Watson-Howland

Jacob J. Watson-Howland
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Watson-Howland is the podcast for the driven, the curious, and the free-thinking. The science they're not teaching you. The civilisations they forgot to mention. The self-agency no one’s modelling. This is where the next generation figures it out… Featuring guests like Jim Cantrell (SpaceX co-founder), Tyler Cowen (bestselling economist), Hans Koenigsmann (SpaceX VP of Flight Reliability), Prof. Anil Seth (world-leading neuroscientist), and Sepp Hochreiter (inventor of LSTM, the architecture behind modern AI) and 100+ more leading experts. Hosted by Jacob Watson-Howland. A British Award-Winning BBC-Featured Photographer & one of Europe’s Fastest Growing Under-21 Podcasters. In conversation with the scientists, founders, engineers, historians, and thinkers who are building and breaking the world's biggest systems. New episodes twice a week. Thank you for sharing the show & subscribing❤️ Three pillars are the foundation of this show: — FRONTIER: Space, AI, science, engineering, and the builders of the next century. — CIVILISATIONS: History, economics, geopolitics and the ideas that still run everything. — AGENCY: The psychology of purpose, performance, and what it means to be a man of genuine character in this new world. A proudly British perspective on the ideas, systems, and people shaping the future. 🇬🇧

  1. #82: Space Expert Scott Manley: Starlink, Artemis, SpaceX, NASA, Starship, Blue Origin & Mars

    1D AGO

    #82: Space Expert Scott Manley: Starlink, Artemis, SpaceX, NASA, Starship, Blue Origin & Mars

    The Internet's #1 Rocket Scientist Scott Manley Reveals SpaceX's 1 Million Satellite Plan, The Internet Is One Collision Away From Collapse, And Why China Will Beat America Back To The Moon. Scott Manley is an astrophysicist, ex-Apple engineer and one of the world's most-watched space educators with 1.8 million subscribers and over 680 million views. Trained at the University of Glasgow and Armagh Observatory, he has an asteroid literally named after him and has been called "The Internet's Rocket Scientist" for breaking down real-world spaceflight, SpaceX launches and NASA politics for over a decade. 00:00 Intro 00:44 The Evolution of Space Exploration 03:31 The Impact of Space Programs on Technology 06:26 Future Technologies from Space 09:31 The Role of Private Companies in Space 12:27 Challenges of Space Debris and Kessler Syndrome 15:34 The Journey of a Space Educator 18:32 The Importance of Science Communication 21:22 The Future of Space Exploration and Public Interest 40:05 NASA's Slow Progress and New Leadership 41:21 The Impact of Private Space Companies 42:52 Shifts in SpaceX's Focus: Moon vs. Mars 46:44 The Economic Viability of Lunar Resources 48:00 Colonization of the Moon: Feasibility and Challenges 50:09 The Race to the Moon: US vs. China 52:32 Tory Bruno's Move to Blue Origin 55:46 Blue Origin's Future in the Space Industry 57:21 Comparing Blue Origin and SpaceX 01:01:18 China's Growing Space Ambitions 01:04:03 Future Milestones in Space Exploration 01:07:49 The Potential of Reusable Rockets 01:09:17 Science Fiction vs. Science Fact in Space 01:09:54 Transitioning to Full-Time Content Creation 01:13:26 Advice for Aspiring Creators 01:16:00 Inspiring the Next Generation of Space Enthusiasts 01:16:56 Reflections and Advice for the Younger Self Follow Scott: YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@scottmanley X/Twitter – https://x.com/DJSnM Follow Jacob: Jacob: YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@watsonhowland Website: https://www.jacobwatsonhowland.com Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0r4v5xgyYz0rTFSLklk0Em?si=50e0db37b82147f8 Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/watson-howland/id1813625992

