Podcasts about University College London

"The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar is a straightforward and accessible A-Z guide to the diverse and often complex terminology of English grammar. It contains over 1,600 entries with clear and concise definitions, enhanced by numerous example sentences, as well as relevant quotations from the scholarly literature of the field. This second edition is written and edited by Professor Bas Aarts of University College London, writer of the acclaimed Oxford Modern English Grammar. It has been fully revised and updated, with particular attention paid to refreshing the example sentences included within the text. There are over 150 new entries that cover current terminology which has arisen since the publication of the first edition, and there are also new entries on the most important English grammars published since the start of the 20th century. Hundreds of new cross-references enhance the user-friendly nature of the text, and the list of works cited has been thoroughly updated to reflect the current state of the field. A short appendix of web links has been added. All in all, this Dictionary is an invaluable guide to English grammar for all students and teachers of the subject, as well as all those with an informed interest in the English language." (For Educational and inspirational materials. The Creators own their content).

More and more billionaires are jumping on rockets to try to reach space. Richard Branson was the first with Virgin Galactica, Jeff Bezos was next with Blue Origin, and they're both competing against Elon Musk's company SpaceX. The question is, what's in it for the rest of humanity? Today on the Signal, the dawn of the new space age and the billionaires funding it. What's it going to achieve, and is it worth the cost? Featured: Dr Bradley Tucker, Astrophysicist and Cosmologist, Australian National University Dr Eloise Marais, Associate Professor in Physical Geography, University College London

In the third episode of our mini-series on environmental sustainability across the coffee industry, we're shifting the focus to carbon reduction in coffee roasteries. In conversations with a leading academic, an electric roaster manufacturer, and coffee roasters, large and small, we unpack where carbon is generated once green coffee leaves the farm and how coffee roasters can make their operations as sustainable as possible.Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth Systems Science at University College London provides an overview of the life cycle of a cup of coffee and where carbon is generated across the supply chain.Grayson Caldwell, Head of Sustainability, Bellwether Coffee, discusses the urgent need to electrify coffee roasting and the environmental benefits vs. traditional gas roasting.Ewan Reid, Managing Director, Matthew Algie, shares how his business is tackling the challenges of carbon production in large-scale roasting operations.Bengt Ove Hagen, Production Director, Joh. Johannson Kaffe shares how his team designed a brand new eco-focused roasting facility and their ambitions to become one of the world's most sustainable coffee roasters.Read more on Bellwether's annual sustainability report here. Credits music: “Rage” by Kate Klein in association with the Coffee Music ProjectSubscribe to 5THWAVE on Instagram @5thWaveCoffee and tell us what topics you'd like to hear

How might life be different on a planet without a magnetic field? I'm joined by an evolutionary biologist and a natural navigator to find out! Buy tickets to the live Exolore recording here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exolore-live-worldbuilding-of-stargate-tickets-172936366327 (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exolore-live-worldbuilding-of-stargate-tickets-172936366327) HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (https://twitter.com/goastromo (@GoAstroMo)), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Dr. Emeline Favreau is an evolutionary biologist working at University College London. She specializes in the social nature of insects, particularly wasps. Visit her website https://emelinefavreau.github.io/ (emelinefavreau.github.io) Tristan Gooley is an author and natural navigator. You can follow his work at his website https://www.naturalnavigator.com/tristan-gooley/ (naturalnavigator.com), and check out his latest book, The Secret World of Weather. MIDBREAK - Get 10% off your first month of Betterhelp at betterhelp.com/exolore! - Check out Spirits at spiritspodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts FIND US ONLINE - patreon: https://my.captivate.fm/patreon.com/exolorepod (patreon.com/exolorepod) - twitter: https://twitter.com/ExolorePod (twitter.com/ExolorePod) - instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/ (instagram.com/exolorepod) - website: https://www.exolorepod.com/ (exolorepod.com) - subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ExolorePod/ (reddit.com/r/ExolorePod) CREDITS - Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/ (https://www.purple-planet.com) - Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/ (http://stephenjreisig.com/) - Editing: Mischa Stanton, https://www.mischastanton.com/ (https://www.mischastanton.com/)  - Transcript by Iesir Moss ABOUT US Have you ever wished you could travel to a different world? Exolore can help with that! In each episode, astrophysicist/folklorist Moiya McTier explores fictional worlds by building them with a panel of expert guests, interviewing professional worldbuilders, or reviewing the merits of worlds that have already been built. You'll learn, you'll laugh, and you'll gain an appreciation for how special our planet really is. Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio. Support this podcast

Was life for our ancient ancestors brutish and short or did they exist as noble savages free and living in harmony with nature and each other? Many of our assumptions about ancient societies stem from renaissance theories about how society should be organized and what civilisation is. Dan is joined by David Wengrow, Professor of Comparative Archaeology at University College London and co-author of The Dawn of Everything to challenge some of these assumptions and show that they were founded on critiques of European society. David shines a light on the great variety of ancient civilisations, the different models of society they offer and how that might influence us today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode I spoke to Dr Doel about some of the projects he has been working on. He told me about the considerations that need to be accounted for when retrofitting telescopes as well as how he entered this field. Dr Doel also described how he thought the field have changed in the past to what it is now. 

Dr. Wild is a Professor of Neurology at University College London, a Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London's Queen Square, and Associate Director of UCL Huntington's Disease Centre. He runs clinics in general neurology, neurogenetic movement disorders and Huntington's disease. He leads a team of researchers aiming to accelerate the development of new therapies to make a real difference for people impacted by Huntington's disease. Dr. Wild believes that “Scientists have a duty to make their work accessible and understandable to the people who need it most.” So in 2010, I co-founded HDBuzz, an online source of reliable, impartial, easy-to-understand information about HD research. HDBuzz is now the world's foremost HD research news source. In recognition of this, he was awarded the 2012 Michael Wright Community Leadership Award by the Huntington Society of Canada and the 2014 Research Award by the Huntington's Disease Society of America (which is where I first met Dr. Wild). He has authored 7 book chapters and over 80 peer-reviewed publications. He serves on the Medical Advisory Panel of the Huntington's Disease Association, the Association of British Neurologists Neurogenetics Advisory Panel, and the Translational Neurology Panel of the European Academy of Neurology. He is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Huntington's Disease and advises the steering committee to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Huntington's disease. He is the co-Lead Facilitator of the European Huntington's Disease Network‘s Biomarkers Working Group. For more information about HDClarity, please visit www.hdclarity.net

