We now know that the Galaxy is full of potentially habitable planets. So why do we see no signs that any civilizations have come before us? Matt O’Dowd, astrophysicist and host of PBS Space Time, explains why Fermi’s paradox really is so surprising, and he offers a new piece of evidence that may point towards the solution.
Astrophysicist Matthew O’Dowd spends his time studying the universe, especially really far-away things like Quasars, super-massive black holes and evolving galaxies. He completed his Ph.D. at NASA´s Space Telescope Science Institute, followed by work at the University of Melbourne and Columbia University. Currently he is a professor at the City University of New York´s Lehman College and an Associate at the American Museum of Natural Historys Hayden Planetarium.
This talk dives into four critical dimensions — social, economic, political, and military — to uncover the patterns that led to World War I and II. By comparing those pivotal moments with today’s global dynamics, it reveals troubling signs of growing instability. Are we on the brink of a Third World War? Through the lens of history, this analysis offers a powerful reflection on the present — and a warning to not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Heni Ozi Cukier, widely known as Professor HOC, is an expert in international politics dedicated to making geopolitics more accessible to the general public. He shares his extensive knowledge — and insights into the challenges and dynamics of the contemporary world — through what has become Brazil’s largest geopolitics YouTube channel: PROFESSOR HOC.
He is also behind award-winning documentaries, including Cracol ndia.
In the United States, he worked at the United Nations Security Council, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Woodrow Wilson Center think tank.
In Brazil, he gained prominence as the founder and coordinator of the postgraduate program in Geopolitics at PUC Paraná, establishing himself as a leading voice in teaching international relations and analyzing global affairs.
He holds a degree in Philosophy and Political Science, and a Master’s in Conflict Resolution and International Peace from the renowned American University in Washington, DC. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
For more than 40 years, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) organization has turned its gaze toward the cosmos in search for an answer to one of humanity’s greatest questions: Are we alone? Often taking the form of the “Fermi paradox”—a 75-year-old thought experiment that explores why there are so many worlds, yet seemingly no alien civilizations—this grand question has inspired a lot of possible solutions. Maybe life is much rarer than we imagine? Maybe it’s incredibly difficult to evolve into a modern civilization like ours? Or maybe aliens are speaking in a language we simply don’t understand.
A new study, led by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, and additional researchers, offers a unique lens for understanding the unprecedented extinction crisis of native Hawaiian forest birds.
Just 17 out of approximately 60 species of the iconic honeycreeper remain, most of which are facing rapid decline due to avian malaria. The findings, published in Current Biology, include new evidence that there is still time to save the critically endangered honeycreeper ‘akeke’e—but the window is rapidly closing.
“In a race against time to save the remaining honeycreepers, necessary insights about their survival are found in their genetic makeup,” said Christopher Kyriazis, Ph.D., lead author and postdoctoral researcher from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. “Our findings provide a new understanding of the last remaining individuals as recovery efforts forge on in their native forests and in human care.”
From river-clogging plants to disease-carrying insects, the direct economic cost of invasive species worldwide has averaged about $35 billion a year for decades, researchers said Monday.
Since 1960, damage from non-native plants and animals expanding into new territory has cost society more than $2.2 trillion, more than 16 times higher than previous estimates, they reported in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The accelerating spread of invasive species —from mosquitoes to wild boar to tough-to-eradicate plants—blights agriculture, spreads disease and drives the growing pace of species extinction.
This is the weapon that will destroy our solar system in Season 3 of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem: the Dual-Vector Foil. It’s a Dimensional Strike deployed by a super advanced alien civilization called the Singers. Once activated, it expands at light speed, consuming everything in its path. It’s expected to be featured in Season 3 of Netflix’s 3 Body Problem series.
Plants that reproduce exclusively by self-pollination arise from populations with extremely low diversity to begin with. Kobe University research not only adds a facet to possible evolutionary strategies, but also lends weight to Darwin’s suspicion that this strategy might be a path to extinction.
Charles Darwin once remarked, “It is hardly an exaggeration to say that nature tells us, in the most emphatic manner, that she abhors perpetual self-fertilization.” And yet, Kobe University botanist Suetsugu Kenji knows of a few islands in Japan where orchids reproduce without ever opening their flowers.
