Podcasts about Royal Institution

Dan, James, Anna and Andy discuss Disney Princesses, brave tailors and tangled lizards.Head to nosuchthingasafish.com/Risummer for tickets to our July shows at the Royal Institution!Visit nosuchthingasafish.com for news about live shows, merchandise and more episodes. Join Club Fish for ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content at apple.co/nosuchthingasafish or nosuchthingasafish.com/patreonEdited by James HarkinProduced by Leying LeeTeam includes Tara Dorrell, Joe Mayo and Ethan Ruparelia

Nish Kumar joins James, Anna and Andy to discuss The Man Who Talks With String; The Man Who Sold The World; and the man you don't want directing your B-movie. Head to nosuchthingasafish.com/Risummer for tickets to our July shows at the Royal Institution!Visit nosuchthingasafish.com for news about live shows, merchandise and more episodes. Join Club Fish for ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content at apple.co/nosuchthingasafish or nosuchthingasafish.com/patreonEdited by James HarkinProduced by Leying LeeTeam includes Jack Chambers, Tara Dorrell, Joe Mayo and Ethan Ruparelia

Global commercial real estate sentiment was broadly stable in the first quarter, but the headline numbers mask an uneven picture across markets, according to the latest surveys released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in London. The war in Iran, higher energy prices, renewed inflation concerns and shifting expectations around interest rates are beginning to filter through CRE markets in different ways."The global index that we produce barely moved and if you were to only look at that, you kind of reach the conclusion that nothing much happened, but that aggregate figure really does mask quite a bit of movement underneath," said RICS Head of Market Analytics Tarrant Parsons in this podcast.Hosted by Executive Editor Laura Valean, this RICS Monitor episode touches on why credit conditions have become one of the most important indicators to watch, particularly as tighter financing could weigh on investment activity and values over the next several quarters.

Anna, Dan and James discuss YOUR facts including salt, swine and CPR. We hear what Rufus Hound yelled to Dan in the street. And we name eight more Friend of the Podcast fact custodians. Head to nosuchthingasafish.com/Risummer for tickets to our July shows at the Royal Institution!Visit nosuchthingasafish.com for news about live shows, merchandise and more episodes. Join Club Fish for ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content at apple.co/nosuchthingasafish or nosuchthingasafish.com/patreon

Greg Foot joins James, Anna and Andy to discuss vision, vacuums, volcanoes and Volvos. Head to nosuchthingasafish.com/Risummer for tickets to our July shows at the Royal Institution!Visit nosuchthingasafish.com for news about live shows, merchandise and more episodes. Join Club Fish for ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content at apple.co/nosuchthingasafish or nosuchthingasafish.com/patreonGet NordVPN two-year plan + four months extra ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fish It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee.Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code [fish] at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/fish

Φτάσαμε στα μισά της λίστας με τους διάσημους επιστήμονες και σταθμεύουμε στον μοναδικό που ζήσαμε με τα ίδια μας τα μάτια — τον Στίβεν Χόκινγκ. Συζητάμε γιατί τον αποκαλούμε «τον τελευταίο celebrity επιστήμονα», πώς η ALS τον έβγαλε από την ακαδημία και τον πέταξε στο POP culture, και τι ακριβώς είναι η ακτινοβολία Hawking — η πρώτη φορά που η κβαντομηχανική συνάντησε τη γενική σχετικότητα. Από τις μαύρες τρύπες που εξατμίζονται και το άλυτο παράδοξο της πληροφορίας, μέχρι το βιβλίο με τη μία και μοναδική εξίσωση και το πάρτι που οργάνωσε για ταξιδιώτες του χρόνου.Pre-show: USB ακουστικά με active noise cancellation για 30$ (επιτέλους!) — γιατί τα Bluetooth δεν κάνουν για αεροπλάνοΟ μόνος της λίστας μας που ήταν ζωντανός στη δική μας εποχή (1942-2018) — και η ομιλία του στο Caltech που είχε δει ο Θέμος liveCelebrity επιστήμονας vs popular science communicator: η διαφορά Hawking, Tyson, Brian Cox — και γιατί το StarTalk δεν μας πείθειPBS Space Time: η σύστασή μας για το καλύτερο κανάλι αστρονομίας στο YouTubeALS, η ρομποτική φωνή ως brand, και πώς η ασθένεια τον έκανε POP — από τους Simpsons μέχρι το Big Bang Theory«A Brief History of Time» (1988): το βιβλίο με τη μία και μοναδική εξίσωση, και πώς κάθε πρόταση είχε μετρηθείΒιογραφικό: Οξφόρδη, Cambridge, διάγνωση στα 21, η έδρα του Νεύτωνα (Lucasian Chair) — και η ταινία «The Theory of Everything»Singularities με τον Roger Penrose — και το Nobel του 2020 που ίσως είχε μοιραστείΔεκαετία του '70: όταν δεν ήμασταν σίγουροι αν υπάρχουν καν οι μαύρες τρύπες — το στοίχημα με τον Kip ThorneΑκτινοβολία Hawking (1974): πώς το κενό δεν είναι κενό, και γιατί οι μαύρες τρύπες εξατμίζονταιΤο Information Paradox — και γιατί 50 χρόνια μετά παραμένει άλυτοFun fact: το πάρτι για ταξιδιώτες του χρόνου που οι προσκλήσεις στάλθηκαν αφού τελείωσε«Τι ήταν πριν το Big Bang;» — η απάντηση του Hawking με τον Βόρειο ΠόλοPost-show: Επίσκεψη στο Royal Institution του Λονδίνου — το εργαστήριο του Faraday, ο πρώτος ηλεκτρικός κινητήρας, και γιατί ο ουρανός είναι μπλεΕπικοινωνίαemail: hello@notatop10.fmInstagram: @notatop10Threads: @notatop10Bluesky: @notatop10.fmWeb: notatop10.fm (00:00:00) Pre-show: USB ακουστικά με ANC για 30$(00:06:12) Εισαγωγή: Ο Τελευταίος Celebrity Επιστήμονας(00:08:38) Celebrity vs Popular Science(00:12:03) ALS, POP Culture, και A Brief History of Time(00:20:06) Βιογραφικά(00:27:02) Ακτινοβολία Hawking(00:33:08) Το Παράδοξο της Πληροφορίας(00:38:06) Fun Facts: Ταξιδιώτες του Χρόνου & Βόρειος Πόλος(00:40:50) Post-show: Royal Institution Λονδίνου

On today's programme, Adrian Chiles is with Steve Backshall the adventurer and naturalist who's captivated all of us with his work, but especially children, millions of them, who he's led wide-eyed into the natural world. Frank Cottrell Boyce is blessed with a similar gift for capturing the imagination of children as well as grownups. The esteemed screenwriter is presently the Children's Laureate. Frank will be appearing on the programme ahead of his appearance at the Children's Laureate Lecture called - The Kids Are Not Alright – which is being held on Thursday the 14th May at The Royal Institution, London. And amazing storytellers though Frank and Steve are, even they might struggle to do justice to the tale of what Natalie Queiroz has been through. Her work campaigning for the victims of crime has earned her a well-deserved MBE.Plus we'll hear the Inheritance Tracks of broadcaster and journalist Nick Robinson. Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Live from The Royal Institution of Great Britain, it's TechStuff! Oz sat down with two visionaries at an event hosted by Quilt.AI. First, he spoke with Ali Eslami, a Distinguished Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, who built the prototype for what is now AI Search. Ali talked about how working on AI can feel like surfing, and what went into connecting Gemini to Google Search to create what he called "neural Google." After that, Oz chats with Saad Mohseni about his work with MOBY Group. Saad guides Oz through his twenty-year effort to bring top-tier news and entertainment to Afghanistan and beyond — from a reality TV singing competition that changed the country, to using WhatsApp and AI to provide education to girls banned from school. Additional Reading: Radio Free Afghanistan – HarperCollins EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/techstuff Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Brief Sahiba Chada is joined by architect Jeremy Walker. Jeremy is the Head of Design at Human Nature, a property developer currently working on the construction of the UK's largest timber-structure neighbourhood: the Phoenix development in East Sussex. Together they discuss:Retail giant John Lewis winds up its housebuilding arm amid economic woes // The London Assembly argues Londoners want more traditional-looking homes // The Royal Institution of British Architects calls for the abolition of the Architects Registration Board // And… raising the profile of women architects and designers… we discuss the winners of the 2026 Jane Drew and Ada Louise Huxtable prizesSubscribe to the Open City Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects' Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage.The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The home buying process remains slow and uncertain for all too many. On average, it now takes around 120 days to complete a property purchase in the UK, a sharp rise since 2007, and around one in three deals still falls through. The cost of failed property transactions runs into billions each year and creates stress for buyers, sellers and mortgage intermediaries alike. In this episode of the Mortgage Insider podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Justin Young, CEO of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and Claire Beardmore, Director of L&G Mortgage Club, to look at why the home buying process takes so long and what could help improve outcomes across the market. The discussion looks at how poor timing and late checks add delay, why repeating property surveys and searches wastes time and money, and how doing more work upfront could allow steps to run side by side rather than one after the other. They also explore what England can learn from Scotland’s home report system, as well as other countries with shorter timelines and far fewer fall-throughs, and why confidence in digitisation, reliable data and clear standards will be essential if change is to stick. With reform work under way and more focus on upfront information, the episode sets out why mortgage intermediaries have such a key role in getting buyers ready early and staying close to developments that could shape how homes are bought and sold in the years ahead.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Commercial real estate sentiment is improving globally, but the recovery is far from uniform, according to the results of the latest surveys released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in London. The Americas, led by the U.S., are seeing clearer signs of momentum, while parts of Europe remain cautious and Asia Pacific presents a mixed picture. Geopolitical risks, policy shifts and sector-specific headwinds remain very real, so focusing on specific cities and property types where fundamentals genuinely support growth will be key going forward as broad regional bets may no longer work.

