Manifold
Episodes
Raghuveer Parthasarathy: The Four Physical Principles — #11
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Raghu Parthasarathy is the Alec and Kay Keith Professor of Physics at the University of Oregon. His research focuses on biophysics, exploring systems ...
Carl Zha: Xinjiang, Ukraine, and U.S.-China relations — #10
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Carl Zha is the host of the Silk and Steel podcast, which focuses on China, history, culture, and politics. He is a former engineer now based in Bali,...
Scott Aaronson: Quantum Computing, Unsolvable Problems, & Artificial Intelligence — #9
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Aaronson is the David J. Bruton Centennial Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin, and director of its Quantum Infor...
Sebastian Mallaby: Venture capital as an engine of courage — #8
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sebastian Mallaby is a writer and journalist whose work covers financial markets, international relations, innovation, and technology. He is the autho...
Vlatko Vedral: Oxford Theoretical Physicist on Quantum Superposition of Living Creatures — #7
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Vlatko Vedral is Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford and Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) at the National Universi...
Richard Sander: Affirmative Action, Mismatch Theory, & Academic Freedom — #6
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Sander is Jesse Dukeminier Professor at UCLA Law School. AB Harvard, JD, PhD (Economics) Northwestern.Sander has studied the structure and eff...
Shai Carmi: Polygenic risk scores & embryo screening — #5
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shai Carmi is Professor of Statistical and Medical Genetics at Hebrew University (Jerusalem).Carmi Lab: https://scarmilab.org/Twitter: https://twitter...
Jon Y (Asianometry) on Semiconductor Tech and U.S.-China Competition — #4
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jon Y produces Asianometry, which focuses on Asia technology, finance, and history: Podcast, YouTube channel, and Substack.Steve and Jon discuss the g...
Richard Hanania: Wokeness, Public Choice Theory, & Geostrategy — #3
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Hanania is President of the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology (CSPI). He is a former Research Fellow at the Saltzman Institute...
Steve Hsu Q&A: Complex trait prediction in Genomics, and Genomic Prediction / Embryo Selection
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Steve answers questions about recent progress in AI/ML prediction of complex traits from DNA and applications in embryo selection.Highlights:Overview ...
James Lee on Polygenic Prediction and Embryo Selection — #1
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
James Lee is a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota. He is a leading researcher working in behavior genetics and statistical genetic...
Warren Hatch on Seeing the Future in the Era of COVID-19 – #50
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Warren Hatch, President and CEO of Good Judgment Inc. Warren explains what makes someone a good forecaster and how the ability...
Leif Wenar on the Resource Curse and Impact Philosophy – #49
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve interview Leif Wenar, Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University and author of Blood Oil. They begin with memories of Leif and Cor...
Michael Kauffman on Cancer, Drug Development and Market Capitalism – #48
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey speak with Dr. Michael Kauffman, co-founder and CEO of Karyopharm Therapeutics, about cancer and biotech innovation. Michael explains ...
Scott Adams on Trump, and his book Loserthink – #47
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve talk to Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert and author of Loserthink. Steve reviews some of Scott’s predictions, including of Trump’s ...
James Oakes on What’s Wrong with The 1619 Project – #46
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to James Oakes, Distinguished Professor of History and Graduate School Humanities Professor at the Graduate Center of the City Un...
Robert Atkinson on US-China Competition and Industrial Policy – #45
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk with Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation about his philosophy of National Developm...
Raman Sundrum: Physics and the Universe – #44
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk with theoretical physicist Raman Sundrum. They discuss the last 30 years in fundamental physics, and look toward the next. Raman ...
Vineer Bhansali: Physics, Tail Risk Hedging, and 900% Coronavirus Returns – #43
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk with theoretical physicist turned hedge fund investor Vineer Bhansali. Bhansali describes his transition from physics to finance,...
Jaan Tallinn: Coronavirus, Existential Risk, and AI – #42
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve talks with Skype founder and global tech investor Jaan Tallinn. Will the coronavirus pandemic lead to better planning for future global risks? J...
Dan Gable: Legendary NCAA and Olympic Wrestler & Coach – #41
09 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to legendary NCAA and Olympic wrestler and coach Dan Gable. Gable describes the final match of his collegiate career, an NCAA cha...
