Suffering and Social Change: Conversations Bridging Science, Ethics, and Politics - Details, episodes & analysis

What happens when life and society hit their darkest points? The podcast Suffering and Social Change explores worst-case scenarios and how we can prevent them.

We aim to bridge science, philosophy, and politics and feature in-depth conversations with experts from diverse fields: the cognitive sciences and AI, philosophy, the social sciences, and philanthropic as well as political practice. Our episodes navigate the complex landscape of severe suffering, discussing its nature, causes, and far-reaching implications for individuals and society. We aim to stare into the abyss—and emerge with hope.

The podcast is hosted by Adriano Mannino and Nils Althaus. Adriano teaches philosophy at the Munich University of Applied Sciences and was previously a Technology & Human Rights Fellow at Harvard and a Postdoc at UC Berkeley. Nils is an independent researcher, science writer, and journalist for leading outlets in the German-speaking area, and originally a biochemist.