January 26, 1926. John Logie Baird invites members of the Royal Institution to his Soho Laboratory and demonstrates his new invention: television. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more. History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

Miguel Ángel González Suárez te presenta el Informativo de Primera Hora en 'El Remate', el programa matinal de La Diez Capital Radio que arranca tu día con: Las noticias más relevantes de Canarias, España y el mundo, analizadas con rigor y claridad. Hoy se cumplen 1.444 días de guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania. 3 años y 334 días. Hoy es lunes 26 enero de 2026. Día Mundial del Pescador. El 26 de enero se celebra el Día Mundial del Pescador, como un homenaje a todos los hombres y mujeres que se dedican a la pesca, asi como también a los aficionados y a los pequeños pescadores de ríos o lagos que hacen de la pesca un modo de subsistencia. Este día se celebra para reconocer la labor de los pescadores y ser conscientes de lo duro de trabajar en el mar, durante jornadas infinitas soportando temporales y viviendo en condiciones no del todo cómodas. 1924: En Rusia, la ciudad de Petrogrado (actual San Petersburgo) es rebautizada como Leningrado. 1926.- El ingeniero escocés John Logie Baird presenta ante la Royal Institution un aparato llamado televisión, capaz de transmitir imágenes a distancia. 1939.- Guerra Civil española: las tropas franquistas entran en Barcelona. Tal día como hoy 26 de enero de 1945, las tropas soviéticas ingresan a Auschwitz, Polonia, liberando a 7,000 supervivientes de la red de campos de concentración que revelaron al mundo la profundidad de los horrores perpetrados allí. 1987: Los reyes Juan Carlos I y Sofía colocan la primera piedra de la Exposición Universal de Sevilla de 1992, en el recinto de la Isla de la Cartuja. 1998: En el marco del escándalo Lewinsky, el presidente estadounidense Bill Clinton ante la televisión nacional niega haber tenido relaciones sexuales con Monica Lewinsky, expasante de la Casa Blanca. 2017.- El Gobierno británico presenta en el Parlamento el proyecto de ley para autorizar el comienzo del "brexit", la salida del Reino Unido de la Unión Europea. Santos Timoteo, Tito, Teógenes, Gabriel y Paula. Macron quiere prohibir el acceso a redes sociales a los menores de 15 años. Adamuz recuerda "con el corazón herido" a las 45 víctimas del accidente ferroviario en una misa funeral. Sánchez defiende a Puente y la gestión ferroviaria: "Ha puesto en el centro a las víctimas, sin confrontación política" El PP exige la dimisión inmediata de Puente por "mentir" en sus explicaciones sobre el accidente de tren en Adamuz. Justicia española archiva investigación contra el cantante Julio Iglesias. Nueva tractorada en Canarias: el campo vuelve a las calles en protesta por los recortes de la PAC y Mercosur. El 'súper jueves' 29 reunirán el mayor número de concentraciones en toda España. Todos los grupos, salvo Vox, respaldan las propuestas del Gobierno canario para defender el acervo RUP en la UE. Los diputados de la Cámara regional acuerdan un compilado de seis propuestas formuladas por el Gobierno regional dirigidas a la defensa de las islas ante el marco financiero plurianual 2028-2034 de la UE. El 26 de enero de 1988, (hace 38 años) el musical de Andrew Lloyd Webber El fantasma de la ópera (basado en la novela francesa Le Fantome de L´Opera de 1909 de Gaston Leroux) tiene su primera representación en Broadway en el Majestic Theatre de Nueva York y ha sido el espectáculo de Broadway que más tiempo ha estado en cartelera. En Londres se estrenó 2 años antes y lleva 40 años ininterrumpidamente.

Professor Alice Roberts joins Dan, James and Andy at the Royal Institution to find out what links science with Pokemon, Superman and Tintin.  Visit nosuchthingasafish.com for news about live shows, merchandise and more episodes.  Join Club Fish for ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content at apple.co/nosuchthingasafish or nosuchthingasafish.com/patreon

Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist and science educator who has worked on a number of instruments that are revolutionising our view of the cosmos, including the James Webb Space Telescope. This year she will be giving the Royal Institution Christmas lectures, Britain's most prestigious public science lectures, in which she will be exploring some of the big questions space science still has to answer. Nicola Davis sat down with Dame Maggie to discuss the lectures, why she is convinced there is life beyond our planet, and her dream of journeying to a distant exoplanet. Madeleine Finlay hears from them both in this Christmas special edition of Science Weekly.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Katherine is championing science communication for its own sake as Director of the historic Royal Institution Katherine is the Director of The Royal Institution in London. The Royal Institution is the birthplace of science communication, having been founded in 1799 to 'introduce new technologies and teach science to the general public through lectures and demonstrations'. It is home to the iconic Christmas Lectures which celebrate their 200th year in 2025. Sarah and Katherine talk about Why The Royal Institution means different things to different people The iconic Christmas Lectures How a phone-in science hotline kick-started her career in science communication Making space for awe and wonder, and why that might help tackle the anti-science narrative   Find out more Read the show notes on the Research Adjacent website Connect with Kathrine on LinkedIn or BlueSky Find out more about The Royal Institution and its history Check if you can watch the Christmas Lectures recording livestream near you   About Research Adjacent Where are you listening from? Share a pic and tag @ResearchAdjacent on LinkedIn, Instagram or BlueSky Fill out the research-adjacent careers quiz Sign up to the Research Adjacent newsletter Email a comment, question or suggestion Leave Sarah a voice message

This week, the UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, or EAC, released a report on environmental sustainability and housing growth. The UK government is striving to meet a target of building one and a half million new homes, and has raised concerns about the risk that environmental objections could delay their construction. But, the EAC says, the UK must balance these needs. One tool to do this is the Whole Life Carbon Assessment guidelines, produced by the RICS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. In the absence of a national programme for measuring the carbon impact of construction, the EAC recommends that this tool should be adopted into the planning process. In this episode, first aired in 2023, we talked to Simon Sturgis, lead author of the guidance, as he and his colleagues worked to produce its second edition. Guests Simon Sturgis, founder, Targeting Zero LLP Matthew Collins, senior specialist, construction and infrastructure management, RICS Resources Simon Sturgis's paper Redefining Zero, which helped spur debate on the carbon costs of buildings. An earlier UK House of Commons environmental audit select committee report Building to net zero: costing carbon in construction. The Bath University Inventory of Carbon and Energy (Bath ICE) database. The post #353 Carbon Assessment in a Time of Housebuilding first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Qasem Waleed is a 28-year-old physicist who has lived in Gaza his whole life. In 2024, he joined a chorus of Palestinians sharing videos and pictures and writing about the chaos and violence they were living through, as Israel's military bombardment devastated their lives. But Qasem was trying to describe his reality through the lens of the most notoriously confusing and inscrutable field of science ever, quantum mechanics. We talked to him, from a cafe near the Al-Mawasi section of Gaza, to find out why. And over the course of several conversations, he told us how this reality-breaking corner of science has helped him survive. And how such unspeakable violence actually let him understand, in a visceral way, quantum mechanics' most counter-intuitive ideas. Special thanks to Katya Rogers, Karim Kattan, Allan Adams, Sarah Qari, Soren Wheeler, and Pat WaltersEPISODE CREDITS: Reported by - Lulu MillerProduced by - Jessica Yungwith mixing help from - Jeremy BloomFact-checking by - Emily Kreigerand Edited by  - Alex NeasonEPISODE CITATIONS:Videos - A Brief History of Quantum Mechanics with Sean Carroll, The Royal Institution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hVmeOCJjOU)Introduction to Superposition, with MIT's Allan Adams (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ3bPUKo5zc)The Quantum Wavefunction, Explained (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOI4DlWQ_1w)Articles - Read a selection of Qasem's published essays about his life in Gaza and the quantum world: I am stuck in a box like Schrodinger's in Gaza (https://zpr.io/ALDVi9E5bRt8) Israel has turned Gaza's summer into a weapon (https://zpr.io/YS4WK4hVQC5T)The Physics of Death in Gaza (https://zpr.io/hxsgxicVqPAd) Signup 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 Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

A year of mixed sentiment across global commercial real estate, with sharp contrasts between regions—this is the main takeaway from the latest Global Commercial Property Monitor released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in London. While investor confidence is firming in markets such as the U.S., India and the UAE, markets such as China, France and Germany face sluggish demand and subdued outlooks. “Uncertainty around trade, interest rates, geopolitics continue to cloud the outlook as they have done most of the year,” said Head of Market Analytics Tarrant Parsons, in the final podcast episode of RICS Monitor in 2025.Press play for the full podcast, hosted by CPE Senior Editor Laura Valean!

