The Neha Anwar Podcast

William C. Ratcliff is a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Georgia Institute of Technology and serves as the Director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Quantitative Biosciences (QBioS). He is widely recognized for his research on the evolution of multicellularity, social evolution, and bet hedging, combining experimental and theoretical approaches. His work often explores how single-celled organisms transition to multicellular life forms, with notable studies involving yeast models.Dr. Ratcliff earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2011, where he conducted research on microbial ecology and evolution. His groundbreaking work includes the experimental evolution of multicellularity, which has been featured in high-impact journals such as Nature Communications and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He has also contributed to understanding ecological and evolutionary dynamics in microbial communities.At Georgia Tech, Dr. Ratcliff leads an active research lab focused on evolutionary biology and biophysics, mentoring students and postdoctoral researchers. His contributions to science include both fundamental insights into multicellular evolution and applications in biotechnology.

Ricard Solé is an ICREA research professor at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, where he heads the Complex Systems Lab. He holds degrees in Physics and Biology from the University of Barcelona and a PhD in Physics from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Prof. Solé is also an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and a fellow of the European Center for Living Technology. His research focuses on the evolutionary origins of complex systems, synthetic biology, and unstable evolutionary dynamics. He has published over 250 scientific papers and is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences. Solé is known for his work on synthetic major transitions and terraforming endangered ecosystems.

Eric Schwitzgebel, an esteemed philosopher at the University of California, Riverside, is renowned for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of empirical psychology and philosophy of mind. With a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, under the mentorship of Elisabeth A. Lloyd, Alison Gopnik, and John Searle, Schwitzgebel has become a leading voice in contemporary philosophical discourse. His research focuses on the behavior of philosophers, particularly ethicists, using empirical methods to explore whether ethicists exhibit heightened ethical conduct. Through seminal studies, including a notable 2009 investigation into the prevalence of ethics books in academic libraries, Schwitzgebel challenges assumptions about the ethical behavior of philosophers. Contrary to prevailing beliefs, his research reveals that ethicists do not demonstrate significantly different ethical behavior compared to other disciplines. Moreover, he illuminates the susceptibility of moral beliefs among professional philosophers to extraneous influences, prompting a critical reevaluation of ethical thought and behavior. Eric Schwitzgebel's work continues to inspire interdisciplinary dialogue and reshape our understanding of moral philosophy, underscoring the complex interplay between cognition, social context, and ethical decision-making. As a distinguished academic and prolific author, he leaves an indelible mark on the philosophical landscape, urging us to explore the intricacies of human morality with renewed clarity and insight.

Katrin Preller received her PhD in Psychology and Neuroscience from University of Zurich, Switzerland in 2013. Her research interests are centered around the neuropharmacology of emotional and cognitive processes such as social cognition in health and psychiatric illnesses, as well as (pharmacological) neuroimaging analysis methodology. She is particularly interested in substance use disorders as well the role of the serotonin system in emotion and cognition. To elucidate the role of 5-HT2A/1A receptor functions in human cognition she uses pharmacological challenges mainly with psilocybin and LSD.

Russell Foster is Professor of Circadian Neuroscience and the Head of the Department of Ophthalmology. He is also a Nicholas Kurti Senior Fellow at Brasenose College. Prior to this, Russell was at Imperial College where Russell was Chair of Molecular Neuroscience within the Faculty of Medicine. Russell Foster’s research spans basic and applied circadian and photoreceptor biology. He received his education at the University of Bristol under the supervision of Professor Sir Brian Follett. from 1988–1995 he was a member of the National Science Foundation Center for Biological Rhythms at the University of Virginia and worked closely with Michael Menaker. In 1995 he returned to the UK and established his group at Imperial College. For his discovery of non-rod, non-cone ocular photoreceptors he has been awarded the Honma prize (Japan), Cogan award (USA), and Zoological Society Scientific & Edride-Green Medals (UK). He is the co-author of “Rhythms of Life” a popular science book on circadian rhythms.

Juliana Schroeder is an Associate Professor at Berkeley Haas, holding the Harold Furst Chair in Management Philosophy and Values. She explores how language shapes social perception and interaction. Her research, featured in top journals and media outlets, has earned recognition from the NSF, APS, and APA. Juliana co-founded the Psychology of Technology Institute and teaches Negotiations and Conflict Resolution. She holds degrees from the University of Virginia and the University of Chicago.

