Aporia: Aporia Podcast

Podcast: The Akbari–Piffer controversy

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:56:19 GMT

Noah is joined by Davide Piffer to discuss a recent paper by Ali Akbari and colleagues (published in the prestigious journal Nature). The paper presents evidence of selection for intelligence in Europeans over the last 18,000 years. However, it fails to cite prior work by Davide and others. Noah and Davide discuss the science and ethics of this controversy.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Paper Overview

00:43 Key Findings Across Traits

02:43 Controlling for Ancestry

08:14 Confounds and Genetic Hitchhiking

11:27 Data Embargo Controversy

12:48 Challenging the Sapient Paradox

17:09 Polygenic vs Single Gene Selection

21:30 How This Compares to Piffer’s Research

24:50 Citation Dispute and Complaints

38:14 Future Directions and Africa Data

41:23 New Project on Civilization Stages

44:51 Closing Remarks

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Video: The decline of crime in Britain

Aporia — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:03:08 GMT

In Part 1 of a three-part video on the decline of crime in Britain, Noah discusses the evidence that crime has fallen.

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Video: Environment and the black–white IQ gap

Aporia — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 15:54:19 GMT

Noah argues that none of the commonly cited environmental explanations can explain more than a small portion of the gap.

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Video: Are we ruled by midwits?

Aporia — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:23:16 GMT

Noah considers how smart our lawmakers really are, and whether they’re getting less smart over time.

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Video: Genes, IQ and the ethos of science

Aporia — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:11:06 GMT

Noah argues that scientists have abandoned traditional scientific norms in the context of genes and IQ.

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Video: Who counts as English?

Aporia — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:08:34 GMT

Noah considers whether being English is a matter of ancestry, culture or both.

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Podcast: Trump and Deportations

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:07:19 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss their recent essays, ‘The Ruin of Conservatism’ and ‘The trouble with Trump’s deportations’. They consider to what extent Donald Trump’s character is a political liability, damaging conservatism at home and abroad. They then turn to his immigration policy, which looks unlikely to deliver what supporters hope for.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:32 Critique of Donald Trump

01:30 Trump’s Immigration Policies

05:16 Trump’s Character and Behavior

09:58 Trump’s Greenland Proposal

17:12 Impact on US and Global Politics

19:13 Trump’s Influence on Conservatism

35:24 Immigration Under Trump vs. Biden

39:12 Analyzing Immigration Trends Under Trump

39:52 Economic Factors Influencing Illegal Immigration

40:45 The Inefficiency of ICE Crackdowns

43:32 Trump’s Deportation Numbers Compared to Obama and Biden

47:14 The Case for E-Verify

49:21 Business Lobby Influence on Immigration Policy

53:53 Challenges and Arguments Against Mass Deportation

01:02:31 Cultural and Political Implications of Immigration Policies

01:11:04 Concluding Thoughts on Immigration and Trump

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Video: Italy's low murder rate

Aporia — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 14:09:08 GMT

Noah considers why Italy, a country known for the mafia, has such a low murder rate.

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Podcast: Intelligence and Liberalism

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 17:02:14 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss Noah’s recent essay ‘Why are intelligent people more liberal?’, which examines the link between intelligence and social liberalism. They consider whether cognitive errors and elite blind spots are more important for explaining the link than pro-sociality and moral universalism. And they ask what this all means for conservatism.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Overview

01:27 Defining Social Liberalism

02:32 Intelligence and Political Identity

04:53 Correlation Between Intelligence and Social Liberalism

09:02 Potential Causal Explanations

11:32 Cognitive Errors and Social Norms

22:21 Pro-Social Behavior and Intelligence

26:21 Tradition vs. Novelty

32:49 Discrimination Against Conservatives in Academia

33:28 Evolutionary Novelties and Moral Expertise

34:28 Cognitive Errors and Political Views

35:16 Populism and Intellectual Elites

36:59 Intelligence and Unusual Political Views

38:22 Political Interest and IQ Correlation

38:59 Political Identity and Online Behavior

43:34 Social Liberalism and Intelligence

44:34 Paternalism and Social Norms

49:36 Reasoning and Moral Principles

56:00 Promoting Intellectualism on the Right

58:42 Concluding Thoughts on Social Liberalism and Conservatism

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Podcast: When Efficiency Makes Life Worse

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 17:33:30 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss Bo’s recent essay ‘Against Efficiency’, which explores whether our relentless pursuit of precision and convenience has come at the expense of true happiness. The conversation covers everything from baseball analytics to the Amish community.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Overview