You might look at everyday items in a different light after this episode, as we hear best-selling author and Woodland Trust ambassador, Jonathan Drori CBE, reveal some of the fascinating things we make with plants. From the well-known coffee bean to the tree bark that's used in spacecraft, he shares some of the amazing relationships between familiar objects and the natural world as we meet beneath a beautiful beech tree on Parliament Hill in London.  These stories and more feature in Jonathan's latest book, The Stuff That Stuff Is Made Of, which aims to spark an interest in nature for younger readers. He explains how discovering the wonder of nature in a fun, exciting way as a child can inspire a lifelong connection, just as it did for him. We also discover why fruit is sweet, the value of the mandrake plant, how beech is thought to resist lightning and more. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.  Adam: Jonathan Drori CBE, is a man of many talents. He's a trustee of the Eden Project and of Kew Gardens, a member of the Royal Institution, a man who used to be a senior commissioning editor at the BBC, and he's also an ambassador for the Woodland Trust and a best-selling author of books such as Around the World in 80 Trees and his latest, The Stuff That Stuff Is Made Of, a book for younger people about the plants in their lives and the things they make which are all around them. And whereas these podcasts often take me on long journeys, this time, well, it's just a hop, skip and a jump away in London at Parliament Hill, where we met to talk about his book and the things we didn't know about the stuff around us all. Right, we are... it's a bit windy right here. It actually sounds windier than it is, but we are in Parliament Hill, or thereabouts, with Jonathan Drori, who has written the stuff that stuff is made of, and is also a big noise, essentially, in the Woodland Trust itself, of which we can talk lots about. But we're standing by a beech tree. So, Jonathan, why did you write this book?  Jonathan: I wanted to do something that would make kids kind of interested in the natural environment. Starting with the things they're interested in, which are kind of ice cream and chocolate and sport and dinosaurs and all that kind of thing. And use their own interests to sort of spark other interests in nature, in trees and plants, and also actually in history and folklore and culture, which are all sort of bound up with those things. One of the things I've tried to do with the book is to explain things from the plant's point of view as well as from a human point of view. So there are all these qualities that we desire plants for, whether that's sort of sweet things to eat or things to build with or things to make musical instruments out of. And they're all in the book and that's fine. But I've also tried to explain, you know, why has bamboo evolved in the way that it has? And why has a beech tree evolved the way it has? Why does chocolate have sweet mush around the seeds? You know, why do the grasses feed us? Why is sugar cane sweet? And why do we love it?  Adam: And so through this book, you're trying to attempt to do that by explaining stuff like tea and chocolate, indeed, where it comes from.  Jonathan: Yeah, I mean, there are 30 different species that I deal with in the book. And on the right-hand side of the page, there's a whole lot of information about the way that the plant grows, how it's cultivated, the relationships that it has with other plants, with the little critters that might pollinate it or disperse the seeds. And on the left-hand side, there's a whole lot of stories about the plant, all kinds of kind of fascinating facts and really about the human relationships with that plant.  Adam: Do you think we have lost that connection with the plants around us. So that this sort of stuff might have been really obvious a few generations ago or not.  Jonathan: *laughs* A leading question, m'lud! Yes, I mean, you know, with urban living and things being in packets at the supermarket, you know, we perhaps don't think very much about where the basic materials for our existence come from, whether it's things we eat or things we build with or things that we just sort of like looking at and playing with.  Adam: Is it important to know those connections? I mean, you as someone who likes nature, I can understand why you might feel that's important. But is it important for us all to rebuild that connection?  Jonathan: I think that my love and interest in nature came from my parents, actually, at the time, dragging me around Kew Gardens and Richmond Park and telling me stories about the trees and plants that were growing there. And they did that in such a way that I would be interested because they knew who I was and so they found the things that would sort of excite me. And I think I want to do the same for young people so that they grow up with a kind of interest and admiration and some sort of understanding of nature. But you can't sort of ram it down people's throats. It needs to be fun.  Adam: Yeah. But why is that important? I understand that's what you want to do, but why is it important?  Jonathan: Well, we've only got one planet. And if we don't look after it, then, you know, our lives and livelihoods are doomed. So that's the sort of very basic reason. And also we are part of nature, so just, not having an understanding or rejecting nature is kind of rejecting part of ourselves, I think.  Adam: So it's a soft environmental message here. And that's also seems to me important because, well, from my perspective anyway, it feels like a lot of environmental charities and environmentally minded people push a sort of narrative, the world could end, it's all a disaster. And actually, I worry that, although it's well-meaning, it might turn people off. Now that isn't what you're doing with this.  Jonathan: No, there's none of that in the book, none of it at all. What I've tried to do is to excite people about the stories of pollination, of the little critters that live in and around plants, the relationships that the plants have with other plants and so on in the environment, and make that sort of exciting and fun and interesting enough that people will just say, say to themselves, that's kind of something that's worth protecting. Maybe they won't think that for 10 or 15 years.  Adam: There's lots of interesting stories here. I think the one that really struck me, I think, was about vanilla. So vanilla, obviously, people use it in cooking, they might use essence of it or whatever. But am I right in saying, you think it's in the book, you actually go, there was a boy, and you name this boy... oh sorry is that a bird I can hear? *laughs* sorry!  Jonathan: It's the parakeets.  Adam: Oh it's the parakeets, I thought there was a squeaky wheel behind me! No no. All right, parakeets in the background. A named boy who taught the world how to pollinate vanilla. Tell me that story.  Jonathan: Yes, it was an amazing story actually about vanilla that in about the sort of 1840s, when they brought vanilla plants over from Mexico where they were native, to Africa where they wanted the plantations to grow and the little bee that pollinates vanilla didn't really travel. And so they had to find something else that would pollinate the vanilla plants so that the vanilla plants would propagate and grow. And sadly, they couldn't find any insect that would do that. No local insects would do this in Africa or outside Mexico. So all the vanilla plants had to be pollinated by hand. And it was a 12-year-old boy, Edmond Albius, who worked out how to do this. And by basically sort of cutting a bit of membrane and then squidging the two bits together and right to this present day, that's the way that vanilla is pollinated, by hand. And that's why it's so expensive.  Adam: It's amazing, isn't it? Apart from the vanilla story, do any others stand out in your mind? Is there ones your favourites?  Jonathan: Oh, it's like asking your favourite children, isn't it? I mean, there are all sorts of things in there that I notice when I talk to young people, to sort of eight, nine-year-olds, they sort of come alive. Those who've read the Hogwarts stories and Harry Potter, they're amazed to discover that mandrake is actually a real plant. And of course, mandrake used to be very, very valuable because it was one of the very few plants that could be used as an anaesthetic. And people used to, back in the Roman days, they used to mix it with wine and then sort of do minor operations and things. Don't try this at home! It's actually a real plant. It grows somewhat, I've seen this in this country, but it grows in Italy quite well and it has these rather sort of mind-altering attributes to it, which are a bit odd.  Adam: So it might be used by people who want that sort of druggy effect, but does it have any other purpose?  Jonathan: Well, not now, but it was an anaesthetic, and anaesthetics were so sort of unlikely, you know, if you think about it, you take something and it makes the pain go away, that people associated the plant with witchcraft, especially as it gave you the impression of flying. And so a plant that could alter your outlook and the way that you see the world so profoundly, and the way you perceive it so profoundly, was associated with witchcraft. And people made all sorts of stories about the mandrakes that they, that when you pulled it out of the ground, they said, that you could hear it scream because sometimes the roots look a bit like a person, especially with a bit of judicious whittling. And so people would say you've got to get a dog, tie the dog to the mandrake root and then kick the dog or throw it some food and it pulls it out. And the scream, they said, of a mandrake root could make you, could kill you.  Adam: And weren't they doing that to stop people, scaring people away from getting their valuable mandrake?  Jonathan: That's right. It was such a valuable plant that the ideal thing to do would be to put these superstitions around, these notions around, so people wouldn't pull them out, because it's very valuable.  Adam: Hippy dragon sort of thing. Well, look, we are here in London, a park in London, a beautiful park. But you've taken me to one of the few trees that actually appears in the book, because so many of the, well, I think almost all the trees really, you wouldn't find in the UK, is that right?  Jonathan: Well, you can certainly find eucalyptus. You can, you know, it's not a native, but you can find them here. And any other trees that are in there, you'd certainly find in botanic gardens. And there are fir trees, Christmas trees in there as well. But here we are by a lovely, lovely beech. And I mean, there are lots of reasons I love beech trees. In the book, one of the reasons that it's in there is because beech wood is made for, is used for veneer and it's used for making furniture and so on in a sustainable way, so it's a very pleasing wood.  Adam: And why is it good for furniture then?  Jonathan: It's stable, it doesn't shrink too much.   Adam: Is it bendable, is it one of those trees that you can...  Jonathan: Yeah and you can sort of use steam to bend it into the shapes that you want. And there are these fantastic machines that make veneer by sort of peeling off a kind of onion ring, rotating the trunk and then sort of peeling off the wood underneath to make veneer. As I say, using sustainable beech forests. But one of the things that I love about the beech is the link with superstition because in Germany, and actually in quite a few countries in Europe, there's this saying that lightning never strikes a beech tree. And in actual fact, lightning strikes beech trees just as often as any other trees that are of similar height. But beech trees seem to survive. And the reason they survive is because of this wonderfully smooth bark. The bark continually renews itself, unlike other trees. And so you've got a layer that is sloughing off all the time and leaving this very smooth bark. And that smoothness means that during wet weather, during a storm, the outside of the tree has a continuous film of water on it. It's wet all the way and that can act as a lightning conductor, whereas the craggy old oak, that has dry bits in it and so the electricity from a lightning strike is diverted through the middle of the tree and would blow it asunder. So the beech tree can survive.  Adam: Fantastic. Talking about the bark on the tree, one of the other things I spotted in your book was, I think it's cork trees and how the bark of that is special in the way we use it, but also in the way that the tree regenerates, just explain a bit about that.  Jonathan: Yes, I mean, most trees, if you sort of cut a whole ring around the tree, it'll die. But cork actually regenerates itself. So you can harvest the cork every 10, 12 years or so. And cork forests in the Iberian Peninsula, in Portugal and in Spain have a fantastic sort of ecosystem around them. The lynx and wild eagles and all sorts of wonderful things that live in and around. And also pigs go rooting for the for the acorns. And that ecosystem is a very important one. And it depends on us all using cork. So don't use plastic cork.  Adam: Right. Oh, I was going to say, unfortunately, a lot of wines now have plastic.  Jonathan: Try and go to the ones which are made out of proper traditional cork. And you're doing the planet a service by doing that. Another interesting thing about cork is that it's a fantastic insulator and it's actually used in the nose cones of spacecraft.  Adam: So why? That is, I did read that and that was extraordinary that something as advanced as a spacecraft would be using cork. It seems unbelievable.  Jonathan: Well, you know, millions of years of evolution have given the cork oak this way of resisting fire. So it's got tiny, tiny air pockets, minuscule microscopic air pockets in a non-flammable kind of medium. And that is an amazing insulator. And it's light, it chars on the outside and then flames just can't get through.  Adam: And it's soundproofing isn't it?  Jonathan: Yes, it's used in recording studios.  Adam: Yes. Well, when I was 17, I took a fancy to corking my whole bedroom in cork tiles, which looked terrible to be honest *laughs*. It took my father years to pry it off the wall again.   Jonathan: Was that in the seventies perhaps?  Adam: Yes exactly. It was trendy then for a short period.  Jonathan: Roman women used to wear cork-soled sandals, which you can still get, but so they didn't sort of walk in the poo and whatnot. But they're very good, very light, very insulating.  Adam: One of the ones I suppose we should talk about, interesting, is cotton, because it has an interesting background, a natural background, but also one, of course, deeply connected with slavery and everything.  Jonathan: So, you know, it was used in... South America among the Aztecs and so on to make armour actually. They made very, very thick cotton twill that they used as armour. And then it became fabulously valuable in the sort of 17th, 18th century especially, as a textile for our clothing. And unfortunately, as you say, it's got this link with slavery along with sugarcane and tobacco, these were the big crops that people grew, slave owners grew, in the Caribbean and in the southern states of North America, and then made the finished products in Britain that were then sold all over the world.  Adam: And I mean, you have some nice, lovely illustrations here of actually the cotton on the plant and it's a puffball. It doesn't look real, actually.   Jonathan: It's bonkers! It's an absolutely bonkers plant.   Adam: Yes but didn't people, when they first saw it, thought they were actually little sheep or something?  Jonathan: Yes *laughs* Well, the writers of the time, you know, they were all sort of knew that they would get a big audience if they made up some stuff so I'm not sure whether they really believed it. But certainly there was a textbook of the, I think it was the 17th century or early or late 16th century, where they sort of wrote, had diagrams of, because they thought it must be some kind of wool, they had diagrams showing little tiny sheep at the end of twigs on the plant *laughs* which supposedly would, you know, sort of the twigs would reach the ground in the evening and then the little sheep would, I don't know, wander off or something.   Adam: No one actually ever believed this, you're saying?   Jonathan: Well, I mean, no, well, I think it was created as a spin, but I think a lot of people did believe it, actually, in the same way that they believed in sea monsters and all those sort of naval stories that were brought back. And it was a very, yes, people believed all sorts of kind of nonsense and about where cotton came from. But the plant itself is very real and quite an odd one because you have these lovely sort of pale creamy flowers. It's sort of quite big, the size of a walnut kind of thing, you know. And then you get the seed pod which is absolutely bursting with all the fibre inside and the fibre's there to help the seeds carry on the wind. That's what the plant wants it for. But these burst open with this sort of great wodge of, I suppose, it looks like cotton wool. And it pretty much is cotton wool. And then the seeds are removed in a process called ginning. And the fibre that's left is then spun into thread.  Adam: Amazing story. The last one I suppose I really want to talk about is something you started with saying, you know, engaging younger people in things they know like chocolate. Chocolate doesn't come from Tesco or Sainsbury's, it comes from the cacao plant. Now, tell me a bit about that, but specifically what surprised me, if I remember this correctly, you said the chocolate we know was invented in England, is that right?  Jonathan: Well, the chocolate bar was invented by Fry back in the middle of the 19th century. And before that, people would have chocolate drinks, which were quite popular, especially at the time when coffee houses were very sort of blokey places.  Adam: This is about the 1800s, is it?   Jonathan: Yeah. Coffee houses were places where, you know, men would go.  Adam: Yeah, they were they were risky places, they were sort of like pubs almost, you know, like...  Jonathan: Yes, whereas families and women would go to chocolate houses. And some of those chocolate houses then became, you know, well-known clubs in London around Pall Mall and so on. They, but chocolate originally from Central America was a drink that would be taken quite bitter, mixed with maize, very, very nourishing, and was sometimes coloured with red dye, sort of symbolizing blood. And it was part of kind of rituals that they had where they, some of them were quite unpleasant rituals actually and then when it came, when chocolate came through the Spanish to Europe in the sort of 16th century, people immediately started adding sugar and milk and things to it, made it a lot more palatable.  Adam: Right. So it wasn't just the chocolate bar, so we really made it into the sweet drink that everyone knows. Maybe not England, but Europe.  Jonathan: Yes, and the and the chocolate bar was, that started in Britain. That was a British thing, with Fry and I think you can still get Frys chocolate?  Adam: Yeah, I was going to say, I do see it every now and then. It's not as popular as Cadbury's and all the others, but one does still see it.  Jonathan: You know, if you think about it from the plant's point of view, the reason that it's got this amazing fruit, which is about the size of a junior rugby ball, that grows very peculiarly on the stem of the plant, on the tree trunk, the reason it's got this amazing fruit is so that it can find something to be attracted to it that will disperse the seeds. That's why fruit is sweet. And the original thing that dispersed these fruit were probably sort of large, large mammals, which may not be around anymore. But the fruit is, the seeds are in this sort of sweet mush inside the cocoa pod. But your sort of big mammal would come along and gulp the whole thing down because it's lovely and sweet and then poo out the seeds somewhere else or spit them out because the seeds themselves are very bitter. And with coffee and chocolate and quite a few other things like apples even, the seeds are very bitter but the actual fruit is lovely and sweet. And the reason for that is so that something gobbles it but doesn't chew up the seeds. And then those get either spat out or pooed out together with a bit of fertiliser.  Adam: Right, amazing. And also, I mean, we've talked a bit about the social aspects of a lot of these plants. Chocolate itself had a huge social impact, wasn't it? It was seen as sort of an alternative, wasn't it, to alcohol and sort of bringing people into the fold of the righteous living and away from terrible drinks.  Jonathan: Yes, yeah, and it's a much gentler drink than coffee, which would have been quite a strong stimulant. Chocolate also has stimulants in it, but it's a bit more gentle. Yeah.  Adam: So it's an interesting book. I know this is part of something very important in your life about reconnecting with nature and spreading that message. Are you optimistic that things are looking up in that way, that people are engaging more?  Jonathan: I think, you know, I could make an argument for being pessimistic or optimistic, depending on the day, actually. But I do notice that young people have a kind of care for the environment that seems to be growing. And I think that's for obvious reasons, that they see it as their future. I'd say, essentially, I'm an optimist. And when you see plants growing and think about, the fact that they've been growing for zillions of years and will be growing for zillions of years, that is a sort of kind of optimistic thing. I think that young people are much more caring of the environment and sort of interested or I would say open to being interested. So if you kind of open their eyes to things, they're genuinely keen to know more and to do something. So all these schools projects that there are, all these things that the Woodland Trust actually does with schools are very, very valuable because I think with a lot of young people it just needs a little bit of a nudge and they're quite willing to go in a good direction.  Adam: That's a great note to end on and we've, I was worried this morning it looked like it would pour down but we've been spared that. So Jon, thank you very much.  Jonathan: Thank you.  Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners and volunteers. And don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes or wherever you're listening to us and do give us a review and a rating. And why not send us a recording of your favourite woodland walk to be included in a future podcast? Keep it to a maximum of 5 minutes and please tell us what makes your woodland walk special. Or send us an e-mail with details of your favourite walk and what makes it special to you. Send any audio files to podcast@woodlandtrust.org.uk and we look forward to hearing from you. 

