Best Digital Universe Theory Podcasts (2025)

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EP.245 The Pascagoula Abduction 1:27:20

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4h ago1:27:20

1:27:20

Dive into the wild 1973 night when two Mississippi fishermen said they were taken aboard a glowing UFO by strange robot like beings, sparking one of the most unforgettable alien encounters ever.Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themediahijacked?lang=en Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/theMediaHijacked/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Lbq…

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Jeff Wald: Navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Why Personal Responsibility Defines the Future of Work 51:27

11m ago51:27

51:27

Jeff Wald, author of The End of Jobs and CEO of WorkMarket, examines how robots and AI are creating the fourth industrial revolution—a massive power shift from workers to companies that mirrors past technological upheavals. Drawing from labor history, on-demand platforms, and regulatory battles like California Prop 22, Wald reveals why the lifetime…

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Pierre Friedlingstein on carbon’s pivotal role in climate change 28:10

6m ago28:10

28:10

The COP30 climate summit is taking place in the Brazilian city of Belém, a gateway to the Amazon rainforest, which continues to face widespread deforestation. We all know that our climate is changing and that we are largely responsible for this, but we can’t tackle the problem unless we understand what’s going on. One scientist who’s done more than…

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338 | Ryan Patterson on the Physics of Neutrinos 1:26:21

3d ago1:26:21

1:26:21

The story goes that Wolfgang Pauli, who first proposed the existence of neutrinos, was embarrassed to have done so, as it was considered uncouth to hypothesize new particles that could not be detected. Modern physicists have no such scruples, of course, but more importantly neutrinos turn out to be very detectable, given sufficient resources and ex…

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Jeff Spencer: The Champion Blueprint and the Eight Inevitable Steps to Peak Performance 42:41

6h ago42:41

42:41

Jeff Spencer, former Olympic cyclist and performance coach to Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, and Olympic gold medalists, breaks down the precise architecture of champion-level achievement. From losing his father at age 10 to competing in the Munich Olympics to coaching nine Tour de France victories, Jeff reveals the eight sequential steps every prol…

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How exercise shrinks tumours and starves cancer; Weird molecules found on comet 3I/ATLAS; Einstein v Bohr on the nature of light 25:25

6d ago25:25

25:25

Episode 335 Exercise has been shown to shrink tumours by 60 per cent. A new study shows another link between regular exercise and cancer prevention, this time revealing that muscle cells may outcompete cancer cells for energy - basically starving them. We explore the links between metabolism and glucose - with the caveat that so far this has only b…

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Jason Naylor: The Psychology of Color and Why Bright Hues Unlock Positivity, Memory, and Human Connection 49:27

35m ago49:27

49:27

Jason Naylor, artist and author of Live Life Colorfully, shares how growing up as the second of seven children in a Mormon family in Salt Lake City shaped his caretaker personality and his eventual escape to New York where he discovered creative liberation. Naylor reveals the symbiotic relationship between color and messaging in his work—the more p…

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Jacob Sager Weinstein: The Memory Palace Method and Why You Cannot Synthesize What You Do Not Remember 51:29

18h ago51:29

51:29

Jacob Sager Weinstein, comedy writer for Dennis Miller and author of How to Remember Everything, shares how growing up in privileged Washington DC where the vice president's daughter was in his debate club gave him confidence to walk into any room but delayed his understanding that not everyone has equal access to opportunity until he reached Princ…

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EP.244 The Truth Behind TikTok’s Group 7 Mystery 1:29:33

1d ago1:29:33

1:29:33

A random TikTok video blew up and turned millions of people into “Group 7” members, creating a fake secret society, wild theories, and pure algorithm chaos. Let’s break down how this mystery started and why everyone is talking about it.Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themediahijacked?lang=en Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/theMediaHijacked/ Youtu…

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Hillary Weiss: The Danger of Just Mindset and Why Imitation Is a Trap for Finding Your Golden Thread 53:21

2d ago53:21

53:21

Hillary Weiss, brand strategist and positioning coach, reflects on growing up in suburban South Florida where attending the same school for 14 years meant everyone remembered who peed their pants in pre-K yet created lifelong friendships that watched her evolve from emo to punk rock to professional white woman. Weiss challenges the dangerous mindse…

