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Speaker Johnson's ever-growing headaches: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Trump plans a visit to Pennsylvania amid growing economic concerns. And an exclusive interview with Vance.
MUFG Seeks to Extend Morgan Stanley Ties to Asset Management Business
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. plans to team up with Morgan Stanley in asset management, deepening their 17-year partnership.
NASA Selects 2 Instruments for Artemis IV Lunar Surface Science
NASA has selected two science instruments designed for astronauts to deploy on the surface of the Moon during the Artemis IV mission to the lunar south polar
Klein hiring announcement coming Friday, public appearance Saturday
Collin Klein will be introduced as the new K-State football coach Friday, and the plan is to have him appear Saturday afternoon at the men’s basketball game at Bramlage Coliseum.
The GOP Still Can’t Agree on a Health Plan
Senate Democrats were promised a vote by mid-December on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, but Republicans still can’t decide whether they want to put forward their own alternative or what that might include. Meanwhile, the CDC and FDA are roiled by debates over vaccines. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani about her project tracking opioid settlement payments.
To counter climate denial, UN scientists must be 'clear' about human role: IPCC chief
With US President Donald Trump and other sceptics calling climate change a hoax, the UN's climate science body must tell the world in a "very clear way" that humans are heating the planet, its chairman told AFP. Jim Skea, a Scottish professor, chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which held a five-day meeting in a skyscraper outside Paris this week to begin drafting the next major UN climate assessment.I mean, we concluded in our last report, very simple conclusion: It is
In Laurel, details thin about proposed state-run mental health facility
Details about the state’s proposed psychiatric facility in Laurel have been thin on the ground for local elected officials. The list of unknowns includes where exactly the state wants to build the 32-bed facility, the next steps for the project and what role, if any, local government officials will play in approving the plan.
UVA chief mental health officer: Easy ways to stay healthy, succeed during exams
Eating well and making a study plan are part of the prescription.
Meta eyes budget cuts for its metaverse group as CEO Mark Zuckerberg doubles down on AI
Meta plans Reality Labs budget cuts up to 30%, weighing job cuts amid metaverse losses and renewed focus on AI technology.
Second padel recreational sports complex planned in Milwaukee
Epic Padel, an Arlington, Virginia-based indoor sports complex operator, is planning its first Wisconsin location in a new industrial building on
NCAA-backed effort to reshape college sport regulations has hit a wall in Congress
House Republicans plans to vote on a bill regulating college sports has been scrapped due to divisions within their caucus
Marc Benioff is writing Salesforce's annual strategy document. He shared the key details early with Business Insider.
The CEO is a few weeks into drafting the company's annual strategy plan. He shared the vision so far.
House GOP leaders finalizing health bill for next week
House Republican leaders are finalizing health care legislation for early next week, with a plan to bring it to the floor by the end of the year. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) t…
Planet Earth has never had so many billionaires
The number of billionaires worldwide – and their combined wealth – reached record highs this year, buoyed in particular by gains in tech stocks, Swiss bank UBS has found.
Mike Johnson races to finalize elusive GOP health care plan
The speaker said he expects to release a framework next week.
Haiden Deegan indicates plans remain to race 250s in Supercross
Haiden Deegan posted on social media: "Time to get back on the 2faddy and get ready for SX."
Contest Casts UMW Business Students as ‘Reel’-World Problem-Solvers
Five teams laid out plans to save a cinema giant, but only one could claim top billing. University of Mary Washington seniors Karla Bonilla Lizama and Evelyn Centellas won the Fall 2025 College of Business Case Competition – titled “Reel Choices: The Crossroads of a Movie Studio’s Destiny” – for their ideas, presentation and polish. […]
Schumer announces health care plan
A "clean" three-year extension of Obamacare tax credits is likely to fail on the floor next week.
US signs pact with Kenya under 'America First' global health plan
The U.S. will provide more than $1.6 billion to Kenya's health system under a new five-year agreement signed on Thursday, the first such agreement reached under the Trump administration's overhaul of foreign aid.
Jackson selected as editor for the Planetary Science Journal
Brian Jackson, professor of physics at Boise State University and Director of the Central Idaho...
CNBC Sport: U.S. men’s soccer is sick of losing the World Cup — and now it has a plan
The 2026 World Cup is coming to the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The draw for the World Cup will be held Friday in Washington, D.C., sorting 48 teams into groups.
