Best ETH Zurich Podcasts (2024)

1
Leadership of the wise - The Bhutanese turn towards happier societies? (English podcast) 47:24

5d ago47:24

47:24

Send us a Text Message. English Description (German below) Guest: Karma Ura Should wisely managed states be primarily concerned with the development of economic conditions, for example, with constantly increasing GDP? Does this automatically lead to better, even happier societies? In Bhutan, the Gross National Happiness Index was developed in contr…

1
"Das Spice muss fließen!" - Über den Zusammenhang von Wohlstand, Weisheit, Wirtschaft und Glück (German podcast) 58:51

10d ago58:51

58:51

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Niklas Kirchner Wir hoffen doch, dass Regierende, seien es nun Könige, Präsidentinnen oder Parlamente, die unser Leben und Zusammenleben massgeblich beeinflussen, dies zum Wohle der Bürgerinnen und Bürger tun, welche sie regieren. Nach heutigen Standards müssten Sie vor allem ökonomis…

1
Save Our Souls (and the bodies too)! - Über Heilung und Hilfe als weisheitliche Praxis (German podcast) 49:48

11d ago49:48

49:48

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Alexander Poraj, Tobias Esch Heute sprechen Michael Hampe, Alexander Poraj und Tobias Esch miteinander über Rückenschmerzen, Gallensteine und Opferhähne. Kurzum, über die vielfältige Bedeutung dessen, was man in Philosophie, Wissenschaft und Spiritualität unter «Heilung» verstehen kan…

1
Transforming the Chemical Industry – Remy Buser 30:47

16d ago30:47

30:47

Remy Buser's journey from studying at ETH to founding Bloom Biorenewables and how he emphasises the need to defossilise materials and find sustainable alternatives. Remy Buseris on a mission to replace fossil carbon with renewable carbon in the chemical industry! The CEO and co-founder of Bloom Biorenewables explains how the use of petrochemicals h…

1
Episode 77 - Post-Socialist Infrastructure 49:06

25d ago49:06

49:06

In this episode we talk about garages, trams and trolleybuses! Our guests for this episode, Tauri Tuvikene and Wladimir Sgibnev, help us think about post-socialist mobility in terms of continuities and ruptures. Using examples from Estonia, East Germany, and the former Soviet Union, they question the future of mobility, highlight the importance of …

1
From Research to Action: Combating Climate Extremes – Wim Thiery 26:24

1M ago26:24

26:24

Wim Thiery, a climate scientist and associate professor at the University of Brussels, revealed during his recent visit at ETH Zurich, that children born in 2020 will face significantly more extreme weather events than previous generations. Wim Thiery, climate scientist and Associate Professor at the University of Brussels, talks about the urgent n…

1
Affirming life despite all adversity - Viktor Frankl's search for the meaning of life (English podcast) 37:43

1M ago37:43

37:43

Send us a Text Message. English Description (German below) Guest: Tobias Esch What is the meaning of life? In the podcast, we draw from Tolstoy's existential dilemmas with this question as a foundation for exploring diverse approaches to adopting a positive outlook on life. We juxtapose Tolstoy's inquiries with Viktor Frankl's quest for meaning und…

1
Closing the Gender Data Gap: FemTech and Female-Centric Healthcare – Oriana Kraft 25:48

1M ago25:48

25:48

Oriana Kraft, entrepreneur and founder of the FemTechnology Summit explains the need for gender-specific care in medicine and the potential of FemTech to revolutionise healthcare. In this episode, Oriana Kraft, founder of Fem Technology, delves into the gender data health gap and the burgeoning field of FemTech. Fem Technology specialises in soluti…

1
Revolutionising Stroke Treatment – Christophe Chautems 25:44

2M ago25:44

25:44

Meet Christophe Chautems, CTO of Nanoflex Robotics, bridging Mars rover expertise to medical robotics, revolutionising stroke treatment with magnetic technology. Christophe Chautems, CTO of Nanoflex Robotics, talks about the breakthrough medical robotics technology that uses magnets to navigate catheters in the treatment of strokes. With 15 years o…

1
Only the dead have seen the end of war - On war and its endless horizons (English Podcast) 47:46

2M ago47:46

47:46

Send us a Text Message. English Description (German below) Guest: Olivier Del Fabbro Many people only know war from stories. From books, films, maybe even from the stories of relatives and acquaintances. If you think about the war in Ukraine and the discussions about it in the media, on the one hand the war seems close because we are inundated with…