Klaus Lackner on Carbon Capture, Climate Change, and Physics – #40
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Klaus Lackner, director of the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions (CNCE) at Arizona State University and the first person to...
COVID-19, Blockchain, and the Global Startup Scene – #39
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Kieren James-Lubin and Victor Wong of the blockchain technology startup, BlockApps. They begin with a discussion of the COVID-...
Claude Steele on the Challenges of Multi-Cultural Societies – #38
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve talk to Claude Steele of Stanford about his article “Why Campuses are So Tense?”. The essay explores stereotype threats across rac...
A.J. Robison on the Neural Basis of Sex Differences in Depression – #37
12 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve talk with MSU Neuroscientist A.J. Robison about why females may be more likely to suffer from depression than males. A.J. reviews past...
Kaja Perina on the Dark Triad: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy – #36
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kaja Perina is the Editor in Chief of Psychology Today. Kaja, Steve, and Corey discuss so-called Dark Triad personality traits: Narcissism, Machiavell...
Adam Dynes on Noisy Retrospection: The Effect of Party Control on Policy Outcomes – #35
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Adam Dynes of Brigham Young University about whether voting has an effect on policy outcomes. Adam’s work finds that control...
Yang Wang on Science and Technology in China, Hong Kong Protests, and Coronavirus – #34
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yang Wang is Dean of Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Professor Wang received his BS degree in mathematics from Universi...
Elizabeth Kolbert on Climate Change: Impacts and Mitigation Technologies – #33
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the Sixth Extinction, about the current state of the climate debate. All three are pessimistic ab...
Meghan Daum on the New Culture Wars – #32
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve talk to Meghan Daum about her new book “The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars”. Meghan describes ho...
Steven Broglio on Concussions, Football and Informed Choice – #31
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk with Steven Broglio, Director of the Michigan Concussion Center, about concussion risk, prevention and treatment. Broglio describ...
Barbara O’Brien on Race, Reform and Wrongful Conviction Rate Estimates- #30
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest, Barbara O’Brien, explains why we don’t know much about conviction error outside of murder cases, making error rates for the vast majori...
Sebastian Junger: Meaning from War and Technological Isolation in America – #29
16 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This conversation occurred just after President Trump withdrew US forces from Northern Syria. Steve, Corey and Sebastian debate ISIS and the Kurds. Se...
Zach Hambrick on Psychometrics and the Science of Expertise – #28
09 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
MSU Psychology Professor Zach Hambrick joins Corey and Steve to discuss general cognitive ability, the science of personnel selection, and research on...
Andrew Hartman: The Culture Wars Then and Now – #27
02 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Andrew about his new introduction to his book “The War for the Soul of America.” While the left largely won the culture ...
Bruno Maçães: China, Russia and the Future of Eurasia – #26
26 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Originally from Portugal, Bruno Maçães earned a PhD in Political Science at Harvard under Harvey Mansfield, and served as Portugal’s Secretary of ...
Ted Conover on Immigration, Prisons and 21st Century Homesteading – #25
12 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Ted about his article for the August issue of Harper’s Magazine, “The Last Frontier”. Ted describes how Trump’s electi...
Jason Snyder on Neurogenesis – #24
27 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Jason about a fundamental question of neuroscience: Do humans grow new neurons as adults? The dogma that humans do not, gave w...
Timothy Searchinger: Biofuels vs Foods and Major Climate Change Policy Errors – #23
14 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Tim Searchinger about the unintended consequences of biofuels policies. Searchinger argues that these policies do not consider...
Jamie Metzl on Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity – #22
31 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jamie Metzl joins Corey and Steve to discuss his new book, Hacking Darwin. They discuss detailed predictions for the progress in genomic technology, p...
Tyler Cowen on Big Business, Socialism, Free Speech, and Stagnant Productivity Growth – #21
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Polymath and economist Tyler Cowen (Holbert L. Harris Professor at GMU) joins Steve and Corey for a wide-ranging discussion. Are books just for advert...
Betsy McKay on Trends in Heart Disease and How to Avoid It – #20
03 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk to Betsy McKay, senior writer on U.S. and global public health at The Wall Street Journal, about her recent articles on heart dis...
Ted Chiang on Free Will, Time Travel, Many Worlds, Genetic Engineering, and Hard Science Fiction – #19
19 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey speak with Ted Chiang about his recent story collection “Exhalation” and his inaugural essay for the New York Times series, Op-Eds...