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Julia Simner on tasty words and hearing colours 28:22

3d ago28:22

28:22

Imagine if you were listening to an opera or a Taylor Swift concert, and as the lights in the auditorium dimmed, the music was accompanied by a rainbow of colours only you could see. Perhaps while listening to your friends talking, you simultaneously experience a smorgasbord of tastes, with different words evoking different flavours, maybe a delici…

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337 | Kevin Zollman on Game Theory, Signals, and Meaning 1:17:37

10d ago1:17:37

1:17:37

Game theory is a way of quantitatively describing what happens any time one thing interacts with another thing, when both things have goals and potential rewards. That's a pretty broad class of interesting events, so it is unsurprising that game theory is a useful way of thinking about everything from international relations to the evolution of pea…

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The evolution of sperm and the enduring mystery of the scrotum; How our brain rewires itself 4 times in life; The (real) disaster scenarios of imminent climate breakdown 39:11

13d ago39:11

39:11

Episode 334 Which sperm is the oldest sperm - the ancestor sperm that came before all others? Well, you might think it links back to an ancient animal that came before us, but the oldest sperm may actually predate animals altogether. We explore this plus the enduring mystery of the scrotum - and why a male’s most important body part is so delicate …

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Gautum Mukunda: The Paradox of Leader Selection and Why Unfiltered Presidents Are a Dangerous Gamble 58:48

8d ago58:48

58:48

Gautum Mukunda, Harvard professor and author of Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter, reveals the paradox at the heart of leadership selection: the more effort you put into picking a leader, the less it matters who you pick. Drawing from decades of presidential history, Mukunda introduces the concept of filtered versus unfiltered leaders—Georg…

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Cal Newport: Why Social Media Is Big Tobacco Not Big Oil and the Steam Whistle Theory of Attention 1:06:33

17d ago1:06:33

1:06:33

Cal Newport, computer science professor and author of Digital Minimalism, argues that the better analogy for social media is not big oil that must be broken up because it's vital to society but big tobacco that must be culturally rejected because it's unhealthy and dispensable—people don't care if you tell them to leave Facebook for six months but …

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Caroline Smith on meteorites and potential ancient life on Mars 28:24

13d ago28:24

28:24

Caroline Smith is passionate about space rocks, whether they’re samples collected from the surface of asteroids and the Moon and hopefully Mars one day soon, or meteorites, those alien rock fragments that have survived their fiery descents through our atmosphere to land here on Earth. She is Head of Collections and Principal Curator of Meteorites a…

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Ethan Kross: Mastering Your Inner Voice Before It Masters You 55:06

14d ago55:06

55:06

Psychologist and bestselling author Ethan Kross breaks down the science of *chatter*—the internal voice that can either empower or paralyze us. Drawing on decades of research in neuroscience and emotion regulation, Kross explains how introspection, while powerful, can often backfire, leading to rumination, anxiety, and impaired performance.In this …

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Cal Newport: Cognitive Athleticism and Why Elite Performers Protect Their Attention 1:06:33

11d ago1:06:33

1:06:33

Computer science professor and bestselling author Cal Newport explains why cognitive fitness matters as much as physical fitness for elite performance. Drawing from his work with NBA teams and hedge fund managers, Newport breaks down the connection between attention control and exceptional achievement. He challenges the myth that social media grows…

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336 | Anil Ananthaswamy on the Mathematics of Neural Nets and AI 1:14:11

18d ago1:14:11

1:14:11

Machine learning using neural networks has led to a remarkable leap forward in artificial intelligence, and the technological and social ramifications have been discussed at great length. To understand the origin and nature of this progress, it is useful to dig at least a little bit into the mathematical and algorithmic structures underlying these …

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The origin and evolution of music: Steve Pretty plays the conch 30:43

