restoring it. [00:23:25] And a lot of animals will make their way back naturally, but there's some bigger, usually the larger spaces. You know, they're not just going to arrive, they're still fences. So you have to literally reintroduce them. So all rewilding is really the re-introduction of native wildlife that would have existed there before, but has, you know, been gone for some time. [00:23:49] So it's super exciting. I know when we, when we save the land, the first piece, one of our ducks. Loves giraffe. And that was her first question. When can we get dropped [00:24:00] off? And all of this is guided by ecologists and science. And yeah, we, we introduced re-introduced giraffe for the first time in 2017. [00:24:11] It was super exciting. You see them arrive, jump out of a truck and like literally run for it. You know, I can imagine it's quite stressful to be in a truck that wild off, you know, and and then running free on their new home. And it's so powerful. It's such an inspiring image or thing to it. And also for our donors to see what we did. [00:24:33] I like to say rewilding kind of sells itself. You know, we, we needed to do it. We needed to get this wildlife. And it's very strange for most of us that in South Africa, you need to buy. Usually those animals, you would have to buy them, which is, seems so strange to us. Like, what do you mean you can buy a giraffe and how much has the giraffe and what do you mean? [00:24:54] You can buy a zebra and, you know, I think zebra absolutely incredible. And the idea that there is sort of a [00:25:00] market price, $350 per zebra just seems so cheap. So you know, when our donors and supporters heard that I like we'll all buy a zebra. And so that was a really cool connection for them and for us as well, too. [00:25:15] Help fund our rewilding work. It really funded itself. And every person who donated to help us literally purchase as an individual zebra, an individual giraffe, they had the chance to name them and you can tell the difference, giraffe and zebra there, their patents are unique, like a fingerprint. So we have ID Oliver, giraffe. [00:25:37] We have a draft ID kit. Playing spot the difference, you know, looking at the patterns and figuring out who is who. So, yeah, we have 14, actually 15 resident draft now. And over 30 zebra every year. Now we have babies born, which again is proof of this concept. You know, if you can save land and, and join it with neighboring areas and [00:26:00] re-introduce wildlife You know, nature will then start taking care of itself. [00:26:03] And we're seeing zebra, foals being born and huge moment for us was our first baby giraffe being born on this land that would have otherwise been pineapples. So rewilding, you know, it's really is a mix of restoration, ecological restoration, and then re-introduction of wildlife. What we mean when we say rewilding. [00:26:24] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Okay. First of all, I want to help by a zebra, right? Yes. Or a giraffe or a cheetah or whatever, whatever it is that whatever it is, because, because yes, I, I will actually, that will be my, my birthday fundraiser this year. I'm going to tell people that I want to raise money so that I can buy like two giraffe and have them be rewilding in the wild tomorrow. [00:26:46] But no seriously, because this is one of those things where. That's not something I've. Ever thought about or known was even possible. And so again, lots of gratitude from my end, because, because it's a [00:27:00] way for people like me, who probably are never going to start their own wild tomorrow fund to, to. [00:27:07] Participate in a way that, that you would find helpful. And that brings me to my next question. What sort of help does the wild tomorrow fund need from people, private citizens, someone who's listening to this podcast who gets fired up like I am now who wants to help? What kind of help do you. [00:27:24] Wendy Hapgood: Well, we would love help. [00:27:25] We still, as I mentioned, that first piece of land we still have a deadline to meet a fundraising goal to actually fund finish the purchase. That's in the next may. So we love to equate things down to kind of bite sized chunks. A one acre is about 990 us dollars. So if anyone wants to sponsor an acre, it's a, it's an amazing gift or a legacy kind of a gift to someone. [00:27:50] Then we have also volunteer trips and I think it's super powerful for those who can and would love to join us in the field in [00:28:00] South Africa perhaps next year. We have volunteer trips, so we bring 10 people at a time over to South Africa for two weeks. And then you can. Individually apart of everything we're doing and see the region and see the wildlife and, and participate. [00:28:15] Hands-on, it's really kind of, for those who, where conservation isn't going to be, their full-time job, you can, you know, be a part of conservation truly for, for those weeks. And, and it's really powerful. I mean, it changes people's lives. That's how In a way, how we started well, tomorrow fund was John had been volunteering in Zululand in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa. [00:28:36] So it really changes people's lives. And we find volunteers come back to New York and they don't want to just. That's it. Thanks. I had a great holiday. They really continue on with us as supporters and keep helping. So yeah, we, we would love more support and funding and help. And I love that for a lot of our supporters. [00:28:57] It's very personal, you know, they really feel a [00:29:00] part of what we're doing and what I find truly beautiful for those who sponsored wildlife reintroductions. It's really interesting to see what they named their animal often. It's a pit. So there's a lot of dogs that are, you know, running around in central park who have a namesake in, in Africa, but sometimes it's departed even people, which I think is very moving. [00:29:21] You know, that idea that. Created a gift in their name. That's now a zebra running free. So yeah, we would love more help. [00:29:30] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Oh, that's fantastic. I sign me up. I'm absolutely going to do that. And it's interesting because the, the words that, that are coming up in my head, as I'm hearing you talk are hope and connection yes. [00:29:44] That you feel connected to. This place in South Africa, if you're in New York, if you're in LA, if you're in London, if you're in wherever and you can actually make that connection, what do you think makes those two words and, and maybe I'm totally off, [00:30:00] but what, what makes hope and connection so important in wildlife conservation and habitat restoration and the work that you're doing? [00:30:08] I think it's sort [00:30:08] Wendy Hapgood: of everything. I, you know, we started out as well. It being overwhelmed by. The destruction. It's very, it's easy to get depressed and feel down, you know, thinking about the planet and you know, this mass loss of. By diversity. You know, as it's called the mass extinction, the six mass extinction of life on earth, and this time it's driven by us, not by an asteroid climate change and all that grief like that. [00:30:38] I think that sadness does help motivate people to do something, but it can also be really overwhelming. And I think what's important about hope is people need hope. I think we've seen it all the messaging about climate change, you know, I don't know. The negative messaging. You know, the warnings is really important, but I don't think it's moved people enough. [00:30:59] I think [00:31:00] we all need to see that we can do something, you know, that your input, that you're, you know, everyone feels very small. We're like a drop in the ocean of these global challenges, but actually you can really make a difference. And if it's one zebra or coming on a volunteer trip, you know, each volunteer. [00:31:20] Raises $2,000. That's two acres, you know, you can, you, it, it makes a real difference. And I think people feel inspired by that hope. And, you know, in some ways our projects far away from most people they're in New York, but that connection and feeling connected to the project, to the land, to those zebras. [00:31:40] It's really important and that dream that maybe one day they'll be able to come and see for themselves. You know, I think it's really powerful. I'm more positive. I think we're, we've all had a rough year and yeah, I just think that it's a more positive and powerful message to move people, to take action.[00:32:00] [00:32:03] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Again, I'm thinking. Wow. Yeah, I, it is true. We, the world has had a rough year and yet what's interesting to me about that is that during that time, when we were all. As many of us as could be sort of staying at home, things came back, you know, the, the, the weather changed wildlife started. There were pictures of wildlife on, you know, sort of different critters resting and relaxing in, in what were normally parks and places where you would just not expect to see wildlife. [00:32:39] So there's, there is this there's this. The notion that I always come back to honestly was they were here first. And so for me, it's not just us making room for them. It's us. I had captain Paul Watson on my show, just on the show just a little while ago. And he was saying, you know, one of the [00:33:00] things that, that bothers him is the word stewardship. [00:33:02] He, he doesn't think that stuartship is the way it should go. He's like we belong here. We're part of it. We're not overseers. We don't have dominion. We're part of this whole entire cycle and process. And so, so with, with the work that you're doing, it seems to me like that kind of connection goes beyond. [00:33:19] People feeling connected. It's, it's a, it's a, it's a connection to the biome. It's a connection then to the earth. And if you can, do you have any stories of that kind of realization or that kind of, of moment of truth, if you will, for either from yourself or from your husband or from people that you've worked with, [00:33:42] Wendy Hapgood: I'm just faint. [00:33:42] Well, I think about that, it does, I think, bring us back to. The concept of rewilding and another way of thinking about rewilding. Rewilding ourselves, meaning reconnecting humans to nature. And exactly [00:34:00] like you're saying, and captain Paul Watson kind of a paradigm shift from seeing ourselves as having dominion and like. [00:34:08] Power over nature to being a part of nature, more of a eco centric approach and, and restoring kind of the whole ecosystem. And that includes us too. So, and repairing that connection between ourselves to care more about nature or and to give, I see it as giving space back to nature to bird, you know, they belong. [00:34:34] Equally as we do, we've taken so much away that they need, we need to give space back or we'll lose them all. You know, I think about where this heatwave and just the little things, the birds that died from it was too hot, you know, and, and I feel. That's all, you know, we've, we've closed that with, with our agriculture and our emissions and how climate change [00:35:00] links back to the biodiversity loss. [00:35:02] It's all accelerating. So we really need to act now, or we will lose, you know, I, I think how devastating to not have elephants on the planet, how will you explain that to your children? And how do people explain that the animals that like grew up within their storybooks don't exist anymore? We didn't care enough. [00:35:21] So I think rewilding, the human spirit is a big part of it. You know, for me, I think it came in steps, like rather than kind of a sudden aha moment, more of a buildup and a realization. And yeah, I th and I think going from helplessness to empowerment, you know, and knowing it's possible to restore. Some of the damage we've done and, and actually, you know, having this vision for the planet, that's 50% from nature. [00:35:52] That's a big goal, but I think the more you are in nature, the more you appreciate it. [00:36:00] And so I would say, and I think COVID, you know, a lot of people spent time in parks and nature. Cause there was, it was such a relief in a way. A welcome response for us. And I hope that one of the positive benefits of that is more of a, of a love of nature and then desire to protect it. [00:36:18] So I'm hoping [00:36:23] Izolda Trakhtenberg: hope seems to be the word of the day here. And it's interesting because I know for myself, when we were during lockdown, One of the things that I needed to do was feel the sun on my face. Like I couldn't just sit in the house, so I had to be out and, and it, even if it were just to walk outside, there's a tree, there was a tree right here. [00:36:47] Our apartment and I would walk outside and I would say hello to the tree because it, it gave me that sense of connection. And that's one of the things that it takes us back to ancient stories when people [00:37:00] were really part like knew that they were part of nature, part of the earth, part of a process of this whole biosphere. [00:37:07] And it sounds to me like your mission. In part, at least is, is that in addition to stemming biodiversity loss is, it's kind of, have you found that that's, that that's an outcome that, that the people who are involved really get connected on that deep level? [00:37:26] Wendy Hapgood: Yeah. Like two, something like that. Maybe weren't really into nature or conservation before. [00:37:34] Huh? You know, come on this journey with us and then become essentially conservationists, you know, at heart. I think that's really powerful. I mean, our, one of our major donors and on the board, you know, initially he was thinking he would spend his philanthropic time on helping with poverty, which is of course a really important topic, but it was [00:38:00] his dog, you know, like he had a room. [00:38:02] Strong connection with his pet that made him think more about wildlife. And he went on safari and his wife sort of used, like, you know, maybe you should think about, you know, working with Watson more fun. And he's been super helpful or transformative for us and the connections that he's brought. And I think about that, that he wasn't someone who thought that wildlife and habitat conservation was sort of his thing we need. [00:38:27] Find more of those people where it's you know, they it's education and exposure or, you know, being a part of this project is very inspiring and then people get sort of caught up in it, which is great. I think we need more people to connect to nature. And is it through, I think it can be through your pet through that. [00:38:48] So. Very personal connection between a human and an animal and seeing them as, maybe as an individual and important, and then maybe through the park and appreciating the trees [00:39:00] and what they bring for us. And then that kind of connection expands from local to, to more global issues. So yeah, we need to figure out something, it's a question I've thought about a lot. [00:39:12] How, why do I care so deeply? You know, it has been a progression over time to the point that I would give up, you know, sort of dedicate my life to this and saving nature. And then other people, you know, they're maybe distracted or they don't care as much. How do you convince, I want to say convert, how do you inspire other people to connect more deeply to nature? [00:39:38] So that's a big question. And I, I, I think. Being out in nature is the key and go, you know, going for those hikes or coming on a trip to South Africa, of course, super powerful and helping out with conservation, you know, really being involved. And I think it really grows from there.[00:40:00] [00:40:03] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Yeah, I know [00:40:04] Wendy Hapgood: poor Wendy. You're going, is she still [00:40:06] Izolda Trakhtenberg: there? I'm not sure what's going on. I'm sorry. I'm just, I, as, as you were, as you were speaking, I was there again. I had my little metaphoric pompoms out and I was cheering you on and it's when I use, as I said, I used to work for NASA and I used to do the. [00:40:22] Participate in these environmental education workshops where we traveled all over the world. And one of the places we traveled with South Africa and did, did a workshop and the people who came were all teachers and other educators and, and who were going to be learning about these environmental protocols so that their students could study. [00:40:40] Local ecosystems. And so when you were asking that question, I'm like, yeah, I so need to, I do this thing called the earth lady where I go into schools and I teach about the soil and, and, and the atmosphere and the water bodies and by, and the biosphere, as far as like the actual the plants that grow up near their school so that they can get into it. [00:40:59] And now [00:41:00] I'm like, okay, I need to obviously add an animal component. What are the animals in your local area? And. What kind of wildlife is there, what might you find? And so, and it translates up into what's out in South Africa, what's out in, in Namibia, what's, what's in central Asia. There are lots of places where we can be looking at this. [00:41:20] And so the question that I have for you about that is your, if you could have anything you wanted for wild tomorrow fund to do what would be the, the vision, what is the big, this is what would look like. Doing what we had dreamed of. [00:41:39] Wendy Hapgood: Was a big question. I don't ask [00:41:41] Izolda Trakhtenberg: small questions. [00:41:44] Wendy Hapgood: I, I can see if I think 10 years ahead or maybe, you know, we'll be, you know, we've done a lot more than we thought we could in a short amount of time. [00:41:51] So maybe five years ahead, you know, this Cardo project in South Africa is really the first. So the dream is for that to be. [00:42:00] Completed the car or open and working as a, as a card off for wildlife connecting these two huge reserves together, 80,000 acres to 800,000 acres in connecting that green space and the elephants can migrate again and, and we'll debase, you know, that will be like a really huge achievement and a dream come true. [00:42:20] And then, you know, of course it will. It's, it's ongoing. It's like, then the results. The vision is for it to be self-sustaining. And then the question is what's next? So, you know, I see this future where we have, you know, our it's called the Wila nature reserve in South Africa, then All the places on the planet that threatened then an immediate risk of destruction and conversion for agricultural development, where there's really threatened species and saving that land. [00:42:51] And it kind of repeating a process to save it, protect it, restore it. Rewild it. I mean, it could be mad, I guess. Yeah, it could be. I read about [00:43:00] place in Philadelphia, super important habitat for fireflies and without this habitat. Incredible spectacle. One exists in the United States would be incredible. [00:43:11] You know, just having, being able to. [00:43:17] Show you what's possible with restaurants. That would be my dream and [00:43:22] Izolda Trakhtenberg: bingo. I love it to show what's possible with restoration. I think that's that's. I think that's great. So first of all, Wendy, you're not getting rid of me that easily. So totally going to start getting people to, to sponsor zebras and giraffes. [00:43:36] That's going to be wonderful. Absolutely. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna see what I can do. And I also believe in starting them while they're young. So we're going to get kids on board. [00:43:45] Wendy Hapgood: We had some kindergartners, did some, made some slime and sold slime and rice. Like I think it was $400. So amazing. People have little big, you know, it's really amazing what people can do and they really want to, [00:44:00] so, yeah. [00:44:00] Izolda Trakhtenberg: And, and, and also, I mean, one of the things that, that we, that I've sort of really learned in this last hour of chatting with you is that. [00:44:08] There are things I didn't know were possible. And so now that I know that they're possible, and now that if you're listening to this episode, now that you know, they're possible, the call has been made, take, take up the banner and get Ranger's shoes or something like that, or, or sponsor zebra. I think that those are the kinds of things that we can be doing that we didn't, I didn't realize that it could be done. [00:44:27] So I'm really grateful to you, Wendy, for sharing all that. And if someone wants to get involved, how do they find you? Where, where can they find out about the wild tomorrow fund to get involved, to sponsor a zebra, to name the Seabrook? I would name a zebra Kimba after my beloved cat. I know that I would, but how would they do [00:44:47] Wendy Hapgood: that? [00:44:48] Okay. Well, for them. Get in touch or find out more about what we do that can head to our website, which is well tomorrow fund.org. You'll see there there's stories and [00:45:00] also volunteer menu. So you can look at, they can look at, you know, what trips we have coming up. Our animals sponsorships are more sort of direct because we have to be actually sort of reintroducing more or. [00:45:14] W each year we have zebra born, for example. So you can actually sponsor babies either instead of actually not needing to purchase some right now, because they're kind of rewilding themselves. There will come a time where we need to buy, purchase more wildlife. So yeah, just, there was a contact us on the website at the bottom and. [00:45:34] Email will come to me and to John and we'd love to be in touch. And yeah, we, we love at are a lot of us supporters say they, when they talk about the work of Baltimore fund, they say we did this. So it's really, truly is a community it's very personal. I like to say as well as one degree of separation between, you know, you, the donor and the future. [00:45:56] Because there is a sort of between sphere and then yeah, we're, you [00:46:00] know, in a way we're, we're small team doing big things and we're really proud of what we've been able to do. And so it is quite personal and yeah, we welcome. We love meeting new people. We need to meet new people. So please reach out. [00:46:12] We'd love to hear from you. And everybody can help from a kindergartner to a high school kid to, you know, a retiree. So please. Well to help the planet. So hope you'll join us. [00:46:24] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Absolutely. Well, I'm going to put all of that information in the show notes and Wendy, I know that you have to run, but I do have one question that I ask everybody who comes on the show and it's a silly question, but I find that it yields some very interesting results in the question. [00:46:37] Is this, if you had an airplane that could sky write anything for the whole world to see, what would you say? [00:46:46] Wendy Hapgood: Ooh, that's a love. That's an awesome question. I would say. [00:46:51] Izolda Trakhtenberg: Hmm. [00:46:54] Wendy Hapgood: Love nature. I don't know. I it's about moving people to really care. So rewild your hot, [00:47:00] something like that. And then people have to think, what does that mean? [00:47:02] And then go actually read what does rewilding mean? And then come on board with us. So pretty wild it's rewild and leave it. And then people have to be like, what on earth? [00:47:14] Izolda Trakhtenberg: And so you do. At wild tomorrow.fun.org. Right? So that's right. Absolutely. Well, Wendy, thank you so much. What a phenomenal conversation. [00:47:26] I'm so grateful that you were on the show. I really appreciate you taking [00:47:29] Wendy Hapgood: the time. Thank you so much to Zelda for having me in and giving us this opportunity to tell the story while it's more fun and rewilding to all your listeners. It was such a pleasure. And thank you so much. My [00:47:40] Izolda Trakhtenberg: pleasure. If you've listened to this episode, go get involved with wild tomorrow fund. [00:47:45] Find a way to volunteer. Find a way to sponsor a baby zebra. How could you not want to sponsor a baby zebra? Come on. This is his older Trakhtenberg for the innovative mindset podcast, reminding you to listen, learn, laugh, and love a whole lot.[00:48:00] [00:48:03] Thanks so much for joining me today. I really appreciate you being here. Please subscribe to the podcast if you're new and if you like what you're hearing, please review it and rate it and let other people. And if you'd like to be a sponsor of the show, I'd love to meet you on patrion.com/innovative mindset. [00:48:21] I also have lots of exclusive goodies to share just with the show supporters there today's episode was produced by Izolda Trakhtenberg and his copyright 2020. As always, please remember, this is for educational and entertainment purposes. Only past performance does not guarantee future results, although we can always hope until next time, keep living in your innovative minds.   * I am a Brain.fm affiliate. If you purchase it through the above links and take the 20% off, I'll get a small commission. And please remember, I'll never recommend a product or service I don't absolutely love!  

Jon Hutson is the Co-founder of BrandCulture, an agency that integrates branding and organizational development as the flip sides of the same coin. In this episode, Jon talks about becoming an advocate for biophilia after being gifted a book by E.O. Wilson. Once he moved to Serenbe he got in deeper and created the Biophilia Poster Competition, which brought in more than 3,500 poster submissions from around the world and was displayed in the woods of Serenbe Fall 2020. Jon incorporates biophilic principles into his client work on brand development and culture building and you can find him running the Serenbe trails most mornings.Biophilic Solutions Promo

We spoke with Dr. Drew Lanham, a distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University and the author of the Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature, to discuss the intersection of nature, humanity, and race. How have the natural sciences progressed since Dr. Lanham first began in his career and what work is there still to do? Why are conservation and activism inextricably linked? And why is it impossible to separate the simple act of birding from systemic racism? We'll grapple with all of these questions (and so much more) on our seventh episode of Biophilic Solutions.Show NotesDr. Drew Lanham, Distinguished Alumni Professor of Wildlife Ecology in the College of Agriculture, Clemson University The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature (Milkweed Editions, 2017)9 Rules for the Black Bird Watcher by J. Drew Lanham (Orion Magazine, 2013)Nine New Revelations for the Black American Bird-Watcher by J. Drew Lanham (Vanity Fair, 2020)What Do We Do About John James Audubon? by J. Drew Lanham (Audubon Magazine, 2021)Due to the increasing spread of Covid-19, we are taking the 2021 Biophilic Leadership Summit virtual. From the safety and comfort of your home or office, join thought-leaders for workshops, presentations, and engaging Q/As on the ‘biophilia effect' on health, climate change, policy, and future developments with a focus on Biophilia at Scale: Land and Water presentations focusing on land use and infrastructure. Join the Biophilic Movement on October 11th and October 12th, 2021, hosted by The B

My guest on this episode of Digging in the Dirt is President & CEO of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and Co-founder of the Half-Earth Project, Paula J. Ehrlich. The Half-Earth Project's purpose is to inspire informed collective action to save the biosphere.

