As Christmas approaches we bring you the history of two popular decorations you might see this holiday season. Darren looks at the history of the mistletoe as a decoration, symbol of fertility and God killer. Adam looks at the first use of lights on a Christmas tree and it may be older than you think!
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With AI safety still underrated yet imperative, in this bonus episode of the show we share the Introduction to “Uncontrollable: The Threat of Artificial Superintelligence and the Race to Save the World” by Darren McKee.
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Today, December 2nd, is Giving Tuesday. Darren gives an overview of the concept of Effective Giving, with some tips on how your charitable donations could lead to the most good in line with your own priorities. Adam tackles a few claims about the Mona Lisa, inspired by not all that evidence based viral clips. What were the original colours of this painting, and did it only become popular after being stolen years ago?
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Two years ago we interviewed Yoshua Bengio, the prominent AI researcher, about his long career in AI where he helped build the foundations for the tools millions use around the world every day. We discussed the future of AI systems, including the importance of AI safety. Since then, Yoshua Bengio has continued to achieve great success in his career in both work on AI and raising awareness about their risks. This bonus episode is a repeat of Darren McKee and Adam Gardner’s interview with him from 2023.
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We’ve got two special guests on the latest show! TRC alumni Pat and Cristina join us with a couple of great segments. First Critina tackles a number of myths about diabetes, including her own recent serious experience with DKA or diabetic ketoacidosis. Then Pat delights us with another round of everyone’s favourite mostly guessing game Name That: Spot the Fake edition. This game has a special twist that really challenged the contestants.
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Is the “Disney Point” the bizarre result of certain images of Walt Disney around Disney Parks with cigarettes edited out to give the illusion of a unique pointing style? Adam weighs the evidence. Then Darren gives us a couple of book reviews. First up is Shadow Cell by Andrew and Jihi Bustamante, a real life exploration of the world of espionage by former CIA operatives. Next is Algospeak by Adam Aleksic, which examines how social media algorithms inflence language online and in the real world.
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With Halloween coming up we bring you some spooky segments on zombies and vampires! Darren looks at the thought experiment about philosophical zombies also known as p-zombies. Does this idea make that much sense? Then Adam looks at cases of tuberculosis taking place in New England which, to people without a proper understanding of the germ theory of disease, were thought to be vampirism.
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Why does air conditioning seem to be more common in North America than in Europe or other places around the world? Adam looks at the many factors that can encourage or hinder adoption of AC in various places. Darren gives us book reviews on a variety of topics with “What Is Real? The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics” by Adam Becker and “Good and Real: Demystifying Paradoxes from Physics to Ethics” by Gary Drescher.
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How is intelligence portrayed in works of fiction? In books, films and TV, we often see depictions of very smart of sometimes less intelligent people, but it’s never totally realistic. Darren leads a conversation about various fictional portrayals of intelligence from Ender Wiggin and Sherlock Holmes to Joey Tribbiani and Homer Simpson. When do they get it right and why, and what do they often get wrong?
Have a listen and feel free to leave a comment with some thoughts about your favourite, or most frustrating, portrayals of intelligence in a work of fiction.
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Wood you believe that it’s all about trees on the latest episode of The Reality Check podcast? Here are two classic segments about trees. First up is an interview with tree expert Owen Clarkin who gets to the root of many tree facts. That segment may have planted the seeds for a future segment so we leave you with Pat who looks into claims that the Amazon rainforest is the Earth’s lungs.
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