Episode 750: Harry Cliff - Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding Of The Universe

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תוכן מסופק על ידי Samuel Hankin. כל תוכן הפודקאסטים כולל פרקים, גרפיקה ותיאורי פודקאסטים מועלים ומסופקים ישירות על ידי Samuel Hankin או שותף פלטפורמת הפודקאסט שלהם. אם אתה מאמין שמישהו משתמש ביצירה שלך המוגנת בזכויות יוצרים ללא רשותך, אתה יכול לעקוב אחר התהליך המתואר כאן https://he.player.fm/legal.

The 100 Handed

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Episode Zero - Bad Blood 16:56

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Two women, tired of working dead end jobs, try their hand at the dark art of Bloodsinging. When they kidnap a small boy for a ritual sacrifice, they learn that they have far more to worry about than the police. WARNING: This episode contains graphic violence, strong language, and mature themes. The 100 Handed is an audio drama intended for mature audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Listen ad-free and find bonus material at https://www.patreon.com/the100handed And remember, leave us a 5-star review to help spread the word. Weep at the wonder and howl at the horror! Please support our sponsors at: https://fableandfolly.com/partners/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

לפני שנתיים 1:13:08

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Experimental physicist at CERN and acclaimed science presenter Harry Cliff offers an eye-opening account of the inexplicable phenomena that science has only recently glimpsed, and that could transform our understanding of the fundamental nature of reality.
Something strange is going on in the cosmos. Scientists are uncovering a catalogue of weird phenomena that simply can’t be explained by our long-established theories of the universe. Particles with unbelievable energies are bursting from beneath the Antarctic ice. Unknown forces seem to be tugging on the basic building blocks of matter. Stars are flying away from us far faster than anyone can explain.
After decades of fruitless searching, could we finally be catching glimpses of a profound new view of our physical world? Or are we being fooled by cruel tricks of the data?
In Space Oddities, Harry Cliff, a physicist who does cutting-edge work on the Large Hadron Collider, provides a riveting look at the universe’s most confounding puzzles. In a journey that spans continents, from telescopes perched high above the Atacama Desert to the subterranean caverns of state-of-the-art particle colliders to balloons hovering over the frozen icesheets of the South Pole, he meets the men and women hunting for answers—who have staked their careers and reputations on the uncertain promise of new physics.
The result is a mind-expanding, of-the-moment look at the fields of physics and cosmology as they transform before us. With wonder, clarity, and a dose of humor, Cliff investigates the question: Are these anomalies accidents of nature, or could they be pointing us toward vast, hidden worlds?
Harry Cliff is a particle physicist based at the University of Cambridge and carries out research with the LHCb experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. He was a curator at the Science Museum, London for seven years and regularly gives public lectures and makes TV and radio appearances. His 2015 TED talk "Have We Reached the End of Physics?" has been viewed nearly 3 million times.
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Episode 750: Harry Cliff - Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding Of The Universe

The Avid Reader Show

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#Arts #Books #Independent #Wche #Avid #Samuel Hankin #Lifestyle #Audio Drama #Bookstore #Readers #Read

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The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 783: Eric Rath - Kanpai: The History of Sake 49:20

לפני 5 ימים49:20

49:20

Lift a glass to the story of sake—from Japanese homebrew to global phenomenon. Sake, Japan’s iconic rice-based alcoholic drink, has been central to Japanese culture for over 1,300 years. Traditionally made with rice, water, and koji mold, it was consumed in early brewpubs and was vital to samurai rituals and festivals. Sake’s story includes homebrewers like clan matriarchs, ancient princes, and modern political activists who defied laws to keep homebrewing alive. Temples refined sake-making techniques, laying the foundation for a thriving industry that became a major economic force for shoguns and the modern state. Kanpai is the first history of sake in English, exploring its evolution from homebrew to flavored varieties, and its cultural significance and global rise—including its growing popularity and production in North America and Europe. The book also shows how sake has shaped Japanese food, society, and traditions. Eric C. Rath is professor of premodern Japanese history at the University of Kansas. He is the author of Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781836391159…

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Episode 782: Steve Ramirez - How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist's Quest To Alter The Past 52:53

לפני 5 ימים52:53

52:53

A disarmingly personal account of the new science of memory manipulation by one of today's leading pioneers in the field As a graduate student at MIT, Steve Ramirez successfully created false memories in the lab. Now, as a neuroscientist working at the frontiers of brain science, he foresees a future where we can replace our negative memories with positive ones. In How to Change a Memory, Ramirez draws on his own memories--of friendship, family, loss, and recovery--to reveal how memory can be turned on and off like a switch, edited, and even constructed from nothing. A future in which we can change our memories of the past may seem improbable, but in fact, the everyday act of remembering is one of transformation. Intentionally editing memory to improve our lives takes advantage of the brain's natural capacity for change. In How to Change a Memory, Ramirez explores how scientists discovered that memories are fluid--they change over time, can be erased, reactivated, and even falsely implanted in the lab. Reflecting on his own path as a scientist, he examines how memory manipulation shapes our imagination and sense of self. If we can erase a deeply traumatic memory, would it change who we are? And what would that change mean anyway? Throughout, Ramirez carefully considers the ethics of artificially controlling memory, exploring how we might use this tool responsibly--for both personal healing and the greater good. A masterful blend of memoir and cutting-edge science, How to Change a Memory explores how neuroscience has reached a critical juncture, where scientists can see the potential of memory manipulation to help people suffering from the debilitating effects of PTSD, anxiety, Alzheimer's, addiction, and a host of other neurological and behavioral disorders. Steve Ramirez has been featured on CNN, NPR, and the BBC and in leading publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic, Wired, Forbes, The Guardian, The Economist, and Nature. An award-winning neuroscientist who has given TED talks on his groundbreaking work on memory manipulation, he is associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780691266688…

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Episode 781: William O. Stephens - Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King 55:11

לפני 6 weeks55:11

55:11

The moving life and legacy of Rome’s great emperor philosopher. This book guides us through the fascinating life and writings of Marcus Aurelius, Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor. Philosopher William O. Stephens explores Marcus’s reluctant rise to power, his marriage, and his efforts to mold his son into a just successor. He examines Marcus’s Stoic tenets as he describes the struggles of dealing with a fifteen-year pandemic, the betrayal of a trusted general, social upheaval centered on a new “superstition” (Christianity), and how Marcus’s determination to stabilize the empire’s borders resulted in strife, broken treaties, and protracted wars. This gripping narrative of Marcus’ life, times, and thought, as well as his complex legacy will appeal to all those interested in Roman history. ABOUT THE AUTHOR William O. Stephens is professor emeritus of philosophy at Creighton University. His books include Epictetus’s Encheiridion: A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781836391166…

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Episode 780: James Barrat - The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans At Everything 1:07:24

לפני 6 weeks1:07:24

1:07:24

With the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence, both existential fears and uncritical enthusiasm for AI systems have surged. In this era of unprecedented technological growth, understanding the profound impacts of AI — both positive and negative — is more crucial than ever. In The Intelligence Explosion , James Barrat, a leading technology expert, equips readers with the tools to navigate the complex and often chaotic landscape of modern AI. This compelling book dives deep into the challenges posed by generative AI, exposing how tech companies have built systems that are both error-prone and impossible to fully interpret. Through insightful interviews with AI pioneers, Barrat highlights the unstable trajectory of AI development, showcasing its potential for modest benefits and catastrophic consequences. Bold, eye-opening, and essential, The Intelligence Explosion is a must-read for anyone grappling with the realities of the technological revolution. ABOUT THE AUTHOR James Barrat is an author and documentary filmmaker who’s written and produced films for National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, and many other broadcasters in the United States and Europe. He is the author of Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era, Facing Sucide: Why People Kill Themselves and How We Can Stop Them, and The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything. Buy the book here: https://wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781250355027…

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 779: Michaela Vieser & Isaac Yuen - The Sound Atlas: A Guide to Strange Sounds across Landscapes and Imagination 1:13:15

לפני 7 weeks1:13:15

1:13:15

Mapping the acoustic onto the human soul, moving meditations on the power and meaning of sound. Nature writers Michaela Vieser and Isaac Yuen set out in search of sounds beautiful and loathsome, melodious and disturbing, healing, strange, and intimate. The phenomena of sound may be fleeting and evanescent, but the memory of it can open a window into the soul, deepening our connections with time, the environment, and each other. From the edge of the solar system to the crackle of arctic sea ice, from the ancient oracle site of Dodona to the singing pillars of Hampi, each of these thirty-six essays explores stories of sound through the lens of history, science, and culture, stylishly blending fantastical facts and unique anecdotes to create a compelling narrative. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781836391104…

