Conversations With Joe

Sabine Hossenfelder is a theoretical physicist and science communicator on YouTube who has written numerous papers on everything from quantum gravity to particle physics, cosmology, astrophysics, statistical mechanics, and quantum foundations. Her newest book, Existential Physics: A Scientists Guide To Life's Biggest Questions is available to purchase at https://www.amazon.com/Existential-Physics-Scientists-Biggest-Questions/dp/1984879456.Her YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1yNl2E66ZzKApQdRuTQ4twSupport the podcast and get four months free on a VPN if you go to www.nordvpn.com/cwjSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the first launch of the SpaceX Starship just days away, I thought it would be good to catch up with my old friend Tim Dodd, The Everyday Astronaut to catch up on what he's been doing, his plans for the first launch of Starship, and of course we talk about the upcoming Dear Moon mission he's been selected for.Check out Tim's channel at https://www.youtube.com/@EverydayAstronautVisit his website at https://everydayastronaut.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you're familiar with the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes, there's a chance you've been "orangepilled." This is what fans of the channel have called the radical shift in worldview that they experienced once they found the channel. The host, Jason Slaughter, is on a mission to educate the world not just about the benefits of walkable cities, but about the absurdities that come along with the western suburban sprawl that millions of people have accepted as normal. He does a fantastic job of pointing out how completely abnormal and backwards it all is.Today we talk about his experience of moving to Amsterdam and discovering the joy of living in cities that prioritize people over cars, and discuss ways that we can transform our current cities into something more healthy and sustainable.You can find Jason over at his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustBikesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Scott Carney is an investigative journalist whose recent book, The Vortex, tells the almost unbelievable story of the deadliest storm in human history, which was followed by an even deadlier genocide and war that almost led to nuclear annihilation. Here we talk about this almost unknown disaster (to many in the West anyway), what we can learn about it, and his many other unique experiences as a journalist around the world for the past 20 years.You can find Scott and links to all of his books at https://www.scottcarney.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Derek Abbott is a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Adelaide in Australia who, along with genetic researcher Colleen Fitzpatrick, finally solved the mystery of the Somerton Man, an unidentified man found dead on a beach in Australia in 1948. He joins me to talk about his decades-long quest to find this man's identity, how the discovery was finally made, and the stunning advancement in DNA technology that has happened only in the last few years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I get a chance to sit down with Chris Anthony, Co-CEO of Aptera Motors, whose design philosophy is 100% centered around creating the world's most efficient car. Their most recent model reveal, Gamma, was well received at Fully Charged Live in September and has attracted industry players like Sandy Munro to their board. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Matt Ferrell is the host of the YouTube channel Undecided With Matt Ferrell, where he talks about cutting edge technology, especially sustainable energy and battery advancements. You can find his channel at https://www.youtube.com/@UndecidedMFSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Damian Skinner is the founder of Camp Wonderment, a unique approach towards children's mental health. By walking kids through a fantasy narrative, they learn how to identify and minimize the impact of traumatic events in their lives. Here we talk about the power of narrative, the importance of the feeling of wonder, and the inspirations that led him to this idea.Find out more about Camp Wonderment on their website:https://www.wondermentcorp.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Felix Schlang is the host of the YouTube channel What About It, where he covers space news, especially the testing and construction of the SpaceX Starship. Over the last few years, he has built his following to a quarter of a million fans and recently moved from his home in Germany to Florida to be closer to the space action.You can follow his channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/Whataboutit See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hank Green is one of the first and most popular science communicators on YouTube, having started out with his brother, author John Green, on their channel Vlogbrothers, and growing an empire of science channels through his company, Complexly. Along the way, the two of them founded VidCon, now the largest online video conference in the world, and he's written two books, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. He joined me to talk about all things science and YouTube, a little bit of politics and some surprising reasons to be optimistic about the world right now.Find more about Hank and his endeavors at his website: https://hankgreen.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Robert Llewellyn is the host of the YouTube channel Fully Charged thought he might be better known by some as the actor who plays Kryten in the British sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf. He joined me today for a causal chat about all things electric vehicles and sustainability along with a bunch of other random stuff. Enjoy!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

