January 13, 2020
World War 1 has left an undeniable mark on the world, and in many ways shaped it, even though it is relatively under-represented on screen. It could be because of the lack of clear narrative for the war, the anti-Hollywood elements in trench wars and lack of goodies and baddies, or the fact that it preceded a much more interesting and important war. In this History in Movies podcast Gil Kidron welcomes again Rutger Vos, this time to talk about World War 1 in movies.
![The Expanse Science: New Terra | How Can a New Planet Sustain Life?]()
January 6, 2020
In an offhand remark, The Expanse claims that other forms of life are possible, such as forms based on silicon rather than carbon. How plausible is that? And what else would need to be in place? You'd need liquid water, for one. In fact, a whole bunch of things would need to fall exactly into place. Things that are on the one hand rare - but given the enormous numbers of stars and exoplanets would still occur many times. So where are all the aliens?
In this podcast, Gil and Rutger talk about habitability and the origin of life. Rutger is an evolutionary biologist at the national natural history museum, Naturalis, and Leiden University, both in The Netherlands. He probably knows a little bit about the topic. Gil, on the other hand, knows a lot about watching shows and asking the right questions. Together they scan the popular culture for science and history topics.
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![The Expanse Science: New Terra | When Species Discover New Habitats]()
December 30, 2019
In this episode we dive into The Expanse season 4 and its many layers.As humans travels farther than ever before, to a new world - new evolutionary opportunities arise. And pitfalls. Evolutionary biologist Rutger Vos, from Leiden University and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, both in The Netherlands, joins Gil Kidron yet again to break down the evolutionary opportunities and pitfalls that await organisms that move to new habitats.
In our own world, new environments sometimes open up either because they suddenly appear - like volcanic islands rising up from the ocean floor - or because key innovations in the evolution of a lineage make the environment accessible. For example, when a lineage evolves the ability to fly and the skies open up. In The Expanse, a whole universe of different planets has suddenly opened up. What might that mean for humans if they radiate outward into this vast space? And what about the organisms they might bring along? What do bats have to do with it? And jellyfish in the Mediterranean?
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December 23, 2019
To mark Christmas, we look at movies depicting the life and times of perhaps the most controversial rabbi of the Second Temple period: Jesus of Nazareth. We rewatch the Life of Brian and are reminded of Empire and of the brutality with which the Romans imposed their will homogenously across enormous swathes of land, ironically setting up the environment in which the ideology of the guy they executed could spread. We then go over the odious Passion of the Christ, which features prosthetic noses and blood curses, and wrap it up with the interesting but slow-moving Last Temptation of Christ. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and everything else!
![The Expanse Season 4 Review: USSR Collapse, Wild West, Space Shooting]()
December 19, 2019
The Expanse season 4 has been out on Amazon Prime since December 13, and it is the best season of this scifi story, rife with historical elements, such as Mars collapsing after reaching a truce with Earth in the same vein that the USSR collapsed after the end of the cold war, the expansion out to the American west or Age of exploration elements, all the way to compelling scientific questions such as new bioms and the sounds guns make in space.
Scientist and histoty buff Rutger Vos, an evolutionary biologist from Leiden University and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, both in The Netherlands, joins Gil Kidron to celebrate this season, its writing, acting, production value and pace, and complain a bit about the final two episodes.
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December 9, 2019
The UK elections will be held on Thursday December 12, and the results will impact not only the British people, but Europeans at large - for decades to come. Will unelected incumbent conservative Boris Johnson win an outright majority? What will that mean? Will opposition leader and beleaguered head of Labor Jeremy Corbyn shock the world by tip toeing around Brexit and focusing on social programs? Will the smaller parties make a splash? Gil Kidron hosts patron John Ellis, a Welshman with a B.A in Politics, to break it all down.
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![The Expanse & Game Theory: Earth v Mars, US v USSR]()
December 5, 2019
The Expanse is a political story about a society set 200 years in the future, led by humans who are making the same sort of calculations leaders today make - weighing options, trying to figure out what other people will do in all kinds of situations. Dr. Rutger Vos, an evolutionary biologist from Leiden University and Naturalis Biodiversity Center, both in The Netherlands, joins Gil Kidron to talk about game theory, the thinking behind it and its applications in all walks of life, including when dealing with a trans-planetary conflict with several factions, and the sub-factions within them.
The conflict between, Earth, Mars and the Belt is shaped by the decisions, assumptions and misjudgments of its leaders, and exploring game theory through this Amazon Prime show is a great way to learn more about The expanse and game theory.
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December 2, 2019
After long years of on-and-off investigations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted for corruption charges - including bribery. His upcoming trial changes the political situation in Israel after 10 years of solid reign for King Bibi, which increasingly now seem like they will soon be in the past. Therapist Noga Ariel Galor is joining Gil Kidron on the podcast to break down Bibi's deteriorating mental state and how it endangers the fabric of a society that is very diverse to begin with.
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