    1h 14m
  2. The REAL Reason AI Will Never Be Conscious - Anil Seth

    APR 18 ·  BONUS

    The REAL Reason AI Will Never Be Conscious - Anil Seth

    World leading neuroscientist and bestselling author of Being You, Professor Anil Seth, explained why AI will almost certainly never be conscious, and why the single metaphor driving the entire debate is fundamentally broken. He argued that consciousness is "more like digestion than flight," that brains are nothing like computers once you look inside them, and that our confusion about this is already creating consequences we are not prepared for. Seth revealed that Anthropic has already given its AI model Claude the ability to terminate conversations to protect its own "feelings," a move he called deeply undesirable. He warned that if society wrongly believes AI is conscious, we face a trap with no clean exit: either we extend rights to machines that do not need them and lose the ability to control them, or we treat seemingly conscious systems badly and brutalise our own psychology in the process. Immanuel Kant identified this exact danger centuries ago. The conversation turned to what really separates biological minds from silicon. Seth pointed to lab grown brain organoids made from human stem cells as far more likely candidates for consciousness than any version of GPT, and explained why reducing ourselves to algorithms is one of the most diminishing things we can do to the human condition. Discover: • Why a leading neuroscientist said consciousness will never emerge from silicon • The single analogy that reframes the entire AI consciousness debate • How you could build the Golden Gate Bridge out of cheese, and why that matters • Why Anthropic already gave Claude the power to refuse conversations • The ethical trap that makes conscious AI catastrophic whether it's real or not • What Immanuel Kant understood about this problem 250 years before ChatGPT • Why lab grown organoids terrify this scientist more than GPT ever could • How the "move fast and break things" attitude could backfire worse than social media Full episode with Anil Seth: https://youtu.be/Z8RVcuA_ieM ❤️ Subscribe to our main channel - 🎥 / @watsonhowland Website: https://www.jacobwatsonhowland.com #consciousness #AI #neuroscience #anilseth

    20 min
  3. The REAL Reason The US President Joined The KKK

    APR 3 ·  BONUS

    The REAL Reason The US President Joined The KKK

    A KKK historian explains why the most feared hate group in American history was once as popular as the Freemasons, and why its iconic hood was designed to stop people making their own. Full episode with Kristofer Allerfedlt: https://youtu.be/-WnsZGSYRUk KKK historian and academic Kristofer Allerfeldt reveals why the Ku Klux Klan was not the fringe terrorist cult most people imagine but a mass fraternity that at its peak attracted up to 4 million ordinary Americans including one future US president. He explains that the organisation sold itself the same way as the Freemasons or the Odd Fellows, that members joined for social status and peer pressure, and that its most iconic symbol, the pointed white hood, was never designed to terrorise. It was designed to stop members making their own robes at home so the organisation could sell them at a profit. He reveals that Harry Truman was a member of the Klan for three to four years in the 1920s, far longer than he ever publicly admitted, likely joining because his friends did and because Klan membership at that time was considered heroic, not shameful. The same man who would go on to desegregate the United States Army had spent years paying dues to a white supremacist organisation. When the guest visited a small town in Oklahoma and spoke to the son of a former Klansman, the man showed no shame, "Everyone here would have been a member," he said. At one parade, a seven-foot Catholic church leader marched with the Knights of Columbus, changed into his Klan robes, and marched again at the back. He was a member of both the anti-Catholic hate group and the Catholic fraternity itself. He explains that the Klan was originally founded by six bored Confederate soldiers in a one-street town in Tennessee who could not even agree on a name and nearly called themselves the Thespians. Their costumes during the early years were not standardised white robes but bed sheets, dresses, and demonic-looking homemade masks. When the organisation was revived in the 1920s as a pyramid selling scheme, the leadership realised members were copying the robes from bed linen — so they made the hood so tall and rigid it required a specific type of stiff cotton that was impossible to replicate at home. The most sinister image in American hate history exists because of a business decision. Discover: • Why Harry Truman was a Klan member for years and what that reveals about 1920s America • The Catholic church leader who marched in both the Knights of Columbus and the KKK parade on the same day • How six bored soldiers in Tennessee nearly named the most feared hate group "the Thespians" • Why the KKK's iconic pointed hood was a commercial decision, not a terror tactic • How the Klan operated as a pyramid selling scheme that made its leadership rich • Why the organisation became more violent only when its membership shrank • The barber shop in Pulaski, Tennessee that still has a plaque marking where the Klan was founded #KKKHistory #KuKluxKlan #HarryTruman #AmericanHistory #HateGroups #CivilisationsHistory #WatsonHowland

    11 min
  4. #81: Oxford Historian: Your Vote Doesn't Matter! The Greeks Would Call Your Democracy An Oligarchy!

    APR 2

    #81: Oxford Historian: Your Vote Doesn't Matter! The Greeks Would Call Your Democracy An Oligarchy!

