Hear This Idea

08/01/2022

→ What are the biggest threats to global food security?
→ What radical technologies can help us grow food after a nuclear war?
→ And how can we make sure the global poor can afford food after a disaster?

Listen to Mike Hinge from ALLFED — https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/mike

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

23/11/2021

→ What is the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness?
→ What does ‘illusionism’ about consciousness mean for ethics, and when should we care for robot dogs?
→ How should academics use Twitter?

Listen to Keith Frankish —
https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/keith/

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

02/08/2021

→ If the universe is so big, where are all the aliens?

→ Should you be a transhumanist?

→ What makes some ideas succeed on the internet where others fail?

Listen to Anders Sandberg —
https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/anders

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

20/07/2021

→ How do global risks affect sustainable development?

→ What will be the fallout from Covid in the developing world?

→ How do we better integrate expert advice into politics?

Listen to Jeffrey Sachs—

https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/sachs

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

29/06/2021

Why have solar energy costs declined so much? What are the secret ingredients for 'learning by doing'? And what does complexity economics tell us about climate change?

Listen to Matt Ives from INET Oxford —
https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/matt

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

14/06/2021

What technologies do we need to rapidly decarbonise ⚙️? Is bipartisan environmental policy still necessary, or even feasible 🤝? And should we think about climate change like foxes 🦊 or hedgehogs 🦔?

Listen to Armond Cohen from Clean Air Task Force —
https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/armond

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

31/05/2021

Why aren't we more excited about nuclear energy ⚛️? How dangerous is nuclear today, and should we be worried about the radioactive waste 🗑️? And what should science communication look like in an age of social media 📢?

Listen to Isabelle Boemeke —

https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/isabelle

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

17/05/2021

How might AI transform the global economy 🌍? (When) should we be worried about robots taking our jobs 🤖? And what is a 'growth singularity' 🚀?

Listen to Phil Trammell from —

https://www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/phil/

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

03/05/2021

What is well-being, and is there a single way to measure it 📏? Is 'happiness economics' too technocratic ⚙️? And how much can formal models in social science really explain?

Listen to Anna Alexandrova –

https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/anna

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

12/04/2021

If an intervention works in one part of the world, can we be sure it'll work elsewhere 🌍? How do policymakers actually deal with empirical evidence? And can we predict the outcomes of social science experiments 🔮?

Listen to Eva Vivalt – hearthisidea.com/episodes/eva/

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

22/03/2021

How did humanity discover its own extinction 💥? If we're gone, will other intelligent life fill the gap 🐙? And what has existential risk got to do with the Fermi paradox 👽?

Listen to Thomas Moynihan —

https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/thomas

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

08/03/2021

Why are we so overconfident in our abilities, even when the evidence says otherwise? Are people driven more by money or prestige 💰? And what do lab experiments miss about the real world 👩🏾‍🔬?

Listen to economist Julia Schvets —

https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/julia/

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

22/02/2021

What is 'analytic' philosophy and where did it come from? Is academic publishing broken 📝? And how accessible should philosophy be to a general audience 🧐?

Listen to writer and philosopher Nikhil Krishnan —

https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/nikhil

New thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism.

08/02/2021

How can ideas about effective giving take hold in the world of pro sport 🎾? What unusual psychological traits do top athletes share 🧠? And what does watching sport have in common with religious rituals 🏟️?

Listen to Marcus Daniell from High Impact Athletes —

https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/marcus/

Marcus Daniell is an Olympian tennis player and the founder of High Impact Athletes.

25/01/2021

What is it like setting up a new international non-profit 🌐? How can corporate engagement change the meat industry 🏭? And what can vegan toothpaste teach us about entrepreneurship 🦷?

Listen to Sebastian Joy from ProVeg International —
https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/sebastian

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

11/01/2021

Why is animal agriculture so inefficient? Could markets and tech do more to replace animal products than ethics 🔬? And how is GFI helping to bring on the future of alternative proteins 🍖?

Listen to Bruce Friedrich from the Good Food Institute —

https://www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/bruce/

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

21/12/2020

How can we find the best ways to help animals 🐔? Why might farmed animals be > 100,000× more neglected than shelter animals 🐖? And what does the future look like for animal advocacy research 👩‍🔬?

Listen to our episode with Animal Charity Evaluators —
https://www.hearthisidea.com/episodes/ace/

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

11/12/2020

What is speciesism, and what does it tell us about eating animals 🐄? Do moral arguments really work to change behaviour? And how should we weigh the harms and benefits of lockdowns 😷?

Listen to Peter Singer —
https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/peter

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

30/11/2020

What should you look out for when you donate to charity 💸? Does the news give a distorted impression of what to prioritise 📰? And could taking "the pledge" be right for you 🤝?

Luke Freeman discussses his work as Executive Director of Giving What We Can and building a community of effective givers.

Listen to Episode 18:
Website – https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/luke
Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/.../hear-this.../id1496501781...
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/442fxr9pe0tbDtqEikODch
Google Podcasts – https://bit.ly/38jtjFH

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

23/11/2020

Why doesn't every country become more secular as it gets richer 💸? How might religion influence growth 📈? And do religious riots affect political elections 🗳️?

Sriya Iyer discusses all this plus public goods, social capital, and doing fieldwork in the developing world.

Listen to Episode 17:
Website – https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/sriya
Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hear-this-idea/id1496501781?fbclid=IwAR2Q73DU9TGygv8jfJpIUqzPKAt_4Dtstccvip6Xvpdi8xCIzRG9_4MReIM
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/442fxr9pe0tbDtqEikODch
Google Podcasts – https://bit.ly/38jtjFH

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

30/09/2020

What are existential risks, and why do they matter? What made philosopher Derek Parfit so influential? And have we missed the most serious threat posed by climate change 🌍?

Simon Beard discusses all this plus interpretations of probability, how to fix academia, and why (not) to become a politician.

Listen to Episode 16:

Website – https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/simon/

Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hear-this-idea/id1496501781

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/442fxr9pe0tbDtqEikODch

Google Podcasts – https://bit.ly/38jtjFH

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

21/08/2020

What do we mean by 'prejudice'? How should we approach statistics about demographic groups 📊? And what do search engines have to do with 'cognitive flexibility' 🔍?

Jessie Munton tells us about her work on prejudice, perception, and search engines.

Listen to Episode 15:

Website – https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/jessie/

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hear-this-idea/id1496501781

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/442fxr9pe0tbDtqEikODch

Google Podcasts – https://bit.ly/38jtjFH

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

31/07/2020

What is heterodox economics? Is it just an opposition to neoliberalism 🌐? And how do we make economics more inclusive in terms of gender, race, and the Global South 🗺️?

Carolina Alves tells us about her work on heterodox economics and the D-Econ initative.

Listen to Episode 14:

Website – https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/carolina/

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hear-this-idea/id1496501781

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/442fxr9pe0tbDtqEikODch

Google Podcasts – https://bit.ly/38jtjFH

24/07/2020

When does correlation imply causation 🧪? How can you become a better forecaster 🔮? What is cultural persistence? And will quantum computing change the world ⚛️?

Jaime Sevilla Molina tells us about his research looking to history to help predict the effects of future technologies.

Listen to Episode 13:

Website – https://hearthisidea.com/episodes/jaime/

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hear-this-idea/id1496501781

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/442fxr9pe0tbDtqEikODch

Google Podcasts – https://bit.ly/38jtjFH

New thinking from top academics at the University of Cambridge and beyond.

23/07/2020