Stacey B. Armstrong, PhD is a senior researcher and psychologist at the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education (CPDRE) at The Ohio State University College of Social Work. She earned her Ph.D. at Bowling Green State University after completing a clinical internship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. Her clinical fellowship at the Traumatic Stress Center in Akron, OH, emphasized the utilization of evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans and civilians, including cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure (PE). She also completed a research fellowship at The Ohio State University evaluating the safety and efficacy of psilocybin, a novel investigational psychedelic drug, in treating treatment-resistant PTSD among US military veterans. In addition to her work with PTSD, Dr. Armstrong is also collaborating on a clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in treating depression among lung cancer patients. She is also investigating the patterns of use and acute subjective effects of psychoactive substances in clinical and non-clinical settings, measuring the attitudes and beliefs about psychedelic-assisted therapies among mental health professionals, and helping to develop a global registry for opioid use disorder patients who have sought psychedelic therapy in international locations to obtain real-world evidence on the safety and effectiveness of ibogaine as an addiction treatment. She has a particular interest in the subjective effects of psychedelics and their impact on treatment outcomes, as well as how psychedelic-assisted therapies might benefit populations currently excluded from clinical trials.

William Egginton is a distinguished literary critic and philosopher renowned for his insightful explorations of theatricality, fictionality, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, ethics, religious moderation, and theories of mediation. With a commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry, Egginton's work reflects a nuanced understanding of the complexities of human experience. His contributions extend to the realms of psychoanalysis and ethics, demonstrating a thoughtful engagement with the intricacies of these fields. A prolific writer, Egginton's impact reaches beyond academia, fostering dialogue and understanding in areas often marked by discord, such as religious moderation. His concise yet profound analyses showcase a keen intellect, making him a respected voice in contemporary literary criticism and philosophy.

Abraham "Avi" Loeb a theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology. Loeb is the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University. He had been the longest-serving chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy (2011–2020), founding director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative (since 2016) and director of the Institute for Theory and Computation (since 2007) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Loeb is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics. In July 2018, he was appointed as chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy (BPA) of the National Academies, which is the Academies' forum for issues connected with the fields of physics and astronomy, including oversight of their decadal surveys. In June 2020, Loeb was sworn in as a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) at the White House. In December 2012, Time magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space. In 2015, Loeb was appointed as the science theory director for the Breakthrough Initiatives of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. In 2018, he attracted media attention for suggesting that alien spacecraft may be in our solar system, using the anomalous behaviour of ʻOumuamua as an example. In 2019, together with his Harvard undergraduate student, Amir Siraj, Loeb reported discovering a meteor that potentially originated outside the Solar System.

Dr Iain McGilchrist a Psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, philosopher and literary scholar. Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Consultant Emeritus of the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospital, London, a former research Fellow in Neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, and a former Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Stellenbosch. He now lives on the Isle of Skye, off the coast of North West Scotland, where he continues to write, and lectures worldwide. He is committed to the idea that the mind and brain can be understood only by seeing them in the broadest possible context, that of the whole of our physical and spiritual existence, and of the wider human culture in which they arise – the culture which helps to mould, and in turn is moulded by, our minds and brains. He was a late entrant to medicine. After a scholarship to Winchester College, he was awarded a scholarship to New College, Oxford, where he read English. He won the Chancellor’s English Essay Prize and the Charles Oldham Shakespeare Prize in 1974 and graduated (with congratulated 1st Class Hons) in 1975 (MA 1979). He was awarded a Prize Fellowship of All Souls College, Oxford in 1975, teaching English literature and pursuing interests in philosophy and psychology, in particular the mind-body relationship, between 1975 and 1982. As a result he went on to train in medicine, and during this period All Souls re-elected him to a further Fellowship (1984-1991), and again in 2002 (to 2004). He was formerly a Consultant Psychiatrist of the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley NHS Trust in London, where he was Clinical Director of their southern sector Acute Mental Health Services. He trained at the Maudsley Hospital in London, working on specialist units including the Neuropsychiatry and Epilepsy Unit, the Children’s Unit and the Forensic Unit, as well as, at Senior Registrar level, the National Psychosis Referral Unit and the National Eating Disorder Unit. During this period he also worked as a Research Fellow in neuroimaging at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA. His clinical experience has been broad-based, and he has run a busy Community Mental Health Team in an ethnically diverse and socially deprived area of south London. He has published original research on neuroimaging in schizophrenia, the phenomenology of schizophrenia, and other topics, and contributed chapters to books on a wide range of subjects, as well as original articles in papers and journals.

