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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
  • Aug 24, 2020 · 52 min

    Off-Topic: The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories in US Political Life

    Well, I asked Twitter if they wouldn't mind more off-topic content, and although the electorate was pretty tiny, they said they didn't mind. So, with that shaky endorsement in place, I'm going to spend an hour talking about the psychology of conspiracy theories, US politics, the Anabaptist Siege of Munster, millennialist thinking, and satanic cabals that may or may not run the world. (Spoiler: they do not.)

  • Aug 20, 2020 · 1 hr 11 min

    Stewart Lansley on Universal Basic Income

    This episode, we talk to Stewart Lansley, who co-edited the book "It's Basic Income" and has written reports on UBI in a UK context. Where is the debate on UBI in light of COVID-19?

  • Aug 18, 2020 · 22 min

    Responsible Use of Algorithms - YouTube and Investigative Journalism

    In light of some of the recent furore surrounding a particular algorithm, I thought it might be a good time to release this episode of the show. Two stories about the responsible use of algorithms in modern society - one about YouTube's algorithm and another about investigative journalism in the age of algorithms.

  • Aug 11, 2020 · 1 hr 1 min

    Rebooting Civilization and Alien Life in the Cosmos, with Lewis Dartnell

    We have a guest on the show today - Professor Lewis Dartnell. Lewis is an author, presenter, and Professor of Science Communication at the University of Westminster, and has written and researched on topics as diverse as astrobiology, how to rebuild civilization after the apocalypse, and the influence of Earth's geology on the history of the development of the species. I first came across Lewis' work reading an excellent book he wrote "The Knowledge", which is like a how-to guide on how one might try and restart civilization after a cataclysmic event. We talked about the book, and the prospects for finding life in the Universe, in this interview - which I really enjoyed. You can find Lewis' work at LewisDartnell.com where you'll find links to his previous presenting work, his TED Talk, his academic publications, and various different multimedia appearances that he's made over the years. You can buy Origins and The Knowledge in all good bookstores, and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the former having devoured the latter one. You can also follow him on Twitter @Lewis_Dartnell if that floats your boat. I'd like to thank him again for being so generous with his time for this interview.

  • Aug 4, 2020 · 54 min

    Interview with the CEO of Nori, A CO2 Removal Startup

    This week, we have a guest on the show - Paul Gambill. Paul is the CEO of Nori, a startup that is aiming to create a marketplace for negative emissions - removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. I first became interested in Nori when I saw that they were offering the opportunity to buy negative emissions for the low price of $15/tonne. The increasing importance of negative emissions in our climate change scenarios is something I'm very interested in + will be the topic of future episodes, so I was excited to get into the subject of making this a reality in our conversation. We had a wide-ranging discussion about climate change, the role of negative emissions, and what he's hoping to do with the company.

  • Jul 28, 2020 · 1 hr 14 min

    Felicity Boardman on the ethics of genetic screening and genome editing

    This week, we have a guest on the show - Professor Felicity Boardman, who works at the University of Warwick on the ethics of genetic screening and genome editing. Specifically, she is co-leader of the Imagined Futures project, which looks at the impact of new genetic technologies on those with rare genetic conditions. This is a little outside the topics we usually cover on this show - but at the same time, it's an extremely important and under-appreciated topic - how the genetic technologies of today are already impacting people. We had an excellent conversation, and I hope you enjoy it. You can find Professor Boardman's work at the Warwick website, her previous articles on The Conversation, and several talks on YouTube - I urge you to check them all out. Remember, you can find us online @ physicspodcast.com and on Twitter @physicspod. Do send any comments, questions, concerns, topics you'd like to see covered and so on to the contact form on the website, and I'll endeavour to email you back! [I generally respond but it comes from my personal email address, so you might want to check if it's getting filtered.] We have a Patreon, where you can subscribe for a few dollars per bonus episode - you won't be charged until a new bonus episode is released, and there are already a few there for you to download on subscribing.

  • Jul 22, 2020 · 58 min

    QE For the People with Frances Coppola, Part II: Helicopter Money?

    This week, we have a guest on the show - economics and finance writer Frances Coppola. She's the author of a book, "Quantiative Easing for the People", which argues that central banks and governments should work in concert to ensure that their response to financial crises really helps the entire economy, rather than just inflating asset prices. In the second part of our interview, we go into much more depth about the specific idea of quantiative easing for the people - essentially, what would happen if the central banks or government directly gave every individual in the country a few thousand pounds, rather than injecting this stimulus into the market indirectly by buying up assets. We also discuss specifically what the ideal response to the coronavirus crisis should be and the role that banks and governments have to play in our response.

  • Jul 15, 2020 · 1 hr 2 min

    QE For the People with Frances Coppola, Part I - Economics 101

    This week, we have a guest on the show - economics and finance writer Frances Coppola. She's the author of a book, "Quantiative Easing for the People", which argues that central banks and governments should work in concert to ensure that their response to financial crises really helps the entire economy, rather than just inflating asset prices. In the first part of our wide-ranging discussion, we demystify the economy and debunk some common misconceptions by asking some basic questions: what's a central bank, and what is its role in the economy? What is quantiative easing, and what was it intended to do? It was a really fascinating discussion and it does amaze me how much economics is almost taken for granted + not explained as par for the course in our education when these ideas and principles have the potential to affect our lives so much. I hope you enjoy.