00:32 The Case Against Efficiency

02:27 Efficiency in Personal Relationships

05:37 Efficiency in Reading and Cultural Pursuits

12:42 Efficiency in Sports: Baseball Analytics

20:50 Efficiency in Chess: The Impact of Computers

28:46 Local Identity in Sports

29:45 Player Empowerment and Team Loyalty

32:52 The Impact of Efficiency on Community

36:12 Convenience vs. Human Flourishing

40:44 Happiness and Technological Advancement

44:48 Evolutionary Perspectives on Happiness

49:31 The Role of Inefficiency in Meaningful Lives

57:56 Balancing Efficiency and Meaning

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Video: IQ and missing heritability

Aporia — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 17:52:05 GMT

Noah explains why he doesn’t believe the heritability of IQ has been substantially overestimated.

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Podcast: Why Disgust Matters

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 16:31:19 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss Bo’s recent article ‘The Case for Disgust’, which argues that disgust ought to inform our moral and political judgments. They consider the evolutionary basis of the disgust response, ideological differences in disgust sensitivity, and whether disgust is an irrational bias or a useful indicator of further harms.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Overview

00:26 The Case for Disgust

01:36 Functions of Disgust in Morality

03:10 Evolutionary Basis of Disgust

04:31 Disgust and Contamination

08:08 Disgust in Social and Political Contexts

17:01 Disgust and Symbolic Values

21:16 Disgust as a Heuristic for Harm

21:55 Introduction to Homosexuality and Polyamory

22:23 Disgust and Polyamory

22:52 Moral Disgust and Social Norms

25:07 Incest and Moral Dumbfounding

28:08 Homosexuality and Social Conservatism

31:48 Disgust as a Moral Heuristic

36:25 Abortion and Moral Disgust

42:46 Symbolic Values and Community Norms

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Video: Will humans thrive in the AI era?

Aporia — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:32:14 GMT

A few weeks ago, we published Part 1 of Noah’s video lecture on AI. That one dealt with AI’s impact on the labour market. We’re now publishing Part 2, which considers whether humans will thrive in the AI era.

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Podcast: Is Feminization Degrading Institutions?

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 16:50:23 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss Helen Andrews’ article on the “feminization” of institutions, as well as the responses from David French, Richard Hanania, Paul Bloom and Bo himself. They consider whether men and women differ in their propensity for truth-seeking, how scientific institutions generate knowledge, and why some male-dominated institutions are not concerned with truth.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to the Aporia Podcast

00:26 Helen Andrews’ Thesis on Feminization

02:33 Criticisms and Responses to Andrews’ Article

08:09 The Evolutionary Case for Gender Differences

19:41 Coalitional Morality and Gender

30:22 Group Dynamics and Gender Interaction Effects

35:14 The Impact of Wokeness and Cancel Culture

36:23 Paul Bloom’s Article and the Scout vs. Soldier Mindset

39:30 Masculinity Archetypes: The Artist and the Berserker

39:46 Autism and Gender Differences

43:10 Greater Male Variance and Its Implications

53:18 The Role of Traditional Sex Roles in Academia

56:02 Meritocracy and Gender in Academia

58:50 The Influence of Feminization on Institutions

01:03:34 Final Thoughts on Gender and Institutional Change

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Debate: Can Intelligence Be Engineered?

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 20:00:37 GMT

Noah Carl and Emil Kirkegaard debate the philosophers Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith about the thesis of their book Why Machines Will Never Rule the World — that artificial general intelligence is “impossible”. The discussion covers the the challenges of modelling complex systems, the nature of human creativity, and the evolution of human intelligence.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introductions

00:41 Debate Setup and Initial Arguments

01:31 Defining Intelligence and Engineering Challenges

02:29 Explicit vs Implicit Engineering in AI

03:46 The Limits of Machine Learning

06:02 Critique and Counterarguments

10:30 The Turing Test and Its Limitations

15:55 Creativity and Novelty in AI

26:36 Holistic View of Intelligence

30:04 Evolution and Intelligence: From Bacteria to Social Mammals

31:09 AI and Human Emotions: Mimicking Nature

32:08 Challenges in Understanding Biological Neural Networks

34:10 The Limits of Simulating Physics and Evolution

35:46 Mathematics and the Complexity of Life

37:13 The Inherent Irregularities of Natural Systems

39:28 Skepticism About AI’s Potential

41:50 The Future of AI and Its Limitations

44:54 The Role of Thermodynamics in Understanding AI

56:11 Final Thoughts and Upcoming Projects

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Video: You're going to be replaced

Aporia — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 19:32:21 GMT

Noah examines AI’s impact on the labour market, drawing on the latest evidence.