Harvey A. Silverglate, an advocate for civil liberties since the 1960s, is an attorney, writer, and non-profit activist. Currently practicing law with the Boston firm Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP, Silverglate specializes in criminal defense, civil liberties, and academic freedom/student rights cases. In addition to his legal work, Silverglate has led a parallel writing career as newspaper columnist and book author. Silverglate’s career as legal practitioner, spanning some four decades, has ranged widely and has included drug prosecutions, draft and riot cases in the '60s and '70s, bank and securities fraud, bribery and extortion, espionage, tax evasion, police misconduct, murder and manslaughter, habeas corpus proceedings, money laundering, and desertion (tried at a court martial). In one of his first cases, he served as trial counsel for students charged with taking over University Hall at Harvard during an anti-war demonstration in 1969. He has since done substantial defense against charges of business crime without becoming labeled a “white collar” (much less a “white shoe”) lawyer. He has represented alleged illicit drug dealers without becoming a “drug lawyer.” He has represented several alleged “organized crime figures” without being deemed a “mob lawyer.” Silverglate’s breadth of experience has given him perspective on the methods and techniques employed by police and prosecutors, and especially on the federal level, over the course of decades.

Tom Walters is a distinguished Rehab Scientist specializing in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and movement disorders. With a solid foundation in kinesiology education, manual therapy, and personalized therapeutic exercise, he is a recognized authority in orthopedic rehabilitation. Based in Santa Barbara, California, Tom is a board-certified orthopedic physical therapist and strength and conditioning specialist. He also manages the influential social media account @rehabscience on Instagram, sharing valuable insights and promoting recovery. Formerly a dedicated kinesiology professor at Westmont College, Tom's extensive academic background includes a Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) degree and specialized certifications in orthopedic manual physical therapy (OMPT) and lower quarter functional biomechanics. As a board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), he has made impactful contributions to the field, fostering better movement and enhanced well-being for individuals seeking his expertise.

Hugo Mercier is a prominent cognitive scientist and researcher known for his groundbreaking work in the fields of psychology and philosophy. Mercier developed a passion for understanding the intricacies of human thought and reasoning from an early age. Most of his work so far has focused on the function and workings of reasoning. According to the argumentative theory of reasoning, the function of reasoning is argumentative: to find and evaluate arguments so as to convince others and only be convinced when it is appropriate. Accordingly, reasoning works well as an argumentative device, but quite poorly otherwise.

Andrew Gallimore is a computational neurobiologist, pharmacologist, chemist, and writer who has been interested in the neural basis of psychedelic drug action for many years and is the author of a number of articles and research papers on the powerful psychedelic drug, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and its effects on the brain and consciousness. In 2015, he collaborated with DMT pioneer Dr. Rick Strassman, author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule, to develop a pharmacokinetic model of DMT as the basis of a target-controlled intravenous infusion protocol for extended journeys in the bizarre worlds to which DMT gates access. His current interests focus on DMT and other psychedelic molecules as tool for gating access to otherwise inaccessible subjective worlds, their neuroscientific underpinning, and their possible ontological and metaphysical implications. He currently lives and works in Tokyo.

Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries. She sits on the board of several state and national addiction-focused organizations, has testified before various committees in the United States House of Representatives and Senate, keeps an active speaking calendar, and maintains a thriving clinical practice. In 2016, she published Drug Dealer, MD – How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016), which was highlighted in the New York Times as one of the top five books to read to understand the opioid epidemic (Zuger, 2018). Dr. Lembke recently appeared on the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, an unvarnished look at the impact of social media on our lives.

This episode is a fascinating debate between two distinguished guests who have dedicated their careers to unravelling the mysteries of the mind, Lee Cronin and Donald Hoffmann. The conversation will delve into the depths of human perception, consciousness, and reality itself. Lee Cronin is a renowned chemist and professor at the University of Glasgow. His groundbreaking work focuses on creating artificial life forms and developing complex chemical systems. He has been recognized for his innovative research in the field of chemical evolution and is a proponent of the hypothesis that life can be artificially created. Professor Cronin's interdisciplinary approach pushes the boundaries of scientific exploration, offering fresh perspectives on the origins and nature of life. Donald Hoffmann is a cognitive scientist and professor at the University of California, Irvine. He is known for his radical theory of perception and consciousness, challenging conventional wisdom in the field. Professor Hoffmann proposes that our perception of reality is not a direct reflection of the external world, but rather a constructed, evolutionary model that allows us to navigate and survive. His work draws upon evolutionary biology and neuroscience, shedding new light on the enigmatic relationship between the mind and the world.

