Physical Attraction

Thomas

Physical Attraction is the show that explores topics in science, technology, and the future - from a physicist's perspective. From the birth of stars to the end of the world, from interviews with experts to meticulously-researched deep dives, we'll explore the topics that shape our world.

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247 episodes
Updated Mar 9, 2022

Episodes247

Newest first

Apr 12, 2018 · 1 hr 16 min
Simon Ings on Stalin and the Scientists: Triumph and Tragedy
One of the best and most enjoyable parts of hosting this show is when my favourite authors are kind enough to speak to me. I'd like to thank Simon for an excellent, enlightening, entertaining discussion: if you enjoy listening to it half as much as I enjoyed the conversation, you're in for a real treat. Today, as part of our series on science in the USSR, I'm delighted to say that we have an interview with Simon Ings, the author of a wonderful book on the subject - Stalin and the Scientists. Simon began his career writing science fiction stories, novels and films writing books on perception (The Eye: A Natural History), 20th-century radical politics (The Weight of Numbers), the shipping system (Dead Water) and augmented reality (Wolves). He co-founded and edited Arc magazine, a digital publication about the future, before joining New Scientist magazine as its arts editor, and writing Stalin and the Scientists. He very kindly agreed to be interviewed for our little show; as usual, I detained my guest for a very long time, and so I've split the interview into two parts. The second part of our interview followed scientists through the Soviet Union's tumultuous time under Stalin - through the Gulags and the Great Terror, through the horrors of the Second World War and the Sharaskhi. We discuss the legacy of the Soviet Union and move towards what we can learn about science in our society today. If you want to find out more about Simon's work, you can buy Stalin and the Scientists online and at all good bookstores - and I highly recommend you do - and he's online at www.simonings.com and also tweets @simonings. As for us: follow the show @physicspod , or visit the website for more information at www.physicspodcast.com : there you'll find a contact form where you can bombard us with questions, comments, concerns, topic suggestions, guest suggestions, praise, anonymous threats - anything you like! If you've enjoyed the show, you can help us a number of ways. We have a paypal donate link which you'll find on the site. You can subscribe to our Patreon. But most of all, please, please - tell as many people as possible to listen. Tie them down if necessary.
Apr 5, 2018 · 44 min
Simon Ings on Stalin and the Scientists: The Revolution.mp3
One of the best and most enjoyable parts of hosting this show is when my favourite authors are kind enough to speak to me. I'd like to thank Simon for an excellent, enlightening, entertaining discussion: if you enjoy listening to it half as much as I enjoyed the conversation, you're in for a real treat. Today, as part of our series on science in the USSR, I'm delighted to say that we have an interview with Simon Ings, the author of a wonderful book on the subject - Stalin and the Scientists. Simon began his career writing science fiction stories, novels and films writing books on perception (The Eye: A Natural History), 20th-century radical politics (The Weight of Numbers), the shipping system (Dead Water) and augmented reality (Wolves). He co-founded and edited Arc magazine, a digital publication about the future, before joining New Scientist magazine as its arts editor, and writing Stalin and the Scientists. He very kindly agreed to be interviewed for our little show; as usual, I detained my guest for a very long time, and so I've split the interview into two parts. The first part of our discussion focuses on the Bolshevik philosophy of science and the Russian Revolution more generally. If you want to find out more about Simon's work, you can buy Stalin and the Scientists online and at all good bookstores - and I highly recommend you do - and he's online at www.simonings.com and also tweets @simonings. As for us: follow the show @physicspod , or visit the website for more information at www.physicspodcast.com : there you'll find a contact form where you can bombard us with questions, comments, concerns, topic suggestions, guest suggestions, praise, anonymous threats - anything you like! If you've enjoyed the show, you can help us a number of ways. We have a paypal donate link which you'll find on the site. You can subscribe to our Patreon. But most of all, please, please - tell as many people as possible to listen. Tie them down if necessary. Next time, we'll talk about genetics and science in general in the USSR, and what lessons it might have for the future.