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Noah Carl is an Editor of Aporia.

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Podcast: Pinker and "not going there"

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:35:49 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss Bo’s recent article “Pinker is wrong: We should “go there”. They consider whether “not going there” would even work, why statistical discrimination is rational, and the harms of not discussing race and IQ.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to the Aporia Podcast

00:26 Overview of the Article ‘Pinker Is Wrong’

00:43 The Taboo over Discussing Race and IQ

02:50 Pinker’s Argument and the Concept of Steel-manning

06:02 Critique of Pinker’s Argument

09:16 The Case for and Against Censorship

21:52 Bayesian Priors and Rational Discrimination

28:12 The Implications of Environmental vs. Genetic Causes

29:35 Debating the Social Benefits of Research

30:11 Understanding Race Differences in Intelligence

33:48 The Gentleman’s Agreement and Its Implications

35:34 Challenges of Data Collection and Proxies

38:35 The Role of Culture and Stereotypes

41:16 The Importance of Addressing Disparities

45:15 Pinker’s Perspective on Censorship

58:38 Concluding Thoughts on Free Speech and Academic Freedom

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Podcast: Should the right engage in cancel culture?

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 15:30:30 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss the outburst of cancel culture that followed Charlie Kirk’s assassination. They consider whether people who say distasteful things in public should be fired, how useful the friend–enemy distinction is for understanding politics, and to what extent principles matter.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Topic Overview

00:26 The Assassination of Charlie Kirk: A Tragic Event

02:02 Free Speech and Cancellations: A Complex Debate

04:11 Case Studies: Controversial Statements and Consequences

08:32 Public vs. Private Discourse: Where to Draw the Line?

10:03 Social Media’s Role in Modern Free Speech

19:54 Cultural Norms and Offensiveness: A Global Perspective

22:04 The Importance of Shared Values in Society

27:32 Condemnation and Hypocrisy: Reactions to Tragedy

35:46 Conservative and Leftist Kinship

36:43 Celebrating Deaths: A Moral Dilemma

38:38 Social Norms and Free Speech

38:57 The Case of Daria Dugina

40:46 Cancel Culture and Social Norms

51:28 Friend-Enemy Distinction and Liberalism

53:18 The Right’s Response to Cancel Culture

01:03:38 Jimmy Kimmel and Cancel Culture

01:09:16 Final Thoughts on Free Speech and Cancel Culture

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Podcast: Explaining the black–white homicide gap

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 19:15:22 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss Noah’s recent article “What explains the black-white homicide gap?” They consider why common explanations like poverty and family breakdown fall short, whether alternative theories are any better, and how IQ relates to criminal offending.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

00:30 Controversial Article on Racial Differences in Crime

00:50 Case Study: Iryna Zarutska's Murder

01:56 Exploring Racial Homicide Statistics

09:15 Debunking Common Theories: Poverty and Crime

20:41 Family Structure and Crime Rates

29:28 IQ and Crime Disparities

30:18 IQ and Crime: Exploring the Correlation

31:17 Theories on IQ and Violent Behavior

31:54 Time Preference and Intelligence

32:35 Pro-Social Behavior and Intelligence

34:55 Racial Disparities in Crime Rates

37:38 Antisocial Personality Traits and Crime

42:01 Testosterone Levels and Criminal Behavior

52:59 Policy Recommendations and Social Implications

01:00:56 Concluding Thoughts on Crime and Society

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Podcast: Myth, Morality and the Right

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 19:12:31 GMT

Bo and Noah discuss Bo’s recent essays ‘In Defense of Christianity’ and ‘Against Libertine Conservatism’. They consider the case for a mythopoetic form of Christianity, the rise of secular substitutes for the sacred, and the dangers of a conservatism that conflates vulgarity with strength.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Apologies

00:48 Defense of Christianity: Myth vs. Literalism

06:50 The Role of Sacredness in Religion

18:01 Critique of New Atheism

26:28 Libertine Conservatism: A New Critique

32:07 Debating the Salaciousness of Ads

32:32 Christian Perspective on Sexualization

34:22 Criticism of Libertine Conservatism

38:21 Progressive Criticism and White Identity

45:03 Jesus’ Teachings and Political Zealotry

50:14 Modern Dating and Political Divides

58:09 Concluding Thoughts on Christianity and Enlightenment

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