Dr. Ginger Campbell's Blog and Podcasts

Books and Ideas Podcast #31: NASA’s Les Johnson

docartemis — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:46:31 +0000

Episode 31 of Books and Ideas is an interview with NASA physicist Les Johnson, PhD. We talked about his new book Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth. Although Dr. Johnson is a lifelong fan of science fiction he challenges the common assumption that eventually we will pollute or damage the earth so badly that humans will be forced to move to outer space. Instead, Dr. Johnson argues that we should develop the technology to get resources from outer space so that we can preserve the Earth for Life.

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Additional Links and References:

Les Johnson’s website: where you can find information about his books and future appearances.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.
Dr. Johnson is the Deputy Manager of the Advanced Concepts Office at Marshall.
ProSEDS and the Tethered Satellite System: Dr. Johnson has worked on the development of advanced propulsion systems.
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency

Books mentioned in this episode:

Living Off the Land in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos by Gregory L. Matloff, Les Johnson, C Bangs
The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer’s Guide to Interstellar Travel by Eugene F. Mallove and Gregory L. Matloff
Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel by Giovanni Vulpetti, Les Johnson, Gregory L. Matloff
Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth by Les Johnson, Gregory L. Matloff, C Bangs
Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon, by Craig Nelson (Available from our sponsor Audible.com)

Announcements:

Don’t forget to join the Books and Ideas Fan Page on Facebook.
Books and Ideas is supported by Listener Donations.
Share your feedback in the Discussion Forum or on the Fan Page or send email to Dr. Campbell at gincampbell at mac dot com.

Brain Science Podcast #62: Warren Brown on “Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?”

docartemis — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:31:22 +0000

Episode 62 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Warren Brown, PhD, co-author (with Nancey Murphy) of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will. This book was discussed in detail back in Episode 53, but this interview gave me a chance to discuss some of the book’s key ideas with Dr. Brown. We focused on why a non-reductive approach is needed in order to formulate ideas about moral responsibility that are consistent with our current neurobiological understanding of the mind.

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Books and Ideas Podcast #30: Tom Clark on Naturalism

docartemis — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:48:48 +0000

Episode 30 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Tom Clark, the head of the Center for Naturalism and author of Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses. I first became aware of Clark’s work when I reviewed Chris Evatt’s book The Myth of Free Will back in Episode 12.

In this interview we talk about naturalism as a world view and examine its implications for important questions like free will and morality. Naturalism is a world view that is based on using the scientific method to discover the truth about the world. It rejects supernatural explanations. Clark explains that this means that naturalism rejects the idea of contra-causal free will but that it embraces a more compassionate approach to personal responsibility.

We also talked about Clark’s review of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will by Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown. I discussed this book in Episode 53 of the Brain Science Podcast and its co-author Warren Brown will be my guest on next month’s Brain Science Podcast (Episode 62).

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LINKS:

REFERENCES:

Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses by Thomas W. Clark
The Myth of Free Will, edited by Chris Evatt
Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will by Nancey Murphy, Warren S. Brown
The Sacred Depths of Nature by Ursula Goodenough
“For the law, neuroscience changes nothing and everything” by Joshua Greene and Jonathan Cohen; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (2004)359,1775–1785. Part of the Theme Issue “Law and the Brain. (Download PDF).
“Beyond Retribution?: Effects of Encouraging a Deterministic Worldview on Punishment,” by Azim F. Shariff, University of British Columbia, Joshua D. Greene, Harvard University, and Jonathan W. Schooler, University of California at Santa Barbara (submitted).

RELATED PODCAST EPISODES:

Episode 12 (Books and Ideas): Discussion of The Myth of Free Will, edited by Chris Evatt.
Episode 53 (Brain Science Podcast): Discussion of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will by Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown
Episode 62 (Brain Science Podcast): Interview with Warren Brown.

Listen to Episode 30 of Books and Ideas

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Send Dr. Campbell feedback at gincampbell at mac.com and don’t forget to join our new Facebook Fan Page.

New Facebook Fan Page for Books and Ideas Podcast

docartemis — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I just started a new Facebook Fan Page for the Books and Ideas podcast. If you listen to the podcast I hope you will join. I hope to use the page as a launching pad for promoting the podcast to a larger audience.