Mental Model #11: Do It Like Darwin. Darwin apparently was not a genius, but he did have one trait that set him apart from others: his undying devotion to truth. In doing so, he developed his golden rule (and our mental model) of giving equal weight and attention to arguments and opinions that opposed his own. Instead of growing defensive when presented with something that opposed him, he grew critical and skeptical toward himself. This radical open-mindedness puts aside confirmation bias and ego. Hear it Here - https://bit.ly/mentalmodelshollins Show notes and/or episode transcripts are available at https://bit.ly/self-growth-home Peter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a dedicated student of the human condition. Visit https://bit.ly/peterhollins to pick up your FREE human nature cheat sheet: 7 surprising psychology studies that will change the way you think. For narration information visit Russell Newton at https://bit.ly/VoW-home For production information visit Newton Media Group LLC at https://bit.ly/newtonmg #CharlesDarwin #Darwin #darwinian #EOWilson #DoItLikeDarwin #RussellNewton #NewtonMG #PeterHollins #ArtandScienceofSelf-Growth Charles Darwin,Darwin,darwinian,EO Wilson,Do It Like Darwin,Russell Newton,NewtonMG,Peter Hollins,Art and Science of Self-Growth

In today’s ID the Future historian Richard Weikart (Cal State Stanislaus) dissects a new Cambridge University Press book on social Darwinism by Jeffrey O’Connell and Michael Ruse. Weikart, author of Hitler’s Ethic, From Darwin to Hitler, Hitler’s Religion, and The Death of Humanity,* says that a major shortcoming of the new book is the authors’ attempt to put as much distance as possible between Darwin and eugenics thinking, and between Darwin and Hitler. The new book paints Darwin follower Herbert Spencer as the eugenics-championing bad guy and posits that Darwin and Darwinism had little or no influence on Hitler’s warped master race ethic. Weikart patiently highlights some key evidence to the contrary, statements front and center in Hitler’s writing. Did Read More › Source

Join me for a conversation with  Robert (Bob) Mattson as he describes his more than 50-year journey with macrobiotics.  Bob describes the year he spent in Oroville, California at the Vega Study Center with teachers Herman and Cornellia Aihara, both health pioneers.  While at Vega, he transcribed the "Morning Tea" sessions with Herman and Cornellia, a time when students and teachers engaged in informal Q&A over morning tea.  Bob shares the pearls of knowledge so freely offered during these sessions including:  "psychological/spiritual healing can occur in an instant while physical healing takes time."  Herman:  "Once a person changes his or her mind and decides to heal, this is the important 'instant' that is the spark that spurs healing."  Herman:  "For our spiritual development, we sometimes have to give up things we really cherish ( like smoking or sugar)."  Bob quotes from Verse 48 - Tao Te Ching – "In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added.  In the practice of the Tao, every day something is dropped.  Less and less do you need to force things, until finally you arrive at non-action.  When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.  True mastery can be gained by letting things go their own way.  It can't be gained by interfering."  Bob:  "The world is gained by letting go - when we mature, we discover this is a more peaceful way to live and when we let go, we create the space for new ideas to emerge.  People who eat poorly - their judgment is impacted and rarely are they prepared to let go of old ways of thinking."  Touching upon his current writing project - the vocabulary for a new world constitution - Bob reckons with one planet, one global civilization.  He also speaks about a paper he wrote on microbial life - spurred by his conversations with E.O. Wilson, the prominent biologist and writer who he was chauffering at the time.  Most of us would be satisfied with Wilson's responses to questions posed; Bob however decided to conduct his own research.  He purchased 25 books on microbes from the Harvard Book Store and undertook an extensive research and writing project.  He claims it is no coincidence  that his most recent and current writing projects on microbes and personal rights are perfectly aligned with what the current state of the world -given the pandemic and the erosion of our most precious rights.  I queried as to what he learned in his role as a taxi driver, personal driver and chauffeur to many prominent individuals.  Bob:  "The rich and famous are actually quite ordinary, but caught some lucky breaks.  Many are quite expert in their chosen field, but this brilliance doesn't necessarily permeate to other areas of their lives."  He views one of the keys to a long and fulfilling life to always remain a student, something he learned from Herman Aihara.  Bob:  "By taking up a diet with whole grains and vegetables as primary foods, one stands a chance of undoing the systemic conditioning that we are confronted with early in life and beyond."  He truly adheres to the adage which he has created "whole grains whole brains."  Thank you Bob for an awesome conversation!

Edward O. Wilson recalls his lifetime with ants, from his first boyhood encounters in the woods of Alabama to perilous journeys into the Brazilian rainforest. Animating his scientific observations with illuminating personal stories, Wilson hones in on twenty-five ant species to explain how these genetically superior creatures talk, smell, and taste, and more significantly, how they fight to determine who is dominant. Wryly observing that “males are little more than flying sperm missiles” or that ants send their “little old ladies into battle,” Wilson eloquently relays his brushes with fire, army, and leafcutter ants, as well as more exotic species. Among them are the very rare Matabele, Africa's fiercest warrior ants, whose female hunters can carry up to fifteen termites in their jaw (and, as Wilson reports from personal experience, have an incredibly painful stinger); Costa Rica's Basiceros, the slowest of all ants; and New Caledonia's Bull Ants, the most endangered of them all, which Wilson discovered in 2011 after over twenty years of presumed extinction. Richly illustrated throughout with depictions of ant species by Kristen Orr, as well as photos from Wilsons' expeditions throughout the world, Tales from the Ant World is a fascinating, if not occasionally hair-raising, personal account by one of our greatest scientists and a necessary volume for any lover of the natural world. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/support

The IPL starts this weekend. It is much more than a tamasha. It saved and revitalized cricket. In episode 14 of Econ Central, Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul turn the economic lens towards cricket and cricket strategy. Also check out: 1. Opportunity, Choice and the IPL (2008)  — Amit Varma. 2. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus  — Ludwig Wittgenstein. 3. What Cricket Can Learn From Economics (2016) — Amit Varma. 4. The Lesson From This IPL: Front-Load Your Innings (2014) -- Amit Varma. 5. The Tamasha All Purists Should Love (2018) -- Amit Varma. 6. The Winning Mantra for This IPL: Attack, Attack, Attack (2017) -- Amit Varma. 7. National Highway 420 (and the EV of Aggressive Batting) (2016) -- Amit Varma. 8. Resources vs Constraints - Why T20 Teams Need to Attack More (2019) -- Amit Varma. 9. For This Brave New World of Cricket, We Have IPL and England to Thank (2019) -- Amit Varma. 10. Purists, Keep Quiet. Cricket Is Changing, Not Dying (2018) -- Amit Varma. 11. The New Face of Cricket (2015) -- Amit Varma. 12. Money in Cricket -- Episode 41 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gideon Haigh and Prem Panicker). 13. Dhoni and India -- Episode 10 of Econ Central. 14. Building Sports Ecosystems -- Episode 126 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Joy Bhattacharjya). 15. New Zealand's John Wright Lauded as the Man Who Discovered Jasprit Bumrah. 16. Toyota Halts India Expansion, Blaming ‘We Don’t Want You’ Taxes. 17. The Delhi Smog -- Episode 44 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 18. Getting Competitive: A Practitioner's Guide for India -- RC Bhargava. 19. Manufacturing Is Key to Creating Jobs in Services -- Vivek Kaul. 20. The Economics of The Chilling Effect -- Episode 5 of Econ Central. 21. What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been -- Episode 188 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Arvind Subramanian). 22. What is Libertarianism? -- Episode 117 of The Seen and the Unseen (w David Boaz). 23. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge -- EO Wilson. 24. Tawaif -- Episode 174 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Saba Dewan).  Do also check out Amit’s writing course, The Art of Clear Writing, as well as The India Uncut Newsletter. Also, Vivek’s new website at vivekkaul.com and all his books on Amazon.

Charlie Jacoby talks to his father, Martin Jacoby about Martin’s life as a natural historian, his views on how natural history and species work, the history of humankind, and why shooting butterflies is a good idea. He puts forward his ideas about DNA, why we hunt, and why hunting is an essential part of humanity. Dad’s reading list The Human Population Tsunami: how it could be managed by Martin Jacoby     Grooming gossip and the origin of language by Robin Dunbar       What is Life? by Addie Pross     Biophilia by EO Wilson       The Otter by James Williams

