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Innovation & Tech Today Releases Volume 9, Issue 5: Gaming, Entertainment, and Global Innovation
Innovation & Tech Today releases Volume 9, Issue 5 exploring gaming, entertainment and global innovation shaping culture, industry, and future technology. Volume 9, Issue 5 highlights the breakthroughs shaping gaming, entertainment, and global innovation. This issue showcases how technology is driving progress across industries worldwide.” — Jon Stone, Managing Editor at I&T Today DENVER, CO, […]
Innovation & Tech Today Releases Volume 9, Issue 5: Gaming, Entertainment, and Global Innovation
Innovation & Tech Today releases Volume 9, Issue 5 exploring gaming, entertainment and global innovation shaping culture, industry, and future technology. Volume 9, Issue 5 highlights the breakthroughs shaping gaming, entertainment, and global innovation. This issue showcases how technology is driving progress across industries worldwide.” — Jon Stone, Managing Editor at I&T Today DENVER, CO, […]
Health advances marked 2025, even as wars and funding cuts strained systems
From eliminating deadly infections to expanding access to lifesaving vaccines, 2025 delivered meaningful progress for global health, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), offering cautious optimism at the close of a year marked by both breakthroughs and strain.
ENTERTAINMENT: Clinton Center 2026 lineup includes Cornel West
Cornel West, democratic socialist philosopher in the progressive Christian tradition, according to a news release, and Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic and a conservative legal scholar, will jointly present a Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture.
Zohran Mamdani becomes New York’s mayor on New Year’s Day. His administration is a work in progress
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is closing 2025 with a still-evolving image of the team that is going to help steer his government and enact an ambitious agenda to tackle the affordability crisis in the nation’s largest city.
Bringing a local community approach to Colorado health policy
Health policy is not always a straightforward topic of discussion. There are many aspects to the complex health care system we’re used to. When issues arise at the national level, disagreement and dueling press conferences can slow progress and constructive results that build a better future. When you bring these subjects into communities you’ll find […]
Disney to integrate Hulu and Disney+ in 2026
The Burbank entertainment giant is making progress on its plan to fold Hulu content into the Disney+ platform sometime next year.
Why patients don’t care about health care prices
The U.S. health care system is unable to progress in pricing transparency due to the fact that most patients do not have a financial incentive to care about prices, as someone else is paying the bi…
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to introduce Zohran Mamdani at New Year’s Day inauguration
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration will feature Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the two most prominent leaders of the Democratic Party’s progressive movement.
Scientists replayed evolution and found a surprise
Environmental change doesn’t affect evolution in a single, predictable way. In large-scale computer simulations, scientists discovered that some fluctuating conditions help populations evolve higher fitness, while others slow or even derail progress. Two populations facing different kinds of change can end up on completely different evolutionary paths. The findings challenge the idea that one population’s response can represent a whole species.
Takeaways from Trump and Netanyahu’s meeting in Florida
President Donald Trump’s Monday meeting in Florida at Mar-a-Lago with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu generated plenty of warm words — but no clear progress in their peace plan for Gaza.
Jasmine Crockett touts progressive credentials in Dem Senate fight against James Talarico
Rep. Jasmine Crockett said Monday she’s the more experienced, proven progressive option for Democrats as she competes with state Rep. James Talarico for the...
Zelensky works yet again to break Putin's hold on Trump
Few signs of progress toward a peace agreement materialize from the meeting at Mar-a-Lago.
$25,000 per month: the cost of Trump tariffs on small business importers, revealed
The Center for American Progress said the tariffs haven't been a Christmas gift for American business, more like a lump of coal.
New Iraqi parliament holds first session, elects speaker
Haybat al-Halbousi, from the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, has been elected as speaker of the new parliament.
Working Families bet on 2026 as the right time for a third US party after a wave of wins
The progressive party is now active in 18 states and much of its expansion happened in the past five years
Mid-Ohio Valley Entertainment Commission making progress ahead of the new year
MARIETTA, Ohio - The Mid-Ohio Valley Entertainment Commission continues to advance with its goals of bringing Hollywood to Southeast Ohio.
