Podcast appearances and mentions of mark moffett

Summary: How do colonies of ants live in trees? Find out in this episode about arboreal ants.   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes:  “Adventures Among Ants” by Mark W. Moffett Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops)   Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I'm Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. We are rounding the bend with the ants series and there is no better way to do that than to take to the sky. The title of this episode is Arboreal Ants. There are ants that live in trees and never touch terrestrial earth their entire lives. You thought the Leafcutter ants were amazing, well hold on to your hat because the seventh thing I like about ants is the colonies that live in the trees. Arboreal ants, which are ants that live in trees, are found on many different continents and there is more than one species, but we are going to focus on one species in particular so we can really see their amazing qualities in detail. We're spending some time with the Weaver ants of Africa, Oecophylla longinoda. Now living in a tree for an ant is no small feat, so how do they do it? Terrestrial ants dig into the dirt and create many chambered nests. It's kind of difficult to dig into  a tree, so where are arboreal ants living? Weaver ant nests are most common in the outer, uppermost branches of trees where the sun light is bright. Here, the ants will bind adjacent healthy leaves together to create a treetop tent. The size of each nest will vary but is often between the size of baseball or a volleyball. They are as light as an inflated ballon and can withstand wind, rain, and enemy invasions. To begin building a nest, a worker ant will pull the edge of a leaf toward the edge of another leaf. If her bending is successful other workers will come to her aide.  Now weaver ants get their name from the next step. To keep the leaves together they employ their larvae. If you're think, “What?” I hear ya! The larvae are picked up by workers and taken to the edge of the leaf connection. The workers tap the larvae on the leaf to encourage the larvae to release silk. Yes, the larvae of many species of ants create silk. The Weaver ants use this silk to secure the leaves together. The motion of shuttling the larvae back and forth to connect the leaves with the silk is where the weaving comes in. The nests may last for years because when one leaf dies the ants will just weave in another living one.  The nests are larger enough to house thousands of ants, but the weaver ants don't have just one nest in the tree. They travel all over the tree that they call home, so they often build other trees  op tents so they can maximize their resources. They don't stick to one central nest, they have the ability to move around when they need to. One territory can have multiple nests. The queen is often in a nest that is the most centralized to the territory, but her eggs are distributed throughout all the nests. With all of these spread out workers, Weaver ants have to have an excellent communication strategy. And boy, do they! Earlier we learned that pheromones are integral to ant communication. It's the same with weaver ants, but they have a specialized gland that helps the pheromones that they use to create their paths last longer than terrestrial ants. They have an anal gland that helps them make their poop a bit more than just poop. To keep their pathways from wearing away too quickly, weaver ants use their feces to create longterm smell paths. The droplets of worker excrement hardens into a shellac like substance that can last for months.  This form of communication also allows these ants to do something most other ants do not, defend a specific territory. Weaver ants are known to defend  their treetop territories from other ants they encounter. With the pheromone lines drawn already it gives them an advantage in skirmishes. Their scent is already laid down. If a weaver ant encounters an enemy worker, she will race back to more familiar territory to recruit help. She does this by mimicking fighting motions and other workers will follow her prepared for battle. So what do weaver ants eat? This species of ant is omnivorous. They eat both meat and veggies. One of the coolest things they target is nectaries created by trees. These are spots on the leaves of trees that seep nectar. This isn't like the sap that leaks from the tree's bark, this is like the nectar that a flower produces. When they find a nectary, the weaver ants will built a tent around it to hide it from other animals that might be interested in this pot of gold as well.  Weaver ants do eat meat in the form of other insects, Mark Moffett retells an experience he had in Cambodia as he watched some local Oecophylla drag a 5 cm long scorpion up a tree to pull it apart, as well as other meat items such as birds, bats, and other ants. The protein is eaten mainly by the larvae while adults typically consume sap and nectar. Does the tree benefit from the ants in residence or are they detrimental? This is a question that ecologists try to answer through cost/benefit analysis. Some benefits to the tree are weaver ants culling leaf eating insects before they can defoliate the tree. Foliage lasts longer in areas where the weaver ants live. The ants also provide a bit of fertilizer to the tree as well by pooping on the leaves. Trees can absorb some nutrients through their leaves. On the cost side, some of the leaves the weaver ants use to create their nests are permanently lost, but considering the small percentage of leave the ants use, I think the benefits outweigh the costs.  I hope this quick foray into the treetops with these arboreal ants was worth it, because treetop living ants is my seventh favorite thing about ants. If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.    (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

Summary? Can ants be farmers? Join Kiersten to find out!   For my hearing impaired followers, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean   Show Notes: “Tales from the Ant World” by Edward O. Wilson “Adventures Among Ants” by Mark W. Moffett Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops)   Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I'm Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. Can ants be farmers? In this episode we are going to find out. The sixth thing I like about ants is their farming abilities. You may have heard of leafcutter ants. These are ants that cut leaves and carry them back to their colony. They are often highlighted in nature television programs. It's mesmerizing and charming watching a line of ants traveling with various sizes of leaf pieces held above their heads. Leafcutters will fall into one of two genera: Acromyrmex and Atta. There are 39 species that we currently know of and they are all found in the New World. Atta are most prevalent in the tropics of South America but there are two species that can be found in North America, one in Texas and Louisiana and one in Arizona.  Leafcutter ant nests can extend 7 meters, or 22 feet, into the earth and contain eight thousand chambers. The largest chamber is typically the ant waste chamber which is buried as far down as they can make it. The title of this episode is farmers so how does that relate to our leafcutter ants? Well, leafcutter ants are farmers. I used to think that they cut those little pieces of leaves to eat themselves, but that is not what they are doing. They take the leaves back to their nest where they feed it to fungus. They tend the fungus like farmers and then they eat the fungus, or rather the larvae eat the fungus. So I guess every leaf cutter ant eats the fungus at some point in their life.  The adult workers ants eat the sap from the leaf fragments that they cut. This is what energizes them to process the leaves. The leaves have to be mulched first before it is fed to the fungus. The fungus will grow and grow and grow in the leafcutter nest. It will fill up the majority of the chambers with a lightweight spongy structure that kind of looks like a human brain and is called a fungus garden. The ants tend the fungus by adding new leaves to the top and sides while they removed the older bottom portions.  It is unusual that ants are completely dependent on vegetation, but leafcutter ants are. The fungus is actually high in protein and that helps the larvae grow big and strong.   The largest nest that Mark Moffett ever came across during his studies was in the Kaw Mountains of French Guiana. The above ground soil mounds were chest high and ranged over a 14 meter wide area. It ranged over about 160 square meters in total. If we compared this to a human made structure, it would be bigger than the Empire State Building in New York City. This nest probably housed millions of workers.  A nest of this size can require an excavation of 40 tons of soil. It must house the queen, the brood, and the workers but even with millions of ants it's the fungus gardens that take up most of the real estate. The ant population can weigh up to 15 to 20 kilograms and utilize 280 kilograms of leaves. That's enough plant matter to blanket a soccer field. Now, this is a lot of living things inside an enclosed space, so it gets hot and humid. To combat increasing heat and humidity which slows down fungal growth, the ants have installed air conditioning ducts. The long tunnels that open above ground are placed strategically around the nest to release humidity and heat. If it get too cold, the tunnels will be closed off.  The only reason leafcutter ant nests can support millions of workers is because they are farmers. Just like humans, farming allows the ants to support a larger population by creating their own resources. These ants use incredibly advanced farming techniques. Humans will use various farming equipment to produce large quantities of crops, but for leafcutter ants its all hands on deck. The ants within this species are highly polymorphic, meaning sizes between workers vary greatly depending on your job. The largest soldier ant is 200 times bigger than that of a small worker. These colonies are run like assembly lines of self-directed individuals. Many steps are managed by ants in a variety of sizes. Mid-size workers cut the foliage, carry it into the nest, and deposit it onto the garden surface. Smaller ants with 1.6 millimeter wide heads take the next step which is shredding the greens into scraps.The next step is accomplished by even smaller ants who chew up the scraps into moist pulp. Still smaller ants will insert the pulp into the gardens. Then ants with 1 mm sized heads will lick the pulp and seed it with tufts of fungus from established fungal gardens. This is just like a human horticulturist using cuttings from a vine to establish a new crop! The smallest workers with a head width of 0.8mm remove contaminants from the gardens such as bacteria, yeast and spores.  Just like any good farmer, the ants use fertilizer to help their gardens grow. They don't have to go far to get the fertilizer, they just poop on the leaves. The ammonia and amino acids in the feces helps breakdown the leaves and encourages growth.  To retrieve the plant matter that grows the fungal gardens, leaf cutter ants will maintain almost permanent trails. Other species of ants trails vary depending on where they can find resources, but leafcutter ants are loyal to their grocery stores. Another caste of ants larger than the workers we have already discussed but smaller than soldiers that defend the nest are the maintenance crew for the paths. They will dismantle anything that gets in their way. They haul off debris that they can heft and chew through things they can't. They widen and smooth out the path until traffic is flowing again. They can do this quickly as they are present on the paths at all times! Boy, don't we all wish our highways were that well maintained! There is still one more layer to these superhighways. Worker ants that are smaller than the ladies hauling the leaf parts home will scamper about under the plant carriers and reinforce the pheromone trails. As we discussed before, these pheromone trail are super important for ant communication.  With all of these layers of responsibility, levels of workers, and intricate cooperation, some believe that leaf cutter ants are the gold standard of superorganisms. Quoting from Edward Wilson's book, Tales from the Ant World, “So well-marked and powerful is the division of labor among members of a leaf colony that individual colonies can be reasonably called a superorganism.” The definition of a superorganism is an organized society that functions as an organic whole. Leafcutter ants must have every layer of worker functioning correctly to survive, any deviation and the whole organism dies.  Edward Wilson goes on to say, “The leafcutters are superorganisms that succeed under natural conditions.” I think we have established that ants can be farmers and very successful farmers at that! Thanks for joining me for episode six because my sixth favorite thing about ants is their ability to farm.  If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.  Join me next week for another exciting episode about ants.        (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, my very own piano playing hero.

