Best Deborah Collier Podcasts (2026)

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Roy Casagranda: Reviewing 2025 1:04:41

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2h ago1:04:41

1:04:41

Roy Casagranda returns to the Plutopia News Network to help the hosts process what Scoop calls the “cornucopia of crap” that was 2025, ranging from social media’s corrosive incentives to AI hype, rising economic pain, and the destabilizing effects of Trump-era foreign and domestic policy heading into the 2026 midterms. Casagranda argues the U.S. is…

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Cory Doctorow: Enshittification 1:05:57

5d ago1:05:57

1:05:57

In this excerpt from the Plutopia News Network, Cory Doctorow discusses his book Enshittification and the broader forces behind why digital platforms (and other industries) have “suddenly gotten worse.” He explains the term’s now-famous three-stage cycle: platforms lure users with quality, pivot to serving business customers at users’ expense, then…

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Paul Robbins: Resilience 1:01:49

12d ago1:01:49

1:01:49

Austin environmental activist Paul Robbins joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss the 2025–26 edition of the Austin Environmental Directory, framed around “resilience” in the wake of Winter Storm Uri and recurring disasters, and packed with practical guidance on low-cost outage survival, home-scale energy and water conservation, and local food …

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Deborah Hyde: Skeptical Inquiry into the Supernatural 59:20

9d ago59:20

59:20

Deborah Hyde joins the Plutopia News Network podcast to explore why sane, rational people can sincerely report supernatural experiences — ghosts, werewolves, UFOs — without those experiences necessarily reflecting reality. Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, social influence (including “mass sociogenic” phenomena), history, and folklore, she argue…

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Civil Work Attachments: A step into Civvy Reality 36:04

15d ago36:04

36:04

For this episode we’re diving into Military Civil Work Attachments — a powerful but often underused route for serving personnel to gain real-world experience before transitioning into civilian employment. I’ll be sharing my story of hosting a serving soldier on a Civil Work Attachment through my company Careers Ideas Ltd. Over the placement, I saw …

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Johannes Grenzfurthner: Hacking at Leaves 1:05:41

22d ago1:05:41

1:05:41

Austrian filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Johannes Grenzfurthner joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss his two new films: Hacking at Leaves, an experimental documentary sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and rooted in the struggles of Navajo communities, U.S. healthcare failures, and hacker-led mutual aid; and Solvent, a found-footage horror fi…

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Bruce Schneier: Rewiring Democracy 59:35

25d ago59:35

59:35

On this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, security technologist and author Bruce Schneier joins the hosts to discuss his new book Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship. Schneier frames democracy as an information-processing system that aggregates citizens’ preferences into policy, and define…

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CV or No CV? That is the Quandary! 56:52

29d ago56:52

56:52

In this episode, I'm joined by John Stephenson from the Forces Transition Group an organisation dedicated to helping service leavers navigate the often challenging move from military life into civilian employment. John is well known for his straight-talking honest advice, where he breaks down what really works on a CV, what transferable skills empl…

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Próspera: Governance as a Service (GaaS) 59:58

1M ago59:58

59:58

On this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, hosts Jon, Wendy, and Scoop talk with Próspera VP of Growth Lonis Hamaili and community development consultant David Armistead about Próspera, a privately managed “governance as a service” special economic zone in Honduras. Lonis explains that Próspera operates with its own autonomous legal, reg…

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Your Transition, Your Story 5:42

1M ago5:42

5:42

Your Transition, Your Story covers the backstory of why Deborah Collier wanted to set up a Podcast for service leavers. Through her company Careers Ideas Ltd, she signed up to become a holder of the Employer Recognition Scheme, moving from Bronze to Silver, offering Civil Work Attachments and Career support to transitioning personnel and their fami…

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Jennifer Granick: Surveillance and Cybersecurity 1:01:44