In this episode of The Evolving Leader, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott Allender talk to Sir David Spiegelhalter, one of the world's foremost authorities on risk and probability. David explains why embracing uncertainty, rather than trying to eliminate it is essential for leaders who want to build resilience and make better judgments in complex times.Drawing from his latest book “The Art of Uncertainty”, David shares stories that bring statistics to life, from forecasting failures to the importance of imagination and red-team thinking. This conversation offers both a challenge and a toolkit: how to hold authority while admitting doubt, how to communicate risk with clarity, and how to lead teams toward what he calls ‘safe uncertainty'. Further materials from David Spiegelhalter:Five Rules For Evidence CommunicationThe art and science of uncertainty - with David Spiegelhalter (recorded at the Royal Institution, 30 January 2025) Other reading from Jean Gomes and Scott Allender: Leading In A Non-Linear World (J Gomes, 2023)The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence (S Allender, 2023)Social:Instagram           @evolvingleaderLinkedIn             The Evolving Leader PodcastTwitter               @Evolving_LeaderBluesky            @evolvingleader.bsky.socialYouTube           @evolvingleader The Evolving Leader is researched, written and presented by Jean Gomes and Scott Allender with production by Phil Kerby. It is an Outside production.Send a message to The Evolving Leader team

Michael Cremo's book Forbidden Archeology, coauthored with Richard Thompson, caused shock waves in the world of science, It exposed evidence for a human presence on this planet going much further back in time than the current dominant consensus in the world of science allows.In Extreme Human Antiquity, Cremo builds on the foundation of Forbidden Archeology, introducing explosive new cases from all phases of archeological research, from the nineteenth century to the present. Drawing on his knowledge of the history and philosophy of science, he documents how evidence for extreme human antiquity has been subjected to a process of knowledge filtration, by which this evidence is ignored, forgotten, set aside, or dismissed on flimsy grounds.Evidence for extreme human antiquity includes human bones, human footprints, and human artifacts. Cremo's understanding of what counts as human includes discoveries that have previously been attributed to Neanderthals and other hominin species. Cremo presents for each case the pros and cons for taking it as evidence for extreme human antiquity and lets readers make their own decision.MICHAEL A. CREMO is an independent historian of archeology. He is a member of the World Archaeological Congress and the European Association of Archaeologists. Cremo is the principal author of the book Forbidden Archeology, a comprehensive historical survey of archaeological anomalies. Cremo examines the history of the archeology from the standpoint of alternative worldviews, particularly worldviews with foundations in ancient Indian thought. He has given invited lectures on his work at the Royal Institution in London, the anthropology department of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, the archeology department of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and many other scientific institutions. He has also lectured on his work at universities throughout the world. He is a frequent guest on radio and television programs, and has a wide presence on the web. His website is www.mcremo.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/earth-ancients--2790919/support.

