Physical Attraction

Latest Episodes:

Isaac Newton, Part I : Burning Down The House Jun 28, 2018

Show notes

Isaac Newton made an almost incomparable contribution to physics - practically founding the field with his famous Laws that defined the mechanics of how bodies move for centuries, and by discovering gravity when an apple hit his head. At least, that's the story we all learn in school. But this skips a lot of the crucial history of physics between Aristotle and the 17th century - and, what's more, Isaac Newton was not just a physicist. He was the last of the magicians. In this, the first episode in our series about Isaac Newton, we cover physics before Newton, and then his childhood and early life. Were there signs of the genius that he would later become? You can find all our past episodes at www.physicspodcast.com where you will also find an opportunity to donate to the show if you like what we do, via Paypal or Patreon, in exchange for bonus episodes! You can also listen to our sister podcast, about historical dictators, via www.autocracynow.libsyn.com And follow us on Twitter @physicspod or visit the Facebook page for Physical Attraction... But most of all, tell your friends and take care.

How to Save the World, part II Jun 17, 2018

Show notes

Should we be talking about a one-world government to head off existential threats? What about schemes to preserve human genetic information, or launch relics from our civilisation to land on the moon? Is worrying about the end of the world even worthwhile? What can we practically do to reduce the risks for our civilisation? These are the questions that this, the very last episode in our TEOTWAWKI series (okay... for now...) will explore. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Twitter: @physicspod Facebook: Physical Attraction Website: www.physicspodcast.com -> where you'll find every episode we've ever released, -> a contact form for more information and to send in your listener questions, -> and our Patreon and Paypal accounts for donations. As always, the best way to help out with what we do is to tell everyone about the show. And don't forget you can listen to our sister podcast, Autocracy Now, about the lives of various dictators - currently Stalin - wherever you listen to podcasts, or at www.autocracynow.libsyn.com We're having a week to write and research and when we come back, we'll be talking about Isaac Newton.

TEOTWAWKI: How To Save The World, Part 1 Jun 08, 2018

Show notes

So, now that I've thoroughly frightened us all with the terrifying visions of the apocalypse, I guess I should answer the question: what can we do to save ourselves? What should we do to save ourselves? Of course, this podcast episode won't save the world - not even close. But hopefully it will raise some interesting questions - and, if you agree or disagree with what I'm saying, as ever, please contact me! You can get in touch via Twitter @physicspod, the Facebook page at Physical Attraction, and through the contact form at www.physicspodcast.com Any comments, questions, or concerns would be greatly appreciated. If you like what we do, there are many ways to support the show; at www.physicspodcast.com, you'll be able to donate to the show and buy extra episodes via Patreon or via paypal donations. You can leave a rating and review on your favourite iTunes app, which really helps us get noticed! And, finally and perhaps best of all, please tell your podcast-listening friends about the show.

Future of Work, Part II - The Rant Edition Jun 01, 2018

Show notes

Last episode on the Future of Work, I described the problem – artificial intelligence is going to potentially make a lot of people unemployed in the near-term future; and the range of opinions, you can kind of pick and mix from: It's the robot job apocalypse! Society as we know it will soon be over! It's okay, we'll just give everyone a Universal Basic Income and they can all start small businesses or learn to code or something. It's okay, we'll just retrain everyone so that all the coal miners are making solar panels now. It's okay, AI won't replace that many people and has been greatly exaggerated; just because a job has the potential to be automated, doesn't mean that it will be automated. Instead AI will become a tool that enhances our productivity It's okay, AI will replace a lot of people but we'll just come up with new jobs. No one is smashing spinning jennys nowadays and there aren't thousands of unemployed loom-weavers on the streets of Manchester because everyone moved on, got new demands, and now they all work in PR. As for me – I fall in the middle of the two extreme viewpoints, the "we're all doomed" and "it's fine" viewpoints. Nice and convenient, you might say. Let me explain in a rant. I imagine a lot of people listening are going to disagree with me. I'm not always right! Send your *constructive* criticism to www.physicspodcast.com , the contact page, or get in touch with us via Twitter @physicspod If you like what you hear, or just that I took the time to say it, consider helping me towards my own basic income via the Patreon account or the donate button, both of which you'll find on www.physicspodcast.com . You won't even need blockchain to do it.