Mar 29, 2018 · 25 min
We Can Always Shoot Them Later - Stalin, Soviet Science, and the Bomb (II)
"Leave the physicists be," said Stalin to his chief of police, Beria. "We can always shoot them later." In this series of episodes, we'll take you inside the world of science in the USSR - with a particular focus on how they developed the atomic bomb. The gulags were not the only prisons in the Soviet Union; in fact, they constructed entire secret cities, called "Atomgrads", to house the scientists working on the bomb project. Technical experts were detained in prisons called sharashka. It was a simple exchange: you got to stay somewhere warm, and live under slightly better conditions than in the gulags - and in exchange, you worked on weapons and other projects to help the Soviet state. More broadly, the Communist state was a bundle of contradictions. They were focused on the power of science and technology to drag Russia into the 20th century, but also they were dogmatic and suspicious of any outside influence. Huge amounts were invested in technical education, but pseudoscience made it to the height of power and policy-making in the state. What was life like for these scientists? How did Soviet science react to its contradictions? We'll explore all this and more in this episode. If you've enjoyed the show, please tell everyone you know to listen and spread it like a super-virulent biological weapon. You can contact the show with any comments, questions, or concerns via www.physicspodcast.com or find us on Twitter @physicspod. Getting feedback from listeners is always wonderful, so please drop us a line.
Mar 22, 2018 · 32 min
We Can Always Shoot Them Later - Stalin, Soviet Science, and the Bomb (I)
"Leave the physicists be," said Stalin to his chief of police, Beria. "We can always shoot them later." In this series of episodes, we'll take you inside the world of science in the USSR - with a particular focus on how they developed the atomic bomb. The gulags were not the only prisons in the Soviet Union; in fact, they constructed entire secret cities, called "Atomgrads", to house the scientists working on the bomb project. Technical experts were detained in prisons called sharashka. It was a simple exchange: you got to stay somewhere warm, and live under slightly better conditions than in the gulags - and in exchange, you worked on weapons and other projects to help the Soviet state. More broadly, the Communist state was a bundle of contradictions. They were focused on the power of science and technology to drag Russia into the 20th century, but also they were dogmatic and suspicious of any outside influence. Huge amounts were invested in technical education, but pseudoscience made it to the height of power and policy-making in the state. What was life like for these scientists? How did Soviet science react to its contradictions? We'll explore all this and more in this episode. If you've enjoyed the show, please tell everyone you know to listen and spread it like a super-virulent biological weapon. You can contact the show with any comments, questions, or concerns via www.physicspodcast.com or find us on Twitter @physicspod. Getting feedback from listeners is always wonderful, so please drop us a line.
Mar 18, 2018 · 34 min
Stephen Hawking: The Voice of Physics
Physics lost a bright star last week when Stephen Hawking, world-renowned cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and science communicator, died at the age of 76. Although he was only given a few years to live when first diagnosed with motor-neurone disease in 1963, aged just 21 and at the beginning of his graduate studies in Cambridge, he defied medical predictions and lived for another fifty years. Somehow, it still doesn't seem like it was long enough; but few have made such good use of their time. In this episode, I pay tribute to Stephen Hawking's life and work, and try to explain some of his discoveries in cosmology. He had a profound impact on the physics community both as a scientist and a communicator without parallel. The world will miss him.
Mar 15, 2018 · 32 min
TEOTWAWKI 1, Nuclear Weapons II: In The Shadow of the Bomb
Vasili Arkhipov. Stanislav Petrov. Are the names familiar? They should be: these people saved the world by refusing to use nuclear weapons under incredible circumstances of extraordinary pressure. Even if you trust every head of state in every country that has nuclear weapons - and even if you feel confident that all future heads-of-state in nuclear-armed countries can also be trusted - there's still the possibility of nuclear accidents. Over time, this possibility becomes a probability. One of the scariest things about nukes is the number of times our species has almost annihilated itself by accident. We discuss these accidents, and more, in this episode. What's life like for a species living in the shadow of the bomb? If you've enjoyed this show, you can follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/physicspod and you can visit the show with your comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions for future show topics at www.physicspodcast.com
Mar 8, 2018 · 50 min
Martin Pfeiffer (@NuclearAnthro) Interview
We have a special guest on the show today! This one was very fun to record. Martin Pfeiffer, perhaps more notorious by his Twitter handle @NuclearAnthro, is a must-follow expert and Anthropology PhD student who studies the history of nuclear weapons, and how human societies interact with them. We discuss folk beliefs about nuclear weapons, the history of the individuals who've wielded them... and just how easy it is for the President to launch a nuclear strike. We built them. We can take them apart. You can find Martin's Twitter @NuclearAnthro, and his blog is below: https://deusexatomica.wordpress.com/ If you enjoy his work (and you really should), you can find links to a Paypal and Patreon on both. You can find Physical Attraction at www.physicspodcast.com, where you'll also find ways to support our show, and a contact form for comments, praise, concerns, abuse, and questions as well as suggestions for future show topics. We read it all.