CCTV+: China-Lao Agricultural Science Cooperation Delivers New Results in 2025
/PRNewswire/ -- China and Lao PDR have stepped up their cooperation on agricultural science and technology, with 2025 marking a year of concrete progress from...
The 'Godfather of AI' warns 2026 will bring a new wave of AI job losses
Geoffrey Hinton says AI's rapid progress could trigger a new wave of job losses in 2026. "It's going to be able to replace many other jobs," he said.
Forest analysis: Still progressing under Dyche
The feeling around the City Ground should be one of pride, and the belief Nottingham Forest are continuing to move in the right direction. The chaos of the start of the season - when Ange Postecoglou replaced Nuno Espirito Santo and barely lasted six weeks - has been replaced by the almost serene nature of the past two months under Sean Dyche. Defeat meant it is successive losses for the first time under Dyche, a testament to how quickly he got to grips with a floundering team, but Forest cannot afford to allow it to become a habit.
Washington Post rips UK health system as NHS pleads with Brits to avoid hospitals
The Washington Post questioned why American progressives support single-payer healthcare after the U.K. asks patients to avoid hospitals during winter crisis.
Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?
A tech C.E.O. explains why A.I. probably won’t cure diseases anytime soon. Hint: You still need humans.
Mountain Valley MD Provides Year-End Business Update, Advances Commercialization Across Core Platforms
TORONTO, December 24, 2025--Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc. (the "Company" or "MVMD") (CSE: MVMD) (OTCQB: MVMDF) (FRA: 20MP) provides a year-end business update on its commercialization progress across its three core areas of focus:
Stigma Is the Enemy of Science and Human Progress
History shows we often dismiss what we don’t yet understand. Here’s why stigmatizing today’s uncomfortable questions may be holding humanity back.
'Palace fight will have delighted Glasner'
Former Crystal Palace forward Glen Murray says Oliver Glasner will be "delighted" with the spirit shown by his side despite their Carabao Cup quarter-final exit on Tuesday evening. The Eagles fought back after Maxence Lacroix's late own goal to equalise deep into stoppage time and force penalties away at Arsenal, before the Gunners eventually progressed by winning the shootout. "When you take into consideration the way they lost the game at the weekend against Leeds, coming away to the Emirates in the quarter-final of a cup competition and digging in in the manner that they did showed character," Murray told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.
Justice Department’s heavy-handed redactions leave no one happy in the ‘Epstein files’ saga
The Justice Department’s release of the Epstein files — mandated by Congress to be completed last week — is still a work in progress.
Party politics: Defining ‘conservative’
Re: “Partisanship: ‘Elections have consequences’ ” (Dec. 18, Northwest Voices): I question the boilerplate use of the label “conservative” as the opposite of “progressive” in articles and opinion pieces discussing party politics. “Regressive” would be a more accurate label in most...
How To Submit Public Comments To Oppose Proposed Rules Restricting Transgender Health Care Access
Comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services can help fight the Trump administration’s latest attempt to restrict federal funding for transgender health care for youth. This toolkit details how to submit them.
A new drug could stop Alzheimer’s before memory loss begins
New research suggests Alzheimer’s may start far earlier than previously thought, driven by a hidden toxic protein in the brain. Scientists found that an experimental drug, NU-9, blocks this early damage in mice and reduces inflammation linked to disease progression. The treatment was given before symptoms appeared, targeting the disease at its earliest stage. Researchers say this approach could reshape how Alzheimer’s is prevented and treated.
Michael Bolton in 'very good health' as daughters share positive update on brain cancer battle
Michael Bolton's daughters share positive health update as singer battles glioblastoma brain cancer with family support and strong recovery progress.
Trump’s Assault On Health Care, Seen From a Country That Does Health Care Better
Japan is a showcase for universal health care, and what we’re losing in GOP attacks on the Affordable Care Act.