Politics is now Americans' No. 1 money worry, financial planners say
Heading into 2026, the political environment has become the top concern clients are raising with their advisor, according to a new report by the CFP Board.
Suspect arrested in January 2021 D.C. pipe bomb case
The bombs were planted outside the Republican and Democratic national party headquarters in Washington, D.C, on the eve of the January 6 siege on the Capitol.
FBI makes arrest in DC pipe bomber investigation
The FBI arrested a person Thursday who investigators believe planted pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the 2021 US Capitol riot.
How To Build Sustainability Into Your Small Business
Learn how to build a resilient small business through strategic planning, smart financial decisions, and sustainable growth practices.
Gran Turismo 7 Spec III Update 1.65 & Power Pack DLC Now Available
Ten weeks after it was first announced, the bumper Gran Turismo 7 Spec III update is now available to players worldwide, bringing a host of new content and features to get to grips with. If you didn't check in ahead of time and missed out on the preload -- only the second time a GT7 update has be
Why UNC-CH Revived a Plan to Merge Library and Data Science
Many questions remain about UNC-Chapel Hill’s plan to merge the schools of Data Science and Society and Information and Library Science.
Florida wildlife agency’s leaders claim they don’t have to follow science
When I was growing up here in Florida, everyone revered science. We looked to high-IQ scientists to tell us how to fly to the moon, how to transplant a heart, how to fire up a laser, how the universe began with a Big Bang. But science is clearly out of favor now, especially in Florida. […]
House Lawmakers on Bipartisan Health Care Plan
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA), and other House lawmakers brief reporters on a bipartisan health care plan.
Zeroday Brewing Co. to shut down flagship Taproom, adding to business closures in Harrisburg
Zeroday Brewing Co. plans to shutter its flagship taproom and restaurant, dealing another blow to Harrisburg’s once-vibrant dining and nightlife scene. On Wednesday evening, co-founder Theo Armstrong said that he and his partners made “the difficult decision” to close the location at 925 N. 3rd St. The last day will be Sunday, Dec. 28. “Closing […]
City Council members flex political muscle in dispute over Chicago budget, corporate head tax
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget may be in trouble as more than half of Chicago City Council is now supporting an alternative plan that eliminates the controversial head tax the mayor adamantly supports.
Frustrated GOP barrels toward key health insurance vote without a clear plan
Some Senate Republicans are expressing frustration that their conference hasn’t been able to unify behind a health care plan ahead of a vote next week on a Democratic proposal to extend health insu…
TriHealth and UnitedHealthcare negotiations could disrupt health insurance
Thousands of people in Cincinnati face potential disruptions in their health insurance or may need to switch providers due to ongoing negotiations between TriHealth and UnitedHealthcare, with critical procedures and birthing plans hanging in the balance.
A dozen former FDA commissioners condemn plan to tighten vaccine approvals
In a New England Journal of Medicine article, the former FDA commissioners wrote they were “deeply concerned” by the top vaccine regulator’s approach to raising the bar for approvals.
Why American Health Care Is Still a Mess
Jonathan Gruber on the broken American health-care system, Obamacare, the Trump administration’s war on vaccines and science, and being on the wrong end of Republican outrage. Plus: David on Donald Trump’s Ukraine “peace plan,” recent scandals, and They Thought They Were Free, by Milton Mayer.
Employer health plans lure investors
The Trump administration has across its two terms boosted alternative health plans as it dismantles the ACA..
MrBeast is planning to launch a phone service called 'Beast Mobile'
Your phone plan could soon be tied to MrBeast, as the YouTuber has plans to launch a wireless service called Beast Mobile.
Business concerns stall plan to let Chicagoans flag crosswalk, bus and bike lane parking scofflaws
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) agreed to put a hold on his proposed citizen reporting ordinance in hopes of striking a compromise that could appease the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
A glass of morning orange juice has a surprising role in your health
Studies suggest 100% or plant-sterol-fortified orange juice may reduce LDL cholesterol modestly. Experts urge moderation and medical advice.
Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing of sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of a classified Inspector General report that was sent to Congress Tuesday night.
Versant Entertainment Boss on What’s Next for USA, E!, Oxygen and More Networks After NBCU Split: Procedurals, Live Events and Lots of Crime
Versant Entertainment president Val Boreland reveals her plans for USA, E! and Oxygen, among other networks, as they split from NBCUniversal.
How 2 issues in a week with the world's most popular plane spooked Airbus investors
Airbus has faced a challenging few days as it issued a software fix for its best-selling A320 family before confirming an issue with metal panels.
