Polymath World Channel

PALEOBIOLOGY AND ANCIENT LIFE

Dr Simon Conway-Morris is professor of Paleobiology at Cambridge University. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society for 30 years and is a fellow of St Johns College, Cambridge. He is one of the greatest living evolutionary biologists and one of the minds behind convergent evolution which is a grand unifying theory across biology. He gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1996. He is an expert on the Burgess Shale fossils and has travelled the world exploring the fossil record, especially regarding the Cambrian era. His books include Life's Solution, The Runes of Evolution, The Crucible of Creation, and more recently From Extraterrestrials to Animal Minds.

The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraordinary researchers and academics working on the frontiers of their disciplines. Meet and hear from scientists, professors, lecturers, researchers, engineers, philosophers and astronauts.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe. New episodes every Wednesday.

#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary #Evolution #Paleobiology #CambrianExplosion #BurgessShale #ConvergentEvolution #SimonConwayMorris #AncientLife #ExtraterrestrialLife #Consciousness #InterdisciplinaryScience #polymathworld #EvolutionaryBiology #ConvergentEvolution #Fossils #FossilRecord

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Polymath World # Episode 10 - Phil Halper

COSMOLOGY

Phil Halper is a popular science communicator whose new book "Battle of the Big Bang", coauthored with Niayesh Afshordi, has just been released through University of Chicago Press. Here we discuss the premise of the book: which model will win out of the competing models for the beginning of the universe? And will the Big Bang survive new advances in astrophysics? We talk about the James Webb telescope, the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter, as well as the recent history of cosmology. Phil is also a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the creator of the popular YouTube series Before the Big Bang, which has had several million views. He was previously journalist in residence at the Penn State Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos. A popular astrophotographer, his astronomy images have been featured in major media outlets around the world, and he has published in peer-reviewed journals.

Find out more below:

Phil’s new book "Battle of the Big Bang":  https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/B/bo244963115.html

Phil's channel: Before the Big Bang series:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ4zAUPI-qqqj2D8eSk7yoa4hnojoCR4m

The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraordinary researchers and academics working on the frontiers of their disciplines. Meet and hear from scientists, professors, lecturers, researchers, engineers, philosophers and astronauts.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe. New episodes every Wednesday.

#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary #BigBang #cosmology #universeorigins #blackholes #multiverse #stringtheory #quantumgravity #cyclicuniverse #astrophysics #sciencecommunication #polymathworld 

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INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE AND RELIGION CONFERENCE (ISSR) 2025

Synthetic Biology (SynBio) has the power to transform our engagement with the natural world. With tools like CRISPR-Cas9, "impossible" is an ever diminishing word. As biology accelerates at a rate not seen since the 1950s, what are the biggest questions facing humankind as we try to avert climate disaster and beat disease whilst opening the frontiers of personalized, precision medicine? As a tech optimist, I had the chance to make the positive case at this year's ISSR gathering of scientists engaged with philosophy and theology, whilst also addressing the pessimistic challenges.

This lecture was given in Swindon on July 2nd 2025 at the ISSR Conference.

https://www.issr.org.uk

The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraordinary researchers and academics working on the frontiers of their disciplines. Meet and hear from scientists, professors, lecturers, researchers, engineers, philosophers and astronauts.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe. New episodes every Wednesday.

#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary #syntheticbiology #geneticengineering #climatechange #CRISPR #bioethics #environmentalscience #biotechnology #humanevolution #agriculture #sciencecommunication

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SPACE ENGINEERING

Laura González Llamazares is the Cofounder and CCO at Radian Systems. She is a rising star in the space sector who has already been involved in launching over 30 satellites, as well as disrupting the sector through the 3D printing of just about everything including rocket engines.
A polymath of business and engineering, she has worked all over the world, including in Houston with NASA's Johnson Space Centre.
We discuss the growth and evolution of the space sector, the future of the private space industry, what 3D printing in space looks like, launching satellites, and her own remarkable career journey so far.
Find out more below:
RADIAN SYSTEMS:  https://radian.systems/
SATELLITE APPLICATIONS CATAPULT:  https://sa.catapult.org.uk/

The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraordinary researchers and academics working on the frontiers of their disciplines. Meet and hear from scientists, professors, lecturers, researchers, engineers, philosophers and astronauts.
 
Don’t forget to like and subscribe. New episodes every Wednesday.
 