The Duke of Cambridge wants the likes of Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk to focus on saving this planet rather than trying to reach the next. Is he right? We talk it over with physical geographer Dr Eloise Marais from University College London. She tells us about the impact all these rocket launches are having on the planet right now as well as potential problems in the future. We also ask if there are better ways to send spaceships out of the atmosphere than those currently being used by rival billionaires? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Suzan-Lori Parks, the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on her play White Noise, which has its the UK premier tonight. Life is not so bad for four liberal friends, two couples, black with a white partner, until Leo has a run in with the cops and it all begins to unravel. The poet, playwright, and novelist, Owen Sheers, has written a new BBC One drama, The Trick. He talks to Samira about exploring what became known in 2009 as Climategate, when the emails of Professor Philip Jones, Director of the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University, were hacked and doubt cast on the research into climate change. For Front Row's regular Tuesday Arts Audit today we're exploring ongoing debates around the questionable provenance of artefacts housed in some of the world's most famous museums with Malia Politzer from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and Alexander Herman, Assistant Director of the Institute of Art and Law. How can broadening the representation of scientists on the page, screen and stage drive diversity among scientists and increase public trust in science itself? Andrea Sella, broadcaster and professor of chemistry at University College London and award-winning debut novelist Temi Oh join Samira live in the studio on Radio 4's Day of the Scientist. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Kirsty McQuire

Radio DJ Emma Wilson believes that the policeman Wayne Couzens who kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard exposed himself to her in an alleyway some 13 years ago. Emma reported it to the police at the time – no action was taken, but she has decided to speak out now because when she did report it she was not happy with the response. One of the key findings of our equality poll to mark our 75th anniversary has been the extent to which women don't feel equal when it comes to issues of sexual abuse and exploitation. Almost 70% of the women we asked said it was a concern and the issue is currently front and centre of the news agenda following the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa to name just two women. Emma Barnett talks to the writer Joan Smith and the former Victims Commissioner the Conservative Peer Baroness Newlove who is unimpressed by Boris Johnson's unwillingness to recognise misogyny as a hate crime and is trying to change the law on the issue. Probably best known to most for her television role as lawyer Lucca Quinn in The Good Wife and then the follow-up series The Good Fight, Cush Jumbo is currently playing Hamlet at the Young Vic in London. Delayed for a year by the pandemic, the play sold out months before opening. As the first woman of colour to play the part in a major production on a British stage she joins a list that goes back to 1741 of UK female actors playing the Prince of Denmark. Cush joins Emma. On Radio 4's Day of the Scientist, we looks at women's trust in science. The latest Public Attitudes to Science survey found that women are less likely to feel connected to science in their everyday lives; less likely to actively engage with science; and were less trusting of scientists and media reporting of scientific issues. What's going on to put women's faith in science on such shaky ground? Emma speaks to Megan Halpern, assistant professor in the history, philosophy and sociology of science at Michigan State University, and Dr Emily Dawson from University College London, who researches how people learn about and engage with science – and why so many women are being put off. Image: Cush Jumbo in Hamlet at the Young Vic Credit: Helen Murray

On episode nine of the Ori Spotlight Podcast we sat down with Qasim Rafiq, Associate Professor of Cell and Gene Therapy Bioprocessing at University College London, and Thomas Heathman, Ori's Vice President of Commercial Operations. Qasim leads the world first MSc in Manufacturing and Commercialization of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies, and was named as one of the top 20 influential and inspirational individuals in Advanced Medicine for 2020 by The Medicine Maker. Together, we explore one of the most significant factors affecting the high costs of CGT: the industry's ongoing talent shortage. They discuss how the problem should be addressed, bringing together academic institutions with CGT organizations to identify the evolving expertise required, not just across scientific and clinical research teams but also in digital and technology disciplines. Learn more about Dr. Qasim Rafiq| https://www.linkedin.com/in/qrafiq/?originalSubdomain=uk

If the United States has been so hostile to Marxism, what accounts for Marxism's recurrent attractiveness to certain Americans? Marxism and America: New Appraisals (Manchester University Press, 2021) sheds new light on that question in essays engaging sexuality, gender, race, nationalism, class, memory, and much more, from the Civil War era through to 21st century cultures of activism. This book is an invaluable resource for historians and theorists of US political struggle. I was joined for this interview by editors Christopher Phelps and Robin Vandome (both University of Nottingham), and contributors Mara Keire (Oxford University) and Andrew Hartman (Illinois State University).  We discussed the impetus behind the book and its broader scholarly context, before turning to Mara's chapter ("Class, commodity, consumption: theorizing sexual violence during the feminist sex wars of the 1980s") and finally Andrew's chapter ("Rethinking Karl Marx: American liberalism from the New Deal to the Cold War"). We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it! Catriona Gold is a PhD candidate in Geography at University College London, researching security, subjectivity and mobility in the 20-21st century United States. Her current work concerns the US Passport Office; she has previously published on US Africa Command and the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic. She can be reached by email or on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

If the United States has been so hostile to Marxism, what accounts for Marxism's recurrent attractiveness to certain Americans? Marxism and America: New Appraisals (Manchester University Press, 2021) sheds new light on that question in essays engaging sexuality, gender, race, nationalism, class, memory, and much more, from the Civil War era through to 21st century cultures of activism. This book is an invaluable resource for historians and theorists of US political struggle. I was joined for this interview by editors Christopher Phelps and Robin Vandome (both University of Nottingham), and contributors Mara Keire (Oxford University) and Andrew Hartman (Illinois State University).  We discussed the impetus behind the book and its broader scholarly context, before turning to Mara's chapter ("Class, commodity, consumption: theorizing sexual violence during the feminist sex wars of the 1980s") and finally Andrew's chapter ("Rethinking Karl Marx: American liberalism from the New Deal to the Cold War"). We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it! Catriona Gold is a PhD candidate in Geography at University College London, researching security, subjectivity and mobility in the 20-21st century United States. Her current work concerns the US Passport Office; she has previously published on US Africa Command and the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic. She can be reached by email or on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

