Podcast
Druid's Exchange
Hosted by Druid's Exchange · ENGLISH
With this podcast, we discuss a range of topics from fitness to philosophy, arts, science and technology, but with an underlying focus on self improvement, developing a healthy mindset and all the life lessons you can learn along the way. And of course, sure we’ll have a bit of craic while we’re at it.
27episodes
Episodes
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Episode #26 – “Artificial Intelligence”
Feb 16, 202501:18:18Tap to summarizeEpisode #26 - "Artificial Intelligence" “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke Date Published16/02/2025 Main TopicArtificial Intelligence Length1hr 18min It’s in the news, it pops up in your facebook feed, it’s a topic of conversation at weddings, family dinners and when you meet your mates for pints at the weekend. You can hardly turn your head these days without coming across A.I. or ‘Artificial Intelligence’. There’s a lot of hype around it, there are literal billions of dollars exchanging hands investing in it but depending on who you ask “what is AI?”, you will get many different answers. So rather than getting bogged down in the specifics, discussing particulars of the technology and it’s current state (which will likely be far more advanced before too long!), in this episode we take a journalistic approach to covering the topic and discuss the who, what, where, when, why and the how.Mr C kicks off proceedings by setting our starting point with arguably the inventor of AI, Alan Turing, in the early 1950s. And it has been part of our culture and arts for nearly as long, to wonder about the possible benefits of this technology, including Rosie the family robot from the cartoon The Jetsons. So it seems the arrival of AI has been inevitable, but it is surprising and worth noting just how quickly it is developing and advancing. We touch back on this specific idea again later in the episode. Bringing us to the present day and how the general public interacts with these new AI systems, Mr Beard gives an overview on Large Language Models and how such a “simple” concept of predicting the next word in a sentence can result in surprisingly advanced and intricate content generation.This brings us to one of the key topics we cover in this episode, that being the idea of “intelligence”. Interacting and studying these AI systems is making humans reconsider what we view and value as intelligent and even closer to our hearts, creative. One area that has already benefitted from the advancements of AI and its intelligence is in the medical field. Mr Beard mentions the AlphaFold project from DeepMind and how it discovered over 200 million different protein folded structures in just a couple of months (for which it won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry) – something that would have taken a number of lifetimes for humans to reach this level (if even it would have b...
Transcribe →Episode #25 – “Reality is Caffeinated”
Nov 10, 202401:17:10Tap to summarizeEpisode #25 - "Reality is Caffeinated" “Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”— Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author and pilot Date Published10/11/2024 Main TopicCaffeine Length1hr 17min We kick this episode off by defining some terms and highlighting the fact that caffeine is not the same as coffee and tea. Caffeine is a psychoactive stimulant and is found in more things than just coffee or tea, such as chocolate. To get to the root of how caffeine works, we need to look at adenosine. Mr Beard gives a quick overview of ATP or adenosine triphosphate, and how our bodies use up ATM over the course of the day, releasing adenosine and leading to a ‘sleep pressure’. Caffeine interrupts the action of adenosine in the brain and staves off this sleep pressure to keep us awake.Mr C goes on to go through some of the health benefits of caffeine, such as being linked to reducing the prevalence and onset of Alzheimer’s disease, certain cancers, diabetes, and even tooth cavities. And in more immediately apparent benefits, caffeine can boost muscle efficiency and reduce perceived level of effort when working out.But as with most things in live, there are two sides to the coin, and there are health downsides to caffeine consumption as well. Caffeine can have a big impact on sleep. Even if you feel like you can fall asleep easily after drinking coffee, due to the half life of caffeine, the quality of your sleep will be impacted by caffeine in your system. Some tips from our hosts on how to balance your caffeine intake over the course of the day is to skip the first coffee in the morning and replace is with half a grapefruit. The compound naringin acts as a slow release on the caffeine to smooth it out over the day.Our conversation moves on then to discussing the origins of coffee – check out the further reading points below for more info on this. Mr Beard floats the idea that coffee and it’s sobering and stimulating effects, replacing the ‘morning beer’ could have had a significant effect on the direction of human civilisation. One thing to come from this was Penny Universities, where all walks of life could pay a penny to enter coffee house...