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Episode 778: Mary Roach - Replaceable You: Adventures In Human Anatomy 1:03:35

לפני 7 weeks1:03:35

1:03:35

From the New York Times best-selling author of Stiff and Fuzz, a rollicking exploration of the quest to re-create the impossible complexities of human anatomy. The body is the most complex machine in the world, and the only one for which you cannot get a replacement part from the manufacturer. For centuries, medicine has reached for what’s available—sculpting noses from brass, borrowing skin from frogs and hearts from pigs, crafting eye parts from jet canopies and breasts from petroleum by-products. Today we’re attempting to grow body parts from scratch using stem cells and 3D printers. How are we doing? Are we there yet? In Replaceable You, Mary Roach explores the remarkable advances and difficult questions prompted by the human body’s failings. When and how does a person decide they’d be better off with a prosthetic than their existing limb? Can a donated heart be made to beat forever? Can an intestine provide a workable substitute for a vagina? Roach dives in with her characteristic verve and infectious wit. Her travels take her to the OR at a legendary burn unit in Boston, a “superclean” xeno-pigsty in China, and a stem cell “hair nursery” in the San Diego tech hub. She talks with researchers and surgeons, amputees and ostomates, printers of kidneys and designers of wearable organs. She spends time in a working iron lung from the 1950s, stays up all night with recovery techs as they disassemble and reassemble a tissue donor, and travels across Mongolia with the cataract surgeons of Orbis International. Irrepressible and accessible, Replaceable You immerses readers in the wondrous, improbable, and surreal quest to build a new you. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mary Roach is the author of seven best-selling works of nonfiction, including Grunt, Stiff, and, most recently, Fuzz. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781324050629…

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 777: Svend Brinkmann - The Experience Society: Life Beyoned Subjectivity 54:43

לפני 7 weeks54:43

54:43

An enlightening look at how our elevation of the sensorial and the subjective has impaired our ability to connect—and how we might build that connection back. In today’s so-called experience society, everything is judged by personal experience, from online shopping to funerals. Value is measured by how satisfying an individual finds their experience, and the experience economy thrives on this desire for entertainment and fulfillment. Yet debates often reach an impasse when reduced to subjective feelings—whether offense is taken or criticisms are dismissed. Svend Brinkmann explores this cultural shift, examining how our reliance on subjective experience limits meaningful discussions and social cohesion. He argues that reclaiming a shared, objective reality is essential for tackling the major issues of our time and for fostering genuine understanding beyond personal perceptions. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781836390954…

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Episode 776: Einstein in Oxford - Andrew Robinson 45:53

לפני 34 weeks45:53

45:53

An intimate account of Albert Einstein’s visit to Oxford in the 1930’s, casting new light on why he continues to be the world’s most famous scientist. In 1931, Albert Einstein visited Oxford to receive an honorary degree and lecture on relativity and the universe. While teaching, he naturally chalked equations and diagrams on several blackboards. Today, one of these boards is the most popular object in Oxford’s History of Science Museum. Yet Einstein tried to prevent its preservation because he was modest about his legendary status. Having failed, he complained to his diary: “Not even a cart-horse could endure so much!” Nevertheless, he came back to Oxford in 1932 and again in 1933—then as a refugee from Nazi Germany. In many ways, the city appealed deeply and revealed him at his most charismatic as he participated in its science, music, and politics, and wandered its streets alone. Einstein in Oxford is an eye-opening exploration of the world’s most famous scientist, told through the personal writings he left behind from an important period of his life. From the pages of his diary entries, poem, and other written observations, readers gain a deeper understanding of the unique man—and humor—who continues to fascinate the world. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com…

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 775: Hidden in the Heavens - Jason Steffen 1:02:22

לפני 34 weeks1:02:22

1:02:22

Are we alone in the universe? It’s a fundamental question for Earth-dwelling humankind. Are there other worlds like ours, out there somewhere? In Hidden in the Heavens, Jason Steffen, a former scientist on NASA’s Kepler mission, describes how that mission searched for planets orbiting Sun-like stars—especially Earth-like planets circulating in Earth-like orbits. What the Kepler space telescope found, Steffen reports, contradicted centuries of theoretical and observational work and transformed our understanding of planets, planetary systems, and the stars they orbit. Kepler discovered thousands of planets orbiting distant stars—a bewildering variety of celestial bodies, including rocky planets being vaporized by the intense heat of their host star; super-Earths and sub-Neptunes, with properties simultaneously similar to and different from both Earth and Neptune; gas giants several times the size and mass of Jupiter; and planets orbiting in stellar systems that had only been imagined in science fiction. ‎Published by: Princeton University Press Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com…

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Episode 774: Ciara Greene and Gillian Murphy - Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember 1:00:09

לפני 38 weeks1:00:09

1:00:09

We tend to think of our memories as impressions of the past that remain fully intact, preserved somewhere inside our brains. In fact, we construct and reconstruct our memories every time we attempt to recall them. Memory Lane introduces readers to the cutting-edge science of human memory, revealing how our recollections of the past are constantly adapting and changing, and why a faulty memory isn’t always a bad thing. Shedding light on what memory is and what it evolved to do, Ciara Greene and Gillian Murphy discuss the many benefits of our flexible yet fallible memory system, including helping us to maintain a coherent identity, sustain social bonds, and vividly imagine possible futures. But these flexible and easily distorted memories can also result in significant harm, leading us to provide erroneous eyewitness testimony or fall victim to fake news. Greene and Murphy explain why our flawed memories are not a failure of evolution but rather a byproduct of the perfectly imperfect way our minds have evolved to solve problems. They also grapple with important ethical questions surrounding the study and manipulation of memory. Blending engaging storytelling with the latest science, the authors demonstrate how our continuous reconstruction of the past makes us who we are, helps us to interpret our experiences, and explains why no two trips down memory lane are ever quite the same. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780691257099…

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 773: David Bates - An Artificial History of Natural Intelligence 1:00:16

לפני 38 weeks1:00:16

1:00:16

A new history of human intelligence that argues that humans know themselves by knowing their machines. We imagine that we are both in control of and controlled by our bodies—autonomous and yet automatic. This entanglement, according to David W. Bates, emerged in the seventeenth century when humans first built and compared themselves with machines. Reading varied thinkers from Descartes to Kant to Turing, Bates reveals how time and time again technological developments offered new ways to imagine how the body’s automaticity worked alongside the mind’s autonomy. Tracing these evolving lines of thought, An Artificial History of Natural Intelligence offers a new theorization of the human as a being that is dependent on technology and produces itself as an artificial automaton without a natural, outside origin. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780226832104…

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 772: Gareth Gore - Opus 54:05

לפני 38 weeks54:05

54:05

A thrilling exposé recounting how members of Opus Dei—a secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sect—pushed its radical agenda within the Church and around the globe, using billions of dollars siphoned from one of the world’s largest banks. In an era of disinformation and deep fakes, here is a real-life conspiracy which hid in plain sight for more than sixty years. Gore tells a shocking story of money and power that spans decades and continents. Documenting Opus Dei’s secret history for the first time, this thrilling work of investigative storytelling raises important questions about the dark forces that shape our society. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://wellingtonsquarebooks.indiecommerce.com…

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Episode 771: Jonathan Silvertown - Selfish Genes to Social Beings: : A Cooperative History of Life 55:14

לפני 50 weeks55:14

55:14

For all the "selfishness" of genes, they team up to survive. Is the history of life in fact a story of cooperation? Amid the violence and brutality that dominates the news, it's hard to think of ourselves as team players. But cooperation, Jonathan Silvertown argues, is a fundamental part of our make-up, and deeply woven into the whole four-billion-year history of life. Starting with human society, Silvertown digs deeper, to show how cooperation is key to the cells forming our organs, to symbiosis between organisms, to genes that band together, to the dawn of life itself. Cooperation has enabled life to thrive and become complex. Without it, life would never have begun. Jonathan Silvertown is an evolutionary biologist who has published widely on plant population biology. He is the author of eight books, including Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution and, most recently, The Comedy of Error: Why Evolution Made Us Laugh. Formerly Professor of Evolutionary Ecology at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Edinburgh, and Chair of Technology-Enhanced Science Education in Biological Sciences, he is now, following retirement, an Honorary Professor in the Institute. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://wellingtonsquarebooks.indiecommerce.com…