Andrew Strominger is the Gwill E. York Professor of Physics at Harvard University and a founding member of the Black Hole Initiative. He is a renowned theoretical physicist who has made pathbreaking contributions to classical and quantum gravity, quantum field theory and string theory. These include his seminal work on Calabi-Yau compactification of string theory which provides a unified framework for quantum gravity and the theory of elementary particles, the statistical origin of the Bekenstein-Hawking black hole entropy and the conformal symmetry of astrophysical Kerr black holes. Recently Strominger has discovered an exact equivalence unifying three disparate phenomena which have been separately studied for the last half-century: quantum field theory soft theorems, asymptotic symmetries and the memory effect. In recognition of his accomplishments, Strominger has been awarded numerous prizes and honors, including the prestigious 2017 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the 2016 Dannie Heineman Prize from the American Physical Society, the 2014 Oskar Klein Medal from the Swedish Royal Academy, the 2014 Dirac Medal from the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, the 2014 Physics Frontiers Breakthrough Prize from the Milner Foundation and the 2008 Leonard Eisenbud Prize from the American Mathematical Society.

Founder of the award-winning Kamalaya Koh Samui, Karina Stewart is a renowned authority on holistic health and wellbeing. An acclaimed speaker, and innovator, Karina has more than 40 years of experience in the study and practice of diverse Asian healing and spiritual traditions.   As the creative force behind the legendary Kamalaya, Karina's vision was to create programs and experiences that draw on many of the influences and healing modalities of the East and West. Kamalaya is undoubtedly unique because of how all the various healing elements have been curated and brought together in a truly holistic way. Kamalaya opened in November 2005, and from the very beginning, Karina's wellness concept has been based on the idea of synergy. Karina develops holistic wellness programs that access the healing power within and support harmonious integration of heart, body, mind and spirit.    With her passion for food and healing, Karina has established the philosophy of food for healing, Food as Medicine for Kamalaya.  The result is a multi-award-winning cuisine recognized not only for its health impact but also for its exceptional flavours.   Karina has a Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine from Yo San University in California, followed by training across structural therapies including Hellerwork and Cranial-Sacral Manipulation, yoga and Taoist philosophy and practice. She has a B.A. from Princeton University in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on Asian religions. 

Dr. Adam Gazzaley is a renowned neuroscientist and innovator in the field of cognitive neuroscience. With a profound passion for understanding the intricate workings of the human brain, Dr. Gazzaley has dedicated his career to exploring the intersection of technology, neuroscience, and medicine. Born with an insatiable curiosity, Dr. Gazzaley pursued his education at some of the world's most prestigious institutions. He obtained his bachelor's degree in physiology and neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and went on to earn his medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Continuing his pursuit of knowledge, he completed his residency in neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Gazzaley's groundbreaking research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying attention, memory, and perception. Through cutting-edge technologies such as neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and virtual reality, he strives to unravel the mysteries of the brain and unlock its incredible potential for enhancing human cognition.

Academic neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander III, whose career includes decades as a physician and associate professor at Harvard Medical School and revered teaching hospitals, was once staunchly committed to the materialist world view -- the belief that the physical world is all that exists. His scientific belief system was altered by his 2008 transcendental near-death experience (NDE), an odyssey into another realm during a week-long coma. Despite a bleak medical prognosis, Dr. Alexander awoke to make an inexplicable return to full health. His medical case and recovery were validated in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. Since his NDE, Dr. Alexander has been reconciling his rich spiritual experience with quantum physics, cosmology and the philosophy of mind. Dr. Alexander speaks around the world to educate about the role that consciousness plays in wellness, healing and recovery. A pioneering scientist and modern thought leader, Dr. Alexander has been featured in more than 400 media interviews including for ABC-TV’s Good Morning America and 20/20, The Dr. Oz Show, Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, Larry King Now, Fox and Friends, Discovery Channel, Biography Channel and numerous international radio, digital and podcasts. His books are available in more than 40 countries: Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife, and Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Heart of Consciousness, co-authored with Sacred Acoustics co-founder Karen Newell. http://ebenalexander.com/

Brian Sanders is a health and nutrition expert and host of the popular "Peak Human" podcast. With a passion for whole foods, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable living, Brian has become a leading voice in the movement towards a more holistic approach to health and wellness. As the founder of SAPIEN, a company dedicated to promoting the benefits of a nose-to-tail diet and a healthy lifestyle, Brian has helped countless people transform their health and well-being through personalized coaching, consulting, and education. Drawing on his background in engineering and computer science, Brian brings a unique perspective to the field of nutrition, using data-driven analysis and critical thinking to challenge conventional wisdom and uncover new insights into the complex relationship between diet, lifestyle, and human health.

Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993, and served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years. His newest book is Excellent Advice for Living, a book of 450 modern proverbs for good living. He is co-chair of The Long Now Foundation, a membership organization that champions long-term thinking and acting as a good ancestor to future generations. And he is founder of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily for 20 years. From 1984-1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a subscriber-supported journal of unorthodox conceptual news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers’ Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. Other books by Kelly include 1) The Inevitable, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, 2) Out of Control, his 1994 classic book on decentralized emergent systems, 3) The Silver Cord, a graphic novel about robots and angels, 4) What Technology Wants, a robust theory of technology, and 5) Vanishing Asia, his 50-year project to photograph the disappearing cultures of Asia. He is best known for his radical optimism about the future.