Have you ever dreamed of living in an actual utopia? Sound too good to be true?  Turns out it’s closer than you think! Serenbe is the world renowned pioneering self sustaining community about 40 minutes south of Atlanta. Recognized by Time Magazine, The New York Times, Oprah and more, Serenbe boasts edible trees, a professional farm, a focus on art, education, and a lifestyle steeped in wellness. Today, I got to speak to the sought after CEO and founder Steve Nygren.  One thing that stood out is the amount of a-ha moments of what we can do in our own homes that can instantly improve our health, mental wellness, prevent cancer, and promote happiness. For instance, in the Serenbe community, there are about 100 kids that live there and not one of them has asthma. You’ve got to hear this interview! Steve is clearly a person who is committed to the purpose of marrying old fashioned values and community without sacrificing modern back lolcity life. And inspiring other people to elevate the importance of nature in our own communities.  And it got me thinking about the people that I love that struggle with their health, struggle with depression, struggle with a lack of motivation - and it made me wonder if all of it is connected to our environment. I mean what if we used ourselves as Guinea pigs and made some simple changes - or even big changes - and it improved our overall conditions? What if it improved the quality of life for aging parents?  What if it reversed  medical conditions? What if it could help the earth? Serenbe | Instagram | Serenbe Real Estate | Serenbe Events Little Left of Center is also broadcasting on DecaturFM and Salesforce Radio. If you haven’t hit subscribe yet, please make sure you do so you never miss an episode of these perspective-shifting conversations. Leave a review. SHARE it with your friends and enemies.  Connect with me on the socials at Instagram, LinkedIn,  Facebook or good old fashioned email.Thank you so much for listening and I’ll see you next week!   Transcript: All right. So we are here today with Steve Nygren. He is the CEO and founder of the Serenbe community. And I'm sure I'm going to butcher this, but it is a, a really inventive, self-sustaining Agora, Agora, Agora hood, agrihood, and it is amazing about 40 minutes South of Atlanta. And so I'm so thankful for you to sitting down with me. So my podcast is called little left of center and I interview culture changers and I couldn't think of anyone better than you. As far as culture changing, you really have started a movement, so I'd love to hear a little bit more about it. How did this idea come to you? Well, first of all, welcome to Sarah. Thank you. Interested in what we're doing here. Thank you. Thank you. Well, this is, is Really a reaction to urban sprawl and what we didn't want to have in the 70s, 80s, 90s. I am the hospitality guy in Atlanta and in other cities. Yeah, that's right. And we, we brought fine dining in a casual atmosphere to Atlanta in the 70s. And, and it was a movement that was happening in America and we really were the leaders in the Southeast on this. And so I built that to a company that was in eight States and then had an opportunity to sell it and stepped off the treadmill. We lived in Ansley park at the time and a full community in downtown Atlanta. Yes. And, and where we could walk two blocks, one way to symphony hall high museum and all the restaurants along Peachtree and the other side we could walk to Piedmont park, the botanical gardens. So it was the ideal place. In fact, we'd planted gardens for our small children to be married in one day. And so we, we weren't looking for any lifestyle changes but we bought this farm on a a weekend drive out of a whim really. And I decided it was a good investment cause it was so close to Atlanta and there was this beautiful countryside cheap as is all get out or was I considering, yes, because there were no real roads here. So this wasn't on the way to anywhere. And most of metropolitan Atlanta was not aware of this beautiful rolling countryside that had been forgotten in, in the urban sprawl. Everything went North and then West and East and even South East, but not West because there were no roads to anything really major here. And so this was just sort of a whim. We rented the old historic farmhouse out and fixed a shack in the back in case we ever wanted to spend the night. You know, I, I imagine getting, you know, a, a horse and a couple of things for the kids and we'd just come out and it'd be fun. Was it a second home? It was a second home in 90 when we purchased it. And to my amazement, everyone was anxious to leave that wonderful city house with the pool on the media room and matching Barbie cars for all the three girls, you know, battery operated. You know, we, we, we, we, we thought we had the ideal world. And so it was my surprise that everyone wanted to come here to the country where we stayed in the shack. And connected to nature. And so doing that for three years was my value shift. And so I had an opportunity to sell the company, sold the big house, retired from most of the boards. And we had a wonderful seven years in retirement, but in that seventh year we became concerned about urban sprawl because Atlanta was running out of available land this close to the city and there was some development threats. And I started buying land and at 900 acres I realized I couldn't keep buying land to protect us. And 900 acres in the path of urban sprawl really doesn't protect you from anything. Anyone who's been in Metro Atlanta for the last several years understands how fast that train couldn't couldn't come. And so this was really a reaction as to what could we do first thinking about how can we be a model to do it differently. And then bringing 500 landowners to actually regulate the zoning on 40,000 acres. How did you find 5,000, 5,000 landowners? 500, 500 that owned 40,000 acres. So this was the Southern tip of Fulton County that was not zoned. And so it was still agriculturally zone, but that's what happens in metropolitan Atlanta. And so today we have what's called the Chattahoochee Hill country Alliance and that 65,000 acres in four counties here rewriting the corner of Fulton County to Carolyn Douglas. And this is a green space and, and a path with 30 miles of the Chattahoochee run Chattahoochee river running down through it. And we are the first to develop under these regulations. We now 40,000 of it in the two counties. We're allowed to become our own city of chat Hills. We're in, in, in I think the fifth geographic largest city in the state. But our population is in the bottom 2%, I think. So that, you know, even know where to start developing. Like how did you, well, I was, you know, and as I look back of course my first restaurant was in Midtown in the 70s when that was trash. And then in the early eighties, I became head of the Midtown Alliance. And then thanks to the Woodruff foundation and we brought in Tony Nielsen out of Boston and really looked at the rezoning for metropolitan Atlanta or Midtown Atlanta. And so you look at what's happened to Midtown today from the zoning that was put into the place in, in, in the late eighties. So, so that's why it's one of the largest zoning plans in Metro Atlanta. So I realized that that was really my training ground when I saw what was in front of me to bring these landowners together of diverse pro development, pro preservation. It was very similar to what we did in a very urban area of Midtown Atlanta. And so that was my, in my a roadmap. Did you find any resistance at that point or was it such a green space that you were able to kind of do what you want? Well, the important things to understand is I didn't come with a plan that I asked them to either like, or not like a, we came in and said, okay, what, what do we want the future to be like? So this started with neighborhood coffees of both small and large, large landowners. We divided people into groups of, of equal a similar sized property. And it's a wonderful journey on how you can bring a coalition to people that normally are fighting and all these zoning battles that you hear about. Of course we started with skepticism. What's this going to be about? But we were able to turn the majority of the landowners by the time we took this forward, 80% were paying dues into the organization to move this forward from, from all extremes. And we've come up with a plan where the pro-development, which has really economic value realize they can make more money than they would have. And the preservationist realized we're going to preserve 70% of this land and yet we'll put 20% more housing in the 30% by creating a dense model. The countryside of England was our model because after world war II, they couldn't afford urban sprawl. The Island was only so big. And so that was our, our, our real model now. It was quite a trick bringing English land law to a property rights Southern state. But we work with all of this. We worked with university of Georgia, Texas a and M, Georgia tech. And so this was really an academic process. Most of the people were in the professional planning thought we were nuts and this didn't make sense. But you really look at what we created here. It's, it's how we developed 80 years ago or more, you know, it was dense villages before the automobile allowed us to, to sprawl everywhere. And so this is why what you see is very European or very reminiscent of how people 50 grew up. Chances are, it's funny when you talk about, you know, you hear about food being organic and it used to be just food and now everything is processed. But here, isn't it something like 70% of the plants or trees are edible, but that's, I think you're referring to our common area. So in Grange for instance rather than a lot of ornamentals we have 70% is all edible landscaping. So at every crosswalk there's a blueberry bushes. There's banks of figs. The kids all know that when the service berries come out, that that's the beginning of the spring season and there's excitement. The is, is the, the bud start coming on the blueberry bushes and then the Apple trees and, and it's a natural understanding of the seasonality of our foods. And of course, we, we bring the farms right up to the houses. You mentioned Agri-hood. Well, we were really an agri-hood is, well, we were the, I'm not sure what I think about that name, but it actually Sprong from a New York times reporter doing a story on Serenbe and the fact that we were included farms while a couple of developments had had farms in a master plan such as Prairie crossing outside Chicago. It was off in the corner. And we were really the first to bring it right up to the edge of the houses. There was a perception that farms were smelly and dirty and not something you wanted to live next to. And so we really led that effort. And now farms are seen as the future. Amenity as golf courses were back in the eighties and nineties. Yeah. That's the thing that there's no golf course here. People move here because of the living cause of the wellness because of the food being sourced here because of the farming that sourced here. That's right. I want to hear more about, about what, what have you seen, I mean, you've been on this property for 20 years now, 32, three years. Wow. And Serenbe hasn't been created that long, but that's how long we have here. But the people that live on this property that are residents, what kind of health benefits have they seen from choosing to live on a self sustaining pioneering community like Serenbe? Well, we're reaching this year is our 15th year anniversary of people actually moving here into the community. And we started as a community really looking at the environmental aspects. So this is why we do not allow lawns because to have a beautiful lawn, you have to chemicalize it. And I realized that was not an environmental thing. And so you know, the way we've saved the tree, 70% saved. So these all started out as environmental principles and now that 15 years later, it's all the health benefits come from the same thing. So environment and health are very tied together. So over a hundred children here, no asthma the people have reported to me, they've gotten rid of their antidepressants. And now there's real medical proof that connection to nature does affect your mental attitude and connecting to one another. And I don't know if you notice people are waving in one another, that they're smiling, that you, you can fill fashion in such a really beautiful way. That's right. And, and it's some of that old fashioned connection to nature and connection to each other. That does affect our mental health and our mental health. Now. Its documented affects our physical health and some of the main diseases. And yet we had been building places over the last five decades that remove us from both nature and each other. So that's so this is, is really basically how the built environment is causing some of our health problems that we have today. We have a lot of regulations so that people can park near their back door near the stores or whatever they're going to. We're obsessed with the convenience for the automobile and no wonder we have obesity. We are not worried or even aware of where our food is grown in. You know, it should be regional, local, yes. Organic is, is a tag that has really come on what was a very natural thing 50, 60 years ago. And you know, for the first time ever we have obesity and malnutrition in the same body. So there's something very wrong with what we're calling food and where, how we're trying to nourish people. So here's what I'm wondering. This is very in Vogue now. I think people are starting to figure out the connection between the food and the environment. I think because there are so many environmental catastrophes that are happening outside our door and people's sicknesses are getting worse and worse than chronic diseases. How did you have those foresight 20 years ago or 30 years ago? How did you, it's very hard to go against the grain, you know, but it sounds like you have some type of vision. How did you know this? I have a lot of entrepreneurs that listen to this. Where, where did you feel this in your body? Well, I think there is a lot to be said about following your heart or you know, in your gut. And I believe that these organs are actually thinking functions and the mind is set up to organize. And we have gotten in Western society the idea that we should be led by the mind and that's not so, and if you find a lot of people that are out front one, any concept in any area is because they had that gut feeling or they followed their heart on what they wanted to do. Our, our mind is as far too organized. It won't let us go out in front. There were. And so I'm one of those people who have always sense things and been willing to follow my senses rather than what conventional wisdom tells us. I did that with the restaurants. We were the leaders and going into places like Midtown, one pinned down was nothing, no place. We were the first liquor license in Roswell, a first table service restaurant in Decatur. We were part of the Pennsylvania development authority renovation of Pennsylvania Avenue in the 80s between the white house and the Capitol downtown Pennsylvania. So we were really willing to take those, the, those gutsy move just because it seemed right. And those were all places that are fabulous today. You have won awards for this, you are world renowned for what you've done in this community. And I think it has sparked an inspiration to be able to duplicate those. How do you replicate this beyond these walls? Because it's, it's very expensive to live here. So some of the critiques are, you know, I can't, it sounds great. I can go visit, you know, there are yoga retreats. There's ways to do that. There's an in that I could stay on, but I can't afford to live there. So you've touched on two things that I'd like to both the address both of them separately. So first of all, let's talk about how do you replicate this? And the important thing, it isn't, it is not about the granite curbs, the custom streetlights the incredible physical things that you see here. It's really the principles that you, you see you know, when we started everyone thought I was crazy. And at times I did too, but I had crossed through that path threshold of passion that I knew we had to do it because I suddenly realized that no one was doing this as I searched for somebody to help me and I, I couldn't believe it and I realized it had to be done. And so we just we're busy doing because anyone I talked to about aha, sure. But we found out the market was ready. People were showing up to buy it, even though the financial community and the real estate community thought we were just nuts. He sold a lot before it even broke ground. We did. But, but, but that, that was strictly one-on-one, people that had heard about it and knew about it, and it started selling out. So I started very, very slowly. And then of course, the recession hit and, and that was difficult for us as long as everyone else. But were some of the few people our size that remained alive. And during the recession then or after the recession, there were a lot of analysts that realized walking communities and environmental communities where some of the first to step out of the recession. So suddenly there was a lot of interest in places like Serenbe, what were we about? What were the principles? Why were buyers interested in this? And that's when I realized that many people were putting us in boxes whether it was a new urbanist, environmentalist Agra hoods. And we're all of that the urban land Institute, which is the granddaddy of all developers. They published a book on the 10 top environmental communities where one of those 10, they also have a pamphlet on the 10 top dense or newer business communities. And we're also there. We're the only one in both. And now they have a whole pamphlet and teaching about bringing agriculture in and, and we led that effort and we're the only one in, in that, in, in all three. And so I thought, well, who are we? What are the principles? And I real fault lies that it's really following the biophilic principles. I meant to ask you what is biophilic? So it's, it's it's great if, if, if any of your listeners come to visit find the Halsa restaurant and we've created a room next door to really educate people on what biophilia movement is. The term biophilia was popularized by EO Wilson. And then Yale has done a lot of work Stephen Kellert out of Yale and Tim [inaudible] out of the university of Virginia. And it, it, I realized that I had to deal with about 13 silos that I have identified, both in public perception and policy. Because 50% of what you see here at Serenbe was not allowed when we started in 2002, three. Who was governing it though? Well, these are local zoning codes. It's federal storm water environmental protection division. There's, we have so many layers of regulations and they are layered on decade after decade without really understanding why sometimes something happens in a regulation. And then we might put another regulation on 20 years later, but we haven't removed the earlier one. And, and a lot of these regulatory boards are now in such silos. They don't understand even the unintended consequence that another entity has within the division. And so this is what we started running up against is all this. So, so we've identified and you'll see a big board and, and, and we can get you a picture of it if you, if you put on, but it's, it's those various silos that we brought all together. And so it's just like so many things that happen naturally, 50, 80 years ago, we didn't have to identify him. It's become society. Just like you identified food. It was just local good food. Yeah. Now we've tagged it as organics, dif, you know, do we say that's organics versus chemicalized food? I mean, that's, that's sort of, it'd be better from a psychosomatic person. That's what it should be. We should say we're having to identify good food versus what we've turned food into or what we call food. So it's just a lot of those things. This is really a, a movement I believe that we have been part of from the built environment people are doing in other ways. And now working with Tim Bartley of the university of Virginia we host the biophilic summit, and these are leaders of both educators and policymakers. So planners of cities MIT, Harvard, Yale, they all come now and to big planners head of Google campuses, for instance, to just come on our board. And every spring you can go on our webpage is the biophilic summit. And people are coming from all over. We've also in the fall, now we have Nygren placemaking. We're planning, I think our seventh conference. And this is geared for developers to really address what these principles are. So if you want to do it you can bring your local legislators, your, your city council people or your bankers. And many times we've had some local governance bring developers to show them this is what they want in their community, something more like this. So we're now a good model that, that can be used to show this makes economic sense, is quality of life, it's health, it's a lot of these things that we're searching for today. And we're now a model that makes that happen. And a 40% of the people that come to this conference are outside the United States. So this is a, this is actually a global concern. It isn't just in the United States. And then we'll touch on the affordability as well. So that's a good question. So you see when we started, that was part of the original plan to have affordable housing. Right? Well, number one was looking at environmental. And I found when I talked about the environmental aspects, people say, Oh, are you going to be one of those eco villages with straw bale houses and imagine in the earth. And you know, there I realized there was a real stigma towards environment and what have you and that if we were going to change things, we had to bring influencers in from various places. And you don't do that through affordable housing. The other thing I looked at is this area did not need affordable housing. We were in an area that was depressed this 40,000 acres could not cover their own bills for services. So we were a detriment to Fulton County. And so the understanding is that that we needed executive housing to balance the tax base. So it's popular today to talk about affordable housing because the stories that hit the press are those places where workforce housing is displaced. We're not talking about enough is the communities across the United States where the executive housing has disappeared and services have had to been cut to the very bone, or those local jurisdictions have gone bankrupt because they have not kept an equal balance of housing on both sides. If you look at what's happened to rural America and the anger, and that's coming, that's the big issue. We have created places with only affordable housing. And so this is a, another thing that we have to look at both sides of the coin. And we're a good example of that. So in the 40,000 acres we were able to convince the state legislature that we could have independence of our own city because Serenbe's tax base that we projected forward. So today we have disturbed 80 acres that's tax producing in a 40,000 acre city, and we represent 50% of the tax base. Wow. So this allows farmers to stay on their farm, land at a reasonable tax base. This allows for affordable housing in the area. And the leadership from our community has stood up an incredible charter school for the greater area. 500 kids attending that school. The majority of them come from low income housing. And it's a real model. If you look at CBS Sunday morning, Google that Chattahoochee Hills charter school alive, you saw at the school, I saw, I saw your, your special on. Oh, so you see, we really, and there's where health these, you know, we, we built cottages for the classrooms in the woods. Kids spend a third of every day in nature and we have the lowest reported absentee due to health of any school in the state. And so this is a good example. There are some simple solutions out there that aren't that hard, but we are in such ruts of how we do things that, that we're missing these solutions. Have you seen people from these, these summits that you have here? Have you seen this duplicated? Is that, I think the farmers are the real heroes too. You know, like how have you seen it? Have you seen it pop up elsewhere? Well, the thing is is you do not see replicas, but you see principles applied in various areas. So you look at the number of developers putting farms in, you look at the number of places that are now doing geothermal and not allowing lawns and they're, they're taking pieces of it. The idea of putting a blueberry Bush as your, your crosswalks were really influencing development around the country and even some people that haven't been here. The other key thing is universities are really showing up. And so this is some of the, your future planners and Texas a and M has the connection, you hear them say an N. They have had two semesters where they bring the professor and students for a complete 12 weeks where they live on campus. So it's a semester away program. We are working now with the university of Georgia to create a program where students from anywhere can apply as long as their host university accepts the, the, the curriculum that they're setting. And we hope that leads to an actual dorms that we're going to build a us so that university students from anywhere in the world could come. It's an opportunity for corporations. Bosch had their experience center here for five years. And so a good example they have, they're in 36 countries. This could be a scholarship program they create for all their communities too, where kids in those communities could apply to spend a semester here on environmental education. And this may be a meta question, but I'm thinking about, I know you have daughters, I know you have grandchildren and your grandchildren. Are they growing up on the property? They are, what is it like to watch them grow up in this community that must have been different from your daughters who grew up in the city? It is such a reward. I mean, that, that, that, that is my, that's your legacy, you know? Absolutely. And you know, we, we, if you have children, you start looking at the world through a different lens. And it was the weekends here in the country. W w our girls were three, five and seven when we first purchased the land, they were six, eight, and 10 when we moved here. And that was just following my gut and my heart as to what I thought was necessary for them. Did your wife freak out? Like where are they going to go to school? Well, they were going to Woodward and they continued to go toward where, so you, we're, we're on the edge of the city, so we didn't, you know, we're not in nowhere. That's the beauty. We didn't have to change our doctors, our hair stylist, we didn't change anything except where we lived on a day to day basis. And we had a great house. We, we had the second largest lot in Ansley park on a Hill. We had an acre and Ansley and anyone who sees acres that just, you know, that that's, most of them are about a quarter acre, you know, if that, and some smaller. And so we, you know, it was ideal, as ideal as you could have in the city. And we loved it and we just changed. And so after we lived here full time for about six months at dinner one night, I asked the girls if they were happy. We made that change because there was changes. Excuse me, I expect them to say, Oh yeah, we have bunnies, we have a horse. And they looked at each other and Garnie, my oldest looked at me and she said, the freedom dad. And I said, what do you mean to freedom? And she said, well, we had that big yard in Ansley fans too, but we always knew you were looking out the window at us and we could never ride our bicycles unless there was an adult with us on along the sidewalks. And she says, when we moved out here, we became free. And I had no idea that I was that uptight about them or they were in the city or that they were aware of it. And so so that, that was about 11 years after that. Richard Lou wrote the book last child in the woods, and I don't know if you're familiar with that, but this from that book is a medical term, that derived of nature deficit disorder and it's children's brains really are not developing. There's a piece of it that's that you think of as common sense because they live in such structured, built and social environments that they never have the opportunity to develop. And so I, I, I sent rich a note and said, thank you for giving voice to what we intuitively knew 11, 12 years before that. I said, all of our friends in the city thought we were nuts. Now I can just send them your book and they can see that we were, we really understood something. I think one of the best examples is a big picture of a group of kids that are out running a various ages and they, they cross a stream with, you know, a couple inches of water. Not a big deal if you hit it, but there's rocks in it. And all the bigger kids know how to hit the rocks and get across to the other side. And off they go. And this picture zeroes in on about a three year old and you can see he hasn't crossed the stream yet. And he's standing there looking at the rocks and trying to figure out if his legs are long enough to hit those places to keep going. And that's the kind of brain development that doesn't happen today because very few kids are in a natural environment. And if they are, there's an adult that picks him up and puts them on the other side of the stream. And so we're depriving our young people of that opportunity. And this is why you hear a lot of professors talking about the smart kids arriving at college that can't figure out simple things. Yeah, that's true. And this is where nature deficit disorder came into be. This is hitting a little bit close to home because I live right in the city. I live in old fourth ward. So I live right on the Atlanta BeltLine and my kids. We have a little backyard, we have a little front yard, we have a garage, we have a gate, you know, so for there, that's a big, big deal there. There aren't a lot of it. But I would not let them for a moment out of my sight. Even though it is cleaned up a lot, you know, and, and the one thing that I miss more than anything is the chance for them to run and be free and to not have us watching them. And I took my kids at, they're four and seven, and I took my kids to a photo shoot and it was at a blueberry farm and I'm in Lawrenceville. And they had a whole thing of wild flowers and they could not be still, they were so happy to just run. So I get that. I believe that too. It must be amazing to watch your grandkids be able to be free. Well, it's, it's incredible. And, and it was the best decision we ever made in our girls. Anyone who knows them, talks about how self-assured they are. I mean, they were, they were leaders in both high school and college. That, that foundation we gave them by moving here and giving them that connection to nature and that freedom that I didn't, not realize we were depriving them of at the time. And now they have all chosen to come back and live here to raise their children and to see my grandchildren and all the kids here. And we, we talked many times about the free range kids and is probably one of the big things people notice is these kids running around without any obvious parents the nature trails, the things they can do. And so I, I think one of the big things we need to do is, is, is look at the two bookends of our society. And now as we're dealing with motto, our community on health and wellness, we really looked at Scandinavia a lot where intergenerational living is very common. And the programming in America we tend to cage both our children and our elders. And that's one thing I think we have to have to change. So I, I'm all for free range kids and uncaged elders. It's completely different. Parents are caged, they're gate. I think there's self-imposed cage. Well they don't want to leave anymore. And that I think is because they don't have access to something, a healthier environment. Will you look at the wa, I mean this is all very convenient for everyone to walk. They, you know they can sit on their front porch and people of all ages come by to wave and just say hello and what a difference that makes. For an elderly person that's maybe especially they lose their driver's license or their homebound for our health reasons to have a bunch of kids run them by your front door all the time. That's the way it used to be. And it, it, it, it lifts our spirits. Tell me about the art in the community. Your whole face just lit up, but also so you see, we, you know, the basis here is, is, is preservation of land. So 70% is, is going to be preserved. And then the density creates the density. So that's the basic underlying of the zoning. But we realized there were four other pillars if we wanted really a vital lifestyle. And that's art, agriculture, health and education. And art is an important piece. It has been through generations through centuries. But we seem to not be funding it, not giving it the respect or the importance that it needs. And so we wanted to develop areas for artists and we wanted to put policy in place. So we created the serum B Institute for art environment and there is a 1% transfer fee for every house is sold or resold in the future. So this gives a permanent annual funding for arts programming. This allowed us to do some early things. Our artist in residence program was the first program we borrowed people's carriage houses, guest rooms. Now we have a 40 acre campus that we're developing for our visiting artists. Wow. Because we had those funds we were able to launch the play house and now Serenbe play house is house is like, I, I, I've never been there, but people rave about it. It's, well, the, the playbill out in New York said we were one of the 20 important regional theaters in the United States today. You must be so proud. And then because of our Institute, when the contemporary dance group left the Atlanta ballet two years ago, we were able to catch them so that they, Metro Atlanta did not lose them. And so now we have Terminus, which was the contemporary dance. So and then plus we have smaller. So those are each now large enough that they are their own divisions under the umbrella of the Institute. It's a little bit like Woodruff arts center and has the divisions under it. And then we're also have other groups dealing with music and film and things that might emerge to to major divisions in themselves. So that's growing. In fact, the 2020 budget is three and a half million dollars. Wow. Funding the yards a lot, especially the play house and Terminus, a lot of their tickets, that's unheard of. Unheard of. And it's sustainable because a lot of their budget comes from ticket sales and classes. So it's earned income. It isn't always with their handout. And that's part of what sustainability is. If there, if there's a foundation of money somewhere then you inspire them to go out and do these things and not always having to worry about whether they're going to survive for the next year. That base is there and it allows creativity and entrepreneurship within the arts. That's gotta be amazing to be able to have that kind of well-rounded offering here. Do people never leave? I mean, are there some people that just stay on property? You know, we have this incredible pool and the arts and all, and I, and I know of three families last year that shared with me that when they were planning their summer vacation, they couldn't figure out any place to go that they would like better than staying home. You get depressed, you know, like driving off the lot therapy. I don't dry off that much, you know. But you know, I've been, Atlanta is right there so I don't miss anything that I want. But and you see like the, the Playhouse, only 1% of our ticket sales conferences, zip code people are coming in from all over. In fact, we have an amazing number of season ticket holders outside the state. Wow. Isn't that something? But you do have a lot of programming for holidays and for season and for children and for families here, if you go to our page, we have things every week. I will never try and go yoga. But I've been to a yoga retreat here within, try the Ariel now she, you know, the yoga studio now that they boot in their new space in the one Moto building, they have aerial yoga and that is an incredible hit for coming. So I will do that, but not go yoga. Yeah. Well you know, you could watch, I have a girlfriend that is desperate cause she comes down here from Roswell to do goat yoga and she's like, you're going with me? And I said, no, I'm not. I'll go for any other reason. She's, she's convinced. I'll try it. But but I love what you're doing. And, and one thing I was thinking about, cause I think our other problems to solve and you found a problem that has been solved here. Where do you go from here? Well, we have a lot of things to do. Yeah. What's next? You know, when I think about where we were 20 years ago is we were just thinking about saving this. And luckily a dear friend was Ray Anderson. People in the environmental movement would know him as he founded interface carpet, which brought carpet squares to America. And then after reading Paul Hawkins book in the 90s he changed his company to be an environmental footprint for 30 years. And when the white house created the council on the environment in the early nineties or mid nineties, he was the first chairman of that. Now he's a dear friend. His stepson's godfathered are a 31 year old. So we knew Ray through all this. And so at dinner one night when I was concerned, I said, Ray, you know, the smart people who, who could come help us, who's, who's developing responsibly. And of course, there were no developers doing this kind of responsible development to this degree, but he asked the Rocky mountain Institute out of Colorado to help. And so Ray and the Rocky mountain is to convene 23 thought leaders here in September of 2000. Now, this is back when there were only a few voices talking about the environment. Today, while there's still a lot to be done, we at least have a roadmap and we have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done and what the problems are. Today I think we're at the same place with health that we were 20 years ago with environment. We know we have to do something. We know we can't continue. How can you contribute here on what has been done? We are, we are really at the forefront of this. We are, as a society, we're sicker than we've ever been. And I depressants increase four fold each decade. For the first time in the last two years, our life span has become shorter rather than longer. And that, that trend has, has turned at the current rate through some of the CDC figures. If we don't reverse the amount of money we're spending by 2035, it will be 50% of our GDP towards health. This is a train wreck that a lot of people are talking about and there's going to be something different. We, we feel well, we know we're at the forefront. Two years ago, the global wellness summit that looks at this internationally gave us the international award and innovation for built environment and what we're doing here very few people here use their insurance, but everyone feels they have to have it. And I call the, our current insurance. That's extortion. And so if you have people doing health where, you know, where's that going to change? How's are, how are people going to take, start taking control of their own responsibility for their health? We should own our own health records instead of these medical institutions. We should be looking we should be making it a lot better for natural. We, we have a medicinal garden that was planted planned by the university of Georgia. We're teaching people how to harvest their front yard rather than run to the pharmaceutical company. And so we are, we're in a very broken society is we deal with our health and you just look w w we're getting sicker and more depressed and starting to die younger. So there's something seriously wrong. I think a lot of it comes from the built environment and that's the piece that we're demonstrating and showing it, it can happen. And we're an option for people that want to change their lives. Sarah and B and places like Sarah and B are, you start looking the fact that we do not have lawns that have to be chemicalized I think deals a lot with the asthma issue and probably cancer. You know, we, we w we live in fascinating. Yeah. We live in a chemical society. Yeah. We, we you know, almost all houses have lawns. You, you have to chemical eyes it to keep the weeds down and make it look like it does. And we're in a tendency to want things to bloom rather than edible things. We're, we're, we're putting things that bloom. And then we put chemical fertilizers on that to make them grow more. And then pretty soon the bug started coming out. I was wondering how you guys handle bugs here. Well, we are in Georgia as though it's amazing. You walk by our streams, puddles of water. More people call me and ask me what we do to prevent the mosquitoes and the pesty bugs. Yeah. The, you know, the, our ecosystem works pretty well if we leave it alone. But if you start putting these chemicalized things, the natural predators of those pesty bugs disappear. They're going to get out. And so we're left with these pesty bugs that are overpopulated then such as mosquitoes. And then, then we wonder what's wrong. You know, when we lived in Ansley park, it drove me crazy. At least twice a year I came home and there was a sign in my neighbor's yard. Do not walk on the lawn for 24 hours. My cats could never read that across the lawn, into the house, onto the sofas. But you know, how does that disappear for 24 hours? So, so, you know, it's dangerous enough that they have to post these signs and then we wonder why we have cancer and asthma and depression. We need to wake up as a society and as buyers start demanding different places that we're going to live and that we're going to raise our children. What are some ways, what are some ways that people can help take steps for a healthier life? Well let's just talk about the built environment. For instance wherever you live. This was a tour I had about several months ago and I was talking about this and there was this, this, this woman and after I was talking about this, I thought she was ill because she kinda got white and she, I could tell she'd lost focus. And I said, are you all right? She, she asked, she said, I've just been thinking, we live on a call to SAC with about 20 houses and our whole bigger community, there's a big prize on the yard of the year, tons of chemicals. And we pride ourselves at someone on our call. The SAC always wins. And I had been sitting here thinking about each house and there has been an cancer in almost every house on our call to SAC. And she says, I'm, she says, you have just scared me to death. She says, what you just said makes so much sense. And I'm just applying that to my own neighborhood. So one thing is get your neighborhood together and decide that, that, that this is a problem and you're going to change what you're doing. And everybody thinks, Oh my God, what's the neighborhood going to look like without lawns? It's amazing how few people notice. We don't have lawns. I didn't notice. See, I love it. I bring developers through. I do tours of landscapers and their clothes that the front porches are close to the road. That's right. Yeah. And, and so it and many times we've walked 40 minutes through the community talking about the very aspects of, they'll say no, what's one of the biggest things you notice that's different about most communities? And they talk about the granite curves, the streetlights, the width the the car, all sorts of things. And, and it's, it's rare, maybe 10% of the time that people notice there are no lawns and they all look surprised when I tell them, Oh, there's no one. So, so just start looking about where you live, that, that's a huge thing. Start using your, your local farmer's market, really think about the food you're putting on the table and what that food is and where it's going and where it's coming from. It can, you know, organic from Argentina, I don't think, you know, makes sense. I would rather have a locally grown from a region around here. So support local farmers, local food, understand that you know, meet part of the problem with meat is, is all the steroids and things that is put into it. Yeah. Where if you're getting local meat, local chicken grass, the grass fed, you look at just the color of a, of a chicken in a grocery store that comes from grass fed and comes from a chicken farm. And the color of it is very different. You look at a grass fed, a egg versus a regular egg that the colors are very different. So start being aware of of the food you're putting on the table and what you're doing. Start thinking about your daily habits of, of, of, of, of where you're, where you're walking. We're in, can you walk, where can you walk to places versus constantly worried about convenience. That's a huge piece is the physical activity here at Sarah and B, we have winding streets, but we have a path grid. So generally you can get everyone faster by foot than you can by car. That's an intentional design yet attentional design. Wow. And, and you find we really don't have that much room. So someone shared that they had been on diets for 30 years and finally gave it up about five years before moving here. Hadn't thought about diet, but suddenly they had lost 20 pounds. And it's purely the lifestyle of the food available and the fact that once you park your car, you're, you're walking to everything here. And so that, that, that's a real lifestyle. So there's, there's a lot of simple things in what we're doing. I think the wakey the awareness part, it's things like thinking about lawns that I would have never thought about even though it is right in front of my face, you know. So I thank you for that. I think it's really helpful cause I think people are starting to understand that what they eat and what's around them is really affecting their health. I think people are starting to connect that there is sickness or the antidepressants are because of some of the things that are not really their fault, just not the awareness of a better way. And now I think it's becoming more in fashion to to have sustainable, better energy. Do you guys have solar panels here or is it electricity? How, how do you, when you've touched another great thing. So, you know, it's another one of those issues where everyone understands the issue, but they come in at the wrong place on it. So when you're talking about things like solar, we really need to talk about reducing your demand of energy. Tell me more. And so every house here has to be certified. Most people know about lead certification. We use earth craft, which is out of the South. Well, I like it. It's local. It, it's out of Atlanta and it's in the Southeast. I really like it because they have a minimum of three inspections. So I know when that house is completed. And so I, I love you, I love your perceptions because you're, you're, you're exactly where we are as a society and in, in talking about the expense. So I want to talk a little bit more about that. So if you, if you reduce the demand in, in building a well built house, that reduces your energy demand by about 30 to 35%, then if you put geothermal in, which is a very natural system of using the temperature from the earth to heat and cool your house, that reduces your HVHC costs by 50% or about 35% of your overall energy demand. The other thing about geothermal is it's silent. So you don't have those air compressors going, which a lot of things I think disturbs our nervous system is the noise of a lot of these things. And the compressors are one of those things that our air conditioning, so if you have reduced your energy demand by 65 to 70%, then solar becomes very affordable. And the next step to put a solar on a non-energy efficient house, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It's, it's very costly. And this is why the, the payback. So most people, when they talk about things, it is more expensive to build a good house. It's a little more expensive. You put solar on. But a good example is the demonstration house we built with BOSH. And so it was certified. It was geothermal. And then on a 1800 square foot house, they were able to put a third of the solar. So it cost a third to actually put solar to run the house. You can watch the meter running backwards. It was more expensive when we sold it. They got a 75 or 80% mortgage. So their monthly mortgage bill was more expensive than it would buy on a comparable house somewhere that wasn't certified, wasn't geothermal, it wasn't solar. But the increase in their mortgage was less than what their power bill would have been. So it's cash positive year one, month one. And so what happens is we are used to comparing silos to silos rather than overall things. And, and, and that's a problem that keeps us in these ruts of doing the same old thing because of this stereotype that it's more, and actually it's not, it is more expensive to build, but it, it's less cashflow every month out of the family pocket. Those are the kinds of things we're not looking at. And then if you reduce your health costs by having an environmentally built house, no asthma, just just think of what that starts doing. Quality of life as well as actual medical bills. So in America we are really not applying costs of things, the true cost of everything. And so that's why we're having troubles measuring and we don't do a lot of things because we perceive it as being too expensive. Yeah. I think when you put it into context like that, it makes a whole lot of sense. And it sounds so idyllic here and it makes me sad that I don't know that I could live here, you know, like can I, but if I could take certain steps to get better and to bring this awareness to people, that's how it starts. I suspect you're an aware enough person and you have children that you'll do anything for them. And as you become aware of these issues, there's things that you haven't noticed that will probably really start bothering you when you think about how it's affecting your kids. And that's, that's where we're going to change the, the, the public has to start with what we're willing to put up with as buyers, whether it's home, whether it's what our food or what, where are we? And so what Sarah, and be in places like Sarah and be, we're making people aware of these differences. And I've had a lot of people that come back and say, you know, I, I hate you. And I said, why? And they said, you've made me aware. Yes. And now some of these little things I didn't think about driving me crazy. You know, whether it's, you know, this woman said, I, I, you know, I never really realized how irritated I was at the compressor, outside our bedroom window. And now that you talked about it, she says, now it's louder than ever. She said, it's just driving me crazy. It's like nails going down. You know, I think there's a lot. And so if there's anything we need to wake up as a society because we cannot continue in this path. It's just, it's, it's just that serious. That's why I was so interested in thankful to have some time with you because I think it is an important change that needs to be made. How do people find you? We can go to our webpage at www dot Serenbe dot com E R E N. B. E. And it's tell me where the name came from. Well, it was when we came out here. And you tend to name your land and w w when we slowed down to simply be, we found the serenity we had been searching for. That's beautiful. You know, we, we tend to go faster and faster searching and the reality is if we just slow down, chances are it's right there. Well, thank you so much Steve. You are blazing a trail. I'm so thankful for the example that you're setting and the time you spent with me and for my audience, and can't wait to see what's next for you. Well, I'm looking forward to you bringing your children back and spending some time in nature and on us, our of our trails that they will love it. Thank you.