If the United States has been so hostile to Marxism, what accounts for Marxism's recurrent attractiveness to certain Americans? Marxism and America: New Appraisals (Manchester University Press, 2021) sheds new light on that question in essays engaging sexuality, gender, race, nationalism, class, memory, and much more, from the Civil War era through to 21st century cultures of activism. This book is an invaluable resource for historians and theorists of US political struggle. I was joined for this interview by editors Christopher Phelps and Robin Vandome (both University of Nottingham), and contributors Mara Keire (Oxford University) and Andrew Hartman (Illinois State University).  We discussed the impetus behind the book and its broader scholarly context, before turning to Mara's chapter ("Class, commodity, consumption: theorizing sexual violence during the feminist sex wars of the 1980s") and finally Andrew's chapter ("Rethinking Karl Marx: American liberalism from the New Deal to the Cold War"). We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it! Catriona Gold is a PhD candidate in Geography at University College London, researching security, subjectivity and mobility in the 20-21st century United States. Her current work concerns the US Passport Office; she has previously published on US Africa Command and the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic. She can be reached by email or on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

If the United States has been so hostile to Marxism, what accounts for Marxism's recurrent attractiveness to certain Americans? Marxism and America: New Appraisals (Manchester University Press, 2021) sheds new light on that question in essays engaging sexuality, gender, race, nationalism, class, memory, and much more, from the Civil War era through to 21st century cultures of activism. This book is an invaluable resource for historians and theorists of US political struggle. I was joined for this interview by editors Christopher Phelps and Robin Vandome (both University of Nottingham), and contributors Mara Keire (Oxford University) and Andrew Hartman (Illinois State University).  We discussed the impetus behind the book and its broader scholarly context, before turning to Mara's chapter ("Class, commodity, consumption: theorizing sexual violence during the feminist sex wars of the 1980s") and finally Andrew's chapter ("Rethinking Karl Marx: American liberalism from the New Deal to the Cold War"). We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it! Catriona Gold is a PhD candidate in Geography at University College London, researching security, subjectivity and mobility in the 20-21st century United States. Her current work concerns the US Passport Office; she has previously published on US Africa Command and the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic. She can be reached by email or on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

If the United States has been so hostile to Marxism, what accounts for Marxism's recurrent attractiveness to certain Americans? Marxism and America: New Appraisals (Manchester University Press, 2021) sheds new light on that question in essays engaging sexuality, gender, race, nationalism, class, memory, and much more, from the Civil War era through to 21st century cultures of activism. This book is an invaluable resource for historians and theorists of US political struggle. I was joined for this interview by editors Christopher Phelps and Robin Vandome (both University of Nottingham), and contributors Mara Keire (Oxford University) and Andrew Hartman (Illinois State University).  We discussed the impetus behind the book and its broader scholarly context, before turning to Mara's chapter ("Class, commodity, consumption: theorizing sexual violence during the feminist sex wars of the 1980s") and finally Andrew's chapter ("Rethinking Karl Marx: American liberalism from the New Deal to the Cold War"). We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we enjoyed recording it! Catriona Gold is a PhD candidate in Geography at University College London, researching security, subjectivity and mobility in the 20-21st century United States. Her current work concerns the US Passport Office; she has previously published on US Africa Command and the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic. She can be reached by email or on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Introduction: Minutes 0 to 5 We'll have another episode out on October 16th and will be off the 23rd. Thank you to all our new and old subscribers! I watched Squid Game and loved it. Chandra has been watching Billions, which just ended season five. Royals: Minutes 5:00 to 20:30 It felt kind of flat in royals news this week since Harry and Meghan's tour, but we got a lot of stories nitpicking them as usual. The Daily Mail speculated that Meghan must be doing a beauty line since Harry and Meghan took a private plane to New York owned by the infomercial company Guthy-Renker. Chandra assumed that they just rented the plane but it turns out that Harry and Meghan know the head of the company, Bill Guthy, and that they possibly did the Oprah interview on his estate. If Meghan started a beauty line we would definitely buy her stuff. There's also speculation that they could move to New York. I play a segment from Zoom where Karen, Courtney and Lisa talk about this, including Dan Wootton's column claiming Harry needs to resign from Netflix due to the Diana musical. The Cambridges likely asked The Sun to delete the photo of them out at lunch that came out on the Sunday after the Sussexes NY Tour. The Sun seemed to have their permission to post it along with a sugary writeup but the photos were deleted with no fanfare a couple of days later. The story remained available at The Sun. Chandra thinks the Cambridges hated being called out for it and that's why they wanted the photos taken down. There have been all these weird embiggening pieces about the Cambridges claiming that they're down to earth and that they still hang out with their school friends. Battle of Brothers author, Robert Lacey, claimed that William had “broken the cycle” of marital problems in the royal family by sticking with Kate essentially. This reminds me of Dan Wootton's quote that Kate and William would stay together as long “as they're both alive.” Lacey made it sound like the Cambridges are just staying together for the kids. Kate went to University College London's Centre for Longitudinal Studies, which has done research on child development for decades. Kate has the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood which she announced in mid June, but we didn't hear much about it afterwards. After her visit to University College London, there was a piece in People Magazine that made it sound like Kate was responsible for the research from the university. Everything is centered around Kate instead of the research and children. Katie Couric: Minutes 20:30 to 27:15 We've heard excerpts from Katie Couric's upcoming memoir, Going There, and she sounds like a terrible person. In the first excerpt we heard that Katie refused to mentor other women because she saw them as competition. She also said that Ashleigh Banfield was the next big thing and that she didn't mentor her on purpose. Ashleigh, who works at News Nation now, responded to that and said she was hurt by it. She later realized that Katie likely sabotaged her career. In other excerpts Katie is sympathetic to Matt Lauer. She also made her nanny out to be awful and claimed the nanny was trying to ruin her marriage to Jay Monahan, who passed away in 1998. In response the nanny talked to The Daily Mail and detailed what a piece of work Katie was. Comments: Minutes 27:15 to end Chandra's comment of the week is by Amy Bee on the post about how Kate was “supporting research.” My comment of the week is from Bookie on the post where Meghan Trainor said she had toilets installed side by side so she could pee next to her husband. Thanks for listening bitches!