In this episode of The Wisdom Of ... Show, host Simon Bowen speaks with Dr. Catriona Wallace, a world-renowned AI pioneer, founder of the Responsible Metaverse Alliance, and one of the most influential voices in ethical technology development. With over two decades in AI, long before most people knew it existed, Catriona brings a unique perspective that bridges cutting-edge technology with ancient indigenous wisdom.As Chair of Boab AI, co-author of Checkmate Humanity, and a former Shark on Shark Tank Australia, Catriona has consistently been at the forefront of responsible technology development. But what makes this conversation extraordinary is her integration of plant medicine practices, indigenous community wisdom, and the "Seven Generations Principle" into the most advanced AI discussions of our time.Ready to transform your leadership approach? Join Simon's exclusive masterclass on The Models Method. Learn how to articulate your unique value and create scalable impact: https://thesimonbowen.com/masterclass Episode Breakdown00:00 Introduction and Catriona's journey from wanting to be a farmer to becoming an AI pioneer05:45 Why Australia risks becoming an "AI backwater" and the urgent need for responsible AI adoption12:30 The difference between AI ethics and responsible AI and why most leaders get this wrong18:15 The "evolutionary tipping point" toward transhumanism and what it means for business25:20 Plant medicine journeys and their impact on tech leaders' understanding of regenerative economics32:45 The Seven Generations Principle: How indigenous wisdom guides AI decision-making38:30 From extraction to regeneration: Why business models must fundamentally transform44:15 The eight principles of responsible AI and how to implement them in organizations50:30 "Rapid Transformation" and the five-step process for evolving leadership consciousness56:45 The intersection of technology love and nature love in shaping the future of humanityAbout Dr. Catriona WallaceDr. Catriona Wallace has been recognized as a Top Global Power Woman by the Centre of Economic & Leadership Development and as the Most Influential Woman in Business & Entrepreneurship by the Australian Financial Review. In 2023, she was a Shark on the hit TV series Shark Tank Australia.Catriona is the founder of the Responsible Metaverse Alliance and Chair of Boab AI, Artesian Capital's AI Accelerator and VC fund. She was also the founder of Ethical AI Advisory (now part of the Gradient Institute) and co-author of Checkmate Humanity: The How and Why of Responsible AI.As founder of AI company Flamingo AI (which exited in 2020), Catriona led only the second woman-led business ever to list on the Australian Stock Exchange. She's an international keynote speaker, one of the world's most cited experts on AI and the Metaverse, and has been recognized by Onalytica as one of the world's top AI speakers.With a PhD in Organizational Behaviour: Technology Substituting for Human Leaders and an Honorary Doctorate in Business, Dr. Wallace was inducted into the Royal Institution of Australia as one of Australia's most pre-eminent scientists. She is also a human rights activist, mother of five, trained Plant Medicine Guide, and strong advocate of the Psychedelic Renaissance.Connect with Dr. Catriona WallaceLinkedIn: Dr. Catriona Wallace Website: Responsible Metaverse Alliance Personal Website:

This week's special episode—produced in partnership with Challenging Pseudoscience, at the Royal Institution, with support from the Open Society Foundation—features two storytellers who share just how easy it is to fall for scientific misinformation, and how difficult it can be to find your way back. Part 1: When Lydia Greene's infant daughter has a troubling reaction to a routine vaccine and her concerns are dismissed by a healthcare professional, she turns to an online parenting forum for answers. Part 2: After moving to a new town and feeling isolated, Sarah Ott looks for connection through talk radio and a local church—only to find herself pulled into a world of climate denial and conspiracy thinking. Lydia Greene, nurse, wife, mother, geek, and vaccine advocate. Co-founder of Back to the Vax. Sarah Ott is a science educator and climate activist. Her work is focused on building resilience locally and nationally as we adapt to a changing climate. As the granddaughter of a Pennsylvania coal miner and former doubter of the science of climate change, she uses her personal story to shine a light on the path away from science denial and toward a life based in evidence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's special episode—produced in partnership with Challenging Pseudoscience, at the Royal Institution, with support from the Open Society Foundation—features two storytellers who share just how easy it is to fall for scientific misinformation, and how difficult it can be to find your way back. Part 1: When Lydia Greene's infant daughter has a troubling reaction to a routine vaccine and her concerns are dismissed by a healthcare professional, she turns to an online parenting forum for answers. Part 2: After moving to a new town and feeling isolated, Sarah Ott looks for connection through talk radio and a local church—only to find herself pulled into a world of climate denial and conspiracy thinking. Lydia Greene, nurse, wife, mother, geek, and vaccine advocate. Co-founder of Back to the Vax. Sarah Ott is a science educator and climate activist. Her work is focused on building resilience locally and nationally as we adapt to a changing climate. As the granddaughter of a Pennsylvania coal miner and former doubter of the science of climate change, she uses her personal story to shine a light on the path away from science denial and toward a life based in evidence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Craig MacDonald is a Chartered Building Surveyor with over 20 years of experience in property and construction sectors. He specialises in construction technology and building pathology in the Australian commercial real estate sector. He's a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the current chair of RICS Member Engagement Group in Queensland, Australia, registered APC Assessor, and counsellor to APC candidates. Craig is the author of the narrative non-fiction book, "The Building Detective: A Journey Into the Hidden Stories of Property, People, and Problem Solving", which is the starting point of this conversation. He shares the inspiration behind this book, his journey from Scotland to Australia, how storytelling can transform the profession and why surveying is a big adventure. What We Cover: The motivation and process behind writing The Building Detective, Craig's surveying journey, and how he moved to Australia. Insights into the APC qualification process and the role of mentorship The differences in surveying practices and standards between the UK and Australia How storytelling and technology shape the future of the profession Resources Mentioned: The Building Detective by Craig McDonald https://amzn.eu/d/3QPXtCq #117 Alice Graham - Visibility and Technology in Quantity Surveying RICS Information on APC - Assessment of Professional Competence Watch the podcast video and read the blog here - https://www.lovesurveying.com/blog/the-building-detective-surveyor-hub-podcast-craig-macdonald Connect with Craig McDonald: LinkedIn: Craig McDonald Instagram: @buildingdetective Connect with Marion Ellis: LinkedIn: Marion Ellis Instagram: @love_surveying Facebook: Love Surveying

Full show notes and bonus content at wickedproblems.earthExit MusicToday's exit track is Fiesta by The Pogues - with Tunbridge Wells' least-known and best-loved frontman, Shane MacGowan.We're finishing a long-read and when we say long we mean LONG. But it's our attempt to get behind the day-to-day reporting of the various machinations of what's happening in the US and try to understand it by examining the things that have shaped the worldview of the two most influential people on the planet right now. No, we don't mean The Mad King in the Oval Office. We mean Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. And why it's time to stop being surprised about what happens next.IntroPart IBut we take a break from the American shitshow to focus on something actually important, with our friend Tom Raftery - a transplanted Corkonian living near Seville since 2008. He and his family just lived through the most significant European blackout in decades. And because Tom is a veteran energy and climate analyst, and host of Climate Confident, he can offer a more-than-bystander account of what he was seeing, why he thinks it happened, and what might be done about it in future.Climate Impact Flagship SummitAnd if you're in the UK next week, and you can stretch to it, you should check out the Climate Impact summit on 7 May at the Royal Institution in London. As always, great lineup of speakers and attendees from the worlds of climate solution tech, investment, policy, and more, plus the craic is ninety. A few tickets are still available but they are going fast. If you are going give us a shout so we can meet up when you're there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This event took place on the 31st of October 2016 at the Royal Institution in London. CHAIR: Afua Hirsch - Writer and broadcaster SPEAKERS FOR THE MOTION: AA Gill - The Sunday Times's star restaurant and TV critic AGAINST THE MOTION: George Monbiot - Guardian columnist, environmental campaigner and author of Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet Fancy a nice juicy steak? Most of us do from time to time, and we don't trouble our consciences too much with the rights and wrongs of eating meat. Others, while vaguely aware that we ought to go vegan, just can't face the rest of our lives denying ourselves bacon, beef, butter etc. But once we start looking into the arguments for veganism, it becomes difficult to justify the omnivore diet. Take the environment for starters. Livestock farming has a massive impact on the planet, producing around 14% of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions according to the UN. That's roughly the same as the total amount of global transport emissions. Animals are extremely inefficient processors of the maize and soya that farmers grow to feed them. If we ate those crops ourselves instead of feeding them to livestock, we could free up hundreds of millions of hectares of rainforests, savannahs and wetlands where wild animals could flourish instead. And then there are the arguments about animal welfare. Recent scientific research indicates what many of us feel we already know – that animals have complex emotional lives not dissimilar to our own. Intensive farming – the kind that confines hens, pigs and cattle to squalid indoor pens – thwarts their instincts to move around freely and build social bonds with their group. Tens of billions of animals exist in this way, and that's before their short lives are ended in the horror house of the abattoir. As for those who say a vegan diet isn't healthy, elite athletes who have made the switch, including world tennis No 1 Novak Djokovic, prove you don't need animal protein to excel at the highest levels in sport. On the other side of the argument we developed as omnivores and every human culture has its culinary traditions, based on the taste and aesthetics of meat and dairy. Do we really want to live in a world where there is no beef Wellington or cheese soufflé? As for the environmentalist arguments, omnivores now have some serious eco-credentials behind them. A study at Cornell University shows that a diet that includes a few small portions of grass-fed meat a week may actually be greener than eating no animal products at all. And when it comes to animal welfare, rather than abandoning animal products altogether, couldn't we do more good by pressing for genuinely transparent labelling of our meat and dairy? If consumers really know what they are getting, fewer people might be willing to buy the £3 chicken produced in the barbaric conditions of the agricultural industry. As for a vegan diet being healthier, we should stop giving airtime to self-appointed health experts and lifestyle bloggers. Some dieticians argue that there are nutrients we need that we just can't get from plants alone. Yes, we can get calcium from kale and iron from beans, but the quantity, quality and bio-availability of such elements are far better when we get them from animal rather than plant sources. -- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two special postage stamps celebrating the work of Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and featuring two pioneering Irish scientists, Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell, astrophysicist and Professor Aoife McLysaght, geneticist, have been unveiled by Minister James Lawless T.D., Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Astrophysicist Bell Burnell discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967 and has studied the sky across almost the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Geneticist McLysaght is Chair of Evolutionary Genetics in Trinity College Dublin and one of the world's leading genetics researchers. She was recently appointed to the role of Government Science Advisor. Both women are also exceptional in their advocacy for women in STEM and STEM communications. Unveiling the stamps, Minister James Lawless T.D., Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science said: "Recognising the vital role of women in STEM, which has historically been underreported, is an important aspect of the ongoing work of supporting gender balance across STEM disciplines, ensuring that all our research and innovation talent has the scope to see and realise their full potential. I am delighted that the significant contribution Professor McLysaght has made to science has been recognised in this way. I am delighted in particular that she has taken up her new role as Government Science Advisor and look forward to working with her in the period ahead." Issuing just ahead of International Women's Day 2025 on 8th March, An Post's new stamps acknowledge the achievements of Women in STEM and the challenges. While women are leading the way in many areas of STEM they still represent only 25% of STEM jobs in Ireland. There is an even greater under-representation of women at senior executive level. (*OECD 2018) Women in STEM are connecting and advocating for themselves to provide inspiration and to promote role models for generations to come. With support from industry and Government, they are attracting and retaining more women to STEM careers and championing the importance of greater diversity in STEM. Professor Bell Burnell and Professor McLysaght are at the forefront of this work. Designed by Detail Design agency, the stamps feature portraits of each woman by artist Steve Doogan alongside graphics representing their fields of expertise and achievements - a radio telescope and a classic double DNA helix with a diagram of the molecule. The stamps and a limited edition First Day Cover envelope are available in selected post offices nationwide and online at www.anpost.com/shop In 2018 Jocelyn Bell Burnell was awarded a Breakthrough Prize for her discovery of radio pulsars, with an award of over €3million which she donated in full to ensuring access to science education for under-represented groups. Her discovery of pulsars was also the subject of the physics Nobel prize in 1974, but at the time her male supervisors received the award. Professor Bell Burnell has become a hugely respected leader in the scientific community, instrumental in ensuring that the issue of access to science by people from under-represented groups is at the top of the science community's agenda. Professor Bell Burnell said: 'I am honoured and delighted to have a stamp issue in my honour; thank you An Post." Aoife McLysaght takes a leadership role advocating for STEM and actively communicating science to the public in an engaging and accessible manner. As professor of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin, she led a research group for over 20 years and managed cumulative research income from competitive awards of more than €5.5 million. A frequent contributor to radio discussions, live TV panels, science programmes, newspapers and online media, she has given many talks at public events, including music festivals and at the Royal Institution. Professor Aoife McLysaght, Government Science Advisor, said: "I am deeply honoure...