Strengthening U.S.-Nigerian Health Cooperation under the America First Global Health Strategy - U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria
Strengthening U.S.-Nigerian Health Cooperation under the America First Global Health Strategy The United States signed a five-year, $5.1 billion bilateral health cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Republic of Nigeria December 19 to advance the America First Global Health Strategy, supporting resilient, self-reliant, and durable health systems while promoting accountability and shared responsibility. Under the five-year MOU, the United States intends to commit nearly $2.1 billion in health assistance, with nearly $3.0 billion in new domestic health expenditures by the Government of Nigeria over the same five-year period. This represents the largest co-investment any country has made to date under the America First Global Health Strategy and underscore Nigeria’s commitment to greater national ownership of its health system. Under the MOU, the United States will continue to support surveillance and outbreak response, laboratory systems, health commodities; frontline healthcare workers, and data systems. Nigeria faces significant health challenges, including one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates globally and approximately30 percent of the global malaria burden. U.S. assistance under the MOU will expand access to affordable, preventive and curative services for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, polio, and maternal and child health, strengthening health outcomes across Nigeria. The MOU places a strong emphasis on Christian faith-based healthcare providers, recognizing their indispensable role in delivering care to communities in need. Nigeria’s more than 900 faith-based clinics and hospitals serve more than 30 percent of the country’s 230 million people, often in areas where healthcare facilities are limited or absent. The MOU provides approximately $200 million in dedicated support to strengthen and support these Christian facilities, enhance workforce capacity, and expand access to integrated HIV, TB, malaria, and maternal child health services. Investments in Christian faith-based health institutions are uniquely positioned to complement public-sector facilities and reinforce Nigeria’s overall health infrastructure. The MOU was negotiated in connection with reforms undertaken by the Government of Nigeria to prioritize the protection of Christian populations from extremist violence. As with all U.S. foreign assistance, the President and Secretary of State retain the right to pause or terminate programs that do not align with U.S. national interests, and the United States expects Nigeria to continue making measurable progress in combating religiously motivated violence against Christian communities. This five-year MOU is the latest of several health cooperation MOUs signed in Africa this month. The United States will continue to sign multi-year Bilateral Agreements on Global Health Cooperation with countries receiving U.S. health assistance to advance the America First Global Health Strategy.
Business affected by UPS plane crash regain more access as cleanup continues
Crews continue to make progress cleaning up near the site of the UPS plane crash.
The top new 2025 games by players
Here's 2025's most played new titles across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. Plus, a breakdown of Steam’s $18B in revenue, including top indies, and other 2025 goodies.
Governor Ivey Signs Executive Order Establishing Alabama Rural Health Transformation Advisory Group -
MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday signed Executive Order No. 741 to establish the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Advisory Group. The Advisory Group will advise the governor on the progress, policy development and implementation of Alabama’s Rural Health Transformation … Continued
Trump plays the blame game in White House address. Here are the takeaways.
"Boy are we making progress," Trump said in a speech focused heavily on the affordability issue that has increasingly bedeviled his administration.
Global Business Travel Group (GBTG): Reassessing Valuation After Recent Share Price Rebound and CWT Acquisition Progress
Global Business Travel Group (GBTG) has been quietly reshaping its business travel platform, and the stock’s recent mix of gains over the past month and weakness year to date has investors reassessing its trajectory. See our latest analysis for Global Business Travel Group. Despite the year to date share price return sitting in negative territory, the recent 1 month share price rebound and a solid three year total shareholder return suggest sentiment may be stabilising around Global Business...
GOP seizes on Dem civil war as progressives jump into key 2026 Senate races: ‘They're in shambles’
Progressive Democrats enter competitive Senate primaries amid party divisions, with Rep. Jasmine Crockett's Texas campaign highlighting ideological rifts.
Being a Huge Asshole Is Not Good Politics
It would be one thing if Trump was delivering for the average person. But when he isn't, his complete lack of human virtue becomes a bigger problem.
Kelly Born on All the Ways AI Is Changing Politics
Yascha Mounk and Kelly Born discuss the socioeconomic impact of artificial intelligence.
Debating Science: No Thanks
Anti-vaccine activists RFK Jr., Aaron Siri, and Steve Kirsch have asked that I debate them on vaccine safety. One of them offered me $1 million to do it. Here’s why I declined.