TJ Waterfall is a registered sports nutritionist specialising in plant-based nutrition. TJ has a first-class Master's degree in clinical and public health nutrition from University College London (currently in the top 10 universities in the world) and has since worked with many world-class elite athletes, including several UK Olympians. TJ recently authored a book published by Penguin, The Plant-Based Power Plan, to make lots of the evidence-based strategies, advice and tips he uses with his clients accessible to anyone interested in improving their health and fitness on a plant-based diet. In this conversation TJ shares what sets plant-based diet apart when it comes to athletic performance - we talk about recovery, antioxidants load, gut health, micronutrients, and anti-inflamatory quality of the diet overall. TJ also addresses common question related to protein intake requirements, effectiveness of plant-based nutrition for elite athletes and weight-lifters, carb-loading, and many other common questions he receives when working with his clients. Tune in to learn more!For additional resources, please visit the following:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj_waterfallTJ's book, The Plant-Based Power Plan (US): https://www.amazon.com/Plant-Based-Power-Plan-Increase-Strength/dp/024147244X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+plant+based+power+plan&qid=1623612793&sr=8-1TJ's book, The Plant-Based Power Plan (UK): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plant-Based-Power-Plan-Increase-Strength/dp/024147244XWebsite: www.meatfreefitness.co.uk This podcast is brought to you by Emory Lifestyle Medicine & Wellness. To learn more about our work, please visithttps://bit.ly/EmoryLM 

This book is the story of one death among many in the war in eastern Ukraine. Its author is a historian of war whose brother was killed at the frontline in 2017 while serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Olesya Khromeychuk takes the point of view of a civilian and a woman, perspectives that tend to be neglected in war narratives, and focuses on the stories that play out far away from the warzone. Through a combination of personal memoir and essay, Khromeychuk attempts to help her readers understand the private experience of this still ongoing but almost forgotten war in the heart of Europe and the private experience of war as such. A Loss: The Story of a Dead Soldier Told by His Sister (Ibidem, 2021) will resonate with anyone battling with grief and the shock of the sudden loss of a loved one. Dr. Olesya Khromeychuk is a historian and writer. She received her PhD in History from University College London. She has taught the history of East-Central Europe at the University of Cambridge, University College London, the University of East Anglia, and King's College London. She is author of A Loss. The Story of a Dead Soldier Told by His Sister (Stuttgart: ibidem, forthcoming) and ‘Undetermined' Ukrainians. Post-War Narratives of the Waffen SS ‘Galicia' Division (Peter Lang, 2013). She is currently the Director of the Ukrainian Institute London. Steven Seegel is Professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

This piece focuses upon multimodal prehabilitation through the lived experience of clinicians from the different healthcare systems of Europe, the United States and the UK; both prior to and during the pandemic. We hear about the implementation of rehabilitation programs and research studies, which have managed to adapt, in the COVID era. Presented by Denny Levett, Professor in Perioperative Medicine and Critical Care at Southampton University Hospital NHS Foundation trust and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Southampton with her guests Franco Carli, Professor of Anesthesia at McGill University and Associate Professor in the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at McGill University, Staff anesthesiologist at the McGill University Health Centre, Gerard Danjoux, consultant in Anaesthesia and Sleep Medicine at South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, Professor Sandy Jack, PhD, Consultant Clinician Scientist in The Anaesthesia and Critical Care Research Unit at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, University of Southampton and University College London, Dan Engelman, President of the Enhanced Recovery after Cardiac surgery society, Baystate Health in Massachusetts, Medical Director, Heart, Vascular & Critical Care Services, Baystate Medical Center and Associate Professor of Surgery University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate. Like this, want more? Try this piece now: https://www.topmedtalk.com/models-of-prehabilitation-ebpom-2020-2/ And remember, Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) offers high quality video presentations as well as a chance to attend our next live conference here: www.ebpom.org

How did this continuous chemical reaction that we call "life" first begin? And why did the hellish conditions of the early Earth provide the perfect birthplace? Justin Rowlatt speaks to two scientists with rival theories about the origin of life, both trying to recreate it in their labs - John Sutherland of Cambridge University, and Nick Lane of University College London. Plus the Natural History Museum's Sara Russell shows Justin a rock that is older than the Earth itself - the Winchcombe meteorite.

Andy and Dave discuss the latest in AI news and research, including: [1:28] Researchers from several universities in biomedicine establish the AIMe registry, a community-driven reporting platform for providing information and standards of AI research in biomedicine. [4:15] Reuters publishes a report with insight into examples at Google, Microsoft, and IBM, where ethics reviews have curbed or canceled projects. [8:11] Researchers at the University of Tübingen create an AI method for significantly accelerating super-resolution microscopy, which makes heavy use of synthetic training data. [13:21] The US Navy establishes Task Force 59 in the Middle East, which will focus on the incorporation of unmanned and AI systems into naval operations. [15:44] The Department of Commerce establishes the National AI Advisory Committee, in accordance with the National AI Initiative Act of 2020. [19:02] Jess Whittlestone and Jack Clark publish a white paper on Why and How Governments Should Monitor AI Development, with predictions into the types of problems that will occur with inaction. [19:02] The Center for Security and Emerging Technology publishes a series of data-snapshots related to AI research, from over 105 million publications. [23:53] In research, Google Research, Brain Team, and University of Montreal take a broad look at deep reinforcement learning research and find discrepancies between conclusions drawn from point estimates (fewer runs, due to high computational costs) versus more thorough statistical analysis, calling for a change in how to evaluate performance in deep RL. [30:13] Quebec AI Institute publishes a survey of post-hoc interpretability on neural natural language processing. [31:39] MIT Technology Review dedicates its Sep/Oct 2021 issues to The Mind, with articles all about the brain. [32:05] Katy Borner publishes Atlas of Forecasts: Modeling and Mapping Desirable Futures, showing how models, maps, and forecasts inform decision-making in education, science, technology, and policy-making.  [33:16] DeepMind in collaboration with University College London offers a comprehensive introduction to modern reinforcement learning, with 13 lectures (~1.5 hours each) on the topic. Follow the link below to visit our website and explore the links mentioned in the episode. https://www.cna.org/CAAI/audio-video CNA Careers Page: https://www.cna.org/careers/  

