Earth Ideas: Recent Episodes
Laura Mahler
These are long-form, unscripted interviews with Academics, Scientists & Journalists about their areas of research.
Forming a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
FOLLOW Insta @earthideas.podcast Twitter @ideas_earth
Dr Elizabeth Tasker is an astrophysicist who studies exoplanets: extra-solar planets - those worlds that exist, function and potentially support life outside of our own solar system.
We talked about methods & theories in discovering and learning about exoplanets, the search for a planet similar to Earth, and the very exciting near future of space technologies & discoveries.
0:00 Elizabeth's career journey
9:51 First exoplanet discovery
17:00 Detecting their compositions
29:24 How to we detect & guess?
34:52 Searching for water
36:53 Searching for life
44:29 The $.5bn Question
52:07 JAXA's next missions
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
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And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Refs & Links:
Hayabusa 2 Asteroid samples landing: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55201662
The Planet Factory: https://www.elizabethtasker.com/planetfactory
Elizabeth's Links:
https://twitter.com/girlandkat
https://twitter.com/nexssmanyworlds
https://www.elizabethtasker.com/
Our Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://twitter.com/llcmahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
Dr Lindsay Morcom (Ardoch Algonquin First Nation) is a linguist and researcher of aboriginal languages and teaching. She works actively in language revitalisation techniques and advocates for decolonising education. Indigenous languages hold knowledge, histories & ways of thinking about their lands and culture that do not easily translate into western vocabularies and, as hundreds of languages die out every year, people like Lindsay work to make sure they are received by their heirs.
0:00 Introduction to Lindsay
5:07 Urban language revitalisation
12:46 How do you think First Nation Canadians feel about their language?
19:06 Can we have true direct synonyms or translations?
25:42 Isolate languages
28:19 Reconstructing languages
33:24 Lindsay's approach to revitalising & teaching languages
42:00 How are indigenous languages changing & updating?
44:10 Lindsay's latest research
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Refs & Links:
https://www.ted.com/talks/lindsay_morcom_a_history_of_indigenous_languages_and_how_to_revitalize_them
Lindsay's Links:
https://educ.queensu.ca/lindsay-morcom https://educ.queensu.ca/atep
Our Socials: https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://twitter.com/llcmahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
Prof Matthew Cobb is a zoologist and researcher into animal behaviours through their sense of smell (including ours!) On the side, he explores further his work in science with writing books on the history of science. His newest, The Idea Of The Brain: A History, explores how we come to define & thus attempt to understand the brain and all its complexities, and how we must continually reinvent our approach to doing as we learn more & more about how the brain works.
We talked about historical understandings of the physical human brain and our cognitive abilities, the metaphors used over time for the brain, and new research & research methods that are revealing the limitations of our previous discussions on the brain.
The 1st half of this podcast focuses on Matthew's research into the sense of smell, so is available separately in the previous episode :)
0:00 How did you get inspired for your new book?
6:05 Comparing the brain to a computer
10:15 Do we need a new metaphor for the brain?
14:45 Smell in the brain
20:40 How is the brain divided up?
26:30 What are you writing now?
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Refs & Links:
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/cobb.html
Matthew's Links:
https://twitter.com/matthewcobb
The Idea Of The Brain: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51719771-the-idea-of-the-brain
Smell: A Very Short Introduction: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52049783-smell
Our Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://twitter.com/llcmahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
Prof Matthew Cobb is interested in animal behaviour & psychology, and seeks his answers through research into the sense of smell.
We talked about what effect Covid could be having which is causing a loss of smell and taste, how smell differs across the diversity of life, and what looking into smell can tell us about the effects of today's anthropogenic changes.
0:00 COVID & loss of smell
14:30 Can you regain loss of smell?
18:20 How do you study smell?
30:35 Pheromones
40:50 Global & cultural differences in smelling
48:25 Effects of anthropogenic changes
The 2nd half of this podcast focuses on Matthew's work in the history of science, so is available separately in the next episode.
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next time for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Refs & Links:
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/cobb.html
AS Barwich Smellosophy https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51579757-smellosophy
Matthew's Links:
https://twitter.com/matthewcobb
The Idea Of The Brain: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51719771-the-idea-of-the-brain
Smell: A Very Short Introduction: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52049783-smell
Our Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://twitter.com/llcmahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
Dr Robert Wicks is a space physicist and specialist in natural and man-made hazards in our solar system. He is part of the team behind the ESA Solar Orbiter mission which aims to gather data about our sun's solar wind and polar regions, to better understand its magnetic fluctuations or 'seasons.'