It’s easy to take modern Earth for granted — our breathable atmosphere, the delicately balanced ecosystems we depend on — but this world is nothing like the planet on which life first found its foothold. In fact it may be more appropriate to think of life in terms of verbs than nouns, of processes instead of finished products. This is the evolutionary turn that science started taking in the 19th Century…but only in the last few decades has biology begun to see this planet’s soil, air, and oceans as the work-in-progress of our biosphere. The story of our planet can’t be adequately told without some understanding of how life itself depends on opportunities that life creates, based on the energy and mineral resources made as byproducts of our metabolisms. A new, revelatory narrative of the last 3.8 billion years refigures living systems in terms of thermodynamic flows and the ever-growing range of possibilities created by our ever-more-complex ecologies. And in the telling, this new history sheds light on some of the biggest puzzles of the fossil record: why complex animals took so long to appear, why humans are the way we are, and maybe even why the sky is blue.This week’s guest is evolutionary biologist and science journalist Olivia Judson, an honorary research fellow at The Imperial College of London who received her PhD from the University of Oxford and whose writing has appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Guardian, and National Geographic. She is also the author of the internationally best-selling popular science book, Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation. In this episode, we discuss her work on major energy transitions in evolution (the subject of her next book), and what we can learn by studying the intimate dance of biology and geology over the last 4 billion years.Visit our website for more information or to support our science and communication efforts.Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Olivia’s Website.“The energy expansions of evolution” in Nature.The Atlantic on Olivia’s essay.Music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn

In this talk, renowned biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson joins former U.S. secretary of the interior and interim CEO of the Nature Conservancy Sally Jewell for a discussion about the core science and common humanity that is driving the success of Wilson's Half-Earth Project — "a call to protect half the land and sea in order to manage sufficient habitat to reverse the species extinction crisis and ensure the longterm health of our planet." It's made up of a team of thought leaders from a wide range of fields who are gathering expertise from around the world to achieve this goal."We need to build a science," says Wilson. "We know that our ecosystems, which are really what we try to protect — not just single species, but ensembles of species that have come together and have reached stability, sometimes over thousands, or in some places, millions of years ... We need an ecosystems science. And there is going to be one created. It should be, has to be, in the immediate future. So since I'm in a preacher's mood, I will say to you: If you want to go into science, please consider going into the coming development of a new biological science."E.O. Wilson spoke on Oct. 7, 2019, as part of the College of Natural Resources' Horace M. Albright Lecture in Conservation. It took place during the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation's Half-Earth Day, an annual event that explores how conservationists can make progress toward protecting half the earth for the rest of life. Half-Earth Day was held at UC Berkeley this year, and featured lectures, panels and workshops on education and citizen science, science and technology, conservation and community, and business and sustainability.Listen and read a transcript on Berkeley News. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Darwinian revolution began in a new understanding of how species change through time by means of natural selection, and affirms that each species, including our own, is genetically adapted in exquisite detail for life in a particular environment. The studies of adaptation through time and the diversity of the millions of other species are the core of evolutionary biology. Functional biology, including medical research, will do well to incorporate the study of biodiversity and the process of evolution that has created it. Edward Osborne Wilson is an American biologist, researcher (sociobiology, biodiversity), theorist (consilience, biophilia), naturalist (conservationist) and author. His biological specialty is myrmecology, the study of ants. Wilson is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. He is known for his career as a scientist, his advocacy for environmentalism, and his secular-humanist and deist ideas pertaining to religious and ethical matters. As of 2007, he is Pellegrino University Research Professor in Entomology for the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He is a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism.

Author and environmental advocate Varda Burstyn is living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) - an illness mostly ignored - or outright denied - in the health care system. Patients experiencing MCS symptoms are usually labeled psychosomatic or malingerers or worse.  MCS is another example of a wide spread diagnostic mistake causing institutionalized medical harm by denying patients appropriate testing and access to treatment. Varda’s family has numerous - and catastrophic - examples of medical error - including her mother and brother, requiring Varda to take on caretaker roles. In spite of this - or maybe because of it - Varda has become a force of nature in the environmental movement. Over the years Varda’s extensive and award winning body of work has tackled hard issues in politics, popular culture, science, technology, health and the environment, in every medium, for popular audiences and in scholarly venues, and her fiction has been translated into French, German and Korean. As you will hear Varda attest, the medical system is a power system, and in some jurisdictions, it is a monopoly of power by the medical system colluding with Big Pharma over the communities’ health. Your health. In sharing her own health care experiences, Varda unpacks the layers of historical and current influences and dynamics that construct our health systems.   She notes that was once medical error was just simple ignorance - but it is now willful ignorance - and it is repeated over and over again - and that is criminal. SHOW NOTES     Multiple Medical Errors in Varda's Family 0:06:00 Varda, from her teens to her mid-40s, had heavy care duties for her ill mother who had septicemia (sepsis) complications and developed MCS - Varda got married, moved away, but in her early 50s crashed with severe MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) - 4 years ago Varda's youngest brother, 13 years younger than Varda, had a massive breakdown - Varda thinks he has a triple or quadruple diagnosis - he has brain injuries - Varda also has 2 brain injuries and 3 quite bad spinal injuries 0:07:30 A lot of correlation between MCS and these types of injuries - her brother has 4 bad brain injuries, had suffered with depression and anxiety for many years, possible caused by MCS, but when he took antidepressant / psychotropics but did not work and his health declined - psychiatrists then gave him a cocktail of 7 psychotropics drugs 0:08:00 Since doctors don't believe in MCS - her brother was fully functioning professor of Culture and Information Studies at Western University and within 2 weeks he had a complete emotional and cognitive breakdown - last 4 years a nightmare as he has no diagnosis and no treatment 0:09:30 Commonality between MCS, FM (fibromyalgia) and ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is that psychiatrists only read symptoms through a psychiatric lens and will not treat any other way - he's gotten worse and worse - Varda does a lot of his care taking, and it has taken its toll - ongoing crisis, with flares when he's worse - psychiatrist has cycled him through many meds, making him worse 0:10:30 He took himself of all meds in last 12 months as they had made him intensely suicidal - but he's left with deep depression, anxiety and sleeplessness - Varda believes her brother is highly electromagnetic sensitive (ES) and quite multiple chemical sensitive (MCS) - he went to good clinic in US with integrative medicine and they did EEG, SPECT scans, and said his brain was damaged 0:11:30 The clinic asked about exposure to chemicals and pesticides - her brother had meningitis after his first brain injury - the clinic said he has an injured brain with chemical and electrical sensitivities - brought images and diagnosis back to Canada but no doctors to work with him because the medical system doesn't have MCS as a category and treat it as a mental illness "Family has been through medical hell" 0:12:45 Medical system also fails to recognize that people with MCS respond adversely to psychotropic drugs - her brother has been through medical hell - has taken a terrible toll on family in various ways - educate herself on other treatment modalities like stroke based rehab to red light therapy - found rehab support worker, but he's so far gone he may not respond 0:14:30 Both mother and brother impacted by medical error - Varda avoids the word 'victim' especially for herself so she can maintain a positive attitude for her advocacy work - but without doubt her mother and brother are victims of hideous medical error - its been hard on the family and her spirit - Varda likes to think well of people but these ongoing medical experiences make that challenging 0:15:30 Since Varda was 15 and her mother went through botched surgery that left her damaged for life - Varda is 70 now and that is a long time - had had positive encounters but with the outliers in the medical system, like the clinic in Dallas 0:17:15 Varda thinks more and more Canadians have poor medical experiences since we see more and more conditions that are not part of the established system - kids born with neurological concitions like ADHD, Autism Spectrum, behavioural disorders - that are linked at least in part to chemicals like lead poisoining - like the kids in Flint Michigan - they will haven cognitive issues for the rest of their lives - since we've entered the chemical age, many families having trouble, and no solutions or supports - Varda's family story is pretty tough, but not usual 0:19:00 In 1984 Varda did a national radio series on 'environmental illnesses' and 'iatrogenic disease caused by physician' - remarkable the lack of awareness of medical errors - the medical establishment completely redicule, refuse, psychologize and other tactics with conditions that don't yet understand and delegitimatize them - yet the medical record of errors is very disturbing - people need not to think of physicians as infallible beings from god, but as human with a set of skills and knowledge that is imperfect and limited 0:20:30 Varda thinks many people who could afford to go to naturopaths, etc and spend a lot of money - they choose through actions / spending to go beyond the 'drugs and surgery' paradigm of allo medicine - but in Canada very few people get together to change the way medicine is practised by pressuring the govt and College of Physicians and Surgeons - except with HIV and Autism, it is rare to get enought people in movement to shift govt - people are unable to have social supports and get no response to the medical system     Psychologization and psychiatricization of the medical system    0:23:30 Varda thinks most important things is that the psychologization and psychiatricization of the medical system in Ontario and Canada is a result of where the system is at, but it is not the cause - the cause is 3 things: the fundamental unwillingness to put in research dollars, the refusal to look at what works in other jurisdictions, and refusal to believe patients - if the govt funded ME and MCS equity it would be a different situation 0:24:45 Doctors should believe patients instead of the current mindset of defaulting to psychological - this mindset emerges from systemic discrimination and bias - there are a number of systemic factors that work seemlessly and synergistically together 0:26:30 In North America, MDs have developed a system of authority by putting all the other healing professions down as quackery and inefficient - after 100 years of this they believe their own shit 0:27:20 In Europe, naturopathic and herbal medicine were never discredited like they've been in North America - Indian Ayurvedic medicine is a respected body of healing knowledge - can say the same about Traditional Chinese Medicine - the contempt MDs treated other modalities is very pronounced in North America - so that's part of the problem 0:28:00 Another factor - in Canada, payment is organized to pay doctors and hospital only - because when medicare was established, people were facing catastrophic losses and catastrotophic illnesses - so only looking at those types of medical care, not the vast chronic illnesses - not only aging population - didn't look at medicine to help people through that 0:29:00 Instead, doctors had monopoly on heath care dollar - as a Guild to protect their monopoly - medicare doesn't pay for natural supplementation even though it is often cheaper, healthier, more effective - instead we take and pay for pharmaceuticals because pharma got monopoly of public health care money - doctors have fought very hard to protect 0:29:50 Created a system where the doctor is supreme with no competition and got paid whether they did a good job or not - in the US is doctors have to compete, that means space opens for other treatment modalities - but many people in US uninsured - but it is not right that doctors hang onto power and not serve patient need     The Chemical Industry   0:44:00 But Allergy and Immunology Association tried to suppress that info - however, since 1999, a lots breakthroughs in diagnostic procedures and more evidence - in 2015 a group of French and Belgian researchers found in cancer studies the relation between environmental factors and cancer and began to see more and more people with ES and MCS 0:45:00 These researchers study nearly 1000 people from 2009 to 2015 - they found lots of biomarkers - researchers Dominic Valcome and Christine Champeniak and Philip Guerre published a paper "Reliable Disease Biomarkers Characterizing and Identifying Electro Sensitivity and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity as Two Etiopathogenic Aspects of a Unique Pathological Disorder" 0:47:00 They see ES and MCS as same disorder - symptoms people feel are the same - 2 sides of same coin - the chemical industry and phone industry have spent gazillions of dollars resisting - but the researchers found 6 things can be found with standard medical tests that characterize ES and MCS 0:49:00 100% of patients have decreased 24 hour urine 6-hydroxy-melatonin-sulphate / creatinine - that is a melatonin deficiency, the pineal gland not working properly - causes chronic insomnia and fatigue - therefore a universal biomarker - also too much histamine in the blood and inflammation markers - found biomarkers - 2 biomarkers indicating blood brain barrier breakdown 0:50:30 Found circulating auto antibodies against O-myelin - indicating a immune response - also very common hypoperfusion of the brain - not enough oxygen getting into brain - imaging also showed what region of brain - includes thalamus and limbic systems, that's where damage is - explains different and various symptoms 0:52:00 Varda is stunned that the Ontario Task Force did not take into account this evidence - so all these breakthrough and biomarkers are being willfully denied by Task Force - but research findings and symptoms match up 0:53:00 There is a real experiential resonance with diagnostic - and test are straight forward - but family doctors can't do or requistion the type of brain imaging needed - Varda's family doctor would have to send Varda to a neurologist who would probably refuse because they don't believe MCS is a real thing - this is why need a specialized facility where the doctors have the authority and accessing to the testing for diagnosis and for treatment     Willful Denial   0:55:00 3 stages to MCS: first stage is Susceptibility - may involve genetic predisposition, and or may have heavy accumulated burden of chemicals - Varda has the genetic predisposition according to tests 0:56:15 Varda in 80s went to her doctor with symptoms, but no test existed for pesticides and chemicals - but should've removed chemicals from living environment to stop progress of condition, or even reverse 0:58:00 Stage 2 is Intolerance - worse symptoms - migraines, cognitive dissonance, hives, fatigue, muscular weakness - need to be living in house without new building materials - treat any infections, assess body burden, etc - but according to Dallas clinic docs it is not reversible at this stage - Varda said important to also treat infections - person is disabled 1:00:50 Stage 3 is Isolation - Varda was in stage 3 before Dallas clinic, they've helped enormously - strengthened her immune system, decreased her infections, gave needed nutrients - Varda got so much better - important thing about medical error is that it gets done over and over for MCS patients 1:01:45 Media coverage of poeple forced to be homeless because of MCS - can't stay in homeless shelters because of chemicals - Varda knows people who have lived on their balcony in the winter in Ottawa - people living in tents leaving families behind - the medical error was simple ignorance is now willful ignorance and repeated over again - Varda says it is criminal 1:03:30 Pharma corporations and electrical corporations would consider people affected by meds or electricity as collateral damage - Varda wrote a novel about the privitization of water (Water Inc.) - an environmental political thriller where those affected by electrical sensitivity will be allowed to die off so the 'fitter' survive - a form of eugenics       50 Shades of Apocalypse   1:06:00 Today with Trump we see an element of psychosis in denying what is happening in the environment and what we're going to have to get rid of to survive as a species - Brave New World by Alduos Huxley written in 1932 was prescient - in his book, fetuses were bombarded with chemicals so they could work in chemical rich environements 1:09:00 Government makes risk assessment for chemicals decisions based on how many people will die - people making decision not ones being exposed - not an ethical way to evaluate chemicals 1:10:30 Varda says the dystopian streak in our culture projects 50 Shades of Apocalypse - our species has not learned to organize ourselves to actually respond to what is needed - EO Wilson, sociologist, biologist, studied ants - he said 'the human species is dysfunctional because it has primeval emotions, medeival institutions, and capitalist of technology capable of destroying the world' 1:12:00 We have not yet succeeded in our ability to govern ourselves writ large - healthy communities are greater with less social / economic stratification - we don't fail technologically, or culturally / vision, but do fail at governance - it is easier for people to envision a apocalyptic future, than envision a future a fair honest govt that organizes society in the interest of the many - most people can't figure out how to govern for the benefit of all 1:13:30 In the US a new caucus The Green New Deal is forming - like from the '30s - principles of redistribution, renew the economy, make the infrastructure green, provide jobs to all - we already have the tools to help people with these conditions - but we can't seem to control our institutions and our elites to make that happen     Connect with Varda Burstyn:   Varda's websites:   VardaBurstyn.com   Dispatches from the Chemical Edge   Twitter: @TheChemEdge   Facebook: The Chemical Edge   Varda's fiction book:  Water Inc.   _________________________   Are you dealing with a medical error and need an experienced counsellor?   Book an online video counseling appointment with Scott at Remedies Counseling.     Scott Simpson, Counsellor + Podcast Host + Patient Advocate

David Nabarro is the Former Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change. He is currently the director of 4SD- Skills, Systems, and Synergies for Sustainable Development. David has spent his professional life re-designing the present and re-imagining the future that is healthy and sustainable and in service to all of humanity, as well, the natural world. He has one word to describe HOW we unlock the UN Global Goals and advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change. That word is Love. In our interview, he speaks to the human heart, which he (along with notable others, like EO Wilson) believes is hard-wired for altruism and concern for all of humanity. We want the best for those on the planet today and those who have yet to arrive tomorrow. Then the question becomes, how do we do that when we are 7.7 billion people, living in 193 nations, coming from different cultural backgrounds, environments, and socio-economic conditions. The answer is that the work is work of a lifetime; and it is hard work.  The good news now is that we have a plan to serve as a compass for us, and world leaders in business, government, and society are planning for the future using this plan with 17 goals and 169 targets. Let’s listen as David makes the case for integrated, systems-based, universal thinking as the design framework and love at the center of activating the UN Global Goals. As we are “all entire oceans in a drop, not merely drops in an ocean,” Rumi; then let’s go make some waves.

Nature Fuels our Economy; So There is No Dichotomy Between Ecology and Economy Enric Sala Resident and Explorer at the National Geographic The perception that we have to choose between a healthy economy and a healthy ecosystem is a false dichotomy. According to Enric Sala, Resident and Explorer at the National Geographic Society, unless we take care of the life support of our planet, there will be no raw resources for companies to create, market, and sell products. The economy is a subset of the environment. We are a part of the natural world. We depend on  other species, plants, and earth systems to breath, eat, drink, and survive. EO Wilson and other prominent ecologists claim that we need 50% of the planet to persist in a sustainable healthy state for us to thrive. Yet, some business leaders are still motivated by quarterly returns and short term profit. They continue to externalize the real costs of destruction of natural capital to achieve unenlightened business goals. It’s insane. Why not now look to nature for solutions to drawing down carbon, for example? There is no better carbon vacuum than a tree its roots and ecosystem of soil. Nature is a treasure trove of naturally intelligent solutions to our unsustainable lifestyle challenges. Time to tune into nature.

An homage to the voices for the natural world who inspire us to be better: Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle, EO Wilson, and Sir David Attenborough.

From the story of Jonas Salk, who left the city of Pittsburgh for a medieval Italian town to create the space to think which led to the invention of the polio vaccine to the novelist JG Ballard depicting urban high rise living and the work of biologist EO Wilson who has explored the human biophilic urge to be in contact with natural living things - this talk looks at the links between our health and our environment. Des Fitzgerald is a sociologist of science and medicine at Cardiff University and a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to turn academic research into radio programmes.

In this episode I begin to zero in on that aspect of nature that most impacts politics: human nature. On Human Nature by E. O. Wilson presents some of the language and metaphors I will using while I explore that intersection of biology, behavior, public policy and political philosophy.more at http://www.neofusionist.com/2019/03/7-review-on-human-nature-by-edward-o.html

Illustrator-painter-cartoonist-musician Hal Mayforth joins the show to talk about making art out of the everyday. We get into his daily sketchbook practice (along with transcendental meditation), the shelf-life of illustrators' styles, the music he makes out of found vocals, and how he balances personal art alongside his professional work. We also talk about his explorations into AbEx and how he made the shift from illustration to fine art, how he built his portfolio by doctoring alt-weekly articles with his own illustrations, why playing in a band offsets the solitary aspects of making art, his Screaming Yellow Zonkers animation that never aired, whether living in New England (Burlington, VT especially) helped or hurt his illustration career, the inspiration of EO Wilson on his Biophilia paintings, teaching himself portraiture by working his way through an old World Book encyclopedia, his campaign to get May 4th declared a national holiday and why he feels upstaged by Star Wars fans, and why he chooses soul over technical perfection (and Lightnin' Hopkins over Steve Vai). • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

Edward O. Wilson’s long career has been marked by enormous contributions to the field of biology, with an impact on global conservation efforts that is difficult to overstate. All of it grew out of his close attention years ago to something relatively small: the behavior of ants. Wilson recalled one of his earliest interactions with the insects, a memory from his boyhood in northern Alabama, on Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air in conversation with host Don Marsh.

Anne is a biologist, an author and an avid gardener. She co-wrote The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health with her husband David Montgomery, who was our guest in the previous episode. Her interests and expertise have led her into environmental planning, public health and watershed restoration. Join us as Anne shares a bit of her journey, and the insights she's gained from building soil in her garden. She shares about her case of “plant lust” and how she's started noticing the diversity of insects in her garden.Though Anne touches on the immune system briefly, we focus on gardening in this episode, mostly because I'm also a fanatical gardener. I may have acquired a case of the “gardeners high” Anne refers to just by talking about gardening…Enjoy this delightful conversation with Anne Biklé. Links Website: dig2grow.comTwitter: @dig2growFacebook: dig2growbooks   SHOW NOTES  Early Life- developed a case of “plant lust” in childhood, viewed green things growing as magical- both of her parents had an interest in putting in landscape that was tailored to the Colorado climate  Love for Nature- “biophilia”, term coined by EO Wilson, meaning: we have an innate need to connect with nature, innately know that to harm nature is wrong- Anne decided to grow food for insects, to see what kinds she could draw into her garden- observing a mini-ecosystem within your own backyard- all life forms are connected to each other; when we forget this, we begin to allow ourselves to do harmful things  Educational Background- studied Natural History, a branch of biology- later developed an interest in microbial biology  Perceptions of Nature- Anne aims to draw biology in around her in her everyday life as much as possible- “gardener's high”, losing track of time when around plants- there is mystery to explore behind the natural forces and elements e.g. soil- soil is dark coloured, which has negative connotations for many people- we also can't see the life in the soil at a glance so it appears dead to the naked eye- soil is the land equivalent of the sea; most life on earth dwells in the soil- there's evidence for a bacterium in healthy soil that can affect our mood positively  At Anne's Place- they had some terrible soil- laid wood chips on top of the garden beds- scattered lots of coffee grounds into the soil- Anne & David realised that you can make soil, you don't need to import it in- anyone can make soil, if you have the inclination and the materials  Bokashi Compost & the Immune System- soil has a metabolism, just like our gut- Bokashi can be made full of things that make the soil a bad place for pathogens to survive- our immune system is made up of many specialised cells (that become immune tissue) that live right next to our stomach & intestines - especially our large intestine- a person with gut problems likely also has an issue with their immune system- if the microbiome takes a hit, the immune system doesn't have the info it needs to know how to look after the person, and may start seeing problems where there isn't one = autoimmune conditions- your gut and soil are very similar & both need to be “mulched”- the microbiome is made up of trillions of organisms that are alive and need to be fed- eating a diverse diet, especially diverse plant foods, feeds the maximum amount of your microbiota, and keeps the diversity in your gut alive Website: dig2grow.comTwitter: @dig2growFacebook: dig2growbooks 

What if you examined your life in the context of all of its stages? The annunciation and initiation phases in your youth and young adulthood are full of discovery and learning. Then, the odyssey years in your twenties bring wandering and loneliness and lead to a commitment-making phase in your thirties. David Brooks, author and New York Times op-ed columnist, says life’s mountains and valleys shape who we are and eventually lead us to a “second mountain.” This phase, later in life, often results in a feeling of true peace and happiness. In this lecture, Brooks uses examples from his own life and of others who encountered challenges along the way, like biologist E.O. Wilson, Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl. Find our companion episode, "A Conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg," by clicking here. Find the Aspen Insight episode featuring the Aspen Words Literary Prize here. Follow our show on Twitter @aspenideas and Facebook at facebook.com/aspenideas. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com.

Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist Edward O. Wilson speaks at St Paul's Cathedral on the topic of biodiversity in 'What is Stewardship? and Why Does it Matter?'. Speakers include David Adjaye OBE and Helene Winch, Chaired by Alderman Prof. Michael Mainelli. Held in partnership between St Paul's Institute, the MEMO Project, Long Finance, and the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. Filmed on 6th November 2014.

Nickolas and James have an honest conversation about the publishing industry and Nickolas's young career, which has featured three great books, including his most recent novel, THE HEARTS OF MEN. They touch on subjects ranging from how Nickolas started taking writing seriously to becoming an Eagle Scout to attending Iowa to Gordon Lightfoot to Cormac McCarthy's table tennis skills. Plus, Nickolas's agent Rob McQuilkin.  - Nickolas Butler: http://nickolasbutler.com/ Nickolas and James discuss: Iowa Writers' Workshop  Square Books  Cormac McCarthy  Canterbury Booksellers  Jim Harrison  POACHERS by Tom Franklin  THE NEW VALLEY by Josh Weil  IN THE LOYAL MOUNTAINS by Rick Bass  Dean Bakopoulos  Jeremiah Chamberlin  LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding  Kent Haruf JIM THE BOY by Tony Earley FIGHT CLUB by Chuck Palahniuk  - Rob McQuilkin: http://www.mmqlit.com/ Rob and James Discuss:  EO Wilson  Louisa May Alcott  Jhumpa Lahiri  THE HEARTS OF MEN by Nickolas Butler  Lexi Wangler   Eve Gleichman  SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler  BENEATH THE BONFIRE by Nickolas Butler  PLOUGHSHARES  OUTSIDE VALENTINE by Liza Ward  Maria Massie  Megan Lynch Tom Perrotta  Peter Ho Davies    - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

On this episode, we feature excerpts from a conversation with author and biologist E.O. Wilson, one of the greatest scientists of the last 100 years, who was recently interviewed by Mongabay senior correspondent Jeremy Hance about the Half Earth biodiversity initiative, the Trump Administration, and how he maintains hope for the future. We also welcome back Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Butler, who answers a listener question about the natural sounds heard in the background at the start of every episode of the Newscast (the image that illustrates this episode is from the spot where that recording was produced, in Indonesia).