What is the free energy principle? How do our brains use active inference to manage uncertainty and stress? On this episode, we talk with Karl Friston, world-renowned neuroscientist at University College London, about his free energy principle. In order for the human brain or any other self-evidencing system (be it Earthly or alien) to exist, they must be able to make inferences about their environments, and adjust their internal models of the world to resist entropy. In the show, we discuss how Karl's previous work as a psychiatrist led him to this theory, then take a deep dive into the free energy principle, discussing how it can help us understand stress, agency, DNA, and the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. Cover art: Keating Shahmehri --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bigbiology/message

Embracing the Anthropocene: Managing Human Impact is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Mark Maslin, Professor of Geography at University College London. This wide-ranging conversation explores Prof. Maslin's research on the Anthropocene which according to his definition began when human impacts on the planet irrevocably started to change the course of the Earth's biological and geographical trajectory, leading to climate change, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and more. Howard Burton is the founder of the Ideas Roadshow, Ideas on Film and host of the Ideas Roadshow Podcast. He can be reached at howard@ideasroadshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Embracing the Anthropocene: Managing Human Impact is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Mark Maslin, Professor of Geography at University College London. This wide-ranging conversation explores Prof. Maslin's research on the Anthropocene which according to his definition began when human impacts on the planet irrevocably started to change the course of the Earth's biological and geographical trajectory, leading to climate change, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and more. Howard Burton is the founder of the Ideas Roadshow, Ideas on Film and host of the Ideas Roadshow Podcast. He can be reached at howard@ideasroadshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/geography

Embracing the Anthropocene: Managing Human Impact is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Mark Maslin, Professor of Geography at University College London. This wide-ranging conversation explores Prof. Maslin's research on the Anthropocene which according to his definition began when human impacts on the planet irrevocably started to change the course of the Earth's biological and geographical trajectory, leading to climate change, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and more. Howard Burton is the founder of the Ideas Roadshow, Ideas on Film and host of the Ideas Roadshow Podcast. He can be reached at howard@ideasroadshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Embracing the Anthropocene: Managing Human Impact is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Mark Maslin, Professor of Geography at University College London. This wide-ranging conversation explores Prof. Maslin's research on the Anthropocene which according to his definition began when human impacts on the planet irrevocably started to change the course of the Earth's biological and geographical trajectory, leading to climate change, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and more. Howard Burton is the founder of the Ideas Roadshow, Ideas on Film and host of the Ideas Roadshow Podcast. He can be reached at howard@ideasroadshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Dr. James Cooke is a neuroscientist, writer and speaker, focused on consciousness, meditation, psychedelic states, and science. He studied Experimental Psychology and completed his PhD in Neuroscience at Oxford University. He holds research positions at University College London and Trinity College Dublin where he investigates how the brain creates our experience of the world. In this episode, we dive into the concept of nonduality, why our brains construct an ego, the nature of consciousness, psychedelic states and much more. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.co  

Hello! On this episode, we welcome Professor John Dickie, author of “The Craft: How the Freemasons made the Modern World” and Professor of Italian Studies at University College London. Aside from being the author of several books and academic papers, John has also assisted in the creation of multiple television documentary projects. After a great conversation, we hear from Dutchie Doug and close with Larry and his Barnyard Bunch. Be sure to check out John's website: https://johndickie.net/ [00:00:00] Introductions [00:11:05] First break, brought to you by George J. Grove and Son [00:12:15] Jack introduces our guest [00:34:35] Second break, brought to you by the Historic Smithton Inn [00:35:50] Thanking our Patreon Supporters and continuing with our guest [01:02:00] Third break, brought to you by Hiram & Solomon Cigars [01:03:10] Pete brings us back [01:13:00] Dutchie Doug [01:17:00] Wrap-up and Chickens [01:23:00] Outro MASONIC LITE PATREON www.patreon.com/MasonicLitePodcast Sign up to support the show with an automatic, monthly donation of $1, $5, or $13! SPONSORS: George J. Grove and Son: www.georgejgrove.com Historic Smithton Inn: www.historicsmithtoninn.com The Red Serpent: By Larry Merris: www.amazon.com/Red-Serpent-Larry…ris/dp/1466478608 Intermezzo by Stephanie, Locally Handcrafted Chocolate www.facebook.com/IntermezzobyStephanie/ MEDIA ATTRIBUTION: Backing Track for Dutchie Doug: Meanwhile in - Bavaria Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ (EDITED TO FIT SEGMENT) Bye Everybody!

Dr. Mark Westmoquette completed his PhD in Astrophysics at University College London in 2007. He studied the effects of young, energetic stars on their surroundings. He went on to do post-doctoral research for seven years at University College London and at the European Southern Observatory in Munich, Germany. In 2013, he decided to leave professional research to focus on teaching yoga and mindfulness. In this episode, Mark shares with us his insightful approaches to mindful stargazing. Time stamps :04:12 : What is mindful stargazing ?13:12 : How to stargaze mindfully ?17:22 : How can the dark night sky connect us all more deeply to our inner selves ?25:20 : Could you please share with us snippets of scientific knowledge, modern astronomy has found in your favourite constellations in the night sky ? Useful links and resources :Mark WestmoquetteTitles By Mark WestmoquetteMark Westmoquette on InstagramMark Westmoquette on Facebook

Author and economist Noreena Hertz of University College London talks about her book, The Lonely Century, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Hertz blames social media and the individualist, pro-capitalism worldviews of leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan for the rise in loneliness in the developed world. Russ suggests some alternative causes. The result is a lively conversation about understanding and explaining social trends.