We talked about space weather, the newest attempts to predict it (like Solar Orbiter), and the risks posed by the solar storms & coronal mass ejections that we currently can't well predict.
We then spoke about hot satellite real estate and the growing commercialisation of the space industry.
0:00 How has your teaching been affected by lockdown?
6:47 How has your research been affected?
11:00 International cooperation in space industry
17:20 Creating a space weather forecast
28:35 Historical geomagnetic storms
37:07 Effect of storms on satellites
43:44 The Kessler Syndrome & space junk
49:04 How do you feel about privatisation of industry?
01:02:33 What new mission would you start with unlimited funding?
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Refs & Links:
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/parker-solar-probe
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/w/robert-wicks/
http://interstellarprobe.jhuapl.edu https://ambasat.com
https://www.aac-clyde.space
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mssl/
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/specialist-forecasts/space-weather
Robert's Links:
https://twitter.com/RobTWicks
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/w/robert-wicks/
Our Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://twitter.com/llcmahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
Dr Aparna Banerjee is a microbiologist who works in the field of extremophiles - microbes who live & thrive in extreme environments. She's currently working on microbes that live in the Andean Hot Springs, and has previously studied those living in freezing Antarctic temperatures.
We talked about extremophile methods for survival, and then went on to talk about her work in levelling the STEM playing field for women and hard-to-reach would-be scientists.
0:00 Chile's Atacama Desert
6:12 Polymeric networks
12:46 Use in industry
19:34 Aparna's career journey
26:00 Microbe conservation
35:00 Lockdown's effect on microbes
38:49 Women in STEM
53:22 Microbes in space
56:30 The $.5bn Question
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
Or you can WATCH this episode on Youtube at https://tinyurl.com/y6akmj2p
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Aparna's Links:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aparna_Banerjee3
Bioclues: http://bioclues.org/core-members/
https://twitter.com/AparnaMicrobio
Our Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://twitter.com/llcmahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Prof Deborah Gordon is a biologist at Stanford University and a world expert in the function and survival of ant colonies. Her research uses ant colonies to investigate and design other systems that also operate without central control such as the internet, the immune system, and the brain.
She is also concerned with how ants are adapting their behaviour in the Anthropocene and our changing climate.
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
Or you can WATCH this episode on Youtube at https://youtu.be/eIRhsL2C3Ck
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
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And come back next week for more.
Deborah's Links:
Lab https://web.stanford.edu/~dmgordon/
Ted Talk https://tinyurl.com/yyg3x2zw
My Socials: https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
Professor Rebecca Earle is an historian of food & culture and is interested in all things of the everyday life of ordinary people - how their choices & activities have shaped and affected the global experience. She has written 2 whole books on the POTATO and how its glorious palatability in all kinds of dishes, and its brilliant caloric offering for a low land & water usage, changed the lives of people from Peru to China.
We talk about her determination to shine the light of history away from the usual characters and tell those other stories, and how concerns of the current days (ecological destruction, political & social division, human rights) must ultimately affect historical research.
0:00 Being a Food Historian
5:51 Why were the Americas so blessed for crops?
14:24 Potatoes head to Europe
23:45 Potatoes take over the world
34:25 A different view of history
45:51 The $.5bn Question
50:11 Future for potatoes
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode on Youtube at https://tinyurl.com/y6akmj2p
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Rebecca's Links:
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/people/staff_index/earle
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeding-People-Politics-Rebecca-Earle-ebook/dp/B0868QFW2V
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Potato-Object-Lessons-Rebecca-Earle/dp/1501344315
My Socials: https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
Dr Brian Hare is an evolutionary anthropologist, founder of the Duke University Canine Cognition Center and NYT bestselling author of The Genius Of Dogs. His new book, Survival Of The Friendliest, challenges the famous notion of 'survival of fittest' and proposes that it is in fact our (and our domesticated companions') friendliness & cooperation that lead to our massive success as a species.
0:00 Why should we study animal psychology?