J. Arvid Ågren is a Research Associate at the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic and an Affiliated Researcher at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. His works focuses on the evolution of within-organism conflicts, including selfish genetic elements and cancers. He also works on foundations of selfish gene theory and is the author of The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution (OUP 2021). He is the co-PI with Manus M. Patten of the Paradox of the Organism project funded by the John Templeton Foundation and an Associated Editor of Proceedings of the Royal Society B and BioScience. He studied evolutionary biology at the universities of Edinburgh and Toronto and was a postdoc at Cornell and Harvard. Website: https://arvidagren.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/arvidagren

Neil Shubin is a renowned American Palaeontologist, evolutionary biologist, and popular science writer. He is best known for his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of palaeontology and his contributions to our understanding of the evolutionary history of life on Earth. Shubin has dedicated his career to studying the fossil record and the processes that drive evolution, with a particular focus on the origin and evolution of vertebrates. He is also highly regarded for his ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to a general audience, through his popular science writing and public speaking. Shubin's work has been widely published in leading scientific journals, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of his generation. With a passion for both research and education, Shubin continues to shape our understanding of life on Earth and inspire new generations of scientists and science enthusiasts.

Neil Fraser Johnson is a highly respected English physicist with a wealth of experience in complexity theory and complex systems. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work in a variety of interdisciplinary fields, including quantum information, econophysics, and condensed matter physics. Throughout his career, Johnson has been at the forefront of exploring and explaining the intricate relationships that exist within complex systems, including the behaviour of quantum particles, economic systems, and various materials. He has authored numerous papers, articles and book chapters on these subjects, making a significant contribution to our understanding of the complex and interconnected systems that shape our world. With a passion for advancing the field of physics, Johnson continues to be a thought leader in the area of complexity theory and complex systems.

N.J. Enfield is a prominent linguist and Chair of Linguistics at the University of Sydney. He is known for his research in linguistic anthropology, exploring the relationship between language, culture, and social interaction. Enfield has conducted extensive fieldwork in various parts of the world and has published his work in numerous scholarly journals and edited volumes. He has received several awards and honors for his contributions to the field, including a fellowship from the Australian Academy of Humanities and a prestigious grant from the European Research Council. He is head of a Research Excellence Initiative on The Crisis of Post-Truth Discourse. His research on language, culture, cognition and social life is based on long term field work in mainland Southeast Asia, especially Laos. His recent books include Natural Causes of Language, The Utility of Meaning, Distributed Agency, and How We Talk.

Michael Levin is an American biologist and a leading figure in the field of regenerative medicine. He received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University in 1988. Levin went on to earn a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University in 1995. He is currently the director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and a professor in the Department of Biology. Levin's research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that control cell behaviour and tissue repair, with a particular interest in studying how electrical signalling can be used to guide regeneration. Levin has authored more than 300 scientific papers and has received numerous awards for his contributions to the field of biology. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Biotechnology. His work has been featured in Nature, Science, and Scientific American publications.

Jody Azzouni is a highly regarded American philosopher, currently at the philosophy department at Tufts University. Having an unusual background in poetry, and fiction, he is known for his unique perspective on a range of philosophical issues, as well as for exhibiting a distinct literary sensibility in his philosophical writing. Azzouni has published extensively in leading academic journals, and he has published many books as well: he has made important contributions to our understanding of language, logic, metaphysics, and epistemology. In addition to his philosophical work, Azzouni is also a talented poet and writer of fiction.

Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on Scientific American, the Institute of Art and Ideas, the Blog of the American Philosophical Association and Big Think, among others. Bernardo's most recent book is Science Ideated: The fall of matter and the contours of the next mainstream scientific worldview. For more information, freely downloadable papers, videos, etc., please visit www.bernardokastrup.com.

Indre Viskontas is a highly accomplished Lithuanian-Canadian neuroscientist and operatic soprano. With a background in both science and music, she is known for her unique perspective on the relationship between the brain and the arts. As a neuroscientist, Viskontas has dedicated her career to understanding the workings of the brain and how it processes information. In parallel, she has pursued her passion for music, honing her skills as an operatic soprano and performing on stages around the world. Her diverse background and interdisciplinary approach have made her a sought-after speaker and educator, and she is highly regarded for her ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to both specialist and general audiences. With a passion for both science and the arts, Indre Viskontas continues to make valuable contributions to our understanding of the human brain and inspire new generations of scientists and artists.

