Polymath World Channel

Polymath World # Episode 16 - Professor Paul Heslop MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS Professor Paul Heslop is professor of mathematical physics at Durham University. A prolific researcher in his field, he has published over 80 papers across subdisciplines such as supersymmetric field theory and supergravity. We discuss his research including subjects like scattering amplitudes and AdS/CFT as well as his thoug...

Christian apologist Tim Barnett from the ministry Stand To Reason advocates for Intelligent Design Creationism. Much like many American apologetics ministries, they are anti-evolution and pro-Intelligent Design. In this video they ask us to "go where the evidence leads" whilst making strong claims about how science works and what it is we do. Is this accurate or fair? Intelligent Design makes outr...

NASA ASTRONAUT Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gemar is a former NASA astronaut who flew on 3 missions on the Space Shuttle. A former army pilot and engineer, he graduated from the NASA astronaut class of 1986 after the Challenger disaster. After serving in several roles including CAPCOM, he flew on STS-38 in 1990, STS-48 in 1991, and finally STS-62 in 1994. He spent 24 days in space across his 3 missi...

Polymath World # Episode 14 - Professor Simon Walker-Samuel BIOPHYSICS Simon is Professor of Biophysics and Co-Director of the UCL Centre for Computational Medicine and Vice Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Medical Sciences. His research focus is the development of virtual tissue models of disease, by combining biomedical imaging, computational modelling and machine learning. He did a physics Ph...

Polymath World Roundtable Chat: Evolution, Creationism and Intelligent Design Pseudoscience (With Professor Dave Explains and Phil Halper) Professor Dave Explains and Phil Halper join me for a discussion of evolutionary biology, creationism and Intelligent Design on the centenary of the Scopes Monkey Trial. What is stopping people from understanding and accepting the overwhelming evidence for evol...

ASTROPHYSICS AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY Lord Martin Rees is one of the most accomplished scientists of the 20th and 21st century. With over 500 research publications and a large number of popular books on science, he has made immense and significant impact on the fields of high-energy astrophysics, cosmology, galaxy formation, the origins of the cosmic microwave background, and in popular science...

EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY Dr Matt Wilkinson is a lecturer in evolutionary biology at Cambridge University. He is a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. An authority of the evolution of locomotion, he wrote the book Restless Creatures on the evolution of complex movement in life. He is also an authority on pterosaurs. Matt also has a masters in theatre performance and is passionate about science communic...

PALEOBIOLOGY AND ANCIENT LIFE Dr Simon Conway-Morris is professor of Paleobiology at Cambridge University. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society for 30 years and is a fellow of St Johns College, Cambridge. He is one of the greatest living evolutionary biologists and one of the minds behind convergent evolution which is a grand unifying theory across biology. He gave the Royal Institution Chris...

Polymath World # Episode 10 - Phil Halper COSMOLOGY Phil Halper is a popular science communicator whose new book "Battle of the Big Bang", coauthored with Niayesh Afshordi, has just been released through University of Chicago Press. Here we discuss the premise of the book: which model will win out of the competing models for the beginning of the universe? And will the Big Bang survive new advances...

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR SCIENCE AND RELIGION CONFERENCE (ISSR) 2025 Synthetic Biology (SynBio) has the power to transform our engagement with the natural world. With tools like CRISPR-Cas9, "impossible" is an ever diminishing word. As biology accelerates at a rate not seen since the 1950s, what are the biggest questions facing humankind as we try to avert climate disaster and beat disease whilst...

SPACE ENGINEERING Laura González Llamazares is the Cofounder and CCO at Radian Systems. She is a rising star in the space sector who has already been involved in launching over 30 satellites, as well as disrupting the sector through the 3D printing of just about everything including rocket engines. A polymath of business and engineering, she has worked all over the world, including in Houston with...

PHILOSOPHY Dr Stephen Law is professor of philosophy at Oxford University's Department of Continuing Education and is the author of many popular books including Believing Bullshit, The Philosophy Gym, The Philosophy Files, The War for Children's Minds, and the Oxford University Very Short Introduction to Humanism. He was formerly head of philosophy at Heythrop College at the University of London a...

SPACE ARCHITECTURE  Melodie Yashar is a space architect who has worked across the space sector. An engineer and architect, she is developing robotic technology to create the means of 3D printing human rated habitats and landing facilities on the Moon and Mars. Formerly at NASA Ames Research Centre, she is a rising star in the space industry and her work can help transform the future of safer human...

This is a lecture I gave at the North England Postgraduate Philosophy Conference on June 19th 2025 at the University of Liverpool. The topic is taken from my PhD research, titled "The Surprising Emergence of Idealism in Interwar Physics" - - - - - Socials: Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/PolymathWorld Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polymath_sam/ Tik Tok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@polymath_sam Yo...

Science and Religion Forum 2025 University of Sheffield. Science, Philosophy and Sir James Jeans. #polymathworldchannel #pursueextraordinary #podcast ‪@ChristiansinScience‬ ‪@universityofsheffield‬ ‪@sheffielduniversitychristi1036‬   ---------- Socials: Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/PolymathWorld Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polymath_sam/ Tik Tok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@polymath_sam YouTu...

NASA ASTRONAUT Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger is a NASA astronaut and geologist who flew on STS-131 in 2010 which was the penultimate flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The flight to the ISS was historic for being the first time 4 women were flying on the ISS. In 2012 she commanded NEEMO 16, an undersea space analog where crews train for extreme environments. She is in the Space Camp hall of fam...

The Future of Space Robert Zubrin is one of the most important rocket scientists of his generation, who helped found the Mars Society globally, influenced a younger Elon Musk to found SpaceX, and stemmed much of the Mars activism by his proposals to the George Bush Snr administration. His books include The Case for Space, The Case for Mars, and Mars Direct. Dr Zubrin speaks all over the world to t...

PHILOSOPHY Dr Alex Carter is Associate Professor for Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Cambridge, Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) where he oversees all courses in philosophy and creativity theory. He is also a Fellow and College Lecturer at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. He gained his PhD in Philosophy by the University of Essex in 2015. Alex was my...

Patrick Rennie is a rocket scientist and president of the Mars Society UK. He is on the board of the British Interplanetary Society. His work includes space planes, propulsion, and conceptual rocket systems for both low earth orbit and deep space. We talk about Mars, inspiring the next generation and how the future of space could look. The Polymath World Channel brings you interviews with extraord...

Professor Paul Ewart is professor emeritus of physics at the University of Oxford where he led atomic and laser physics for 50 years. He is a fellow and tutor at Worcester College there and his work has impacted many areas of your life. He has always been generous with his time and support to me and is very well liked by everyone he has ever led. I’m so grateful for our time and hope you enjoy div...

Professor Peter Atkins is professor emeritus of chemistry at Oxford University. His books, both academic and popular have been hugely successful and he is one of the most recognisable figures in chemistry that this country has had for 60 years. Generous with his help to students and researchers, I have always enjoyed my time with him. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! The Polymat...