5:35 Physical changes in domestication
12:13 Anthropological Group Identity
19:54 When wolves become dogs
27:05 Dog fashions through history
33:43 Cognitive differences across breeds
37:56 Human & dog relationships
48:52 Brian's research methods
56:47 The $.5bn Question
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH the episode on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/FqbzYHlreEQ
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Brian's Links:
brianhare.net
Survival Of The Friendliest book: http://www.brianhare.net/#books
The Genius of Dogs book: http://www.brianhare.net/#books
https://twitter.com/bharedogguy
My Socials: https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast
Dr Danna Staaf is a marine biologist, science writer, and powerhouse expert on cephalopods, who's on a mission to bring them the fame and wonderment they deserve.
0:00 Danna's career beginnings
5:00 Have we forgotten about Cephalopods?
9:49 Evolution of Cephalopod intelligence
19:08 The shell question
28:14 Surviving mass extinctions
35:11 Ability to adapt
42:50 What do we have in common?
49:54 Cephalopod brains
56:14 Variety of life on Earth
1:13:24 The $.5bn Question
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode now on Youtube: https://youtu.be/h6aBXLsIKaY
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Danna's Links:
Monarchs Of The Sea book: https://bit.ly/MonarchsOfTheSea
https://twitter.com/DannaStaaf
My Socials: https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast/
Andrew Dobson is a Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, and an expert in wildlife disease. Though disease is a part of everyday life, his research specifically focuses on infectious diseases in endangered & fragile ecosystems, including the Serengeti, Yellowstone & the world's rainforests, to better understand the risks that are posed to animals & humans as an environment is altered.
0:00 Biodiversity is today's scientific question
5:01 The study of Ecology
9:49 Andy using maths in wildlife disease study
12:34 How does habitat loss = wildlife disease?
17:33 Differences in species
21:56 How do bats give us disease?
29:23 How do insects give us disease?
33:18 How easy for viruses to jump species?
35:54 Amazonian deforestation
43:48 Conserving entire ecosystems
53:13 Are people paying more attention to wildlife disease now?
56:04 Wildlife disease & climate change
1:02:03 Andy's next research
You can also WATCH this episode on Youtube https://youtu.be/Yxwl4jkS-DY
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
Andy's Links:
Lab https://dobber.princeton.edu/
https://twitter.com/andy2dobson
My Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast/
Dr Leyla Acaroglu is an award-winning designer, 2016 UNEP Champion of the Earth, and founder of Disruptive Design Agency & the UnSchool. She is a powerhouse of innovation - a self-styled 'sustainability provocateur', who works to use design- and systems-thinking to activate social change.
0:00 Leyla's start in Product Design 9
:50 Humanity's newest challenge
15:46 The power to change something
23:36 Recycling validates waste
32:10 How products design us
42:42 Leyla's UNEP Anatomy Of Action
48:00 Leyla's pillars of work
52:00 How does nature solve problems?
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode on YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/jh5n1RJ56zc
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Leyla's Links:
unschools.co
disruptdesign.co
coproject.co (The Farm)
leylaacaroglu.com
https://www.instagram.com/leylaacaroglu
https://medium.com/disruptive-design
My Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast/
Sue Pritchard sits on one side of a challenge that has divided all who are aware of it - How to feed everyone fairly on a planet with finite resources? As CEO of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, and a farmer herself, she works for a regenerative, smaller-scale agricultural future, and seeks to make radical changes in the way we & all the different industries involved think about our food.
In PART 1, we discussed agri-tech & the work of the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology - https://youtu.be/hgKVKizDFGE
This is PART 2 of this debate.
0:00 Wizards & Prophets
7:01 What are the biggest threats of Wizardry side?
12:01 Can farmers shift between them?
15:58 Polyculture methods
22:05 The $1bn Question
26:27 Is meat-eating still possible?
34:12 Price & trade
41:51 Sue's farm
51:45 Being a steward of the land
55:15 What's next for Sue & FFCC?
59:45 Democracy & Agriculture
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Sue's Links:
Food, Farming and Countryside Commission https://ffcc.co.uk
https://twitter.com/suepritch
My Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast/
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
Professor Simon Pearson sits on one side of a challenge that has divided all who are aware of it - How to feed everyone fairly on a planet with finite resources? As Director of the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology, he is embedded in emerging research into agri AI, robotics, gene-editing & circular agricultural economics, among many other exciting new ideas at the cusp of science.
This is PART 1 of talking about this debate.
