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Physical Attraction

New? Head to the episode guide or drop us a line with the contact form.

We are a physics podcast. But not just that - interviews with scientists, scholars, authors and reflections on the history and future of science and technology are all in the wheelhouse. Over the years, for over 200 episodes, we've had shows on the astrophysics of stars, a comprehensive history of nuclear fusion, thermodynamics, particle physics, climate change, economics, philosophy, the psychology of conspiracy theories, and even the lives of Louisiana Senator Huey Long, or scientists under Stalin in the Soviet Union. 

We are an independent show: everything you hear is created by one person out of passion and love. My aim in producing this show is never to talk down to people, but instead to discuss fascinating and vital subjects with scientific rigour, compassion, and an eye for narrative: to educate, inform, and entertain. I hope that you, the listener, will find something you like here. 

You can read about us here, which includes a comprehensive episode guide for new listeners covering all of the shows that we've done, as well as links to transcripts of many of the episodes.  

You can contact us here - everything goes through to my email and I try to answer each one. Your comments and questions help me to improve the show and also motivate me to carry on, so I highly appreciate reading anything you feel like sending. 

If you like what we do and want to help us keep doing it, you can donate here. I am extremely grateful for those of you who have done so. 

You can also subscribe to the Physical Attraction: Extra! Feed over at Patreon: www.patreon.com/PhysicalAttraction - where for a small fee per bonus episode, you can help to support the show, and get some juicy bonus content too. The Patreon includes unique bonus episodes that stand alone, or alongside our existing series. But you will also get episodes as soon as I finish producing them, which is often months in advance: so, if you can't wait for your fix, that's where to go. 

We had a sister podcast, Autocracy Now, which deals with the lives of famous historical dictators. You can find some of their episodes on our feed, or the show itself at www.autocracynow.libsyn.com 

Dec 21, 2020

A bumper episode with a crop of interesting news stories to round out the year:

-> Uber sells its self-driving car section, and Softbank sells robot company Boston Dynamics. What can we infer from these moves about the state of the tech sector?

-> Reports show income inequality rising since 1975 has resulted in $47...


Dec 19, 2020

It's a bonus news episode, in which I ramble on about the COVID-19 vaccines and the possibility of defending against future pandemics.


Dec 16, 2020

In this episode of Climate 201, we deconstruct the jargon around climate scenarios. What's the difference between RCP2.6 and RCP8.5? What purpose do the scenarios serve? How should we think about them?


Dec 10, 2020

This week, taking a break from climate, we have a special guest on the show - Tim Hwang. Tim Hwang is a writer and researcher, and he's the author of Subprime Attention Crisis, a book about how online advertising may have become a bubble. He is currently a research fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging...


Dec 3, 2020

We explore what is meant by a "carbon budget", how and why we can determine how much CO2 is left to emit before we cross a given temperature threshold, as well as disputes in how to define these budgets and use them politically... and why the world isn't going to end in twelve years.