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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 :)     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:   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 :)  SHARE SUBSCRIBE!  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 :)   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 :) 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