Browser Bites

Today, our host is Robert Cottrell, editor of the Browser. He is joined by Katy Gero and Jaan Altosaar, two guests with fascinating perspectives on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Katy is a computer scientist who uses AI in her work as a poet and an essayist, while Jaan is a postdoctoral researcher working on machine learning in health at Columbia University's Irving Medical Center.

Inspired by his piece "The Future of Biological Warfare", LSUSR joins Lindelani and Nontsi to chat about the future of biological warfare.

Caroline Crampton, the deputy editor of the Browser, talks to literary non-fiction writer Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment, about abandoned places.

Inspired by his piece "The Hatboro Blues", Shawn McCreesh joins Lindelani and Nontsi to share his experience on growing up in an American town during the opioid epidemic.

"The Hatboro Blues" was originally published in the Autumn issue of Liberties Journal. The piece has been taken down but if you are interested in reading it, please email [email protected].

Inspired by her essay "The Year of Grinding Teeth", Madeleine Watts joins Lindelani and Nontsi to discuss her experience with bruxism and the shared anxiety that came with 2020.

Bill Emmott, former editor-in-chief of The Economist and now co-director of the Global Commission for Post-Pandemic Policy, talks to Alex Tabarrok, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and co-author of the blog Marginal Revolution, on lessons learned from the pandemic so far, and what lies ahead.

Hosts Lindelani and Nontsi discuss the moral ethics of giving with the philosopher Peter Singer focusing on the implications of the ethical code for people living in lower and middle income countries.

Reading material mentioned in the conversation:

The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer

Inspired by her essay "On Running", Larissa Pham joins Lindelani and Nontsi to discuss the psychological effects, and meditative properties of running.

Reading material mentioned in the conversation::

Pop Song by Larissa Pham

Inspired by Emily Franklin's thought-provoking piece "The Requirement of Adequacy"; Lindelani, Nontsi and Robert discuss restrictions to personal freedom, the bitter-sweet reality of parenting and coping with the dangers of life.

The view that malls are simply structures of commerce is challenged in this conversation between Nontsi, Lindelani and Diana. The article that inspired this conversation posits that malls in the Philippines are infrastructural, and also explores the emotional and psychological experience of going to a mall in the Philippines.

The article that inspired this episode is titled An Archipelago of Interiors: The Philippine Supermall as Infrastructure of Diaspora and is written by Diana Martinez.