Startup Rebels

The Origins of Ebola: Part 2

This week we finish up our discussion of "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston. Last week you heard about the harrowing origins of the Marburg Virus, Ebola Zaire, and Ebola Sudan. Tune in for a discussion of biosafety level 4 safety protocols, the ethics of using primates in medical research, and an outbreak of a deadly disease on American soil.

 

In the show, we talk about the structure of Ebola and various filoviruses. You can see some electron microscope images of the virus here: https://www.utmb.edu/virusimages/VI/ebola.

The Origins of Ebola: Part 1

This week, we delve into the terrifying discovery of the Ebola virus by going through Richard Preston's "The Hot Zone". Tune in to hear about the human and scientific impacts of a series of deadly virus outbreaks in the 80s. You'll also learn how close humanity came to a catastrophic global epidemic.

Warning: this episode contains some graphic descriptions of the effects of Ebola Virus Disease on the human body. If you are uncomfortable with blood and disease, you may want to skip this one. We won't tell anyone!

Bonus: We figured out what ground glass is. I discuss it briefly in the intro, and you can learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_glass.

Can You See the Forest for the Trees?

Are you really seeing the whole picture, or are you only perceiving the details? How can a man who is otherwise perfectly functional mistake his foot for a shoe and fail to recognize his family members in photos? Tune in to learn about the titular case study from Oliver Sacks' seminal work on neurology, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

Christmas Ghost Stories

Dive in to the Reading Rebellion Holiday Special, second in quality only to that famed paragon of holiday cheer - the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special.

This week we look at two Christmas-related ghost stories from the UK. One by Mrs. J. H. Ridell, and one by Rosemary Timperley. Hear about the skill required to craft ghost stories, different types of reading habits, and a recommendation for the best compilation of British ghost stories!

A Winter with John Muir

Who was John Muir? What was his impact on conservation? What is a cañon? In this episode, we dig into 2 of John Muir’s essays about the wintertime wilderness. 

Listen in for examples of Muir’s skilled imagery, a discussion of his impact on America and on conservation, and a secret conspiracy theory about his death. 

We pulled our essays from Wilderness Essays by John Muir.

Dopamine Nation: Managing Our Hungry Ghosts

Do you ever engage compulsively in behaviors, big or small, that compromise your well-being and go against your ideals? For just about 100% of people the answer is yes. Today we'll talk about the dopamine system, the nature and origin of addiction, and tools for reestablishing a healthier equilibrium. This discussion will lay the groundwork for a major theme of our podcast on Neuromancer, an 80s cyberpunk classic.

 

We'll be basing this episode on Anna Lembke's book 'Dopamine Nation'. Anna is the head of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic.

Applied Storytelling: The Story of Us

In this episode we apply techniques and concepts from Will Storr's Science of Storytelling to the tale of how we started Readmore. It's an instructive deep dive into how to apply these techniques to sharpen up your own messy, real-world stories that don't neatly fit into boxes.

Orwell on Politics and the English Language

'A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outlines and covering up all the details. In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.' - George Orwell

 

What linguistic tricks, what intellectual sleight of hand, do manipulators use  to perpetrate their machinations upon us? And frankly, what are the methods we use to deceive ourselves? This podcast episode, and the Orwell essay on which it is based, could not be more relevant in today's short attention span, post-truth era.

 

This is one of those essays that can change your life. It certainly changed our lives. Listen to this episode to see the contortions and brutality of 20th century tyrants through the eyes of a true prophet of freedom.

Why art became ugly

An empty canvas titled "Take the Money and Run" was sold to a Danish art museum for $84K, a can of shit was sold to British museum for $40K, and of course, there is the Marchel Duchamp classic: The urinal on a pedestal,  titled "Fountain". Is this even art any more? How did we get here? What took us from Rembrandt to putting goldfish into blenders and calling it a day?

 

If you've ever been bewildered by a senior art show or a forray into a modern art museum, this is the episode for you. It's based on a Stephen Hicks essay called "Why art became ugly: From modern to postmodern art".

The Science of Storytelling

What makes ideas stick? Why do some ideas spread more effectively than others? How come some people effortless hold court in social situations? Storytelling. 

 

Most books on storytelling are shallow and unhelpful. They're not based in science, lack depth, and don't help you do your tales justice. We go deeper and we also give you more practical tools. Drawing on work by Will Storr, we explain how the creation of great stories is a result of deeply understanding your psychology and that of your listener.

 

This is probably one of the most helpful podcasts we've recorded. Brace yourself.