The Groundbreaking Political Legacy of Theodore Roosevelt
American presidents occasionally perform roles that extend well beyond the formal obligations of their office. Thomas Jefferson’s tenure (1801–1809) embodied the broader progress of antebellum sout…
Trump offers ‘platinum’ security guarantees for Ukraine, but US officials caution offer won’t last forever
American officials on Monday described significant progress in talks to bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end, suggesting beefed-up security guarantees for Kyiv had advanced the peace talks — but that the US offer would not be on the table forever.
2025 Has Been a Year of Unraveling Progress in Health
From vaccine hostility to the dismantling of USAID, the consequences of this year’s retrenchments will be felt for years to come.
Dropping equity goals for businesses widens inequality
We call on the MMSD Commission to build on decades of progress and uphold policies that narrow long-standing racial and gender inequities.
Rob Reiner used his fame to advocate for progressive causes. 'Just a really special man. A terrible day'
The Hollywood director known for 'Stand by Me' and 'When Harry Met Sally' was also a political force and an outspoken voice for same-sex marriage and early childhood education.
Harris County Democratic Party reprimands Houston Mayor John Whitmire, withholds future endorsement
A progressive group pushed through a measure to bar Whitmire from receiving the party’s endorsement. It came nearly eight months after he attended a fundraiser for a Republican congressman.
Health insurance under Affordable Care Act to skyrocket after Senate fails to extend tax credits
Health care advocates and progressive groups across Florida said the U.S. Senate's failure to extend premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Act was a "disheartening setback" that will significantly raise the cost of health insurance for nearly 5 million Floridians, including hundreds of thousands of people in South Florida.
Ethics commission investigates progressive Portland city councilors over August retreat
Oregon ethics officials will investigate whether six Portland city councilors violated public meetings law when they met for a private August retreat.
Democrats want to win back Congress. First they need to weather their primary battles
At least a dozen US House Democrats are already facing primary challenges, as progressives seek to transform a party regaining its footing after 2024 by tapping into voters’ frustration with its leaders ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Jayden Quaintance making great progress: What about Mo Dioubate?
“It was like a Christmas miracle.”
Breaking echo chambers, white-label resources, and this month’s top science picks
Behind the curtain (Dec 12)
Samsung makes progress on One UI 8.5 for Galaxy S23, Z Flip 6, and Z Fold 6
The first test firmware for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 6, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 have been spotted on Samsung's servers.
Science Can’t Wait: Why Stable Funding Matters for Discovery
The end of the shutdown did not resolve the uncertainty facing US researchers, who continue to navigate delays and budget constraints that slow scientific progress.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk put science on the chopping block in 2025
The Trump administration has targeted everything from public health to space missions for funding cuts, bringing an end to the longstanding US policy of scientific pursuits as a path towards progress and economic prosperity
The art and science of failing well
There’s bad failure — the kind we ignore or hide — and good failure, which becomes data for future progress. Three experts discuss how to tell the difference.
FTBOA To Pursue Development Of Racing, Entertainment Facility In Ocala Area
Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and attorney John Morgan named as partners in potential Central Florida project
‘It’s time to move on’: Longtime Somerville state senator says she won’t run for re-election
Senator Patricia Jehlen, a longtime fixture and voice for progressive politics on Beacon Hill, announced Tuesday that she would not seek reelection.
Who killed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II’s 'Restored Content DLC' for Switch? Disney lawyers.
EXCLUSIVE: How a studio's multi-year effort to give Switch (and mobile) gamers official access to KOTOR II’s infamously cut content collapsed. The emails. The timeline. Plans B and C. The inside story
Progress in politics: Politicians say New Mexico Legislature more welcoming to women
On the bottom floor of the state Capitol in Santa Fe — beneath the public galleries and art displays — the walls are lined with portraits of former
Here's your first look at the slick animation for Android’s NameDrop-style contact sharing feature
Google is making steady progress on its NameDrop-style contact exchange feature for Android, and we have the proof.
