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Florida's Latino families being squeezed financially by high health care, child care costs
The findings, released by Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors and UnidosUS, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group, paint a portrait of a rapidly growing electorate that is highly engaged on economic and social issues but increasingly strained by the rising cost of living in the Sunshine State.
Belfast throws down Ireland's first sumo wrestling club
Belfast-based Sumo Na hÉireann is Ireland's first sumo club, capitalising on the sports growing popularity.
‘Loopholes have won the day’: Cap? What cap? Spending on players growing even after NCAA settlement
Schools are promising coaches millions to build their rosters, far above the revenue-sharing limits put into place this year. Can anything stop the rising salaries?
Packers vs Broncos Props & Best Bets for Week 15
Bo Nix has started throwing more frequently for Denver in recent weeks, and we expect that trend to continue in Sunday’s showdown against Green Bay.
LG Update Installs Unremovable Microsoft Copilot on Smart TVs, Ignites Backlash
LG's recent software update has forcibly installed Microsoft Copilot, an AI assistant, on smart TVs without removal options, sparking widespread user backlash over privacy, bloatware, and loss of control. This highlights growing tensions in smart devices, where monetization often overrides user preferences.
Speaker Johnson unveils health care plan as divided Republicans scramble for alternative
The Senate failed to get anywhere on health care this week. Now it’s the House’s turn. Speaker Mike Johnson late Friday released a package of proposal to address growing health care costs.
Chiefs EVP Lara Krug discusses the team's popularity internationally
During her chat with @EdEastonJr, Kansas City Chiefs Executive Vice President Lara Krug discussed the team's growing popularity internationally
The Roots of Dementia Trace Back All The Way to Childhood, Experts Find
The evidence is growing.
As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity
The NBA’s growing ties with the UAE come as the Gulf state faces mounting evidence of complicity in atrocities in Sudan – and silence from sport
K-pop events in China disrupted as Beijing-Tokyo tensions affect entertainment sector
Growing tensions between China and Japan are apparently affecting Korea's K-pop industry, with recent events involving groups with Japanese singers...
Speaker Johnson scrambles to find a health care plan as Republicans remain divided
The Senate failed to get anywhere on health care this week. Now it’s the House’s turn. Speaker Mike Johnson is rushing to compile a package of bills to address growing health care costs.
FDA approves first new antibiotics to treat gonorrhea in decades, with hope to combat drug resistance
For the first time in decades, the US Food and Drug Administration has signed off on new antibiotics to fight gonorrhea. The approvals come at a critical moment: The sexually transmitted infection is growing harder to treat, and cases continue to climb nationwide.
Why reliable internet is a must-have for a growing Brooklyn retail business
Spectrum Business helps Brooklyn retail businesses like Rider Gifts grow, enabling seamless e-commerce and team collaboration.
Broadcom's AI Business Is Growing Fast. Here's Why the Stock Is Tanking Anyway.
Broadcom on Thursday said its AI revenue will double in the current quarter, but shares slumped as investors focused on narrowing margins after a major run-up in the stock price.
GOP defectors raise the heat on Republicans over health vote subsidies
GOP leaders in both chambers of Congress are under growing pressure from rank-and-file Republicans to address health insurance premiums that are expected to soar next year, fueling concerns the nat…
How Political Alignment Between Cities and Governors Shapes Municipal Borrowing Costs
In new research, Ramona Dagostino and Anya Nakhmurina discuss how political misalignment between state governors and city leadership can affect how cities access financing, particularly in municipal bond pricing and crisis prevention investment.
Distrust of Trump, fear of China propel new political force in Taiwan
The Kuomintang party’s new leader, Cheng Li-wun, is pushing much closer ties with China, reflecting growing fears Washington would not help in a war over Taiwan.
New laws to be considered after ‘harrowing stories’ from ex-Vodafone franchisees
Concerns about power imbalance in franchise agreements amid claims over firm’s treatment of small-business owners
After a year of Trump-inspired inaction, some Republicans in Congress are growing restless
A year after President Donald Trump’s election and with next year’s midterms looming, congressional deference to the White House is showing signs of wearing on some Republicans.
EXCLUSIVE: Prediction markets launch coalition amid sports betting fight
Several major prediction markets are forming a coalition to promote and defend their political interests amid a growing fight over sports betting, Axios has learned.
How New Growth Drivers Are Shaping What Analysts Think Gives BrightSpring Health Services The Edge
BrightSpring Health Services latest update nudges its fair value estimate slightly higher to about $40.54 per share, underpinned by steady revenue growth expectations of roughly 12.49% and a largely unchanged discount rate near 6.96%. The modest bump reflects growing conviction in the companys ability to win additional limited distribution drug contracts and unlock further upside from generic conversions and Provider Services opportunities. Read on to see what is driving this evolving...