David Stasavage is the Dean for the Social Sciences, the Julius Silver Professor in NYU’s Department of Politics, and an Affiliated Professor in NYU’s School of Law. He is the author of The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today, published by Princeton University Press in June 2020. This book provides a new understanding of early democracy in multiple world regions; it explains the survival in Europe and disappearance in China and the Middle East; and it then traces the long evolution of modern democracy while highlighting its internal tensions. Exploring the deep history of democracy, both early and modern, can teach us much about our current anxieties. David is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he has also authored several previous books including Taxing the Rich: A History of Fiscal Fairness in the United States and Europe (Princeton, 2016), a book that charts the evolution of progressive taxation in twenty countries over the last two centuries.  David also has a number of recent papers on these and related topics.

Justin Clarke-Doane is a philosopher at Columbia University.  He is also a Periodic Visitor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK, and an Adjunct Research Associate at Monash University, Australia.  His work centres on metaphysical and epistemological problems surrounding apparently a priori, or 'armchair', inquiry, like mathematical, logical, moral and modal inquiry.  He is the author of Morality and Mathematics (Oxford University Press, 2020), Mathematics and Metaphilosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2022), and various articles.  The Philosopher's Annual selected his articles as among the "ten best in philosophy" in 2013 and 2015.  In addition to his primary areas of research, he has written on the mind-body problem, the philosophy of physics, and (with Kathryn Tabb) free will and psychopathology.

Derek Leben is an Associate Teaching Professor of Ethics at the Tepper School of Business. His research focuses on principles of fairness and weighing harms from the perspective of a contractarian ethical theory, and how organizations can implement these principles into standards for AI and autonomous systems. He received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 2012, and taught ethics at the University of Pittsburgh for ten years before joining Tepper. In his book, "Ethics for Robots: how to design a moral algorithm" (Routledge, 2018), Dr. Leben defends a Rawlsian "maximin" principle for autonomous systems which impact human well-being in the fields of transportation, healthcare, and defense. As founder of the consulting group Ethical Algorithms, Dr. Leben has worked with governments and companies to develop policies on fairness and benefit for AI and autonomous systems.

Roderick Graham is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the City University of New York Graduate Center. Dr. Graham's academic work focuses on cybercrime and online deviant behaviour. He also enjoys communicating sociological insight to the public as "The Neighborhood Sociologist," with a particular interest in discussing race, class, and crime issues. You can learn more about Rod at www.roderickgraham.com 

Lee Cronin is a Regius Chair of Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. He is a prominent researcher in the field of chemistry, known for his work on the origins of life and the development of complex chemical systems. With over 20 years of experience in his field, Cronin has made significant contributions to the scientific community and is widely recognized for his expertise and achievements. He holds numerous awards and honors, and continues to play a leading role in advancing the understanding of life's origins and chemical evolution.

Michael Dine is a Distinguished Professor of Physics at the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California at Santa Cruz, and one of the world’s leading physicists. He has been a Sloan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and in 2010 was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dine is a recipient, with Ann Nelson, of the 2018 Sakurai Prize honouring outstanding achievement in particle physics theory. In April 2019, he was elected to membership of the National Academy of Sciences. He has served the physics profession in numerous roles, including as Chair of the Committee on the Future of Theoretical Particle Physics of the American Physical Society.

Leidy Klotz is an American scientist and author who studies and writes about design and problem-solving. He is a professor of engineering and architecture at the University of Virginia. Klotz has published in scientific journals including Nature and Science and in other publications such as The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and The Globe and Mail. He is also the author of two popular books: Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less (2021), which discusses design and problem-solving, and Sustainability through Soccer (2016), a work about systems thinking.

Sean B. Carroll is an American evolutionary developmental biologist, author, educator and executive producer. He is a distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland and professor emeritus of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He leads the Department of Science Education of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the largest private supporter of science education activities in the US, and is the Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios.  Carroll's laboratory research has centered on the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. In recognition of his scientific contributions, Carroll has received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences, been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and elected an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. He has earned two Emmys for documentary films and his most recent film All That Breathes is the first to win both Sundance and Cannes film festivals.

