The Life Cycle

Oct 07 2024 29 ep. 34 mins 55

The Life Cycle Podcast artwork

We have reached the third season of The Life Cycle, and this time around we want to bring the podcast right down to earth and get in deep with the things that matter to us all and our collective future. And what better way to do that than to have long, engaged conversations with some brilliant people? We talk food, we talk fertility, we talk about life online and we also visit the site of one of humanity’s most exciting endeavors: the mission to create nuclear fusion here on Earth, and harness the power of the Sun itself! Beginning with a chat with Klang CEO Mundi Vondi, this season promises to deepen our understanding of the life cycle, and just what it is we’re all doing here….

John Holten is a novelist and Klang Game’s Narrative Director. His novels include The Trains of Europe (2024), Oslo, Norway (2015) and The Readymades (2011). His writing has recently appeared in Welt am Sonntag, frieze, and The Stinging Fly.

Eva Kelley is a journalist and writer. Her writing focuses on contemporary culture and has appeared in publications such as 032c, ZEITMagazin, Interview Magazine, Hearts, and on SSENSE.com among others.

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S3E9: ‘This New Fire’ with Pietro Barabaschi

Oct 07 2024 39 mins

In our last episode from ITER, we round out season 3 with an exclusive interview with the head of ITER, Pietro Barabaschi! John and Eva got the chance to chat to Pietro about what it’s like running an international undertaking such as ITER, and how one needs to have a special relationship to time itself when it comes to the search for nuclear fusion. Plus we also hear some great

S3E8: ‘Field Trip!’ with Sabina Griffith

Sep 30 2024 32 mins

Take a trip, and visit the incredible site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in Provence in the south of France. In this episode, Eva and John get a tour of the huge international effort to recreate what happens in our Sun: nuclear fusion. An immensely ambitious, multi-generational project, we promise this is quite a trip!LINKShttps://www.iter.org/ www.twitter

S3E7: Just What Is ITER?

Sep 23 2024 24 mins

Our ability to create energy is everything. When looking to the future, one thing is clear—humanity needs to find ways of harnessing power that is sustainable and good for the planet. One such source of energy is similar to what powers the sun (and therefore all of life as we know it): nuclear fusion. Not to be confused with nuclear fission, fusion is a potential energy source th

S3E6: 'Caroline' with Caroline Wilkinson

Sep 10 2024 59 mins

What is it actually like to undergo IVF? What does it even entail exactly? In this episode, we hear the incredible story and journey of Caroline, a mother whose experience offers insight and hope into the current and future landscape of reproductive technology (and culture). This subject concerns all of humanity, and it's important for all us to better understand this key part of t

S3E5: ‘7 Million Eggs’ with Jennifer Garrison

Sep 02 2024 47 mins

Sure longevity science is interesting, but what about the most pressing biological aging for half the world’s population? In this fascinating episode, Eva meets Jennifer Garrison who is at the forefront of trying to expand our understanding of the biology of aging and how it relates to reproductive health, specifcally with regard to female aging. It’s kind of shocking how far s

S3E4: ‘Forever Young’ with Daniel Ives

Aug 27 2024 63 mins

What would you do if you could live to be 100, 125 or even 150? Sure, we all may want to live forever, but what would that actually look like? How would we communicate to those around us? And not only that, is the recent longevity craze feasible or just people with too much time (and money) on their hands? In this episode, Eva meets with Daniel Ives and has an incredibly exciting a

S3E3: ‘Ultra Processed Internet’ with Professor Lawrence Lessig

Aug 20 2024 31 mins

We all know that the Internet is ruled by forces vying for our attention, and that often they gain our attention through highly emotive means, in ways that can seem imperceptible until they add up to massive political upheavals or indeed the very questioning of a shared sense of the Truth. What’s more, these very forces are often massive corporations that act beyond the will of a

S3E2: ‘Ultra Processed Food’ with Chris Van Tulleken

Aug 12 2024 58 mins

We are all taking part in a massive experiment for which none of us have signed up: much of the food we consume daily comes in the form of ultra-processed food, something that has been described as ‘industrially produced edible substances’. This diet is relatively new for humanity, and increasingly it’s clear that its impact on us is not always good. But what is UPF exactly,

S3E1: 'This Is Not An Advert' with Mundi Vondi

Aug 05 2024 43 mins

We thought it was about time to take stock and catch our breath. The Life Cycle podcast is about the future of humanity, but over the last five years, the future has arrived in many ways. In this episode, we take a look at how some of our guests and topics from seasons 1 and 2 have evolved and, in some cases, even become mainstream. Our guest is our Executive Producer, Mundi Vondi,

S2 Coda: Cosmic Hitchhikers

Jun 14 2023 19 mins

We've come a long way and where do we go next? Who will we meet along the way? The season fades out as we imagine ways to travel beyond our solar system...Thanks for the ride.Irina Mullins is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Houston Community College. She is also the creator of the ‘Cosmic Hitchhikers Hypothesis’. Cosmic Hitchhikers Hypothesiswww.twitter.com/TheLifeCycle