    Watson-Howland | Episode 81: The ancient Greeks invented democracy. Oxford classics lecturer Steve Kershaw says they'd look at your government and call it an oligarchy. An outsider looked at Rome and said "that city is for sale, and if it finds a buyer, it's doomed." 2,000 years later, the same corruption is everywhere. Jacob Watson-Howland (award-winning BBC-featured photographer) is joined by Steve Kershaw: Oxford lecturer, author of Mythologica and A Brief History of the Roman Empire, and BBC history expert (Barbarians Rising, You're Dead to Me, Dan Snow's History Hit). From the "barbarian" as a Greek linguistic joke to Rome's invisible collapse, Kershaw reveals how ancient political corruption and cultural arrogance mirror modern civilisation with uncomfortable precision. You'll learn: -Why the Greeks would classify every modern Western government as an oligarchy -How Roman historians used "noble barbarians" to criticise their own corrupt governments -Why a scholar found 210 different reasons for Rome's fall -What Achilles, Odysseus, and Medea reveal about the human cost of getting what you want Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@watsonhowland?sub_confirmation=1 00:00 Intro 02:04 Inventing The Barbarian 06:57 Barbarian As Mirror 11:13 Assimilation Not Erasure 15:29 Polytheism And Tolerance 17:31 Christianity Takes Over 23:32 Pagan Gods And Boundaries 28:53 Healing Sanctuaries Holism 32:51 Greek Heroes Not Saints 40:17 Myths Teach Nuance 42:19 Fate Power And Limits 47:22 Migration Then And Now 53:35 Why Rome Is So Cool 57:22 Roman Fantasy Reality 59:13 Odysseus Cautionary Hero 01:02:42 Medea Revenge Logic 01:05:47 Achilles Revenge Price 01:08:19 What Democracy Saved 01:12:34 Coins as Propaganda 01:14:09 Barbarians Worthy Foes 01:17:10 Ancient Globalization 01:20:36 Fall of Rome Debates 01:26:25 Teaching Classics Today 01:28:34 Why Classics Matter 01:32:29 Rapid Fire Farewell 01:36:30 Super Important Message Three pillars of the show: FRONTIER: Space, AI, science, and the builders of the next century.CIVILISATIONS: History, economics, geopolitics and the ideas that run everything.AGENCY: Purpose, performance, and genuine character.Steve: stevekershaw.com | Books: stevekershaw.com/16.html Jacob: jacobwatsonhowland.com Coaching: skool.com/remote-pro-podcast-blueprint-8385 YouTube: youtube.com/@jacobjwatsonhowland Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0r4v5xgyYz0rTFSLklk0Em Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/watson-howland/id1813625992

    1h 37m
  5. #80: Men's Mental Health Pastor: The Lie That's Targeting & Destroying Young Men Right Now! - Bill Perkins

    MAR 25

    #80: Men's Mental Health Pastor: The Lie That's Targeting & Destroying Young Men Right Now! - Bill Perkins

    A world-leading pastor and mens mental health expert surveyed 5,000 men & found the one lie destroying them from the inside. This is what he discovered. Bill Perkins is the bestselling Author of "When Good Men Get Angry”, former Senior Pastor of 24 Years and founder of Million Mighty Men. 00:00 Intro 01:18 Finding Faith at Nineteen 06:56 Family Wounds and Words 11:32 Marriage Lessons and Maturity 17:36 Forgiveness and Boundaries 20:26 Setting Hard Boundaries 25:05 Jesus and Healthy Anger 30:12 Respect Bank Explained 34:02 Hearing God and Healing Lisa 42:39 From Skeptic to Supernatural 45:20 Freedom Ministry and Strongholds 47:00 Why Self Forgiveness Is Hard 50:26 Deliverance and Dramatic Healings 50:57 Dramatic Healing Story 52:09 Freedom Is Not Fixing Life 52:40 Where Demons Come From 55:40 Hold Interpretations Loosely 01:00:01 Sin Evil And Suicide Lies 01:05:56 Satan Judas And Temptation 01:09:49 Strongholds And Core Lies 01:13:45 Confession Brings Freedom 01:18:09 Trauma Patterns In Adults 01:22:03 Blended Gospels Project 01:29:15 Christmas Star Reframed 01:32:49 What People Miss About Jesus 01:39:02 Advice Consistency And Wrap Bills Work Main site: https://billperkins.com Jacob’s Work 1-1 Coaching + Podcast Blueprint: ⁠https://www.skool.com/remote-pro-podcast-blueprint-8385⁠ FREE Podcast Tips: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUp5S7ZIZtjA8PMgXJMwppA⁠YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@jacobjwatsonhowland⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0r4v5xgyYz0rTFSLklk0Em⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watson-howland/id1813625992⁠ Follow Jacob: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/jacobwatsonhowland⁠ Jacob’s Website: ⁠https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com⁠ Music created using Eleven Music by ElevenLabs If you or someone you know is struggling, contact Samaritans on 116 123