YouTube version - https://youtu.be/dKJo1GcE9OkChristian Ready is an astronomer and professor at Towson University in Maryland, he worked previously at the Space Telescope Science Institute and NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center, and he shares his expertise and excitement for all things space on his YouTube channel, Launch Pad Astronomy. Today, he joins me to take a deeper look at the first images to come out of the James Webb Space Telescope, talk about what a big deal this is, and basically nerd out about the cosmos for a while.Go check out his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/ChristianReadySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Moriba Jah is a world-renowned astrodynamicist who specializes in tracking the thousands of pieces of space debris currently orbiting our planet and possibly threatening to disrupt our satellite networks if nothing is done to fix it. He is a professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas in Austin and recently co-founded Privateer Space with Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple. Their goal is to create a platform that will allow for the tracking, avoidance, and removal of space debris.Find out more at their site, http://www.privateer.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pat Flynn is an author and host of the long-running personal business podcast Smart Passive Income, where he teaches people how to be successful in business without killing yourself in the process. And he's one of the people I listened to for years before I was able to break away from office life to do YouTube full time. So I was thrilled to get to meet him and talk about his ideas and share a little about his passions (we go down a rabbit hole on bass fishing).If you want to learn more and listen to his podcast (highly recommended) you can find it at http://www.smartpassiveincome/comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Laura Krantz is the host of the Wild Thing Podcast which is just about to launch season 3, this one focusing on nuclear energy. The pros, the cons, and everything in between. So we talk about about what she learned along the way, the mixed bag that is nuclear energy in general, and learn a little bit about the background that gave her the tools to be a podcaster today.You can hear all three seasons of Wild Thing (yours truly makes an appearance in a bonus episode of season 2) at https://www.foxtopus.ink/wildthingSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's guest is one of the people who inspired me to get into science communication, Trace Dominguez. Trace has been doing science on YouTube for over a decade, you might have seen him on Seeker or D News back in the day, he's worked with The Discovery Channel and of course there's his own channel, Uno Dos of Trace. Trace joined me for a very laid back conversation about anything and everything. This is literally just a couple of guys hanging out. Hopefully that's entertaining for you. :)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amy Shira Teitel is a historian and journalist who made a name for herself as a blogger and YouTube creator focusing on mid 20th-century history, specifically the space race with her YouTube channel, Vintage Space. But her interests go well beyond rockets and moon landings (she can read ancient Greek, which is insane). Today we talk about the frustrations of being an online creator, the dangers of being pigeonholed, and the amazing past and future of space travel. Her newest book, Fighting For Space is available in bookstores and online.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Brian Cox is a science presenter for the BBC in Britain and one of the most in-demand science communicators in the world. Today, he sat down with me to talk about a wide range of topics, from extraterrestrial life, to how he got interested in science growing up, to the absurd scale of the universe and our small but very important place in it. He also talks about his upcoming 50-city tour this summer in North American, Ireland, and the UK called Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey, where they employ groundbreaking visual effects to tell the story of the history of the universe and life on Earth. You can check dates and buy tickets at http://www.briancoxlive.co.ukSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. James Mault is a surgeon and inventor who has founded multiple medical device companies and serves on the board of several corporate boards as the chief medical officer. His latest venture is BioIntelliSense, a company making tiny wearable health monitoring devices that, combined with AI, allow doctors to monitor patients' progress at home in real-time. This both cuts down on time spent in the hospital but also increases the amount of data doctors have to diagnose and treat patients. He joins me today to talk about how this technology and others are ushering in an age of actual health care and not the sick care we have now. Find more about BioIntelliSense at their website: http://www.biointellisense.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marc Scott Zicree is a science fiction writer who has worked on some of the most classic science fiction series going back decades, including Star Trek, The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Sliders, the list goes on and on. He's also one of the definitive experts on the Twilight Zone and worked recently with Gulliermo Del Toro. He also runs a YouTube channel called Mr. Sci Fi where you can watch his new fan-funded series, Space Command. He joined me to talk about his career in TV, the culture and community of science fiction fans, and how science fiction predicted the present and the future of humanity.