Sean Carroll

Maybe to wrap up, rather than thinking about saving the planet or the oceans, we can be more specific and think about ocean science and its prospects. What do we need? What are the things that you would prioritize if you were the emperor of the world and you could allocate all that money to studying the ocean better?

Sorry, by energy, how do we quantify that? Temperature, velocity?

Sorry, by energy, how do we quantify that? Temperature, velocity?

Well, if they ask me my opinion, I'll put your name up for the short list there. Helen Chersky, thanks so much for being on the Mindscape podcast.

Well, if they ask me my opinion, I'll put your name up for the short list there. Helen Chersky, thanks so much for being on the Mindscape podcast.

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the February 2025 Ask Me Anything edition of the Mindscape podcast. I'm your host, Sean Carroll. This month's AMA is going to be mercifully short on politics. We're mostly talking about science and other fun things. But, you know, politics still goes on and we're aware of it. And I'm a big believer that you kind of

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the February 2025 Ask Me Anything edition of the Mindscape podcast. I'm your host, Sean Carroll. This month's AMA is going to be mercifully short on politics. We're mostly talking about science and other fun things. But, you know, politics still goes on and we're aware of it. And I'm a big believer that you kind of

have to be aware of it and respond to it and think about it and take it seriously while also living the rest of your life. So I'm perfectly happy to be talking about non-political stuff for the AMA, but I do want to note what's going on. I always think about the audience hundreds of years in the future who are wondering what we were thinking back now.

have to be aware of it and respond to it and think about it and take it seriously while also living the rest of your life. So I'm perfectly happy to be talking about non-political stuff for the AMA, but I do want to note what's going on. I always think about the audience hundreds of years in the future who are wondering what we were thinking back now.

And here in February 2025, this is literally a pivotal moment of history. And it would be weird to pretend that it was just a normal moment. We're less than two weeks into Donald Trump's second term as president, and it has been even worse of a fiasco than his biggest enemies might have predicted. The combination of ruthlessness and incompetence is quite shocking, and so it's important to

And here in February 2025, this is literally a pivotal moment of history. And it would be weird to pretend that it was just a normal moment. We're less than two weeks into Donald Trump's second term as president, and it has been even worse of a fiasco than his biggest enemies might have predicted. The combination of ruthlessness and incompetence is quite shocking, and so it's important to

Remember it. Keep it in mind. Not act like it's business as usual. One of the biggest things that Trump and his allies have going for them is the idea on the part of everyone else that it's just another political squabble. But it's really – Not. It's worse than that.

Remember it. Keep it in mind. Not act like it's business as usual. One of the biggest things that Trump and his allies have going for them is the idea on the part of everyone else that it's just another political squabble. But it's really – Not. It's worse than that.

Just to remind you very quickly, I can't possibly remember everything, but Trump fired a bunch of inspectors general the moment he got into office. These are government employees whose job it is to make sure there is minimal fraud and corruption. So we're getting rid of them because fraud and corruption are going to be kind of an important catchphrase. He fired a bunch of federal prosecutors, U.S.

Just to remind you very quickly, I can't possibly remember everything, but Trump fired a bunch of inspectors general the moment he got into office. These are government employees whose job it is to make sure there is minimal fraud and corruption. So we're getting rid of them because fraud and corruption are going to be kind of an important catchphrase. He fired a bunch of federal prosecutors, U.S.

attorneys, especially ones who have been working on the various felony cases against him at the federal level. He either fired or sent home or convinced to leave a bunch of people at the National Security Council, the director of the federal – Aviation administration, people at the State Department, people in the foreign aid office, there's a 90-day pause on all foreign assistance.

attorneys, especially ones who have been working on the various felony cases against him at the federal level. He either fired or sent home or convinced to leave a bunch of people at the National Security Council, the director of the federal – Aviation administration, people at the State Department, people in the foreign aid office, there's a 90-day pause on all foreign assistance.

Not all foreign assistance, I shouldn't say that. Israel and Egypt are still getting their assistance, but everywhere else, cut off. Ukraine, elsewhere, heartbreaking stories of people trying to, you know, U.S. workers in Africa and elsewhere working to save people in various ways, just having their funds cut off.

Not all foreign assistance, I shouldn't say that. Israel and Egypt are still getting their assistance, but everywhere else, cut off. Ukraine, elsewhere, heartbreaking stories of people trying to, you know, U.S. workers in Africa and elsewhere working to save people in various ways, just having their funds cut off.

There was this weird event where there was a memo that went out that said all federal grants are hereby suspended for a while. That would be just enormously destructive to the country. You know, grants, maybe the word is bad. I don't know. Maybe people don't understand what the word means. It's not like a present.