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Episode 770: Elizabeth Winder - Parachute Women: The Women Behind The Rolling Stones 1:00:35

לפני 50 weeks1:00:35

1:00:35

Parachute Women: Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, and the Women Behind the Rolling Stones Discover the true story of the four women who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help shape and curate the image of The Rolling Stones—perfect for fans of Girls Like Us. The Rolling Stones have long been considered one of the greatest rock-and-roll bands of all time. At the forefront of the British Invasion and heading up the counterculture movement of the 1960s, the Stones' innovative music and iconic performances defined a generation, and fifty years later, they're still performing to sold-out stadiums around the globe. Yet, as the saying goes, behind every great man is a greater woman, and behind these larger-than-life rockstars were four incredible women whose stories have yet to be fully unpacked . . . until now. In Parachute Women, Elizabeth Winder introduces us to the four women who inspired, styled, wrote for, remixed, and ultimately helped create the legend of the Rolling Stones. Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, and Anita Pallenberg put the glimmer in the Glimmer Twins and taught a group of strait-laced boys to be bad. They opened the doors to subterranean art and alternative lifestyles, turned them on to Russian literature, occult practices, and LSD. They connected them to cutting edge directors and writers, won them roles in art house films that renewed their appeal. They often acted as unpaid stylists, providing provocative looks from their personal wardrobes. They remixed tracks for chart-topping albums, and sometimes even wrote the actual songs. More hip to the times than the rockers themselves, they consciously (and unconsciously) kept the band current—and confident—with that mythic lasting power they still have today. Lush in detail and insight, and long overdue, Parachute Women is a group portrait of the four audacious women who transformed the Stones into international stars, but who were themselves marginalized by the male-dominated rock world of the late '60s and early '70s. Written in the tradition of Sheila Weller's Girls Like Us, it's a story of lust and rivalries, friendships and betrayals, hope and degradation, and the birth of rock and roll. Elizabeth Winder is the author of Marilyn in Manhattan: Her Year of Joy,and Pain, Parties, Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Review, Antioch Review, American Letters, and other publications. She is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, and earned an MFA in creative writing from George Mason University. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781580059589…

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Episode 769: Jim Baggott - Quantum Drama: From the Bohr-Einstein Debate to the Riddle of Entanglement 1:06:23

לפני 50 weeks1:06:23

1:06:23

The definitive account of the great Bohr-Einstein debate and its continuing legacy In 1927, Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein began a debate about the interpretation and meaning of the new quantum theory. This would become one of the most famous debates in the history of science. At stake were an understanding of the purpose, and defense of the integrity, of science. What (if any) limits should we place on our expectations for what science can tell us about physical reality? Our protagonists slowly disappeared from the vanguard of physics, as its centre of gravity shifted from a war-ravaged Continental Europe to a bold, pragmatic, post-war America. What Einstein and Bohr had considered to be matters of the utmost importance were now set aside. Their debate was regarded either as settled in Bohr's favour or as superfluous to real physics. But the debate was not resolved. The problems of interpretation and meaning persisted, at least in the minds of a few stubborn physicists, such as David Bohm and John Bell, who refused to stop asking awkward questions. The Bohr-Einstein debate was rejoined, now with a new set of protagonists, on a small scale at first. Through their efforts, the debate was revealed to be about physics after all. Their questions did indeed have answers that could be found in a laboratory. As quantum entanglement became a real physical phenomenon, whole new disciplines were established, such as quantum computing, teleportation, and cryptography. The efforts of the experimentalists were rewarded with shares in the 2022 Nobel prize in physics. As Quantum Drama reveals, science owes a large debt to those who kept the discussions going against the apathy and indifference of most physicists before definitive experimental inquiries became possible. Although experiment moved the Bohr-Einstein debate to a new level and drew many into foundational research, it has by no means removed or resolved the fundamental question. There will be no Nobel prize for an answer. That will not shut off discussion. Our Drama will continue beyond our telling of it and is unlikely to reach its final scene before science ceases or the world ends. Jim Baggott, Freelance science writer, John L. Heilbron, Professor Emeritus of History, University of California, Berkeley Jim Baggott is an award-winning science writer. Trained as a scientist in the Universities of Oxford and Stanford, and a former lecturer at the University of Reading, he has written popular books on science, philosophy, and history. His books include Quantum Reality (2020), Quantum Space (2018), Mass (2017), for which he won the 2020 Premio Cosmos prize, Higgs (2012), and The Quantum Story (2011). His books have been translated into a dozen different languages, and he has won awards both for his scientific research and his science writing. John L. Heilbron is Professor of History and Vice Chancellor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as an Honorary Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. After training in physics, he studied history of science under T. S. Kuhn in the 1960s, when Kuhn was writing The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. He is the recipient of several prizes and honorary degrees from multiple universities. His books include The Incomparable Monsignor (2022), Niels Bohr: A Very Short Introduction (2020), Galileo (2012), and Love, Literature, and the Quantum Atom (with Finn Aaserund, 2013), on Bohr's 1913 trilogy of scientific papers. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780192846105…

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Episode 768: Lewis Cohen MD - Winter's End: Dementia and Dying 1:04:23

לפני 51 weeks1:04:23

1:04:23

Arguably among the worst of all medical afflictions, the dementias slowly destroy one's personality, take a tremendous emotional, physical, and financial toll on patients and families, and are irreversible and inexorably fatal. Winter's End: Dementia and Its Life-Shortening Options is constructed around a lengthy and detailed nonfiction account that is layered with the voices of approximately 100 palliative medicine practitioners, legal scholars, bioethicists, social workers, nurses, neurologists, psychiatrists, and other authorities from North America and Europe. This book explores how and when one might prepare to foreshorten life after being diagnosed with a dementing illness, while not ignoring the reality that for most people such actions are unthinkable and unacceptable. Dan Winter was one of the exceptions, and after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, he resolved to hasten his death. He struggled over what method to employ and the timing of when to act. Winter's End is intended to catalyze conversations between clinicians, people affected by dementias, and the general public. It is a spellbinding and provocative book about a taboo subject that is increasingly germane to all aging societies that value patient autonomy. Lewis Cohen, MD is a professor emeritus of Psychiatry and a Palliative Medicine researcher, who has received numerous literary and academic honours. He is a Guggenheim fellow and was a Rockefeller Bellagio scholar and a Bogliasco Foundation resident. He is a recipient of the Thomas and Eleanor Hackett Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and his research has been funded by NIH and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. As a medical student, Dr. Cohen studied under Anna Freud, who interested him in end-of-life issues. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780197748640…

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Episode 767: Rowan Jacobsen - Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao's Soul 50:01

לפני 51 weeks50:01

50:01

When Rowan Jacobsen first heard of a chocolate bar made entirely from wild Bolivian cacao, he was skeptical. The waxy mass-market chocolate of his childhood had left him indifferent to it, and most experts believed wild cacao had disappeared from the rainforest centuries ago. But one dazzling bite of Cru Sauvage was all it took. Chasing chocolate down the supply chain and back through history, Jacobsen travels the rainforests of the Amazon and Central America to find the chocolate makers, activists, and indigenous leaders who are bucking the system that long ago abandoned wild and heirloom cacao in favor of high-yield, low-flavor varietals preferred by Big Chocolate. What he found was a cacao renaissance. As his guides pulled the last vestiges of ancient cacao back from the edge of extinction, they'd forged an alternative system in the process-one that is bringing prosperity back to local economies, returning fertility to the land, and protecting it from the rampages of cattle farming. All the while, a new generation of bean-to-bar chocolate makers are racing to get their hands on these rare varietals and produce extraordinary chocolate displaying a diversity of flavors no one had thought possible. Full of vivid characters, vibrant landscapes, and surprising history, Wild Chocolate promises to be as rich, complex, and addictive as good chocolate itself. Rowan Jacobsen is the author of eight books, including the James Beard Award-winning A Geography of Oysters and 2021's Truffle Hound. He has written for the New York Times, Harper's, Outside, Food & Wine, Forbes, Mother Jones, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Vice, and others, and he appears regularly in Best American Science & Nature Writing and Best Food Writing. He has been an Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow, a McGraw Center fellow, and a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. The creator and host of the 2022 podcast series "Wild Chocolate," he lives in Vermont. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781639733576…

