Highbrow Drivel

Bugs, creepy crawlies, insects, pests. Whatever you call them, these little critters play an important part of our ecosystem and their disappearing at an alarming rate. In this episode, we chat to Dr Dave Goulson, author of the upcoming book 'Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse' with the help of comedian Alfie Packham.

We cover how the decline is measured, why it's important, which insects we could maybe do without and why inner-city hipsters starting suburban beehives won't solve the problem.

Expert guest:
Dave Goulson is Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex. He has published more than 300 scientific articles on the ecology and conservation of bumblebees and other insects. His books include the Sunday Times bestsellers The Garden Jungle and A Sting in the Tale, which was also shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson prize and has been translated into fifteen languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, a trustee of Pesticide Action Network, and an Ambassador for the UK Wildlife Trusts.

Comedian guest:
Alfie Packham has performed at comedy clubs across the UK, including the Manchester Comedy Store and Komedia Brighton, and on radio shows like Union Jack Radio's One Night Stand. He has also performed above pubs, below pubs, and inside the walls of pubs. He was a finalist for the Komedia New Comedy Award in 2020 and a runner-up for the BBC's New Comedy Award in 2019.

He has also written jokes and sketches for BBC Radio 4's The Now Show and BBC Radio 4 Extra's Newsjack. You can follow Alfie on Twitter and Instagram

There's a lot of what we know from Earth that can teach us what to expect from extraterrestrials in the future. In this week's episode, Zoologist, Dr Arik Kershenbaum joins comedian Will Preston to discuss insights from Arik's book 'A Zoologists Guide to The Galaxy:  What Animals on Earth Reveal about Aliens' which has won praise from high places, including Richard Dawkins.

In this episode we cover common expectations, what alien mating might be like, what drives human evolution and the best and worst depictions of aliens in popular culture.

Expert guest:
 Dr Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist, College Lecturer, and Fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge. He has researched animal vocal communication for the past ten years in Europe, Israel and the United States and has published more than twenty academic publications on the topic. He is also a member of the international board of advisors for METI.org, a think tank on the topic of Messaging Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.


Comedy guest:
Will Preston has been performing comedy since 2016 all across the UK and the US. He is a regular at the top comedy clubs on the London scene. Will is also the co-host of the Marvel Versus Marvel podcast.

Fresh from his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, Edward Slingerland joins us to discuss his new book "Drunk: How we sipped, danced, and stumbled our way to civilisation" a book that offers a deep dive into the alcohol-soaked origins of civilization — and the evolutionary roots of humanity’s appetite for intoxication.
On this episode we get to scratch the surface on the importance of alcohol historically, how it's used now, comparison to other intoxicants and how philosophy and alcohol mix.

Expert guest:
Edward Slingerland is Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, where he also holds appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Asian Studies. Educated at Princeton, Stanford and UC Berkeley, he is an expert on early Chinese thought, comparative religion and cognitive science of religion, big data approaches to cultural analysis, cognitive linguistics, digital humanities and humanities-science integration. 
An avid ocean kayaker, gardener, cook and appreciator of wine, Edward splits his time between Vancouver, Canada and Northern California.

Comedian guest:
 
Juan Miles, is here for a 4th time. Juan is an Argentinian born, Berlin based stand-up comedian via Melbourne, Australia. He's one of the most wickedly funny people I know. As always, you can stay up-to-date with his news on his Instagram.

How did we evolve to be the way we are? I'm joined by international award winning philosopher on evolutionary science Dr Kim Sterelny and international acclaimed comedian Tom Ballard to find out.

Guest comedian:  

Tom Ballard is one of Australia's most decorated comedians who has been selling out shows and winning awards around the world for over a decade. His accolades include (but aren't limited to) Best Newcomer Winner at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Best Show Winner at Sydney Comedy Festival and Best Show Nominee at Edinburgh Comedy Festival. When he's not on stage Tom is a regular on TV and Radio and also hosts the brilliant 'Like I'm a Six-Year-Old' podcast.

Tom has upcoming tours scheduled in Brisbane and Sydney and is filming his show across two nights in Melbourne. 