Transcribe →Episode #24 – “Nature’s Call”
Sep 10, 202401:02:44Tap to summarizeEpisode #24 - "Nature's Call" “The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.”— Zeno, Greek philosopher Date Published10/09/2024 Main TopicNature Length1hr 02min In this episode, we talk about our relationship with nature and how it can keep us healthy and happy. At the same time however, we seem to be drifting away from nature and considering ourselves separate to it, viewing it as something to be forgotten as we race towards global urbanisation.Mr Beard kicks off the conversation with Shinrin-yoku, a Japanese practice of “forest bathing”. Mindfully spending time in forests has been shown to improve both our mental and physical health. Another term for your Druids Exchange vocab list is ‘Friluftsliv’, a term to describe Norway’s favourite outdoor past time – being active in nature spending time doing anything from hiking, skiing, ice-fishing to just enjoying a weekend in a cabin in the woods.Delving further into nature on an acoustic level, Mr C discusses The Sonic Bloom. A natural phenomenon which links birdsong to the day/night cycle of plants. The morning chirping of birds literally ‘wakes’ plants up and kicks off their photosynthesis, thus in part feeding the rest of the planet.Our two hosts discuss human’s part in nature and how we are part of a much bigger system of interdependent parts. This idea is often forgotten, and as a species we seem to be sleep-walking into a world where we can no longer readily avail of the wonders nature provides for us. James Lovelock and his Gaia Theory gets a mention.And to round out this episode, we recount our recent attempt at climbing Mount Brandon. The climb to the summit itself was unsuccessful – nature and the weather had its own plans, which were incompatible with our “schedule”. It served as a good reminder however that nature does not simply bow down to human ego, and how we should consider the bigger picture instead of trying to force our will on everything. <a...
Transcribe →Episode #23 – “Monkeying Around”
Sep 15, 202101:34:20Tap to summarizeEpisode #23 – “Monkeying Around” “If an animal does something, we call it instinct; if we do the same thing for the same reason, we call it intelligence.”— Will Cuppy, literary critic Date Published15/09/2021 Main TopicAnimal Intelligence Length1hr 34min In this episode of Druid’s Exchange podcast, this pair of advanced talking monkeys enter into a topic on ‘animal intelligence’. Starting off, how do us humans define intelligence and how do we compare to the rest of the animal kingdom? Between psychological and scientific based hypotheses from Dr. Howard Gardner and his ‘multiple (8) intelligences’ to Dr. Rupert Sheldrake a Biochemist from Britain and his hypothesis known as ‘Morphogenic Resonance’, it appears no intelligent human has yet come to explain the peculiarities of intelligence and the complexity of animal conscious thought and behaviour, and that’s what is so intriguing and elusive about such a conversation. Listeners will be treated to fascinating discussions about the crazy abilities of the Octopus and the mad and wonderful life of Raccoons. The more the episode goes on, it seems like humans drop further down the ladder of impressive animal traits when compared to most highly specialised critters. This feeds all the way into the fascinating subject of ‘swarm (group) intelligence’ as seen in shoaling fish, flocking birds, stampeding Bison or complexity of an ant colony. The awareness, kinesthetic and sometimes telepathic nature of events in the animal world like these do little more than astound you, and then some. We hope you enjoy this episode and it’s a chance to put your Vagus nerves to the test. https://druidsexchange.com/episode-audio-files/druids-exchange-episode-23.mp3</audi...
Transcribe →Episode #22 – “Music”
Jun 30, 202101:40:06Tap to summarizeEpisode #22 – “Music” “Music is life itself.”— Louis Armstrong, musician Date Published30/06/2021 Main TopicMusic Length1hr 40min This is an episode of two halves – the first half takes the form of an interview with Mr Beard asking Mr C about his new band ‘New Ceremony’ and his musical career, and the second half is more a general chat about music. MC C opens the show by defining terms and clarifies what makes a rock band “progressive”. We learn the music genre has evolved a lot since the days of Johnny Cash, Elvis and The Beatles. Both the musical style and instruments played by New Ceremony cover a wide range from jazz to funk to motown, while the instruments enlisted range from harmonicas to synthesizers and everything in-between. This ethos of ‘anything goes’ informs their live performances as well as their studio recordings – each of the four band members bring their own tastes and influences to the mix which allows for each performance and track to be an organic creation, not limited by traditional genre boundaries and dogma. This episode is punctuated by three teasers of original tracks written and performed by New Ceremony – ‘Star’, ‘In The Morning’ and ‘Lies We’re Given’. To close out this episode, our two hosts discuss the musical influences that filled the air at home growing up, with Mr Beard sharing anecdotes of tin whistle competitions and being the only kid in school with a piano accordion! https://druidsexchange.com/episode-audio-files/druids-exchange-episode-22.mp3<...