5x15 is delighted to welcome leading science broadcaster and doctor Chris van Tulleken for a special online event in January, fresh from delivering the Royal Institution's prestigious Christmas Lectures. Chris's latest book Ultra-Processed People was a Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller upon publication last year, and it was widely hailed as a 'Book of the Year' and a ground-breaking intervention in the food world. It has, quite simply, changed the conversation around what we eat. We have entered a new 'age of eating' where most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food, food which is industrially processed and designed and marketed to be addictive. But do we really know what it's doing to our bodies? Ultra-Processed People follows Chris through the world of food science to discover what's really going on. It's a book about our rights. The right to know what we eat and what it does to our bodies and the right to good, affordable food. Don't miss the chance to hear Chris van Tulleken share his expert insights into food, health and the issues that affect us all, live in conversation with food campaigner, cross-bench peer and 5x15 co-founder Rosie Boycott. Praise for Ultra-Processed People '[Chris van Tulleken] is starting a really important revolution and conversation around what we eat. Books come along once in a while, once every couple of years, once in a generation that meet culture at the exact moment…it's these books that end up changing the world.' - STEVEN BARTLETT 'If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one.' - BEE WILSON ‘Incendiary and infuriating, this book is a diet grenade; the bold and brutal truth about how we are fed deadly delights by very greedy evil giants' - CHRIS PACKHAM 'A devastating, witty and scholarly destruction of the shit food we eat and why.' - ADAM RUTHERFORD Chris van Tulleken is an infectious diseases doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. He trained in medicine at Oxford University, has a PhD in molecular virology from University College London where he is an Associate Professor and where his research focuses on how corporations affect human health, especially in the context of nutrition. He works closely with UNICEF and the World Health Organization in this area. His book Ultra-Processed People was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. He is one of the BBC's leading science broadcasters on television and radio for children and adults. Photo Credit: Jonny Storey With thanks for your support for 5x15 online! Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

Last year the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) released its residential retrofit standard. Given that they're one of the construction industry's oldest, largest, and most influential institutions this felt significant.Importantly, the RICS organisation has a global footprint, so it has the potential to influence good behaviour far and wide. We're also hopeful in light of the success of the RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment standard. That is in terms of its apparent impact, adoption, and reach.In order to get into the subject a bit more we invited Paul Bagust (Head of Property Standards), Steven Lees (Senior Specialist - Residential Survey), and Robert Toomey (Senior Public Affairs Officer) to join us to talk about the standard and the impact they want to see it have.Notes from the showPaul Bagust on LinkedInSteven Lees on LinkedIn Robert Toomey on LinkedInThe old Passive House Plus article about the Preston retrofit catastrophe that Jeff mentionsThe RICS consumer guide to energy will be here once it's published (one for the listeners of the future) The website for Scotland's Green Home Festival – details for 2025 are incoming**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page (we still don't have a proper website)Jeff and Dan about Zero Ambitions Partners (the consultancy) for help with positioning and communications strategy, customer/user research and engagement strategy, carbon calculations and EPDs – we're up to all sortsSubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Check Lloyd Alter's Substack: Carbon UpfrontJoin ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCCheck out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Shakespeare lived in a period of exciting mathematical innovations, from arithmetic to astronomy, and from probability to music. Remarkably, many of those innovations are mentioned, or at least hinted at, in his plays. Rob Eastaway will explore the surprising ways in which mathematical ideas connect with Shakespeare and reveals that the playwright could be as creative with numbers as he was with words. Along the way you will discover surprising new mathematical insights on the Elizabethan world.This lecture was recorded by Rob Eastaway on 9th October 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.Rob Eastaway is best known as the author of several bestselling popular maths books, including Why Do Buses Come in Threes? and Maths On the Back of an Envelope. With Mike Askew, he wrote Maths for Mums & Dads, a book that helps parents to understand the new methods being used to teach maths. The American edition was published in 2010 entitled Old Dogs, New Math. Rob has given hundreds of maths talks across the world to audiences of all ages, including several family lectures at the Royal Institution, and he is Director of Maths Inspiration, a programme of interactive lecture shows for teenagers, held in theatres across the UK. From 2019 to 2023 he was the puzzle adviser for New Scientist magazine.The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/bshm-25Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-todayWebsite:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport Us: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-todaySupport the show

Elizabeth Oldfield joins panel of leading thinkers from across the philosophical and religious spectrum come together to grapple with some of life's biggest questions on God, atheism, and the meaning of life. The panelists - including Elizabeth Oldfield, Rowan Williams, Alex O'Connor, and Philip Goff - engage in a lively debate exploring the origins of the universe, the problem of suffering, and the search for meaning and purpose. If you enjoy episodes of The Sacred please do subscribe to be notified whenever we release an episode!

Kip Thorne is an Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, and someone who's had a huge impact on our understanding of Einsteinian gravity. Over the course of his career Kip has broken new ground in the study of black holes, and been an integral parts of the team that recorded gravitational waves for the very first time – earning him a share in the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.He went on to promote physics in films: developing the original idea behind Christopher Nolan's time-travel epic Interstellar and, since then, advising on scientific elements of various big-screen projects; including, most recently, the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.In a special edition of The Life Scientific recorded in front of an audience of London's Royal Institution, Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Kip about his life and career, from his Mormon upbringing in Utah to Hollywood collaborations – all through the lens of his unwavering passion for science.

In this week's episode of the Industrial Real Estate Show I had the honor of being joined by the 2025 Chair of NAIOP, Alex Thomson. I'm a big advocate of NAIOP and have the pleasure of calling Alex a friend, so this week's episode was quite special! About Alex: Alex Thomson is a passionate advocate for the commercial real estate industry. A long-standing contributor to the Edmonton chapter board, Alex also serves as the chapter's representative on the NAIOP North America board. He holds the distinction of being the first ever Canadian Chair-Elect of NAIOP North America and is slated to serve as the association's Chair in 2025. With two decades of experience in commercial real estate, Alex has gained expertise in every aspect of the business, spanning acquisitions, entitlements, development, financing and dispositions. His professional journey has seen him involved in over $2 billion worth of transformative commercial real estate projects. Alex is the founder of Prevail Consultants, offering strategic guidance as a trusted advisor and fractional executive for companies and entrepreneurial owners alike. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a member of the Executive Board of the Centre for Cities and Communities at the University of Alberta. Connect with Alex: Prevail Consultants: https://prevailconsultants.com/ NAIOP: https://www.naiop.org/about-us/bio-detail-page/?bio=cb2b9439-ff0f-4757-b420-1514add9a05a LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/alex-thomson-b931004 --

Our host, Hilary Knight speaks to Rob Cawston, Director of Digital and Service Transformation, National Library of Scotland on how the NLS is taking an ethical stance on the use of AI and how this work is tied to its mission and values.External References:National Library of Scotland: https://www.nls.uk/National Library of Scotland AI Statement: https://data.nls.uk/projects/ai-statement/National Library of Scotland's tools: https://data.nls.uk/tools/2023 SAG-AFTRA strike: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_SAG-AFTRA_strikeSmithsonian's AI Values Statement: https://datascience.si.edu/ai-values-statementSmithsonian's co-authored the paper "Developing responsible AI practices at the Smithsonian Institution": https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.9.e113334Bio:Rob Cawston is the Director of Digital and Service Transformation at the National Library of Scotland and has previously managed digital programmes at the Scottish Government, National Museums Scotland, the Royal Institution, BAFTA and Chatham House. Rob is a graduate of the Oxford Cultural Leaders programme at the Said Business School (University of Oxford) and has served as an Advisory Board Member of Creative Lives supporting community and volunteer-led creative activity across Scotland.

We can only efficiently reduce those things that we can measure. The Whole Life Carbon Assessment standard, produced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), established a method for assessing the carbon impact of buildings. Its updated version, which came into effect in July, expanded its scope to include infrastructure, and was designed to... The post #288 Engineering Matters Awards: Net Zero Champion – Whole Life Carbon Assessment, 2nd edition first appeared on Engineering Matters.