You can learn more on his website. Or check out his Facebook, Instagram or Twitter

Guest expert:
Professor Kim Sterelny is arguably one of the most influential thinkers and academics of our generation. He is the winner of multiple international awards in science and philosophy, including the Jean-Nicod Prize and Lakatos Award. Kim is currently a Chief Investigator and leader of the Language Evolution program at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. He is also an ARC Laureate Professor at the ANU School of Philosophy. His latest book The Pleistocene Social Contract: Culture and Cooperation in Human Evolution has just been published by Oxford University Press.
His research interests have always been in the border areas between philosophy and the sciences; most of his research and graduate supervision has been in philosophy of biology and the philosophy of the cognitive sciences. In the last decade and a half, he has been particularly interested in human evolution and in understanding the the evolution of the distinctive features of human social life, and of the cognitive capacities that make that life possible.
He is the author of The Representational Theory of Mind; the co-author of Language and Reality (with Michael Devitt); Sex and Death: An Introduction to Philosophy of Biology (with Paul Griffiths); Thought in a Hostile World (which won the 2003 Lakatos Prize); What is Biodiversity (with James MacLaurin); Dawkins vs Gould; and The Evolved Apprentice (the book of the 2009 Nicod Prize Lectures). He is Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and the Royal Society of New Zealand. In addition to philosophy, Kim spends his time eating curries,drinking red wine, bushwalking, snorkelling and bird watching.

From spiderman to Loki to Rick and Morty, pop culture loves a good multiverse at the moment. In this episode we ask a quantum physicist what a multiverse is and whether the science behind it checks out. 

Expert guest
Jim Rantschler teaches physics at Texas A&M at Galveston. He has worked as an NRC postdoc at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a research professor at the University of Houston, and a Senior Principal Engineer at Western Digital. He previously taught at Xavier University of Louisiana. Jim hosts the awesome Physics Frontiers podcast which you can check out here.

Comedian guest
Eve is an effortlessly funny New Yorker formerly based in Melbourne, Australia. She hosts the Everyone is Doing Better Than Me podcast. When it's safe and legal I highly recommend you check her out live and on-stage, but until then, listen to her podcast :) 

In this episode we deep dive into a bizarre story in medical history. A Dr obsessed with being able to transplant human heads to prove that he could save the immortal soul. It's a wickedly macabre, bizarrely funny story that touches upon some deeply important questions. What is death? And, more importantly, should we make sure our sciences spend less time asking whether they can do something and more time asking whether they should?
Our guest for this episode is the amazing Dr. Brandy Schillace, who has just published the brilliant 'Dr Humble and Mr Butcher' which follows the decades long quest of Dr. White to transplant a human head. The story involves 2 popes, a trip to Russia and a Nobel prize nomination.  It's an incredible gripping story which I highly recommend you pick up and read for yourself.

Our expert guest:
Dr. Brandy Schillace is a historian of medicine and the critically acclaimed author of DEATH’S SUMMER COAT, CLOCKWORK FUTURES,  and most recently MR. HUMBLE AND DR. BUTCHER, described by the New York Times as a “macabre delight.” Her books have been reviewed in Science Magazine, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, New Yorker, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and more. Dr. Schillace is host of the Peculiar Book Club, a livestream community of authors and readers, and has appeared on Travel Channel’s Mysteries at the Museum,  NPR’s Here and Now, and FOX’s American Built. She has bylines at Scientific American, Globe and Mail, HuffPo, SLATE, and Crime Reads. (she/her)

Dr. Schillace is a 2018 winner of the Arthur P. Sloan Science Foundation award, and in addition to her work as an author, is editor-in-chief of BMJ’s Medical Humanities Journal.

What is love (baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me know more). On this week's episode we speak to budding neuroscientist and co-host of 'Living Room Logic' Andrew McGovern and Loveryboy comedian Kevin O'Connel to find out what the neurochemical explanation is for love, what the dumbest thing we've done for love is, whether or not the friend zone exists and why I might need to convince my wife to go to couple's therapy for the perks.

Expert guest:
Andrew McGovern is a budding neuroscientist who firmly believes the future of medicine has sex in mind. Careful now you little minx, he studies sex differences in risk of diseases like Alzheimer's and in mental health. Currently a bioscience teacher in university, he loves sharing his passions with his students and, well, anyone who will listen. Last year Andrew won the audience price in the regional and all Ireland FameLab finals, Ireland's biggest science communication competition. He's also the host of the fantastic living room logic podcast which I highly recommend.