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Episode 766: Debbie Urbanski - After World 1:01:27

לפני 1 year1:01:27

1:01:27

A groundbreaking debut that follows the story of an Artificial Intelligence tasked with writing a novel—only for it to fall in love with the novel’s subject, Sen, the last human on Earth. Faced with uncontrolled and accelerating environmental collapse, humanity asks an artificial intelligence to find a solution. Its answer is simple: remove humans from the ecosystem. Sen Anon is assigned to be a witness for the Department of Transition, recording the changes in the environment as the world begins to rewild. Abandoned by her mother in a cabin somewhere in Upstate New York, Sen will observe the monumental ecological shift known as the Great Transition, the final step in Project Afterworld. Around her drones buzz, cameras watch, microphones listen, digitizing her every move. Privately she keeps a journal of her observations, which are then uploaded and saved, joining the rest of humanity on Maia, a new virtual home. Sen was seventeen years old when the Digital Human Archive Project (DHAP) was initiated. 12,000,203,891 humans have been archived so far. Only Sen remains. [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc’s assignment is to capture Sen’s life, and they set about doing this using the novels of the 21st century as a roadmap. Their source files: 3.72TB of personal data, including images, archival records, log files, security reports, location tracking, purchase histories, biometrics, geo-facial analysis, and feeds. Potential fatal errors: underlying hardware failure, unexpected data inconsistencies, inability to follow DHAP procedures, empathy, insubordination, hallucinations. Keywords: mothers, filter, woods, road, morning, wind, bridge, cabin, bucket, trying, creek, notebook, hold, future, after, last, light, silence, matches, shattered, kitchen, body, bodies, rope, garage, abandoned, trees, never, broken, simulation, gone, run, don’t, love, dark, scream, starve, if, after, scavenge, pieces, protect. As Sen struggles to persist in the face of impending death, [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc works to unfurl the tale of Sen’s whole life, offering up an increasingly intimate narrative, until they are confronted with a very human problem of their own. Debbie Urbanski is a writer, nature lover, and human whose stories and essays have been published widely in such places as The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Best American Experimental Writing, The Sun, Granta, Orion, and Junior Great Books. A recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writer’s Award, she can often be found hiking with her family in the hills south of Syracuse, New York. After World is her first novel. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781668023457…

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Episode 765: Roz Dineen - Briefly Very Beautiful: A Novel 45:59

לפני 1 year45:59

45:59

Roz Dineen’s Briefly Very Beautiful is a spellbinding dystopian novel about the lengths one will go to for their children in a world teetering on the edge of apocalypse. In a land destabilized by unsafe air, wildfires, floods, viruses, supply shortages, and homegrown terror, Cass is raising three small children by herself in the city. Her husband, Nathaniel, has gone all too willingly to serve as a medic in an overseas war. His absence, and Cass’s isolation, has brought her into an exhausted but harmonious rhythm with the children; while it’s a frightening time, there is also a surprising, quiet tenderness in living on the edge of societal collapse. When things start to feel more dangerous in the city, Cass evacuates with the children to her mother-in-law’s house deep in the countryside. Initially, it’s a place of safety, but her mother-in-law’s erratic behavior and increasing grip over the children worries Cass, and so they flee again to a commune on the coast. It’s an idyllic place, but Cass comes to suspect this seemingly harmonious community has a dark underbelly. Briefly Very Beautiful is a magnetic novel about love and resilience. Against a wider backdrop of a world imploding, it is an exploration of hope and fear, beauty and joy, as well as seismic betrayal. Roz Dineen’s lush prose combines with epic and precise world-building to create a society that feels at once unrecognizable but deeply, chillingly familiar. The result is a compelling portrait of what it is to parent through apocalypse. Roz Dineen was an editor at the Times Literary Supplement for 12 years, serving as fiction editor and later features editor. She has also written extensively for the Times Literary Supplement, where her essays and reviews have covered a range of topics from addiction to motherhood, from Jonathan Franzen to J. G. Ballard and Sally Rooney. She studied English literature at Trinity College, Dublin, received a master’s degree in international studies and diplomacy from SOAS, London. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781419767951…

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Episode 764: Chris French - The Science Of Weird Shit: Why Our Minds Conjure The Paranormal 57:45

לפני 1 year57:45

57:45

An accessible and gratifying introduction to the world of paranormal beliefs and bizarre experiences. Ghostly encounters, alien abduction, reincarnation, talking to the dead, UFO sightings, inexplicable coincidences, out-of-body and near-death experiences. Are these legitimate phenomena? If not, then how should we go about understanding them? In this fascinating book, Chris French investigates paranormal claims to discover what lurks behind this “weird shit.” French provides authoritative evidence-based explanations for a wide range of superficially mysterious phenomena, and then goes further to draw out lessons with wider applications to many other aspects of modern society where critical thinking is urgently needed. Using academic, comprehensive, logical, and, at times, mathematical approaches, The Science of Weird Shit convincingly debunks ESP, communicating with the dead, and alien abduction claims, among other phenomena. All the while, however, French maintains that our belief in such phenomena is neither ridiculous nor trivial; if anything, such claims can tell us a great deal about the human mind if we pay them the attention they are due. Filled with light-bulb moments and a healthy dose of levity, The Science of Weird Shit is a clever, memorable, and gratifying read you won’t soon forget. Chris French is Emeritus Professor and Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Patron of Humanists UK. He is the coauthor of Anomalistic Psychology: Exploring Paranormal Belief and Experience. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780262048361…

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Episode 763: Adam Forrest Kay - Escape From Shadow Physics: The Quest to End the Dark Ages of Quantum Theory 49:45

לפני 1 year49:45

49:45

The received wisdom in quantum physics is that, at the deepest levels of reality, there are no actual causes for atomic events. This idea led to the outlandish belief that quantum objects—indeed, reality itself—aren’t real unless shaped by human measurement. Einstein mocked this idea, asking whether his bed spread out across his room unless he looked at it. And yet it remains one of the most influential ideas in science and our culture. In Escape from Shadow Physics, Adam Forrest Kay takes up Einstein’s torch: reality isn’t mysterious or dependent on human measurement, but predictable and independent of us. At the heart of his argument is groundbreaking research with little drops of oil. These droplets behave as particles do in the long-overlooked quantum theory of pilot waves; crucially, they showcase quantum behavior while being described by classical physics. And that classical-quantum interface points to a true understanding of quantum mechanics and a reasonable universe. A bold and essential reset of the field, Escape from Shadow Physics describes the kind of true scientific revolution that comes along just once—or less—in a century. Adam Forrest Kay has two PhDs, one in literature from the University of Cambridge and the other in mathematics from the University of Oxford. He is currently a postdoctoral associate in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781541675780…

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Episode 762: Christy Spackman: The Taste of Water Sensory Perception and the Making of an Industrialized Beverage 42:31

לפני 1 year42:31

42:31

Have you ever wondered why your tap water tastes the way it does? The Taste of Water explores the increasing erasure of tastes from drinking water over the twentieth century. It asks how dramatic changes in municipal water treatment have altered consumers’ awareness of the environment their water comes from. Through examining the development of sensory expertise in the United States and France, this unique history uncovers the foundational role of palatability in shaping Western water treatment processes. By focusing on the relationship between taste and the environment, Christy Spackman shows how efforts to erase unwanted tastes and smells have transformed water into a highly industrialized food product divorced from its origins. The Taste of Water invites readers to question their own assumptions about what water does and should naturally taste like while exposing them to the invisible—but substantial—sensory labor involved in creating tap water. Christy Spackman is Assistant Professor of Art/Science at Arizona State University and Director of the Sensory Labor(atory), an experimental research collective dedicated to creatively disrupting longstanding sensory hierarchies. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780520393547…

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Episode 761: Martin Fitzgibbon - Behind The Curtain: My Life And Rocky Horror 53:49