Mark Moffett is an explorer, naturalist, and photographer who has traveled to more than a hundred countries to document new species in extremely remote places. He takes a special interest in insect societies, especially ants. Affectionately known as Dr. Bugs, Mark has published extensively in outlets like National Geographic and been a frequent guest on TV and Radio, including Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, and RadioLab. Mark has also authored several popular books, including The Human Swarm, which explores what insect societies have in common with primates and humans. Mark joins the podcast to discuss insect and animal societies and how they relate to humans.  "How can we build resilient communities amid myriad risks?" A study on cooperation sheds light on how we can use cooperation to address unavoidable risks. Read Cooperation—The Ancient Technology That Never Goes Obsolete. Join our growing community of 200,000+ listeners and be notified of new episodes of Templeton Ideas. Subscribe today.  Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. 

From a suburban sidewalk in southern California, Jad and Robert witness the carnage of a gruesome turf war. Though the tiny warriors doing battle clock in at just a fraction of an inch, they have evolved a surprising, successful, and rather unsettling strategy of ironclad loyalty, absolute intolerance, and brutal violence.David Holway, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist from UC San Diego, takes us to a driveway in Escondido, California where a grisly battle rages. In this quiet suburban spot, two groups of ants are putting on a chilling display of dismemberment and death. According to David, this battle line marks the edge of an enormous super-colony of Argentine ants. Think of that anthill in your backyard, and stretch it out across five continents.Argentine ants are not good neighbors. When they meet ants from another colony, any other colony, they fight to the death, and tear the other ants to pieces. While other kinds of ants sometimes take slaves or even have sex with ants from different colonies, the Argentine ants don't fool around. If you're not part of the colony, you're dead.According to evolutionary biologist Neil Tsutsui and ecologist Mark Moffett, the flood plains of northern Argentina offer a clue as to how these ants came to dominate the planet. Because of the frequent flooding, the homeland of Linepithema humile is basically a bootcamp for badass ants. One day, a couple ants from one of these families of Argentine ants made their way onto a boat and landed in New Orleans in the late 1800s. Over the last century, these Argentine ants wreaked havoc across the southern U.S. and a significant chunk of coastal California.In fact, Melissa Thomas, an Australian entomologist, reveals that these Argentine ants are even more well-heeled than we expected - they've made to every continent except Antarctica. No matter how many thousands of miles separate individual ants, when researchers place two of them together - whether they're plucked from Australia, Japan, Hawaii ... even Easter Island - they recognize each other as belonging to the same super-colony.But the really mind-blowing thing about these little guys is the surprising success of their us-versus-them death-dealing. Jad and Robert wrestle with what to make of this ant regime, whether it will last, and what, if anything, it might mean for other warlike organisms with global ambitions.We have some exciting news! In this “Zoozve” episode, Radiolab named its first-ever quasi-moon, and now it's your turn! Radiolab has teamed up with @The International Astronomical Union to launch a global naming contest for one of Earth's quasi-moons. This is your chance to make your mark on the heavens. Submit your name ideas now through September, or vote on your favorites starting in November: https://radiolab.org/moonSign up for our newsletter. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter, and, Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab's science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The most complex organizations in the living world beside those of humans are the colonies of ants. Mark Moffett will argue that points of comparison between sharply different organisms like ants and humans are exceptionally valuable to science, and indeed that modern humans are in many ways much more like certain ants than we are to our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees. He considers such issues as the role of individuality and group identity in ant societies; the advantages to ants of flat organizations without leaders or hierarchies; and what we can learn from ants with respect to direct and indirect communication, self-organization, job specialization, labor coordination, and global domination. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39272]

The most complex organizations in the living world beside those of humans are the colonies of ants. Mark Moffett will argue that points of comparison between sharply different organisms like ants and humans are exceptionally valuable to science, and indeed that modern humans are in many ways much more like certain ants than we are to our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees. He considers such issues as the role of individuality and group identity in ant societies; the advantages to ants of flat organizations without leaders or hierarchies; and what we can learn from ants with respect to direct and indirect communication, self-organization, job specialization, labor coordination, and global domination. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39272]

The most complex organizations in the living world beside those of humans are the colonies of ants. Mark Moffett will argue that points of comparison between sharply different organisms like ants and humans are exceptionally valuable to science, and indeed that modern humans are in many ways much more like certain ants than we are to our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees. He considers such issues as the role of individuality and group identity in ant societies; the advantages to ants of flat organizations without leaders or hierarchies; and what we can learn from ants with respect to direct and indirect communication, self-organization, job specialization, labor coordination, and global domination. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39272]