20d ago30:43

30:43

Episode 333 It’s not often you get to see or hear someone playing music on a conch shell. So prepare yourself for a musical treat with musician and podcaster Steve Pretty, who brings into the studio a trumpet and a collection of his favourite conches, rigged up to some modern electronics. Steve is best known as the bandleader of the Hackney Collier…

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Eric Barker: The Science of Relationships and Why Playing Well with Others Matters More Than You Think 1:21:50

18d ago1:21:50

1:21:50

Eric Barker, bestselling author of Barking Up the Wrong Tree and Plays Well with Others, reveals what decades of social science research says about relationships, friendship, love, and meaning. From his journey through Hollywood screenwriting to the video game industry to running one of the most-read personal development blogs, Eric explains his ob…

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Brea Starmer: Redefining Work Around Highest and Best Use, Not Hours Logged 45:18

19d ago45:18

45:18

Brea Starmer, founder of Lions and Tigers, challenges the outdated workplace model that measures face time over impact. Drawing from her experience as a mother of three running a company during COVID-19, she introduces the concept of "highest and best use"—a real estate framework adapted to human potential that prioritizes outcomes over hours logge…

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Dylan Beynon: Building Mindbloom and the Science of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy 54:09

15d ago54:09

54:09

Dylan Beynon, founder of Mindbloom, shares the deeply personal story behind building the first at-home ketamine therapy platform. After losing his mother and sister to severe mental illness, Dylan became determined to bring psychedelic medicine into mainstream healthcare. He explains the neuroscience of how ketamine creates neuroplasticity—allowing…

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EP.243 Malaysia Hidden Elf Realm 1:04:32

23d ago1:04:32

1:04:32

A young boy disappears in the Malaysian jungle for several days and returns with a shocking story. He says he was taken into a hidden elf realm known in local folklore as the Orang Bunian. Inside this mysterious world, time moved differently, the people were impossibly beautiful, and one of them even asked him to marry her. In this episode, we expl…

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Douglass Vigliotti: Wrestling with Conviction and Why Creative Work Demands Uncomfortable Honesty 57:05

17d ago57:05

57:05

Douglass Vigliotti, author and creative, explores the tension between doubt and conviction that defines the creative process. Drawing from his parents, his father relentless drive and his mother empathy, Douglass reflects on what it means to pursue creative work when society constantly asks if you want more. This conversation examines the uncomfort…

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AP De Silva on building molecular fluorescence sensors for healthcare 28:11

17d ago28:11

28:11

From humble beginnings in his native Sri Lanka, to a more than 40 year academic career at Queen’s University Belfast, Prof. AP (Amilra Prasanna) De Silva’s research into molecular photosensors has led to a pioneering career in that’s evolved from chemistry to medical diagnostics on one hand, to information processing on the other. Prof. De Silva ch…

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Donny Jackson: The Internalized Stains of Slavery and Why Empathy Cannot Develop Without Interaction Across Racial Lines 51:58

25d ago51:58

51:58

Donny Jackson, poet and psychologist, reflects on growing up as a working-class black kid in Pittsburgh where his father was a postal worker for 35 years and his mother was a nurse's aide—parents who instilled work ethic, integrity, and honor while navigating a world not built for young black children. Jackson traces the roots of American racism to…

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AMA | November 2025 3:34:18

25d ago3:34:18

3:34:18

Welcome to the November 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the que…

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New genome of ancient human; 95% of us have a dormant virus that causes disease; Formula E cars faster than F1; Bill Bryson joins the pod! 45:02

27d ago45:02

45:02

Episode 332 For only the second time, the genome of an ancient Denisovan has been sequenced - thanks to the discovery of a 200,000-year-old tooth found in a Siberian cave. This ancient member of the human family has long been a mystery, so this genome is being described as a bombshell moment, revealing an early stage of Denisovan history. We explor…

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Bjorn Ryan-Gorman: Coming Out as Gay in the Snowboarding World and Reclaiming Masculinity on Your Own Terms 45:23

24d ago45:23

45:23

Bjorn Ryan-Gorman, professional snowskater and LGBTQ+ advocate, shares his journey from hiding his sexuality behind aggressive board sports to building a life of authenticity in Portland. Growing up in Montana as a sponsored snow athlete, Ryan-Gorman used snowboarding and skateboarding as outlets for self-hatred and denial, pushing himself to dange…