Welcome to another episode of conversations with Coleman. xMy guest today is Helen Joyce. Helen is a staff journalist at the Economist magazine, and has been an editor there since 2005. She also has a PhD in mathematics from University College London. Helen just released a controversial new book called "Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality." Now, this is one of those books that is likely to be misrepresented on Twitter and in some media as transphobic but is in fact a deep and thoughtful attempt to navigate all the complex issues at the intersection of gender identity and public policy. Helen and I discussed the difference between gender and sex, evolving definitions of gender, the different waves of feminism, gender dysphoria and related phenomenon like autogynephilia, trans identity as well as gender neutrality. We talk about hormone treatments, puberty blockers, detransitioning, and the age at which people should be able to make these kinds of decisions. We discuss gender pronouns, the logic of sex-segregated spaces, such as locker rooms, bathrooms, sports, and prisons. And finally, we talk about the phenomenon of social contagion as it applies to gender identities. #AdYou've probably heard your wife, sister, mother, daughter, or friends talk about their love of Rothy's women's shoes. Well now, they've brought their sustainable materials, washable design, and innovative craftsmanship to men's shoes. From the unbeatable comfort to the fact that you can wash them, these shoes check every box. If you hate when your favorite white sneakers or light-colored shoes get dirty, Rothy's men's shoes are for you. Their innovative washable construction means your shoes look like they were brand new with every wash. In addition, Rothy's men's shoes are knit with 100% recycled materials. Welcome the fall season in style! Head over to www.rothys.com/COLEMAN and get $20 off your first purchase today! #ConversationswithColeman #CwC #ColemanHughes #HelenJoyce #transgender #genderdysphoria #genderidentity #genderpronouns FOLLOW COLEMAN YouTube - http://bit.ly/38kziumTwitter - http://bit.ly/2rbAJueFacebook - http://bit.ly/2LiAXH3Instagram- http://bit.ly/2SDGo6oPodcast-https://bit.ly/3oQvNULWebsite - https://colemanhughes.org/Merch - https://bit.ly/ColemanMerch FOLLOW HELEN Book - https://amzn.to/3ltEljATwitter - @HJoyceGender Website - https://thehelenjoyce.com/

In this podcast we talked about: ● The Importance Of Art ● The Lessons From The Greeks ● The Current-Day Moral Revising Of History ● Do We Still Have Democracy? ● The Decline Of Education Prof. Garland was a Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the Classics at Colgate University. He got my Ph.D. in Ancient History from University College London. He's studied drama, became a gardener, and taught English and drama to secondary school students and lectured at universities throughout Britain and at the British School of Archaeology in Athens. His research focuses on the social, religious, political, and cultural history of both Greece and Rome. I've 16 written books, which have been translated into many languages. He has recorded five courses for the Great Courses, including The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World; Athenian Democracy, and The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture. He has given up academics to do art. That's why he retired a year ago.. ☟ Find out more about Prof. Garland at☟ ◼︎ All his books: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Garland/e/B001HD1TWW/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

A Matter of Energy: Biology From First Principles is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Nick Lane, Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry at University College London and bestselling author. After an inspiring exploration of Nick Lane's career path, this wide-ranging conversation covers his bioenergetic view of early, evolutionary history, the origin of life and how all complex life is composed of a very particular cell type that we all share, and more. Howard Burton is the founder of the Ideas Roadshow, Ideas on Film and host of the Ideas Roadshow Podcast. He can be reached at howard@ideasroadshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A Matter of Energy: Biology From First Principles is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Nick Lane, Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry at University College London and bestselling author. After an inspiring exploration of Nick Lane's career path, this wide-ranging conversation covers his bioenergetic view of early, evolutionary history, the origin of life and how all complex life is composed of a very particular cell type that we all share, and more. Howard Burton is the founder of the Ideas Roadshow, Ideas on Film and host of the Ideas Roadshow Podcast. He can be reached at howard@ideasroadshow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Dr Adrian Brown is a NIHR Lecturer and Research Fellow in the Centre of Obesity Research at University College London. He is also a senior Specialist Weight Management and Bariatric dietitian with over 15 years of clinical experience and a PhD in Medicine from Imperial College London. His research interests centre around obesity, type 2 diabetes, bariatric surgery, weight stigma and the use of formula-based diets in different patient populations. He is an Honorary Academic for Public Health England Obesity and Healthy Weight Team, on the strategic council for APPG on Obesity and is on the scientific council of the British Nutrition Foundation.   You can find the show notes to this episode at sigmanutrition.com/episode404/ and you can support the podcast at patreon.com/sigmanutrition/

Podcast 45 of our TechLaw podcast series sees award-winning presenter, best-selling author and Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at University College London, Hannah Fry, speak to Kit Burden, Partner and Global Co-Chair of the Technology Sector at DLA Piper. Focusing on AI, its strengths and flaws and the need for the human factor, their conversation touches on a variety of topics including algorithm bias, data, privacy as well as the opportunities for digital transformation post-pandemic. Hannah will also be a keynote speaker at our fifth European Technology Summit, taking place on the 5th October 2021. https://www.dlapipertechsummit.com/european/?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tech-summit&utm_term=europe&utm_content=tech-summit