#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary #spacesector #aerospaceengineering #CubeSats #commercialspaceflight #spacedebris #humanspaceflight #innovation #technology #LauraGonzalez #PolymathWorld

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PHILOSOPHY

Dr Stephen Law is professor of philosophy at Oxford University's Department of Continuing Education and is the author of many popular books including Believing Bullshit, The Philosophy Gym, The Philosophy Files, The War for Children's Minds, and the Oxford University Very Short Introduction to Humanism. He was formerly head of philosophy at Heythrop College at the University of London and is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and Commerce. He is editor of the philosophy journal Think.

Stephen has debated many of the world's foremost philosophers and theologians and is most famous for his work known as "the evil god challenge". He has written much on philosophy and religious studies that is used by schools and students nationwide.

I greatly appreciate Stephen and we have worked together much in the past year. His story of going from disinterested student, working in construction and as a postman before going to university as an adult, and eventually becoming a philosopher at Oxford University, is itself a very inspiring journey.

Here’s where you can find out more about Stephen:
Dr Stephen Law | Oxford University: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/profiles/stephen-law

www.conted.ox.ac.uk

https://www.instagram.com/stephenwlaw/

BOOKS BY STEPHEN : https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Stephen-Law/author/B001HCYYB6?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1751108478&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraordinary researchers and academics working on the frontiers of their disciplines. Meet and hear from scientists, professors, lecturers, researchers, engineers, philosophers and astronauts.
 
Don’t forget to like and subscribe. New episodes every Wednesday.
 
#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary #philosophy #education #StephenLaw #criticalthinking #evilgodargument #OxfordUniversity #continuingeducation #moralprogress #philosophyofreligion #lifelonglearning

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SPACE ARCHITECTURE 

Melodie Yashar is a space architect who has worked across the space sector. An engineer and architect, she is developing robotic technology to create the means of 3D printing human rated habitats and landing facilities on the Moon and Mars. Formerly at NASA Ames Research Centre, she is a rising star in the space industry and her work can help transform the future of safer human habitation on Earth and off-world.

https://www.melodieyashar.com/

Her famous TED talk: https://youtu.be/3CFyHtObLXk?si=C_YSOT4RDcfBaWak&utm_source=ZTQxO

The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraordinary researchers and academics working on the frontiers of their disciplines. Meet and hear from scientists, professors, lecturers, researchers, engineers, philosophers and astronauts.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe. New episodes every Wednesday.

#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary 

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This is a lecture I gave at the North England Postgraduate Philosophy Conference on June 19th 2025 at the University of Liverpool. The topic is taken from my PhD research, titled "The Surprising Emergence of Idealism in Interwar Physics"

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Science and Religion Forum 2025 University of Sheffield. Science, Philosophy and Sir James Jeans.

#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary #podcast
‪@ChristiansinScience‬ ‪@universityofsheffield‬ ‪@sheffielduniversitychristi1036‬ 
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NASA ASTRONAUT

Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger is a NASA astronaut and geologist who flew on STS-131 in 2010 which was the penultimate flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The flight to the ISS was historic for being the first time 4 women were flying on the ISS. In 2012 she commanded NEEMO 16, an undersea space analog where crews train for extreme environments. She is in the Space Camp hall of fame and now works to inspire students to pursue their dreams and build an incredible future for humanity.

The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraordinary researchers and academics working on the frontiers of their disciplines. Meet and hear from scientists, professors, lecturers, researchers, engineers, philosophers and astronauts.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe. New episodes every Wednesday.

#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary 

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The Future of Space

Robert Zubrin is one of the most important rocket scientists of his generation, who helped found the Mars Society globally, influenced a younger Elon Musk to found SpaceX, and stemmed much of the Mars activism by his proposals to the George Bush Snr administration. His books include The Case for Space, The Case for Mars, and Mars Direct.

Dr Zubrin speaks all over the world to technical and lay audiences on space, Mars, rocketry and cultivating the next generation of scientists and engineers. Together we discuss the recent NASA budget cuts, why human spaceflight is still so important, optimism and hope about Mars and inspiring the next generation.

Links:
https://www.marssociety.org
https://www.planetary.org/profiles/robert-zubrin
https://x.com/robert_zubrin?lang=en

The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraordinary researchers and academics working on the frontiers of their disciplines. Meet and hear from scientists, professors, lecturers, researchers, engineers, philosophers and astronauts.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe. New episodes every Wednesday.

#polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary #podcast 

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