Bonus: Stalin Episode II, Revolution and Civil War May 30, 2018

Show notes

The last bonus from the Autocracy Now feed for a while - we take Stalin's career up to the Russian Revolution and Civil War. For the rest of his story, head over to www.autocracynow.libsyn.com Or subscribe via iTunes, where-ever you get your podcasts.

The Future of Work (I) May 25, 2018

Show notes

Some thoughts on the robot-job-apocalypse. Will automation render us all unemployed? How can you hope to keep yourself relevant? Should we all become neo-Luddites, or is reality more complicated than the fears we can conjure up?

TEOTWAWKI - The End of Everything May 18, 2018

Show notes

If we manage to survive the Sun gradually heating up, though, there might be a bigger problem before the Sun runs out of hydrogen. See, Monty Python and the Galaxy Song have it right; our galaxy is only one of millions and billions in this amazing and expanding Universe. Physics is stunning. The reason is that it exists on so many different scales. On impossibly small lengthscales, we have no idea what's going on; things are strange, and weird, and quantum. Then we move up towards the scales of subatomic particles; then the world of atoms and molecules; the world of microscopy. The world of us, and the objects we know; and the world of mountains, the world of worlds. The world of stars, and solar systems; the galaxy of stars and stellar systems. The world of galaxies, and, who knows – maybe the world of Universes, too.

This is the story of what happens if we make it through everything; if we survive the 21st century, and all of the centuries beyond. What new risks can we anticipate? And how - to the best of our understanding - does everything, inevitably end? Theme music: Get Ready for the Apocalypse - Astrometrics Incidental music:

Julie Maxwells Piano Music, Starry Sky Both available via the Free Music Archive

TEOTWAWKI - Utopia May 11, 2018

Show notes

So, what happens if we manage to survive all of the catastrophic risks that we've detailed in the previous episodes? This is a highly-speculative fantasy about what that future might look like. It's highly likely to be wrong. It's a portrait of what someone might call a utopia. I don't know if it's my utopia; I certainly don't know if it's yours. China Mieville says that you already live in a utopia: it's just not your utopia. What could the future mean? Could history end? Tell me what you think: tell me your visions of utopia. You can find us on the web at www.physicspodcast.com On Twitter @physicspod And subscribe where-ever you listen to podcasts.

BONUS: Autocracy Now, Stalin I: Rebel to Revolutionary May 09, 2018

Show notes

This is a bonus episode coming out on the Physical Attraction feed. The topic is even less related to physics than usual, but since it's extra, I hope you'll forgive me.

As I mentioned a few episodes ago, this wasn't the first podcast I ever made. In fact, I scripted and recorded about twenty episodes of a show - Autocracy Now - on historical dictators. It's not something I'm an expert in - just a topic of fascination!

Then I started the physics show. And it became clear to me that it would be impossible to juggle writing, recording, and scripting *two* podcasts a week - and doing my PhD in physics - and writing for Singularity Hub and other websites to supplement the meagre income you get for doing a PhD.

But I still had all of these episodes recorded, with no idea when to release them, gradually gathering dust in a corner of my hard-drive. And it took months to research and record them. So I've decided I will be releasing them on a bi-weekly basis, via the Autocracy Now feed.

You can subscribe to that feed where-ever you get your podcasts, and via www.autocracynow.libsyn.com - that's the website to visit.

By the time the last episode comes out, if I stick to my schedule, it will be 2019. If anything, I'll be even busier then, so I don't know if the show will continue beyond that point - we'll have to see what happens. But I hope you enjoy the sister podcast while it lasts, and Physical Attraction will keep going for some time to come yet. To save time, I'll put any updates concerning either show on this main feed, but for the rest of the Autocracy Now episodes, subscribe to that feed.

The first of the bonus episodes I'll be releasing is about the Roman Emperor, Commodus. The second is the first in what became a fourteen-part epic series on the life of Soviet dictator and mass-murdering tyrant, Stalin. I hope you enjoy them - and, if you do, subscribe to Autocracy Now as well!

BONUS: Autocracy Now - Commodus May 08, 2018

Show notes

This is a bonus episode coming out on the Physical Attraction feed. The topic is even less related to physics than usual, but since it's extra, I hope you'll forgive me.

You can subscribe to that feed where-ever you get your podcasts, and via www.autocracynow.libsyn.com - that's the website to visit.