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Why the claims about Hitler’s genome are misleading 29:00

28d ago29:00

29:00

Episode 331 This week sees the broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK of a documentary called Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a dictator. Geneticists have managed to find a DNA sample from Adolf Hitler and have sequenced it and verified it, and now we have his genome. The big question is what does this really tell us – what can we tell from someone’s genome? …

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David Epstein: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World 51:45

25d ago51:45

51:45

David Epstein, author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, dismantles the myth that early specialization is the only path to excellence. Drawing from research on elite athletes, musicians, and scientists, David reveals how individual variability in learning means there is no one-size-fits-all approach to skill development. He r…

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EP.242 Gen Z Is Unplugging: The Digital Downsizing Movement 1:18:09

23d ago1:18:09

1:18:09

Gen Z is hitting pause on the endless scroll. From ditching smartphones for “dumbphones” to choosing real life over screen life, a new movement is growing, digital downsizing. In this video, we dive into why young people are unplugging, simplifying their tech, and finding peace in a world that never stops buzzing. Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@t…

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Ayelet Fishbach: The Science of Motivation, Why Fantasies Fail, and Balancing Abstract Goals with Concrete Plans 1:07:21

30d ago1:07:21

1:07:21

Ayelet Fishbach, motivation researcher at University of Chicago, dismantles the fantasy-driven approach to New Year's resolutions and goal-setting. Drawing from data spanning multiple years, she reveals that while temporal landmarks like New Year work for initiating goals, only 20% of people still pursue them by November—the difference comes down t…

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Daniel Stillman: The Architecture of Conversations and Why Every Interface Shapes What We Say 1:18:27

23d ago1:18:27

1:18:27

Daniel Stillman, author of Good Talk: How to Design Conversations That Matter, reveals how conversations are designed—whether we realize it or not. Drawing from his background in design thinking and facilitation, Daniel breaks down the components of conversational architecture: openings, turns, power dynamics, and interfaces. He explains why physic…

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Dandapani: Mastering Your Mind as an Operating System, Sexual Energy Transmutation, and the Monastic Path to Unwavering Focus 1:07:07

28d ago1:07:07

1:07:07

Dandapani, former Hindu monk who lived monastically for 10 years, shares teachings from his guru on treating the mind as an operating system that must be understood before it can be mastered. He explains the critical distinction between a focused life (giving undivided attention to whoever/whatever you're engaged with) and a purpose-focused life (w…

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Peter Knight on quantum technologies 28:09

24d ago28:09

28:09

There are problems and tasks so hard and complicated that it would take today’s most powerful supercomputers millions of years to crack them. But in the next decade, we may well have quantum computers which could solve such problems in seconds. Professor Sir Peter Knight is a British pioneer in the realms of quantum optics and quantum information s…

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335 | Andrew Jaffe on Models, Probability, and the Universe 1:17:38

1M ago1:17:38

1:17:38

Science has an incredibly impressive track record of uncovering nonintuitive ideas about the universe that turn out to be surprisingly accurate. It can be tempting to think of scientific discoveries as being carefully constructed atop a rock-solid foundation. In reality, scientific progress is tentative and fallible. Scientists propose models, assi…

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Cal Newport: Slow Productivity, Escaping Pseudo Productivity, and the Three Principles for Sustainable Knowledge Work 1:40:53

27d ago1:40:53

1:40:53

Cal Newport unpacks his framework for Slow Productivity, built on three core principles: doing fewer things, working at a natural pace, and obsessing over quality. He introduces "pseudo productivity"—the toxic heuristic that emerged in mid-20th century knowledge work when visible activity became a proxy for useful effort because traditional product…

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Alan Stein Jr: The Performance Gap Between Knowing and Doing, and What Elite Athletes Teach Us About Execution 1:05:31

27d ago1:05:31

1:05:31

Alan Stein Jr, former basketball performance coach to Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, and other NBA superstars, reveals why knowledge without execution is worthless and how the world's highest performers bridge the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. Drawing from decades working with elite athletes, Stein explains that performance gaps…