Rebecca Campbell on Identifying Serial Perpetrators, Rape Investigations and Untested Rape Kits – #18
05 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Rebecca Campbell is a Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University, whose research focuses on violence against women and children with an ...
Mark Moffett on the Life and Death of Human Societies – #17
22 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey talk with Mark Moffett, Photographer and Research Fellow at the Smithsonian Institute, about his new book The Human Swarm: How our Soc...
John Schulman: OpenAI and recent advances in Artificial Intelligence – #16
08 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
John Schulman is a research scientist at OpenAI. He co-leads the Reinforcement Learning group and works on agent learning in virtual game worlds (e.g....
Daniel Max on Writing a Literary non-Fiction Classic and Prion Diseases Then and Now – #15
25 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Max, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Every Love Story is A Ghost Story, a biography of David Foster Wallace, speaks with Corey and...
Stuart Firestein on Why Ignorance and Failure Lead to Scientific Progress – Episode #14
11 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Steve and Corey speak with Stuart Firestein (Professor of Neuroscience at Columbia University, specializing in the olfactory system) about his two boo...
Joe Cesario on Political Bias and Problematic Research Methods in Social Psychology – #13
27 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve continue their discussion with Joe Cesario and examine methodological biases in the design and conduct of experiments in social psycho...
James Cham on Venture Capital, Risk Taking, and the Future Impacts of AI – Episode #12
13 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
James Cham is a partner at Bloomberg Beta, a venture capital firm focused on the future of work. James invests in companies applying machine intellige...
Joe Cesario on Police Decision Making and Racial Bias in Deadly Force Decisions – Episode #11
30 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve talk with Joe Cesario about his recent work showing that, contrary to many activist claims and media reports, there is no widespread r...
Ron Unz on the Subprime Mortgage Crisis, The Unz Review, and the Harvard Admissions Scandal – Episode #10
16 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ron Unz is the publisher of the Unz Review, a controversial, but widely read, alternative media site hosting opinion outside of the mainstream, includ...
Philosopher Sam Kerstein on the Morality of Genome Engineering, Inequality, and Star Trek – Episode #9
02 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve speak with Samuel Kerstein, Professor of Philosophy and expert in Medical Ethics at the University of Maryland. They discuss the ethic...
Sabine Hossenfelder on the Crisis in Particle Physics and Against the Next Big Collider – #8
18 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Hossenfelder is a Research Associate at the Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies. Her research areas include particle physics and quantum gravity. ...
David Skrbina on Ted Kaczynski, Technological Slavery, and the Future of Our Species – Episode #7
04 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
David Skrbina is a philosopher at the University of Michigan. He and Ted Kaczynski published the book Technological Slavery, which elaborates on the U...
John Hawks on Human Evolution, Ancient DNA, and Big Labs Devouring Fossils – Episode #6
21 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Hawks is the Vilas-Borghesi Distinguished Achievement Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He is an anthropologist an...
Kaiser Kuo of Sinica on Modern China and US-China relations – Episode #5
07 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Kaiser Kuo is a host and co-founder of Sinica, a current affairs podcast originally based in Beijing. Sinica guests include prominent journalists, aca...
Ted Schultz on Ants, Emergent Behavior, and the Molecular Revolution in Systematics – Episode #4
21 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve speak with Ted Shultz, research Entomologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Ted is an expert in Leaf Cutter An...
Noor Siddiqui, Thiel Fellow, on Stanford and Silicon Valley – Episode #3
07 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve interview Noor Siddiqui, a student at Stanford studying AI, Machine Learning, and Genomics. She was previously a Thiel Fellow, and fou...
Bobby Kasthuri & Brain Mapping - Episode #2
31 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve are joined by Bobby Kausthuri, a Neuroscientist at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago. Bobby specializes in nan...
CRISPR Babies — Episode #1
24 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve discuss news of gene edited babies in China, and the future of human genetic engineering.▶️ Watch: CRISPR Babies — Episode #1Res...
Introductions — Episode #0
24 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Corey and Steve, friends for almost 30 years, introduce each other to the audience.Caltech Traditions and Prankshttp://www.admissions.caltech.edu/exp....