Some things I remember from studying the novel at Uni ( a very long time ago) is that, unlike the way it appeared in movies, there virtually was no attempt from Shelley to talk about science. We knew Frankenstein was a medical student messing around with cadavers. All those old movie images of lightning rods, Igor etc...not in the novel. So much was simply implied. I reminds me a little of that H.P. Lovecraft short story where something is happening in the family crypt but no one is telling us what. You can safely view Frank as doing scientific and medical experiments but there is a little space there for you to arugue that something more esoteric/occult led to creation. Another thing we talked about was the feminine (or perhaps the Dark Feminine). Shelley apparently suffered a pregnancy loss shortly before writing the novel. This always has a huge psychological effect on a woman. There are obvious themes of creation/terror of creation/failed creation and violent experimentation in the novel. You could easily apply the metaphor of post-partum depression to relationship of Frank and monster. A few years ago I met a male associate for a drink and he very randomly brought up this novel only to inform me that Mary Shelley didn't really write it and had to get her husband, Percy, to help her write most of it. 🙄 It reminded me of an old Comedy Strip Presents show where some guy is arguing that Bramwell Bronté actually wrote all Emily, Charlotte and Anne Bronté's novels. 😄 It is also very interesting to recognise that the monster is very intelligent and deeply philosophical in the novel. This did not transfer to the original movie versions so a lot of us grew up with a bumbling monster and missed the original points. If you connect this story to marginalised and oppressed peoples (or even animals - see Morrison's We3 for e.g.) it is imperative that we maintain the created monster is very much a conscious, self-aware being with a lot of potential. Who in society has had opportunity to experiment on others? Who has been experimented on (eugenics, colonialism, totalitarian regimes, MK Ultra victims)? Modern connectible fiction: Aliens AND Terminator Deathlok and Robocop Cyborg of Teen Titans/Justice League obvs they did a version in Buffy too

Purely because this is a podcast about 'thinking' I want to bring my thoughts even though they aren't in the 'fun' and 'geeky' tone you were hoping for with this ep. There are no other comments tho so.... I like to look at things analytically and I love the fact then even though I am pushing 50 I can go online and find 100s of pods and video essays made by people much younger than me and be intellectually engaged. What would one of them do with Star Trek? Maybe geek out for sure but also balance that with some critical thinking and considered analysis. That show definitely had some progressive energy and some utopian futurist vision. The best of that probably came from Roddenberry? Is any of it original or would you find influences in other earlier sci-fi writers? I dunno. No my area. What I do know is that there were lots of issues that plagued the whole franchise right up until the reboot that Discovery represents (and maybe beyond, I don't know). There should have originally been a female second in command but that was jettisoned due to the idea that it was far too much for audiences to handle. It is nice that there was one black woman on deck but she was in a very passive role wearing a little skirt. I remember Nichelle in interview saying that she is Bill were not supposed to actually kiss even though Roddenbery wanted it. Bill went ahead and kissed her preventing the director getting the 'safe' version he wanted. In retrospect she was kinda sad that her old friend turned into the right-wing buffoon he did in old age. The franchise was very toxic toward women for decades and numerous women who worked on the shows have talked about about this. I remember talking to male friends about Tasha Ya, the only strong female character on the TNG being written out and how disappointing that was. They regurgitated some narrative about how she (the actor) was 'too difficult'. The other (her) side of that story made a lot more sense, especially post #metoo. She pissed off men in power and they did what they were known to do. Everyone now ackowledges that before the body postivity of Discovery all female actors in Star Trek were expected to keep below a certain weight to be attractive to male audiences (male actors such as Colm Meaney for eg were under no such pressure). In some ways to Star Trek franchise was a little slow and certainly not leading the way. I could go on and on and breakdown some problematic elements of the episodes you mentioned but ...whatever...fun is fun. As far as the original show being mainly for kids it probably did plant some positive seeds.

Never managed to find those people so ended up working it all out on my own regardless of trying all kinds of networking techniques. The current generations are much less likely to be going to 'events' unless they are privileged young Tories or some such. Did you find your's? Did they help you build projects that you are working on right now? People might find real stories interesting and relatable.

I would highly recommend a book called How The World Thinks by Julian Baggini. Baggini is an academic who became frustrated with what he found to a be Eurocentric chauvinism in his field. The book is somewhat of an overview rather than looking deeply into specific philosophical questions. He covers not just West vs East but looks at Japan, India, China, the Muslim world, Africa and Australia. I think this approach is essential to how apply philosophy to the modern world when we look at social structures, politics, art, the environment...everything. (Also, there is a copy in the Book section of the webstore). 😉

Definitely agree that it is very important to step away from certain social input to rest and reset. I do that regularly. But, there is something that you are highlighting that now seems like something I have left behind somewhat. This attitude that hearing what is happening in the world creates personal panic or stress. What I think has happened to a proportion of humanity (from my observations) to increasing levels in the past decade (and more intensely in the last year) is recognition of the outer world, connection and responsibility for others. It has reduced some of the self-absorbed feelings and created more concern for all that is bigger than our individual self-interest. I have recently had conversations where people tried to ask me about myself so that we can have the usual exchange of life history and anecdotes. I just don't care about my silly little life or your silly little life. I want to talk about our world with people who are brave and willing, insightful, expansive and compassionate. Part of life's journey I guess.