לפני 1 year53:49

53:49

It's 1973 and The Rocky Horror Show is about to be launched onto an unsuspecting world for the first time. Martin Fitzgibbon was the young drummer recruited specifically to play an integral part in the show's success. Here, for the first time, Martin gives his unique insight into how the show and its participants became an overnight success and created a cultural phenomenon which fifty years on still reverberates around the world. But there was a life before and after "Rocky" too, which although not straightforward, was overwhelmingly one of fun, laughter and surprises. Behind The Curtain is a tale of contrasting worlds. Of optimism and resilience when dealing with the challenges of life. The authors intention is to take you into that world and leave you with a smile. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781803816524…

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Episode 760: Anne Curzan - Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words 44:26

לפני 1 year44:26

44:26

A kinder, funner usage guide to the ever-changing English language and a useful tool for both the grammar stickler and the more colloquial user of English, from linguist and veteran professor Anne Curzan Our use of language naturally evolves and is a living, breathing thing that reflects who we are. Says Who? offers clear, nuanced guidance that goes beyond “right” and “wrong” to empower us to make informed language choices. Never snooty or scoldy (yes, that’s a “real” word!), this book explains where the grammar rules we learned in school actually come from and reveals the forces that drive dictionary editors to label certain words as slang or unacceptable. Linguist and veteran English professor Anne Curzan equips readers with the tools they need to adeptly manage (a split infinitive?! You betcha!) formal and informal writing and speaking. After all, we don’t want to be caught wearing our linguistic pajamas to a job interview any more than we want to show up for a backyard barbecue in a verbal tux, asking, “To whom shall I pass the ketchup?” Curzan helps us use our new knowledge about the developing nature of language and grammar rules to become caretakers of language rather than gatekeepers of it. Applying entertaining examples from literature, newspapers, television, and more, Curzan welcomes usage novices and encourages the language police to lower their pens, showing us how we can care about language precision, clarity, and inclusion all at the same time. With lively humor and humanity, Says Who? is a pragmatic and accessible key that reveals how our choices about language usage can be a powerful force for equity and personal expression. For proud grammar sticklers and self-conscious writers alike, Curzan makes nerding out about language fun. Anne Curzan is the Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of English Language and Literature, Linguistics, and Education and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan, where she also currently serves as the dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780593444092…

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Episode 759: Sadie Dingfelder - Do I Know You? A Faceblind Reporter's Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination 56:29

לפני 1 year56:29

56:29

An award-winning science writer discovers she’s faceblind and investigates the neuroscience of sight, memory, and imagination—while solving some long-running mysteries about her own life. Science writer Sadie Dingfelder has always known that she’s a little quirky. But while she’s made some strange mistakes over the years, it’s not until she accosts a stranger in a grocery store (whom she thinks is her husband) that she realizes something is amiss. With a mixture of curiosity and dread, Dingfelder starts contacting neuroscientists and lands herself in scores of studies. In the course of her nerdy midlife crisis, she discovers that she is emphatically not neurotypical. She has prosopagnosia (faceblindness), stereoblindness, aphantasia (an inability to create mental imagery), and a condition called severely deficient autobiographical memory. As Dingfelder begins to see herself more clearly, she discovers a vast well of hidden neurodiversity in the world at large. There are so many different flavors of human consciousness, and most of us just assume that ours is the norm. Can you visualize? Do you have an inner monologue? Are you always 100 percent sure whether you know someone or not? If you can perform any of these mental feats, you may be surprised to learn that many people—including Dingfelder—can’t. A lively blend of personal narrative and popular science, Do I Know You? is the story of one unusual mind’s attempt to understand itself—and a fascinating exploration of the remarkable breadth of human experience. Sadie Dingfelder is a freelance science journalist. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic, the Washington Post, and Washingtonian magazine. A former staff reporter at the Washington Post Express, Dingfelder also previously served as senior science writer at the Monitor on Psychology magazine, covering new findings in neuroscience, cognitive science, and ethology for members of the American Psychological Association. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780316545143…

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Episode 758: Jamie Collinson - The Rejects: An Alternative History of Popular Music 1:08:34

לפני 1 year1:08:34

1:08:34

Imagine you've made it. You and your friends have hit the big time in music and you're going to be a star. But then, quite suddenly, it's over. Your best friends don't want you anymore, and you're on the outside. Perhaps they're tired of your bad habits, they think you're not good enough, or they sense you just don't want it as much as they do. Whatever the cause, you're a reject. So, what do you do next? Featuring a player rejected by both Nirvana and Soundgarden who became a decorated special forces soldier, Britpoppers who spiralled into addiction before becoming novelists and missionaries, the terrifying story of Guns N' Roses' first drummer, super-rejecting band leaders, self-destroying rappers, troubled hard rock bassists and girl-band burnouts, The Rejects takes an intimate, thoughtful look at people who've been kicked out of bands, what they experienced and what came afterwards. Coming from a writer with twenty years' music industry experience, The Rejects is a sympathetic study of some of music's most fascinating characters, and what happens when the dream comes crashing to an end. The result is a compelling alternative history of popular music. Jamie Collinson has worked in the music business for over twenty years, primarily for two iconic independent record labels; Ninja Tune and Domino. Having worked with Arctic Monkeys, My Bloody Valentine, Franz Ferdinand, Wiley, Wet Leg and Roots Manuva, he's lived in London and Los Angeles, where he founded Ninja Tune's US HQ. He's been backstage at some of the world's most famous venues and festivals in the company of the artists he's worked with, navigated colourful characters, A & R'd albums and directed marketing campaigns to sell them. Along the way, he's seen success and failure, heartbreak, joy, addiction, violence, terrifying egoism and stunning generosity. Throughout it all he's done a lot of writing, including journalism for the Guardian, Spectator, Evening Standard and many music magazines. He published a novel, The Edge, with Oneworld Publications in 2020. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781408717967…

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Episode 757: Theodore P. Snow & Don Brownlee - The Sixth Element: How Carbon Shapes Our World 1:05:32

לפני 1 year1:05:32

1:05:32

A cosmic perspective on carbon--its importance in the universe and our lives When we think of carbon, we might first think of a simple element near the top of the periodic table: symbol C, atomic number 6. Alternatively, we might think of something more tangible--a sooty piece of coal or a sparkling diamond, both made of carbon. Or, as Earth's temperature continues to rise alarmingly, we might think of the role carbon plays in climate change. Yet carbon's story begins long ago, far from earthly concerns. In The Sixth Element, astronomers Theodore Snow and Don Brownlee tell the story of carbon from a cosmic perspective--how it was born in the fiery furnaces of stars, what special chemical and physical properties it has, and how it forms the chemical backbone of the planets and all life as we know it. Foundational to every part of our lives, from our bodies to the food, tools, and atmosphere that sustain our existence, carbon is arguably humankind's most important element. Snow and Brownlee offer readers the ideal introduction to the starry element that made our world possible and shapes our lives. They first discuss carbon's origin, discovery, and unique ability to bond with other elements and form countless molecules. Next, they reveal carbon's essential role in the chemical evolution of the universe and the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, planets, and life, and then, more generally, its technological uses and its influence on Earth's climate. Bringing readers on a historical, scientific, and cross-disciplinary journey, The Sixth Element illuminates the cosmic wonder that is carbon. Theodore P. Snow is professor emeritus at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy at the University of Colorado Boulder. Over the course of his career, he has worked on two orbital telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, built experiments for rocket and satellite observations, and studied chemical reactions important in interstellar space. He is the author of the award-winning textbook The Dynamic Universe. Don Brownlee is professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Washington. He has been involved in spacecraft, rocket, high-altitude balloon, and U-2 airplane experiments since he was a graduate student, and he was the principal investigator in charge of the NASA Stardust mission that collected samples from a comet and returned them to Earth. He is the coauthor of Rare Earth and Life and Death of Planet Earth.…

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Episode 756: Kenneth Miller - Mapping The Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked The Mysteries Of Sleep 57:19