The most complex organizations in the living world beside those of humans are the colonies of ants. Mark Moffett will argue that points of comparison between sharply different organisms like ants and humans are exceptionally valuable to science, and indeed that modern humans are in many ways much more like certain ants than we are to our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees. He considers such issues as the role of individuality and group identity in ant societies; the advantages to ants of flat organizations without leaders or hierarchies; and what we can learn from ants with respect to direct and indirect communication, self-organization, job specialization, labor coordination, and global domination. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39272]

The most complex organizations in the living world beside those of humans are the colonies of ants. Mark Moffett will argue that points of comparison between sharply different organisms like ants and humans are exceptionally valuable to science, and indeed that modern humans are in many ways much more like certain ants than we are to our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees. He considers such issues as the role of individuality and group identity in ant societies; the advantages to ants of flat organizations without leaders or hierarchies; and what we can learn from ants with respect to direct and indirect communication, self-organization, job specialization, labor coordination, and global domination. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39272]

The most complex organizations in the living world beside those of humans are the colonies of ants. Mark Moffett will argue that points of comparison between sharply different organisms like ants and humans are exceptionally valuable to science, and indeed that modern humans are in many ways much more like certain ants than we are to our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees. He considers such issues as the role of individuality and group identity in ant societies; the advantages to ants of flat organizations without leaders or hierarchies; and what we can learn from ants with respect to direct and indirect communication, self-organization, job specialization, labor coordination, and global domination. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39272]

The most complex organizations in the living world beside those of humans are the colonies of ants. Mark Moffett will argue that points of comparison between sharply different organisms like ants and humans are exceptionally valuable to science, and indeed that modern humans are in many ways much more like certain ants than we are to our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees. He considers such issues as the role of individuality and group identity in ant societies; the advantages to ants of flat organizations without leaders or hierarchies; and what we can learn from ants with respect to direct and indirect communication, self-organization, job specialization, labor coordination, and global domination. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39272]

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Marine Corps LtCol Dennis Katolin, who is the Commanding Officer of Marine Wing Communications Squadron 28 (MWCS-28), discusses his squadron's Standard Operating Procedures for Information Maneuver. Our wide ranging conversation covers emerging talent and integration requirements, communications-related contributions to the outcomes of the information warfighting function, and early lessons learned related to the Ukraine War. Research Question: Dennis Katolin suggests an interested student; Power projection, cultural paradigms, and legal shifts that inhibit full appreciation and adaptation into the information space. Analogous to the cultural shift in the military at the dawning of flight. Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #38 Lori Reynolds on Operations in the Information Environment #95 LtGen Matthew Glavy on MCDP 8 Information #132 Brian Russell on OIE Truths #59 Mark Moffett on Societies, Identity, and Belonging LtCol Dennis Katolin The Nature of Information - Information is instantaneous by LtCol Dennis W. Katolin Information Defined – A Whole of Force Approach by LtCol Dennis W. Katolin Military Ethics by Dennis Katolin Link to full show notes and resources https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-152 Guest Bio:  Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Katolin is the Commanding Officer of Marine Wing Control Squadron 28 (MWCS-28). Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Katolin graduated from Truman State University in 2002 and was commissioned that same year. Lieutenant Colonel Katolin reported to The Basic School in January 2003, and upon completion, attended the Communications and Information Systems Officer Course, graduating in 2003. In January 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin moved to MCAGCC 29 Palms and reported to 3rd LAR Battalion to serve as the S-6A until May 2004. He then became the S-6 for 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and was the Communications Platoon Commander. In September, 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin deployed with 1/7 to Al Qaim, Iraq (along the Iraq/Syrian border) and again in 2006. After returning from Iraq in October of 2006, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin executed orders to Second Fleet Command in Norfolk, Virginia to serve as the Marine C4 Officer on the N-6 staff.  He was also designated as the Joint C4 planner as Second Fleet was becoming a Joint Task Force (JTF SOUTH) for SOUTHCOM. In the summer of 2009, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin reported to EWS and later attended the Advanced Communication Officers Course (ACOC) 2010. After EWS, he reported to 9th Communication Battalion where he assumed command of C Company and, in May, 2011, became the Commanding Officer of B Company which deployed to Afghanistan and facilitated communications for the I MEF (FWD) CE for RC(SW). Upon returning from Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin reported to I MEF G-6 as the Assistant Operations Officer, where he was the primary C4 planner for I MEB and supported Pacific Horizon 2012, Dawn Blitz 13.1 and 13.2, coordinating with the MEF staff as well as ESG-3. After serving on the MEB staff, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin received orders to serve as a Faculty Advisor at Expeditionary Warfare School from 2013 to 2016. He was the course director for the MCMAP program, ethics, amphibious C4, and Communications Occupational Field Exercise modules of instruction. He received the Elihu Rose Award for teaching excellence in 2016. In 2016, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin was assigned to 9th Communication Battalion and served as the Operations Officer. He planned 5 Battalion level exercises in support of the I MEF Commanding General and also provided C4 detachments for MEB level exercises Pacific Horizons, Dawn Blitz, and Native Fury. He planned the reorganization of the Battalion in accordance with HQMC's Force Modernization 2025 as well as established the first Defensive Cyber Operations cadre organic to I MEF.  In 2018-2019, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin attended the School of Advanced Warfighting. His last assignment was as the MAGTF Planner assigned to the Plans and Strategy Division for the Deputy Commandant for Information. Lieutenant Colonel Katolin is a 3rd Degree Black Belt Martial Arts Instructor Trainer in MCMAP and was a winner of the Commandant's Innovation Challenge in 2017 for writing a proposed doctrinal publication on ethics.  Lieutenant Colonel Katolin's personal decorations include the Meritorious Services Medal w/gold star, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal w/gold star, and the Combat Action Ribbon. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

- What if I told you that the brain-infecting fungus in The Last of Us TV show was inspired by a very real thing? Insect expert, Dr. Mark Moffett, a.k.a Dr. Bug, tells us more about the cordyceps fungus, how it transforms ants into zombies, and why it probably won't infect humans. Probably. - Is Russia striking out in response to western aid for Ukraine? Lawyer and Democracy advocate Stepan Berko joins us from Kyiv and gives us the latest from the war and how Ukrainians are holding up against a renewed Russian offensive, and what day-to-day life looks like in Kyiv. - RUOK with selfies, how about chicken wings? HEY, DO YOU LIKE PODCASTS? Why not subscribe to ours? find it on Apple, Google, Spotify & Tune In