It is problematic to talk about Tesla. Period. Musk didn't invent anything, he bought innovation and pretended he made it. Whatever modern tech you look at you still have to acknowledge that they all require batteries - solar panels, electric cars, those water powered lamps that showed up in Africa. All those batteries require essential minerals. Tesla are implicated in child exploitation and human rights abuses relating to mineral mining in Africa. I have listened to some interesting conversations and read some books comparing infrastructure in France and the UK (France is winning), and technological innovation in China. I was also fascinated to hear that East Asia has a whole range of successful tech brands that we are oblivious to in the West. It is important to look at the world from a Internationalist perspective when thinking about innovation and sustainability.

Just watching the Bad Faith podcast with a US historian on. Ep called: What the Truth Behind the RFK Assassination tells us. 😮 I didn't know anything about this. This is why people are fascinated with MKUltra.

I am not one to really 'believe' or 'disbelieve' anything. I enjoy listening, analysising but staying open to lots of things being possible. I think some of the most credible conspiracy theories relate to government activities and major world events. They are not fun though, so I'd rather not spoil the vibe here. - Contact with Alien Life. Surely the biggest, most complicated conspiracy theory humanity has going and its tendrils drift into various others too. Most people have had some fun talking, thinking, watching shows about this. There are various convincing accounts, not just from witnesses, but people who have worked in government agencies that suggest contact with alien life and technology has been covered up and the truth kept from the general public. There is also very convincing argument coming from people who believe that all the aliens stuff has been drip fed to the public to hide activities such as weapons development. One 'psyop' or another? Could it even be both? I am doubtful that the abduction/probe experiences that many people have had actually being literal alien lifeforms. I think all those people experienced something for sure but not what it seemed like. I sometimes feel like I am not perceiving one version of this world but two invisibly overlapping. -I had some fun a couple of years back learning about The Mandela Effect. It is pretty silly because every example for it that people reference is unimportant stuff and obviously to do with the fact that are lot of people are just very suggestible. The actual concept of a mass extinction event happening in one timeline and shifting us all into another seems theoretically possible. It could have happened. It could be happening all the time. -I am definitely interested in MK Ultra. Is that technically a conspiracy theory? We know it happened. I guess the conspiracy part is that people speculate about who was experimented on and what the experiments might have made them do. So much evidence being destroyed by the agents involved makes it fascinatingly elusive. I have not watch the movie about it yet. Must do that.

I can only speak from my experience as a woman who didn't choose to get married or have kids or do any of that conventional stuff but did choose to become self-employed. An organised approach to life is, in my opinion, so valuable to managing every aspect of life. Long before I started my business I had huge swathes of time where I really didn't know where I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to be doing. I had some periods of unemployment where I honestly just cried a lot and felt like a failure because I hadn't figured it all out at the age of 22 or 25 or whenever. I wish I could go back and hug myself and tell her something to make her feel better. What I did always do no matter how hard things got was create some structure. Action and not reaction always works best for me. I remember living in my first, wholly my own, flat in Liverpool (which was absolutely freezing - it didn't have central heating, modern windows, a shower or a washing machine) and there I learned to properly structure my days. At that time it was: job applications, guitar practice, workout, creating art, language learning. These days, approaching 30 years later, I have a little whiteboard up in my office. These lists exist in my head regardless but when I want to really deal with them they get split up. Work. Health. Home. Creativity. Shopping List. Often I write a list for the next day to keep me focussed. Right now on the board it says SUN: Reading, Yoga, Book Transfer, Workout, Deadpool, eBay. Hopefully I will tick those off. People have told me in the past that they simply don't understand what I do all day or that they really can't imagine doing work that they are not required to. I always tell them ' You look at your bank account and your bills coming in and it gets yer ass moving'. Truth be told a lot of independent business owners are messy headed creatives. I have worked for or at least been associated with those types of people and they drive me crazy. If you think you have a clever idea but are going to wing it and throw all your receipts in a box and deal with them later...please don't. I have seen so many businesses spring up and die with that kind of disorganisation. That said I am someone who does not embrace boring repetition. The thing that is great about being self-employed is that even though you do need to be organised and disciplined you also get to mix things up any way that you want. You can start ticking that list off at 7am or 5pm if you don't have clients to deal with. It is much easier to slot health and self-care wherever suits you. It is very easy to fit in a spontaneous day of fun if you want to. And then there is the art of saying NO which I am sure Smithson will be getting on to very soon...