Watch PART 2 from the camp who call for more nature-aligned approaches, here - https://youtu.be/X7K1qKUcN5k
0:00 Intro 2 Approaches
07:08 Crop Gene Editing
10:27 The concerns
15:46 Polarization in Agriculture
18:41 AI & Machine Learning
26:43 Energy & Carbon
34:35 Bio-fuels
38:23 Global Food Security Index
41:40 Brexit
47:02 Losing Ag Jobs to Machines
52:18 Next Gen of Food Tech
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode now on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/hgKVKizDFGE
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Simon's Links:
https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/liat/
My Socials: https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast/
Dr Mary Menton is a Research Fellow in Environmental Justice at University of Sussex and part of team behind Not1More, a campaign group which supports frontline environmental defenders and investigates the root causes of environmental conflict. Individuals & groups facing up against powerful corporations invading & obliterating their homes for profit are being killed at an increasing rate around the world, and Mary is one of the key people bringing the guilty to justice.
We talked about Mary's work with the Not1More Campaign - interpreting the data & evidence to map out who is being targeted, where, and what resources & corporations are correlated to these threats. We then looked at the issue on a wider scale - who are the different players (the press, the public, researchers), what impacts are they having, and what are the predictions for what can, should and will be done to protect nature & its Defenders.
0:00 2020 Global Witness Defending Tomorrow Report
3:43 Interpreting the Data
6:38 Who are the Environmental Defenders?
12:07 Strategy & planning
16:29 Police involvement
17:39 Indigenous racism
24:44 Public opinion
26:36 Press approaches
29:31 True numbers?
36:04 Not1More's support for Defenders
39:11 Perpetual Growth Mindset
42:35 Impunity & governments
50:25 International agreements
57:58 Consumer choices
01:02:00 Global comparisons
01:07:10 Mary's research into the SDGs
01:15:43 Do you ever feel unsafe?
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode now on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/U4FCTQG9_XM
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Mary's Links: Sussex profile: https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p453111-mary-menton
Not1More: https://not1more.org/
My Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast/
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/filmthechange
Dr Michel Dugon aka The Bug Doctor is a leading expert in the development and evolution of venom systems, predation strategies and prey detection in venomous invertebrates. He is also at the forefront of research into how venom can be applied in medicine in a multitude of avenues from antimicrobial resistance to anticancer and treating arthritis.
We talked about the variations of venom across species & families, and their different (but ultimately equal!) paths to venom. We then spoke about Michel's research, and the potential for extracting or synthesising venoms for medicines and antimicrobial uses.
0:00 What makes venom venom?
3:30 Predation or Protection?
6:30 Bee stings
11:27 Venomous social insects
14:17 Evolution of venom
22:11 How does an animal experience producing venom?
29:11 Variations across venomous species
30:29 SHOW & TELL!
38:28 The race to weaponise
44:18 Environmental factors in producing venom
49:11 Identifying venomous species
54:49 Extracting venom for medicine
58:25 How to put it to use?
01:00:50 Venom as an anti-microbial
01:10:00 Michel's hypersensitivity
01:18:24 Venom to get high
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode on Youtube now at : https://youtu.be/a4t-2_0ZEvo
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Michel's Links:
Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/michel_dugon_the_secrets_of_spider_venom (1.8m views!)
NUI Galway profile: https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/natural-sciences/micheldugon/
https://twitter.com/michel_dugon
My Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast/
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/filmthechange
Dr Les Kaufman is a marine biologist & coral reef expert. He's been at the forefront of trying to understand how these really complex & unique ecosystems can flourish in the colourful, glorious way they do for over 40 years. And now he puts his time & energy into clinging on by the fingernails for their preservation.
We talked about how and where Corals live, and the ecosystems they host (50% of all fishes!). We then spoke about the anthropological dangers facing them, and differences across cultures' approaches to this, finishing by talking about his latest research into behavioural economics and psychology - predicting the changes to the threats and their deaths.
0:00 Intro
3:58 What IS a Coral Reef?
9:58 Coral Reefs as an ecosystem
14:06 Kingsman Atoll (nearly human-free)
17:57 Coexisting with Reefs (Pacific Islanders)
21:22 Does Les eat fish?
24:01 Reef-building clams
27:37 Shifting homes due to climate change?
33:53 Threats Corals are facing
36:59 The Great Forgetting
41:44 Sea-level rise
43:45 Why is the ocean fundamental to all life?