In 1884, sixty-eight prisoners convicted of terrorism and revolutionary activity were transferred to a new maximum-security prison at Shlissel'burg Fortress near St. Petersburg. Inhuman conditions in the prison caused severe mental and physical deterioration among the prisoners, and over half died. However, the survivors fought back to reform the prison and improve the inmates' living conditions. Their memoirs enshrined their experience in revolutionary mythology and served as an indictment of the Tsarist autocracy's loss of moral authority. Writing Resistance: Revolutionary Memoirs of Shlissel'burg Prison (UCL Press, 2021) features three of these memoirs--translated into English for the first time--as well as an introductory essay that analyzes the memoirs' construction of a collective narrative of resilience, resistance, and renewal. The first extended study of these memoirs in English, this book uncovers an important episode in the history of political imprisonment. It will be of interest to scholars and students of the Russian revolution, carceral history, penal practice and behaviors, and prison and life writing. Dr. Sarah J. Young is Associate Professor of Russian at University College London, where she teaches nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature, culture and thought.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In 1884, sixty-eight prisoners convicted of terrorism and revolutionary activity were transferred to a new maximum-security prison at Shlissel'burg Fortress near St. Petersburg. Inhuman conditions in the prison caused severe mental and physical deterioration among the prisoners, and over half died. However, the survivors fought back to reform the prison and improve the inmates' living conditions. Their memoirs enshrined their experience in revolutionary mythology and served as an indictment of the Tsarist autocracy's loss of moral authority. Writing Resistance: Revolutionary Memoirs of Shlissel'burg Prison (UCL Press, 2021) features three of these memoirs--translated into English for the first time--as well as an introductory essay that analyzes the memoirs' construction of a collective narrative of resilience, resistance, and renewal. The first extended study of these memoirs in English, this book uncovers an important episode in the history of political imprisonment. It will be of interest to scholars and students of the Russian revolution, carceral history, penal practice and behaviors, and prison and life writing. Dr. Sarah J. Young is Associate Professor of Russian at University College London, where she teaches nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature, culture and thought.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In 1884, sixty-eight prisoners convicted of terrorism and revolutionary activity were transferred to a new maximum-security prison at Shlissel'burg Fortress near St. Petersburg. Inhuman conditions in the prison caused severe mental and physical deterioration among the prisoners, and over half died. However, the survivors fought back to reform the prison and improve the inmates' living conditions. Their memoirs enshrined their experience in revolutionary mythology and served as an indictment of the Tsarist autocracy's loss of moral authority. Writing Resistance: Revolutionary Memoirs of Shlissel'burg Prison (UCL Press, 2021) features three of these memoirs--translated into English for the first time--as well as an introductory essay that analyzes the memoirs' construction of a collective narrative of resilience, resistance, and renewal. The first extended study of these memoirs in English, this book uncovers an important episode in the history of political imprisonment. It will be of interest to scholars and students of the Russian revolution, carceral history, penal practice and behaviors, and prison and life writing. Dr. Sarah J. Young is Associate Professor of Russian at University College London, where she teaches nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature, culture and thought.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Episode Summary: Novel drugs that boost the immune system to fight cancer have become pharma darlings in the few short years since their approval. These drugs, known as immunotherapies, have so far focused on improving T cell responses and can be used to cure a multitude of different cancer types. Yet more often than not, immunotherapies have no effect on a patient, leaving doctors guessing on whether to prescribe the drug. To find the reason why some people respond while others don't, Kevin and his team create a huge database of sequences derived from immunotherapy-treated patients. With it, he discovers biomarkers, mutational signatures, and immune profiles that correlate to response with the hopes that one day, these measurements form a diagnostic to ensure we treat the right patients.Episode Notes:About the AuthorKevin is a group leader at University College London and performed this work in the lab of Charles Swanton at the Francis Crick Institute. Dr. Swanton and his group are experts in studying the genome instability and evolution of cancer.Kevin started his career as a mathematician but was always driven to apply his skills to improving medicine.Key TakeawaysImmunotherapies aim to cure cancer by “taking the breaks off” your immune system, supercharging it to attack tumors.Two immunotherapies known as checkpoint inhibitors (CPI), anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1, work by enhancing T cells and have recently become blockbuster drugs for the treatment of multiple different cancer types.These immunotherapies don't work in many patients and medicine has yet to understand why.Kevin aggregated DNA and RNA sequencing data across multiple studies to generate a dataset that contained over 1,000 CPI treated patients who did and did not benefit from treatment.With this data, Kevin discovers mutational signatures, biomarkers, and immune profiles that correlate to whether a patient will respond to treatment.TranslationKevin finds measurable signatures of a patient's cancer that could be used to determine whether a patient should receive CPIs.This retrospective analysis will need to be validated as a prospective study to determine whether Kevin's findings actually predict response.More tumor data as well as information about the patient's genetics is being brought in to improve the accuracy of this prediction.Collaborations between academics, medical centers, non-profits, and industry partners will enable the findings to make an impact on patient outcomes.First Author: Kevin LitchfieldPaper: Meta-analysis of tumor- and T cell-intrinsic mechanisms of sensitization to checkpoint inhibition

In 2020 Vietnam ran a successful track and trace system, with very few coronavirus infections and for a long time no deaths at all, while other countries had thousands. In 2021 things haven’t gone so well and since July strict stay at home orders have been in place in some cities. Nga Pham, a journalist from BBC World News, and software engineer Kevin Vu talk about what life is like in Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City. Dr Monica Lakhanpaul, Professor of Integrated Community Child Health at University College London, talks to Claudia Hammond about a mystery disease outbreak in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The symptoms are fever, joint pains, headaches and nausea. People born premature can have an increased risk of developing heart problems later in life. For the first time researchers have shown that breast milk can improve heart performance in premature babies. The new study was done by Afif El-Khuffash who looks after premature babies and is Clinical Professor of Paediatrics at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. And Monica and Claudia discuss the latest research into long Covid in children. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Pam Rutherford (Picture: A resident rides her bicycle near a make-shift barricade in Hanoi during the lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19. Photo credit: Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Getty Images.)

Hira Virdee is a PhD in Astrodynamics from University College London and is the CEO of Lumi Space, a company working towards space sustainability through space traffic management. https://terryvirts.com/ Twitter: @AstroTerry Instagram: astro_terry

Measures to deal with rising Covid cases in England over the winter have been announced - with a contingency "Plan B" if things get worse. Mishal Husain speaks to Professor Andrew Hayward from University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care. Nick Robinson speaks to Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary as well as Dr Dale Gardiner, intensive care doctor in the midlands and representing the faculty of intensive care medicine. (Image: Covid-19 vaccination centre opposite parliament in London, Credit:EPA/ ANDY RAIN)

Introduced by Monty Mythen, TopMedTalk's Editor in Chief and Padma Gulur, Professor of Anesthesiology and Population Health and Executive Vice Chair for Performance and Operations Director, Pain Management Strategy and Opioid Surveillance at Duke University Health Systems. Presented by Ramani Moonesinghe, OBE, Professor of Perioperative Medicine at UCL and a consultant anesthetist at UCL hospitals, Director of the Health Services Research Center of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and national Clinical Director for critical and perioperative care at NHS England. Our speaker provided clinical leadership for the UK's national critical care response to COVID-19 and is now supporting the recovery of elective care as we emerge from the pandemic; her talk today focuses upon experiences and learnings from the past 18 months. Could it be that perioperative medicine is now the discipline which will help us build a road to recovery? For more information about The Morpheus Consortium, the branding of three universities, Duke University, University College London and University of Southampton, with one shared goal – to be the leaders in perioperative medicine and enhanced recovery after surgery, ultimately improving the patients' journey from the moment their surgery is contemplated to full recovery, go here: http://morpheusconsortium.org/ For more talks like this take time to discover Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine; www.ebpom.org