John Burdon Sanderson Haldane FRS (/ˈhɔːldeɪn/; 5 November 1892 – 1 December 1964[1][2]), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS",[3] was a British-Indian scientist who worked in physiology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and mathematics. With innovative use of statistics in biology, he was one of the founders of neo-Darwinism. Despite his lack of an academic degree in the field,[1] he taught biology at the University of Cambridge, the Royal Institution, and University College London.[4] Renouncing his British citizenship, he became an Indian citizen in 1961 and worked at the Indian Statistical Institute for the rest of his life.

The final episode in this series of The Life Scientific is a journey through space and time, via black holes and wormholes, taking in Nobel-prize-winning research and Hollywood blockbusters!Kip Thorne is an Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, and someone who's had a huge impact on our understanding of Einsteinian gravity. Over the course of his career Kip has broken new ground in the study of black holes, and been an integral parts of the team that recorded gravitational waves for the very first time – earning him a share in the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics.He went on to promote physics in films: developing the original idea behind Christopher Nolan's time-travel epic Interstellar and, since then, advising on scientific elements of various big-screen projects; including, most recently, the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.In a special edition of The Life Scientific recorded in front of an audience of London's Royal Institution, Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to Kip about his life and career, from his Mormon upbringing in Utah to Hollywood collaborations – all through the lens of his unwavering passion for science. Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Produced by Lucy Taylor

We all want to be happier, but our brains often get in the way. When we're too stuck in our heads we obsess over our inadequacies, compare ourselves with others and fail to see the good in our lives.In The Science of Happiness, world-leading psychologist and happiness expert Bruce Hood demonstrates that the key to happiness is not self-care but connection. He presents seven simple but life-changing lessons to break negative thought patterns and re-connect with the things that really matter.Bruce Hood is an award-winning Professor of Developmental Psychology at Bristol University and the author of several books including SuperSense, The Self Illusion, The Domesticated Brain and Possessed. His course, The Science of Happiness, is the most popular course at Bristol University. He has appeared extensively on TV and radio, including co-hosting the BBC podcast The Happiness Half Hour in 2021. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, the Royal Institution of Great Britain and the British Psychological Society.The film Bruce and Adrienne discuss is Agent of Happiness. A 2024 documentary film that follows Bhutanese government officials, Amber Kumar Gurung and Guna Raj Kuikel, as they travel through the country to measure people's happiness levels, which are then used to calculate the Gross National Happiness score. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Chapter Two of Wedding Bones, Baine, an esteemed surgeon and anatomy lecturer at the Royal Institution, is fed up with being the Earl of Evershed's crime-solving partner. Once intrigued by the prospect of exposing murderers, Baine is now fiercely dedicated to combating the deadly infections plaguing England. Despite his disdain, the Earl's friendship, protection, and substantial investments force Baine to begrudgingly investigate the death of a wealthy husband at the behest of a nineteen-year-old Viscountess. Reluctantly dragged to the countryside, Baine soon finds himself unexpectedly engrossed in the case he wanted no part of. Tune in as Baine navigates a tangled web of mystery and duty, unraveling secrets that could change everything.

On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin gathers round the campfire to chat about Cornwall, Medieval music, King Arthur, and so much more, with expert storyteller and author of Cornish Folk Tales Mike O'Connor.A prizewinning competition fiddle player and a master of the concertina, Mike is the leading researcher of Cornish instrumental music anywhere in the world. He has been working as a musician since the 1970s and as a storyteller since the 1990s. He has been awarded the OBE, is a bard of the Gorsedh of Cornwall, and received the Henwood Medal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, too.He regularly works with harper, viol player, and highly respected early music specialist Barbara Griggs. Together they perform a unique repertoire, the product of unprecedented scholarship that has led to the discovery of many early manuscripts and previously unconsidered sources in Cornwall.Mike currently works at the Institute of Cornish Studies at Exeter University, has written for learned journals and popular magazines on subjects relating to folklore, and, as an advisor on traditional dances, tunes, folk songs and instruments, has worked on high profile TV and film projects, including, in recent years, Poldark, to which he contributed additional music and songs.With tales varying from 5-minute fireside fancies to epics such as Tristan and Iseult, Imravoe, the Tales of the Holy Rood, and Loki, Mike is a master storyteller who has made many recordings and radio broadcasts. Few people alive today have such a deep knowledge of Cornish legends and folk tales. And so we hope you enjoy our chat, which ranges from mermaids and giants to King Mark, the beauty of the Cornish landscape to the legacy of Cornwall's ancient mineral wealth, and far, far beyond.Learn more about Mike and his work here: https://www.lyngham.co.uk/The Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon.Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly, the pair take turns to tell a new version of an ancient story from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it might have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past...Bonus Episodes are released on Thursdays (Magic and Medicines about folk remedies and arcane spells, Three Ravens Bestiary about cryptids and mythical creatures, Dying Arts about endangered heritage crafts, and Something Wicked about folkloric true crime from across history) plus Local Legends episodes on Saturdays - interviews with acclaimed authors, folklorists, podcasters and historians with unique perspectives on that week's county.With a range of exclusive content on Patreon too, including audio ghost tours, the Three Ravens Newsletter, and monthly Three Ravens Film Club episodes about folk horror films from across the decades, why not join us around the campfire and listen in?Learn more at www.threeravenspodcast.com, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/threeravenspodcast, and find links to our social media channels here: https://linktr.ee/threeravenspodcast Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Davy's career after his work in nitrous oxide included the invention of a miner's lamp designed to make mining safer. This invention came with a bit of controversy.  Research: "Britons take laughing gas merrily. Tories take it more seriously." The Economist, 27 Sept. 2023, p. NA. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766770794/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=c0888abb. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. "Erroneous element." Muse, vol. 20, no. 7, Sept. 2016, p. 7. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A466296806/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=795a6d0c. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. “Sir Humphrey Davy's Harmful Emissions – November 2015.” Newcastle University Special Collections. 11/30/2015. https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2015/11/30/sir-humphrey-davys-harmful-emissions/ Adams, Max. "Humphry Davy and the murder lamp: Max Adams investigates the truth behind the introduction of a key invention of the early Industrial Revolution." History Today, vol. 55, no. 8, Aug. 2005, pp. 4+. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A135180355/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=2d163818. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. Buslov, Alexander BSc; Carroll, Matthew BSc; Desai, Manisha S. MD. Frozen in Time: A History of the Synthesis of Nitrous Oxide and How the Process Remained Unchanged for Over 2 Centuries. Anesthesia & Analgesia 127(1):p 65-70, July 2018. | DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000003423 Cantor, Geoffrey. “Humphry Davy: a study in narcissism?” The Royal Society. 4/11/2018. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.2017.0055#FN95R Cartwright, F.F. “Humphry Davy's Researches on Nitrous Oxide.” British Journal of Anesthesia. Vol. 44. 1972. Davy, Humprhy. “Researches, chemical and philosophical : chiefly concerning nitrous oxide, or diphlogisticated nitrous air, and its respiration.” London : printed for J. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard, by Biggs and Cottle, Bristol. 1800. Eveleth, Rose. “Here's What It Was Like to Discover Laughing Gas.” Smithsonian. 3/27/2014. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-what-it-was-discover-laughing-gas-180950289/ Gibbs, Frederick William. "Sir Humphry Davy". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sir-Humphry-Davy-Baronet. Accessed 3 April 2024. Gregory, Joshua C. “The Life and Work of Sir Humphry Davy.” Science Progress in the Twentieth Century (1919-1933), Vol. 24, No. 95. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43428894 Hunt, Lynn and Margaret Jacob. “The Affective Revolution in 1790s Britain.” Eighteenth-Century Studies , Summer, 2001, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Summer, 2001). https://www.jstor.org/stable/30054227 j Jacob, Margaret C. and Michael J. Sauter. “Why Did Humphry Davy and Associates Not Pursue the Pain-Alleviating Effects of Nitrous Oxide?” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences , APRIL 2002, Vol. 57, No. 2. Via https://www.jstor.org/stable/24623678 James, Frank A. J. L. "Davy, Humphry." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 20, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008, pp. 249-252. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2830905611/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=c68d87c2. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. James, Louis. “'Now Inhale the Gas': Interactive Readership in Two Victorian Boys' Periodicals, 1855–1870.” Victorian Periodicals Review, Volume 42, Number 1, Spring 2009. https://doi.org/10.1353/vpr.0.0062 Jay, Mike. “‘O, Excellent Air Bag': Humphry Davy and Nitrous Oxide.” 8/6/2014. Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/o-excellent-air-bag-humphry-davy-and-nitrous-oxide/ Jay, Mike. “The Atmosphere of Heaven: The 1799 Nitrous Oxide Researches Reconsidered.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London , 20 September 2009, Vol. 63, No. 3, Thomas Beddoes, 1760-1808 (20 September 2009). https://www.jstor.org/stable/40647280 Knight, David. "Davy, Sir Humphry, baronet (1778–1829), chemist and inventor." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. February 10, 2022. Oxford University Press. Date of access 3 Apr. 2024, https://proxy.bostonathenaeum.org:2261/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-7314 Lacey, Andrew. “Humphry Davy and the ‘safety lamp controversy'.” 7/22/2015. https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2015/jul/22/humphry-davy-lamp-controversy-history-science Neve, Michael. "Beddoes, Thomas (1760–1808), chemist and physician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Apr. 2024, https://proxy.bostonathenaeum.org:2261/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1919 Polwhele, Richard. “Poems; Chiefly, The Local Attachment; The Unsex'd Females; The Old English Gentleman; the Pneumatic Revellers; and The Family Picture, Etc: Volume 5.” 1810. Roberts, Jacob. “High Times: When does self-experimentation cross the line?” Science History Institute Museum and Library. 2/2/2017. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/high-times/ Slosson, Edwin E. “A New Path to Oblivion.” The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Sep., 1923). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3693060 Thomas, John Meurig. “Sir Humphry Davy and the coal miners of the world: a commentary on Davy (1816) ‘An account of an invention for giving light in explosive mixtures of fire-damp in coal mines'.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 4/13/2015. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2014.0288 Thomas, John Meurig. “Sir Humphry Davy: Natural Philosopher, Discoverer, Inventor, Poet, and Man of Action.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society , JUNE 2013, Vol. 157, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24640238 West, John B. “Humphry Davy, nitrous oxide, the Pneumatic Institution, and the Royal Institution.” American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. Volume 307, Issue 9. Nov 2014. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/epdf/10.1152/ajplung.00206.2014 Woods, Gordon. "Sir Humphry Davy." Chemistry Review, vol. 14, no. 4, Apr. 2005, pp. 31+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A131857918/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=4d341a27. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all want to be happier, but our brains often get in the way. When we're too stuck in our heads we obsess over our inadequacies, compare ourselves with others and fail to see the good in our lives. In The Science of Happiness, world-leading psychologist and happiness expert Bruce Hood demonstrates that the key to happiness is not self-care but connection. He presents seven simple but life-changing lessons to break negative thought patterns and re-connect with the things that really matter. Alter Your Ego Avoid Isolation Reject Negative Comparisons Become More Optimistic Control Your Attention Connect With Others Get Out of Your Own Head Grounded in decades of studies in neuroscience and developmental psychology, this book tells a radical new story about the roots of wellbeing and the obstacles that lie in our path. With clear, practical takeaways throughout, Professor Hood demonstrates how we can all harness the findings of this science to re-wire our thinking and transform our lives. Dr. Bruce Hood is an award-winning Professor of Developmental Psychology at Bristol University and the author of several books including SuperSense, The Self Illusion, The Domesticated Brain, and Possessed. His course, The Science of Happiness, is the most popular course at Bristol University. He has appeared extensively on TV and radio, including co-hosting the BBC podcast The Happiness Half Hour in 2021. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, the Royal Institution of Great Britain and the British Psychological Society. Shermer and Hood discuss: psychedelic drugs • defining the “good life” or “happiness” • measuring emotions • happiness as social contagion • eudaimonia (the pursuit of meaning) versus hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure) • genetics and heritability • cultural components • WEIRD people • The Big Five (OCEAN) • marriage and health • exercise and stress reduction • what the ancient Greeks got right about living the good life • how failure may actually be a key to more happiness • how to live the life you want—not necessarily the life expected of you.

