Posts in Episode
10. QUANTUM STORIES

This episode revolves around an interview between John and David Kaiser, an American physicist and science historian. With David’s help, we take a look at how quantum evolved over the 20th century in both Europe and the US (and yes, even how the CIA and mindreading played a role). He also dives back into the topic of entanglement (or as Einstein called it ‘spooky action at a distance’) and sheds some light on the groundbreaking work of John Bell (who gave his name to the all-important Bell’s Theorem). 


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05. THE PAPERCLIP INTERLUDE

I am a paperclip. Just don’t call me Mr. Clippy. Pull up a chair and listen to this humorous tale that tells the history - and possible future - of the humble paperclip. In this little interlude we bring together some of the various themes of the season, from Operation Paperclip (episode 2) to the future of AI and AGI. Inventions and innovations, progress and science. Because remember, the trouble is we have no idea how to imagine The Singularity.

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03. DR PHILIPSON, OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT ALIENS AND STARTED TO GOVERN FROM MY SOFA

It’s the age of Artemis! This means humanity is going back to the moon. And beyond! But where did this journey begin exactly? We’ve got a wild story that involves Nazis, bad novels, Walt Disney and the tyranny of the rocket equation. Listen as we explore the life and work of Wernher von Braun and the space race of the 1960s before looking to the present day Artemis programme and even the future of interstellar travel beyond the solar system. It’s time to reboot Earth: listen to find out why…

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02. GETTING THERE

It’s the age of Artemis! This means humanity is going back to the moon. And beyond! But where did this journey begin exactly? We’ve got a wild story that involves Nazis, bad novels, Walt Disney and the tyranny of the rocket equation. Listen as we explore the life and work of Wernher von Braun and the space race of the 1960s before looking to the present day Artemis programme and even the future of interstellar travel beyond the solar system. It’s time to reboot Earth: listen to find out why…

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01. THE STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES

What connects the first ever recorded science fiction story with Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove? And who was the real live person that Strangelove was modeled on? We all know that to understand the future we have to understand the past, so that’s why we’re starting the season deep underground at the site of ancient Roman London. In this episode Eva and John get two different takes on apocalyptic storytelling, figuring out if there’s something inherently human in our fascination with the end times.  

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00. PREAMBLE: NOW WHAT?

A little rambly preamble. Welcome! to the second season of The Life Cycle: Now What? Every day we’re told the world is ending. But what does that mean? And if it is, what can we do about it? Should our hopes lie in the great beyond (outer space) or in the quantum realm of matter itself? Join us as we go on a storytelling journey, as we take an irreverent and curious look at the future of humanity. We interview some fascinating thinkers, creators, inventors, artists and business people as we navigate the past, present and future. Now What? A whole lot, it seems…

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