1.6 million Americans removed from health care plan under Trump admin
Around 1.6 million Americans were removed from Medicaid during the first six months of President Donald Trump's second term, KFF data shows.
China has planted so many trees it's changed the entire country's water distribution
Huge "regreening" efforts in China over the past few decades have activated the country's water cycle and moved water in ways that scientists are just now starting to understand.
DevvStream and Southern Energy Renewables Announce Business Combination Targeting Low-Cost Production of Carbon-Negative SAF and Green Methanol
SACRAMENTO, Calif. & NEW ORLEANS, December 03, 2025--DevvStream Corp. (Nasdaq: DEVS) ("DevvStream"), a leading carbon management and environmental-asset monetization firm, and Southern Energy Renewables Inc. ("Southern"), a U.S.-based producer of low-cost fuels made from biomass, with a flagship Louisiana project that plans to utilize regional wood-waste biomass to deliver green methanol and carbon-negative sustainable aviation fuel ("SAF") at scale, today announced that they have entered into a
I flew in Air India's posh business-class seat for 15 hours. I didn't want to get off the plane.
My long-haul international flight in Air India's business class had great suite-style seats, storage, and amenities that made the upgrade worth it.
Hawley pitches new health care tax plan
The Missouri Republican is proposing making it easier for more tax payers to deduct medical expenses — and has pitched Donald Trump on the idea.
Undermanned Spurs set sights on surging Magic
Starters Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama were left behind when the San Antonio Spurs boarded a plane Tuesday night to begin a three-game road trip.
Pleasanton Valley Greenhouses reaches 40 years in business
The family-owned Pleasanton Valley Greenhouses has been in business for 40 years. It continues to offer a variety of plants, products, services and events throughout the year.
Donald Trump calls Somali immigrants ‘garbage’ as ICE operations reportedly planned in Minnesota
President yesterday also halted immigration for people from 19 nations including Somalia, Afghanistan and Yemen
Trump administration latest: Russia dampens hopes for Ukraine peace plan
High mortgage rates come back to bite real estate investors who bet on rising rents
Landlords built mini-empires of rental homes using billions of dollar's worth of once-obscure DSCR loans. For some, the cash isn't flowing as planned.
China's top universities plan to roll out 'embodied intelligence' majors to fuel Beijing's robotics push
Seven Chinese universities plan to launch an "embodied intelligence" major as Beijing races to build a pipeline of robotics and AI talent.
Florida wildlife agency’s leaders claim they don’t have to follow science
When I was growing up here in Florida, everyone revered science. We looked to high-IQ scientists to tell us how to fly to the moon, how to transplant a heart, how to fire up a laser, how the universe began with a Big Bang. But science is clearly out of favor now, especially in Florida. […]
City, business leaders launch vision for Madison’s downtown future
MADISON, Wis. -- The City of Madison is beginning work on its new Downtown Area Plan in conjunction with Downtown Madison Inc.’s Greater Downtown Economic Investment Strategy as part of
Trump says Americans may soon pay ‘no income tax’ as White House explores alternative revenue streams
President Trump proposes eliminating income tax entirely, suggesting tariff revenue could replace traditional taxation in ambitious economic overhaul plan.
Republicans want a health care plan. They don’t know what will go in it.
House and Senate Republicans need to build consensus around a health care proposal by the end of next week if they want to compete with a Democratic plan.
Plan a year of insights and entertainment with Monocle's 2026 cultural calendar
Pick up a fresh new diary and fill the forthcoming 12 months with art, books, design, fashion and more from...
Early Earth’s sky may have created the first ingredients for life
Researchers recreated conditions from billions of years ago and found that Earth’s young atmosphere could make key molecules linked to life. These sulfur-rich compounds, including certain amino acids, may have formed naturally in the sky. The results suggest early Earth wasn’t starting from zero but may have already been stocked with essential ingredients.
North Omaha business park plan splits into multiple hubs, one might build innovative housing
A North Omaha business park plan is splitting into multiple hubs, including one that might build innovative housing to sell.
PacificSource Medicaid patients warned they may lose coverage at Salem Health Jan. 1
As of Tuesday, PacificSource Community Solutions and Salem Health had not reached an agreement for in-network coverage for thousands of Salem Residents on the Oregon Health Plan for 2026. The parties announced earlier this week that they’d agreed on coverage for PacificSource patients with commercial insurance or Medicare.
