Author: insultmyintel
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Can We Control the Weather?
Can We Control the Weather? Show Notes Can We Control the Weather? In this episode Tim Dowling speaks with two experts on the history of weather control, Dr Katherine Harper author of Make it Rain: State Control of the Atmosphere in Twentieth Century America and Jim Fleming author of Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History…
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How do they set the Doomsday Clock?
How do they set the Doomsday Clock? Show Notes In this episode Tim Dowling talks with Rachel Bronson the CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists about the Doomsday Clock, which is now set every year to represent how close humanity is to the end. Rachel Bronson is also the head of the Science…
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Has The Internet Broken Copyright?
Has The Internet Broken Copyright? Tim Dowling speaks with Law Professor Jennifer Jenkins who is Director of The Center for the Study of the Public Domain, about the confusing and messy state of copyright law. He also speaks with veteran youtuber Tom Scott on how the internet and youtube in particular have broken copyright.
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What makes a Cricket Ball Swing?
What makes a Cricket Ball Swing? Tim Dowling speaks with aerodynamics and fluid mechanics experts as well as cricket journalist Emma John to learn all about swing bowling. How it happens, the emergence of reverse swing and its controversies and how weather conditions impact swing?
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Is The Penny Spent?
Is The Penny Spent? Tim Dowling investigates the idea that we should get rid of the penny. Speaking to an economics professor about what the impact could be and to a Canadian economist to find out what happened when Canada got rid of its penny back in 2013.
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Are we facing a Bananapocalypse?
Are we facing a Bananapocalypse? Tim Dowling speaks with Dr Chris Cockel from Kew Botanical Gardens about the problems facing the Cavendish banana crop and a Professor from the Queensland University of Technology about his work to genetically modify the banana, all trying to answer the questions, how we lost the Gros Michel banana? Will…
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WTF is an NFT?
WTF is an NFT? NFTs experienced a huge boom earlier this year particularly after artist Beeple sold his artwork for $69 million, but his artwork was just a jpeg available for everyone to see. So what is an NFT? And why are they selling for so much? Tim Dowling talks to billionaire Mark Cuban, journalist…
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Is there such a thing as a dead language?
Is there such a thing as a dead language? Tim Dowling learns about the future of linguistic diversity around the world. With thousands of languages projected to die out over the next 100 years, guests Ghil’ad Zuckermann and Julia Sallabank explain how languages can be revitalised.
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Why Am I Left-Handed?
Why Am I Left-Handed? Tim Dowling finds out what makes people left-handed. Also what advantages and disadvantages left-handedness can bring. With Professor Chris McManus and Ed Wright. Transcript Tim Dowling 0:18 Hello, and welcome to Insult My Intelligence. In today’s episode, we investigate left handedness, why it exists? And whether being left handed is…
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What on Earth is Planet 9?
What on Earth is Planet 9? Tim Dowling learns about the Planet 9 theory from one of its originators Professor Konstantin Batygin. The theory is that way beyond Neptune and Pluto, on the outer reaches of the Solar System a 9th planet, 5 times the mass of Earth is orbiting the Sun once every 10,000…