Transcribe →Episode #21 – “Literature”
Jun 9, 202101:29:36Tap to summarizeEpisode #21 – “Literature” “The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.”— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, novelist and playwright Date Published09/06/2021 Main TopicLiterature Length1hr 29min They say to tell a good story, often the best place to start is at the beginning. But to properly set the scene, we must define our terms. Mr C opens the conversation with some dictionary terms of ‘literature’ and we quickly realise that this is a broad and multifaceted topic. He then tells of the story of the city of Alexandria in ancient Egypt, whose famous library (often considered to be humanity’s greatest repository of knowledge) saw a tragic end at the hands of Julius Caesar and his army in 48 BC. Mr Beard then turns the page, rolling our timeline forward approx. 1400 years to the city of Mainz in Germany. This is where Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press, changing people’s access to information and spurring on an evolution in knowledge and allowing for the Renaissance and the birth of the scientific method. Our story continues with Viktor Schauberger, a “pseudoscientist” of his time, and how he produced numerous patents and inventions, not by sitting in a classroom reading books, but rather by immersing himself in nature and letting it’s secrets reveal themselves to him. Himself and Charles Darwin would have had many interesting conversations, should they have bumped into eachother down the pub. We then move on to highlight some of our favourite authors and book series. The range is wide as we jump from philosophical greats such as Fyodor Dostoevsky and Viktor Frankl to fiction and fantasy maestros such as Dan Brown, JK Rowling and George RR Martin. The final chapter of this episode closes with our two hosts reminiscing on Road Dahl and all the literary gifts he left us in the pages of James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches and The Twits. A cornflake my go weeks hidden in a beard, but the cherished memories Roald Dahl gives kids and adults alike last a lifetime. And for that, and for literature, we are eternally grateful. ...
Transcribe →Episode #20 – “Technology”
May 17, 202101:39:10Tap to summarizeEpisode #20 – “Technology” “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”— Arthur C. Clark, author Date Published12/05/2021 Main TopicTechnology Length1hr 39min In this week’s episode we have a discussion on technology. Mr. Beard kick-starts the tech talk explaining the invention of the transistor. A seemingly under-appreciated component of so many devices and tools that we have grown to depend on like a basic switch or electronic signal. From an electrical technology perspective, we bring the wonderful and brilliant Nikola Tesla into the conversation, the man that developed the practices to tap into the Earth’s magnetic field or ‘Magnetosphere’ to generate perpetual energy devices and the invention of alternating current. We explore the invention of the Sony Walkman out of Japan, and how this portable technology revolutionised music listening for the masses, and how a cool yellow brick on your pants gave rise to the next generation of personal music devices like the iPod. We go through a timeline of communications technology starting from cave drawings and smoke signals, all the way up to mobile phones and WiFi technology which is an application of Tesla’s inventions more than 100 years later. We can’t escape a conversation on computing and the unbelievable advances that we have witnessed in recent decades. Mr. Beard introduces the Blockchain and gives a description of its invention by an anonymous person or group known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. Blockchain has the power to change and revolutionise the world through operations like cryptocurrency, NFTs and a host of new communications platforms. We are of course going through a global medical transformation in 2021. Many people cite the invention of the vaccine as one of the major biological/ medical breakthroughs of the modern age. This is mirrored also by projects like the human genome project of the 70’s. Mapping and understanding human DNA sequencing has opened up Pandora’s Box to the brilliance of biology, from the study of molecular interactions between protein folding in bioinformatics to the development of the next generation in medical technology. It is said that this decade will be the decade of biological sc...
Transcribe →Episode #19 – “Explorers & Folklore”
Apr 28, 202101:20:28Tap to summarizeEpisode #19 – “Explorers & Folklore” “Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.”— Frank Borman, astronaut Date Published28/04/2021 Main TopicExploration Length1hr 20min In this episode we look at exploration and folklore from the point of view of Ireland and a select group of Irish men and women that epitomize what we consider an explorer. Over the course of the episode, we highlight some historic figures like Tom Crean Antarctic explorer, Anne Bonny an Irish lady pirate, Colin O’ Brady athlete and climber and also a demigod figure from Irish mythology Cu Chulainn. In the case of Tom Crean the ‘Unsung Hero’ as he has been dubbed in literature describing his expeditions, Crean took part in three major Antarctic missions with famous explorers of the time Ernst Shakleton and Robert Scott. Creans heroic actions led to many lives saved over the three expeditions, and he lived to tell the tale across the counter in his pub The South Pole Inn in his hometown of Annascaul County Kerry. We touch upon the characteristics or qualities that one might associate with a hero or heroin, even in your own life and experiences. Other heroic journeys made by athlete Colin O’ Brady and his successful trek across the whole Antarctic continent, something that the old timers like Shakleton and Scott couldn’t accomplish, an expedition accomplished on his own in an adventure that he took on to satiate his desire for exploration and discovery of his own physical and mental capacities.The dramatic history of an historic female pirate Anne Bonny from the shores of Ireland are recounted, with a reflection on the golden age of piracy in the world at the time and the tales that unfolded when pirate women sailed alongside men in the Carribean. Where fairytales literally came from. Irish folklore too much like any mythology and fables told across the world, commonly weave stories of good and evil, temptation, greed and disguise. Cu Chulainn in Irish lore was a warrior and champion but as always in these fables possess weaknesses along with mighty strengths. The lessons learned through storytelling in mythology can be very valuable to one’s life, and we touch on the interesting fact that some of these lessons really only reveal their true value and meaning once read again in adulthood, but are very true to human experience. As with all episodes here on Druids Exchange, we will append details on the topics di...