Scientists Uncover New Evidence of Ancient Airbursts That Ravaged Earth Without Leaving Craters
Scientists are uncovering signs that Earth has been hit by powerful cosmic blasts that leave little trace on the surface yet unleash extraordinary heat and pressure.
How to tell time on Mars
Physicists finally know how much faster time moves on the Red Planet.
Here's How I'm Planning to Transform Myself and My Business in 2026
Here are five things I'm focusing on to achieve meaningful growth in the year ahead.
Trump’s push for health care plan stalls ahead of looming subsidy expiration
President Donald Trump’s push for a new health care plan has stalled, amid disagreements within the GOP over the extension of key enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, three people familiar with the matter told CNN.
Trump’s push for health care plan stalls ahead of looming subsidy expiration
President Donald Trump’s push for a new health care plan has stalled, amid disagreements within the GOP over the extension of key enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, three people familiar with the matter told CNN.
How America’s Biggest Retailers Are Rethinking Their Businesses And Their Stores
America’s biggest department stores are changing, and changing fast. In the past quarter, for instance, Target has piloted a new store model in Chicago, where it’s begun segmenting some stores into more backroom operations and fulfillment for online orders, while high-foot traffic locations will prioritize in-person shopper engagement and on-shelf inventory availability. The company plans […]
Delaware works to shore up rural hospitals threatened by Medicaid cuts
Delaware has a plan to transform health care in the state’s rural areas, but is dealing with billions in federal funding cuts.
LIVE: Duval DOGE committee discusses Group Health Plan, telehealth, 2% lapse
The Duval DOGE committee is meeting on Tuesday at 11 a.m. to get an update from The Bailey Group on the city’s Group Health Plan and the 2% lapse.
Amid anti-drug push, Trump pardons leader sentenced on cocaine charges
Trump said Nov. 28 that he planned to pardon the former Honduran leader, and a White House official confirmed Dec. 2 that the pardon had been issued.
Meridian Health Plan of Illinois Commits $1.15 Million to Expand St. Louis Area Foodbank Mobile Pantry Program
Meridian Health Plan of Illinois, Inc. (Meridian), a company of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), announced it will provide a $1.15 million grant over the next three years to Food On The Move, a mobile food pantry program by the St. Louis Area Foodbank that brings healthy food to underserved populations and food deserts in urban communities and rural areas in Illinois. This partnership will deliver healthy food and essential resources to underserved communities across Illinois, aligning with Meri
Intensifying Regulatory Pressures Force Seismic Shift in Health Plan Concerns for 2026 According to HealthEdge Research
BOSTON, December 02, 2025--As healthcare organizations navigate an increasingly complex policy environment, 85% of health plan executives say regulatory pressures are impacting their costs and margins, according to new research published today by HealthEdge®. The report, "The Great Rebalancing: Inside the New Realities Shaping Health Plan Performance," identifies the top challenges in the payer market, how they are evolving, and strategies health plans are deploying to overcome them.
Yuyu Pharma Announces Strategic Investment in Dalan Animal Health as Part of Accelerated Global Expansion in Animal Health
Yuyu Pharma announced today that it has completed a strategic investment in Dalan Animal Health, a U.S.-based biotechnology company advancing an innate immunity–based platform for developing vaccines for honeybees and shrimp. The investment marks a significant step in Yuyu Pharma's plan to become a more active global player in the fast-growing animal health sector.
Green Science Alliance Proposes New 3D "Jungle Gym like" Structure for Solar Power Generation
Dr. Ryohei Mori of Green Science Alliance Co., Ltd. - a company engaged in the research and development of cutting-edge environmental and energy technologies for decarbonization and building a carbon-neutral society—has proposed a new solar power generation system utilizing a 3D "jungle gym" structure, with proof-of-concept testing planned in the near future.
Why Does It Feel Like You’re Dropping Around 30 Seconds After A Plane Takes Off?
Our ears and stomachs are very good at picking up on changes in acceleration.
Curiosity Cracked Open a Rock on Mars And Revealed a Big Surprise
A first on the red planet!
JWST Spots Signs of Exomoon Birth in Alien Planet’s Disk
Scientists found evidence of a distant planet’s moon system forming
French Premier’s Budget Push Faces Key Stretch Ahead of Vote
France’s National Assembly is starting a second reading of the 2026 social security budget bill on Tuesday in a crucial test of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s plan to shepherd contested financial legislation through a divided parliament.