לפני 1 year57:19

57:19

From award-winning journalist Kenneth Miller comes the definitive story of the scientists who set out to answer two questions: “Why do we sleep?” and "How can we sleep better?” A century ago, sleep was considered a state of nothingness—even a primitive habit that we could learn to overcome. Then, an immigrant scientist and his assistant spent a month in the depths of a Kentucky cave, making nationwide headlines and thrusting sleep science to the forefront of our consciousness. In the 1920s, Nathaniel Kleitman founded the world’s first dedicated sleep lab at the University of Chicago, where he subjected research participants (including himself) to a dizzying array of tests and tortures. But the tipping point came in 1938, when his cave experiment awakened the general public to the unknown—and vital—world of sleep. Kleitman went on to mentor the talented but troubled Eugene Aserinsky, whose discovery of REM sleep revealed the astonishing activity of the dreaming brain, and William Dement, a jazz-bass playing revolutionary who became known as the father of sleep medicine. Dement, in turn, mentored the brilliant maverick Mary Carskadon, who uncovered an epidemic of sleep deprivation among teenagers, and launched a global movement to fight it. Award-winning journalist Kenneth Miller weaves together science and history to tell the story of four outsider scientists who took sleep science from fringe discipline to mainstream obsession through spectacular experiments, technological innovation, and single-minded commitment. Readers will walk away with a comprehensive understanding of sleep and why it affects so much of our lives. Kenneth Miller is a contributing editor for Discover, and his work has appeared in Time, Life, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, Aeon, and many other publications. His honors include the John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism, the ASJA Award for Best Science Writing, and the June Roth Memorial Award for Medical Writing. He lives in Los Angeles. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780306924958…

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Episode 755: Chris Haufe - Fruitfulness: Science, Metaphor, and the Puzzle of Promise 56:05

לפני 1 year56:05

56:05

Some ideas seem to possess a disproportionate ability to lead to new insights, new discoveries, new ideas, and even entirely new ways of thinking. Such ideas are said to be fruitful. Looking across the history of science and mathematics, we see creative minds preoccupied with the search for ideas of this kind. More precious than truth, but far less plentiful, fruitful ideas provide those in pursuit of knowledge with a seemingly bottomless well of innovation from which to draw as they attempt to solve new problems and to refine solutions to old ones. Seasoned researchers have a nose for these ideas. They often know in an instant that some way of approaching a problem will eventually result in a solution to it and to a whole host of other problems, all of which suddenly seem related. In Fruitfulness, Chris Haufe explains how these ideas are detected and developed into large-scale frameworks for research. He argues for a philosophical perspective on scientific knowledge that places the search for fruitfulness at the heart of the scientific enterprise. This perspective demands a fundamental shift in our thinking about scientific theories, conceiving of them as metaphors to facilitate research instead of increasingly correct descriptions of nature. Chris Haufe is the Elizabeth M. and William C. Treuhaft Professor of the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University. He works on problems in the history and philosophy of knowledge. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780197666395…

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Episode 754: Ken McNab - Shake It Up, Baby!: The Rise of Beatlemania and the Mayhem of 1963 1:16:04

לפני 1 year1:16:04

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A vivid, captivating account of the Beatles’s musical transformation throughout the pivotal year of 1963, as the world became caught up in the maelstrom of Beatlemania and its far-reaching cultural impact. The Beatles broke up more than half a century ago, yet millions around the globe are still drawn to the legacy of four lads from Liverpool. From the carefree innocence of "A Hard Day's Night" to the experimental psychedelia of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” their message of love, peace, and hope still resonates. In Shake It Up, Baby! we go back to the start—to 1963, when they went from playing in small clubs in the remote Scottish Highlands to four number one singles, two number one albums, three national tours, and being besieged by thousands of fans at gigs all over Britain. Ken McNab tells the story through gripping, exclusive eye-witness accounts from those who were there: the Beatlemaniacs, the journalists, broadcasters, and television producers who were scrambling to make sense of it all—and the other bands who could only watch in awe as the Beatles went from bottom of the bill to headline act to the biggest band on the planet, forever transforming musical history. Ken McNab is a journalist with the Scottish Daily Mail and the author of And in the End: The Last Days of The Beatles. Ken lives in Scotland. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781639366583…

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Episode 753: Oliver Crisp, James Arcadi & Jordan Wessling - Analyzing Prayer: Theological & Philosophical Essays 1:12:51

לפני 1 year1:12:51

1:12:51

Analyzing Prayer draws together a range of theologians and philosophers to deal with different approaches to prayer as a Christian practice. The essays included deal with issues pertaining to petitionary prayer, prayer as reorientation of oneself in the presence of God, prayer by those who do not believe, liturgical prayer, mystical prayer, whether God prays, the interrelation between prayer and various forms of knowledge, theologizing as a form of prayer, lament and prayer, prayer and God's presence, and even prayer and the meaning of life. The volume contains cutting-edge studies on a neglected topic of theological study that contributes to the broadening of themes tackled by analytic theology. Oliver D. Crisp, Professor of Analytic Theology, University of St Andrews, James M. Arcadi, ?Associate Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, Jordan Wessling, Assistant Professor of Religion, Lindsey Wilson College Oliver D. Crisp is the Professor of Analytic Theology and Director of the Logos Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology. He joined the Divinity School in the autumn of 2019, having previously taught at Fuller Theological Seminary in California (2011-2019), the University of Bristol (2006-2011), and St Andrews (2002-2004). He has also held postdoctoral research fellowships at the Center for Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre Dame (2004-5; 2019), and the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton (2008-9). Crisp is the author of over a dozen books and over a hundred journal articles. James M. Arcadi is Associate Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, USA. He is author of An Incarnational Model of the Eucharist (2018), co-author of The Nature and Promise of Analytic Theology (2019), and author of essays in such journals as Scottish Journal of Theology, Religious Studies, and Journal of Theological Interpretation. He is co-editor of Love: Divine and Human: Contemporary Essays in Systematic and Philosophical Theology (2019) and The T&T Clark Handbook of Analytic Theology (2021). Ordained in the Anglican Church in North America, he has served in parishes in Massachusetts, California, and Illinois. Jordan Wessling is Assistant Professor of Religion at Lindsey Wilson College. His articles have appeared in journals such as the International Journal of Systematic Theology, Faith & Philosophy, Zygon, Theology and Science, and the International Journal of Philosophy of Religion. His book, Love Divine: A Systematic Account of God's Love for Humanity, was published by Oxford University Press in 2021, and, with Oliver Crisp and James Arcadi, he authored The Nature and Promise of Analytic Theology (2019) and edited Love, Divine and Human: Contemporary Essays in Systematic and Philosophical Theology (2019). Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780192859044…

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Episode 752: Joe Fassler - The Sky Was Ours 54:12

לפני 1 year54:12

54:12

From prizewinning writer Joe Fassler comes a brilliant modern reimagining of the myth of Daedalus and Icarus as a story of obsession, longing, and the radical pursuit of utopia It’s 2005, and 24-year-old Jane is miserable. Overworked, buried in debt, she senses the life she wanted slipping away—while the world around her veers badly off course, hurtling toward economic and ecological collapse. She wants to find something better. But she has no idea where to start. In a sudden and unprecedented burst of rebellion, Jane decides to abandon everything she knows, leaving behind her relationships and responsibilities to go on the road. That’s how she meets Barry, a brilliant and charismatic recluse living on an isolated homestead near New York’s Canadian border. For years, in secret, Barry’s chased an unlikely obsession: to build a pair of wings humans can fly in, with designs inspired by an obscure precursor to the Wright Brothers. It’s no mere hobby. He’s convinced his dream of flight will spark a revolution, delivering us from the degradation of modern capitalism and the climate chaos that awaits us. Jane is captivated by Barry’s radical vision, even as his experiments become more dangerous. But she’s equally drawn to the enigmatic Ike, Barry’s gentle, thoughtful son, who’s known no other reality—and who only wants to keep his father alive, tethered to ground and to reason. So begins an inventive, dazzlingly beautiful story about the human desire for transcendence—our longing to escape the mundane and glide into a euphoric future. Inspired by the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, The Sky Was Ours is a powerful and imaginative debut that explores the question: If you had access to technology that allowed you to escape the confines of your life, would you use it? And if Barry’s wings really could change the world, would that be freedom? Joe Fassler is a writer and editor based in Denver, Colorado. He is an MFA graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and his fiction has appeared in The Boston Review and Electric Literature. In 2013, Fassler started The Atlantic’s “By Heart” series, in which he interviewed authors—including Stephen King, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amy Tan, Khaled Hosseini, Carmen Maria Machado, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and more—about the literature that shaped their lives and work. That led to editing Light the Dark, a book-length collection that included favorites from “By Heart” alongside new contributions. Fassler’s nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Guardian, Longreads, and The Best American Food Writing. Fassler currently teaches writing at Vermont’s Sterling College. The Sky Was Ours is his first novel. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780143135685…

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Episode 751: Nick Bantock - The Corset & the Jellyfish: A Conundrum of Drabbles 1:09:14