What makes us human?  Over the last several decades, the once-vast island of human exceptionalism has lost significant ground to wave upon wave of research revealing cognition, emotion, problem-solving, and tool-use in other organisms. But there remains a clear sense that humans stand apart — evidenced by our unique capacity to overrun the planet and remake it in our image. What is unique about the human mind, and how might we engage this question rigorously through the lens of neuroscience? How are our gifts of simulation and imagination different from those of other animals? And what, if anything, can we know of the “curiosity” of even larger systems in which we're embedded — the social superorganisms, ecosystems, technospheres within which we exist like neurons in the brain?Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I'm your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we'll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week we conclude a two-part conversation with SFI External Professor John Krakauer, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Center for the Study of Motor Learning and Brain Repair at Johns Hopkins. In this episode, we talk about the nature of curiosity and learning, and whether the difference between the cognitive capacities and inner lifeworld of humans and other animals constitutes a matter of degree or one of kind…Be sure to check out our extensive show notes with links to all our references at complexity.simplecast.com  . If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe, rate and review us at Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and consider making a donation — or finding other ways to engage with us — at santafe.edu/engage. Please also note that we are now accepting applications for an open postdoc fellowship, next summer's undergraduate research program, and the next cohort of Complexity Explorer's course in the digital humanities. We welcome your submissions!Lastly, for more from John Krakauer, check out our new six-minute time-lapse of notes from the 2022 InterPlanetary Festival panel discussions on intelligence and the limits to human performance in space…Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInReferenced in this episode:Prospective Learning: Back to the Futureby The Future Learning Collective (Joshua Vogelstein, et al.)The Learning Salon: Toward a new participatory scienceby Ida Momennejad, John Krakauer, Claire Sun, Eva Yezerets, Kanaka Rajan, Joshua Vogelstein, Brad WybleArtificial Intelligence Hits the Barrier of Meaningby Melanie Mitchell at The New York TimesEconomic Possibilities for our Grandchildrenby John Maynard KeynesThe Intelligent Life of the City Raccoonby Jude Isabella at Nautilus MagazineThe maintenance of vocal learning by gene-culture interaction: the cultural trap hypothesisby R. F. Lachlan and P. J. B. SlaterMindscape Podcast 87 - Karl Friston on Brains, Predictions, and Free Energyby Sean CarrollThe Apportionment of Human Diversityby Richard LewontinFrom Extraterrestrials to Animal Minds: Six Myths of Evolutionby Simon Conway MorrisI Am a Strange Loopby Douglas HoftstadterCoarse-graining as a downward causation mechanismby Jessica FlackDaniel DennettSusan BlackmoreRelated Episodes:Complexity 9 - Mirta Galesic on Social Learning & Decision-makingComplexity 12 - Matthew Jackson on Social & Economic NetworksComplexity 21 - Melanie Mitchell on Artificial Intelligence: What We Still Don't KnowComplexity 31 - Embracing Complexity for Systemic Interventions with David Krakauer (Transmission Series Ep. 5)Complexity 52 - Mark Moffett on Canopy Biology & The Human SwarmComplexity 55 - James Evans on Social Computing and Diversity by DesignComplexity 87 - Sara Walker on The Physics of Life and Planet-Scale IntelligenceComplexity 90 - Caleb Scharf on The Ascent of Information: Life in The Human DataomeComplexity 95 - John Krakauer Part 1: Taking Multiple Perspectives on The Brain

When trying to figure out how to understand humans, we tend to look to our nearest neighbors: bonobos, chimps, and monkeys. But our guest Mark Moffett believes that in many ways, we're unlike chimps and more aligned with social insects like wasps and ants. Mark Moffett is known for documenting new species and behaviors during his exploration of remote places in more than a hundred countries.  He is a high school dropout who began doing research in biology in college and went on to complete a PhD at Harvard, studying under the poet-laureate of conservation, Edward O. Wilson. He is now a research associate at the Smithsonian Institute and an author of books like “The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Hardcover” and “Adventures Among Ants.”Mark & Greg discuss the complexity of ant societies, kin selection, the speciation of accents and the pros and cons of war for a society. Episode Quotes:What's the commonality between humans and ants?14:16 - I came upon this idea when I realized that ants and humans, despite being virtually alien species to each other, have this commonality. Ants use, what is equivalent to their national flag, which is a scent on their body surface and all the ants and the colony have that scent. And as long as you have that scent, you're golden. If you don't, you are attacked, or if you're a colony, that's smaller, you run away. Humans use a lot more signaling, and that's a big part of social psychology, how this signaling works. Defining social networks12:49 - Social networks exclude a lot of people within societies and include those outside societies, and that's true in some other animals.You can save a lot of mental effort in societies by allowing strangers34:50 -  Chimpanzees and most species don't allow for strangers, and allowing for strangers was a big step in our evolution, even though it happened back in a point of time where our societies were quite small by modern standards, that was essential. When the opportunity came along for societies to grow, it had to be there already because you can add individuals to society at no cost, as long as they did the right things, behaved the right way, and so forth. We could be comfortable with societies that could grow to any size. And that's very unique to humans and a few ants. Show Links:Recommended Resources:E.O WilsonGuest Profile:Professional Profile at National Museum of Natural HistoryMark Moffett WebsiteMark Moffett on TwitterMark Moffett on Talks at GoogleMark Moffett's Interview on National GeographicHis Work:The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and FallAdventures among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of TrillionsFace to Face with Frogs (Face to Face with Animals)

In the fall of 2021, I finally got to leave my house and speak to a live audience at the http://pbaif.com/ (Pebble Beach Authors and Ideas Festival) in Monterey, California. After over a year of the pandemic, everyone was a little rusty with in-person interactions, except for one presenter—https://www.doctorbugs.com/ (Dr. Mark Moffett. ) Mark's presentation, his animated style, and fun demeanor captured the crowd that weekend in a way that no one else could. His description of the Southern California ant wars captivated the crowd, and put everyone, including me, who had been trapped in their houses for more than a year completely at ease. Informally known as “Dr. Bugs” and “the Indiana Jones of entomology,” Mark Moffett is biologist, writer, and globetrotter who has examined species' life and death from the forest floor to canopies. His research has brought him all over the world from Sri Lanka to Costa Rica to Easter Island. “Dr. Bugs” joined Clint to discuss his global expeditions, winding career path, and how we aren't so different from ants after all.

Greg Sukiennik, political reporter for Vermont News and Media, joins us to discuss local and regional headlines.   Podcast produced by GNAT-TV Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale is a state senator  and one of the candidates running for the U.S. Congress in the Democrat Party primary. We discuss several issues central to her candidacy. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett […]

We have a conversation with Kitty Toll, a former state representative who is running in the Democratic Party's primary for Lt. Governor. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

------------------Support the channel------------ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenter PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter PayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuy PayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9l PayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpz PayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9m PayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ------------------Follow me on--------------------- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDissenterYT This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. Mark W. Moffett is a tropical biologist and research associate at the Smithsonian and used to be a visiting scholar in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, which he used to write his book, The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall. In this episode, we focus on The Human Swarm. We go through topics like: what is a society; what makes humans successful; different types of hunter-gatherer societies; how societies scale up; markers of membership; how people think about societies; identities, and how they change over time; the lifecycle of societies, including how they end; war and peace across human history; transfers of membership, slavery and subjugation; immigration, and how citizenship is determined; and the necessity of societies. -- A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: KARIN LIETZCKE, ANN BLANCHETTE, PER HELGE LARSEN, LAU GUERREIRO, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, HERBERT GINTIS, RUTGER VOS, RICARDO VLADIMIRO, CRAIG HEALY, OLAF ALEX, PHILIP KURIAN, JONATHAN VISSER, JAKOB KLINKBY, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, PAULINA BARREN, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ARTHUR KOH, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, SUSAN PINKER, PABLO SANTURBANO, SIMON COLUMBUS, PHIL KAVANAGH, JORGE ESPINHA, CORY CLARK, MARK BLYTH, ROBERTO INGUANZO, MIKKEL STORMYR, ERIC NEURMANN, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, BERNARD HUGUENEY, ALEXANDER DANNBAUER, FERGAL CUSSEN, YEVHEN BODRENKO, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, DON ROSS, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, OZLEM BULUT, NATHAN NGUYEN, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, J.W., JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, IDAN SOLON, ROMAIN ROCH, DMITRY GRIGORYEV, TOM ROTH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, ADANER USMANI, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, AL ORTIZ, NELLEKE BAK, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, NICK GOLDEN, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, EDWARD HALL, HEDIN BRØNNER, DOUGLAS P. FRY, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, DENISE COOK, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, AND TRADERINNYC! A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, IAN GILLIGAN, LUIS CAYETANO, TOM VANEGDOM, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, VEGA GIDEY, THOMAS TRUMBLE, AND NUNO ELDER! AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MICHAL RUSIECKI, ROSEY, JAMES PRATT, MATTHEW LAVENDER, SERGIU CODREANU, AND BOGDAN KANIVETS!