Edward Watts received his PhD in History from Yale University in 2002. His research interests center on the intellectual and religious history of the Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire. His first book, City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria (University of California Press, 2006), explains how the increasingly Christian upper class of the late antique world used a combination of economic and political pressures to neutralize pagan elements of the traditional educational system. His second book, Riot in Alexandria: Historical Debate in Pagan and Christian Communities, uses Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Syriac sources to reconstruct an Alexandrian riot that erupted in 486 AD. His third book, The Final Pagan Generation, offers a generational history of the men born in the 310s that traces the experience of living through the fourth century’s dramatic religious and political changes. His fourth book, Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher (Oxford University Press, 2017) recounts the life of an important female philosopher whose work redefined philosophy and whose death resonated as a symbol of dramatic religious and social change in the early fifth century. He is also the author of Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny. In addition to these five books, he has co-edited five other volumes. He has also authored more than 40 articles on topics ranging from the Old Academy in the fourth century BC to the relationship between orality and textuality in the early Byzantine period. He is currently preparing a monograph tracing the Romanization and de-Romanization of the Mediterranean world between 96 and 850 AD (The Rise and Fall of the Roman Nation,  and is co-authoring a volume introducing the historical and classroom uses of Roman imperial coins. Watts taught for ten years at Indiana University. Professor Watts teaches courses on Byzantine History, Roman History, Late Antique Christianity and paganism, Roman numismatics, and the history of the Medieval Mediterranean.

Kate Adamala is a synthetic biologist and a professor of genetics at the University of Minnesota. Her work includes contributions to the field of astrobiology, synthetic cell engineering and biocomputing. Kate's research on prebiotic RNA replication provided an experimental scenario for the RNA world hypothesis of the origin of life. She has worked on constructing liposome bioreactor synthetic cells. She is a founder and steering group member of the Build-a-Cell Initiative, an international collaboration for the creation of synthetic live cells. She is a co-founder of the synthetic cell company Synlife. Adamala and Szostak demonstrated non-enzymatic RNA replication in primitive protocells are only possible in presence of a weak cation chelator like citric acid, providing further evidence for the central role of citric acid in primordial metabolism.

Frank Lantz is a game designer with a focus on exploring emerging technology to create new kinds of gameplay. His most recent games include Universal Paperclips, Hey Robot, and Babble Royale. He is the Founding Chair of the NYU Game Center, the co-founder of Area/Code Games (acquired by Zynga in 2011), and the co-founder of Everybody House Games. He has taught game design for over 20 years at New York University, Parsons School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts and has created numerous influential talks and writings on the subject of games. Frank started Area/Code in 2005 with Kevin Slavin. Area/Code produced experimental cross-media, location-based, and social network games as well as the popular abstract puzzle game Drop7. Before starting Area/Code, Frank worked on a wide variety of games as the Director of Game Design at Gamelab, Lead Game Designer at This is Pop and Creative Director at R/GA Interactive. Frank helped pioneer the genre of large-scale real-world games, working on projects such as the Big Urban Game, which turned the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul into the world’s largest boardgame; Sharkrunners, which allowed players to interact with living sharks in a persistent virtual world, PacManhattan, a life-size version of the arcade classic created by the students in his Big Games class at NYU, and many other experiments in pervasive and urban gaming.

Simon DeDeo is an associate professor in Social and Decision Sciences and the William S. Dietrich II Career Development Chair in Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He was previously affiliated with Complex Systems and the Cognitive Science Program at Indiana University. Prior to that, Simon was an Omidyar Fellow at SFI. Simon has also held post-doctoral fellowships at the Institute for Physics and Mathematics of the Universe at the University of Tokyo and at the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago. At his Laboratory for Social Minds he and his team undertake empirical investigations, and build mathematical theories, of both historical and contemporary phenomena. The data analyzed range from the centuries-long timescales of cultural evolution to the second-by-second emergence of social hierarchy in the non-human animals, from the editors of Wikipedia to the French Revolution to the gas stations of Indiana. They create synthetic, deep-time accounts of major transitions in political order, with the goal of predicting and understanding our species’ future. Website: https://sites.santafe.edu/~simon/

Donald Hoffman is a Cognitive Neuroscientist who received his PhD from MIT, and joined the faculty of the University of California, Irvine in 1983, where he is a Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Sciences. He is an author of over 100 scientific papers and three books, including Visual Intelligence, and his new book, The Case Against Reality. He received a Distinguished Scientific Award of the American Psychological Association for early career research, the Rustum Roy Award of the Chopra Foundation, and the Troland Research Award of the US National Academy of Sciences. His writing has appeared in Edge, New Scientist, LA Review of Books, and Scientific American and his work has been featured in Wired, Quanta, The Atlantic, and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. He has a TED Talk titled “Do we see reality as it is?” and a podcast with Lex Fridman titled “Reality is an illusion.” Twitter: https://twitter.com/donalddhoffman 

 Leroy "Lee" Cronin, the Regius Chair of Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. He was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and appointed to the Regius Chair of Chemistry in 2013. He was previously the Gardiner Chair, appointed April 2009. A professor of chemistry, nanoscience and chemical complexity, Lee Cronin and his research group investigate how chemistry can revolutionize modern technology and even create life. Lee Cronin's lab at the University of Glasgow does cutting-edge research into how complex chemical systems, created from non-biological building blocks, can have real-world applications with wide impact.