Mar 1, 2018 · 31 min
TEOTWAWKI 1 - Nuclear Weapons: A Delicate Balance
Ten apocalypses later, we're finally here. It's easy to forget, living our comfortable lives, that there are hundreds of nuclear-armed missiles that could destroy civilisation at the drop of a hat... after just one order. Or maybe - an accident. In this episode, I'll talk about the history of nuclear weapons; some of the incidents when we came closest to annihilation; and what the world would look like after a nuclear war. You can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, and visit the website at www.physicspodcast.com There, you can donate to the show, and contact us with your comments, questions, concerns, praise, abuse, ideas for future shows, and so on.
Feb 22, 2018 · 40 min
Climate Conversation with Ben Franta: Scientist, Historian, Activist (II)
We have a guest on the show today - Ben Franta. Ben is a scientist, science historian, science writer, and activist. He studied for a PhD at Harvard working on solar cells; while he was at Harvard, he became involved in the movement to persuade that University to divest from fossil fuels. After finishing his first PhD, he moved to Stanford to take up a PhD in the History of Science, where he now studies the history of climate politics, and the influence of fossil fuel companies on that politics. His recent article in the Guardian, published on New Year's Day, explained how Edward Teller knew about global warming in 1959 and warned the fossil fuel industry - thirty years before it hit the mainstream. The second half, which you're about to hear, is mostly about climate change activism: what can we do to most effectively deal with climate change? If you enjoyed what our guest had to say, you can find his work via his LinkedIn "Benjamin Franta": https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/ and follow him on Twitter @BenFranta. The article that Ben referred to, which details the case for climate activism, was written by Geoffrey Supran and Ploy Achakulwisut; it's on Mashable, and it's called "How You Can Fight Climate Change." https://mashable.com/2017/05/06/how-you-can-fight-climate-change/ As always, you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, and go to our website at physicspodcast.com, where you'll find a donate link that will help you support the show if you're so inclined. Until next time.
Feb 14, 2018 · 39 min
Climate Conversation with Ben Franta: Scientist, Historian, Activist (I)
We have a guest on the show today - Ben Franta. Ben is a scientist, science historian, science writer, and activist. He studied for a PhD at Harvard working on solar cells; while he was at Harvard, he became involved in the movement to persuade that University to divest from fossil fuels. After finishing his first PhD, he moved to Stanford to take up a PhD in the History of Science, where he now studies the history of climate politics, and the influence of fossil fuel companies on that politics. His recent article in the Guardian, published on New Year's Day, explained how Edward Teller knew about global warming in 1959 and warned the fossil fuel industry - thirty years before it hit the mainstream. The first half, which you're about to hear, is a general discussion of the politics of climate change: why has this problem proved so difficult to deal with? If you enjoyed what our guest had to say, you can find his work via his LinkedIn "Benjamin Franta": https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfranta/ and follow him on Twitter @BenFranta. The article that Ben referred to, which details the case for climate activism, was written by Geoffrey Supran and Ploy Achakulwisut; it's on Mashable, and it's called "How You Can Fight Climate Change." https://mashable.com/2017/05/06/how-you-can-fight-climate-change/ As always, you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod, and go to our website at physicspodcast.com, where you'll find a donate link that will help you support the show if you're so inclined. Until next time. *** Erratum: Ben mentioned that the UK currently gets some of its electricity imported from Iceland: this is actually a proposed scheme that's not currently operating, but hopefully will in the near future. There is indeed a cable between the UK and France that helps both countries match supply and demand, and the same is true between Denmark and Norway, which both draw the majority of their power from wind and hydroelectricity respectively. It's the way forward! https://www.landsvirkjun.com/researchdevelopment/research/submarinecabletoeurope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagerrak_(power_transmission_system)
Feb 8, 2018 · 37 min
TEOTWAWKI: The Psychology of the End
Why are we so fascinated with the end of the world? How do we think about it? How do cognitive biases impact how we conceive of it? How can we account for existential risks to humanity? What is millenial thinking, and why do we fall into it? All this and more; it's Physical Attraction, the TEOTWAWKI specials. www.physicspodcast.com - where to go if you want to donate to us, or contact us with your questions. @physicspod on Twitter - another great way to contact us if you can tolerate Twitter
Jan 26, 2018 · 27 min
Climate Change - Mitigation and Controversies
In this episode, I try to explore a little more the politics behind the simple question: why is it that virtually every other proclamation of physicists is accepted, but the consensus around anthropogenic climate change has been so difficult for people to accept? Remember: you can follow us on Twitter @physicspod You can find the website at www.physicspodcast.com And on either one of those, you'll find a sparkly donate button where you can give to us on Paypal if you want to help us cover our costs.