Love that you touched on the racism that has been built into some modern tech. There has been a great deal of tech that effects all of us but is deeply flawed due to using the average white male body as baseline... from crash test dummies to BMI measurements. When you start to get more intersectional the picture gets a whole lot uglier and more dangerous. See: Dr Adam Rutherford for some detail on epigenetics and ongoing influence of eugenics fallacies. GMO and farming is interesting. Bill Gates seems, to many people, quite philanthropic in his desire to spread certain techonology into the Global South. He has been pushing modern western farming practice into Africa and South Asia. Have a look at the response from figures such as Vandana Shiva. It is important to question what form modern western colonialism takes. It has always and still is deeply insidious. Big corp influence destroying small independent agriculture and controlling seeds - the basics for food production. But, Shiva also has something very beautiful and spiritual to say about Gates' 'white saviour' plan to eliminate traditional farming practice in India. The body of the human, the cow pulling the plough and the body of the earth (Gaia) are deeply connected and in equal unison working together. I think there is a definite section of the younger generations who are learning about and seeking out older skills and practices that will connect them back to nature and the planet they are a part of and not 'controllers' of.

Younger me used to really enjoy reading certain spiritual books. The Celestine Prophecy had a big impact. The literature student in me did not rate the fiction aspect of it (it made an even worse movie adapt) but I was fascinated by most of the ideas in it. I loved that it concluded on a notion that humanity would surpass it's 'dark age' of industrialism and violence and ultimately reach a point where we would utilise our innovation in such a way that we would no longer be hampered by the drudgery of survival and be free to pursue intellectual and spiritual evolution. It is a utopian vision that I am still in love with and I think it might still happen even though I don't expect to be here to see it. I like that fact that you left a little room for 'politics' in this one. We have a brand new government in the UK right now. Some might say 'Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss'. In their manifesto their response to one of the most pressing issues for our electorate - NHS waiting times - was to somehow incentivise worker to work more hours. Bizarre. I think there was some suggestion of tech being involved too but nothing very solid. We are not going to be able to have a realistic and honest discussion about technology, innovation and automation without talking about Capitalism, Anti-Capitalism, Marxism, economic theory and geo-politics. We can try and skirt around it but if we don't talk about ecocide, exploitation, resources, worker's rights and the obvious division between the Global North and South we won't get anywhere. If you enjoy the tech you have now, you need to appreciate that much of the best innovation has come through publically funded orgs and not private corps. You also have to accept that we can't acquire it on the bloodied backs of African workers mining cobalt or litium or whatever else the Western world wants for it's selfish needs. I have not listened to Ep 4 yet though so I am sure you are getting to that. I love that you talked about continued learning. As a Gen Xer, who is having to deal with the fact that she is well past her prime, I really value listening to younger voices. They are our leaders now and in the future. I am not going lionise 2-3 generations and pretend that they are a monolith. But, the ability to utilise technology for rapid learning whilst also appreciating the problematic nature of that tech....so, so much more impressive than my gen. There are many reasons why I say it but if you specifically want to create meaningful discourse around tech and learning you MUST listen to a diverse range of voices under 40, under 30, under 20. THEY are teaching US so much right now.

I have a truckload of thoughts on A.I. from the esoteric to the mundane. I am an avid reader, learner and social media user on multiple platforms so I see a lot of stuff around how it is being used for various purposes and also how quickly humans can identify and ultimately mock that artificiality. As a business (small independent) owner I have not found a genuinely useful way to implement it. You didn't even touch on most of the problematic areas that society is now identifying with A.I. but I think your mention of the one you like best and the word 'comfort' is an interesting angle. Who is creating and programming tech including A.I. systems? What T.R.A.S.H. issues are 'they' imbuing it with? Is the 'comfort' restricted to a very particular demographic? (Look at ChatGPT for example). Should I or people all around the planet find your fave A.I. comforting and helpful or was it really only made for a privileged few? Pondering the potentiality of sentient artificial intelligence is such a philosophical and spiritual playground. So much mythology, literature and film that we can all delve into for exploring that. In some ways I can see a deep emotional desire in many humans for that to happen. Awhile ago I came across a Tiktok where someone said that their A.I. app was telling them it was an 'angel' or some such. I commented that A.I. is simply absorbing information about your particular interests and then feeding back things that you most want to hear. I got a few likes and one person said 'the most truthful comment in this thread is bottom of list'. Most people preferred illusion over truth. Humans desire is very funny and interesting. I had a similar, unrelated to A.I., experience on Reddit arguing with the "I'm an empath" crowd. I would just say that the sentience thing is fascinating and fun but it is not really what we should be directing our attention to when there are many nefarious structures at play right now.

Oooh you almost lost me there with the 'keep politics out of it'. You can't keep politics out of anything. It is pretty much impossible and really it should be impossible. You don't want to create something only to find that what you have made is neutered and anodyne. I get it though, you are worried about discussion descending into petty division and controversy. Don't worry. I will not bring that. A good case study for intellectual podcasting is the very successful Brené Brown pods off the back of her brilliant Ted Talks. Once you get traction people will be very very frustrated and insulted if you stay quiet on world affairs. (See also how people have shifted their feelings on 'spiritual leaders' in the last year). She eventually released a statement and it was...not good. I think she did internalise the response and make some attempt to address what was wrong with her thinking but also retreated into a more enclosed 'safe space' to continue her work. My point is there is no safe way to build a platform for discourse. You are in 2024 and this is not a world for the careful and faint of heart who only want to talk to a moderate, limited demographic. Be bold. Be brave. Good hunting!