Emma Cotton and Anne Wallace Allen, reporters for VTDigger and Seven Days, respectively, join us to discuss local and regional headlines.   Podcast produced by GNAT-TV Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Speakers Mark Moffett, Charles Kennel and Martin Rees discuss humanity's past, present and future of the Anthropocene. Moffett examines the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness. Kennel speaks about the connections between past and present human exploitation of the environment, the coming crisis of the Anthropocene and what we humans can do to alleviate the crisis. Rees explores potential utopian and dystopian futures for humans on Earth. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37934]

Speakers Mark Moffett, Charles Kennel and Martin Rees discuss humanity's past, present and future of the Anthropocene. Moffett examines the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness. Kennel speaks about the connections between past and present human exploitation of the environment, the coming crisis of the Anthropocene and what we humans can do to alleviate the crisis. Rees explores potential utopian and dystopian futures for humans on Earth. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37934]

Speakers Mark Moffett, Charles Kennel and Martin Rees discuss humanity's past, present and future of the Anthropocene. Moffett examines the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness. Kennel speaks about the connections between past and present human exploitation of the environment, the coming crisis of the Anthropocene and what we humans can do to alleviate the crisis. Rees explores potential utopian and dystopian futures for humans on Earth. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37934]

Speakers Mark Moffett, Charles Kennel and Martin Rees discuss humanity's past, present and future of the Anthropocene. Moffett examines the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness. Kennel speaks about the connections between past and present human exploitation of the environment, the coming crisis of the Anthropocene and what we humans can do to alleviate the crisis. Rees explores potential utopian and dystopian futures for humans on Earth. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37934]

Speakers Mark Moffett, Charles Kennel and Martin Rees discuss humanity's past, present and future of the Anthropocene. Moffett examines the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness. Kennel speaks about the connections between past and present human exploitation of the environment, the coming crisis of the Anthropocene and what we humans can do to alleviate the crisis. Rees explores potential utopian and dystopian futures for humans on Earth. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37934]

Speakers Mark Moffett, Charles Kennel and Martin Rees discuss humanity's past, present and future of the Anthropocene. Moffett examines the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness. Kennel speaks about the connections between past and present human exploitation of the environment, the coming crisis of the Anthropocene and what we humans can do to alleviate the crisis. Rees explores potential utopian and dystopian futures for humans on Earth. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37934]

Speakers Mark Moffett, Charles Kennel and Martin Rees discuss humanity's past, present and future of the Anthropocene. Moffett examines the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness. Kennel speaks about the connections between past and present human exploitation of the environment, the coming crisis of the Anthropocene and what we humans can do to alleviate the crisis. Rees explores potential utopian and dystopian futures for humans on Earth. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37934]

State Senator Brian Campion, and Representative Kathleen James, join us to discuss the moves being made to safeguard public dollars and improve education in Vermont. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

This talk considers the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37772]

This talk considers the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37772]

This talk considers the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37772]

This talk considers the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37772]

This talk considers the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37772]

This talk considers the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37772]

This talk considers the effects of the most aggressive ants on the environment, arguing that certain invasive species resemble humans in their capacity for global conquest and environmental destructiveness.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37772]

State Representatives, Kathleen James and Emilie Kornheiser discuss their work on the VT Weighting Study task force. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Edward Cameron, climate, human rights, and energy consultant, joins us to discuss COP 26, the state of the climate, and the cost of inaction. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Noah Komnick discusses his award-winning thought leadership and writings related to complexity and cybernetics. Before retiring from the Marine Corps, Noah received an “outside the box” innovation award from the Secretary of the Navy for his Reaction Control philosophy, which he implemented in the 2018 timeframe while commanding Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38. His present work and PhD research is about building defendable organizations for the "Age of Complexity.” Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #47 Bar-Yam on Complex Systems and the War on Ideals #59 Mark Moffett on Societies, Identity, and Belonging Reaction Control: Developing the Anti-fragile Warrior Reaction Control: A Self-Regulating Process to Improve a Sailor or Marine's Decision Making (2016 SECNAV Innovation Award in the Outside the Box category) Rise of the Neostrategist: A New Paradigm for the Age of Complexity by Noah Komnick Neostrategy: How to Win in the Age of Complexity by Noah Komnick NECSI 2018 Conference National Security Language Is Stuck in the Cold War by Josh Kerbel Teams Manifesto by Yaneer Bar-Yam Murray Gell-Mann Richard Feynmen Colin Gray (Military Theorist) The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple and the Complex by Murray Gell-Mann Science, Strategy and War: The Strategic Theory of John Boyd by Frans P.B. Osinga Boyd's EM Theory An Introduction to Cybernetics by W. Ross Ashby [primary source for Law of Requisite Variety] The Future of Strategy by Colin S. Gray The Two Cultures: And a Second Look by C.P. Snow Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by E.O. Wilson Sociobiology: The New Synthesis by E. O. Wilson Signals and Boundaries: Building Blocks for Complex Adaptive Systems by John H. Holland Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective by Stanley and Lehman Incerto by Nassim Taleb Taylorism Laplace's demon “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” - George Box DoD's Calendar Year 2020 Suicide Report Link to full show notes and resources https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-72 Guest Bio: Noah Komnick is the CEO and founder of Seneka. Seneka partners with select private and public entities to design and develop defendable enterprises and communities. Noah is also a retired U.S. Marine officer. As an active-duty Marine, he was a career communication and information systems officer, a strategic-operational planner, and a communications squadron commander. His operational tours included duties with infantry, force reconnaissance, aviation, and expeditionary units. He was also an Associate Professor of Naval Science at both Northwestern University and Illinois Institute of Technology. Just prior to his retirement from the Marine Corps, Noah served as a cyber strategist for the nation's Cyberspace Solarium Commission and U.S. Cyber Command. Additionally, he is the creator of Reaction Control (a self-regulating process to improve Marines' mental fitness for combat) and Neostrategy (a new paradigm for achieving objectives in complex systems). Reaction Control received innovation awards from the Commandant of the Marine Corps and Secretary of the Navy in 2016, while Neostrategy publicly debuted at the International Conference on Complex Systems in 2018. Currently, Noah is a PhD candidate with Capitol Technology University where his interdisciplinary research focuses on the intersection of cybernetics, complexity science, and sociobiology as applied to organizational design. As a lifelong learner, Noah has masters' degrees in National Security & Strategy (from the U.S. Naval War College), Operational Studies (from the School of Advanced Warfighting at Marine Corps University), Business Administration (from the University of Rhode Island), and a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering (from Illinois Institute of Technology). He is a member of the American Cybernetics Society and the Operational Research Society. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Julianna Dodson, the director of Radically Rural Programs, joins us to discuss initiatives to help rural America thrive. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Randi Lowe, the Superintendent of the BRSU (Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union), joins us to discuss the goals and challenges for Education during a pandemic and beyond. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Kate Paarlberg-Kvam, the executive director of CASP (Community Asylum Seekers Project), and Anandaroopa, a coordinator at Bennington County Open Arms, join us to discuss settling Afghan refugees in Vermont. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) […]

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary talk with special guest Dr. Mark Moffett about human biology and how it affects the development of societies. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled "You Don't Really Wish You Were on a Mountainside" Called “the Indiana Jones of entomology” by the National Geographic Society, Dr. Mark Moffett is a modern-day explorer with more than a little luck on his side, having accidentally sat on one of the world's deadliest snakes, battled drug lords with dart guns, and scrambled up trees to escape elephants, all part of his mission to find new species and behaviors in remote places. Presently Mark is studying the stability of societies across animal species and in humans right up to the present day, an outgrowth of his research for his fourth book, The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall. He received a Lowell Thomas Medal from the Explorers Club for his studies climbing into forest canopies around the world. Mark is one of only a handful of people to earn a doctorate under the Harvard sociobiologist and conservationist Edward O. Wilson. This episode of This is Democracy was mix and mastered by Karoline Pfeil.

