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Connections: Sports Edition hints for Dec. 7, 2025, puzzle No. 440
Welcome to Connections: Sports Edition Coach — a spot to gather clues and discuss (and share) scores.
Small Business Administration continues probe into Minnesota fraud allegations
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler discusses her organization’s probe of Minnesota welfare fraud allegations on ‘Saturday in America.’
AppleInsider.com
A newly discovered iPhone prototype offers a rare glimpse of the unreleased iOS 19, which was a precursor to iOS 26 sans Liquid Glass, and it may provide a hint of what's coming in iOS 27.
Daily Health Horoscope Today, December 7, 2025: Subtle burnout creeps in, these zodiac signs need to rest mindfully - The Times of India
Horoscope Today News: Discover how the stars influence your health and well-being with daily horoscopes for all twelve zodiac signs. Each sign receives personalized insight
‘Dancing With the Stars’: Sharna Burgess Speaks Out on Toxicity Rumors
Does the phrase ‘DWTS toxic’ ring a bell? See what Burgess has to say about the online discourse…
‘Dancing With the Stars’: Sharna Burgess Speaks Out on Toxicity Rumors
Does the phrase ‘DWTS toxic’ ring a bell? See what Burgess has to say about the online discourse…
Earth’s early oceans hid the secret rise of complex life
Scientists have discovered that complex life began evolving much earlier than traditional models suggested. Using an expanded molecular clock approach, the team showed that crucial cellular features emerged in ancient anoxic oceans long before oxygen became a major part of Earth’s atmosphere. Their results indicate that early complexity developed slowly over an unexpectedly long timescale.
Comanche Entertainment discusses impact of new Indigenous in-room programming
In addition to letting guests experience Indigenous and Native culture from the comfort of their hotel rooms, the partnership between Comanche Entertainment and First Nations Experience (FNX) is also shedding light on the rich history of Native American casinos in the United States.
Salinas residents oppose mental health rehab center near county jail
A proposed mental health rehabilitation center in Salinas is facing opposition from local residents, with key meetings scheduled to discuss the project's future.
SHRM, the world's largest HR group, has been hit with an $11.5 million verdict in a racial discrimination lawsuit
A jury found the HR trade organization liable for racial discrimination and retaliation against a former employee.
Video: Opinion | How Charismatic Can a Moderate Politician Be?
“I think Americans — those who are not spending all their lives on social media — are so tired of the temperature of our political discourse,” Frank Bruni says on “The Opinions.” The solution? A “poetic and charismatic” centrist.
Why Leftover Pizza Is Actually Healthier: The Science of “Resistant Starch” Explained
Researchers have discovered that cooling starchy foods—from pizza to rice—creates “resistant starch,” a carb that behaves like fiber and alters your blood sugar response
Record bankruptcies hit mom-and-pop businesses as debts surge
'The Big Money Show' panel discusses why small businesses are struggling.
SEA Games 2025: Preview, schedule and how to watch Southeast Asian sporting action live
Discover the key details of the 33rd edition of the Southeast Asian Games, taking place in Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand.
Last chance to get Cyber Week deals from Samsung US
Here are special discounts and trade-in offers for Galaxy phones, the new Galaxy XR headset, plus watches, laptops and more.
Netflix secures deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery studios, HBO Max
Paramount's ambitions for a sports-TV superpower to rival Disney's ESPN are tabled — at least for now.
Ologies podcast host Alie Ward on Discover Science podcast
University of Nevada, Reno grad students Ai Ana Richmond & Katrina Perce interview Alie Ward, host of the award-winning Ologies podcast, on Discover Science.
Netflix buys Warner Bros. Discovery in $72B deal, reshaping entertainment landscape
Netflix has struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to buy the legacy Hollywood giant’s studio and streaming business for $72 billion.
Netflix buys Warner Bros. Discovery in $72B deal, reshaping entertainment landscape
Netflix has struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to buy the legacy Hollywood giant’s studio and streaming business for $72 billion.
Netflix to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for nearly $83 billion
Streaming giant Netflix has agreed to acquire film and television studio Warner Bros.The acquisition, which gives Netflix access to a vast film catalog as well as the prestigious streaming service HBO Max, is the largest consolidation deal in the entertainment industry since Disney's $71 billion acquisition of Fox in 2019.
Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. studio and streaming business for $72 billion
Netflix has struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to buy the legacy Hollywood giant’s studio and streaming business for $72 billion.
Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. studio and streaming business for $72 billion
Netflix has struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to buy the legacy Hollywood giant's studio and streaming business for $72 billion. The acquisition, announced Friday, would bring two of the industry's biggest players in film and TV under one roof.
Scientists Discover The First Single Gene to Directly Cause Mental Illness
Surprisingly simple.
Gratitude As Business Advantage
Discover why gratitude is a true competitive and business advantage and how a simple shift in focus can fuel clearer thinking and better outcomes.
Netflix in Exclusive Talks for WBD Acquisition, Sports Broadcasting Reportedly Not Included in Deal
WBD's entertainment, sports and news television brands will reportedly continue to split off into a newly formed Discovery Global brand.
Life On Arsenic? Why Some Science Just Won’t Die - And Why It Matters For Real Discovery
Remember when a small bacterium from California’s Mono Lake was supposed to rewrite the very definition of life? Headlines screamed: NASA finds “alien” life on Earth! The organism reportedly swapped out precious phosphorus - one of life’s six essential building blocks - for arsenic, the toxic villain in murder mysteries.
His lab was humming with discovery. After one year under Trump, it’s almost silent
John Quackenbush built a lab that is at the forefront of human genetics research and bioinformatics. Trump administration cuts have put it in danger of collapse.
Connections: Sports Edition hints for Dec. 5, 2025, puzzle No. 438
Welcome to Connections: Sports Edition Coach — a spot to gather clues and discuss (and share) scores.
Theology Department Unveils New Interdisciplinary Minor in Theology, Science, and Technology
The theology department has announced a new minor in theology, science, and technology that aims to combine the humanistic approach of the Jesuit tradition with both scientific and technical fields.
Discord launches ‘Checkpoint 2025’: A full-year recap feature for users; here’s how to see your Discord wrapped
Discord Checkpoint 2025: Discord has released its first yearly activity summary, Discord Checkpoint 2025. Users can now see their message counts, voice channel hours, top emojis, most active servers, and frequent DM friends. Exclusive avatar decorations are also available. The feature is rolling out gradually and requires the latest app version.
Grand jury rejects new mortgage fraud indictment against N.Y. AG Letitia James
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Bear Bones: Getting you ready for Bears vs Packers
Join our Bear Bones discussing all things Bears vs Packers!
FDA chief says Biden administration withheld data on heart risk from Covid vaccines
Myocarditis is a known — but small — side effect of the mRNA Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, information that federal agencies have discussed openly since 2021.
California scientists discover 'pulse' in Earth's glaciers
Ice masses are alive with activity, images reveal.
Elections officials prep for possible federal interference in the midterms : The NPR Politics Podcast
State and local elections officials across the country are preparing for a variety of ways the Trump administration could interfere with the 2026 midterm elections. We discuss the risks and what tactics the president and his allies have suggested.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, voting correspondent Miles Parks, and senior political correspondent and editor Domenico Montanaro.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.
Lessons from the Past: Responsible Science and Astrobiology
In a recent paper, a team of SETI and astrobiology specialists examines four controversial claims about the existence of extraterrestrial life. From these, they present recommendations for scientists and science communicators when addressing future claims of discovery.
Bengals discussion: How confident are you with Joe Burrow back?
Take our Bengals survey, and tell us why you feel that way ini the comments.
The GOP Still Can’t Agree on a Health Plan
Senate Democrats were promised a vote by mid-December on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, but Republicans still can’t decide whether they want to put forward their own alternative or what that might include. Meanwhile, the CDC and FDA are roiled by debates over vaccines. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani about her project tracking opioid settlement payments.
How to get your 2025 Discord Checkpoint recap
Discord has begun rolling out its first-ever recap feature for 2025, taking notes from the likes of Spotify and YouTube.
Speaker Johnson struggles to keep control of the House floor
The Louisiana Republican has had a rough few weeks as rank-and-file Republicans deploy discharge petitions to go around him and block a key leadership-backed bill on the floor.