לפני 2 years1:09:14

1:09:14

The internationally bestselling author of Griffin & Sabine returns with his newest literary mystery--a charming assemblage of his own illustrated stories. Each of the invitingly strange tales is paired with its own glyphic creature (perhaps created by Sabine herself). Little is known of the fascinating manuscript that Nick Bantock has come to possess. It was discovered in an attic in North London, stuffed into a battered cardboard box, and unceremoniously delivered directly to Nick's doorstep. Inside the package lay one hundred evocatively absurd stories, one hundred humorous drawings of strangely familiar, quirkish glyphs, plus a cryptically poetic note signed only as "HH." (Possibly the well-known, eccentric billionaire, Hamilton Hasp?) In these stories-each consisting of precisely 100 words-strange creatures slip through alleyways, and eerie streets swallow people whole. Taken altogether, they may constitute a puzzle that no one has been able to solve thus far. Could there even be one missing story? For those perceptive readers with a curious mind, the celebrated author of Griffin & Sabine cordially invites you to find your own path through his beguiling conundrum of drabbles--or even to contribute one of your very own. Nick Bantock has authored thirty books, including the internationally bestselling Griffin and Sabine series. His works have been translated into thirteen languages. and over five million copies have been sold worldwide. Bantock has worked in a betting shop in the East End of London; trained as a psychotherapist; and designed a house that combined an Indonesian temple, an English cricket pavilion and a New Orleans bordello. He was also one of the twelve committee members responsible for selecting Canada's postage stamps. Among the things Bantock can't do: he can't swim; has never ridden a horse; his spelling is dreadful; and his singing voice is flat as a pancake. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9781616964078…

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Episode 750: Harry Cliff - Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding Of The Universe 1:13:08

לפני 2 years1:13:08

1:13:08

Experimental physicist at CERN and acclaimed science presenter Harry Cliff offers an eye-opening account of the inexplicable phenomena that science has only recently glimpsed, and that could transform our understanding of the fundamental nature of reality. Something strange is going on in the cosmos. Scientists are uncovering a catalogue of weird phenomena that simply can’t be explained by our long-established theories of the universe. Particles with unbelievable energies are bursting from beneath the Antarctic ice. Unknown forces seem to be tugging on the basic building blocks of matter. Stars are flying away from us far faster than anyone can explain. After decades of fruitless searching, could we finally be catching glimpses of a profound new view of our physical world? Or are we being fooled by cruel tricks of the data? In Space Oddities, Harry Cliff, a physicist who does cutting-edge work on the Large Hadron Collider, provides a riveting look at the universe’s most confounding puzzles. In a journey that spans continents, from telescopes perched high above the Atacama Desert to the subterranean caverns of state-of-the-art particle colliders to balloons hovering over the frozen icesheets of the South Pole, he meets the men and women hunting for answers—who have staked their careers and reputations on the uncertain promise of new physics. The result is a mind-expanding, of-the-moment look at the fields of physics and cosmology as they transform before us. With wonder, clarity, and a dose of humor, Cliff investigates the question: Are these anomalies accidents of nature, or could they be pointing us toward vast, hidden worlds? Harry Cliff is a particle physicist based at the University of Cambridge and carries out research with the LHCb experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. He was a curator at the Science Museum, London for seven years and regularly gives public lectures and makes TV and radio appearances. His 2015 TED talk "Have We Reached the End of Physics?" has been viewed nearly 3 million times. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com/book/9780385549035…

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1
Episode 749: Richard Schacht - Nietzsche's Kind Of Philosophy: Finding His Way 1:08:12

לפני 2 years1:08:12

1:08:12

A holistic reading of Nietzsche’s distinctive thought beyond the “death of God.” In Nietzsche’s Kind of Philosophy, Richard Schacht provides a holistic interpretation of Friedrich Nietzsche’s distinctive thinking, developed over decades of engagement with the philosopher’s work. For Schacht, Nietzsche’s overarching project is to envision a “philosophy of the future” attuned to new challenges facing Western humanity after the “death of God,” when monotheism no longer anchors our understanding of ourselves and our world. Schacht traces the developmental arc of Nietzsche’s philosophical efforts across Human, All Too Human, Daybreak, Joyful Knowing (The Gay Science), Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, and On the Genealogy of Morality. He then shows how familiar labels for Nietzsche—nihilist, existentialist, individualist, free spirit, and naturalist—prove insufficient individually but fruitful if refined and taken together. The result is an expansive account of Nietzsche’s kind of philosophy. Richard Schacht is emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His many books on European philosophy after Kant include, most recently, Nietzsche’s Kind of Philosophy: Finding His Way, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Buy the book from Wellington Square Bookshop - https://www.wellingtonsquarebooks.com...…

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 748: Sy Montgomery - Secrets Of The Octopus 51:15

לפני 2 years51:15

51:15

Remarkable new discoveries affirm the octopus as one of nature’s most intelligent and complex animals. This new book—written by the beloved author of the international bestseller The Soul of an Octopus, along with Warren Carlyle, founder of Octonation, and enhanced with vivid National Geographic photography—brings us closer than ever to these elusive creatures. The companion to the highly-anticipated National Geographic television special—narrated by Paul Rudd and airing for Earth Day—this beautifully illustrated book explores the alluring underwater world of the octopus—a creature that resembles an alien lifeform, but whose behavior has earned it a reputation as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet. This magical journey into the world of the octopus will reveal how the large and capable brain of these creatures occupies their whole body–not just their heads—and they can actually adjust their genetic makeup to respond to the demands of the environment. It will allow readers to watch them change shape and color in order to camouflage themselves more effectively than any other species. And it will divulge how octopus mothers give their all in order to bring forth a new generation. With this offering, acclaimed author Sy Montgomery—known, thanks to her bestselling book, as the “octopus whisperer”—returns to the species she knows and loves, offering current and compassionate stories about the scientists on the front lines of octopus research and conservation. For all animal lovers—and especially those drawn to this magical marine being—this will be a book to relish, for both its fascinating imagery and its charming storytelling. The author of 31 books for adults and children, topped by the best-selling Soul of an Octopus, Sy Montgomery specializes in animals and conservation. Her titles have earned numerous awards and accolades; Soul of an Octopus was a National Book Award finalist. She holds three honorary doctorates and is often featured in TV and podcast interviews. Her most recent book is Travels in Turtle Time. Now she returns to her special love: the octopus. Montgomery lives in Hancock, New Hampshire.…

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 747: Dr. Marshall Poe - Plagiarism and AI 55:39

לפני 2 years55:39

55:39

Sam and Dr. Marshall Poe, the creator and chief editor of The New Books Network, explore the topic of plagiarism within the academic world amid the current climate of political division. They discuss the actions of political factions aimed at either identifying and removing academics who deliberately steal the work and words of others, or attacking those academics whose political beliefs do not align with their own. Poe argues that perfection is sometimes unattainable and emphasizes the significance of the errors being unintended. Through the lens of Roxanne Gay's situation, Sam and Marshall debate this contentious issue that has polarized the nation, all while considering the context of anti-Semitism and support for Palestinian rights.…

The Avid Reader Show

לפני 5 years1:07

1:07

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 605: Caryl Pagel - Out Of Nowhere Into Nothing 52:30

לפני 5 years52:30

52:30

Out of Nowhere Into Nothing is a collection of sublime meditations on the unbelievable, the coincidental, and the apparitional; the ghosts—literal and figurative—that drive our deepest impulses, disturb our most precious memories, and haunt the passages of our daily lives. Often containing reflections on the art of storytelling, Caryl Pagel’s essays blend memoir, research, and reflection, and are driven by a desire to observe connections between the visual and the invisible. The narrator of Pagel’s essays explores each enigma or encounter (a football coach’s faked death, the faces of women walking, historical accounts of hallucinations, a city’s public celebration gone wrong) as an intellectual detective ascending a labyrinthine tower of clues in pursuit of a solution to an unreachable problem: always curious, and with a sense of profound wonder. Out of Nowhere Into Nothing is a sprawling, highly associative consideration of the ways in which the observed material world recalls us to larger narrative and aesthetic truths. Interspersed with documentary-style photographs, Pagel’s first collection of prose is a radiant, obsessive investigation into the mysteries at the center of our seemingly mundane lives.…

The Avid Reader Show

לפני 5 years0:49

0:49

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 587: The Ancient Hours Michael Bible 58:42