1M ago1:01:44

1:01:44

On this episode of the Plutopia News Network, Jon, Scoop and Wendy talk with Jennifer Granick, Surveillance and Cybersecurity Counsel at the ACLU, about the expanding machinery of government and corporate surveillance and its threat to civil liberties and democracy. Jennifer explains how long-standing rules limiting government use and combination o…

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Pete Cochrane: Pursuing Truth 1:02:25

2M ago1:02:25

1:02:25

Technologist and former British Telecom chief scientist Peter Cochrane joins the Plutopia to talk about his lifelong pursuit of truth and his work on a “truth engine” that used AI to grade the reliability of news sources and authors. Cochrane argues that real truth is hard, costly, and collaborative — unlike social media, which feeds users comforti…

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Sophie Nightingale: Our Minds on Digital Technology 1:02:07

2M ago1:02:07

1:02:07

The Plutopia podcast hosts Dr. Sophie Nightingale, a psychologist at Lancaster University, to discuss how digital technology — especially social media, generative AI, and the constant flow of online information — shapes human memory, judgment, and vulnerability to deception. She explains that people struggle to evaluate critically the sheer volume …

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Ben Collier: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy 1:00:16

2M ago1:00:16

1:00:16

Ben Collier, Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and chair of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, joins Plutopia to discuss his MIT Press book Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy. The book argues that media overstates Tor’s ties to crime. Originally developed at the U.S. Naval Research Lab as “onion routing,” Tor …

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Colin Wright: Juggling Mathematics 1:02:43

2M ago1:02:43

1:02:43

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network Podcast, hosts Jon Lebkowsky, Scoop Sweeney, and Wendy Grossman talk with mathematician and juggler Colin Wright, who holds a PhD in pure mathematics from Cambridge and is known for his engaging talks on how math appears everywhere in life. Wright explains that math is not about numbers or formulas but a…

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Sumner Erickson: Actors of Sound 1:02:54

2M ago1:02:54

1:02:54

The Plutopia podcast welcomes Sumner Erickson, who discovered the tuba in sixth grade by chance and, at 18, won a job with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra after studies at the Curtis Institute. He recalls globe-spanning tours (Europe, Japan, China, Russia, Brazil), collaborations under André Previn, and contrasts between orchestral and other tour…

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Mike Aaron: Digital Lifeguard 1:01:18

3M ago1:01:18

1:01:18

On this Plutopia episode, Mike Aaron — once a renewable-energy policy aide, now a “digital lifeguard” — explains how fast-evolving tech and social engineering are fueling scams and identity theft, citing FBI Internet Crime Center figures of $6.5B in reported 2024 losses (likely ~10× higher) and ~$160B across all cybercrimes, with average losses esp…

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Roy Casagranda: Politics 2025 1:04:04

3M ago1:04:04

1:04:04

In this Plutopia News Network episode, political historian Dr. Roy Casagranda joins Jon and Scoop for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, U.S. presidents from Eisenhower to Trump, and the fragility of democratic institutions. Casagranda contrasts strong domestic achievements (e.g., LBJ, Eisenhower) with consistently troubling U.S. foreign po…

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Nate Wilcox: The State of the Union 1:04:39

3M ago1:04:39

1:04:39

Nate Wilcox joins Plutopia News Network with a wide-ranging critique of U.S. politics, media, technology, and foreign policy. He argues the political center has collapsed, institutions lack credibility, and executive power dominates, while both parties fail in different ways: Democrats with performative resistance and hollow policy, Republicans wit…

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Paulina Borsook and Brian Maggi: In Formation Magazine 1:07:18

3M ago1:07:18

1:07:18

On this Plutopia News Network episode, hosts talk with In Formation magazine’s humor editor Brian Maggi and writer/contributing editor Paulina Borsook about their newly released Issue #3 — an intentionally high-quality, print-first, “anti-Wired” cult mag skewering tech culture with smart, insider humor. They trace the evolution from early-2000s iss…

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Asa Butterfield's Call of the Wild 10:39