Chemist Sir Humphry Davy is known for his work with nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. That early part of his career is the focus of part one of this two-parter. Research: "Britons take laughing gas merrily. Tories take it more seriously." The Economist, 27 Sept. 2023, p. NA. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766770794/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=c0888abb. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. "Erroneous element." Muse, vol. 20, no. 7, Sept. 2016, p. 7. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A466296806/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=795a6d0c. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. “Sir Humphrey Davy's Harmful Emissions – November 2015.” Newcastle University Special Collections. 11/30/2015. https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2015/11/30/sir-humphrey-davys-harmful-emissions/ Adams, Max. "Humphry Davy and the murder lamp: Max Adams investigates the truth behind the introduction of a key invention of the early Industrial Revolution." History Today, vol. 55, no. 8, Aug. 2005, pp. 4+. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A135180355/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=2d163818. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. Buslov, Alexander BSc; Carroll, Matthew BSc; Desai, Manisha S. MD. Frozen in Time: A History of the Synthesis of Nitrous Oxide and How the Process Remained Unchanged for Over 2 Centuries. Anesthesia & Analgesia 127(1):p 65-70, July 2018. | DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000003423 Cantor, Geoffrey. “Humphry Davy: a study in narcissism?” The Royal Society. 4/11/2018. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.2017.0055#FN95R Cartwright, F.F. “Humphry Davy's Researches on Nitrous Oxide.” British Journal of Anesthesia. Vol. 44. 1972. Davy, Humprhy. “Researches, chemical and philosophical : chiefly concerning nitrous oxide, or diphlogisticated nitrous air, and its respiration.” London : printed for J. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard, by Biggs and Cottle, Bristol. 1800. Eveleth, Rose. “Here's What It Was Like to Discover Laughing Gas.” Smithsonian. 3/27/2014. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-what-it-was-discover-laughing-gas-180950289/ Gibbs, Frederick William. "Sir Humphry Davy". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sir-Humphry-Davy-Baronet. Accessed 3 April 2024. Gregory, Joshua C. “The Life and Work of Sir Humphry Davy.” Science Progress in the Twentieth Century (1919-1933), Vol. 24, No. 95. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43428894 Hunt, Lynn and Margaret Jacob. “The Affective Revolution in 1790s Britain.” Eighteenth-Century Studies , Summer, 2001, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Summer, 2001). https://www.jstor.org/stable/30054227 j Jacob, Margaret C. and Michael J. Sauter. “Why Did Humphry Davy and Associates Not Pursue the Pain-Alleviating Effects of Nitrous Oxide?” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences , APRIL 2002, Vol. 57, No. 2. Via https://www.jstor.org/stable/24623678 James, Frank A. J. L. "Davy, Humphry." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. 20, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008, pp. 249-252. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2830905611/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=c68d87c2. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. James, Louis. “'Now Inhale the Gas': Interactive Readership in Two Victorian Boys' Periodicals, 1855–1870.” Victorian Periodicals Review, Volume 42, Number 1, Spring 2009. https://doi.org/10.1353/vpr.0.0062 Jay, Mike. “‘O, Excellent Air Bag': Humphry Davy and Nitrous Oxide.” 8/6/2014. Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/o-excellent-air-bag-humphry-davy-and-nitrous-oxide/ Jay, Mike. “The Atmosphere of Heaven: The 1799 Nitrous Oxide Researches Reconsidered.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London , 20 September 2009, Vol. 63, No. 3, Thomas Beddoes, 1760-1808 (20 September 2009). https://www.jstor.org/stable/40647280 Knight, David. "Davy, Sir Humphry, baronet (1778–1829), chemist and inventor." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. February 10, 2022. Oxford University Press. Date of access 3 Apr. 2024, https://proxy.bostonathenaeum.org:2261/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-7314 Lacey, Andrew. “Humphry Davy and the ‘safety lamp controversy'.” 7/22/2015. https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2015/jul/22/humphry-davy-lamp-controversy-history-science Neve, Michael. "Beddoes, Thomas (1760–1808), chemist and physician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 11 Apr. 2024, https://proxy.bostonathenaeum.org:2261/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1919 Polwhele, Richard. “Poems; Chiefly, The Local Attachment; The Unsex'd Females; The Old English Gentleman; the Pneumatic Revellers; and The Family Picture, Etc: Volume 5.” 1810. Roberts, Jacob. “High Times: When does self-experimentation cross the line?” Science History Institute Museum and Library. 2/2/2017. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/high-times/ Slosson, Edwin E. “A New Path to Oblivion.” The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Sep., 1923). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3693060 Thomas, John Meurig. “Sir Humphry Davy and the coal miners of the world: a commentary on Davy (1816) ‘An account of an invention for giving light in explosive mixtures of fire-damp in coal mines'.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 4/13/2015. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2014.0288 Thomas, John Meurig. “Sir Humphry Davy: Natural Philosopher, Discoverer, Inventor, Poet, and Man of Action.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society , JUNE 2013, Vol. 157, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24640238 West, John B. “Humphry Davy, nitrous oxide, the Pneumatic Institution, and the Royal Institution.” American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. Volume 307, Issue 9. Nov 2014. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/epdf/10.1152/ajplung.00206.2014 Woods, Gordon. "Sir Humphry Davy." Chemistry Review, vol. 14, no. 4, Apr. 2005, pp. 31+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A131857918/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=4d341a27. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show Jason Morrison discusses Bruce Lehrmann in court today. Later, Dr Stuart Ballantyne discusses floating nuclear power plants. Also, John Conroy discusses the threat of industrial scale solar developments on agricultural land. GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: Jason Morrison's extensive career in media started with 2GB in 1989 at the age of 17 as a newsroom cadet. In 1998, he was appointed Director of News at 2GB and remains the youngest person to have ever held that position. He was the director of 7News Sydney for almost eight years until his departure in June 2023. X: @JasonMorrisonAU  GUEST 2 OVERVIEW: Dr Stuart Ballantyne, besides being a columnist for The Spectator, is a fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. He has a long list of awards including the ICHCA Annual Award 1996, Sea trade Award 1997 (London), Cruise and Ferry Award 2003 (London), AUSMEPA Marine Environment Award 2006 (Sydney) and the Institute of Export – Export Hero of the Year 2008 (Australia). Stuart was awarded an honorary doctorate in science from Strathclyde University in 2014 for his services to the maritime Industry. https://www.seatransport.com/ GUEST 3 OVERVIEW: John Conroy and his wife Jess are cattle farmers at Bobinawarrah in northeast Victoria. John is spokesperson of the Meadow Creek Agricultural Community Action Group which is opposing the $750 million, 330-megawatt Meadow Creek Solar Farm.      

Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science writer whose words have appeared in titles such as The Atlantic, New Scientist and the New York Times. Her new book is Our Moon. It's both a meticulous scientific account of the forces at play around that big rock in the sky and also a cultural history of how humans on Earth have been inspired by it over millennia. Boyle's book captures the the lengths humanity has gone to in order to create myths and stories around the moon while studying its astronomy and eventually actually visiting it too. Joining Boyle in conversation to discuss the book is neuroscientist and science communicator Dr Daniel Glaser, Director of Engagement at the Royal Institution. If you'd like to get access to all of our longer form interviews and members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events - Our member-only newsletter The Monthly Read, sent straight to your inbox ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series ... Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more ... Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's time for another trip around the solar system! In this week's Science Weekly, Dan chats to Mike Wooldridge about his Christmas Lecture for the Royal Institution all about AI & what the future holds for humans and robots alike? Dan explains all about last week's meteor shower & answers your questions about will we ever know how stars there are in space?All on this week's episode of Science Weekly!Join Fun Kids Podcasts+: https://funkidslive.com/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prof Michael Wooldridge has been an AI researcher for more than 30 years, and in the year that AI was supercharged by ChatGPT, he is giving the Royal Institution's Christmas lectures on the truth about AI. The Guardian science correspondent Nicola Davis sat down with him to find out how he sees AI evolving, what makes human intelligence unique, and what really keeps him awake at night. Madeleine Finlay hears from them both in this Science Weekly Christmas special.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod