The World Transformed

Latest Episodes:

Signs of Progress, Part 3: Okay Everybody Off the Planet! Nov 26, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore the idea of human progress and look at evidence that it’s happening in regards to our next big push into space. Professor Stephen Hawking says humans will be WIPED OUT in 1,000 years unless we find new planet Get us off this Earth: Glenn Reynolds It's official: NASA's peer-reviewed EM Drive paper has finally been published Warp drive may not require exotic energy after all Why more than 100 scientists are backing an asteroid-deflection mission OTHER GEEK: Stephen relects on whether movies have picked up since last summer and offera s spoiler-free review of Fanstastic Beasts. Join us! WT 237-546

Signs of Progress, Part 2: Being Human 2.0 Nov 24, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore the idea of human progress and look at evidence that it’s happening in regards to health and longevity. We are finding ways to rebuild hearts and reprogram cells to fight off cancer. Serious progress. Two chemicals boost cardiac regeneration in mice with heart failure The Blood of the Young Might Really Be an Anti-Aging Elixir, Researchers Say The CRISPR Gene-Editing Tool is Finally Being Used on Humans This world-first brain implant is letting a 'locked-in' woman communicate Join us. WT 236-545

Signs of Progress, Part 1: Better All the Time Nov 22, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore the idea of human progress and look at evidence that it’s happening. First, a couple of interesting notes about progress: Progress Isn't Natural Humans invented it—and not that long ago Also... Professor Stephen Hawking says humans will be WIPED OUT in 1,000 years unless we find new planet Texas Launches No Cost Solar Program for Middle-Class Homeowners Using money raised by government incentives and private investors to help fight global warming, the Alternative Energy Solar Project goal is to get solar panels on the roofs of those who cannot afford paying for the installation. According to recent news, the plan is to use the rebates set aside for solar and the money raised by companies who want to lower the per ton of carbon dioxide emitted. Can Urban Farming Change How We Feed The Planet? Is That Autonomous Car Going To Spill Your Drink? Join us. WT 235-544

Hallelujah: Aging, Productivity, and the Quest for Immortality Nov 19, 2016

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Phil and Stephen discuss what to do with a long life and ways we might achieve one. Leonard Cohen, Epic and Enigmatic Songwriter, Is Dead at 82 Study Shows Youth Isn't The Key To Making A Mark Scientists Discover Nature’s Remedy For Dementia, Smelling It Increases Memory By 75% Printable Organs Will Put an End to Transplant Lists Brain and Spine Implants Let a Paralyzed Monkey Walk Again -- Haven’t we heard this story before? Not exactly. OTHER GEEK NES Classic Edition review: The best and worst of retro gaming Spoiler-free review of THE ARRIVAL. WT 234-543

The Quantum Computer: The Machine that Fixes Everything? Nov 17, 2016

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Hosts Phi lBowermaster and Stephen Gordon review a recent essay by Peter Diamandis, Massive Disruption Is Coming With Quantum Computing, in which the noted futurist outlines the the amazing possibilities that quantum computing represents. Machine Learning: Much of machine learning is about “pattern recognition.” Algorithms crunch large datasets to find signals in the noise, and the goal is to maximize the number of comparisons you make between data to find the best models to describe that data. Medicine: Quantum computing will also allow us to model complex molecular interactions at an atomic level. This will be particularly important for medical research and drug discovery. Chemistry (and Climate Change): Worried about the climate crisis? Wondering what we can do about it? Quantum computers may be our newest tool to understand what is going on and to fight it. Material Science & Engineering: ...we’ll explore and invent entirely new, better materials. We might find better superconductors, better magnets, materials that will allow us to create much higher energy density batteries, and so on. Biomimetics, Energy Systems & Photovoltaics: Scientists believe that much of the world is built atop quantum systems. Join us! WT 233-542

By the Light of the Supermoon! Nov 15, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon celebrate thesupermoon with amazing stories about science and the future. Supermoon Forecast: The Moon Hasn't Been This Close in Almost 69 Years On Monday (Nov. 14) at 6:15 a.m. EST, the moon will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2016: a distance of 221,524 miles (356,508 kilometers) away. This Is Why We Don’t Have More Neanderthal Genes [M}any Neanderthal gene variants that entered the modern human genome ... are being slowly removed by natural selection. Beagle 2 'was so close to Mars success A new analysis of pictures of the Beagle 2 spacecraft shows that it did not crash-land on the Martian surface. For 12 years, plants bought us extra time on climate change Between 2002 and 2014, the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere wasn’t going up even though people were emitting increasing amounts of carbon dioxide. Strange feature on Mars is a good place to look for life, study says A new study suggests a good place to look for evidence of past life on Mars: a funnel-shaped hole on the surface of the Red Planet in a place called Hellas. WT 232-541

The Power of Strange Part 3: The Future Is Weirder than You Think Nov 12, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore strange ideas about the future that are rapidly becoming accepted as likely scenarios.These days, is it even possible to still entertain ideas about the future that are truly strange? Hyperloop One "The firm that wants to build a futuristic super-fast transport system, has announced that the first version may connect Dubai and Abu Dhabi." The rise of the machines Post-scarcity The possibility explosion The technological singularity OTHER GEEK Phil explains how comics demonstrate that we are living in an almost unimaginable future Stephen gives his take on the Netflix series Stranger Things

The Power of Strange, Part 2: Is the World Getting Weirder? Nov 10, 2016

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Post-election 2016: Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore how strange our current world seems even to us. Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton -- an election story you could not have sold as fiction two years ago. Brexit Wikileaks Fake news and the fall of the mass media. Cubs win the World Series "Three billionaires are each running their own individual space programs." Virginia Postrel Elon Musk Mars Zuckerberg plan to end disease What does all this weirdness mean? Where will it lead us? Tune in and explore! WT 230-539

The Power of Strange, Part 1: The Universe is Weirder than You Think Nov 08, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore the strange forces that surround us and create our reality. The Pareto Principle The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Quantum paradoxes. Wave-Particle Duality Superposition Nonlocality Decoherence What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis? "The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is the theory that an individual's thoughts and actions are determined by the language or languages that individual speaks. The strong version of the hypothesis states that all human thoughts and actions are bound by the restraints of language, and is generally less accepted than the weaker version, which says that language only somewhat shapes our thinking and behavior. " The Evolutionary Argument Against Reality “Evolution has shaped us with perceptions that allow us to survive. But part of that involves hiding from us the stuff we don’t need to know. And that’s pretty much all of reality, whatever reality might be.” Join us. WT 229-538

So We Have Aliens: Now What? (Part 2) Nov 05, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon continue their discussion of our first encounter with aliens by asking what movies have taught us about them. It's a full episode of OTHER GEEK! Which fictional aliens are most believable? Which stories, if any, portray a believable scenario for initial human-alien interaction? Which were east believable? Which would we most like to meet? Which would we least like to meet? Movies discussed include... Close EncountersETStar WarsThe Man Who Fell to EarthStar ManEnemy MineContact2001SignsThe Day the Earth Stood Still (both versions)War of the Wrolds (both movies and the radio show!)Forbidden PlanetThe Arrival Join us! WT 228-537

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