Jan 19, 2018 · 39 min
Climate Change and the Ozone Layer: Lessons from Montreal
You may remember not so long ago the hole in the ozone layer was the major scientific apocalypse story out there in the world. It could have proved devastating for society, but - after the Montreal protocol banned and heavily regulated the substances that were causing the problem, the ozone hole has begun to shrink and the crisis has died down. In this episode, I'll talk about the story of the ozone hole and what - if anything - it can teach us about our own efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Jan 12, 2018 · 34 min
TEOTWAWKI, Climate Change - Part II
In this second part of the climate change episode, I will talk about what climate change is going to do to us - what the worst case scenarios are - and what we can do, as individuals and as a collective, to stop it. Remember; if you enjoy the show, please tell others about it. You can visit the website at www.physicspodcast.com and you can find links there to support us via Patreon or Paypal, both of which will allow you to download bonus episodes at low, low prices.
Jan 5, 2018 · 30 min
TEOTWAWKI 2.2, Climate Change - Part I
Our environment links us all: and we know that we are doing immense harm to that natural environment with our human activities. But where are the weak links? What are the potential pitfalls for the natural world, and for civilisation? In other words - if we don't change our ways - what could happen? We all know that the climate is changing and that humans are responsible for the vast bulk of the change. (If you disagree, I really hope you'll listen to this episode, and I'm happy to take on any questions you might have.) But *why* is climate change happening, what will it mean for us and what we can do to stop it? In this first episode, I will explain the physical science basis behind climate change: what is a greenhouse gas, what are feedback loops, and why does it matter that our atmosphere has gone from 280ppm of carbon dioxide to 400ppm in the industrial era? Remember; if you enjoy the show, please tell others about it. You can visit the website at www.physicspodcast.com and you can find links there to support us via Patreon or Paypal, both of which will allow you to download bonus episodes at low, low prices.
Dec 29, 2017 · 51 min
TEOTWAWKI 2.1: Ecotastrophe
Our environment links us all: and we know that we are doing immense harm to that natural environment with our human activities. But where are the weak links? What are the potential pitfalls for the natural world, and for civilisation? In other words - if we don't change our ways - what could happen? This is a simply huge topic. So, for the sake of clarity, I'm going to split the ecological and environmental catastrophe into two parts. The first will focus on pollution, species extinction, and scarcity of resources – what you might call a general ecological collapse. The second part is going to focus on perhaps the most famous environmental problem we have: climate change. We'll start by talking about biodiversity - what does it mean for us and for the planet that biodiversity is in decline due to human activities? We'll also talk about some of the lesser-spotted environmental crises - topsoil degradation and the infamous disappearance of the bees amongst them. Remember; if you enjoy the show, please tell others about it. You can visit the website at www.physicspodcast.com and you can find links there to support us via Patreon or Paypal, both of which will allow you to download bonus episodes at low, low prices.
