logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
14m 43s

Indra’s Net and the Midas Touch: Living ...

Marshall Poe
About this episode
We live today in a global web of interdependence, connected technologically, economically, politically, and socially. As a result of these expanding and deepening interdependencies, it has become impossible fully to control--or foretell--the effects of our actions. The world is rife with unintended consequences. The first law of human ecology--which declares ... Show More
Up next
Jul 4
Sadiah Qureshi, "Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction" (Penguin, 2025)
Anyone alive today is among a tiny fraction of the once living: over 90% of species that ever existed are now extinct. How did we come to think of ourselves as survivors in a world where species can vanish forever, or as capable of pushing our planet to the verge of a sixth mass ... Show More
39m 46s
Jul 3
Podcast Intellectuals Podcast Panel #3 with Allison Carruth and Ellen Horne
This is a special edition of the New York Institute for the Humanities’ Vault podcast. On May 13, 2026, Princeton’s Center for Human Values hosted a day-long conference titled Audio and Ideas: Exploring the Possibilities for Scholarly Podcasting. It was co-sponsored by Princeton’ ... Show More
52m 34s
Jul 3
Making Microbes Explicit
This episode takes listeners into the latest issues of Gastronomica, with a special feature on microbes. Sarah Elton and Maya Hey talk with Dan Bender of the Gastronomica Editorial Collective about their special section on microbes and food. In a conversation that spans food syst ... Show More
40m 54s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 1969
The Technological Exponential
The Vice-President of the Conservation Foundation in Washington, DC and renowned ecologist Sir Frank Fraser Darling explores the concept of Man's responsibility for his natural environment in his Reith series entitled 'Wilderness and Plenty'.In his third lecture entitled 'The Tec ... Show More
29m 1s
Jan 2024
Unintended Consequences
<p>On today’s show we are taking another look at the world of energy and some of the disruptions that could result in major economic and geopolitical disruption far beyond the turbulence our world is currently facing. </p> <p>Today’s show is about unintended consequences.</p> <p> ... Show More
6m 39s
Jun 2022
A sci-fi story of climate optimism | Vandana Singh
"The world is a living tapestry ... As the weave of life is torn apart in one place, the threads unravel in another," says author and physics professor Vandana Singh, acknowledging humanity's interconnectedness with the planet -- and the uncertain future we face if we don't prote ... Show More
10m 11s
Nov 1969
Impact of Man on His Environment
The Vice-President of the Conservation Foundation in Washington, DC and renowned ecologist Sir Frank Fraser Darling explores the concept of Man's responsibility for his natural environment in his Reith series entitled 'Wilderness and Plenty'. In his second lecture entitled 'Impac ... Show More
28m 58s
Jan 2021
Why designing for sustainability is harder than you'd think
How do we ensure that advances in science and technology will be good for the planet? Sustainability strategist Leyla Acaroglu reminds us that innovation can have unintentional consequences if we don't pay attention to design. This talk was filmed at TEDxMelbourne. All TEDx event ... Show More
9m 37s
Oct 2025
How to measure the planet’s heartbeat | Yadvinder Malhi
Ecosystem scientist Yadvinder Malhi takes us on a jaw-dropping journey through the hidden flows of energy that make life on Earth tick. From sun-soaked forests to tropical islands, he shows how his team measures the vibrancy of ecosystems across the world. This complex web of ene ... Show More
15m 28s
Oct 2025
How to measure the planet’s heartbeat | Yadvinder Malhi
Ecosystem scientist Yadvinder Malhi takes us on a jaw-dropping journey through the hidden flows of energy that make life on Earth tick. From sun-soaked forests to tropical islands, he shows how his team measures the vibrancy of ecosystems across the world. This complex web of ene ... Show More
15m 28s
Jan 2025
Power vs Life: Towards Wide Boundary Sovereignty | Frankly 82
<p dir="ltr">(Recorded January 20th, 2025)</p> <p dir="ltr">We are alive at a critical juncture for human civilization, and the biosphere, where the pursuit and accumulation of power - accelerated by technology and AI - increasingly threatens the support systems of the diversity ... Show More
40m 10s