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pecos Hank is a musician and YouTuber who makes a living chasing and photographing severe storms, especially tornadoes. Over the years he has captured some amazing tornado footage and he's had a front row seat to some devastating natural disasters. I've been fascinated by what he does since I first found his YouTube channel and was thrilled to have him come on the podcast and talk about some of his experiences. Here he tells some amazing stories and gets into the science of why tornadoes form. And we just talk about the importance of science in general.You can find Hank on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/PecosHankSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Becky Smethurst (Rebecca to her mother) is an Oxford astrophysicist who educates viewers on her excellent YouTube channel, appropriately titled Dr. Becky. She joined me to talk about the James Webb Space Telescope, how the launch was so perfect that we could get generations of discoveries out of it, and what it means to science as we know it.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I talk with KB, the creator behind the YouTube channel Knowing Better, about his experience as a YouTuber that covers social/political content, the shifts he's made in his thinking over the years informed by his experience in the military and as an educator, and the reckoning the US is currently experiencing over the more unsavory elements of our collective past.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode I had the pleasure to meet with Neil Degrasse Tyson, who gives me the lowdown his life as a science communicator, the incredible explosion of technology that we're all living through, and the little inspirations that guided his career along the way. It's a fascinating look at what drives one of the most famous science communicators in the world.You can find Neil's book, A Brief Welcome to the Universe: A Pocket-Sized Tour here:https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691219943/a-brief-welcome-to-the-universeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re making some changes around here and thought I’d let you know what’s going on. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Janja Lalich is a world-renowned expert on cults. Not only has she studied the subject for more than 30 years, she was once in a cult herself. In today's conversation, she tells her story and discusses how the weird times we're living in are not just fertile ground for cults, but seems to be creating a whole new kind of cult - one with wide-ranging implications for society. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I catch up with friend of the channel, Andy Weir. We talk in depth about his latest novel, Project Hail Mary. MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING - If you haven't read the book and want to go in blind, you might want to skip this. But if you have, and you want some serious behind the scenes on the science behind the story, we get into it here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today I tackle questions from viewers on Patreon about Tesla's Full Self Driving and the future of autonomy, why dogs tilt their heads when you talk to them, our place in the universe, the gulf stream, and the craziest way to terraform Mars.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Supervolcanoes are bigger than you think, and there are more of them than you think. There are, in fact, eight supervolcanoes around the world that have changed the geography of continents and caused mass extinctions. What are these volcanoes? What causes them, and most importantly, could we survive one?Today we take a deep dive into one of the most destructive forces on the planet. And if you think that supervolcanoes have been over-hyped... trust me, they haven't.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do you "see" in your mind's eye? Is it as real as looking at a photo? Or do you not see any images at all? It turns out there are 3-5% of the population who don't have the ability to form images in their heads. It's a condition called "Imagination blindness" or Aphantasia, and it was only recently discovered.Along with Aphantasia is the opposite end of the spectrum, Hyperphantasia, where the mind's eye is so vivid, it's hard to distinguish between what's real and what's imagination.It opens up a lot of questions about how we see and perceive our world.Here are links to the tests to determine where you fall on the spectrum:SUIS:https://psyarxiv.com/j2h8k/downloadOSIQ:https://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/mkozhevnlab/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/object_spatial2006.pdfVVIQ:https://aphantasia.com/vviq/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The aluminum-air battery has made headlines on the promise of giving a car up to 1500 miles of range, which would be amazing. But there's one big catch - you can't recharge it.Today we talk about the pros and cons of the aluminum-air battery, how it works, what "mechanical charging" is, and whether there's a real case to be made for their widespread use.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Here we go again. I recently covered the Victorian Era but today I want to point out the incredibly weird health and beauty practices that Victorians were into back in the day.As I say in the video, Victorian medicine was a mix of terrible old ideas and terrible new ideas, from people drinking radioactive water to eating ground-up mummies our transition to the modern medical system we see today hit some interesting bumps in the road.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We all know you need oxygen to live. But why? What happens to oxygen in our bodies? Why does it keep us alive? And maybe most importantly, why does it slowly kill us? In today's video, I explore the process of respiration, how it's weirdly similar to fire, and why we rely on one of the most corrosive elements in the universe to survive. It gets weirdly existential.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Blue Origin has stated their long-term goal is to move all heavy, polluting industry to space. But what would that look like? How could we get there? And maybe the biggest question... why?