Adventures in Nutopia

Lucy Cooke's Bitch tells a wildly different story of reproduction, gender and sexual habits in the animal kingdom to those passed down to us by Darwin, Dawkins and other highly influential male scientists. Bitch challenges outdated preconceptions and biases around the female of the species being sexually coy, monogamous and passive and males being sexually dominant and promiscuous. It also challenges broader expectations around male and female roles and why binary ways of looking at the world and ourselves are increasingly being challenged. David meets up with zoologist, broadcaster and author Lucy Cooke in a woodland in Sussex to talk birdsong, bonobos, same sex parenting, sex changing fish, menopausal whales, parthenogenesis and murderous meerkats. Trigger warning: this episode contains discussions about vomit bubbles and sexual cannibalism. With guest Lucy Cooke http://www.lucycooke.tv/

Is mind contained within us, or us within it? When it comes to what science calls 'the hard problem', we still have no understanding about the nature of consciousness. That it could be a field, rather than isolated within us, might explain what appear to be the group minds of termites, ants and bees or the pulsating murmurations of starling. It could even help explain the pervasive global practise of prayer and magic, and non-contact forms of healing like Reiki. This episode is not setting out to prove or disprove the existence of a field of consciousness but – in the Nutopian spirit of enquiry – to offer a voice to a variety of individuals and scientists doing pioneering work in consciousness studies.. For the making of this episode our intrepid presenter spent a week at Broughton Sanctuary for an event called Science and Consciousness: Making Wyrd the Norm. Here he learned the fascinating history of thought experiments at Princeton and Northampton Universities, tries his hand at remote viewing and meets Wyrd Experience founder Peter Merry. With guests Jeff Dunne, Peter Merry, Karin Valis, Annette Grathoff, Chris Roe, David Luke, Kirsty Allan and John Lloyd https://gowyrd.org/ www.ubiquityuniversity.org/annual-science-and-consciousness-event/ Peter Merry https://petermerry.org ICRL (Jeff Dunne) https://icrl.org Kirsty Allan https://kirstylucindaallan.com David Luke https://www.instagram.com/drdluke/?hl=en Karin Valis https://www.instagram.com/mercurial_minutes/

Alan Turin's 'automatic machine' remains the blueprint for nearly all of our modern computer systems. In an early paper however Turin wrote: 'of course another type of machine is possible. This is the Oracle Machine and I will not speak of that.' Our guest for this mini episode however, will. James Bridle is the author of Ways of Being and an artist whose work deals with the ways in which the digital, networked world reaches into the physical, offline one. James shares their thoughts on why computers can't do random and what our computers of the future might look like. We also touch on the role that randomness play in evolution and how it can radicalise our political systems. With James Bridle and special guest ORAC www.jamesbridle.com

In S2E1 we met Rogan Taylor, author of The Death and Resurrection Show a book which traces a path from popular entertainment to the darkened yurts of our nomadic ancestors. After writing this book Rogan went on to pioneer the world's first post-graduate 'football' degree and write many books on the subject. During our conversation he talked about football in relation to myth, ritual, suffering and community. It's a unique and fascinating perspective on the sport that will stay with you.

Are our listening habits changing? What effects can sounds like drones and sine tones have on us physically and emotionally? Can we imagine a future in which we might receive audio prescriptions for wellbeing? Why does music played badly make us laugh? Does beetroot really taste better if serenaded with sound? And what might the national anthem of Nutopia sound like? With guests Richard Norris, Paul Devereux, Fiona Miller, Jude Rogers, David Velez and Harry Sword. https://pauldevereux.co.uk/ https://richardnorris.bandcamp.com/ https://fionasallymiller.bandcamp.com/ https://davidvelez.bandcamp.com/music https://oddfellowscasino.bandcamp.com/ https://greyhoundliterary.co.uk/authors/harry-sword

Our ancestors invested great importance in the power of dreams. Across traditional, indigenous and pre-industrialised cultures – including the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians – they were an integral part of the healing process and a tool for divination. So why do most of us give so little consideration to them now? What is hypnagogia? What techniques can help us lucid dream? What might precognitive dreams tell us about the nature of time? This episode dives into the poetic realms of dreams and even offers insomnia sufferers fresh advice on how to get a better night's kip. With guests Sarah Janes, Gary Lachman, Philip Carr-Gomm and Kate Alderton. https://themysteries.org/ https://www.gary-lachman.com/ https://philipcarr-gomm.com/ https://dreamfishingsociety.com/

Join Kate Raworth, an economist famous for doughnut economics, Timothee Parrique, a proponent of degrowth, Inez Aponte, a storyteller promoting human-scale development, and David Barmes of Positive Money. They discuss the urgent need to rethink our capitalist model, critiquing endless growth and GDP, while exploring sustainable alternatives. Their conversations highlight community engagement, well-being economies, and innovative approaches to financial systems, emphasizing the importance of ecological and societal health over rampant consumerism.

As the lights dim and performers take to the stage, is it mere escapism for us or is there something deeply profound about our need to be entertained? Why do we get so fanatical and idolatrous about musicians and film stars, wanting them to be something more than us mere mortals? Might the whole entertainment industry have learned its trade from an ancient shamanic journey of the soul known to some as the death and resurrection show? With guests Rogan Taylor, journalist Jude Rogers, Dr. Marissa Carnesky, Kris Hughes/drag queen Maggi Noggi and magician Paul Zenon. https://carnesky.com/ http://www.paulzenon.com https://www.angleseydruidorder.co.uk/kristoffer?tab=about @judgerogers

While Series Two edges a little closer to completion here's a short appetiser serving up some words of wisdom from The Eden Project's founder, who we'll meet properly in a future episode.

Comedian and 'anarchist chef' George Egg was planned for inclusion in Series One but we just couldn't work out where to put him. So instead he gets a mini episode all of his own exploring his own concept of snack-hacking, sharing ways of being creative with 'scraps' and demonstrating how to cook a full meal in such unlikely places as a hotel room and garden shed.