In the race to name this new bizarre geologic era, "Anthropocene" seems to have stuck the most. Some people are cautious to embrace a name meaning the age of humans, as it can be latched onto by industry and used as a justification for the murder of the planet. More descriptive, cautionary names have been suggested, too. Michael Soule suggested the Catastrophozoic Era. Other contenders include Homogenocene, the Age of Homogeneity, Mixocene, the Age of Slime, and the most resonant to me, coined by EO Wilson, Eremocene, the Age of Loneliness. With the human population in explosive expansion, it is easy to forget, the Earth is going through the most rapid extinction crisis the world has ever seen. Joining us today to help us digest the great amount of information being amassed around the globe about this major juncture in Earth’s history, is Elizabeth Kolbert. Elizabeth is a staff writer for the NEW YORKER, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change, and most recently The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, which has just won the Pulitzer Prize for Non-fiction.

EO Wilson has been described as the "world's most evolved biologist" and even as "the heir to Darwin". He's a passionate naturalist and an absolute world authority on ants. Over his long career he's described 450 new species of ants. Known to many as the founding father of socio-biology, EO Wilson is a big hitter in the world of evolutionary theory. But, recently he's criticised what's popularly known as The Selfish Gene theory of evolution that he once worked so hard to promote (and that now underpins the mainstream view on evolution). A twice Pulitzer prize winning author of more than 20 books, he's also an extremely active campaigner for the preservation of the planet's bio-diversity: he says, "destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal". EO Wilson talks to Jim al-Khalili about his life scientific.

Matthew Sweet on Pantomime past to present with writer Jeffrey Richards and actor/director Tony Lidington. Bryony Lavery talks stage writing ahead of her double-Christmas offerings of Treasure Island at the National Theatre in London and The One Hundred and One Dalmatians at Chichester's Festival Theatre. American biologist EO Wilson on the meaning of human existence.

Philae lander detects organic molecules on Comet 67P Rosetta scientist, Professor Monica Grady from the Open University discusses the latest news from last week's historic comet mission. Philae, the Rosetta robot probe, made history last week when she finally landed on the surface of Comet 67P. But she ended up lying on her side, and only in partial sunlight. Her batteries were on borrowed time. After around 60 hours, Philae powered down, and went into hibernation mode. However, her instruments harvested some data and now the first results are in. UK-led crowdfunded Moon mission Lunar Mission One aims to land a robotic spacecraft on the unexplored lunar South Pole by 2024. It's a space mission with a difference: it could be funded by you. For a small fee supporters can send a human hair to the Moon in a Blue Peter-style time capsule. And the spacecraft will drill up to 100 metres below the surface to ask questions about the Moon's origin, aiming to find out more about the minerals that exist there, several of which are potentially valuable. Our reporter Sue Nelson went to the British Interplanetary Society's Reinventing Space conference in London to hear more. The Selfish Gene debate As another bout of biological warfare breaks out between two scientific superpowers, Adam Rutherford gets to grips with evolutionary theory, with social insect expert Professor Adam Hart. He hears from Richard Dawkins and E.O. Wilson and finds out why, after forty years of promoting the idea of kin selection, E O Wilson now dismisses the whole idea as 'rhetoric'. Presenter: Adam Rutherford Producer: Anna Buckley Assistant Producer: Jen Whyntie.

Darwin had a problem with bees. Understanding how evolution might work at the level of individuals was easy. Have an individual whose genes give them an advantage in resisting disease or avoiding predators and on average they will breed more and pass on more of their genes to the next generation. But bees and other social insects weren’t so easy. Kamikaze-like, bees will dive in and sting you, their barbs getting stuck in you and die to save the hive. Of course, when a human being sacrifices their life to save their child, that’s easy enough for evolution to explain. By sacrificing your life for your child, you are helping to ensure that your genes are passed on. But the bee that stings you at a picnic, can’t have children because those bees are sterile. In the Origin of Species, Darwin referred to sterile subgroups as the "one special difficulty, which at first appeared to me insuperable, and actually fatal to my theory.” Nowadays, evolutionary biologists have no problem providing an explanation for this behavior. In fact, the problem is that they have two competing explanations with explanations not just for bees but for how evolution makes sense of religion. Biologists like Richard Dawkins and Jerry Coyne argue that the bee gives its life because by defending the hive it is helping to pass on the genes of its closely related hive mates. They deny that natural selection can operate at the level of groups and so large human social organizations (like religion) have no function. Biologists like EO Wilson and today’s guest David Sloan Wilson argue that selection can happen not only at the level of individuals but also at the level of groups. If that’s the case, then our groupishness (including religion) are useful. As you can imagine, the idea that religion could be on balance or even sometimes useful is something that people like Dawkins take issue with. The consequences of this rift are beautifully summed up in Jon Haidt’s Righteous Mind: "To Dennett and Dawkins, religions are sets of memes that have undergone Darwinian selection. Like biological traits, religions are heritable, they mutate, and there is selection among these mutations. The selection occurs not on the basis of the benefits religions confer upon individuals or groups but on the basis of their ability to survive and reproduce themselves. Some religions are better than others at hijacking the human mind, burrowing in deeply, and then getting themselves transmitted to the next generation of host minds. Dennett opens Breaking the Spell with the story of a tiny parasite that commandeers the brains of ants, causing them to climb to the tops of blades of grass, where they can more easily be eaten by grazing animals. The behavior is suicide for the ant, but it’s adaptive for the parasite, which requires the digestive system of a ruminant to reproduce itself. Dennett proposes that religions survive because , like those parasites, they make their hosts do things that are bad for themselves (e.g., suicide bombing) but good for the parasite (e.g., Islam). Dawkins similarly describes religions as viruses. Just as a cold virus makes its host sneeze to spread itself, successful religions make their hosts expend precious resources to spread the “infection.” These analogies have clear implications for social change. If religion is a virus or a parasite that exploits a set of cognitive by-products for its benefit, not ours, then we ought to rid ourselves of it. Scientists , humanists, and the small number of others who have escaped infection and are still able to reason must work together to break the spell, lift the delusion, and bring about the end of faith.” To be clear, Professor Wilson is not saying that religion is here to stay. He is saying that our tendency towards groupishness (including religion) is an outcome of evolution and that in thinking about religion we have to recognize that. Once you understand that perspective, you begin to see how science and religion can finally start talking to each other. Professor Wilson is president of the Evolution Institute (http://evolution-institute.org ) and SUNY Distinguished Professor at Binghamton University. His books include Darwin’s Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society, Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin’s Theory Can Change the Way we Think About Our Lives, and The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time. His next book, titled Does Altruism Exist? will be published in 2015 by Yale University Press. The Books Professor Wilson mentioned were Complexity and the art of public policy by David Colander and Roland Kupers, Give and Take by Adam Grant and Evil Genes by Barbara Oakley.