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COP30: The world's climate future hinges on this meeting 31:30

1M ago31:30

31:30

Episode 330 COP30 is nearly upon us - and this climate conference may be the most crucial so far. In a year where we’ve seen the first major global tipping point reached, destructive wildfires raging in Los Angeles and much more, joint action has never been more urgent. But as hope starts to wane and climate goals continue to be missed, many are qu…

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Christy Tennery-Spalding: Building Political Homes and Redefining Self-Care Beyond Capitalism 48:12

1M ago48:12

48:12

Christy Tennery-Spalding, activist and organizer, shares how growing up near Washington D.C. shaped her oppositional stance to power structures and led her to find a “political home” in San Francisco’s activist community. She introduces the concept of informed consent in organizing—ensuring participants feel safe, informed, and empowered rather tha…

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Andrew Yang: Universal Basic Income and the Automation Crisis Remaking America 44:31

1M ago44:31

44:31

Andrew Yang traces his path from failed entrepreneur to 2020 presidential candidate driven by a single realization: automation has already destroyed millions of American jobs, and the next wave will be exponentially worse. Through his work with Venture for America, he witnessed firsthand the economic devastation in Detroit, Ohio, and the Midwest—wh…

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EP.241 The Forgotten Code: Ancient AI Theory 1:35:28

1M ago1:35:28

1:35:28

What if AI isn’t new… but ancient? In this episode, we explore the forgotten civilization of Auralis, a society that may have created artificial intelligence thousands of years before history began. Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themediahijacked?lang=en Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/theMediaHijacked/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/U…

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Andrew Bustamante: Inside the Mind of a Spy — Tradecraft, Trust, and the Cost of Secrecy 1:10:20

1M ago1:10:20

1:10:20

Former CIA field operative Andrew Bustamante pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to recruit spies, run intelligence operations, and navigate a life built on secrecy, loyalty, and manipulation. In this riveting and wide-ranging conversation, Bustamante shares stories from his military training at the Air Force Academy, his time at “The Fa…

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Chris Fussell: Systems, Mindset, and Leading at the Edge 56:27

1M ago56:27

56:27

Former Navy SEAL and leadership strategist Chris Fussell reveals how elite teams operate under pressure—and how those principles can be applied far beyond the battlefield. Drawing from years of operational experience and his work with General Stanley McChrystal, Fussell explains how systems thinking, decentralized decision-making, and shared consci…

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Carlos Adell: From Drug Dealer to Industrial Engineer to Finding True Success Through Strategic Environment Design 52:37

1M ago52:37

52:37

Carlos Adell shares his unconventional path from growing up in a small Spanish town with limited resources to running a six-figure drug dealing business while simultaneously working as a DJ and industrial engineer. After nearly dying from a heart attack at 29 while working in corporate, Adell discovered that he had been living other people’s dreams…

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Eleanor Schofield on conserving Tudor warship the Mary Rose 28:20

1M ago28:20

28:20

In July 1545, King Henry VIII watched from Southsea Castle on England's south coast as his fleet sailed out to face the French - only to witness his prized warship, the Mary Rose, sink before his eyes. Raised from the Solent in 1982, the ship is now the centrepiece of the Mary Rose Museum, along with thousands more artefacts that were recovered fro…

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334 | Daniel Whiteson on the Physics of and by Aliens 1:14:21

1M ago1:14:21

1:14:21

The universe as revealed by physics is objective: it's out there, existing and behaving in ways that are completely independent of human thought. But the process by which we learn about the universe, and the language with which we talk about it, is extremely human-dependent. Does that mean that aliens would do science differently, and even think di…

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The collapse of America’s health data system; How sleep affects your focus; Life on Mars in liquid veins? 23:51

1M ago23:51

23:51

Episode 329 America’s health data system is in crisis. The US government has been bleeding public health experts – many of whom run crucial public health surveys and databases which help identify, monitor and respond to health threats across the country. From drug use to food security and birth data, discover the 5 surveys most critically hit by th…