45:37 Les's career journey
49:35 His latest research in Behavioural Economics
55:58 Applying to fisheries
59:21 Making predictions in nature (Science of Complexity)
01:05:48 Our impacts generate more uncertainty
01:08:11 Restoration Ecology
01:16:24 Les et al's Pandemic prevention cost paper (in Science Journal)
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode now on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/D82ltIp-uwU
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
The paper on the cost of zoonotic disease vs preventative efforts, which Les talks about at the end 'Ecology and Economics for Pandemic Prevention' : https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6502/379.summary
Les's Links & Orgs he works with:
Boston University Profile https://www.bu.edu/biology/people/profiles/les-kaufman
Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future http://www.bu.edu/pardee Coral
Restoration Consortium http://crc.reefresilience.org
Coral Restoration Foundation https://www.coralrestoration.org
Mote Marine Laboratory https://mote.org
Herbert W. Hoover Foundation https://www.hwhfoundation.org
Fragments of Hope (Belize) http://fragmentsofhope.org
Conservation International https://www.conservation.org
My Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/filmthechange
Dr Lisa Yon is an expert in captive animal welfare and works to improve the lives of and our understanding of wildlife living in captive & semi-captive homes around the world. She specialises in elephant intelligence & behaviour, and clearly loves them dearly. She serves on the board of many incredible organisations in the conservation world, including Frozen Ark - a global mission to cryogenically preserve endangered and ecosystem-critical species.
We talked about how elephants navigate and interpret their worlds, and their sophisticated social needs. We talked about what different players in conservation are doing to improve both their lives in captivity and in the wild. And we also talked about Lisa's work with biobanking (cryogenically freezing species for future regeneration projects) and the cooperation across the conservation industry to bring all these hopes to reality.
0:00 Lisa's career path
07:16 Wild Bull (male) elephants
13:16 Social teaching & learning
15:18 Communicating & infrasound
22:05 Research in their perception of their world
25:05 Cohabitation & herds
27:53 Navigating anthropological change
31:34 Improving captive wellbeing
35:30 Lisa's methods for assessing welfare
43:38 Are elephants getting 'tamer'?
49:07 Incentivising zoos re: welfare
54:12 Changing laws on captive welfare
56:14 Biobanking: Frozen Ark
01:03:15 Global network of biobanks
01:08:06 Cooperation in conservation
01:14:20 Conservation & zoonotic diseases
01:21:53 Elephants' strong social bonds
01:27:52 Will megafauna go extinct in the wild?
01:32:33 Lisa's next research project
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/axBNUeUWnO4
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
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And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Lisa's Work: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/vet/people/lisa.yon
Frozen Ark: https://www.frozenark.org
Laura's Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://twitter.com/llcmahler
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
Thomas Kostigen is an environmental journalist and author of over 10 books on environmental issues. His latest, 'Hacking Earth', the informant of this episode, is a global tour of geoengineering research & technologies (big & small, futuristic & already happening) that might be our only means of survival on this planet as humans continue to destroy ecosystems and warm it over 1.5C.
We talked about levels and growth of engineering over the millenia of human civilisation, examples of some low-risk and some more extreme technologies and where & how they're being tested and implemented. We then talked about the players involved - scientists, politicians, activists - and what international agreements and movements are taking place. As of 2020, we have 9 years before UN predicts irreversible change and collapse of ecosystems - are these techs our last shot?
0:00 Intro to Thomas & Hacking Earth
5:58 What IS Geoengineering?
9:41 Millenia & levels of Geoengineering
13:12 Comparing to today's other challenges
15:43 Analog to extreme techs
18:37 Biomimicry
22:48 Masdar City: City Of The Future
28:48 Creating a community around tech
31:18 How to 'bring people in'?
35:10 Industry, politics or people?
39:04 International agreements
45:16 AI, testing & modelling
50:21 9 years left to change our path
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/EJiS38j7x5w
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Thomas's book:
Hacking Earth: HOW GEOENGINEERING CAN HELP US REIMAGINE THE FUTURE https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/589023/hacking-planet-earth-by-thomas-m-kostigen/
Laura's Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast/
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/filmthechange
Dr Jeri Wright is an insect neuroethologist whose lab investigates the interrelationship of plants and bees, and how bees sense and learn about the world around them. She works to understand how bees detect food, and how they know what nutrients they need and seek those out, and how other (sometimes unwanted) compounds affect them.