Transcribe →Episode #18 – “Time Flies When You’re Living”
Mar 1, 202101:23:59Tap to summarizeEpisode #18 – “Time Flies When You’re Living” “The bad news is time flies, but the good news is you are the pilot”— Michael Altshuler, business coach Date Published01/03/2021 Main TopicTime Length1hr 23min Time has always been a funny topic of discussion, and for so many the obsession of their lives like Albert Einstein and the great astronomers and ocean explorers and navigators of the modern ages. Probably one of the most abstract notions when questioned, What is time? To Einstein it is the 4th Dimension outside of our 3 dimensional physical reality. In this episode we tackle some of the ways in which ‘time’ has been described and tracked and measured over the centuries to millennia. The angle that these Druids in training are taking in this sense is looking at the various calendars that have been created like the Julian, Gregorian and Chinese. New year as is common knowledge differs between Western calendar time and the unique Chinese calendar. We have a discussion about the different zodiac symbolism which are represented by various animals in the Chinese calendar, which differs from all others and including the old Celtic or Druid symbolism of trees assigned to each lunar month. Astrology is well known to have seeded modern scientific Astronomy/Cosmology. We mention the book ‘The Quantum Astrologer’s Handbook’, a great publication written by author and physicist Michael Brooks. This book describes the use of astrology in the 17th century by a famous mathematician and astrologer Jerome Cardano in the time of Renaissance Italy, for the invention of probability mathematics which became one of the cornerstones of quantum mechanics centuries later. Through exploring the stars and the heavens by ancient astrologers and big thinkers through the centuries, we talk about the idea of perception and as a result consciousness once focused on the idea of time and the progression of it. Much like the differences in calendars across the Earth, it is apparent that time has qualities that differ depending on who you are talking to. In one sense time is linear in how it progresses from past to present to future, or does it? Engineers will, and most mathematics include time as a real measurable quantity and must be written into equations and formulae for speed, acceleration and other calculations. Then we have to acknowledge that we invented time measurement devices like clocks. Others think it has a non-linear qu...
Transcribe →Episode #17 – “Food Glorious Food!”
Feb 3, 202101:29:37Tap to summarizeEpisode #17 - "Food Glorious Food!" “Mother Nature is the true artist and our job as cooks is to allow her to shine.” — Marco Pierre White, chef Date Published03/02/2021 Main TopicFood Length1hr 29min This episode on food and culinary culture is an introduction for Druids Exchange, discussing some interesting facts, personal anecdotes and high falutin aspects of food and the sheer importance that food and eating has in the lives of all on the planet. The episode takes the listener on a journey through old Prehistoric Ireland and the diets and cooking methods of the Bronze Age, namely ‘Fulacht Fiadh’. Also, worth a mention is a conversation about modern day Ireland and how cuisine and the culinary experience that is afforded to all who visits today has evolved over the decades. This evolution has been triggered by the recent increase in immigration to the country from places like India, China, Medditerranian nations and closer to home the United Kingdom. With the arrival of new culture to Ireland and with the people, came brand new food cultures and flavours of the world. This ‘feeds’ the conversation about the advent of the ‘Michelin Star’ to the world of gastronomy beginning in 1926, from the most unlikely of places, a tyre company in France. Where else! When talking about all of the beautiful and diverse flavours of Italy, France, and Asian nations to name a few, springs a science lesson about what biologists call the ‘Gustatory System’ or our sensory ability to taste. Interesting developments emerge, as the rabbit hole is descended. Interesting points are made in relation to the UNESCO protected culinary cultures of the world, and things are definitely learned. This episode is only a first sweep of the truly expansive subject that is ‘Food’ and all that it encompases about culture, biology, human psychology and even linguistics if you want to delve into the anthropology of food and cuisine. Stay tuned for more follow up episodes on this fascinating subject. We hope you enjoy! <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-2ba5692 elementor-widget elementor-widget-wp-widget-media_audio" data-id="2ba5692" data-element_type="widget" data-widget_type="wp-widget...
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