Low health literacy is costing health
This document highlights health literacy as a critical determinant of health and a foundation for empowering individuals to make informed choices amid growing volumes of information and misinformation.
'We need to come up with something': House Republicans struggle to agree on a health care plan
The House will vote on a health care plan before the end of the year. But a growing number of Republicans worry their party will pay the price for rising insurance premiums.
Hubble & Citizen Science
Hubble's vast and growing archive is a treasure trove of data for researchers, especially with help from citizen scientist volunteers.
Mini brains, big questions: science is racing ahead of ethics
Brain organoids are revolutionising research, but their growing complexity raises unsettling ethical questions.
Govs. Shapiro, Cox warn of growing political violence
Govs. Shapiro, Cox warn of growing political violence
Supreme Court poised to strike down Watergate-era campaign finance limits
The Supreme Court's conservatives signaled they are likely to rule for Republicans and President Trump by throwing out a Watergate-era limit on campaign funding by political parties. Such a ruling could allow parties to support their candidate's campaigns with help from wealthy donors.
I’m Trans and Playing Sports Changed Me for the Better
By Sasha Buchert, Lambda Legal Counsel, Nonbinary & Trans Rights Project Director For as long as I can remember, people have been throwing wiffle balls, basketballs, footballs, dodgeballs, volleyballs, frisbees, hockey pucks, and boomerangs at me. As an adult, I’m now part of an adult softball league, where I get softballs hurled at me all...
New York City Faces Record High Youth Mental Health Crisis: Comptroller Lander’s Report
New York, NY — Under resourced New York City Public Schools are facing a growing youth mental health crisis, according to a new report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. With close to 40% of New York City high school students reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness, Comptroller Lander’s report...
Entertainment jackpot: Larchwood casino enhances entertainment
LARCHWOOD—Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort northwest of Larchwood wants to be known as “the entertainment destination,” according to marketing director Greta Brower, especially as its growing “exponentially” in 2026.
Yahoo Sports Network Adds Live Indoor Football League Games to Growing Programming Slate
Yahoo Sports, C15 Studio, and the Indoor Football League (IFL) are teaming up to bring live football broadcasts to Yahoo Sports Network, the new streaming TV channel available on leading FAST services and yahoosports.tv.
Roundup: Small business confidence / Commercial real estate / Private consumer lending
Ticking up: Small business confidence rose slightly in November, with the NFIB optimism index climbing to 99.0 on stronger sales expectations, outperforming forecasts. However, hiring remains challenging, as labor quality is still the top concern. Meanwhile, inflation pressures and supply chain disruptions are growing and uncertainty over future investment has increased. Expectations for better business […]
Enterprises Unify, Accelerate Business Planning with AI-powered Software Platforms, ISG Says
STAMFORD, Conn., December 09, 2025--A growing number of companies are using business planning software to integrate planning activities and align them with enterprise strategy, ISG says.
Does college sports need a CBA? Some ADs are starting to think so
A growing number of athletic directors say they are interested in exploring a once-unthinkable option.
4 Takeaways From the Chargers' Win Over the Eagles
Here are our takeaways from the Chargers' overtime win over the Eagles with Jalen Hurts throwing four interceptions.
Trump administration urges 'remigration,' borrowing white nationalist language : The NPR Politics Podcast
The Trump administration has refocused some of its immigration policy on a push to get immigrants to "remigrate," or leave the country voluntarily. We discuss the administration's language and policy and examine its links to white nationalism.This episode: political correspondent Sarah McCammon, immigration policy correspondent Ximena Bustillo, and domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
PROOF OF THE PUDDING EXPANDS NATIONAL SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FOOTPRINT WITH ACQUISITION OF RS3 STRATEGIC HOSPITALITY
Strategic Move Strengthens Hospitality Company’s Growing Presence Across Texas, Enhances Partnerships In Sports, Entertainment, Golf And Large-Scale VenuesATLANTA, Dec. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Proof of the Pudding has acquired RS3 Strategic Hospitality, an established hospitality provider serving sports, entertainment and community venues throughout Texas and major markets across the country. The move is a reflection of Proof of the Pudding’s continued nationwide expansion. RS3 brings a bro
Capitol agenda: GOP struggles on affordability message
Republicans are divided over how to address growing cost-of-living concerns over health care, housing, student debt and more.
‘Brain drain’ alarm escalates: Omaha and business leaders flag job lag
Muscle is growing behind Nebraska's "brain drain" attack as multiple Omaha and business leaders flag lag in job and wage growth.