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the Inspiration4 mission in the books, hot on the heels of Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic launching their first crewed missions, we've seen a bit of a backlash against this new space race. So today I just wanted to share my opinion on why space travel is important and the framing we've seen around these flights and these companies is misguided.All opinions are mine (as of this recording anyway). Disagreements welcome.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ancient history is as much myth as it is history. So it's sometimes hard to know who from our history was real or just a mythical character in stories. Here's a few that are worth taking a look at.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Victorian Era was an age of new discoveries and technologies that changed everything about the way we live. It basically created the modern world as we know it. But that time of transition also led to some very, very weird ideas and dangers that seem baffling today.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

War has been a part of the human experience since the beginning of civilization. But new technologies are changing the face of warfare in ways that we never really expected. From cyberwarfare to autonomous AI-piloted drones to space warfare, the future of war is weird. And terrifying.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

NEOM is Saudi Arabia's tentpole project in their Vision 2030 initiative to help move the Kingdom away from an oil-based economy and rely more on technology and tourism. It has some ambitious goals, like being 100% sustainable, moving all transport underground, and even glowing beaches. But the most noticeable thing about the project is the fact that the city will lie on a 100-mile line serviced by a hyperloop-style high speed train system.But is it all it's cracked up to be? Let's take a look.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The race to the moon was always more about dueling superpowers than the spirit of exploration. And because of that, enormous risks and creative leaps were made to reach their goal. For that and many other reasons, the Apollo program was one of the most insane ventures ever undertaken, and here are 10 reasons why.Here's the full film, In Event Of Moon Disaster, which features the Nixon deep fake:https://youtu.be/LWLadJFI8PkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nothing like a good paradox to melt your brain. So today we're going to look at some of the most interesting and mind-blowing paradoxes and thought experiments.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There's no shortage of battery storage solutions these days, but one of the most interesting (and one with massive potential) is the liquid metal battery - a battery that you literally melt. So let's talk about how it works, the pros and cons, and how they stack up against Tesla's lithium-ion battery packs.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With Artemis 1 stacking right now and the first launch planned by the end of the year, the moon is getting more attention than we have seen since the 1960s. The plan this time is to stay in a permanent moon colony, supported by mining operations on the lunar surface. But what could we mine there? And why will it be necessary for our future moon ambitions as well as interplanetary travel?There's gold in them there craters. Let's take a look.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Carl Sagan is an absolute legend and a hero, and his book Contact and the movie it's based on is phenomenal. HOWEVER... we examined the central conceit of the story - that aliens pick up our radio signals and return a message with instructions to build a machine - and look at the stars inside the 100 light-year bubble around Earth where our radio waves have traveled. And the potential of this happening... Well, it isn't good.Sorry Carl.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up to 70% of amputees claim to feel pain in their missing limbs, and we're still not completely sure why. Some of the theories range from nerve damage to crossed wires in the brain to a redrawing of the mind's map. And some new therapies involving simple mirror illusions and cutting edge technology are helping amputees live less painful lives. And it's also making us question the very nature of reality.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On June 15 of 2009, the body of a middle-aged man was found on Rosses Point Beach in County Sligo, Ireland. He had no identification on him, no passport, even the tags had been removed from his clothes. Over the following days, as authorities reviewed his activity with security camera footage, they found that he went to great pains to dispose of his personal effects without anybody seeing. This was a man who wanted to disappear completely. And he was almost successful. But one random thing went wrong and turned him into one of the biggest internet mysteries of all time.Who was Peter Bergmann?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How did a crazed serial attacker in 1830s London become an urban legend, then a fictional anti-hero, then the inspiration for Batman? It's a fascinating mystery that has never been solved. So let's talk about Spring-Heeled Jack, the first urban legend.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On December 2nd, 1984 the city of Bhopal India suffered a gas leak from the Union Carbide plant that killed tens of thousands of people and is still crippling the local population more than 35 years later. It's a story of economic inequality, corporate negligence, and human resilience. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are myths and legends of mythical creatures through out the folklore of civilizations around the world. Myths like dragons, cyclops and the kraken. But where did these myths come from? And could they have actually existed in some way?Oh, here's the cephalopods video Jason made me reference...https://youtu.be/73-QuQwFFAYSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.