For the world to have a decent chance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, 90 per cent of remaining coal reserves and 60% of unexploited oil and gas have to stay in the ground. These are the stark findings of carbon budget research by scientists at University College London. Dan Welsby spells out the details to Roland Pease. Virologist Ravi Gupta of the University of Cambridge describes his latest research that explains why the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is much more infectious and more able to evade our immune systems and covid vaccines than other variants. When dense fog rises from the Pacific ocean into the foothills of the Andes, oases of floral colour bloom for a few weeks or months. When the fog goes, the plants die and disappear for another year or maybe another decade. The true extent of these unique ecosystems (known as fog oases or Lomas) has now been revealed by researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in the UK, working with colleagues in Peru and Chile. They've discovered that the Lomas are much more extensive than suspected. Ecologist Carolina Tovar tells Roland why the fog oases are threatened and need to be protected. A species of duck can now be added to the list of birds such as parrots and starlings that mimic human speech and other sounds in their environment. Listen to Ripper, the Australian musk duck who was hand-reared on a nature reserve where he learnt to imitate his keeper say ‘You bloody fool' and imitate the sound of an aviary door closing. Animal behaviour researcher Carel ten Cate of Leiden University says that Ripper is not the only mimicking musk duck mimic but why this duck species has evolved this trick remains a mystery. Pioneering physicist Nikolas Tesla had a dream of connecting the world up through wireless communication and power. And whilst at the start of the 20th Century Tesla demonstrated that electricity could be transmitted wirelessly very short distances, the amount of power that was needed to do this made it an unfeasible venture and the idea has since lain mostly forgotten. CrowdScience listener, George from Ghana, has asked the team whether it is once again time to reconsider this means of power generation. In countries where rugged landscapes make laying traditional power lines difficult, could wireless electricity help connect those currently reliant on costly and polluting generators? CrowdScience gets talking to various scientists who are now using state of the art technology to reimagine Tesla's dream. We speak to a team in New Zealand developing ‘beamable' electricity and hear how they are using lasers to make sure they don't harm any wildlife that might wander into the beam. We then hear how wireless electricity could help fulfil the power demands of a growing electric vehicle market. We learn how a town in the USA is turning its bus fleet electric and putting wireless chargers into the tarmac at bus stops so that the busses can trickle charge as passengers get on and off. Finally, we ask whether one day, the tangled knot of wires spilling out of our electronic devices will be but a thing of the past. (Image credit: Getty Images)

For the world to have a decent chance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, 90 per cent of remaining coal reserves and 60% of unexploited oil and gas have to stay in the ground. These are the stark findings of carbon budget research by scientists at University College London. Dan Welsby spells out the details to Roland Pease. Virologist Ravi Gupta of the University of Cambridge describes his latest research that explains why the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is much more infectious and more able to evade our immune systems and covid vaccines than other variants. When dense fog rises from the Pacific ocean into the foothills of the Andes, oases of floral colour bloom for a few weeks or months. When the fog goes, the plants die and disappear for another year or maybe another decade. The true extent of these unique ecosystems (known as fog oases or Lomas) has now been revealed by researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in the UK, working with colleagues in Peru and Chile. They've discovered that the Lomas are much more extensive than suspected. Ecologist Carolina Tovar tells Roland why the fog oases are threatened and need to be protected. A species of duck can now be added to the list of birds such as parrots and starlings that mimic human speech and other sounds in their environment. Listen to Ripper, the Australian musk duck who was hand-reared on a nature reserve where he learnt to imitate his keeper say ‘You bloody fool' and imitate the sound of an aviary door closing. Animal behaviour researcher Carel ten Cate of Leiden University says that Ripper is not the only mimicking musk duck mimic but why this duck species has evolved this trick remains a mystery. (Image credit: Getty Images) Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker

On today's episode, Kevin speaks to the scholars behind the new book “Navalny: Putin's Nemesis, Russia's Future?” The three authors: Jan Matti Dollbaum, a postdoctoral researcher at Bremen University, Morvan Lallouet, a PhD candidate at the University of Kent, and Ben Noble, a lecturer in Russian Politics at University College London.Music and audio for "The Russia Guy":Joey Pecoraro, "Russian Dance"Олег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки”Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)

‘I didn't know I wanted to be a mathematician until I was one' says Hannah Fry, now a Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at University College London. Her mother pushed her hard at school, coming down on her like a tonne of bricks when she got a C for effort in mathematics. Never mind that she was top of the class. By the time she'd finished a PhD in fluid dynamics, she had realised that she probably wasn't going to be a hairdresser and pursued her other passion, Formula One. Sadly F1 wasn't the dream job she'd imagined: all the interesting equations were wrapped up in computer simulations and no further maths was needed. Keen to continue doing mathematics, she joined the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London just as people were starting to use data to understand human behaviour. (Yes. If you zoom out enough and use some mathematical tools, there are parallels between the airflows around racing cars and the way humans behave.) She has studied everything from the mathematics of love to civil unrest, and has advised governments and Deep Mind, the artificial intelligence research lab owned by Google. At a public lecture in Berlin in 2018, she learnt the hard way that it's a mistake to detach data from its context. Never again will she forget to ask, what do these numbers represent? How else could my algorithms be used? Is this something we, as a society, want? Data and algorithms help humans to solve problems. Big, difficult problems like climate change and Covid-19. Mathematics can help us to police a riot or find love. But the idea that maths and numbers are value-neutral is deeply flawed, Hannah says. The artificial intelligence we create is a reflection of who we are. It can discriminate horribly. But, applied wisely, it could help us to start to overcome our unconscious biases and prejudice. We humans are not perfect. Neither is AI. If we scrutinise the algorithms that now make so many decisions for us and make sure that their priorities are our priorities, then perhaps we can get the best of both. In the Age of the Algorithm, humans have never been more important Hannah Fry tells Jim Al-Khalili about her life as a mathematician and why her attitude to risk and statistics changed dramatically earlier this year. Producer: Anna Buckley

We're revisiting one of our favorite interviews featuring Noreena Hertz. Noreena is an economist, a bestselling author, and an Honorary Professor at the University College London. She discusses the learnings from her latest book, “The Loney Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World That's Pulling Apart." We find out how loneliness impacts more than just our mental health and the second-order effects of our “contactless” world.  Follow Noreena on Twitter, @noreenahertz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices