The human world is increasingly 'assisted' by a pantheon of automations. Yet this emergent reality brings to bear fundamental philosophical quandries about the nature of not only the mind but the soul of things called 'artificial.' In tonight's episode, sponsored by Illumination Global, Unlimited, Ben, Matt and Noel see both sides of a dangerous future.
The human world is increasingly 'assisted' by a pantheon of automations. Yet this emergent reality brings to bear fundamental philosophical quandries about the nature of not only the mind but the soul of things called 'artificial.' In tonight's episode, sponsored by Illumination Global, Unlimited, Ben, Matt and Noel see both sides of a dangerous future.
Striking Boeing factory workers say they are ready to hold out for a better contract. The NASA astronauts who were left stranded on the International Space Station because of technical issues with their spacecraft are keeping in good spirits.
Some 67 million people tuned in to watch Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump face off in their first and maybe only debate of this election season on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, state and local officials across the country warned that issues with the U.S. postal service could result in disenfranchised voters this election.
Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike on a U.N. school complex sheltering 1,200 displaced Palestinians killed six U.N. staffers at a refugee camp in Central Gaza. At least 18 Palestinians were killed in the attack.
The Department of Justice exposed Russian ties to right wing social media influencers. U.S. prosecutors say the Kremlin media company RT funneled nearly $10 million to a platform for content creators.
We cover all these stories and more during this week's News Roundup.
The UK's Keir Starmer and President Joe Biden are apparently arming the Ukrainians in a way that Vladimir Putin does not approve of. Plus, veteran political journalist Joe Klein, of the Sanity Clause Substack, joins to discuss the debate, the election, and what the Democrats are finally doing right. Also, in the plastic straw wars ... it's the last straw!
This time next year, if everything stays on schedule, NASA will send its first crewed mission to the moon, since the end of the Apollo program. Artemis II will be the first flight around the moon in more than 50 years.
Its goal will be to test out the Orion capsule and all the other equipment, so that by 2026, Artemis III can put astronauts back ON the moon.
The Artemis program is aimed to kickstart a new, more enduring era of space travel that leads to Mars.It's also intentionally more representative than Apollo was. The Artemis program will eventually put the first woman on the moon, as well as the first person of color.
It's all as historic and high stakes as it gets, and also pretty daunting.
NPR's Scott Detrow goes behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to see how the team is preparing.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
This time next year, if everything stays on schedule, NASA will send its first crewed mission to the moon, since the end of the Apollo program. Artemis II will be the first flight around the moon in more than 50 years.
Its goal will be to test out the Orion capsule and all the other equipment, so that by 2026, Artemis III can put astronauts back ON the moon.
The Artemis program is aimed to kickstart a new, more enduring era of space travel that leads to Mars.It's also intentionally more representative than Apollo was. The Artemis program will eventually put the first woman on the moon, as well as the first person of color.
It's all as historic and high stakes as it gets, and also pretty daunting.
NPR's Scott Detrow goes behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to see how the team is preparing.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
This time next year, if everything stays on schedule, NASA will send its first crewed mission to the moon, since the end of the Apollo program. Artemis II will be the first flight around the moon in more than 50 years.
Its goal will be to test out the Orion capsule and all the other equipment, so that by 2026, Artemis III can put astronauts back ON the moon.
The Artemis program is aimed to kickstart a new, more enduring era of space travel that leads to Mars.It's also intentionally more representative than Apollo was. The Artemis program will eventually put the first woman on the moon, as well as the first person of color.
It's all as historic and high stakes as it gets, and also pretty daunting.
NPR's Scott Detrow goes behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to see how the team is preparing.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
It's ... Indicators of the Week! We roundup the economic indicators that caught our attention. On this (kinda) spoOoOooky Friday the 13th, we were morbidly curious about higher household incomes, a Keurig K-Cup kerfuffle and, believe it or not, the return of Fyre Festival.
I can scarce believe that I've made 200 episodes of this show, but here we are! To celebrate, here is a quiz about language where all the questions were set by YOU, the beautiful brainy listeners. Play along with me - there's a score sheet you can use over at theallusionist.org/200, plus the episode's transcript and links to more information about some of the topics.
If you want to help me celebrate this podcast making it to 200 episodes, recommend it to someone! Word of mouth/virtual mouth is the best way for a podcast to find new listeners, especially a little independent podcast like this one with no budget for billboard advertising.
If you do want to chip in to my future billboard ad fund, go to theallusionist.org/donate and become a member of the Allusioverse. You get regular livestreams with me and my collection of reference books, inside scoops into the making of this show, watchalong parties eg the new season of Taskmaster which stars my brother Andy, and the company of your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, with music and editorial assistance from Martin Austwick of palebirdmusic.com. Find @allusionistshow on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube etc.
Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk about your product or thing on the show, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:
• Constant Wonder, the podcast that helps you find the wonder in nature (inc human). Listen in the usual places you find podcasts. • Rocket Money, the personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions and monitors your spending. Go to rocketmoney.com/allusionist to save money and lower your outgoings. • Home Chef, meal kits that fit your needs. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering Allusionist listeners eighteen free meals, plus free shipping on your first box, and free dessert for life, at HomeChef.com/allusionist. • Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online empire/new home for your cryptic puzzle that takes months to solve. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free 2-week trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.