Books and Ideas Podcast
The next episode of Books and Ideas will be out on 9/25/09.

Brain Science Podcast 61: Allen Institute for Brain Research

docartemis — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:50:57 +0000

: Allan Jones, PhD

Episode 61 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Allan Jones, PhD, the Chief Science Officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Research in Seattle, Washington. The Allen Institute is a non-profit research organization founded by Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) and is best known for its Mouse Brain Map, which is being used by researchers around the world. The Institute has several other on-going projects including a project to create a map of the human cortex that shows which genes are active in each area.

In this interview we discuss both the mouse brain project and the human cortex project with an emphasis on the importance of these projects to neuroscience research. All the maps created by The Allen Institute are freely available on the internet. Dr. Jones also shares his own story and the challenges and rewards of pursuing a career in the non-profit biotech world.

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Brain Science Podcast #60: The Importance of Play

docartemis — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:00:57 +0000

In Episode 60 of the Brain Science Podcast Ginger Campbell, MD interviews Dr. Stuart Brown, author of Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. Our focus is on the importance of play for normal mental development and psychological health. We also explore the importance of play in adults.

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Brain Science Podcast #59: Guy Caldwell, PhD on C. elegans

docartemis — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:46:28 +0000

Episode 59 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Guy Caldwell who is a molecular biologist at the University of Alabama. Since moving to Alabama ten years ago he has done groundbreaking work in applying the green florescent protein techniques developed by his mentor, Nobel Laureate Martin Chalfie to the study of dopamine neurons in the tiny worm C. elegans. In this interview Dr. Campbell and Dr. Caldwell discuss the growing role of molecular biology as a tool in neuroscience. Dr. Caldwell explains why he thinks there is a good chance that a cure for Parkinson’s Disease will be found within the next 10 years.

This interview also contains practical information for students interested in pursuing a career in science.

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Announcements:

Dr. Campbell is the guest speaker at the July 18 meeting of Skeptics in the Pub in Atlanta, Georgia: http://ow.ly/fh2y
Dr. Campbell was interviewed on Episode 96 of Brains Matter.
Transcripts are now available for all past episodes of the Brain Science Podcast at http://brainsciencepodcast.com/.
Please join our new Brain Science Podcast Fan Pageon Facebook.
Donations of $25 or more qualify you for the new monthly book give away.

Learn more at http://brainsciencepodcast.com or send Dr. Campbell email at gincampbell at mac.com.

Schedule Announcement for Books and Ideas Podcast

docartemis — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:49:24 +0000

I have just posted a brief announcement in the feed for my Books and Ideas podcast. I have decided to take a break for the rest of the summer.

This will allow me to catch up on some professional activities (re-certifying my ACLS and ATLS) and perhaps get some other new projects off the ground. I have several great guests lined up and intend to post the next new episode at the end of September, 2009.

docartemis — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:00:33 +0000

Episode 58 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with philosopher Alva Noë, whose book Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness argues persuasively that our Minds are MORE than just our brains. He says that “the brain is necessary but not sufficient” to create the mind. Read more…

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Books and Ideas Podcast #29: Dr. Robert Martensen Returns

docartemis — Fri, 22 May 2009 07:00:15 +0000

In Episode 29 of Books and Ideas Robert Martensen, MD returns to talk about his book A Life Worth Living: A Doctor’s Reflections on Illness in a High-Tech Era. Last month we talked about Dr. Martensen’s career as both an emergency physician and as an historian. This month we concentrate on the issues facing patients with life threatening illnesses, including making decisions about end of life care. Dr. Martensen and I agree that the American emphasis on high tech care tends to ignore the needs of people in these situations. We discuss the importance of better communication between physicians and patients as well as the need for fundamental changes in our system.

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This episode includes a short promo for Nina Kimberly the Merciless by Christiana Ellis. You can learn more about Christiana’s work at http://ninakimberly.com.

Send feedback to Dr. Campbell at gincampbell at mac dot com or join the Discussion Forum at http://brainscienceforum.com