Discussion with Sam Borgeson, a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. Sam’s aim is to reduce the environmental impacts of our buildings. He talks about building energy consumption, energy conservation, and the challenges building managers face in conservation.TranscriptSpeaker 1: [inaudible].Speaker 2: [00:00:30] Welcome to spectrum the science and technology show on k a l x, Berkeley, a biweekly 30 minute program, bringing you interviews, featuring bay area scientists and technologists, a calendar of local events and news. My name is Brad swift and I'm the host of today's show. Our interview is with three representatives of the organization, community resources for science, also known as crs. They are, relieves [00:01:00] a is cotton Nova crs program, Assistant Professor Bob Bergman of the UC Berkeley Department of chemistry. And Miriam Bowering, a graduate student and Professor Bergman's research group. Community Resources for Science is a nonprofit organization. The goal of crs is to help teachers give elementary and middle school students more opportunities to do science, to ask questions, test ideas, get their hands [00:01:30] on real science activities. Through these efforts, crs hopes to inspire the next generation of thinkers, makers, problem solvers, and leaders. This interview is prerecorded and edited today. We have a group of three people from the community resources for science talking with us about their program. And why don't you each introduce yourself and then we'll get into some details about your organization. Speaker 3: [00:02:00] My name is [inaudible]. Uh, I'm the program assistant at community resources for science. Speaker 4: My name is Bob Bergman. I'm a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley. And I help to organize an outreach program, which was initially called chemistry in the classroom and then became community in the classroom and now it's called basis and it helps to organize graduate students to do presentations in the local schools. Speaker 3: I'm Miriam Bowering. I am a graduate student in chemistry at UC Berkeley [00:02:30] and I'm also a classroom volunteer. I bring groups of my coworkers into fifth grade classrooms to do science with them. Speaker 2: We're Alyssa, can you give us an overview of what crs does? Speaker 3: Community resources for science is an organization that was started by two parents who were involved with a lot of science in their children's schools and they decided that there was now enough science being done, so they figured out a way to individual teachers [00:03:00] get the resources that they need, uh, Ba snails from a local store or books that they need, um, or waste organized field trips. And it evolved into bringing scientists into classrooms to do hands on presentations as well. And that's grown from that? Uh, yeah. I mean now we're able to organize hundreds of volunteers that we have go into, uh, over 280 classrooms this past year [00:03:30] and get kids involved in doing actual science. And where is it that, uh, that you do this? What school districts? Uh, yeah, we are primarily in Alameda County and the Berkeley and Oakland School districts, uh, that we do the actual presentations because um, our volunteers can reach those areas most easily those schools. Speaker 3: But we go out and provide services to teachers and Castro valley as well. And some of the other West Contra Costa County [00:04:00] schools. What's the grade range that you try to impact? Crs as an organization has been supporting teachers k through five from its beginnings and we've started expanding into middle schools, so mostly sixth grade, um, because they still have one science teacher, but seventh and eighth they kind of start to branch out into different subjects. However, we do still work with teachers in seventh and eighth grade and we're very [00:04:30] willing to provide them with the personal support on an individual basis that they might need, you know, requesting resources and things like that. And we do go into middle schools and do science days where we have four or five lessons going on for different classrooms and they do, you know, one set in the morning and then they switch it around and do another set in the afternoon. And for teachers to get involved, how did they do that? Free?Speaker 5: Uh, yes it is. I think they can just visit the website, [00:05:00] which is www.crscience.org all the information they need is there. So they can not only contact crs to get scientists into their classrooms, but they can also look for other kinds of resources on the website there. Speaker 3: How do you find volunteers? How do you go about recruiting a, we actually recruited a lot more volunteers this past year than [00:05:30] we have in the past. And we're really excited about that. And thanks to our campus coordinators, Leah and Kristen, we were able to really reach out to 20 of the departments on campus and we have volunteers from 20th think what is their 21 departments here at UC Berkeley? So we're really proud of that. And Bob has done a great job of really getting the word out in the Department of Chemistry and college chemistry. A little bit about, how about the history of that is Speaker 4: this really started [00:06:00] almost accidentally. I was at a party and one of the people from crs was someone that my wife had gone to a graduate school at UC Berkeley with and she said that they were thinking about trying to get more scientists into the classrooms and wondered if I knew of anybody who wanted to do that. So I said I would go back to the campus and send out an email message in my department and just see if anyone was interested in doing that because it must have been seven or eight [00:06:30] years ago, I guess. And we started with a group of about 12 volunteers. Uh, we met in a seminar room in the chemistry department and I think it was probably one of the original organizers. It was probably Anne Jennings who came over and gave a short talk about what crs was all about and what they wanted to do to organize this program. Speaker 4: It's not a very simple thing. You not only need to have good contacts with the teachers, but, uh, you can't just throw people [00:07:00] into the classroom directly. You've got to give them some training and, you know, get them to understand what, um, what's age appropriate. Especially for the classes we were targeting, which were grades three to five. So we started with those 12 people and they basically, at that time, I put together their own presentations. And one of the interesting things about this program is that the graduate student volunteers actually come up with their own presentations, mostly isn't canned presentations that they get some [00:07:30] from somewhere else and they've come with, come up with some extremely creative stuff. Um, they're teaching kids at this level of things that I personally, you know, are really relatively sophisticated. And I personally never thought that you'd be able to, you know, sort of do this with people at that age. Speaker 4: But that was reasonably successful and it's really been the graduate student volunteers who've done most of the recruiting. So it started out in the chemistry department and these 12 original people [00:08:00] began to kind of, you know, dragoon their friends into doing this. And so it grew from 12 to 20 to 40 to 50 and then they began to attract and talk to some people in other departments. And then we reached a point where we thought that maybe there was a slightly different way that we could do this. They came up with the idea that maybe instead of doing this on an individual basis, we could do it with teams of graduate students. You may know that [00:08:30] that in most science departments, graduate students are part of research groups. So there'll be one professor who directs a, you know, a bunch of graduate students whom anywhere from three or four to 15 or 20 people, sometimes larger. Speaker 4: Uh, so the idea was to now put together teams that would be localized. Each team would be localized in a particular research group that and that has several advantages. One was that someone who wanted to do this didn't have to join in as kind of a lone individual. There's [00:09:00] always a certain reticence about that. The other thing that I think major advantage of this change was that it generated some continuity so that graduate students are not here forever or at least we hope they are not. And uh, as they graduate and before they graduate, they begin to bring in new students first year students who see that this program is going on and see that there are people who are interested in excited about it. And so that really is a major attraction for people to sign up. Speaker 1: [inaudible] [00:09:30] you are listening to spectrum on KALX Berkeley we are talking with release has gotten over Professor Bob Bergman and Miriam Bowering about their work with community resources for science. Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say that one of the other things [00:10:00] that I worried about when we started this program was what, what their response was going to be from the research directors. That professors that these graduate students we're working with. Okay. Because you know, you, you could envision, um, somebody giving these kids a hard time because you know, they should be in the lab doing research and here they are out doing presentations in the local schools. I've seen my role as trying to, at least in the chemistry department, keep the faculty informed about what's going on. So right from the beginning when we started [00:10:30] this, uh, I, you know, got up at several meetings. My Chemistry Department faculty meets once a week and I gave several very short presentations telling people that graduate students were going to be doing this and that we hope that everybody would be supportive of it because we thought it was not only good for them educationally, but it was a real service to the community. Speaker 4: One of the things that that actually made this thing go much more smoothly than I might've thought is that a lot of people are supported, their research is supported by the National Science Foundation at [00:11:00] Berkeley and the National Science Foundation has actually required as part of their proposals, something called a statement of broader impact. And one of those broader impacts that you can put into your proposals is something about how people in your research group might be, you know, reaching out to the local community. So I think as time went on, people began to view this not so much as an incursion, as a favor to them because they could easily then put in their proposals the fact that their students were [00:11:30] involved in this and these activities. And I think that really was one of the things that that made it a lot less of a problem to do this and many research groups around the, around the campus, what is the teaching philosophy you apply to building your lesson plans? Speaker 4: There's a lot of, you know, ambiguity's about the research that's been done in educating people. One thing comes through extremely clearly and that is the two general ways that you can think of [00:12:00] or for educating people, and this is really true at any level including the college level, are to stand up in front of them and just talk at them and the other is get people involved in doing things, have them actually do hands on stuff. On the two founders started this, they knew that that kind of research had been done and so they started from the beginning making it clear to people that they were not the volunteers. I mean that they were not going to go in the classroom and just a lecture. Okay, just write things on the board and tell people stuff because [00:12:30] certainly at grades three to five and probably at even higher grades, you're going to lose people after about the first three minutes when you do that. So the, the goal of right from the beginning was to go in with presentations that involved having the kids do stuff that with their own hands and that's been something that we've stuck with really I think quite religiously since the beginning. Speaker 5: Definitely all lessons are expected to be hands on minds, [00:13:00] on, uh, inquiry style work. And Bob mentioned that the typical way you get to scientists in a classroom is someone's mom or dad comes in. And also typically what you get is someone's stands at the front and maybe doesn't talk but maybe just blow something up up there, which is fun for everyone. But it's, it's really great to go in there and gives the kids equipment to play with and let them start figuring things out themselves and, [00:13:30] and be able to guide them. I think it's also interesting to see the way we're able to even help educate teachers a little bit about how science works. So I've seen some really amazing teachers through this program, but you know, none of them are scientists and a lot of them don't really understand basically what it takes to be a scientist. Speaker 5: So at the end we usually give a few minutes to talk about any questions the teacher or students might have. And the teachers say, well, what does it take to be a scientist? Um, [00:14:00] and we might say, well just keep observing the world around you. Stay curious, play with things. And the teacher says, so what they meant to say was study hard and no, no, that's not it. You've got to be able to nurture that natural curiosity kids have. So I think that's a big part of what we do is go in there and kill some myths about what it takes to be a scientist. The great thing about the graduate [00:14:30] students that go in is they shatter stereotypes about scientists for the children. What do you see clip art style in your head when someone says scientist. Right. And that's not what ends up in their classroom. And that's really beautiful to see them kind of taken aback by that. When scientists first in, you know, Speaker 3: young and most of our volunteers are female actually, which is another great plus and young female scientists [00:15:00] doing things that kids didn't think was science. Speaker 4: Yeah. I think that it just turns out that graduate students are almost the ideal place in people's Times of life to do this. I have a bit more time flexibility. They still are still working very hard on their research, but you know, it's not, you know, okay, you have to be here at eight o'clock in the morning, you have to leave at five, you know, the way you would in a corporation setting. They're not overly wellmed with classes, at least not [00:15:30] after the first couple of semesters. So they have some flexibility in, in that regard. And there's a reasonable support from the institution. Right. I think that's a big issue that the, the campus and you know, and uh, as I said to a large extent, the, you know, people's research advisors have really provided a lot of at least moral support for this. And so it, it really makes graduate students almost ideal. Speaker 4: I think what relates is said about, you know, shattering these stereotypes is also has been a really interesting sort of eye opener for me. [00:16:00] It really is true that these kids have a very different stereotype about what scientists are from what they see coming into the classrooms and having people who they see almost as kind of corresponding to s you know, to a big sister or cousin or you know, somebody that, you know, they really can relate to I think has had a big effect. And then having people at, you know, sort of the student time of their lives when they're still young enough to be, to be seen as young people by the kids in the classrooms [00:16:30] as I think been an important facet of this. [inaudible] Speaker 1: [inaudible] you are listening to spectrum on k a l x Berkeley. We are talking with releases, got Nova Professor Bob Burg and Miriam Bowery about their work with community resources for science. Speaker 3: [00:17:00] How do you assess the impact your presentations have on students? Speaker 4: Um, no. You put your finger on one of the stickiest issues with respect to all of this kind of thing with respect to education in general, which is not only how do you find out if it works, but how do you define what works? And you know, whether something works and what doesn't, [00:17:30] I think when all of us like to do in the most perfect world is, is actually track the people who experience these presentations and see what difference it makes in their lives. Okay. So this is a big deal, right? Because if you know anything about research in general and educational research, it's not enough to just track the people who have had this experience. You've got to have a control group of people who haven't had the experience, right? And then you've got to track two groups. [00:18:00] And you know, in some ways it's, it's like having a drug that's really effective. Speaker 4: There's a real moral question as to whether it's okay to keep a control group that isn't, doesn't have access to this stuff. Right? But assuming you can do that, um, it would require way more resources than we have to track people, let's say to the point where they've applied to college, right? Or even to the point where they've gone through college to see how successful they've been once they've been in that environment. What we hope and what we sort of believe [00:18:30] deep in our hearts completely intuitively is that people who have these experiences will do better later in their educational lives. But proving that in a scientifically respectable way is a major undertaking and it's one that we really don't have resources for by any means right now. So, you know, we're pretty much working under the, the faith I guess that exposing people to this sort of thing will really make them [00:19:00] more interested in science. Speaker 4: So we really believe quite strongly that a, a major impact of this is not just, you know, generating people who, who might turn out to be scientists. Although we certainly hope that would be one of the things that that happens. But we'd really like to educate the general public on scientific issues, how science is done and why it's exciting and the meaning of many scientific investigations is, and we hope that by catching people catching, you know, kids early and [00:19:30] doing this, uh, really will have a lasting effect. The best we can do is get feedback from the people involved in the program and see whether they like it. And if they like it and they feel it's been successful and there you are at the point at which they're experiencing these presentations, if if they're excited about what we're doing. That's what we're going with. Speaker 5: This is the great thing about community resources for science. There is a staff there who are experts in science education, [00:20:00] so I sent my lesson plan draft to Heidi Williamson who coordinates the basis program and she read it. She gave me a long email with lots of suggestions of various levels of detail and I worked them in and I continued to develop as now my team members are giving me feedback and so are the teachers. So the lessons really do get improved over time from that first draft. It's not, it's not just any graduate student can make something up and go in and help the kids [00:20:30] learn something. There really is some accountability [inaudible] Speaker 4: are there any interesting stories that any of you have that you want to share about classroom experiences with with the program? Speaker 5: My favorite moments in there are when kids really put stuff together. So when they hear what we've told them and they make their observations and then they just come up with something good at their own theory for why a water job looks different from an [00:21:00] oil drop and it really makes sense or why you can get a piece of pencil lead to float on water if it's horizontal but not vertical. And when they can explain that themselves after making the observations, it's just, it's incredibly high ventilation rates if you're not right under the dots, but they actually aren't accomplishing anything in terms of air quality. So that's my plug, I guess, for people to pay attention and think about their environment. Sam Bergeson, thanks [00:21:30] for being on spectrum. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me. Speaker 1: [inaudible]Speaker 2: did you see an example of data visualization? Check out the official campus dashboard at the website. My power.berkeley.edu Speaker 1: [inaudible]Speaker 2: [00:22:00] irregular feature of spectrum is dimension. A few of the science and technology events happening locally over the next few weeks. Rick Karnofsky and Lisa cabbage with the calendar Speaker 6: on Saturday, December 1st wonderfest is putting on a special event called end of days. Does Hollywood get doomsday? Right? Planetary Scientists, Chris McKay will discuss this topic as he introduces a special screening of seeking a friend for the end of the world. Starting [00:22:30] Steve Grill and Karen Knightley popcorn is free and a no host drink and candy bar. We'll be there. Tickets are tax deductible and benefit wonderfest and variety children's charity of northern California. They must be purchased in advance for $25 visit wonderfest.org for more info. The annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union is the first week of December at the Moscone Center. Each year they have a public lecture that is [00:23:00] free and open to the public. This year that talk is on Sunday, December 2nd from noon to one and Moscone South Room One oh two lead scientists for the Mars exploration program. Michael Meyer program scientists for the Mars Science Laboratory. John Groton, seeing and participating in scientists on the Mars Science Laboratory. Rebecca Williams, well discuss curiosity driven Mars exploration. Curiosity is the most sophisticated explorer ever sent to another [00:23:30] planet and the trio. We'll talk about its latest activities. A full sized inflatable model of the rover and hands on activities for families will follow the lecture. For more information, visit agu.org Speaker 7: on Tuesday, December 4th at 7:00 PM at the California Academy of Science and Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Mary Ellen Hannibal. We'll present the Pritzker lecture, the spine of the continent, her book about one of the single most [00:24:00] ambitious conservation efforts ever undertaken to create linked, protected areas extending from the Yukon to Mexico, the entire length of North America. This movement is the brainchild of Michael Sule, the founder of conservation biology. EO Wilson calls it the most important conservation initiative in the world today. In this fascinating presentation, Mary-Ellen Hannibal takes us on a tour of her travels down the length of the North American spine, sharing stories and anecdotes about [00:24:30] the passionate, idiosyncratic people she meets along the way and the species they love. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Go to the California Academy of Science website for tickets. Speaker 6: Now three new stories, and I'm joined by Rick Kaneski and Lisa cabbage. The November 29th issue of nature has an article discussing a massive black hole in the tiny galaxy, n g c one two seven seven one of the galaxies in the cluster that is [00:25:00] the constellation Perseus to the best of our astronomical knowledge. Almost every galaxy should contain in its central region what is called a supermassive black hole. Past studies have shown that the mass of the black coal typically accounts for about a 10th of a percent of the massive its home galaxy that Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. In Heidelberg. Researchers know that the black hole has a mass equivalent of 17 billion suns, that the galaxy [00:25:30] is only a quarter of the milky ways diameter. These observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Hobby Eberly telescope show that the black hole accounts for almost 14% of the galaxies mass past spectrum guests. Nicholas McConnell published a paper last year that holds the current record for the largest black hole, which is between six and 37 billion solar masses. So the black hole in NGC one to seven seven may or may [00:26:00] not top this record. Speaker 7: The journal Nature Geoscience reports this week that the shells of marine snails known as terra pods living in the seas around Antarctica are being dissolved by ocean acidification. These tiny animals are a valuable food source for fish and birds and play an important role in the oceanic carbon cycle. During a science cruise in 2008 researchers from British Antarctic survey and the University of East Anglia in collaboration with colleagues from the [00:26:30] u s would tell oceanographic institution and Noah discovered severe dissolution of the shells of living terra pods in southern ocean waters. The team examined an area of upwelling where winds cause cold water to be pushed upwards from the deep to the surface of the ocean up well, water is usually more corrosive to a particular type of calcium carbonate or arrogant night that terra pods use to build their shells. The team found that as a result of the additional influence of ocean acidification, [00:27:00] this corrosive water severely dissolve the shells of terror pods, coauthor and science cruise leader. Speaker 7: Dr Geraint Tarling says as one of only a few oceanic creatures that build their shells out of air gunnite in the polar regions. Terror pods are an important food source for fish and birds as well as a good indicator of ecosystem health. The tiny snails do not necessarily die as a result of their shells dissolving. However, it may increase their vulnerability to predation and infection. Consequently having an [00:27:30] impact to other parts of the food web. Ocean acidification is caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere emitted admitted as a result of fossil fuel burning. The finding supports predictions that the impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and food webs may be significant Speaker 2: science daily reports that dozens of climate scientists have reconciled their measurements of ice sheet changes in Antarctica and Greenland over the past two decades. [00:28:00] The results published November 29th in the journal Science roughly have the uncertainty and discard some conflicting observations. The effort led by Andrew Shepherd at the University of Leeds in the UK reconciles three existing ways to measure losses. The first method takes an accounting approach. Combining climate models and observations to tally up the gain or loss to other methods. Use special satellites to precisely measure the height and gravitational pull [00:28:30] of the ice sheets to calculate how much ice is present. Each method has strengths and weaknesses. Until now, scientists using each method released estimates independent from the others. This is the first time they have all compared their methods for the same times and locations. Understanding ice sheets is central to modeling global climate and predicting sea level rise. Even tiny changes to sea level when added over an entire ocean can have substantial [00:29:00] effects on storm surges and flooding and coastal and island communities. Speaker 8: The music heard during the show is by Stan David from his album, folk and acoustic made available by a creative Commons license 3.0 for attribution. Speaker 9: Thank you for listening to spectrum. If you have comments about the show, please [00:29:30] send them to us via email. Our email address is spectrum dot k a l x@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Discussion with Sam Borgeson, a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. Sam's aim is to reduce the environmental impacts of our buildings. He talks about building energy consumption, energy conservation, and the challenges building managers face in conservation.TranscriptSpeaker 1: [inaudible].Speaker 2: [00:00:30] Welcome to spectrum the science and technology show on k a l x, Berkeley, a biweekly 30 minute program, bringing you interviews, featuring bay area scientists and technologists, a calendar of local events and news. My name is Brad swift and I'm the host of today's show. Our interview is with three representatives of the organization, community resources for science, also known as crs. They are, relieves [00:01:00] a is cotton Nova crs program, Assistant Professor Bob Bergman of the UC Berkeley Department of chemistry. And Miriam Bowering, a graduate student and Professor Bergman's research group. Community Resources for Science is a nonprofit organization. The goal of crs is to help teachers give elementary and middle school students more opportunities to do science, to ask questions, test ideas, get their hands [00:01:30] on real science activities. Through these efforts, crs hopes to inspire the next generation of thinkers, makers, problem solvers, and leaders. This interview is prerecorded and edited today. We have a group of three people from the community resources for science talking with us about their program. And why don't you each introduce yourself and then we'll get into some details about your organization. Speaker 3: [00:02:00] My name is [inaudible]. Uh, I'm the program assistant at community resources for science. Speaker 4: My name is Bob Bergman. I'm a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley. And I help to organize an outreach program, which was initially called chemistry in the classroom and then became community in the classroom and now it's called basis and it helps to organize graduate students to do presentations in the local schools. Speaker 3: I'm Miriam Bowering. I am a graduate student in chemistry at UC Berkeley [00:02:30] and I'm also a classroom volunteer. I bring groups of my coworkers into fifth grade classrooms to do science with them. Speaker 2: We're Alyssa, can you give us an overview of what crs does? Speaker 3: Community resources for science is an organization that was started by two parents who were involved with a lot of science in their children's schools and they decided that there was now enough science being done, so they figured out a way to individual teachers [00:03:00] get the resources that they need, uh, Ba snails from a local store or books that they need, um, or waste organized field trips. And it evolved into bringing scientists into classrooms to do hands on presentations as well. And that's grown from that? Uh, yeah. I mean now we're able to organize hundreds of volunteers that we have go into, uh, over 280 classrooms this past year [00:03:30] and get kids involved in doing actual science. And where is it that, uh, that you do this? What school districts? Uh, yeah, we are primarily in Alameda County and the Berkeley and Oakland School districts, uh, that we do the actual presentations because um, our volunteers can reach those areas most easily those schools. Speaker 3: But we go out and provide services to teachers and Castro valley as well. And some of the other West Contra Costa County [00:04:00] schools. What's the grade range that you try to impact? Crs as an organization has been supporting teachers k through five from its beginnings and we've started expanding into middle schools, so mostly sixth grade, um, because they still have one science teacher, but seventh and eighth they kind of start to branch out into different subjects. However, we do still work with teachers in seventh and eighth grade and we're very [00:04:30] willing to provide them with the personal support on an individual basis that they might need, you know, requesting resources and things like that. And we do go into middle schools and do science days where we have four or five lessons going on for different classrooms and they do, you know, one set in the morning and then they switch it around and do another set in the afternoon. And for teachers to get involved, how did they do that? Free?Speaker 5: Uh, yes it is. I think they can just visit the website, [00:05:00] which is www.crscience.org all the information they need is there. So they can not only contact crs to get scientists into their classrooms, but they can also look for other kinds of resources on the website there. Speaker 3: How do you find volunteers? How do you go about recruiting a, we actually recruited a lot more volunteers this past year than [00:05:30] we have in the past. And we're really excited about that. And thanks to our campus coordinators, Leah and Kristen, we were able to really reach out to 20 of the departments on campus and we have volunteers from 20th think what is their 21 departments here at UC Berkeley? So we're really proud of that. And Bob has done a great job of really getting the word out in the Department of Chemistry and college chemistry. A little bit about, how about the history of that is Speaker 4: this really started [00:06:00] almost accidentally. I was at a party and one of the people from crs was someone that my wife had gone to a graduate school at UC Berkeley with and she said that they were thinking about trying to get more scientists into the classrooms and wondered if I knew of anybody who wanted to do that. So I said I would go back to the campus and send out an email message in my department and just see if anyone was interested in doing that because it must have been seven or eight [00:06:30] years ago, I guess. And we started with a group of about 12 volunteers. Uh, we met in a seminar room in the chemistry department and I think it was probably one of the original organizers. It was probably Anne Jennings who came over and gave a short talk about what crs was all about and what they wanted to do to organize this program. Speaker 4: It's not a very simple thing. You not only need to have good contacts with the teachers, but, uh, you can't just throw people [00:07:00] into the classroom directly. You've got to give them some training and, you know, get them to understand what, um, what's age appropriate. Especially for the classes we were targeting, which were grades three to five. So we started with those 12 people and they basically, at that time, I put together their own presentations. And one of the interesting things about this program is that the graduate student volunteers actually come up with their own presentations, mostly isn't canned presentations that they get some [00:07:30] from somewhere else and they've come with, come up with some extremely creative stuff. Um, they're teaching kids at this level of things that I personally, you know, are really relatively sophisticated. And I personally never thought that you'd be able to, you know, sort of do this with people at that age. Speaker 4: But that was reasonably successful and it's really been the graduate student volunteers who've done most of the recruiting. So it started out in the chemistry department and these 12 original people [00:08:00] began to kind of, you know, dragoon their friends into doing this. And so it grew from 12 to 20 to 40 to 50 and then they began to attract and talk to some people in other departments. And then we reached a point where we thought that maybe there was a slightly different way that we could do this. They came up with the idea that maybe instead of doing this on an individual basis, we could do it with teams of graduate students. You may know that [00:08:30] that in most science departments, graduate students are part of research groups. So there'll be one professor who directs a, you know, a bunch of graduate students whom anywhere from three or four to 15 or 20 people, sometimes larger. Speaker 4: Uh, so the idea was to now put together teams that would be localized. Each team would be localized in a particular research group that and that has several advantages. One was that someone who wanted to do this didn't have to join in as kind of a lone individual. There's [00:09:00] always a certain reticence about that. The other thing that I think major advantage of this change was that it generated some continuity so that graduate students are not here forever or at least we hope they are not. And uh, as they graduate and before they graduate, they begin to bring in new students first year students who see that this program is going on and see that there are people who are interested in excited about it. And so that really is a major attraction for people to sign up. Speaker 1: [inaudible] [00:09:30] you are listening to spectrum on KALX Berkeley we are talking with release has gotten over Professor Bob Bergman and Miriam Bowering about their work with community resources for science. Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say that one of the other things [00:10:00] that I worried about when we started this program was what, what their response was going to be from the research directors. That professors that these graduate students we're working with. Okay. Because you know, you, you could envision, um, somebody giving these kids a hard time because you know, they should be in the lab doing research and here they are out doing presentations in the local schools. I've seen my role as trying to, at least in the chemistry department, keep the faculty informed about what's going on. So right from the beginning when we started [00:10:30] this, uh, I, you know, got up at several meetings. My Chemistry Department faculty meets once a week and I gave several very short presentations telling people that graduate students were going to be doing this and that we hope that everybody would be supportive of it because we thought it was not only good for them educationally, but it was a real service to the community. Speaker 4: One of the things that that actually made this thing go much more smoothly than I might've thought is that a lot of people are supported, their research is supported by the National Science Foundation at [00:11:00] Berkeley and the National Science Foundation has actually required as part of their proposals, something called a statement of broader impact. And one of those broader impacts that you can put into your proposals is something about how people in your research group might be, you know, reaching out to the local community. So I think as time went on, people began to view this not so much as an incursion, as a favor to them because they could easily then put in their proposals the fact that their students were [00:11:30] involved in this and these activities. And I think that really was one of the things that that made it a lot less of a problem to do this and many research groups around the, around the campus, what is the teaching philosophy you apply to building your lesson plans? Speaker 4: There's a lot of, you know, ambiguity's about the research that's been done in educating people. One thing comes through extremely clearly and that is the two general ways that you can think of [00:12:00] or for educating people, and this is really true at any level including the college level, are to stand up in front of them and just talk at them and the other is get people involved in doing things, have them actually do hands on stuff. On the two founders started this, they knew that that kind of research had been done and so they started from the beginning making it clear to people that they were not the volunteers. I mean that they were not going to go in the classroom and just a lecture. Okay, just write things on the board and tell people stuff because [00:12:30] certainly at grades three to five and probably at even higher grades, you're going to lose people after about the first three minutes when you do that. So the, the goal of right from the beginning was to go in with presentations that involved having the kids do stuff that with their own hands and that's been something that we've stuck with really I think quite religiously since the beginning. Speaker 5: Definitely all lessons are expected to be hands on minds, [00:13:00] on, uh, inquiry style work. And Bob mentioned that the typical way you get to scientists in a classroom is someone's mom or dad comes in. And also typically what you get is someone's stands at the front and maybe doesn't talk but maybe just blow something up up there, which is fun for everyone. But it's, it's really great to go in there and gives the kids equipment to play with and let them start figuring things out themselves and, [00:13:30] and be able to guide them. I think it's also interesting to see the way we're able to even help educate teachers a little bit about how science works. So I've seen some really amazing teachers through this program, but you know, none of them are scientists and a lot of them don't really understand basically what it takes to be a scientist. Speaker 5: So at the end we usually give a few minutes to talk about any questions the teacher or students might have. And the teachers say, well, what does it take to be a scientist? Um, [00:14:00] and we might say, well just keep observing the world around you. Stay curious, play with things. And the teacher says, so what they meant to say was study hard and no, no, that's not it. You've got to be able to nurture that natural curiosity kids have. So I think that's a big part of what we do is go in there and kill some myths about what it takes to be a scientist. The great thing about the graduate [00:14:30] students that go in is they shatter stereotypes about scientists for the children. What do you see clip art style in your head when someone says scientist. Right. And that's not what ends up in their classroom. And that's really beautiful to see them kind of taken aback by that. When scientists first in, you know, Speaker 3: young and most of our volunteers are female actually, which is another great plus and young female scientists [00:15:00] doing things that kids didn't think was science. Speaker 4: Yeah. I think that it just turns out that graduate students are almost the ideal place in people's Times of life to do this. I have a bit more time flexibility. They still are still working very hard on their research, but you know, it's not, you know, okay, you have to be here at eight o'clock in the morning, you have to leave at five, you know, the way you would in a corporation setting. They're not overly wellmed with classes, at least not [00:15:30] after the first couple of semesters. So they have some flexibility in, in that regard. And there's a reasonable support from the institution. Right. I think that's a big issue that the, the campus and you know, and uh, as I said to a large extent, the, you know, people's research advisors have really provided a lot of at least moral support for this. And so it, it really makes graduate students almost ideal. Speaker 4: I think what relates is said about, you know, shattering these stereotypes is also has been a really interesting sort of eye opener for me. [00:16:00] It really is true that these kids have a very different stereotype about what scientists are from what they see coming into the classrooms and having people who they see almost as kind of corresponding to s you know, to a big sister or cousin or you know, somebody that, you know, they really can relate to I think has had a big effect. And then having people at, you know, sort of the student time of their lives when they're still young enough to be, to be seen as young people by the kids in the classrooms [00:16:30] as I think been an important facet of this. [inaudible] Speaker 1: [inaudible] you are listening to spectrum on k a l x Berkeley. We are talking with releases, got Nova Professor Bob Burg and Miriam Bowery about their work with community resources for science. Speaker 3: [00:17:00] How do you assess the impact your presentations have on students? Speaker 4: Um, no. You put your finger on one of the stickiest issues with respect to all of this kind of thing with respect to education in general, which is not only how do you find out if it works, but how do you define what works? And you know, whether something works and what doesn't, [00:17:30] I think when all of us like to do in the most perfect world is, is actually track the people who experience these presentations and see what difference it makes in their lives. Okay. So this is a big deal, right? Because if you know anything about research in general and educational research, it's not enough to just track the people who have had this experience. You've got to have a control group of people who haven't had the experience, right? And then you've got to track two groups. [00:18:00] And you know, in some ways it's, it's like having a drug that's really effective. Speaker 4: There's a real moral question as to whether it's okay to keep a control group that isn't, doesn't have access to this stuff. Right? But assuming you can do that, um, it would require way more resources than we have to track people, let's say to the point where they've applied to college, right? Or even to the point where they've gone through college to see how successful they've been once they've been in that environment. What we hope and what we sort of believe [00:18:30] deep in our hearts completely intuitively is that people who have these experiences will do better later in their educational lives. But proving that in a scientifically respectable way is a major undertaking and it's one that we really don't have resources for by any means right now. So, you know, we're pretty much working under the, the faith I guess that exposing people to this sort of thing will really make them [00:19:00] more interested in science. Speaker 4: So we really believe quite strongly that a, a major impact of this is not just, you know, generating people who, who might turn out to be scientists. Although we certainly hope that would be one of the things that that happens. But we'd really like to educate the general public on scientific issues, how science is done and why it's exciting and the meaning of many scientific investigations is, and we hope that by catching people catching, you know, kids early and [00:19:30] doing this, uh, really will have a lasting effect. The best we can do is get feedback from the people involved in the program and see whether they like it. And if they like it and they feel it's been successful and there you are at the point at which they're experiencing these presentations, if if they're excited about what we're doing. That's what we're going with. Speaker 5: This is the great thing about community resources for science. There is a staff there who are experts in science education, [00:20:00] so I sent my lesson plan draft to Heidi Williamson who coordinates the basis program and she read it. She gave me a long email with lots of suggestions of various levels of detail and I worked them in and I continued to develop as now my team members are giving me feedback and so are the teachers. So the lessons really do get improved over time from that first draft. It's not, it's not just any graduate student can make something up and go in and help the kids [00:20:30] learn something. There really is some accountability [inaudible] Speaker 4: are there any interesting stories that any of you have that you want to share about classroom experiences with with the program? Speaker 5: My favorite moments in there are when kids really put stuff together. So when they hear what we've told them and they make their observations and then they just come up with something good at their own theory for why a water job looks different from an [00:21:00] oil drop and it really makes sense or why you can get a piece of pencil lead to float on water if it's horizontal but not vertical. And when they can explain that themselves after making the observations, it's just, it's incredibly high ventilation rates if you're not right under the dots, but they actually aren't accomplishing anything in terms of air quality. So that's my plug, I guess, for people to pay attention and think about their environment. Sam Bergeson, thanks [00:21:30] for being on spectrum. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me. Speaker 1: [inaudible]Speaker 2: did you see an example of data visualization? Check out the official campus dashboard at the website. My power.berkeley.edu Speaker 1: [inaudible]Speaker 2: [00:22:00] irregular feature of spectrum is dimension. A few of the science and technology events happening locally over the next few weeks. Rick Karnofsky and Lisa cabbage with the calendar Speaker 6: on Saturday, December 1st wonderfest is putting on a special event called end of days. Does Hollywood get doomsday? Right? Planetary Scientists, Chris McKay will discuss this topic as he introduces a special screening of seeking a friend for the end of the world. Starting [00:22:30] Steve Grill and Karen Knightley popcorn is free and a no host drink and candy bar. We'll be there. Tickets are tax deductible and benefit wonderfest and variety children's charity of northern California. They must be purchased in advance for $25 visit wonderfest.org for more info. The annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union is the first week of December at the Moscone Center. Each year they have a public lecture that is [00:23:00] free and open to the public. This year that talk is on Sunday, December 2nd from noon to one and Moscone South Room One oh two lead scientists for the Mars exploration program. Michael Meyer program scientists for the Mars Science Laboratory. John Groton, seeing and participating in scientists on the Mars Science Laboratory. Rebecca Williams, well discuss curiosity driven Mars exploration. Curiosity is the most sophisticated explorer ever sent to another [00:23:30] planet and the trio. We'll talk about its latest activities. A full sized inflatable model of the rover and hands on activities for families will follow the lecture. For more information, visit agu.org Speaker 7: on Tuesday, December 4th at 7:00 PM at the California Academy of Science and Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Mary Ellen Hannibal. We'll present the Pritzker lecture, the spine of the continent, her book about one of the single most [00:24:00] ambitious conservation efforts ever undertaken to create linked, protected areas extending from the Yukon to Mexico, the entire length of North America. This movement is the brainchild of Michael Sule, the founder of conservation biology. EO Wilson calls it the most important conservation initiative in the world today. In this fascinating presentation, Mary-Ellen Hannibal takes us on a tour of her travels down the length of the North American spine, sharing stories and anecdotes about [00:24:30] the passionate, idiosyncratic people she meets along the way and the species they love. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Go to the California Academy of Science website for tickets. Speaker 6: Now three new stories, and I'm joined by Rick Kaneski and Lisa cabbage. The November 29th issue of nature has an article discussing a massive black hole in the tiny galaxy, n g c one two seven seven one of the galaxies in the cluster that is [00:25:00] the constellation Perseus to the best of our astronomical knowledge. Almost every galaxy should contain in its central region what is called a supermassive black hole. Past studies have shown that the mass of the black coal typically accounts for about a 10th of a percent of the massive its home galaxy that Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. In Heidelberg. Researchers know that the black hole has a mass equivalent of 17 billion suns, that the galaxy [00:25:30] is only a quarter of the milky ways diameter. These observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Hobby Eberly telescope show that the black hole accounts for almost 14% of the galaxies mass past spectrum guests. Nicholas McConnell published a paper last year that holds the current record for the largest black hole, which is between six and 37 billion solar masses. So the black hole in NGC one to seven seven may or may [00:26:00] not top this record. Speaker 7: The journal Nature Geoscience reports this week that the shells of marine snails known as terra pods living in the seas around Antarctica are being dissolved by ocean acidification. These tiny animals are a valuable food source for fish and birds and play an important role in the oceanic carbon cycle. During a science cruise in 2008 researchers from British Antarctic survey and the University of East Anglia in collaboration with colleagues from the [00:26:30] u s would tell oceanographic institution and Noah discovered severe dissolution of the shells of living terra pods in southern ocean waters. The team examined an area of upwelling where winds cause cold water to be pushed upwards from the deep to the surface of the ocean up well, water is usually more corrosive to a particular type of calcium carbonate or arrogant night that terra pods use to build their shells. The team found that as a result of the additional influence of ocean acidification, [00:27:00] this corrosive water severely dissolve the shells of terror pods, coauthor and science cruise leader. Speaker 7: Dr Geraint Tarling says as one of only a few oceanic creatures that build their shells out of air gunnite in the polar regions. Terror pods are an important food source for fish and birds as well as a good indicator of ecosystem health. The tiny snails do not necessarily die as a result of their shells dissolving. However, it may increase their vulnerability to predation and infection. Consequently having an [00:27:30] impact to other parts of the food web. Ocean acidification is caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere emitted admitted as a result of fossil fuel burning. The finding supports predictions that the impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and food webs may be significant Speaker 2: science daily reports that dozens of climate scientists have reconciled their measurements of ice sheet changes in Antarctica and Greenland over the past two decades. [00:28:00] The results published November 29th in the journal Science roughly have the uncertainty and discard some conflicting observations. The effort led by Andrew Shepherd at the University of Leeds in the UK reconciles three existing ways to measure losses. The first method takes an accounting approach. Combining climate models and observations to tally up the gain or loss to other methods. Use special satellites to precisely measure the height and gravitational pull [00:28:30] of the ice sheets to calculate how much ice is present. Each method has strengths and weaknesses. Until now, scientists using each method released estimates independent from the others. This is the first time they have all compared their methods for the same times and locations. Understanding ice sheets is central to modeling global climate and predicting sea level rise. Even tiny changes to sea level when added over an entire ocean can have substantial [00:29:00] effects on storm surges and flooding and coastal and island communities. Speaker 8: The music heard during the show is by Stan David from his album, folk and acoustic made available by a creative Commons license 3.0 for attribution. Speaker 9: Thank you for listening to spectrum. If you have comments about the show, please [00:29:30] send them to us via email. Our email address is spectrum dot k a l x@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

«El mundo los necesita con urgencia», comienza el célebre biólogo E.O. Wilson en su carta a un joven científico. En un avance de su próximo libro, nos ofrece consejos recabados durante las experiencias de toda una vida, recordándonos que el asombro y la creatividad son el centro de la vida científica. (Grabado en TEDMED).