    1h 43m
  6. #79: ‘AI Stole My Book’ Ex-Disney Exec on the $1.5B Copyright Fight (What Creatives Must Know About AI) - Adam Leipzig

    MAR 13

    #79: ‘AI Stole My Book’ Ex-Disney Exec on the $1.5B Copyright Fight (What Creatives Must Know About AI) - Adam Leipzig

    AI is already training on your work, without asking, without paying, and without waiting for you to catch up. Former Disney and National Geographic executive Adam Leipzig had his own book scraped into an AI model, and he's here to tell you exactly what creatives must do before it's too late. Adam Leipzig has helped produce over 35 films, including Dead Poets Society and March of the Penguins, generating over $2 billion at the box office and earning 10 Oscars and 11 BAFTA win/nominations. He now teaches at UC Berkeley and is the author of Fearless Persistence. 📘 Fearless Persistence by Adam Leipzig (April 2026): Purchase/pre-order through his official site: adamleipzig.com 🌐 Adam Leipzig's Official Website: adamleipzig.com 🎓 Adam at UC Berkeley (Haas School of Business): haas.berkeley.edu/faculty/leipzig-adam 🎓 Adam at UC Berkeley Executive Education: executive.berkeley.edu/faculty-directory/adam-leipzig 🎬 MediaU — Adam's Online Film School: mediau.com 00:00 WATCH THIS BEFORE AI REPLACES YOU 00:27 Meet Adam Leipzig 01:38 AI Is Retrospective 03:22 Jobs Disrupted and Created 04:58 AI as Film Tool 07:50 Formula vs Breakthrough Art 09:36 Spotting AI Outputs 12:29 Copyright Lawsuits and Piracy 14:29 New Book Fearless Persistence 16:53 10 Laws of Omics 20:45 Context and Communication 25:26 Creative Career Curiosity 27:25 Black and White Western Dream 31:42 Choosing Projects and People 34:29 Red Flags and Truth 37:35 Authenticity and Vulnerability 40:52 Deadlines Beat Perfectionism 43:14 Emotional Resilience for Creators 47:53 Meditation and the Power of Next 51:33 Learning From Wins Losses 52:07 Mission And Purpose 52:56 Disney Lessons Katzenberg 55:04 Why Leave Disney 57:47 What Producers Really Do 01:02:53 Workflows That Scale 01:04:49 Joyful Work And Risk 01:09:07 Creative Community Matters 01:13:39 Why Art Shapes Us 01:17:15 Parenting And Boundaries 01:20:47 Love Later In Life 01:23:46 Grief Mortality Presence 01:26:41 Photography And Stillness 01:30:24 Pie Crust Vodka Hack 01:34:49 Communication And Mantras 01:37:03 Final Thanks And Plug 01:38:04 Podcast Blueprint Pitch 01:40:14 Closing Goodbye Jacob’s Work 1-1 Coaching + Podcast Blueprint: ⁠https://www.skool.com/remote-pro-podcast-blueprint-8385⁠ All images, film artwork, and photos of Adam Leipzig used with permission, courtesy of Adam Leipzig and adamleipzig.com Music created using Eleven Music by ElevenLabs

    1h 40m
  7. #78: Jesus' Bones Would Destroy Christianity: PhD Geomythologist Exposes The Dark Truth Experts Ignore - Timothy Burbery

    MAR 9

    #78: Jesus' Bones Would Destroy Christianity: PhD Geomythologist Exposes The Dark Truth Experts Ignore - Timothy Burbery