Dr Craig Heller is a professor of Biology at Stanford University. He holds a PhD in biology from Yale University. Craig is a physiologist and biologist at Stanford and is a world expert on the science of temperature regulation. Dr Heller has a wide breadth of knowledge of biology. He conducts extensive research in exercise physiology, including examining fatigue in athletes and has developed an instrument that allows increased exercise without fatigue. Dr Heller’s research focus for over 40 years has been in the areas of physiology and neurobiology of temperature regulation, hibernation, sleep, circadian rhythms, and most recently learning and memory. Currently, he is studying neural mechanisms controlling arousal states and arousal state transitions, the function of sleep, and the neural mechanisms of circadian rhythms. Research on human exercise physiology focuses on the effects of body temperature on physical conditioning and performance. The focus on Down syndrome is exploring the mechanism whereby the reduction of GABA activity restores learning and memory in DS mice and also in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mustafa Abbas is an award-winning Emirati writer and director. His film Sunset State played in seven countries including the Dubai International Film Festival, where it premiered at. With his distinct style of filmmaking, Abbas has played a big part in developing the local film scene going back more than a decade. He is known as one of the pioneers in the Emirati film industry and has contributed in not only writing, producing and directing films but also has been on the jury for festivals as well as competitions including the first-ever Nikon Film festival,  and the Community Development Authority which is part of Dubai Government. One of his many highlights was being the guest of honour at a ceremony held by Dubai Customs where he was awarded for his work as an Emirati filmmaker. In 2020, his film The Long Game won over 15 awards in international film festivals and competitions. Most recently, he was once again a judge in the Ajman Film Biennale where films from all over the world were submitted. Website: https://www.mustafaabbas.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mustafa_abbas/ 

Joscha Bach is a German Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence researcher. Joscha has an MA in computer science from Humboldt-Universität Berlin and a PhD in cognitive science from Osnabrück University. Bach has taught computer science, AI, and cognitive science at the Humboldt University of Berlin and the Institute for Cognitive Science at Osnabrück. He worked as a visiting researcher at the MIT Media Lab and the Harvard Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. Joscha then joined AI Foundation, working as VP of Research. He is currently a Principal AI Engineer at Intel Labs Cognitive Computing group. Bach built MicroPsi, a cognitive architecture extending representations of the Psi-theory with taxonomies, inheritance and linguistic labelling; MicroPsi's spreading activation networks allow for neural learning, planning and associative retrieval. He has also worked extensively on novel data compression algorithms using concurrent entropy models.

Dr Ed Caddye is a Medical Doctor & Movement Specialist. Having studied Biochemistry and Medicine for over 12 years in the conventional sense Ed realised that the underlying principles could not be learnt and applied in isolation outside the laws of nature. In his own practices, he advises on well-being and quality of life using the newest science from the fields of chronobiology, evolutionary medicine and exposomics with the help of clinical metabolomics and movement coaching.  He is on a mission to bring Health Optimization Medicine to the UK and further, introduce people to the concept of evolutionary medicine and cutting-edge clinical practices in health optimisation and maintenance. This framework can build a sustainable and pragmatic approach that aims to bridge all philosophies to move the needle on individual health and reduce suffering. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dredcaddye/ Website: https://dredcaddye.com/ 

Dr Mark Goulston a retired psychiatrist and former UCLA professor of psychiatry and FBI had a subspecialty focus on suicide prevention and during his 40+ year practice, none of his patients died from suicide. He is the developer of Surgical Empathy an approach that reaches people at the core of their pain and helps break their attachments to destructive mindsets and behaviours. He is the author of nine books translated into 42 languages with his book, “Just Listen,” becoming the top book on listening in the world and was recently named the #4 Best Communication Skills Book of All Time by Most Recommended Books. He recently was honoured with the “Shine the Light Media Award” by the Los Angeles County Medical Association for bringing attention to teen mental health and suicide. He is an Executive Producer of the documentary, What I Wish My Parents Knew, and co-creator and moderator of the documentary, Stay Alive: An Intimate Conversation about Suicide Prevention. He is also a former FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer and host of the My Wakeup Call podcast.  Website: https://markgoulston.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markgoulston/ Podcast: https://markgoulston.com/podcast/ 

Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he chaired the Department of Religion for eight years and helped create the GEM Program, a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. He is presently serving as Associate Dean of the Faculty and Graduate Studies in the School of Humanities. He is also the Associate Director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. Jeff is the editor-in-chief of the Macmillan Handbook Series on Religion (ten volumes) and the author of eight monographs, including, most recently, The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities (Chicago, 2022). He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the history of science and American metaphysical literature for the University of Chicago Press collectively entitled The Super Story.