"The world needs you, badly," says legendary biologist E.O. Wilson in his letter to a young scientist. He gives advice collected from a lifetime of experience -- and reminds us that wonder and creativity are the center of the scientific life.

Mit "Die Welt braucht Sie, dringend," beginnt der anerkannte Biologe Edward O. Wilson seinen Brief an einen jungen Wissenschaftler. In Vorausschau auf sein neues Buch gibt er Ratschläge aus seinem Leben voller Erfahrung und erinnert uns daran, dass Wunder und Kreativität im Zentrum eines wissenschaftlichen Lebens stehen. (Gefilmt bei TEDMED.)

«Вы очень нужны миру» — начинает знаменитый биолог Э. О. Уилсон своё послание к юным учёным. Анонсируя свою книгу, он даёт советы исходя из своего жизненного опыта и напоминает нам, что заинтересованность и воображение являются центром научной жизни. (Записано на TEDMED)

"Le monde a besoin de vous, vraiement", E. O. Wilson, le célèbre biologiqte commence ainsi sa lettre à une jeune chercheur. En donnant un aperçu de son livre à paraître, il donne des conseils qu'il a rassemblé au cours d'une vie d'expérience, et nous rappelle que l'émerveillement et la créativité sont au centre de la vie scientifique (Filmé à TEDMED).

"O mundo precisa de você, seriamente", afirma o famoso biologista E. O. Wilson em sua carta a um jovem cientista. Antecipando seu próximo livro, ele expõe conselhos de toda uma vida de experiência -- lembrando-nos que maravilha e criatividade são o centro da vida científica. (Filmado no TEDMED)

“世界はあなた方を必要としている、とても” 世界的権威の生物学者エドワード・オズボーン・ウィルソン博士が、若手科学者に語り掛けます。執筆中の本から生涯の経験を通して得た教訓を語ると共に、科学者の極意は好奇心と創造性にあることを思い起こさせます。

"세상은 여러분들을 애타게 필요로 합니다." 라는 말로 이 유명한 생물학지 E. O. 윌슨은 젊은과학자들에게 보내는 그의 편지를 시작합니다. 곧 발간될 책의 맛보기으로 그는 자신의 평생 경험에서 얻은 조언을 합니다. -- 호기심과 창의성은 과학인의 삶에 중심이 된다는 점을 우리에게 상기시켜줍니다. (TEDMED 에서 촬영함)

CRS engages educators, students, and scientists in an innovative web of science learning resources, transforming science education. CRS is a group of educators and scientists working together to excite children about learning through scientific exploration of the world.TranscriptSpeaker 1: [inaudible].Speaker 2: [00:00:30] Welcome to spectrum the science and technology show on k a l x, Berkeley, a biweekly 30 minute program, bringing you interviews, featuring bay area scientists and technologists, a calendar of local events and news. My name is Brad swift and I'm the host of today's show. Our interview is with three representatives of the organization, community resources for science, also known as crs. They are, relieves [00:01:00] a is cotton Nova crs program, Assistant Professor Bob Bergman of the UC Berkeley Department of chemistry. And Miriam Bowering, a graduate student and Professor Bergman's research group. Community Resources for Science is a nonprofit organization. The goal of crs is to help teachers give elementary and middle school students more opportunities to do science, to ask questions, test ideas, get their hands [00:01:30] on real science activities. Through these efforts, crs hopes to inspire the next generation of thinkers, makers, problem solvers, and leaders. This interview is prerecorded and edited today. We have a group of three people from the community resources for science talking with us about their program. And why don't you each introduce yourself and then we'll get into some details about your organization.Speaker 3: [00:02:00] My name is [inaudible]. Uh, I'm the program assistant at community resources for science.Speaker 4: My name is Bob Bergman. I'm a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley. And I help to organize an outreach program, which was initially called chemistry in the classroom and then became community in the classroom and now it's called basis and it helps to organize graduate students to do presentations in the local schools.Speaker 3: I'm Miriam Bowering. I am a graduate student in chemistry at UC [00:02:30] Berkeley and I'm also a classroom volunteer. I bring groups of my coworkers into fifth grade classrooms to do science with them.Speaker 2: We're Alyssa, can you give us an overview of what crs does?Speaker 3: Community resources for science is an organization that was started by two parents who were involved with a lot of science in their children's schools and they decided that there was now enough science being done, so they figured out a way to individual teachers [00:03:00] get the resources that they need, uh, Ba snails from a local store or books that they need, um, or waste organized field trips. And it evolved into bringing scientists into classrooms to do hands on presentations as well. And that's grown from that? Uh, yeah. I mean now we're able to organize hundreds of volunteers that we have go into, uh, over 280 classrooms this past year [00:03:30] and get kids involved in doing actual science. And where is it that, uh, that you do this? What school districts? Uh, yeah, we are primarily in Alameda County and the Berkeley and Oakland School districts, uh, that we do the actual presentations because um, our volunteers can reach those areas most easily those schools.Speaker 3: But we go out and provide services to teachers and Castro valley as well. And some of the other West [00:04:00] Contra Costa County schools. What's the grade range that you try to impact? Crs as an organization has been supporting teachers k through five from its beginnings and we've started expanding into middle schools, so mostly sixth grade, um, because they still have one science teacher, but seventh and eighth they kind of start to branch out into different subjects. However, we do still work with teachers in seventh and eighth grade and we're very [00:04:30] willing to provide them with the personal support on an individual basis that they might need, you know, requesting resources and things like that. And we do go into middle schools and do science days where we have four or five lessons going on for different classrooms and they do, you know, one set in the morning and then they switch it around and do another set in the afternoon. And for teachers to get involved, how did they do that? Free?Speaker 5: Uh, yes it is. I think they can just visit the website, [00:05:00] which is www.crscience.org all the information they need is there. So they can not only contact crs to get scientists into their classrooms, but they can also look for other kinds of resources on the website there.Speaker 3: How do you find volunteers? How do you go about recruiting a, we actually recruited a lot more volunteers this past year than [00:05:30] we have in the past. And we're really excited about that. And thanks to our campus coordinators, Leah and Kristen, we were able to really reach out to 20 of the departments on campus and we have volunteers from 20th think what is their 21 departments here at UC Berkeley? So we're really proud of that. And Bob has done a great job of really getting the word out in the Department of Chemistry and college chemistry. A little bit about, how about the history of that isSpeaker 4: this really started [00:06:00] almost accidentally. I was at a party and one of the people from crs was someone that my wife had gone to a graduate school at UC Berkeley with and she said that they were thinking about trying to get more scientists into the classrooms and wondered if I knew of anybody who wanted to do that. So I said I would go back to the campus and send out an email message in my department and just see if anyone was interested in doing that because it must have been seven or eight [00:06:30] years ago, I guess. And we started with a group of about 12 volunteers. Uh, we met in a seminar room in the chemistry department and I think it was probably one of the original organizers. It was probably Anne Jennings who came over and gave a short talk about what crs was all about and what they wanted to do to organize this program.Speaker 4: It's not a very simple thing. You not only need to have good contacts with the teachers, but, uh, you can't just throw people [00:07:00] into the classroom directly. You've got to give them some training and, you know, get them to understand what, um, what's age appropriate. Especially for the classes we were targeting, which were grades three to five. So we started with those 12 people and they basically, at that time, I put together their own presentations. And one of the interesting things about this program is that the graduate student volunteers actually come up with their own presentations, mostly isn't canned presentations that they get some [00:07:30] from somewhere else and they've come with, come up with some extremely creative stuff. Um, they're teaching kids at this level of things that I personally, you know, are really relatively sophisticated. And I personally never thought that you'd be able to, you know, sort of do this with people at that age.Speaker 4: But that was reasonably successful and it's really been the graduate student volunteers who've done most of the recruiting. So it started out in the chemistry department and these 12 original people [00:08:00] began to kind of, you know, dragoon their friends into doing this. And so it grew from 12 to 20 to 40 to 50 and then they began to attract and talk to some people in other departments. And then we reached a point where we thought that maybe there was a slightly different way that we could do this. They came up with the idea that maybe instead of doing this on an individual basis, we could do it with teams of graduate students. You may know that [00:08:30] that in most science departments, graduate students are part of research groups. So there'll be one professor who directs a, you know, a bunch of graduate students whom anywhere from three or four to 15 or 20 people, sometimes larger.Speaker 4: Uh, so the idea was to now put together teams that would be localized. Each team would be localized in a particular research group that and that has several advantages. One was that someone who wanted to do this didn't have to join in as kind of a lone individual. There's [00:09:00] always a certain reticence about that. The other thing that I think major advantage of this change was that it generated some continuity so that graduate students are not here forever or at least we hope they are not. And uh, as they graduate and before they graduate, they begin to bring in new students first year students who see that this program is going on and see that there are people who are interested in excited about it. And so that really is a major attraction for people to sign up.Speaker 1: [00:09:30] [inaudible] you are listening to spectrum on KALX Berkeley we are talking with release has gotten over Professor Bob Bergman and Miriam Bowering about their work with community resources for science.Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say that one of the other things [00:10:00] that I worried about when we started this program was what, what their response was going to be from the research directors. That professors that these graduate students we're working with. Okay. Because you know, you, you could envision, um, somebody giving these kids a hard time because you know, they should be in the lab doing research and here they are out doing presentations in the local schools. I've seen my role as trying to, at least in the chemistry department, keep the faculty informed about what's going on. So right from the beginning when we started [00:10:30] this, uh, I, you know, got up at several meetings. My Chemistry Department faculty meets once a week and I gave several very short presentations telling people that graduate students were going to be doing this and that we hope that everybody would be supportive of it because we thought it was not only good for them educationally, but it was a real service to the community.Speaker 4: One of the things that that actually made this thing go much more smoothly than I might've thought is that a lot of people are supported, their research is supported by the National Science Foundation at [00:11:00] Berkeley and the National Science Foundation has actually required as part of their proposals, something called a statement of broader impact. And one of those broader impacts that you can put into your proposals is something about how people in your research group might be, you know, reaching out to the local community. So I think as time went on, people began to view this not so much as an incursion, as a favor to them because they could easily then put in their proposals the fact that their students were [00:11:30] involved in this and these activities. And I think that really was one of the things that that made it a lot less of a problem to do this and many research groups around the, around the campus, what is the teaching philosophy you apply to building your lesson plans?Speaker 4: There's a lot of, you know, ambiguity's about the research that's been done in educating people. One thing comes through extremely clearly and that is the two general ways that you can think of [00:12:00] or for educating people, and this is really true at any level including the college level, are to stand up in front of them and just talk at them and the other is get people involved in doing things, have them actually do hands on stuff. On the two founders started this, they knew that that kind of research had been done and so they started from the beginning making it clear to people that they were not the volunteers. I mean that they were not going to go in the classroom and just a lecture. Okay, just write things on the board and tell people stuff because [00:12:30] certainly at grades three to five and probably at even higher grades, you're going to lose people after about the first three minutes when you do that. So the, the goal of right from the beginning was to go in with presentations that involved having the kids do stuff that with their own hands and that's been something that we've stuck with really I think quite religiously since the beginning.Speaker 5: Definitely all lessons are expected to be hands on minds, [00:13:00] on, uh, inquiry style work. And Bob mentioned that the typical way you get to scientists in a classroom is someone's mom or dad comes in. And also typically what you get is someone's stands at the front and maybe doesn't talk but maybe just blow something up up there, which is fun for everyone. But it's, it's really great to go in there and gives the kids equipment to play with and let them start figuring things out themselves and, [00:13:30] and be able to guide them. I think it's also interesting to see the way we're able to even help educate teachers a little bit about how science works. So I've seen some really amazing teachers through this program, but you know, none of them are scientists and a lot of them don't really understand basically what it takes to be a scientist.Speaker 5: So at the end we usually give a few minutes to talk about any questions the teacher or students might have. And the teachers say, well, what does it take to be a scientist? [00:14:00] Um, and we might say, well just keep observing the world around you. Stay curious, play with things. And the teacher says, so what they meant to say was study hard and no, no, that's not it. You've got to be able to nurture that natural curiosity kids have. So I think that's a big part of what we do is go in there and kill some myths about what it takes to be a scientist. The great thing about the graduate [00:14:30] students that go in is they shatter stereotypes about scientists for the children. What do you see clip art style in your head when someone says scientist. Right. And that's not what ends up in their classroom. And that's really beautiful to see them kind of taken aback by that. When scientists first in, you know,Speaker 3: young and most of our volunteers are female actually, which is another great plus and young female scientists [00:15:00] doing things that kids didn't think was science.Speaker 4: Yeah. I think that it just turns out that graduate students are almost the ideal place in people's Times of life to do this. I have a bit more time flexibility. They still are still working very hard on their research, but you know, it's not, you know, okay, you have to be here at eight o'clock in the morning, you have to leave at five, you know, the way you would in a corporation setting. They're not overly wellmed with classes, at least not [00:15:30] after the first couple of semesters. So they have some flexibility in, in that regard. And there's a reasonable support from the institution. Right. I think that's a big issue that the, the campus and you know, and uh, as I said to a large extent, the, you know, people's research advisors have really provided a lot of at least moral support for this. And so it, it really makes graduate students almost ideal.Speaker 4: I think what relates is said about, you know, shattering these stereotypes is also has been a really interesting sort of eye opener for me. [00:16:00] It really is true that these kids have a very different stereotype about what scientists are from what they see coming into the classrooms and having people who they see almost as kind of corresponding to s you know, to a big sister or cousin or you know, somebody that, you know, they really can relate to I think has had a big effect. And then having people at, you know, sort of the student time of their lives when they're still young enough to be, to be seen as young people by the kids in the classrooms [00:16:30] as I think been an important facet of this. [inaudible]Speaker 1: [inaudible] you are listening to spectrum on k a l x Berkeley. We are talking with releases, got Nova Professor Bob Burg and Miriam Bowery about their work with community resources for science.Speaker 3: [00:17:00] How do you assess the impact your presentations have on students?Speaker 4: Um, no. You put your finger on one of the stickiest issues with respect to all of this kind of thing with respect to education in general, which is not only how do you find out if it works, but how do you define what works? And you know, whether something works and what doesn't, [00:17:30] I think when all of us like to do in the most perfect world is, is actually track the people who experience these presentations and see what difference it makes in their lives. Okay. So this is a big deal, right? Because if you know anything about research in general and educational research, it's not enough to just track the people who have had this experience. You've got to have a control group of people who haven't had the experience, right? And then you've got to track two groups. [00:18:00] And you know, in some ways it's, it's like having a drug that's really effective.Speaker 4: There's a real moral question as to whether it's okay to keep a control group that isn't, doesn't have access to this stuff. Right? But assuming you can do that, um, it would require way more resources than we have to track people, let's say to the point where they've applied to college, right? Or even to the point where they've gone through college to see how successful they've been once they've been in that environment. What we hope and what we sort of believe [00:18:30] deep in our hearts completely intuitively is that people who have these experiences will do better later in their educational lives. But proving that in a scientifically respectable way is a major undertaking and it's one that we really don't have resources for by any means right now. So, you know, we're pretty much working under the, the faith I guess that exposing people to this sort of thing will really make them [00:19:00] more interested in science.Speaker 4: So we really believe quite strongly that a, a major impact of this is not just, you know, generating people who, who might turn out to be scientists. Although we certainly hope that would be one of the things that that happens. But we'd really like to educate the general public on scientific issues, how science is done and why it's exciting and the meaning of many scientific investigations is, and we hope that by catching people catching, you know, kids early [00:19:30] and doing this, uh, really will have a lasting effect. The best we can do is get feedback from the people involved in the program and see whether they like it. And if they like it and they feel it's been successful and there you are at the point at which they're experiencing these presentations, if if they're excited about what we're doing. That's what we're going with.Speaker 5: This is the great thing about community resources for science. There is a staff there who are experts in science education, [00:20:00] so I sent my lesson plan draft to Heidi Williamson who coordinates the basis program and she read it. She gave me a long email with lots of suggestions of various levels of detail and I worked them in and I continued to develop as now my team members are giving me feedback and so are the teachers. So the lessons really do get improved over time from that first draft. It's not, it's not just any graduate student can make something up and go in and help the kids [00:20:30] learn something. There really is some accountability [inaudible]Speaker 4: are there any interesting stories that any of you have that you want to share about classroom experiences with with the program?Speaker 5: My favorite moments in there are when kids really put stuff together. So when they hear what we've told them and they make their observations and then they just come up with something good at their own theory for why a water job looks different from an [00:21:00] oil drop and it really makes sense or why you can get a piece of pencil lead to float on water if it's horizontal but not vertical. And when they can explain that themselves after making the observations, it's just, it's incredibly high ventilation rates if you're not right under the dots, but they actually aren't accomplishing anything in terms of air quality. So that's my plug, I guess, for people to pay attention and think about their environment. Sam Bergeson, thanks [00:21:30] for being on spectrum. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.Speaker 1: [inaudible]Speaker 2: did you see an example of data visualization? Check out the official campus dashboard at the website. My power.berkeley.eduSpeaker 1: [inaudible]Speaker 2: [00:22:00] irregular feature of spectrum is dimension. A few of the science and technology events happening locally over the next few weeks. Rick Karnofsky and Lisa cabbage with the calendarSpeaker 6: on Saturday, December 1st wonderfest is putting on a special event called end of days. Does Hollywood get doomsday? Right? Planetary Scientists, Chris McKay will discuss this topic as he introduces a special screening of seeking a friend for the end of the world. [00:22:30] Starting Steve Grill and Karen Knightley popcorn is free and a no host drink and candy bar. We'll be there. Tickets are tax deductible and benefit wonderfest and variety children's charity of northern California. They must be purchased in advance for $25 visit wonderfest.org for more info. The annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union is the first week of December at the Moscone Center. Each year they have a public lecture that is [00:23:00] free and open to the public. This year that talk is on Sunday, December 2nd from noon to one and Moscone South Room One oh two lead scientists for the Mars exploration program. Michael Meyer program scientists for the Mars Science Laboratory. John Groton, seeing and participating in scientists on the Mars Science Laboratory. Rebecca Williams, well discuss curiosity driven Mars exploration. Curiosity is the most sophisticated explorer ever sent to another [00:23:30] planet and the trio. We'll talk about its latest activities. A full sized inflatable model of the rover and hands on activities for families will follow the lecture. For more information, visit agu.orgSpeaker 7: on Tuesday, December 4th at 7:00 PM at the California Academy of Science and Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Mary Ellen Hannibal. We'll present the Pritzker lecture, the spine of the continent, her book about one of the single most [00:24:00] ambitious conservation efforts ever undertaken to create linked, protected areas extending from the Yukon to Mexico, the entire length of North America. This movement is the brainchild of Michael Sule, the founder of conservation biology. EO Wilson calls it the most important conservation initiative in the world today. In this fascinating presentation, Mary-Ellen Hannibal takes us on a tour of her travels down the length of the North American spine, sharing stories and anecdotes about [00:24:30] the passionate, idiosyncratic people she meets along the way and the species they love. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Go to the California Academy of Science website for tickets.Speaker 6: Now three new stories, and I'm joined by Rick Kaneski and Lisa cabbage. The November 29th issue of nature has an article discussing a massive black hole in the tiny galaxy, n g c one two seven seven one of the galaxies in the cluster that is [00:25:00] the constellation Perseus to the best of our astronomical knowledge. Almost every galaxy should contain in its central region what is called a supermassive black hole. Past studies have shown that the mass of the black coal typically accounts for about a 10th of a percent of the massive its home galaxy that Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. In Heidelberg. Researchers know that the black hole has a mass equivalent of 17 billion suns, that the galaxy [00:25:30] is only a quarter of the milky ways diameter. These observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Hobby Eberly telescope show that the black hole accounts for almost 14% of the galaxies mass past spectrum guests. Nicholas McConnell published a paper last year that holds the current record for the largest black hole, which is between six and 37 billion solar masses. So the black hole in NGC one to seven seven may or may [00:26:00] not top this record.Speaker 7: The journal Nature Geoscience reports this week that the shells of marine snails known as terra pods living in the seas around Antarctica are being dissolved by ocean acidification. These tiny animals are a valuable food source for fish and birds and play an important role in the oceanic carbon cycle. During a science cruise in 2008 researchers from British Antarctic survey and the University of East Anglia in collaboration with colleagues from the [00:26:30] u s would tell oceanographic institution and Noah discovered severe dissolution of the shells of living terra pods in southern ocean waters. The team examined an area of upwelling where winds cause cold water to be pushed upwards from the deep to the surface of the ocean up well, water is usually more corrosive to a particular type of calcium carbonate or arrogant night that terra pods use to build their shells. The team found that as a result of the additional influence of ocean acidification, [00:27:00] this corrosive water severely dissolve the shells of terror pods, coauthor and science cruise leader.Speaker 7: Dr Geraint Tarling says as one of only a few oceanic creatures that build their shells out of air gunnite in the polar regions. Terror pods are an important food source for fish and birds as well as a good indicator of ecosystem health. The tiny snails do not necessarily die as a result of their shells dissolving. However, it may increase their vulnerability to predation and infection. Consequently having an [00:27:30] impact to other parts of the food web. Ocean acidification is caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere emitted admitted as a result of fossil fuel burning. The finding supports predictions that the impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and food webs may be significantSpeaker 2: science daily reports that dozens of climate scientists have reconciled their measurements of ice sheet changes in Antarctica and Greenland over the past two decades. [00:28:00] The results published November 29th in the journal Science roughly have the uncertainty and discard some conflicting observations. The effort led by Andrew Shepherd at the University of Leeds in the UK reconciles three existing ways to measure losses. The first method takes an accounting approach. Combining climate models and observations to tally up the gain or loss to other methods. Use special satellites to precisely measure the height and gravitational pull [00:28:30] of the ice sheets to calculate how much ice is present. Each method has strengths and weaknesses. Until now, scientists using each method released estimates independent from the others. This is the first time they have all compared their methods for the same times and locations. Understanding ice sheets is central to modeling global climate and predicting sea level rise. Even tiny changes to sea level when added over an entire ocean can have substantial [00:29:00] effects on storm surges and flooding and coastal and island communities.Speaker 8: The music heard during the show is by Stan David from his album, folk and acoustic made available by a creative Commons license 3.0 for attribution.Speaker 9: Thank you for listening to spectrum. If you have comments about the show, please [00:29:30] send them to us via email. Our email address is spectrum dot k a l x@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CRS engages educators, students, and scientists in an innovative web of science learning resources, transforming science education. CRS is a group of educators and scientists working together to excite children about learning through scientific exploration of the world.TranscriptSpeaker 1: [inaudible].Speaker 2: [00:00:30] Welcome to spectrum the science and technology show on k a l x, Berkeley, a biweekly 30 minute program, bringing you interviews, featuring bay area scientists and technologists, a calendar of local events and news. My name is Brad swift and I'm the host of today's show. Our interview is with three representatives of the organization, community resources for science, also known as crs. They are, relieves [00:01:00] a is cotton Nova crs program, Assistant Professor Bob Bergman of the UC Berkeley Department of chemistry. And Miriam Bowering, a graduate student and Professor Bergman's research group. Community Resources for Science is a nonprofit organization. The goal of crs is to help teachers give elementary and middle school students more opportunities to do science, to ask questions, test ideas, get their hands [00:01:30] on real science activities. Through these efforts, crs hopes to inspire the next generation of thinkers, makers, problem solvers, and leaders. This interview is prerecorded and edited today. We have a group of three people from the community resources for science talking with us about their program. And why don't you each introduce yourself and then we'll get into some details about your organization.Speaker 3: [00:02:00] My name is [inaudible]. Uh, I'm the program assistant at community resources for science.Speaker 4: My name is Bob Bergman. I'm a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley. And I help to organize an outreach program, which was initially called chemistry in the classroom and then became community in the classroom and now it's called basis and it helps to organize graduate students to do presentations in the local schools.Speaker 3: I'm Miriam Bowering. I am a graduate student in chemistry at UC [00:02:30] Berkeley and I'm also a classroom volunteer. I bring groups of my coworkers into fifth grade classrooms to do science with them.Speaker 2: We're Alyssa, can you give us an overview of what crs does?Speaker 3: Community resources for science is an organization that was started by two parents who were involved with a lot of science in their children's schools and they decided that there was now enough science being done, so they figured out a way to individual teachers [00:03:00] get the resources that they need, uh, Ba snails from a local store or books that they need, um, or waste organized field trips. And it evolved into bringing scientists into classrooms to do hands on presentations as well. And that's grown from that? Uh, yeah. I mean now we're able to organize hundreds of volunteers that we have go into, uh, over 280 classrooms this past year [00:03:30] and get kids involved in doing actual science. And where is it that, uh, that you do this? What school districts? Uh, yeah, we are primarily in Alameda County and the Berkeley and Oakland School districts, uh, that we do the actual presentations because um, our volunteers can reach those areas most easily those schools.Speaker 3: But we go out and provide services to teachers and Castro valley as well. And some of the other West [00:04:00] Contra Costa County schools. What's the grade range that you try to impact? Crs as an organization has been supporting teachers k through five from its beginnings and we've started expanding into middle schools, so mostly sixth grade, um, because they still have one science teacher, but seventh and eighth they kind of start to branch out into different subjects. However, we do still work with teachers in seventh and eighth grade and we're very [00:04:30] willing to provide them with the personal support on an individual basis that they might need, you know, requesting resources and things like that. And we do go into middle schools and do science days where we have four or five lessons going on for different classrooms and they do, you know, one set in the morning and then they switch it around and do another set in the afternoon. And for teachers to get involved, how did they do that? Free?Speaker 5: Uh, yes it is. I think they can just visit the website, [00:05:00] which is www.crscience.org all the information they need is there. So they can not only contact crs to get scientists into their classrooms, but they can also look for other kinds of resources on the website there.Speaker 3: How do you find volunteers? How do you go about recruiting a, we actually recruited a lot more volunteers this past year than [00:05:30] we have in the past. And we're really excited about that. And thanks to our campus coordinators, Leah and Kristen, we were able to really reach out to 20 of the departments on campus and we have volunteers from 20th think what is their 21 departments here at UC Berkeley? So we're really proud of that. And Bob has done a great job of really getting the word out in the Department of Chemistry and college chemistry. A little bit about, how about the history of that isSpeaker 4: this really started [00:06:00] almost accidentally. I was at a party and one of the people from crs was someone that my wife had gone to a graduate school at UC Berkeley with and she said that they were thinking about trying to get more scientists into the classrooms and wondered if I knew of anybody who wanted to do that. So I said I would go back to the campus and send out an email message in my department and just see if anyone was interested in doing that because it must have been seven or eight [00:06:30] years ago, I guess. And we started with a group of about 12 volunteers. Uh, we met in a seminar room in the chemistry department and I think it was probably one of the original organizers. It was probably Anne Jennings who came over and gave a short talk about what crs was all about and what they wanted to do to organize this program.Speaker 4: It's not a very simple thing. You not only need to have good contacts with the teachers, but, uh, you can't just throw people [00:07:00] into the classroom directly. You've got to give them some training and, you know, get them to understand what, um, what's age appropriate. Especially for the classes we were targeting, which were grades three to five. So we started with those 12 people and they basically, at that time, I put together their own presentations. And one of the interesting things about this program is that the graduate student volunteers actually come up with their own presentations, mostly isn't canned presentations that they get some [00:07:30] from somewhere else and they've come with, come up with some extremely creative stuff. Um, they're teaching kids at this level of things that I personally, you know, are really relatively sophisticated. And I personally never thought that you'd be able to, you know, sort of do this with people at that age.Speaker 4: But that was reasonably successful and it's really been the graduate student volunteers who've done most of the recruiting. So it started out in the chemistry department and these 12 original people [00:08:00] began to kind of, you know, dragoon their friends into doing this. And so it grew from 12 to 20 to 40 to 50 and then they began to attract and talk to some people in other departments. And then we reached a point where we thought that maybe there was a slightly different way that we could do this. They came up with the idea that maybe instead of doing this on an individual basis, we could do it with teams of graduate students. You may know that [00:08:30] that in most science departments, graduate students are part of research groups. So there'll be one professor who directs a, you know, a bunch of graduate students whom anywhere from three or four to 15 or 20 people, sometimes larger.Speaker 4: Uh, so the idea was to now put together teams that would be localized. Each team would be localized in a particular research group that and that has several advantages. One was that someone who wanted to do this didn't have to join in as kind of a lone individual. There's [00:09:00] always a certain reticence about that. The other thing that I think major advantage of this change was that it generated some continuity so that graduate students are not here forever or at least we hope they are not. And uh, as they graduate and before they graduate, they begin to bring in new students first year students who see that this program is going on and see that there are people who are interested in excited about it. And so that really is a major attraction for people to sign up.Speaker 1: [00:09:30] [inaudible] you are listening to spectrum on KALX Berkeley we are talking with release has gotten over Professor Bob Bergman and Miriam Bowering about their work with community resources for science.Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say that one of the other things [00:10:00] that I worried about when we started this program was what, what their response was going to be from the research directors. That professors that these graduate students we're working with. Okay. Because you know, you, you could envision, um, somebody giving these kids a hard time because you know, they should be in the lab doing research and here they are out doing presentations in the local schools. I've seen my role as trying to, at least in the chemistry department, keep the faculty informed about what's going on. So right from the beginning when we started [00:10:30] this, uh, I, you know, got up at several meetings. My Chemistry Department faculty meets once a week and I gave several very short presentations telling people that graduate students were going to be doing this and that we hope that everybody would be supportive of it because we thought it was not only good for them educationally, but it was a real service to the community.Speaker 4: One of the things that that actually made this thing go much more smoothly than I might've thought is that a lot of people are supported, their research is supported by the National Science Foundation at [00:11:00] Berkeley and the National Science Foundation has actually required as part of their proposals, something called a statement of broader impact. And one of those broader impacts that you can put into your proposals is something about how people in your research group might be, you know, reaching out to the local community. So I think as time went on, people began to view this not so much as an incursion, as a favor to them because they could easily then put in their proposals the fact that their students were [00:11:30] involved in this and these activities. And I think that really was one of the things that that made it a lot less of a problem to do this and many research groups around the, around the campus, what is the teaching philosophy you apply to building your lesson plans?Speaker 4: There's a lot of, you know, ambiguity's about the research that's been done in educating people. One thing comes through extremely clearly and that is the two general ways that you can think of [00:12:00] or for educating people, and this is really true at any level including the college level, are to stand up in front of them and just talk at them and the other is get people involved in doing things, have them actually do hands on stuff. On the two founders started this, they knew that that kind of research had been done and so they started from the beginning making it clear to people that they were not the volunteers. I mean that they were not going to go in the classroom and just a lecture. Okay, just write things on the board and tell people stuff because [00:12:30] certainly at grades three to five and probably at even higher grades, you're going to lose people after about the first three minutes when you do that. So the, the goal of right from the beginning was to go in with presentations that involved having the kids do stuff that with their own hands and that's been something that we've stuck with really I think quite religiously since the beginning.Speaker 5: Definitely all lessons are expected to be hands on minds, [00:13:00] on, uh, inquiry style work. And Bob mentioned that the typical way you get to scientists in a classroom is someone's mom or dad comes in. And also typically what you get is someone's stands at the front and maybe doesn't talk but maybe just blow something up up there, which is fun for everyone. But it's, it's really great to go in there and gives the kids equipment to play with and let them start figuring things out themselves and, [00:13:30] and be able to guide them. I think it's also interesting to see the way we're able to even help educate teachers a little bit about how science works. So I've seen some really amazing teachers through this program, but you know, none of them are scientists and a lot of them don't really understand basically what it takes to be a scientist.Speaker 5: So at the end we usually give a few minutes to talk about any questions the teacher or students might have. And the teachers say, well, what does it take to be a scientist? [00:14:00] Um, and we might say, well just keep observing the world around you. Stay curious, play with things. And the teacher says, so what they meant to say was study hard and no, no, that's not it. You've got to be able to nurture that natural curiosity kids have. So I think that's a big part of what we do is go in there and kill some myths about what it takes to be a scientist. The great thing about the graduate [00:14:30] students that go in is they shatter stereotypes about scientists for the children. What do you see clip art style in your head when someone says scientist. Right. And that's not what ends up in their classroom. And that's really beautiful to see them kind of taken aback by that. When scientists first in, you know,Speaker 3: young and most of our volunteers are female actually, which is another great plus and young female scientists [00:15:00] doing things that kids didn't think was science.Speaker 4: Yeah. I think that it just turns out that graduate students are almost the ideal place in people's Times of life to do this. I have a bit more time flexibility. They still are still working very hard on their research, but you know, it's not, you know, okay, you have to be here at eight o'clock in the morning, you have to leave at five, you know, the way you would in a corporation setting. They're not overly wellmed with classes, at least not [00:15:30] after the first couple of semesters. So they have some flexibility in, in that regard. And there's a reasonable support from the institution. Right. I think that's a big issue that the, the campus and you know, and uh, as I said to a large extent, the, you know, people's research advisors have really provided a lot of at least moral support for this. And so it, it really makes graduate students almost ideal.Speaker 4: I think what relates is said about, you know, shattering these stereotypes is also has been a really interesting sort of eye opener for me. [00:16:00] It really is true that these kids have a very different stereotype about what scientists are from what they see coming into the classrooms and having people who they see almost as kind of corresponding to s you know, to a big sister or cousin or you know, somebody that, you know, they really can relate to I think has had a big effect. And then having people at, you know, sort of the student time of their lives when they're still young enough to be, to be seen as young people by the kids in the classrooms [00:16:30] as I think been an important facet of this. [inaudible]Speaker 1: [inaudible] you are listening to spectrum on k a l x Berkeley. We are talking with releases, got Nova Professor Bob Burg and Miriam Bowery about their work with community resources for science.Speaker 3: [00:17:00] How do you assess the impact your presentations have on students?Speaker 4: Um, no. You put your finger on one of the stickiest issues with respect to all of this kind of thing with respect to education in general, which is not only how do you find out if it works, but how do you define what works? And you know, whether something works and what doesn't, [00:17:30] I think when all of us like to do in the most perfect world is, is actually track the people who experience these presentations and see what difference it makes in their lives. Okay. So this is a big deal, right? Because if you know anything about research in general and educational research, it's not enough to just track the people who have had this experience. You've got to have a control group of people who haven't had the experience, right? And then you've got to track two groups. [00:18:00] And you know, in some ways it's, it's like having a drug that's really effective.Speaker 4: There's a real moral question as to whether it's okay to keep a control group that isn't, doesn't have access to this stuff. Right? But assuming you can do that, um, it would require way more resources than we have to track people, let's say to the point where they've applied to college, right? Or even to the point where they've gone through college to see how successful they've been once they've been in that environment. What we hope and what we sort of believe [00:18:30] deep in our hearts completely intuitively is that people who have these experiences will do better later in their educational lives. But proving that in a scientifically respectable way is a major undertaking and it's one that we really don't have resources for by any means right now. So, you know, we're pretty much working under the, the faith I guess that exposing people to this sort of thing will really make them [00:19:00] more interested in science.Speaker 4: So we really believe quite strongly that a, a major impact of this is not just, you know, generating people who, who might turn out to be scientists. Although we certainly hope that would be one of the things that that happens. But we'd really like to educate the general public on scientific issues, how science is done and why it's exciting and the meaning of many scientific investigations is, and we hope that by catching people catching, you know, kids early [00:19:30] and doing this, uh, really will have a lasting effect. The best we can do is get feedback from the people involved in the program and see whether they like it. And if they like it and they feel it's been successful and there you are at the point at which they're experiencing these presentations, if if they're excited about what we're doing. That's what we're going with.Speaker 5: This is the great thing about community resources for science. There is a staff there who are experts in science education, [00:20:00] so I sent my lesson plan draft to Heidi Williamson who coordinates the basis program and she read it. She gave me a long email with lots of suggestions of various levels of detail and I worked them in and I continued to develop as now my team members are giving me feedback and so are the teachers. So the lessons really do get improved over time from that first draft. It's not, it's not just any graduate student can make something up and go in and help the kids [00:20:30] learn something. There really is some accountability [inaudible]Speaker 4: are there any interesting stories that any of you have that you want to share about classroom experiences with with the program?Speaker 5: My favorite moments in there are when kids really put stuff together. So when they hear what we've told them and they make their observations and then they just come up with something good at their own theory for why a water job looks different from an [00:21:00] oil drop and it really makes sense or why you can get a piece of pencil lead to float on water if it's horizontal but not vertical. And when they can explain that themselves after making the observations, it's just, it's incredibly high ventilation rates if you're not right under the dots, but they actually aren't accomplishing anything in terms of air quality. So that's my plug, I guess, for people to pay attention and think about their environment. Sam Bergeson, thanks [00:21:30] for being on spectrum. Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.Speaker 1: [inaudible]Speaker 2: did you see an example of data visualization? Check out the official campus dashboard at the website. My power.berkeley.eduSpeaker 1: [inaudible]Speaker 2: [00:22:00] irregular feature of spectrum is dimension. A few of the science and technology events happening locally over the next few weeks. Rick Karnofsky and Lisa cabbage with the calendarSpeaker 6: on Saturday, December 1st wonderfest is putting on a special event called end of days. Does Hollywood get doomsday? Right? Planetary Scientists, Chris McKay will discuss this topic as he introduces a special screening of seeking a friend for the end of the world. [00:22:30] Starting Steve Grill and Karen Knightley popcorn is free and a no host drink and candy bar. We'll be there. Tickets are tax deductible and benefit wonderfest and variety children's charity of northern California. They must be purchased in advance for $25 visit wonderfest.org for more info. The annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union is the first week of December at the Moscone Center. Each year they have a public lecture that is [00:23:00] free and open to the public. This year that talk is on Sunday, December 2nd from noon to one and Moscone South Room One oh two lead scientists for the Mars exploration program. Michael Meyer program scientists for the Mars Science Laboratory. John Groton, seeing and participating in scientists on the Mars Science Laboratory. Rebecca Williams, well discuss curiosity driven Mars exploration. Curiosity is the most sophisticated explorer ever sent to another [00:23:30] planet and the trio. We'll talk about its latest activities. A full sized inflatable model of the rover and hands on activities for families will follow the lecture. For more information, visit agu.orgSpeaker 7: on Tuesday, December 4th at 7:00 PM at the California Academy of Science and Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Mary Ellen Hannibal. We'll present the Pritzker lecture, the spine of the continent, her book about one of the single most [00:24:00] ambitious conservation efforts ever undertaken to create linked, protected areas extending from the Yukon to Mexico, the entire length of North America. This movement is the brainchild of Michael Sule, the founder of conservation biology. EO Wilson calls it the most important conservation initiative in the world today. In this fascinating presentation, Mary-Ellen Hannibal takes us on a tour of her travels down the length of the North American spine, sharing stories and anecdotes about [00:24:30] the passionate, idiosyncratic people she meets along the way and the species they love. Reservations are required and seating is limited. Go to the California Academy of Science website for tickets.Speaker 6: Now three new stories, and I'm joined by Rick Kaneski and Lisa cabbage. The November 29th issue of nature has an article discussing a massive black hole in the tiny galaxy, n g c one two seven seven one of the galaxies in the cluster that is [00:25:00] the constellation Perseus to the best of our astronomical knowledge. Almost every galaxy should contain in its central region what is called a supermassive black hole. Past studies have shown that the mass of the black coal typically accounts for about a 10th of a percent of the massive its home galaxy that Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. In Heidelberg. Researchers know that the black hole has a mass equivalent of 17 billion suns, that the galaxy [00:25:30] is only a quarter of the milky ways diameter. These observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Hobby Eberly telescope show that the black hole accounts for almost 14% of the galaxies mass past spectrum guests. Nicholas McConnell published a paper last year that holds the current record for the largest black hole, which is between six and 37 billion solar masses. So the black hole in NGC one to seven seven may or may [00:26:00] not top this record.Speaker 7: The journal Nature Geoscience reports this week that the shells of marine snails known as terra pods living in the seas around Antarctica are being dissolved by ocean acidification. These tiny animals are a valuable food source for fish and birds and play an important role in the oceanic carbon cycle. During a science cruise in 2008 researchers from British Antarctic survey and the University of East Anglia in collaboration with colleagues from the [00:26:30] u s would tell oceanographic institution and Noah discovered severe dissolution of the shells of living terra pods in southern ocean waters. The team examined an area of upwelling where winds cause cold water to be pushed upwards from the deep to the surface of the ocean up well, water is usually more corrosive to a particular type of calcium carbonate or arrogant night that terra pods use to build their shells. The team found that as a result of the additional influence of ocean acidification, [00:27:00] this corrosive water severely dissolve the shells of terror pods, coauthor and science cruise leader.Speaker 7: Dr Geraint Tarling says as one of only a few oceanic creatures that build their shells out of air gunnite in the polar regions. Terror pods are an important food source for fish and birds as well as a good indicator of ecosystem health. The tiny snails do not necessarily die as a result of their shells dissolving. However, it may increase their vulnerability to predation and infection. Consequently having an [00:27:30] impact to other parts of the food web. Ocean acidification is caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere emitted admitted as a result of fossil fuel burning. The finding supports predictions that the impact of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and food webs may be significantSpeaker 2: science daily reports that dozens of climate scientists have reconciled their measurements of ice sheet changes in Antarctica and Greenland over the past two decades. [00:28:00] The results published November 29th in the journal Science roughly have the uncertainty and discard some conflicting observations. The effort led by Andrew Shepherd at the University of Leeds in the UK reconciles three existing ways to measure losses. The first method takes an accounting approach. Combining climate models and observations to tally up the gain or loss to other methods. Use special satellites to precisely measure the height and gravitational pull [00:28:30] of the ice sheets to calculate how much ice is present. Each method has strengths and weaknesses. Until now, scientists using each method released estimates independent from the others. This is the first time they have all compared their methods for the same times and locations. Understanding ice sheets is central to modeling global climate and predicting sea level rise. Even tiny changes to sea level when added over an entire ocean can have substantial [00:29:00] effects on storm surges and flooding and coastal and island communities.Speaker 8: The music heard during the show is by Stan David from his album, folk and acoustic made available by a creative Commons license 3.0 for attribution.Speaker 9: Thank you for listening to spectrum. If you have comments about the show, please [00:29:30] send them to us via email. Our email address is spectrum dot k a l x@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the "father of biodiversity," two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and guru of myrmecology (the study of ants), E. O. Wilson has been an inspiration to young scientists around the globe. Wilson discusses his life, his career, and his hope for the future of our living world.