4M ago10:39

10:39

" It's incredible really how much life just bursts with this aquatic life: amphibians, birds - because it's all connected” - Asa Butterfield Actor and advocate Asa Butterfield takes us to the edge of a babbling stream to share one of his favourite sounds in nature. In this bonus episode of Call of the Wild, supported by John Lewis Partnership, he j…

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Jeremy Faludi: Sustainable Design 1:00:18

4M ago1:00:18

1:00:18

The Plutopia podcast talks with Dr. Jeremy Faludi, a Delft University sustainable design researcher and lead author of Sustainable Design: From Vision to Action, about practical, systems-level strategies for lower-impact products and services. Faludi stresses life-cycle assessment (LCA) to “run the numbers” and focus effort where it matters—durabil…

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Hugh Forrest: Community Experience 1:12:14

4M ago1:12:14

1:12:14

Hugh Forrest, former President and longtime programming lead for Austin’s famed South by Southwest Festival, joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss shifting from running massive events to consulting on smaller community-focused experiences. Hugh argues that size is the enemy of community — people attend events to form a few meaningful connections — …

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Asa Butterfield on road trips, safari close calls, and seeing a giraffe for the first time 32:13

4M ago32:13

32:13

“ I think the more we can educate young people to be out in parks, be out in the woods, keep them connected with the natural world, we need that because we're in such a crucial fight to keep what we have and if young people don't care about it, it will go.” - Asa Butterfield Actor and nature advocate Asa Butterfield joins fellow actor and WWF ambas…

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James L. Wayman: Automated Human Identification 1:02:00

4M ago1:02:00

1:02:00

In this Plutopia News Network podcast, Dr. James Wayman, a pioneer in biometrics, shares his career journey. His studies grew from computational acoustics in the 1970s to becoming a leading authority on automated human identification. He explains the challenges of technologies such as fingerprinting, facial recognition, and retinal scans, emphasizi…

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It’s All Balcones Fault! 54:52

4M ago54:52

54:52

On this episode of the Plutopia podcast, the hosts revisit Austin’s formative 1970s music scene through Scoop’s archival 1977 interview with Fletcher Clark and Jack Jacobs, co-founders of the eclectic show band Balcones Fault. The conversation traces their unlikely journey from academia and banking into Austin’s burgeoning countercultural soundscap…

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Michael Marshall: Compassionate Skepticism 1:04:45

5M ago1:04:45

1:04:45

On this episode of Plutopia, we welcome Michael Marshall — project director at the Good Thinking Society, editor of The Skeptic, President of the Merseyside Skeptics Society, and host of the Be Reasonable podcast — to unpack “compassionate skepticism”: why emotions drive belief, how pseudoscience and conspiracies spread (from flat earth to QAnon to…

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Liz Bonnin's Call of the Wild 7:50

5M ago7:50

7:50

" The minute you put your ears up, the whole mountain lit up with noise." - Liz Bonnin Liz Bonnin takes us to the mountains of India for her favourite sounds in nature. As a Wild Animal Biologist and Science & Natural History Broadcaster, National Geographic Explorer and President of the Wildlife Trusts, Liz joins actor and WWF ambassador Cel Spell…

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John Seabrook: The Spinach King 1:03:22

5M ago1:03:22

1:03:22

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, acclaimed journalist and New Yorker staff writer John Seabrook joins hosts Scoop Sweeney, Wendy Grossman, and Jon Lebkowsky to discuss his deeply personal and provocative new book, The Spinach King: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. Drawing from a trove of family documents inherited after his father’…

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Chris Tomlinson: Texas Flood 1:01:34

5M ago1:01:34

1:01:34

On this episode of the Plutopia podcast, veteran journalist and author Chris Tomlinson joins us to unpack his reporting on the July 4th floods in Central Texas — why they were predictable and preventable — and to warn that American democracy is being endangered by aggressive redistricting and other election-rigging tactics. Now a columnist on money…

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Liz Bonnin on local knowledge, connecting with nature, and hugging trees 31:58