Vaccine divide helps Trump overturn accepted policies
Trump's push for a vaccine overhaul feeds off of a divide — small but growing — over who should have the final say.
Findings may move science closer to growing organs in other species
Failure of human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to survive when grown with the PSCs of distantly related species occurs because of an innate immune reaction in the nonhuman cells, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggests.
Kvation Founder Speaks on Business, Failure, and Mentorship
In an interview on business mentorship, entrepreneur Yossi Schtroks, founder and owner of Kvation, the fast-growing “Airbnb of the kosher world,” to discuss how a painful business collapse led him to rebuild with focus, mentorship, and stronger emunah.
Vascular Surgeon reveals why healthy arteries get blocked, warns against 5 symptoms that are commonly ignored
Dr Sumit Kapadia, Vascular Surgeon and Varicose Vein Specialist, recently on his IG handle, spoke about artery blockages, and why even healthy arteries get blocked. Dr Kapadia mentioned that arteries (even 'healthy' ones) don't get blocked all of a sudden, though gradual narrowing can occur without any warning, or mild signs only. This process, known as 'Atherosclerosis' literally means the presence of fat into the blood vessels. This fat, or cholesterol, Dr Kapadia says, when combined with calcium, and inflammatory cells, leads to plaque. When these narrowed arteries suddenly have a blockage, that can cause a blood clot, leading to a heart attack, brain stroke, or Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) in the legs. Hence, people who think they are healthy, might be carrying an underlying condition that they are not even aware of, says Dr Kapadia. For this, it is important to get regularly tested, and to watch out for these 5 signs that are common indicators of artery blockage.
Why do Gen Z have a growing appetite for retro tech?
Gen Z are going retro, with studies showing a resurgence in people buying tech in the modern age that can be dated back decades.
Walz faces political jeopardy over Minnesota fraud controversy
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is facing a challenging political future as he finds himself at the epicenter of a growing fraud scandal in his home state. The controversy, which focuses on hundr…
Republicans must be careful with the optics of Trump’s ICE raids
While Trump has successfully closed the border and arrested thousands of the violent criminals who entered our country illegally, there is a perception problem growing for the Republican Party as o…
How Trump's plan to change student-loan borrowing limits could affect nursing students
Trump's administration is changing student-loan borrowing caps for advanced degrees. Advocates said it could worsen the nursing shortage.
Eagles-Chargers Preview
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) The Los Angeles Chargers had to adjust on the fly after Justin Herbert broke a bone in his non-throwing hand last Sunday.
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.
The next big breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s science and treatment
The outlook for dementia care is changing fast. UC experts explain what that means for patients and families, and what it will take to keep the momentum growing.
Paradigm Health raises $78M, buys Flatiron unit
A growing group of solutions is streamlining clinical trials and drug approvals.
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. […]
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. […]
2025 NFL Odds: Bears Most-Bet Team to Win Super Bowl after Upsetting Eagles
Time to go all in on Chicago? Bettors think so, throwing bucks behind the Bears after their Black Friday win over Philly.
Horses Review
This unsettling horror game banned from Steam tells a harrowing story you won’t soon forget.
Vanderbilt Is Leading The Future Of Business In Healthcare
Vanderbilt Owen’s Healthcare MBA combines business with hands-on learning, preparing students for diverse careers in a growing industry.
New entertainment district allows locals to browse and booze in fast-growing Alabama city
Patrons will be able to drink from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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.
GOP pessimism grows over any deal to extend expiring health care subsidies
Senate Republicans don’t see a bipartisan deal to extend enhanced health insurance premium subsidies coming together before the Christmas deadline, given the complexity of the issue and a growing f…
WHO issues global guideline on the use of GLP-1 medicines in treating obesity
To address the growing global health challenge of obesity, which affects more than 1 billion people, WHO has released its first guideline on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for treating obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease.
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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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — As Missouri launches sports betting Monday, people will be able to wager on how many points a particular athlete will score in a game — so long as it doesn'
Missouri launches sports betting as recent scandals shine a spotlight on the growing industry
Missouri has become the latest state to launch sports betting
Missouri launches sports betting as recent scandals shine a spotlight on the growing industry
Missouri has become the latest state to launch sports betting
Missouri launches sports betting as recent scandals shine a spotlight on the growing industry
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NH's Business: The growing influence of life science businesses in NH
Fred Kocher sits down with Andra Hechavarria with the New Hampshire Life Science and Nate Doemling with Hiarc in Merrimack to talk about the growing influence of life science business in New Hampshire
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