This podcast introduces the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences, which organizes events and exhibitions for the public that explore the relationships among culture and the sciences, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about one of their upcoming events, the Visual Culture and Evolution Online Symposium, which brings together scientists, artists, and a number of other experts to reflect on the ways in which the idea of evolution has impacted visual culture, and vice versa.

We discuss the advantages of literary brevity, contemplate the use of vindaloo curry as a weapon and find out what happens when celebrity footballers accidentally stumble into book launches. Plus new lab lit fiction from novelist Ian McEwan, and scientists Rajendra Pachauri and EO Wilson. Join Jenny and Richard in London for these stories and more from the world of science in art, literature and popular culture!

Dr. Biology continues his conversation with biologist Ed Wilson. Just what does it take to be a great scientist? What would he do to encourage students to become scientists? These are just a few of the things we learn in this show as well as what Ed Wilson would do or be if he were not a biologist. Some of the answers might surprise you.

Dr. Biology sits down with biologist E. O. Wilson to talk about science, his writing including his book, Superorganism, and future new novel, as well as his art. Along the way they discuss the Encyclopedia of Life web project and a very cool outdoor activity called a "Bioblitz."

In this episode, Harvard naturalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author EO Wilson talks about Linnaeus and the continuing effort to classify life on earth. From a talk given at the New York Botanical Garden on November 8th. Websites mentioned on this episode include: www.nybg.org; tinyurl.com/2botqy; eol.org

Dedicating his life to the exploration of life on Earth, E.O. Wilson is one of the world's foremost authorities on biology. Bill Moyers Journal profiles the author of 25 Books and recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, who speaks about what humankind needs to understand about the Earth to heal it and about his latest project The Encyclopedia of life - a digital, online catalog of every single living species on the planet. And, Bill Moyers Journal updates a report on the non-profit group, the Earth Conservation Corps (ECC), composed of young adults from the banks of the Anacostia River - an area of environmental disaster and a home for violence. There in the shadow of the Capitol, the ECC works to reclaim a dying neighborhood by providing leadership tools to disadvantaged youth while cleaning up the environment.

In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist and writer E.O. Wilson talks to award-winning journalist John Horgan about the Encyclopedia of Life project and finding common ground between science and religion. And Horgan, the Director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, talks about his research into whether war might someday become a thing of the past. Plus we'll test your knowedge of some recent science in the news. Websites mentioned on this episode include www.eol.org; bloggingheads.tv; www.cfa.harvard.edu/~tcox/localgroup; arxiv.org/abs/0705.1170

In this episode, the special guest is renowned biologist and author Edward O. Wilson. First we'll hear clips from a talk he gave last week at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, in conjunction with the publication of his new book, Nature Revealed: Selected Writings 1949-2006. Then Scientific American podcast host Steve Mirsky talks to Wilson about a few specifics in biology and conservation. Plus, we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news. Organizations and websites mentioned on this podcast include the American Museum of Natural History, www.amnh.org; and the Scientific American Digital Archive, www.sciamdigital.com.

David Elikwu speaks with Bob Gower, an author, speaker, and consultant, who cares deeply about creating organizations that are a net positive for the world.Bob Gower assists leaders in aligning their teams on all levels in order to achieve optimal performance.He is the author of two books, Agile Business: A Leader's Guide to Harnessing Complexity and Radical Alignment: How to Have Game-Changing Conversations to Transform Your Business and Life, as well as a former contributor to the Huffington Post and Inc.Full transcript:www.theknowledge.io/bob-gower/