6M ago31:58

31:58

“I've been really lucky to be immersed in nature for my career and I've had the most magnificent life changing experiences where I felt myself connected to the natural world in a really powerful way. It's everything that we need."- Liz Bonnin Wild animal biologist and science and natural history broadcaster Liz Bonnin joins actor and WWF ambassador…

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Pat Cadigan: Ultraseven and Beyond 1:03:59

5M ago1:03:59

1:03:59

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, cyberpunk author Pat Cadigan joins the hosts to discuss her new novelization of the classic Japanese sci-fi series Ultraseven. Cadigan shares how she came to work on the project, her early exposure to Ultraman, and her appreciation for the show’s themes of teamwork and heroism. The discussion br…

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Charles Herrman: Honor and Dignity 1:01:26

6M ago1:01:26

1:01:26

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, philosopher Charles Herrman discusses his lifelong study of honor and dignity as cultural forces, framing them as a dichotomy shaping societies and conflicts worldwide. He explains that honor and dignity function as intertwined yet distinct values—honor is the face of dignity, and dignity has ho…

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Brendan McNally: Traitor’s Odyssey 1:05:35

6M ago1:05:35

1:05:35

Journalist and author Brendan McNally joins the Plutopia podcast this time as we discuss his latest book, Traitor’s Odyssey: The Untold Story of Martha Dodd and a Strange Saga of Soviet Espionage, which tells the story of Martha Dodd, the daughter of an American ambassador in 1930s Berlin who became a Soviet spy. McNally spent years researching dec…

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Jacob Collier’s Call of the Wild 8:39

6M ago8:39

8:39

"There’s so much about the way the natural world is structured in terms of exchange of information which is so beautiful and profound."- Jacob Collier Grammy-awarded musician Jacob Collier takes us to the waters of the Arctic for his favourite sounds in nature. He joins actor and WWF ambassador Cel Spellman to discuss why he loves these sounds, and…

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James Wright: Medieval Myth-Busting and the Archaeology of Buildings 1:02:18

6M ago1:02:18

1:02:18

On this Plutopia News Network episode, buildings archaeologist Dr. James Wright — founder of Triskele Heritage, author of the “Medieval Myth-Busting” blog, and writer of Historic Building Myth Busting: Uncovering Folklore, History, and Archaeology — joins hosts Jon Lebkowsky, Scoop Sweeney, and Wendy Grossman to unpack 25 years probing cellars, att…

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Talking Heads from Plutopia! 1:05:04

6M ago1:05:04

1:05:04

In this “Talking Heads” edition of the podcast, Plutopia News Network cohosts Jon, Scoop, and Wendy roam freely across a grab-bag of current issues and curiosities: airport security hassles, billionaire excesses, the politics of air-conditioning, ICE detentions, LA’s media myths, Juneteenth and U.S. travel fears, hometown highways, regime-change mi…

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Jacob Collier on the noise of nature, being present, and climbing trees 35:22

7M ago35:22

35:22

"When I first began to spend time in nature I was struck first of all by the quiet. It's extraordinary and all-encompassing" - Jacob Collier Grammy-awarded musician Jacob Collier joins actor and WWF ambassador Cel Spellman in this special episode of Call of the Wild, supported by Aviva. As part of WWF's Prescription for Nature campaign, together Ce…

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Chris French: A Skeptic’s Skeptic 1:04:22

6M ago1:04:22

1:04:22

You might say Professor Chris French is a skeptic’s skeptic. He has published over 150 articles covering the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He emphasizes the importance of understanding why people believe in the paranormal, emphasizing psychological explanations for experiences often attributed to ghosts, aliens, psychi…

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Patrick Ball: Data and Human Rights 1:02:53

7M ago1:02:53

1:02:53

Dr. Patrick Ball, a statistician and founder of the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG), joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss how rigorous data analysis can expose and challenge human rights abuses — even when official data is missing or manipulated. Beginning with his work in El Salvador during its civil war, Ball explains how statistical me…