Comedian guest:
Since moving to London in 2016, Kevin has been making waves with his high energy performances and whimsical material. In 2019 he was featured on Union Jack Radio's "One Night Stand" and has been a finalist in the Bath Comedy Festival New Act of the Year 2017 and the prestigious NATYs (New Act of the Year) 2018. Kevin is an alumni of the Soho Youth Company and regularly gigs across the UK and Ireland. He regularly plays at venues such as the Comedy Store, Angel Comedy, The Poodle Club and The Stand. Kevin will soon be performing his solo show at the Camden Fringe Festival, keep an eye out on his Facebook and website for more details. 

The average modern person has around 2% Neanderthal DNA. For thousands of years, modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans shared the earth. In this episode, we speak to Professor Thomas Higham who's groundbreaking work has been at the forefront of our growing understanding of the  the period where we shared the world with our ancient ancestors. Thomas has recently published the fascinating book 'The World Before Us', a must read for anyone who is curious about human origins. 

Expert Guest
Professor Higham's research interests focus on archaeological dating, including the radiocarbon dating of bone, as well as the chronology of Palaeolithic Europe. He is involved in a variety of projects investigating the human occupation of Britain and Europe over the last million years and the potential co-existence of Neanderthals with early modern humans. Thomas's work has been fundamental in our growing understanding of our cousins the Denisovans. To learn more I highly recommend his book 'The World Before Us.'

Comedian Guest
David Lewis is a London based comedian and journalist with Skint London. David is one of the quickest wits on the circuit. He runs and comperes Big Nose Comedy which will be back four nights a week starting Thursday 20 May. 

What's the deal with manners? The weird, often arbitrary rules that we abide and judge people  by? In this episode we dive into where they come from, their purpose and some of the weirdest social conventions lost in time. 

Expert guest:
Stephen Mennell is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at University College Dublin (which is the largest university in the confederal National University of Ireland). Stephen does research in Sociological Theory and Historical Sociology. His major books include All Manners of Food (1985) and The American Civilizing Process (2007). Professor Mennel is one of most influential contemporary thinkers and authors in the space of manners and conventions, his work reflecting on the works of Norbert Elias has helped further the field and reach a new audience for both Elias and himself.

Guest comedian: 
Having started performing comedy in the summer of 2016, Jamie has quickly established himself as a rising star on the comedy circuit. He has reached the finals of the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny? and The Musical Comedy Awards, as well as being shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award. Jamie was also the runner up at Hastings Fringe New Comedian Of The Year.
Jamie’s stand up has been described as a mix of short stories and one liners, delivered with an instant likability and an understated confidence. Covering a range of topics including veganism, his mixed race heritage and coming to terms with entering adulthood.
Coming from a musical background, he is adept at both straight stand up and musical comedy.
Jamie has appeared on the BBC Asian Network ‘Stand Up Show’ which TX'd live on radio and featured on the iPlayer and ‘Comedy Central at the Edinburgh Fringe’. He currently performs at many clubs all across the UK, including The Comedy Store and Up The Creek.

May the 4th is days away. We thought we'd invite the awesome Dr Jeni Millard from the Awesome Astronomy podcast back on the show to chat to comedian, mate and Star Wars aficionado, Steele Saunders about helicopters on mars, terraforming other planets and aliens.

Expert guest:
Dr Jenifer Millard is now officially a Dr. Since our last chat she's officially received her PhD, is making appearances of BBC Radio all over the place as well as doing awesome work on the  Awesome Astronomy podcast. As always, she's funny, charming and takes big ideas and makes them easy to understand and fun to hear about. Get her on TV already.

Comedian guest:
Steele Saunders is a comedian, podcaster, writer, presenter and Star Wars superfan. Before moving to L.A, Steele was a regular on T.V and radio in Melbourne. He is now one of the most popular Star Wars commentators finding fans, cast, crew and fellow comedians to help share the love of the force. You can check out all of his great work (and killer merch) over on his website.