Column | Carolyn Hax: Unemployment and health issues add up to ‘feeling inadequate’
Solutions to both problems are in progress. In the meantime, how does the letter writer push through difficult conversations?
Progress in politics: Politicians say New Mexico Legislature more welcoming to women
New Mexico lawmakers say a female majority in the Roundhouse has come with another change: a cultural shift away from its reputation as a stereotypical "boys club."
Embark dishes on all the goodies you'll get in Arc Raiders if you choose to prestige later this month
Arc Raiders' Expedition Project kicks off later this month, giving you the option to completely reset your progress, in exchange for a few bonuses.
Most countries make progress towards universal health coverage, but major challenges remain, WHO–World Bank report finds
A new joint report from WHO and the World Bank Group reveals that most countries – across all income levels and regions – have made concurrent progress in expanding health service coverage and reducing the financial hardship associated with health costs, since 2000.
Vance lists the three progressive politicians he now appreciates
Vice President Vance shared a list of the three progressive politicians who he said, in an interview with NBC News published Thursday, he has come to appreciate. In a wide-ranging interview that to…
Exynos 2600 Has Yet To Enter Mass Production, With Latest Report Downplaying Previous Updates Regarding Samsung’s First 2nm GAA Chipset’s Progress
The Exynos 2600 was recently announced in a small trailer, but a new update states that Samsung’s first 2nm GAA SoC has yet to enter mass production
Atropos Health Expands Oncology Precision Medicine Capabilities with Publication of New AI Algorithms for Rare Disease and Integration of ASCO Guidelines
PALO ALTO, Calif., December 05, 2025--Atropos Health, a pioneer in translating real-world clinical data into personalized real-world evidence (RWE) and insights, today announced the publication of additional AI tools for patient monitoring for existing paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)—a rare, serious blood disorder. The progression monitoring tools are in addition to the previously-published algorithm to improve earlier diagnosis that was announced prior.
Is Christianity “Anti-Science”?
The idea that Christians are inherently anti-science is not only common but persistent, echoed in conversations and cultural commentary for as long as I can remember. I often hear claims that Christianity has historically repressed scientific progress, sometimes citing stories of Christians burning scientists at the stake or actively inhibiting scientific advancement out of dogmatic […]
The Cost of Confused Climate Science
A retracted blockbuster study shows the motivated reasoning that fuels climate hysteria.
Hopes fade in Congress for a health care deal before premiums are expected to soar
Congress has less than a month before health insurance premiums are set to spike for millions of Americans, but hopes of a deal to mitigate the rising costs have made little progress. NBC News' Sahil Kapur reports on the pessimism on Capitol Hill over a deal being reached.
America's mayors are right to support small business
Supporting the middle class, shoring up support for the system, and restoring the lifeblood of our cities.
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025
Whatever may be happening at the national level, progressives in Pittsburgh are undeterred. The local Democratic Party has shored up and built on its base. Prominent left-leaning candidates now hold office everywhere from the county to Congress. Following November’s blue wave election, high off-year turnout propelled even more local progressives into office. Among their number […]
Tennessee election updates: Voters hit polls in tighter-than-expected race
Tennessee's House District 7 was supposed to be Democrat-proof, but a progressive state representative is looking for an upset over her GOP rival.
A dementia vaccine could be real, and some of us have taken it without knowing | BBC Science Focus Magazine
Getting vaccinated against shingles could protect you from getting dementia, or slow the progression of the disease, says a new study.
Head Start Is a Model for Supporting Child and Family Mental Health
Amid a pronounced youth mental health crisis in the United States, Head Start stands out as a crucial model for addressing the needs of vulnerable young children.
Indiana hospital officials point to new studies showing decreased health care costs
Indiana hospitals are making progress toward lowering health care costs, according to new national rankings and reports.
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.
S.F. Mayor Lurie takes another political gamble with latest Sunset supervisor pick
Alan Wong, who Lurie swore into office Monday as the Sunset’s new representative on the Board of Supervisors, has for years backed a variety of progressive politicians and policies.
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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