Science Explains Why You Wince When Watching Another's Pain
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, Dec. 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Ever wonder why you instinctively wince when you see physical harm come to a TV or movie character on screen? There’s a scientific explanation for why we flinch when watching painful events, even though we know it’s not ...
Lammy to address ‘court emergency’ but expected to safeguard jury system
Justice secretary appears to have pulled back from plans to scrap juries for all but the most serious cases
Developer plans to bring daytime business to St. Mary’s Strip in San Antonio
A developer plans to renovate some aging homes amid the bars that make the St. Mary’s Strip synonymous with San Antonio nightlife to bring some different bustle to the area.
As energy plan nears completion, New York lags on climate goals
New York’s progress on its higher level emissions benchmarks has deteriorated even from the release of the draft plan in July.
As energy plan nears completion, New York lags on climate goals
New York’s progress on its higher level emissions benchmarks has deteriorated even from the release of the draft plan in July.
Raptors, Trail Blazers plan to learn from respective losing streaks
The Toronto Raptors aim to regain their winning touch during a five-game homestand that starts Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Apple Artificial Intelligence Head to Leave After AI Struggles
Apple Inc. artificial intelligence head John Giannandrea plans to step down from the job, ending a challenging stint at the iPhone maker.
Small Business Saturday rescheduled after snow disrupts shopping event
MADISON, Wis. -- Small Business Saturday faced significant disruption due to snow, but local businesses and advocates remain optimistic about a rescheduled event planned for this upcoming weekend.
An extra solar system planet once orbited next to Earth — and it may be the reason we have a moon
Earth may have a moon today because a nearby neighbor once crashed into us, a new analysis of Apollo samples and terrestrial rocks reveals.
From Barton to Breakthrough Science
Dr. Taylor Medlock-Lanier, Class of 2020, has spent the last five years in her lab at the University of Georgia surrounded by containers of planarians—tiny flatworms with an extraordinary superpower. Cut one in half, and within a week, it will regrow its missing parts, including its entire brain. She’s been asking these tiny creatures a
Healthcare plan for children, families launch in NC; here's who is covered
Around 32,000 current and former children in foster care, youth, and young adults under age 26, and their minor children, were automatically enrolled, NCDHHS says.
Genesis Mission: why Trump’s plan to put AIs in charge of science could backfire
AI enthusiasts are right that projects like AlphaFold are a huge leap forward, but the philosophy of science shows why excluding humans undermines it.
Netflix ends casting from mobile devices for users of newer TVs
You should still be able to cast from your phone or tablet to older Chromecast or Google Cast devices if you're on an ad-free plan.
Go (North) West, College Basketball
Lamenting the death of the truly-enjoyable MTE. I hadn’t planned on much basketball coverage here for a couple reasons: for one, the internet is a dying place, and, for two, that’s exacerbating the steady death of Off Tackle Empire dot blogspot dot biz. BUT! Looking over the (limited) options for basketball on this last snowy […]
Why Your Company Needs a Chief Data, Analytics, and AI Officer
Who should be in charge of data, analytics, and AI? While there are many possible divisions of responsibility and reporting structures, a combined role—the CDAIO (Chief Data, Analytics, and AI Officer)—will best prepare organizations as they plan for AI going forward. To succeed, this role needs a clear mandate that includes owning AI strategy, preparing for a new class of risks, developing the AI tech stack, ensuring the company’s data is ready for AI, creating an AI ready culture, developing talent and partnerships, and generating significant ROI on AI investments. Given the emphasis on business value creation, in most cases CDAIOs should be positioned closer to business functions than to technology operations.
State Variations in the Role of the Reproductive Health Safety Net for Contraceptive Care Among Medicaid Enrollees
This KFF analysis uses 2023 T-MSIS Research Identifiable Files to look at where reproductive-age female Medicaid enrollees received their last contraceptive visit by state. Overall, more than four in 10 (43%) female Medicaid enrollees received their last contraceptive visit of 2023 at a safety net provider, which includes Planned Parenthood clinics, community health centers, state and local health departments, and Indian health services, but there is wide variation by state.
Elon Musk Is Building Out His Next Company Town With Science Center, Gym
The billionaire has a construction boom planned for his rural Texas compound known as Snailbrook.
Dentons recognized as “Entertainment Law Firm of the Year 2025” by Lexology Index Awards
Dentons is proud to announce that it has been named “Entertainment Law Firm of the Year 2025” by the Lexology Index Awards which celebrates excellence across the global legal landscape.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
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