Trump and Mamdani talked again. Did they clash on cost of living?
While the New York mayor-elect said the two discussed addressing cost of living, what remained out of the talk may affect the budding relationship.
Bank of America Business Loans Review 2025
Bank of America offers business term loans, business lines of credit and other lending products with competitive rates and discounts.
Cassidy calls ACIP ‘totally discredited’ ahead of vaccine guidance votes
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Thursday called a federal vaccine advisory committee “totally discredited” ahead of a vote on whether to change hepatitis B vaccine guidelines, an issue ver…
Erika Kirk to open up about life, loss and politics in town hall airing on CBS
Three months after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated, Erika Kirk will open up about life, loss, the state of political discourse and more in a one-hour town hall event moderated by Bari Weiss, CBS News' editor-in-chief.
2026 World Cup: When will England and Scotland discover venues?
England and Scotland will know their World Cup opponents on Friday, but there will be a wait to discover where they will play.
This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition - Jax Hub drives fintech innovation, global partnerships
L Marks CEO Daniel Saunders joins Kent Justice to discuss the launch of Jax Hub, a new corporate innovation initiative based in Jacksonville. Learn how this global program aims to accelerate fintech growth, foster collaboration among local businesses, universities, and international partners, and position Northeast Florida as a leading innovation hub.
Scientists Discovered the Human Brain Goes On Its Own Life-Long ‘Eras Tour’
A new study highlights five key eras of human brain development, and they don’t align with age quite as one might expect.
Live updates: CDC vaccine advisors meeting to discuss childhood vaccine schedule
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting today, and they could vote on possible changes to the childhood vaccination schedule. Follow here for live updates from the meeting.
Video: Opinion | The Shifting Politics Around Transgender Rights
The A.C.L.U. lawyer Chase Strangio joins Ross Douthat to discuss policies and attitudes toward young people who want to transition.
How an interdisciplinary approach is enabling faster health breakthroughs
Three ways that different disciplines, from astronomy to machine learning, are advancing medicine.
Science Needs to Embrace the Idea of Style
How do individual scientists approach their work? These stylistic differences can influence the process of discovery.
Curious Minds, Big Discoveries: The Power of Citizen Science
Explore fun and surprising citizen science projects that empower volunteers to contribute to research.
The Tragedy of Christian Power Politics
“There is a time for war,” says the preacher in Ecclesiastes, “and a time for peace.” Let the present time point toward the time of perfect and ultimate peace, when the swords of nations shall be beaten into plowshares.
Scientists capture flu viruses surfing into human cells in real time
Scientists have captured a never-before-seen, high-resolution look at influenza’s stealthy invasion of human cells, revealing that the cells aren’t just helpless victims. Using a groundbreaking imaging technique, researchers discovered that our cells actually reach out and “grab” the virus as it searches for the perfect entry point, surfing along the membrane.
Frustrated patients amid UConn Health-Aetna rate dispute
We are hearing from patients who feel caught in the middle of a dispute between Aetna and UConn Health. They are frustrated the health system is now considered out-of-network for thousands of people. “It’s very disconcerting to all of a sudden to be told, ‘Hey, I can’t see you because you know, your insurance won’t pay,’” said Brenda Barth, of…
Are the strikes on Venezuelan boats ‘war’ – and do the rules of war apply? : The NPR Politics Podcast
New questions have emerged surrounding the United States’ military strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in early September. We discuss what we know and why the White House appears to be distancing itself from the decision to order multiple strikes on the same boat.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and national security correspondent Greg Myre.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.
Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Key Issues
This brief includes data on pregnancy and birth outcomes by race and ethnicity, describes the underlying factors driving disparities, and discusses current policies affecting maternal and infant health disparities.
Smartphones before age 12 tied to poorer health, study says
Parents join 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the impact of smartphones on younger generations and a new study linking early age smartphone use to poorer physical and mental health.
The Hollywood Reporter’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment 2025
After another wild year for the industry, the women making the biggest impact across film and television reveal their predictions for Hollywood 2026, discuss the perks and pains of AI and even pitch their dream storylines for The Studio.
Dolby and NFM Debut First-Ever Dolby Home Experience Redefining How Consumers Discover Home Entertainment
Today, Dolby and NFM (Nebraska Furniture Mart) announced the launch of the first-ever Dolby Home Experience.