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Neal Baer: The Promise and Peril of CRISPR 1:07:49

7M ago1:07:49

1:07:49

In this wide-ranging Plutopia podcast episode, Dr. Neil Baer — television writer and producer, physician, and public health advocate — discusses The Promise and Peril of CRISPR, a book he edited that explores the ethical, medical, and social implications of gene editing. While CRISPR holds transformative potential to cure diseases like sickle cell …

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Jonathan Kamens: A Technologist’s Warning 1:01:52

7M ago1:01:52

1:01:52

Cybersecurity expert Jonathan Kamens, a longtime technologist with a background in software engineering and digital security, was dismissed from his role at the Department of Veterans Affairs by Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE). Kamens, who had joined the U.S. Digital Service to serve the public, criticized DOGE for pursuing…

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Cindy Cohn and Kevin Welch: Settling the Electronic Frontier 1:02:49

7M ago1:02:49

1:02:49

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has worked for more than three decades to defend free speech online, fight illegal surveillance, advocate for users and innovators, and support freedom-enhancing technologies. EFF has fought to clear the way for open source software, encryption, security research, file sharing, and important new technologies. In t…

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Sandy Stone: Finding Girl Island 1:19:18

8M ago1:19:18

1:19:18

The legendary Sandy Stone returns to the Plutopia podcast this time as we discuss “Girl Island,” an upcoming partially-animated film based on her life and early visions of gender identity. We also discuss gender roles, trans rights, political oppression, and much more. We dive into everything from gender roles and trans rights to political power, p…

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Will Kreth: Human and Digital 1:01:39

8M ago1:01:39

1:01:39

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network, Will Kreth—founder and CEO of HAND (Human and Digital) — joins Plutopians to discuss the future of identity, digital media, and the growing threat of deepfakes. Kreth, an early media pioneer and former first employee at Wired Magazine, outlines his mission to address the lack of source verification in a…

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Michael Tobis: The Canada Divide 1:04:04

8M ago1:04:04

1:04:04

This time on the Plutopia podcast, climate scientist Michael Tobis, our man in the Great White North, joins us to talk about U.S.-Canadian relations. As Canadians go to the polls this week to elect new members of Parliament, the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on Canadian tariffs and trade loom large. Michael describes how Trump’s aggressive…

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Travels with Ray Thompson 1:00:53

9M ago1:00:53

1:00:53

Ray Thompson, a revenue and operations executive and managing partner at Buy Build Sell LLC, joined the Plutopia podcast while on a 23,000-mile road trip across the U.S. with his family. Taking a break from years of intense corporate work, he embraced remote working and launched a new business aimed at helping people become entrepreneurs through ac…

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Axon: For All 1:02:36

9M ago1:02:36

1:02:36

On this episode of the Plutopia podcast, singer-songwriter Axon Chamberlain (aka “The Herban Cowboy”) rejoins Plutopians to debut tracks from his newly released CD “Pub Fare,” recorded live in tap rooms and mixed with care. He reflects on how his creative process has shifted from striving for perfection to playing music for personal joy and healing…

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Darryl Cunningham on Musk the Oligarch 1:03:58

9M ago1:03:58

1:03:58

British author and cartoonist Daryl Cunningham has created a graphical biography of Elon Musk, originally published in France under the title Elon Musk, Investigation into a New Master of the World, and now set for English release in September 2025 as Elon Musk, American Oligarch by Seven Stories Press. The book traces Musk’s evolution from his Sou…

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Prescription for Nature - with Harris Dickinson & Dr Sara Kayat 39:00

9M ago39:00

39:00

"The times where I've not had the best access to nature are the times where I often get most run down or mentally fatigued" - Harris Dickinson Did you know that just 20 minutes spent in nature every day can boost your wellbeing? The UK is experiencing a mental health crisis. From day-to-day stresses in our lives to anxiety over global issues such a…