Mat Barewicz and Wendy Morse, of the Vermont Department of Labor, shed light on the puzzling labor shortage. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Annette Smith, a former “Vermonter of the Year” and a self-described “unintentional activist”, discusses strategies to achieve better energy resilience in Vermont. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Edward Cameron, climate and economic development specialist, discusses the economic and societal benefits of addressing climate change. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Kyle Midura, Washington Correspondent for Gray Television, joins us to discuss local and regional headlines. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA9) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Thomas Hand, the co-founder of MHG Solar, discusses all things solar and renewable. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

During this sprawling episode, biologist and author, Dr. Mark Moffett, discusses societies. Mark observes that the acceptance of strangers was a breakthrough in the evolution of humanity. Moreover, humans maintain allegiance to group identities, and our uneasy coexistence with outsiders is reflected both in the fault lines within societies and in the relationships between nations. These topics are explored along with the involuntary nature of social membership, cosmopolitanism, immigration, and subtle micro-signals which indicate group belonging. Mark's upcoming research efforts will examine how animal societies stay together and what causes them to break apart, and compare the situation for humans; his field work will encompass a wide range of vertebrate animals, from lions and chimpanzees to Florida scrub jays and parrot fish. Resources: Books and Articles by Mark Moffett The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall by Mark Moffett “Doctor Bugs” Naturalist Mark W. Moffett investigates insects—and now, evolving human societies One Of Us: Mark W. Moffett On The Social Behavior Of Humans And Other Animals The Social Secret That Humans Share With Ants Divided We Stand by Mark Moffett How Freedom Divides: An expert on animal societies on what sets human societies apart by Mark Moffett Societies, identity, and belonging by Mark Moffett Why a universal society is unattainable by Mark Moffett National borders are not going away by Mark Moffett Apples and oranges, ants and humans: The misunderstood art of making comparisons by Mark Moffett Ant colonies: Building complex organizations with minimal brains and no leaders by Mark Moffett Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #47 Bar-Yam on Complex Systems and Ideals   Link to full show notes and resources https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-59 Guest Bio: Dr. Mark Moffett is a biologist at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian and the author of ‘The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall.' Dr. Moffett has published three other highly regarded books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles. He has carried out research and exploration in over one hundred countries, earning him a medal from The Explorers Club, and has received an award for writing from Harvard. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Have you ever watched ants hurry busily along and wonder what they're doing? Dr. Moffett did, and decided to turn that interest into ants and other bugs into a career. In this episode, we learn about ants - from the kind in your backyard to the kind that can eat people, how Dr. Moffett almost got trampled by elephants, hit by blowdarts, and other adventures. We also are joined by his wife Melissa, who tells us about their travels and more.  Thanks to Andrew Barkan of Ear Snacks for our theme song!  Our next episode will be recorded on our new audio equipment! Thanks to the Regional Arts & Culture Council for awarding us our grant!  Questions? Want to reach out? You can find us on Twitter at @coolanimalspod or email us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com

Meredith Angwin, author of “Shorting The Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid”, discusses the complexities of electric power. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Justin Trombly, a reporter for VTDigger, and Robin Smith, a retired journalist formerly of The Caledonian Record, join us to discuss local and statewide headlines–with special attention to the Northeast Kingdom. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA9) by Mark […]

Emma Cotton, of VTDigger, and Anne Wallace Allen, of Seven Days, join us to discuss local and statewide headlines. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA9) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Representatives Kathleen James, Seth Bongartz, and David Durfee, join us to discuss highlights and challenges of the past year's legislative session. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

We sit with Benjamin Lerner, a Vermont-based composer, writer, and recovery advocate, to discuss his journey to and from recovery. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016.

Greg Sukiennik, Vermont State House Editor and political reporter for New England Newspapers, and Xander Landen, political reporter for VT Digger, join us to discuss local and statewide headlines. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA9) by Mark Moffett (c) […]

Ashley Moore, the Executive Director of the Alliance For A Better Vermont, joins us to discuss Vermont issues. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016. The post The News Project: In Studio Podcast – A Conversation With Ashley Moore appeared first on GNAT.

Greg Sukiennik, Vermont State House Editor and political reporter for New England Newspapers, joins us to discuss local and statewide headlines. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA9) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016. The post Press Pass – Guest, Greg Sukiennik – 04.26.21 Podcast appeared first on GNAT.

A conversation about free speech with Mike Wassenaar, President and CEO of Alliance for Community Media, and Meghan O’Rourke, Channel Director, CCTV Center for Media and Democracy. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016. The post The News project: In Studio Podcast – Free Speech appeared first on GNAT.

Today Zarela and Aarón take a deep dive into the delicious delicacy of edible bugs in Mexico with "Doctor Bugs" himself, Mark Moffett. Mark is a biologist, author, lecturer, and adventurer who knows his way around the insect table. Mark received his Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University and is a Research Associate in the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian Institution. Zarela, Aarón, and Mark discuss the most common bugs to eat (hint: it is not the Maguey worm found at the bottom of the tequila bottle), the history of bug snacking all over Mexico and the ease of cooking the tasty critters. Also, fun fact: Aarón’s New Orleans restaurant, Johnny Sanchez, will serve you their famous guacamole topped with roasted grasshoppers if you ask. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!For more recipes from  Zarela and Aarón, visit zarela.com and chefaaronsanchez.comHeritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Cooking in Mexican from A to Z by becoming a member!Cooking in Mexican from A to Z is Powered by Simplecast.

Richard Watts, Director of the Center for Research on Vermont, and Julia Bailey-Wells, Digital Editor of the Community News Service, join us to discuss community news organizations, digital news platforms, and regional headlines. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA9) […] The post Press Pass Podcast 03.18.21 – Guests, Richard Watts and Julia Bailey-Wells appeared first on GNAT.

Local EarthMatters representatives, Carol Berry, Chris Anderson, and Carl Bucholt, breakdown Glyphosate, a toxin prevalent in our food system. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016. The post The News Project: In Studio Podcast – Glyphosate appeared first on GNAT.

John Walters, of the Vermont Political Observer, joins us to discuss regional and local headlines. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA9) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016. The post Press Pass Podcast 02.18.21 – Guest, John Walters appeared first on GNAT.

Ian Miller is a Research Associate at MIT. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016. The post The News Project: In Studio Podcast – Ian Miller on Climate Change, ElectricVehicles 03.01.20 appeared first on GNAT.