Humphreys weighs in on sports betting trends
With the Associated Press, Brad Humphreys discusses trends involving sports betting in West Virginia as other states begin to legalize gambling.
A glow-up, in the name of science
Discover a top Christian university in Minnesota, offering undergraduate and graduate programs with affordable tuition and strong career preparation.
The solar mission that survived disaster and found 5,000 comets
For thirty years, SOHO has watched the Sun from a stable perch in space, revealing the inner workings of our star and surviving crises that nearly ended the mission. Its long-term observations uncovered a single global plasma conveyor belt inside the Sun, detailed how solar brightness subtly shifts over the solar cycle, and turned SOHO into an unexpected comet-hunting champion with more than 5,000 discoveries.
Google is replacing Discover news headlines with laughably awful AI-generated titles
Google is replacing news headlines in Discover with downright awful AI-generated titles. Here's how bad they really are.
China’s tech war warriors; trying to jam Starlink signals: 7 science highlights
From a chief scientist’s detention to a revealing DNA discovery, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.
Connections: Sports Edition hints for Dec. 3, 2025, puzzle No. 436
Welcome to Connections: Sports Edition Coach — a spot to gather clues and discuss (and share) scores.
World Health Organization issues guidelines for GLP-1 weight loss medication use
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses the World Health Organization announcing its first guidelines on weight loss drugs, his book ‘The Miracles Among Us’ and its Fox Nation special on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
Where Science Meets Storytelling: Twelve Years of the Science Blogs Web Archive
More than a decade after its launch, the Science Blogs Web Archive continues to grow and evolve. In this interview, Jennifer “JJ” Harbster reflects on building and maintaining the collection, while intern Yahir Brito brings a fresh perspective on updating and expanding it. Together, they share a few of their favorite blogs and discuss why it is important to preserve these unique examples of scientific communication.
Mulvaney addresses future of politics and populism at Brooks School event
Director Mick Mulvaney, the 2025–26 Nixon Distinguished Policy Fellow, delivered a keynote on the rise of populism in America to a full lecture hall of Cornell students, highlighting shifts in U.S. politics and engaging in wide-ranging discussion on contemporary policy challenges.
Gutfeld: Democrats only care about victims for ‘politics’
‘The Five’ co-hosts discuss the Trump administration’s drug crackdown and alleged ‘double tap’ of suspected drug boats in Venezuela.
Paramount throws in more cash in bid for Warner; Comcast wants to combine assets with NBCUniversal
Jockeying for HBO-owner Warner Bros. Discovery has intensified as the auction appears to enter its home stretch.
Accel Entertainment subsidiary acquires route operation assets of Dynasty Games
Accel Entertainment announced Tuesday that its subsidiary, Century Gaming Technologies Nevada, has acquired the route-operation assets of Dynasty Games. Financial details of the transaction weren’t disclosed, but they're expected to be accretive to Accel’s 2026 financial results.Accel, a loc
Rep. Chip Roy suggests government 'fully intervene' with college sports
While discussing the SCORE ACT, Rep. Chip Roy suggested that Congress 'fully intervene' with college sports to regulate issues like conference sizes
NASA's PUNCH Tracks Comet Discovered by SOHO Spacecraft
From August to October, NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission tracked comet 2025 R2 (SWAN) — one of the thousands of comets
LIVE: Duval DOGE committee discusses Group Health Plan, telehealth, 2% lapse
The Duval DOGE committee is meeting on Tuesday at 11 a.m. to get an update from The Bailey Group on the city’s Group Health Plan and the 2% lapse.
Alexis Ohanian Is Bullish on Women’s Sports
In March 2019, in response to the news that players from the U.S. women’s national soccer team had filed a gender-discrimination against their employer, the U.S. Soccer Federation, over pay inequality, Alexis Ohanian fired off a series of tweets. Ohanian, an investor and entrepreneur who co-founded Reddit and, since 2017, has been married to Serena…
Scientists Discover a Way to 'Recharge' Aging Human Cells
"An early but exciting step toward recharging aging tissues."