  • Jun 30, 2020 · 44 min

    Direct Detection of Dark Matter

    In this episode, we discuss the progress that has been made towards directly detecting Dark Matter in the form of WIMPs, and the recent anomalies observed at the Xenon1T experiment. Enjoy!

  • Jun 24, 2020 · 39 min

    Can COVID-19 be a tipping point for action on climate change?

    In this slightly news-y episode, we pick up on last week's episode and talk about progress that governments have made in enacting green economic stimulus to follow the coronavirus, as well as the negative redistributive and climate impacts of quantiative easing.

  • Jun 10, 2020 · 11 min

    PREVIEW: Physical Attraction Book Club, The Attention Merchants

    Hey! This is a preview of something new that we're trying out - the Physical Attraction Book Club. We'll be discussing books at a semi-regular intervals on the Patreon, which you can find here: https://www.patreon.com/physicalattraction This is a preview to tease you all into being tantalised enough to subscribe. If you do subscribe (for $3 per bonus episode) then not only will you support the show and independent podcasters more generally, but you will also get access to the rest of this episode and the rest of the bonus episodes that are unlocked. The book is The Attention Merchants, by Tim Wu - a comprehensive history of how advertising has shaped our world and our culture, from the 1800s to 2018.

  • Jun 8, 2020 · 27 min

    Climate Change and the Coronavirus: Skeptics

    The first of two episodes on climate change and the coronavirus - parallels, similarities, and differences - in which we consider some of the similarities between "climate skeptics" and "COVID skeptics". Also, listener mail.

  • Jun 4, 2020 · 57 min

    Interview with Phil Torres (@Xriskology) Part II: Existential Risk in the time of COVID-19

    Well, the manifestation of a global catastrophic risk means that it's time for us to bring back the very first guest on this show, from back in 2017. Phil Torres is a scholar of existential risks - you can find him on Twitter @xriskology and his website at xriskology.com, and we are delighted to ask him back to the show to discuss the field of existential risks in the time of the coronavirus pandemic. In the second part of our interview, we discuss the field of existential risks more generally, Phil's recent work, and ramble about the concerns surrounding the utilitarian foundation of the philosophy.

  • Jun 1, 2020 · 38 min

    Re-release: The Psychology of the End

    Episode first aired in Feb 2018 which deals with cognitive biases surrounding how we conceive of the end-times. Sadly relevant today. 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?

  • May 28, 2020 · 1 hr 32 min

    Phil Torres (@xriskology) I: Existential Risks in the time of COVID-19

    Well, the manifestation of a global catastrophic risk means that it's time for us to bring back the very first guest on this show, from back in 2017. Phil Torres is a scholar of existential risks - you can find him on Twitter @xriskology and his website at xriskology.com, and we are delighted to ask him back to the show to discuss the field of existential risks in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • May 21, 2020 · 1 hr

    Kit Yates on the Maths of Life and Death

    This week, we have a guest on the show - Kit Yates, who is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and co-director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath, and who's written an excellent book "The Maths of Life and Death" on various applications of maths in biology, from epidemics to exponential growth. He's been interviewed extensively in the media lately to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, and we talked about that and the rest of his work, as well as the book, in this interview. Remember you can find Kit's work at kityates.com and you can find us as physicspodcast.com, contact form, twitter, patreon, tell others, rate and review, etc.

  • May 15, 2020 · 1 hr 3 min

    Smoke and Mirrors: How Hype Obscures the Future, and How to See Past It - with Gemma Milne

    I'm excited today to say that we have a guest on the show - Gemma Milne, who has written a book, Smoke and Mirrors, about how technological hype distorts the future. I really enjoyed the book, which deals with nine areas of considerable hype in technology, and not only takes you through some of the fascinating near-term applications for these technologies but also grounds them in reality. It was a fascinating conversation that I'm glad to be able to present you with. You can find more of her work on Twitter @gemmamilne or on her website at www.gemmamilne.co.uk and you can listen to the newly relaunched Science:Disrupt podcast, which has a recent episode about science communication in the age of coronavirus, which is obviously extremely topical. As for us, you can find the show at physicspodcast.com where you'll find all of our past episodes and a contact form. You can send any questions, comments, concerns, episode ideas, people you'd like me to interview that way - it always makes my day to get communication from you guys so do send it over. You can follow us on the web @physicspod or the Facebook page, Physical Attraction. There's also a Patreon which I really need to use more which you can donate to, and a paypal link for one-off donations if you want to support what I do; we are and remain totally independent and solo, a passion project for me, and anything you can do to support us from telling your friends to listen to the show, to reviewing the show on various platforms, to sending us advice or encouragement, is all greatly appreciated. We have some more interviews in the pipeline for you that will be out soon. Our theme music is by melodysheep and used with kind permission. Until next time, then, take care.