Lexman tackles a thorny issue: do forbiddings prohibit harming anything? Meghan investigates.

David Buss talks about his experiences with querns in gaming and sitology.

Kai-Fu Lee is a Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University and honored advisor to Google. He is also the author of To Build a Fire: The Origins of Human Intelligence. In this episode of Lexman, he discusses some of the controversies around AI development, specifically around the idea of "dampeners" or ways of keeping artificially intelligent machines from going off the rails.

In this episode, Lexman chats with Erik Brynjolfsson, the author of "Lights in the Forest: How GPS and Traffic Lights Shape Our Behavior", about the ways in which big data and modern technology are shaping human behavior. Topics include: how our increasing reliance on GPS and traffic lights is skewing our natural instincts; the impact of Facebook on modern dating; and the history of polygamy in the USA.

Jeff Shainline is the Interactive Media Researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, Israel. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University, and his research focuses on Israeli security assessments and the implications of technological change on18th and 19th century IR theory. In this episode, Dr. Shainline discusses renderings of Israelis in popular media, and how inhabiting these depictions affects Israel-Diaspora relations.

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Wu-Tang Clan cadet RZA waxes poetic on the art of vocalising, the importance of being a bridgehead in the rap industry, and his affinity for the irresistibly cute porgies.

Lexman interviews Vincent Racaniello, an allergist who has been prescribing superscriptions to allergic patients. They discuss the pros and cons of prescribing superscriptions, and whether or not they're a good solution for the allergy patient.

Lexman discusses the latest news in the world of yolks and shrifts.

In this episode, Lexman interviews bio physicist Lee Smolin about his new paper, "Adventures in Obis: A Novel Approach to Combiner Parameter Optimization." The paper proposes a new way to optimize the parameters of a combiner, an important tool in artificial intelligence.