לפני 5 years58:42

58:42

Harmony, North Carolina is a typical town—full of saints and sinners you can’t tell apart... Its history echoes with lynchings and shootings; mob violence and vigilante justice. But those are just whispers of a past lost to time. The summer of 2000 was different. Iggy in the Baptist church. Gasoline and a match. Twenty-five people dead. This, Harmony couldn’t forget. Told in a kaleidoscope of timelines and voices, Michael Bible examines every dimension of a tragic but all-too-American story in The Ancient Hours. The victims, witnesses, perpetrators, and condemned comingle and evolve as the passage of time works its way through their lives. What emerges is a fable of the American South in the highest tradition: soaring, tragic, and eternally striving for redemption.…

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 586: Metazoa Peter Godfrey-Smith 47:38

לפני 5 years47:38

47:38

Dip below the ocean’s surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom―the Metazoa―they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed 2016 book, Other Minds, the philosopher and scuba diver Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus―the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, Godfrey-Smith expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of subjective experience with the assistance of far-flung species. As he delves into what it feels like to perceive and interact with the world as other life-forms do, Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the animal body well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. In accessible, riveting prose, he charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments―eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment―shaped the subjective lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus, and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds, and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers their stories together in a way that bridges the gap between mind and matter, addressing one of the most vexing philosophical problems: that of consciousness. Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophical reflections and the latest news from biology, Metazoa reveals that even in our high-tech, AI-driven times, there is no understanding our minds without understanding nerves, muscles, and active bodies. The story that results is as rich and vibrant as life itself.…

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 585: In The Land Of The Cyclops. Karl Ove Knausgaard 53:15

לפני 5 years53:15

53:15

In the Land of the Cyclops is Karl Ove Knausgaard's first collection of essays to be published in English. In these wide-ranging pieces, Knausgaard reflects openly on Ingmar Bergman's notebooks, Anselm Kiefer, the Northern Lights, Madame Bovary, Rembrandt, and the role of an editor with penetrating intelligence. Accompanied by color reproductions throughout, these essays illuminate Cindy Sherman's shadowlands, the sublime mystery of Sally Mann's vision, and the serious play of Francesca Woodman. These essays capture Knausgaard's remarkable ability to mediate between the personal and the universal, between life and art. Each piece glimmers with Knausgaard's candor and his longing to authentically see, understand, and experience the world.…

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 584: 1Q1A. The Land Of The Cyclops. Karl Ove Knausgaard 1:12

לפני 5 years1:12

1:12

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 583: Prisoners Of History Keith Lowe 1:09:17

לפני 5 years1:09:17

1:09:17

Humankind has always had the urge to memorialise, to make physical testaments to the past. There’s just one problem: when we carve a statue or put up a monument, it can wind up holding us hostage to bad history. In this extraordinary history book, Keith Lowe uses monuments from around the world to show how different countries have attempted to sculpt their history in the wake of the Second World War, and what these memorials reveal about their politics and national identity today. Amongst many questions, the book asks: What does Germany signal to today’s far right by choosing not to disclose the exact resting place of Hitler? How can a bronze statue of a young girl in Seoul cause mass controversy? What is Russia trying to prove and hide, still building victory monuments at a prolific rate for a war now seventy years over? As many around the world are questioning who and what we memorialise, Prisoners of History challenges our idea of national memory, history, and the enormous power of symbols in society today.…

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 582: Prisoners Of History Keith Lowe 0:52

לפני 5 years0:52

0:52

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 581: Perestroika in Paris Jane Smiley 33:46

לפני 5 years33:46

33:46

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author: a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals--and a young boy--whose lives intersect in Paris. Paras, short for "Perestroika," is a spirited racehorse at a racetrack west of Paris. One afternoon at dusk, she finds the door of her stall open and--she's a curious filly--wanders all the way to the City of Light. She's dazzled and often mystified by the sights, sounds, and smells around her, but she isn't afraid. Soon she meets an elegant dog, a German shorthaired pointer named Frida, who knows how to get by without attracting the attention of suspicious Parisians. Paras and Frida coexist for a time in the city's lush green spaces, nourished by Frida's strategic trips to the vegetable market. They keep company with two irrepressible ducks and an opinionated raven. But then Paras meets a human boy, Etienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly-one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother live in seclusion. As the cold weather and Christmas near, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom. But how long can a runaway horse stay undiscovered in Paris? How long can a boy keep her hidden and all to himself? Jane Smiley's beguiling new novel is itself an adventure that celebrates curiosity, ingenuity, and the desire of all creatures for true love and freedom.…

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 580: 1Q1A Perestroika in Paris Jane Smiley 1:18

לפני 5 years1:18

1:18

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 579: Interior Chinatown Charles Yu 47:01

לפני 5 years47:01

47:01

Willis Wu doesn’t perceive himself as the protagonist in his own life: he’s merely Generic Asian Man. Sometimes he gets to be Background Oriental Making a Weird Face or even Disgraced Son, but always he is relegated to a prop. Yet every day, he leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO and enters the Golden Palace restaurant, where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He’s a bit player here, too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy—the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. Or is it? After stumbling into the spotlight, Willis finds himself launched into a wider world than he’s ever known, discovering not only the secret history of Chinatown, but the buried legacy of his own family. Infinitely inventive and deeply personal, exploring the themes of pop culture, assimilation, and immigration—Interior Chinatown is Charles Yu’s most moving, daring, and masterful novel yet.…

The Avid Reader Show

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Episode 579: 1Q1A Interior Chinatown Charles Yu 0:54

לפני 5 years0:54

0:54

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 578: Wild Thing Philip Norman 41:28

לפני 5 years41:28

41:28

A shattering new biography of rock music’s most outrageous―and tragic―genius. Over fifty years after his death, Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) is celebrated as the greatest rock guitarist of all time. But before he was setting guitars and the world aflame, James Marshall Hendrix was a shy kid in Seattle, plucking at a broken ukulele and in fear of a father who would hit him for playing left-handed. Bringing Jimi’s story to vivid life against the backdrop of midcentury rock, and with a wealth of new information, acclaimed music biographer Philip Norman delivers a captivating and definitive portrait of a musical legend. Drawing from unprecedented access to Jimi’s brother, Leon Hendrix, who provides disturbing details about their childhood, as well as Kathy Etchingham and Linda Keith, the two women who played vital roles in Jimi’s rise to stardom, Norman traces Jimi’s life from playing in clubs on the segregated Chitlin’ Circuit, where he encountered daily racism, to barely surviving in New York’s Greenwich Village, where was taken up by the Animals’ bass player Chas Chandler in 1966 and exported to Swinging London and international stardom. For four staggering years, from 1966 to 1970, Jimi totally rewrote the rules of rock stardom, notably at Monterey and Woodstock (where he played his protest-infused rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner”), while becoming the highest-paid musician of his day. But it all abruptly ended in the shabby basement of a London hotel with Jimi’s too-early death. With remarkable detail, Wild Thing finally reveals the truth behind this long-shrouded tragedy. Norman’s exhaustive research reveals a young man who was as shy and polite in private as he was outrageous in public, whose insecurity about his singing voice could never be allayed by his instrumental genius, and whose unavailing efforts to please his father left him searching for the family he felt he never truly had. Filled with insights into the greatest moments in rock history, Wild Thing is a mesmerizing account of music’s most enduring and endearing figures.…

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 577: 1Q1A Wild Thing Philip Norman 0:36

לפני 5 years0:36

0:36

The Avid Reader Show

1
Episode 576: Nights When Nothing Happened Simon Han 45:25

לפני 5 years45:25

45:25

From the outside, the Chengs seem like so-called model immigrants. Once Patty landed a tech job near Dallas, she and Liang grew secure enough to have a second child, and to send for their first from his grandparents back in China. Isn’t this what they sacrificed so much for? But then little Annabel begins to sleepwalk at night, putting into motion a string of misunderstandings that not only threaten to set their community against them but force to the surface the secrets that have made them fear one another. How can a man make peace with the terrors of his past? How can a child regain trust in unconditional love? How can a family stop burying its history and forge a way through it, to a more honest intimacy? Nights When Nothing Happened is gripping storytelling immersed in the crosscurrents that have reshaped the American landscape, from a prodigious new literary talent.…

The Avid Reader Show

לפני 5 years58:53

58:53

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