Dec 26, 2017 · 54 min
Stuart Armstrong - AI and the Future of Humanity
We have a guest on the show today! His name is Stuart Armstrong, and he works at the Future of Humanity Institute that we've mentioned several times over the course of the TEOTWAWKI specials who are looking at big-picture existential risks. Stuart Armstrong's research at the Future of Humanity Institute centers on the safety and possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI), how to define the potential goals of AI and map humanity's partially defined values into it, and the long term potential for intelligent life across the reachable universe. He has been working with people at FHI and other organizations, such as DeepMind, to formalize AI desiderata in general models so that AI designers can include these safety methods in their designs.
Dec 15, 2017 · 58 min
Britt Wray on CRISPR, De-Extinction and Necrofauna
Today on the show, our guest is Britt Wray. Britt Wray is a broadcaster, author and public speaker researching emerging science and tech. She tells stories about what she finds via podcasting, interactive documentary, print and tv. Recently, she has hosted the BBC Tomorrow's World podcast with Ellie Cosgrave - I'm sure lots of us remember the old TV show which is now being revived in podcast form - and her first book, Rise of the Necrofauna: The Science, Ethics and Risks of De-Extinction - has just been published by Greystone Books. It'd make a good Christmas present for anyone you know who's interested in the possibilities of using synthetic biology to bring back creatures that were once extinct - or, at least, some strange new hybrid versions of them. Britt has spent a lot of time researching the ethics and capabilities of emerging technologies, especially in biology, and especially related to CRISPR, so that's broadly what our discussion is about. I hope you enjoy. You can follow Britt Wray on Twitter @BrittWray and keep up with developments on www.brittwray.com, as well as buying a copy of Rise of the Necrofauna in bookshops and on Amazon.
Dec 8, 2017 · 1 hr 19 min
Zach Weinersmith on Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That Will Improve and/or Ruin Everything
We have a special guest on the show today: I'm excited, are you excited? It's Zach Weinersmith. Zach is the creator of the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, which I'm sure many of you love and enjoy. He created the Bad Ad-Hoc Hypotheses festival where people give ludicrous solutions to genuine scientific problems. And with his amazing wife Kelly Weinersmith, hosted a podcast, the Weekly Weinersmith, and wrote a book – Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies that Will Improve and/or Ruin Everything. This book deals with the future of space travel, programmable matter, nuclear fusion, all kinds of emerging technologies, written about in a hilarious and informative way – and it deals with the impacts they'll have on society. We had a wide-ranging discussion, from talking about the near-term future of space travel, space elevators, how to tell if technology predictions are accurate or not, how technology will impact society, the inevitability of technological progress, whether we can mine asteroids, and all manner of wonderful things. You can find out more about Zach and Kelly's work at @ZachWeiner and @FuSchmu respectively. You can listen to more of my show at www.physicspodcast.com where you can talk to us about your questions, concerns, and ask listener questions to be featured on a future episode! Please, tell one of your friends to listen to the show, ensuring the exponential growth in listener base that will one day consume us all.
Dec 5, 2017 · 46 min
TEOTWAWKI: The Singularity, Part II
Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Martin Rees... all have warned about the risk from Artificial Intelligence. Centres like the Future of Humanity Institute in Oxford, and the Centre for Existential Risk at Cambridge, rate the risk from artificial intelligence as way up there on the scale of potential human apocalypses. But it won't look like killer terminator-robots. We are standing on the precipice of a future that's almost impossible to comprehend. Will it be possible to survive? In this episode, we'll talk about why people are afraid that this explosion in technology could lead to the end of the world. Pictures of killer Terminators need not apply; instead, we're discussing the philosophical and ethical problems that come with artificial intelligence that could exceed the capacity of humans. How can we be sure that it has the same values as us? How can we be sure that it even understands the value of human life at all? Why are people so afraid of such a miraculous technology? And is there anything we can do to ensure that it will be used as a tool rather than taking over entirely? Hit us up on Twitter @physicspod if your brain hasn't yet been uploaded to a computer and you still need to use a pesky keyboard interface in meatspace to interact. There, you can donate to the show (in fiat currency, not bitcoin, although I'll take some if you have any going.) Like and review us on iTunes, which will help their 'artificially intelligent' algorithms serve up this show to more consumer human robo-droids. Until next time, stay safe.