Carolyn Weir, Executive Director of the McClure Foundation, joins us to discuss job training and a range of job opportunities in Vermont. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by Mark Moffett (c) copyright 2016. The post The News Project: In Studio Podcast – Jobs And Careers 02.22.21 appeared first on GNAT.

Prof. Mark Stoler of the University of Vermont, a renowned historian of military and diplomatic history, discusses the foreign policy environment awaiting the incoming Biden administration as it prepares to take office. Podcast produced by Mark Moffett. Seven (mkmA7) by […] The post The News Project: In Studio Podcast – Challenges Awaiting Biden 11.19.20 appeared first on GNAT.

This week, I embark on a new experiment and respond to three "advice column" questions from the Future Fossils listening audience:• How do I know if aliens would like my music?• How do I talk to my five-year-old about death?• How do I be creative without training or experience?This was a lot of fun and I'll definitely do this again. Enjoy, and thanks for listening!Please rate and review Future Fossils on Apple Podcasts! And if you believe in the value of this show and want to see it thrive, support Future Fossils on Patreon. Patrons gain access to over twenty secret episodes, unreleased music, our book club, and many other great things as they spill out of my overactive imagination.We’d also love to have you in our thriving little Discord server, if you’re interested in meeting other members of our awesome scene. (And if you’d like to edit Future Fossils Podcast transcripts, please drop me a line at futurefossilspodcast[at]gmail.com.)Show theme music is by original Future Fossils co-host Evan “Skytree” Snyder.Further Resources:IntroEpisode 70 with Steve Brusatte on the Golden Age of Dinosaurs Episode 100 with The Teafaerie Episode 158 with The Teafaerie & Ramin Nazer Episode 117 with Eric Wargo on Time Loops How do I know if aliens would like my music?Eight Two Music Complexity Podcast 1 with David Krakauer Hook (film) 1991Episode 161 with Michael Phillip on Creativity, Play, and Cryptocurrency Weird Studies 75 on 2001: A Space Odyssey Southpark Season 23 Episode 2 ("Band In China") Complexity 41 with Natalie Grefenstette on Agnostic Biosignature DetectionThe Physical Limits of Communication (1999) Edward Snowden talks with Neil DeGrasse Tyson about aliens Episode 42 with William Irwin ThompsonSFI Musicology & Complex Systems Working Group (YouTube Playlist)Episode 125 with Stuart Kauffman on Evolution & The Adjacent PossibleKing Kong (film) 1933How do I talk to my five-year-old about death?The New York Times: 10 Annoying Kids' Toys Complexity 52 with Mark Moffett on Canopy Biology & The Human Swarm Episode 116 with Kevin Wohlmut reading Ugo Bardi & John Michael Greer The Lion King (film) 1994 Complexity 37 with Laurence Gonzales on Surviving SurvivalThe Future Acts Like You The Addams Family (film) 1991How do I be creative without training?Alicia Eggert's Stewart Brand artwork at The Smithsonian The Exaptation of the Guitar The Future is Exapted/Remixed "You're only as original as the obscurity of your sources" And when you’re ready to switch it up, here are my music and listening recommendations on Spotify.If you're in a tipping mood:• Venmo: @futurefossils• PayPal.me/michaelgarfield• Patreon: patreon.com//michaelgarfield• BTC: 1At2LQbkQmgDugkchkP6QkDJCvJ5rv3Jm• ETH: 0x058aCaf2dd4DB222d89D65fdDF3f0500c5622448i Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/futurefossils. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Most maps of the world render landscapes in 2D — yet wherever we observe ecosystems, they stratify into a third dimension. The same geometries that describe the dizzying diversity of species in the canopies of forests also govern life in other  living systems, from the oceans to the linings of our mouths. Behind the many forms, a hidden order shapes how organisms live in and on each other — and this emerging discipline of “canopy biology”  may yield important insights into modern urban life. Human societies, like gigantic swarms of ants, are elaborately coordinated super-organisms. In these enormous in-groups, one key feature is the anonymity of members. By studying a treetop world where organisms never see the ground that humans take for granted, structural ecologists glean lessons for the denizens of concrete jungles.Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I’m your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we’ll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.This week’s guest, Mark Moffett, did his doctoral work at Harvard under E.O. Wilson, helped fund decades of research with wildlife photography for National Geographic, and currently holds research positions at Harvard’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology and as an entomologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He has resisted conventional professorship in order to climb trees in over 40 countries and write four books on ecology and evolution. In this episode, we talk about the vertical dimension that theoretical ecology has largely overlooked, and the fruits of his investigation into the nature of societies — both ant and human.If you value our research and communication efforts, please consider making a donation at santafe.edu/podcastgive — and/or rating and reviewing us at Apple Podcasts. You can find numerous other ways to engage with us at santafe.edu/engage. Thank you for listening!Join our Facebook discussion group to meet like minds and talk about each episode.Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.Follow us on social media:Twitter • YouTube • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedInMore on and by Mark Moffett:Mark’s Website & Google Scholar PageMark’s SFI Virtual Seminar on Canopy Biology & SFI’s Twitter ThreadComparative Canopy Biology and the Structure of EcosystemsThe Nature and Limits of Canopy BiologySupercolonies of billions in an invasive ant: What is a society?Supercolonies, nests, and societies: distinguishing the forests from the treesHuman Identity and the Evolution of SocietiesWhy a Universal Society Is UnattainableDivided We Stand: Patriotism vs. NationalismMore related reading:Marcus Hamilton, Robert Walker, Chris Kempes - Diversity begets diversity in mammal species and human culturesRodney Brooks & Anita M. Flynn - Fast, Cheap, and Out of ControlRelated episodes of Complexity Podcast:10 - Melanie Moses re: ant colony scaling and 3D chip architecture17 - Chris Kempes re: stromatolites and scaling ribosomal and genetic volumes inside cells leading to multicellularity39 - Eddie Lee re: fractal violence43 - Vicky Yang re: out-group formation20 - Albert Kao re: stalemates in collective computation35 - Geoffrey West re: overlay of social networks in geographic space vs. cyberspace

Our guest this week is Mark Moffett, who did his doctorate under Harvard conservationist E.O. Wilson. In grad school, Mark figured out photography to document his ant research, leading to his first National Geographic article. He's a widely traveled tropical explorer, who's currently studying the life and death of societies. For show notes: https://kk.org/cooltools/mark-moffett-ecologist-storyteller/

Mark Moffett on how humans often act more like ants than our nearest cousins, the chimps. Simon Garnier of the New Jersey Institute of Technology has found patterns of swarm intelligence in slime molds.

Steve and Corey talk with Mark Moffett, Photographer and Research Fellow at the Smithsonian Institute, about his new book The Human Swarm: How our Societies Arise, Thrive and Fall. They discuss Mark's view that being able walk into a cafe filled with others and not be attacked illustrates what makes human societies distinct and so successful. Mark explains why he is far more interested in questions about when war and other events occur than with traditional issues such as the genetic origins of human behavior. The three discuss Dehumanization and its Chimp equivalent, Dechimpanizeeization, and how they lead to the division of societies, friend turning against friend, and genocide. They discuss the conditions under which foreigners are embraced and whether the US might ever enter into a post-racial society where group differences don't matter and immigrants are more easily accepted.Resources Mark Moffett's Bio Mark Moffett's Photography The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Transcript

Steve and Corey talk with Mark Moffett, Photographer and Research Fellow at the Smithsonian Institute, about his new book The Human Swarm: How our Societies Arise, Thrive and Fall. They discuss Mark’s view that being able walk into a cafe filled with others and not be attacked illustrates what makes human societies distinct and so successful. Mark explains why he is far more interested in questions about when war and other events occur than with traditional issues such as the genetic origins of human behavior. The three discuss Dehumanization and its Chimp equivalent, Dechimpanizeeization, and how they lead to the division of societies, friend turning against friend, and genocide. They discuss the conditions under which foreigners are embraced and whether the US might ever enter into a post-racial society where group differences don’t matter and immigrants are more easily accepted.