He says, “I’ve long been captivated by Darwin’s skepticism about plants that rely entirely on self-pollination. When I found those non-blooming orchids, I felt this was a perfect chance to directly revisit this issue. The apparent defiance of evolutionary common sense made me wonder what precise conditions—both environmental and genetic—would allow a purely self-pollinating lifestyle to emerge, let alone persist.”
On this mind-bending episode of Impact Theory, Tom Bilyeu sits down with Ben Lamm, the visionary entrepreneur behind Colossal Biosciences, to explore a world that sounds straight out of science fiction—yet is rapidly becoming our reality. Together, they pull back the curtain on the groundbreaking technology making de-extinction not only possible, but increasingly practical, from resurrecting woolly mammoths and dire wolves to saving endangered species and unraveling the secrets of longevity.
Ben explains how CRISPR gene editing has unlocked the power to make precise DNA changes—editing multiple genes simultaneously, synthesizing entirely new genetic blocks, and pushing the limits of what’s possible in biology and conservation. The conversation dives deep into the technical hurdles, ethical questions, and the unexpected magic of re-engineering life itself, whether it’s creating hairier, “woolly” mice or tackling the colossal challenge of artificial wombs and universal eggs.
But this episode goes way beyond Jurassic Park fantasies. Tom and Ben debate the future of human health, gene selection through IVF, the specter of eugenics, global competition in biotechnology, and how AI will soon supercharge the pace of biological engineering. They even touch on revolutionary solutions to our plastic crisis and what it means to inspire the next generation of scientists.
Get ready to have your mind expanded. This is not just a podcast about bringing back extinct creatures—it’s a deep dive into the next frontiers of life on Earth, the technologies changing everything, and the choices we’ll face as architects of our own biology. Let’s get legendary.
By popular request we’ve begun adding playlists of the show as Podcasts on Youtube Music, I’ll try to add a new one every 2–3 days till we have most of our inventory up there, but given today’s Episode is *Cities of the Future*, a collection of all of those seemed a good idea https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIIOUpOge0LuyCbYUhy-79RQKkOXonmx4 These are the (tentatively named) upcoming playlists/podcasts list I’ll be adding, in no particular order: Megastructures & Extreme Engineering The Fermi Paradox & Alien Civilizations Space Colonization & Habitats Post-Scarcity & Future Civilizations Transhumanism & Human Evolution Propulsion & Interstellar Travel Terraforming & Planetary Engineering Mind, Machines & Alien Intelligence Future Warfare & Defense Strange Worlds & Alien Life.
What happens when intelligence escapes the bounds of flesh and bone? In this episode, we explore post-biological civilizations—entities that may trade biology for digital minds, machine bodies, or stranger forms still—and ask what becomes of identity, purpose, and humanity when the body is no longer required.
Watch my exclusive video Antimatter Propulsion: Harnessing the Power of Annihilation — https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur–… Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa… Use the link gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $30. SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: Post-Biological Civilizations: Life Beyond Flesh and Bone Episode 498a; May 11, 2025 Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Edited by: Ludwig Luska Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator Chris Zabriskie, “Unfoldment, Revealment” Phase Shift, “Forest Night” Lewis Gill, “The Phobos Diary” Stellardrone, “Red Giant” 0:00 Intro 1:24 The Physical Presence of Post-Biological Civilizations 3:38 Societal & Cultural Aspects of Post-Biological Life 5:08 The Scifi Path to Post-Biological Life 8:03 The Singularity and the Ultimate Transition 9:47 Many Paths to Post-Biological Life 17:50 The Fermi Paradox & Post-Biological Civilizations 27:39 Ethics & the Fate of Humanity 29:17 The Transition Process at a Civilizational Scale. Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur. Get a Lifetime Membership to Nebula for only $300: https://go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=isa… Use the link gift.nebula.tv/isaacarthur to give a year of Nebula to a friend for just $30.
SFIA Discord Server: / discord. Credits: Post-Biological Civilizations: Life Beyond Flesh and Bone. Episode 498a; May 11, 2025 Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur. Edited by: Ludwig Luska. Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images. Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator. Chris Zabriskie, \