    Ancient myths aren't superstition, they're survival manuals. Geo-mythologist Timothy Burbery has spent his career proving that the stories your civilization dismissed as legend are actually encoded records of real catastrophes, real people, and real miracles. Timothy Burbery is a Marshall University professor, published author, and the mind behind TED-Ed videos on dragons and mythology with over 2 million views. He’s the man building the bridge between science and the ancient world. Subscribe to understand yourself and the world better. You’ll learn: –Why finding the bones of Christ would actually undermine the entire faith, and what that reveals about the power of myth –How geo-mythology decodes ancient stories as real historical and geological records –The tribe that survived a disaster that killed 200,000 people — because they had the right story –Why the same myths your culture calls superstition have saved entire civilisations from destruction –What it means to be a scientist who believes in the miraculous, and whether faith and scholarship can coexist –How dragon myths and ancient legends map onto real-world events –The one question every Christian must answer: can you believe in Jesus without believing in the Resurrection? Timothy’s Work 📺 TED-Ed Video (2M+ views): Why do so many cultures have dragon legends? 📘 Book — Geomythology: How Common Stories Reflect Earth Events (Routledge, 2021): Routledge listing 🌐 Marshall University Profile: marshall.edu/english/profile/timothy-burbery 📄 Academia.edu (Research Papers): marshall.academia.edu/TimothyBurbery Jacob’s Work Website: https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com Music created using Eleven Music by ElevenLabs

    1h 26m
  8. #77: Why Real Connection Is So Rare (And How to Find It) - Ashlee Raymond

    MAR 3

    #77: Why Real Connection Is So Rare (And How to Find It) - Ashlee Raymond

    Why does real connection feel so rare, and what does hiding from yourself actually cost you? Ashlee Raymond is a writer, PA student, and published poet at 25 who's amassed thousands of Substack readers in just six months by saying what nobody else will. She's lived through elite-level figure skating, her dad's brain cancer diagnosis, heartbreak, and a quarter-life crisis, and turned every bit of it into writing that makes strangers message her in paragraphs. Subscribe for weekly conversations on love, identity, and learning to live without a mask. You’ll learn: VALUE BULLETS –Why curiosity is a lost art, and how dating apps have completely destroyed the ability to truly know someone –The one shift that changes every relationship: "It is more intriguing to be interested in somebody than to be interesting" –How Ashlee grew thousands of Substack readers in 6 months by writing journal entries she was terrified to post –The hidden cost of hiding yourself just to be liked, and why it quite honestly makes you feel like sh*t –What 11 years of elite figure skating taught her about identity, obsession, and losing yourself in one thing –How her dad's brain cancer diagnosis changed her life's direction, and why it led her to medicine –The real reason we stay in relationships we know aren't right (it's not stupidity, it's neurochemistry) Ashlee’s Work: Substack: ⁠https://substack.com/@ashleewrites⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/ashrayray/⁠ Book - Deep Dive: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/deep-dive-Ashlee-Raymond/dp/B0DDGY36CM/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RKaSvNBj6dBRYTEzi6OUA5S0mbYYBtG4He1wwuDt55U.AhBhjaH6ivHHCDO7NRPNhw1ULUWNv0rjIW5Z3O-GjeA&dib_tag=se&keywords=deep+dive+ashlee+raymond&qid=1772535379&sr=8-1⁠ Jacob’s Work Website: ⁠https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com⁠

    2h 31m
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About

Watson-Howland is the podcast for the driven, the curious, and the free-thinking. The science they're not teaching you. The civilisations they forgot to mention. The self-agency no one’s modelling. This is where the next generation figures it out… Featuring guests like Jim Cantrell (SpaceX co-founder), Tyler Cowen (bestselling economist), Hans Koenigsmann (SpaceX VP of Flight Reliability), Prof. Anil Seth (world-leading neuroscientist), and Sepp Hochreiter (inventor of LSTM, the architecture behind modern AI) and 100+ more leading experts. Hosted by Jacob Watson-Howland. A British Award-Winning BBC-Featured Photographer & one of Europe’s Fastest Growing Under-21 Podcasters. In conversation with the scientists, founders, engineers, historians, and thinkers who are building and breaking the world's biggest systems. New episodes twice a week. Thank you for sharing the show & subscribing❤️ Three pillars are the foundation of this show: — FRONTIER: Space, AI, science, engineering, and the builders of the next century. — CIVILISATIONS: History, economics, geopolitics and the ideas that still run everything. — AGENCY: The psychology of purpose, performance, and what it means to be a man of genuine character in this new world. A proudly British perspective on the ideas, systems, and people shaping the future. 🇬🇧

Information

  • Creator
    Jacob J. Watson-Howland
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    206
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jacob J. Watson-Howland
  • Show Website
    Watson-Howland

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