Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Mel Cosentino about whales, their behavior and their communication. They give an overview of the taxonomy of whales, interactions between porpoises and orcas, and how whales communicate. They talk about memory and executive functioning in whales, how humans can understand how they communicate, and the environment in which they reside. They also talk about the impact of climate change, science communication, and many other topics. 

Mel Cosentino has degrees in biology and ecology. She obtained her PhD in electronic and electrical engineering. Her main interests are on porpoises and whale at large. She also has interests in conservation. She is the lead scientist at Breathing Andenes, which is located in Norway. You can find her work here. Twitter: @melanthropics

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with William Dalrymple about the origins of the East India Company (EIC). They start by discussing his quartet of books on the EIC and his motivations for writing this history. They talk about the origins of the EIC, what was traded, and the large influence the company had in India. They discuss how the EIC went from trading to overthrowing the Mughal empire and ruling India. They also discuss how the EIC dealt with famine and became semi-nationalized, the demise of the EIC, and many other topics.

William Dalrymple is a Historian, Journalist, and Broadcaster. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and has held visiting fellowships at Princeton, Brown and Oxford. In 2018, he was the recipient of the prestigious President’s Medal by the British Academy for his outstanding literary achievement. He is the author of numerous award-winning books, including his most recent, The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire. You can find his work at his website. Twitter: @dalrymplewill

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ashley Ward about cooperation and the social lives of various animals. They talk about the importance of krill and how they cooperate, locusts and their exchange of serotonin, and the social lives of roaches. They also talk about inclusive fitness with bees, ant colonies, social connection of birds, and the adaptive flexibility of rats. They also discuss animal domestication and the ethics of farmed animals. They talk about the social hierarchy of elephants, lions and hyenas, deception used by primates, and how all of these animals help inform elements in humans. 

Ashley Ward is a biologist and professor of animal behavior in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at The University of Sydney. He studies a wide range of animals and researches learning, communication, and decision-making in many animals. He is the author of the book, The Social Lives of Animals, which can be found here. You can find his work here and here. Twitter: @ashleyjwward

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Fredrik Logevall about the early life of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. They discuss why JFK's story is important for telling America's story. They mention the Irish immigrants that came to the United States and how his family gravitated to politics shortly after their immigration from Ireland. They provide the familial, national, and global backdrop for Jack along with the major characteristics of his psychological profile. They discuss the importance of Jack's various relationships, his foreign affairs experience, serving as US Representative and US Senator, and many more topics. 

Fredrik Logevall is the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Professor of History, Harvard University. He is a specialist in US foreign affairs and international history. He won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for History, 2013 Francis Parkman Prize, as well as the 2013 American Library in Paris Book Award and the 2013 Arthur Ross Book Award from the Council on Foreign Relations for his book, Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam. His latest book, JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956, is the first of two volume biography on JFK. 

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Meghan Daum about various aspects of culture and society. They discuss how the focus in society is about many cultural challenges. They talk about generational and technological shifts and the impact of fear and loneliness. They mention the new thought leaders, the ethics of podcasting, and much more. 

Meghan Daum is an author and podcaster who has previously been an op-ed columnist for the The Los Angeles Times. She is the recipient of the 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship and 2016 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She is the author of five books including her most recent, The Problem with Everything: My Journey Through the New Culture Wars. She is also Host of The Unspeakable Podcast. You can find many of her pieces at her website. Twitter: @meghan_daum

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Monica Guzman on the power of curiosity. They discuss the main theses of her book on seeing the humanity of others by using curiosity. They talk about the three challenges of human nature (sorting, othering, & siloing). They mention the challenge of scaling individual interactions to the group level, us vs. them, and whether people change their opinions. They discuss the assumptions of other groups, the intoit model, filling the knowledge gaps, and how not to make assumptions. 

Monica Guzman is a journalist, writer, and Director of Digital and Storytelling at Braver Angels. She was a 2019 at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and co-founder of The Evergrey. She is the author of her first book, I never Though of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. You can find her main website here and other work here. Twitter: @moniguzman

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Neil Shubin about the building blocks of life over billions of years. They discuss why the fossil record is so essential for understanding the history of the earth and for understanding the history of past and present organisms. They talk about the importance of the discovery of Tiktaalik. They also talk about the four arches that make up all heads within embryology along with the continuity that is seen with eyes and ears. They discuss Darwin's concept of "by a change of function," and the importance of embryonic comparison. They have a discussion on how DNA and genes are important for change of function, the sonic hedgehog gene, and the future of the human body. 

Neil Shubin is a Paleontologist and Evolutionary Biologist. He is the Robert Bensley Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and the Associate Dean for academic strategy of the Biological Sciences Division. His research focuses on the evolution of new organs and he and his team discovered the 375 million-year-old Tiktaalik fossil. He is the author of three popular science books: Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5 Billion-Year History of the Human Body, The Universe Within: The Deep History of the Human Body, and Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA. You can find his research and published works here. Twitter: @neilshubin

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Daniel Sznycer about the theoretical and empirical data on anger and shame. They discuss the recalibration theory of anger and the place of social valuation of anger. They also mention some of the recent cross-cultural finding of anger. They discuss the global self in how shame is defined. They talk about the other-dependent aspects of shame and the attributional theory of shame. They also explore how much pride impacts shame. 

Daniel Sznycer is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and is principal Investigator of his own lab at OSU. His main research areas are on the evolutionary nature of emotions, morals, and value computation. You can find his research here and also here. Twitter: @dsznycer

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Daniel Lieberman about the evolutionary history of exercise. They discuss why evolution and adaptation are important to understand the human body, use of energy, myths of sitting, and how much sleep do we really need. They talk about why speed and endurance are important for humans, aggression, walking and running, the active grandparent hypothesis, and many other topics. 

Daniel Lieberman is a paleoanthropologist and is a Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University. He is also a member of Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. He has spent his career researching the evolutionary history of the human body, walking and running, and the evolution of the human head. His most recent book, Exercised: Why Something We Never evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding, can be found here. You can find his research here. 

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jonathan Losos about convergent evolution. They begin by defining convergent evolution and what the role of the environment is for convergent evolution. They discuss the importance of phenotypes and behaviors, speciation, and adaptive radiation. They mention how evolution can work fast using examples from nature. They also talk about evolution in the lab, the LTEE, and E. Coli. They also discuss the future of evolution, life on other planets, and many other topics. 

Jonathan Losos is an evolutionary ecologist who studies rapid evolution, ecology, and phylogenetics. He has his PhD from the University of California and taught at Harvard University for over 10 years. Currently, he is a professor at Washington University (St. Louis) and is the founder of the Living Earth Collaborative. He is the recipient of the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal, the Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize, the Edward O. Wilson Naturalist Award, and the David Starr Jordan Prize. His book, Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution, can be found here. You can find his work here.