How AI is reshaping risk management in the entertainment industry
In this Q&A, we sat down with Brian Taliaferro, Entertainment and Gaming Industry Practice Leader at Marsh, to discuss the top risks facing clients in the entertainment industry today.
Broadening Science and Bridging Divides in a Complex, Interconnected World
Investment in science is a pillar for any dynamic, equitable modern society, and promoting scientific literacy across all levels of society can help foster innovation, dialogue, and consensus that crosses disciplinary and cultural boundaries.
30 Under 30 Science 2026: New Discoveries From The Cosmo To The Nanoscale
These young scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs are working to build a better world at every scale imaginable.
Vaccine Committee May Make Significant Changes to Childhood Schedule
Comments by President Trump, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and some panelists suggest the committee is likely to delay hepatitis B shots and discuss revising the use of other vaccines.
Connections: Sports Edition hints for Dec. 2, 2025, puzzle No. 435
Welcome to Connections: Sports Edition Coach — a spot to gather clues and discuss (and share) scores.
How a Wilmington high schooler is providing math and science help internationally
Once a Discord chat group, a nonprofit tutoring website led by a Wilmington high schooler now has over 1,600 participants, according to its founder.
The Colts’ remaining schedule is a gauntlet
The Indianapolis Colts’ road to rediscovery will be a tall task.
Trump’s quest for political retribution is impeding the Justice Department : The NPR Politics Podcast
President Trump has vowed to seek retribution from his perceived political enemies and to reward his political allies. We discuss how that focus is playing out at the Justice Department, where career prosecutors and other civil servants are no longer calling the shots. How does this partisan shift affect major court cases, from redistricting in Texas to James Comey’s prosecution?This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, and senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson.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.For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.
Does Recent Business Model Shift Make DocuSign a Better Value for Investors in 2025?
Curious if DocuSign is trading at a bargain or if recent changes have made it less appealing? Let’s break down what has been happening and what it could mean for anyone eyeing the stock. DocuSign’s stock has experienced some volatility recently, climbing 5.2% in the last week, but still down 23.2% year-to-date and 13.6% over the past 12 months. Analyst discussion has focused on DocuSign’s evolving business model and strategic partnerships, both of which have been making headlines and...
How to watch 'Merv' on Prime Video
Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox star in a heartwarming romantic comedy about a couple who reunite to help their beloved dog rediscover his joy.
With new bids, Warner Bros. Discovery looks to narrow the auction field
Paramount, Comcast and Netflix are poised to submit a second bid on Monday, kicking the auction into high-gear.
Your brain doesn’t age the way you think — new research upends old beliefs
Cambridge neuroscientists discover five distinct stages of brain development from birth to 90, revealing key turning points in human aging based on brain structure.
Strange Chernobyl dark fungus may 'eat' radiation and even help...
This dark discovery is breaking the mold.
This Unbeatable LG OLED Deal Takes the Cyber Monday Crown
Nab this stunning LG OLED C5 smart TV at a deep discount at Amazon and Best Buy.
Cyber Monday AirPods Deals - Get Year's Best Prices on AirPods 4 ANC, AirPods Pro 3, and More
Cyber Monday is one of the best times of the year to shop for AirPods, and in 2025 we're tracking massive discounts across nearly every model, including AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3. Note. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Thinking Of Starting A Business In 2026? Focus On These 4 High-Impact Areas.
Discover the four high-impact areas where entrepreneurs can build meaningful, future-proof businesses in 2026—from workforce reskilling to human-AI collaboration.
We've rounded up the best Cyber Monday iPad deals, including a new all-time low on the iPad Mini
Apple's iPads are on sale for Cyber Monday with discounts across the entire tablet lineup. Some prices are even lower than last week.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is $50 off at Walmart during Cyber Monday
An unexpected hardware discount.
Today's biggest science news: X-class solar flares | Chernobyl fungus | Modern humans interbred with 'hobbits'
Monday, Dec. 1, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
Arts & Entertainment fall 2025 semester in review
Students surprise film professor with trip to Criterion Closet At the end of last semester, film students at Grand Valley State University thanked their professor with a trip to the Criterion Closet. Students surprised Associate Professor Joel Potrykus with a trip to the Closet, located in New York. The Criterion Closet is a physical collection of films, contained...
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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