Steve and Corey talk with Mark Moffett, Photographer and Research Fellow at the Smithsonian Institute, about his new book The Human Swarm: How our Societies Arise, Thrive and Fall. They discuss Mark's view that being able walk into a cafe filled with others and not be attacked illustrates what makes human societies distinct and so successful. Mark explains why he is far more interested in questions about when war and other events occur than with traditional issues such as the genetic origins of human behavior. The three discuss Dehumanization and its Chimp equivalent, Dechimpanizeeization, and how they lead to the division of societies, friend turning against friend, and genocide. They discuss the conditions under which foreigners are embraced and whether the US might ever enter into a post-racial society where group differences don't matter and immigrants are more easily accepted.Resources Mark Moffett's Bio Mark Moffett's Photography The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall Transcript

In this week's Five Good Questions, we're interviewing Mark Moffett about his book, The Human Swarm. Mark Moffett is a tropical biologist and explorer known for finding rare species and behavior in remote places. His research has extended from the architecture of rainforest canopies to the behavior of army ants. For the last six years he has been merging psychology and anthropology to investigate the role of social identity in holding societies together across species and in humans up to the present day. Five Good Questions 1. What is so remarkable about being able to walk into a modern day coffee shop? 2. What can ants, with their 250k neurons, teach us about human societies? 3. Can we ever get rid of societies? 4. Is it possible the psychological bias known as the “endowment effect” is an artifact of our avoiding violent territorial conflicts? 5. Tell us a funny or surprising anecdote about E.O. Wilson. And make sure you pick up your copy of the Rebel Allocator, available now on Amazon in digital, physical, and audiobook formats!

In this riveting conversation, Dr. Shermer speaks with Dr. Mark Moffett, biologist (Ph.D. Harvard, under E. O. Wilson), wildlife photographer for National Geographic, cave explorer, and world traveler about his new book, The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall, on the nature of societies from a biologist’s perspective. Scientists routinely explain that humans rule the planet because of our intelligence, tools, or language, but as Moffett argues, our biggest asset, surprisingly overlooked to date, is our ability to be comfortable around strangers. We can walk into a cafe or stadium full of unfamiliar people without thinking twice, but a chimpanzee, wolf or lion, encountering strangers could be attacked and perhaps killed. This ability—not IQ—has allowed humans to swarm over the world in vast nations. If we want to compare ourselves to the rest of the animal kingdom in order to define what makes our societies unique, Moffett argues that it’s time we look at ants. Making their way across the African savannah, the Australian coastline, and the American plains, our ancestors moved in small bands of lifelong fellow travelers. Month after month they made their camps and searched for food and water. Rarely did they encounter other human souls. So rarely that outsiders seemed to occupy a realm between reality and myth. Aborigines guessed the first Europeans they met were ghosts. Over time our view of the members of other societies has changed radically; today, foreigners don’t seem outlandish or otherworldly, as they once routinely did. As a consequence of global exploration starting in the 15th century, and more recently tourism and social media, contact between people from far-flung parts of the globe is now commonplace. Outright incomprehension of outsiders is no longer the excuse it often was in prehistory. Listen to Science Salon via iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Soundcloud. This Science Salon was recorded on April 8, 2019. You play a vital part in our commitment to promote science and reason. If you enjoy the Science Salon Podcast, please show your support by making a donation, or by becoming a patron.  

Mark Moffett leads System Engineering for State, Local Government, and Education for the Eastern United States. He and his team of 130+ Systems Engineering Managers/Systems Engineers/Architects are responsible for the design/deployment of Cisco Solutions. And he is also a ironman triathlon athlete and loves to compete! Your favorite quote? If you're lucky enough to find a person with a lot of head and a lot of heart, they will never going to come off the field second. Vince Lombardi Favorite Tool and Application?   Tool: Rasberry Pi App: Spark   Favorite Book: Extreme Ownership   NEW Cisco Architecture and DevNet: Digital Network Architecture Cisco DevNet APIC-EM

An essential feature of any society is the capacity of its members to distinguish one another from outsiders and reject outsiders on that basis. Some social insects and humans are able to form huge societies because their membership is anonymous—members aren’t required to distinguish all the other members as individuals for the society to remain unified. Societies are instead bonded by shared identity cues and signals, such as society-specific odors in ants and learned social labels in humans. I contrast this with societies of nonhuman vertebrates, which achieve a maximum of 200 members by the necessity that each member recalls every other member individually. The capacity to form an anonymous society is a complex trait that I will show could have arisen in our ancestors well before language. While there has been a perennial focus on the cooperative networks that emerge inside each society, identification with a clearly defined group of members, and not coop­eration or kinship as many experts assert, is the most fundamental defining characteristic of societies in humans and other animals. I will discuss how this identification bears on aggression in humans and other animals. [March 5, 2015]

Rana Mitter talks to Susannah Clapp with the first review of the National Theatre's production of 'Othello', starring Adrian Lester as the Moor. According to David Boyle's new book, 'Broke', something is killing off the middle classes and to discuss this are Selina Todd and Mark Littlewood. The literary biographer Richard Holmes has taken to the air in his latest book - a history of ballooning and its pioneers. And, as "Who's the Pest?" brings a season of insect inspired events to the Wellcome Collection in London, Rana is joined by Mark Moffett, and Erica McAlister to discuss the hidden virtues of insects.

Join Danny & Andy as we bring you an interview with Dr. Mark Moffett, aka the "Indiana Jones of Entomology" as coined by National Geographic magazine given his numberous adventures and resulting articles and photographs frequently featured in the magazine. Dr Moffett will speak to us LIVE about his travels in with 7 nation armies...of ants!

Adventures Among Ants Did you know ants colonies are sisterhoods. "The guys don't really do much," says entomologist Mark Moffett, "they have sex and die. And apparently that's satisfactory for them." The "Jane Goodall of Ants" will forever change the way you think about the little critters. A Rash of Resorts The last few weeks have been peppered with stories of new, upscale pet resorts opening across America. The Jet Pet Resort offers a $1000 a night package that includes private limo transportation, plasma HDTV (dogs hate fuzzy pictures), picnics and specialized meals. Bunny Mansion Paris Hilton (former Playboy bunny) has added 20 rabbits to her menagerie of pets. Paris tweeted that she was in a pet store and saw the bunnies were destined to be snake food, so she bought them all. Sam and Ella Aren't Invited To Dinner More recalls because of Salmonella contamination. While no major illnesses have been reported, the FDA continues on a rampage to encourage voluntary recalls of facilities that have tested positive. Hartz is the latest to top the recall list. More this week Directions for carving this pumpkin

An hour with ecologist, explorer, photojournalist Mark Moffett on WorldStreams

Ants are amazing creatures due to their variety, ubiquity, and complexity of behavior. And, they share many unique features with humans. On this program, Mark Moffett discussed his adventures among ants.