Heretics | Andrew Gold - TopPodcast.com

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89: Richard Dawkins (+ Paul Bloom and Shaun Attwood) Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Richard Dawkins is one of the biggest names in science. His The God Delusion, which contends that a supernatural deity does not exist, flipped the world upside down in 2006 when it came out, bringing both science and atheism into the mainstream.
I interview him today alongside former ecstasy mob boss Shaun Attwood, before a free bonus section with Professor Paul Bloom of Yale and Toronto.
Sign up on Apple Podcasts or http://patreon.com/andrewgold for the bonus bits.
Richard Dawkins links:

Flights of Fancy: Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QBGS4VQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Books Do Furnish A Life: An Electrifying Celebration of Science Writing - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KXNF4ZF/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Richard's Website: https://richarddawkins.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins

Prof Paul Bloom links:

The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sweet-Spot-Pleasures-Suffering-Meaning/dp/0062910566
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulbloomatyale
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bloom_(psychologist)
Official Website: https://paulbloom.net

Shaun Attwood Links:
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/derickatt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shaunattwood
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaunattwood
Andrew Gold links:

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88: David Robson and the Expectation Effect Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

Award-winning science writer David Robson's work has appeared in the Guardian, the Atlantic, Aeon and many many others. He was features editor at New Scientist for five years, before working as a senior journalist at BBC Future.
His book, The Expectation Effect, is a vivid trip into the fallacies and complexities of the human psyche. Our expectations can have very real effects on outcomes, whether it be life spans, illnesses or anything else. So try to think positively.
Sign up on Apple Podcasts or http://patreon.com/andrewgold for the bonus bits.
David Robson Links:

Andrew Gold links:

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87: End of Year Review: On the Edge with 2021 Dec 30, 2021

Show notes

I've been spending a lot of time on my own recently, while my girlfriend has been away and I've been working on the podcast. Don't worry, I'm perfectly happy, and I'm off to Argentina soon for a holiday.
But it made me wonder about the folk out there - listeners of this show - who might be feeling a little lonesome right now (especially amid all the showing off on Instagram). So I just turned the mic on and started talking about this year's podcast.
Let's keep each other company in these cold, dark times!

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87: Prof. Carl Zimmer - What It Means to be 'Alive' Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

Popular science writer, journalist and Yale University Professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry Carl Zimmer is joining me to finally answer the late Beatle George Harrison's question: what is life.
Sign up on Apple Podcasts or http://patreon.com/andrewgold for the bonus bits.
Prof. Carl Zimmer links:

Andrew Gold links:

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86: Do animals get drunk and high? - Oné Pagán Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

Have you ever wondered if your furry friend might be partial to a beer or two? Did you know that koalas smoked pipes and dolphins get high on pufferfish? Here to tell us all about the weird and wonderful world of intoxicated animals and humans too is Oné Pagan, a university professor and researcher with a PHD in Pharmacology with an emphasis on Neurobiology from Cornell University.
Sign up on Apple Podcasts or http://patreon.com/andrewgold for the half-hour bonus chat.
Like how the episode sounded? Get an MV7 just like mine here: https://shu.re/ontheedge-mv7. Receive 20% off anything from their website with the code ONTHEEDGE20.
Oné Pagán links:

https://twitter.com/Baldscientist
http://baldscientist.com/ (official website)
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25233610-500-what-intoxicated-animals-can-teach-us-about-our-vices/ (New Scientist Article)
https://www.amazon.com/Drunk-Flies-Stoned-Dolphins-Intoxication/dp/1950665372 (Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins book!)

Andrew Gold links:

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85: Lonely, Sexless Men (Incels) - William Costello Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

William Costello is a writer and an academic in the field of Evolutionary Psychology who has specialised in incel culture and things like beauty and attraction. He's also a lovely, charming man, a great laugh and really informative.
Sign up on Apple Podcasts or http://patreon.com/andrewgold for the half-hour bonus chat.
Like how the episode sounded? Get an MV7 just like mine here: https://shu.re/ontheedge-mv7. Receive 20% off anything from their website with the code ONTHEEDGE20.
William Costello links:

https://twitter.com/CostelloWilliam
https://william05227.wixsite.com/website (official website)
https://twitter.com/costellowilliam/status/1463139125935198215? (do his survey on how to be attractive!)

Andrew Gold links:

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84: Why people become terrorists: Nafees Hamid Dec 06, 2021

Show notes

Nafees Hamid talks about what makes people into terrorists and other forms of extremists…and how we might be able to persuade them or talk them down. He is a research fellow at ARTIS International, an associate fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague, and a Frederick Bonnart-Braunthal Trust scholar in the University College London's Department of Security and Crime Science.
Watch my follow-up interview later that night as host of the Shaun Attwood show:https://youtu.be/LqFj9ig657Q.
Nafees Hamid Socials:

Twitter: @NafeesHamid
Instagram: nafees_hamid_
Videos:
NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/opinion/domestic-terrorism-jihadists.html

Netflix (S2E6): https://www.netflix.com/title/81098586

Articles:

The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/the-neuroscience-of-terrorism-how-we-convinced-a-group-of-radicals-to-let-us-scan-their-brains-114855

NYRB: https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/nafees-hamid/

Andrew Gold links:

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83: NXIVM Sex-Trafficking Cult Survivor Kelly Thiel Nov 29, 2021

Show notes

Kelly Thiel was once a member of the notorious NXIVM cult. For those of you who – like me – don’t or didn’t know much about this sect, you’re in for a bit of a shock – not least in how that bunch of capital letters are supposed to be pronounced. But I’ll let Kelly explain that part.
The cult was on the surface a multi-level marketing group that had various levels of memberships. Its members would learn a lot about self-help stuff, such as how to find purpose and be happy. Its methods were said to have been somewhere between those of Tony Robbins and the cult of Scientology, and there was even some stuff about going back to your childhood or past lives.
Sign up on Apple VIP or http://patreon.com/andrewgold for the half-hour bonus chat.
Kelly Thiel links:

Andrew Gold links:

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82: I lived in an airport for 7 months: Hassan Al Kontar Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

Today’s guest is Hassan al-Kontar, an absolute gem of a person who found himself in one of the most unique and unusual positions imaginable: living in an airport for seven months. As a Syrian refugee, Hassan had been working in the United Arab Emirates, when civil war broke out in Syria. Refusing to return there to join the Syrian military (knowing he might be arrested upon arrival), he stayed abroad, and Hassan’s passport renewal was later denied, leaving him stranded in Kuala Lumpar International Airport in Malaysia.
Sign up on Apple VIP or http://patreon.com/andrewgold for the half-hour bonus chat.
Hassan Al Kontar links:

Andrew Gold links:

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81: Why we like to suffer - Prof. Paul Bloom Nov 15, 2021

Show notes

Why do we like to suffer? Canadian-American Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science Paul Bloom believes he has the answer. Or at least, some of the answers to what is a profound and complex question. In his book The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning, he explores exactly that – that Goldilocks point just between too much suffering – such as with last week’s guest, Guantanamo’s most tortured prisoner Mohamedou Ould Salahi – and a life without enough self-imposed suffering.
Sign up on Apple VIP or http://patreon.com/andrewgold for the half-hour bonus chat.
Prof Paul Bloom links:

Andrew Gold links:

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