We talked first about bee senses and cognition - their memory, their propensity to addiction, and cooperation as a Hive. We then moved on to what anthropological changes are affecting them, and in what ways their incredible way of life and previously misunderstood and underestimated cognitive abilities are being impacted by our degradation of ecosystems.
0:00 Bees and plants
3:56 Evolution of insect/plant relationships
11:51 Diversity in bee diets
14:30 Bee sense of smell
16:10 Bee vision
20:05 Bee memory
22:45 Flowers or 'crops'?
26:07 The Waggle Dance & Navigation
30:33 Generational memory
34:17 Instinctive or learnt?
37:50 Anthropological effects on bees
43:55 Drawing bees away from people
45:48 Jeri's Lab & research (caffeine)
53:38 Why do WE like floral scents?
56:06 Bee communication (pheromones)
01:00:30 Bee defense
01:02:45 Can they sense what's bad for them?
01:06:07 Bee decline
01:13:42 Queen bees & Hive politics
01:19:37 Genetics within the Hive
01:21:05 Jobs within the Hive
01:25:01 Bees as a Hive vs as individuals
01:31:10 Future in bee research
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH the episode on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/UCU7R96R8Lk
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Jeri's Work: https://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/people/professor-geraldine-wright#tab-1951261
Laura's Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://www.instagram.com/earthideas.podcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/filmthechange
Jon Bowermaster is a documentary filmmaker, environmental activist and National Geographic Explorer. He's made environmental films on all 7 continents & the oceans, and his most recent 'Ghost Fleet' looks at human trafficking in the fishing industry, and is just absolutely beautifully captured, shockingly told and memorable.
We talked about the issues Jon's work (namely, Hudson River Stories & Oceans8) focuses on - threats facing the oceans & waterways, and what people are doing about it. We then spoke about Jon's career path and the different mediums he has worked in, before looking to the future for documentaries & activism.
0:00 Intro to Jon & his work
3:04 Choosing a medium for a story
6:20 4bn people live near the ocean
09:35 Ocean Acidification
11:18 Water does not clean itself
17:43 Sea level rise & coastal cities
22:08 Dams
25:42 The changes to come
28:55 Aquaculture
32:14 Sourcing locally
34:18 Jon's new film on Hudson farming
36:46 Biodiversity is crucial
38:44 Lessons from a filmmaker
44:23 From print to film
47:57 Our films in production
This is a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/GE9_0ncXbCw
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Jon's Links: https://www.oceans8films.com
https://www.instagram.com/jonbowermaster
Ghost Fleet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cSUYlY_dhg
My Socials:
https://twitter.com/ideas_earth
https://www.instagram.com/earthideaspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/filmthechange
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Beth Gardiner is a journalist and author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution. It was a real eye opener to talk to Beth given the way COVID-19 has affected our output of air pollution globally, and also how air pollution is affecting our ability to fight the disease. Air pollution is another killer that hangs ferociously in the air for us to breathe in - this time of 7 million people every single year.
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can also WATCH this episode on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/M-iqIK19CQc
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
SHARE SUBSCRIBE!
And come back next week for more.
Beth's Work: https://www.bethgardiner.com
Beth's Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Choked-Pollution-Fight-Cleaner-Future/dp/1846276454
My Socials: https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/filmthechange
If you found this episode valuable, please support me with caffeine to keep them coming https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lauramahler :)
Alan Weisman is an environmental journalist and best-selling author of The World Without Us - and imaginative thought-experiment of what would happen to planet earth if we humans were to all disappear - and Countdown - telling the tale of quite the opposite: at what point will there be just too many of us for the earth to sustain? It was absolutely brilliant to have Alan as my first guest, especially relating to the current pandemic (recorded before the murder of George Floyd, so it was a little Covid-leaning.)
A series of in-depth conversations with fascinating people, with loads to say about the current state of the world, everything that came before us, and everything that could be still to come.
You can WATCH this episode on Youtube too: https://youtu.be/y2vrk1QX1ws
We hope you enjoy.
Leave us a comment :)
Subscribe!
And come back next week for more.
Alan's Work: https://tinyurl.com/y9pmx92t
My Socials: https://www.instagram.com/laura.mahler
https://www.instagram.com/filmthechange