1
Guru: Zerstörer der Finsternis – Über das Verhältnis von Aufklärung und Gefolgschaft (German Podcast) 52:52

2M ago52:52

52:52

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Alexander Poraj Worin besteht eigentlich der Unterschied zwischen jemandem, der mich in Sachen Lebensführung unterrichten kann und mir wohlmeinend Rat anbietet und einem Rattenfänger, der mich hinter das Licht, also ins Dunkel führt? Warum nehmen bestimmte Figuren in den Weisheitstrad…

1
Alle Menschen sind Ausnahmen von einer Regel, die nicht existiert - Über Weisheitsvorführungen in Talmud und Psychoanalyse (German Podcast) 45:38

2M ago45:38

45:38

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Daniel Strassberg Sowohl in der Praxis der Psychoanalyse als auch in der Beschäftigung mit dem Talmud geht es darum, so Psychoanalytiker und Philosoph Daniel Strassberg, einer spezifischen Situation, einem Fall, einem Menschen gerecht zu werden. In beiden wirkt ein Weisheitsverständni…

1
Episodio 76 - En conversación con Clara Salazar (The Urban Lives of Property Series IV) 1:05:53

3M ago1:05:53

1:05:53

Ejidos y asentamientos autogestionados en Mexico In this inaugural Spanish-language episode of the Urban Political Podcast, Clara Salazar delves into the history and concept of the ejidos—collective forms of land ownership introduced by the Mexican Revolution in 1917. Following this, the state began redistributing land to impoverished farmers under…

1
Perlenfischen im uferlosen Meer des Seins - Über den Gelehrten und Dichter ʿUmar-e Ḫayyām (German Podcast) 1:10:02

3M ago1:10:02

1:10:02

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Ulrich Rudolph Für die einen ist ʿUmar-e Ḫayyām ein Prophet der Hedonisten, Agnostiker und Atheistinnen, für andere ein strammer Vertreter einer vermeintlich authentischen persischen intellektuellen Tradition, und wieder andere sehen in ihm einen Autor tiefreligiöser mystischer Poesie…

1
Sustainability Through Collaboration - Etienne Jeoffroy 22:00

3M ago22:00

22:00

Join us on an inspiring journey with Etienne Jeoffroy, CEO of ETH spin-off FENX, as he shares insights into sustainable materials innovation and its potential impact on reducing carbon footprints. Etienne Jeoffroy, co-founder and CEO of FENX, talks to Susan Kish about his journey in sustainable materials innovation. He recalls how his grandmother, …

1
A Swiss AI Journey – Daniel Naeff 17:30

3M ago17:30

17:30

According to ETH Alumni Daniel Naeff, it is important to strike a balance between leveraging the positive aspects of AI and understanding the potential challenges. In this episode, Susan Kish interviews Daniel Naeff, an entrepreneur and one of the leads at the ETH AI Center. They discuss angel investing, the inspiration behind starting companies, a…

1
Archaeological philosophy in search of Mesoamerican wisdom - An introductory podcast (English podcast) 49:02

3M ago49:02

49:02

Send us a Text Message. English Description (German below) Guest: Alexus McLeod “The philosophy of Mesoamerica – the indigenous groups of precolonial North-Central America is rich and varied but relatively little – known”, are the opening words of Alexus McLoed’s book An Introduction to Mesoamerican Philosophy. Indeed, while we, here in Western Eur…

1
Jeder Mensch stirbt einzigartig - Über die palliativmedizinische Begleitung des letzten Lebensweges (German podcast) 38:31

3M ago38:31

38:31

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Winfried Hardinghaus Um Themen wie Tod und Sterben würden viele Menschen wohl lieber den «Mantel des Schweigens» werfen, wie man so schön sagt. Wer allerdings in der Palliativmedizin beschäftigt ist, kann das kaum tun. Im Gegenteil, die Palliativmedizin oder lateinisch «cura palliativ…

1
Bäcker Bertolt Brecht backt (freundlich) Brötchen - Zum Verhältnis "Weisheit und Macht" (German podcast) 44:21

4M ago44:21

44:21

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Michael Hampe Kann man weise sein in politisch finsteren Zeiten? Denn die alten Weisen reden doch von Ausgeglichenheit, Seelenruhe und dergleichen. Oft raten Sie, dass wir uns zurückziehen aus den Machtkämpfen des öffentlichen Lebens und für uns allein an uns selbst arbeiten sollten, …

1
Episode 75 – Book Review Roundtable: Lively Cities: Reconfiguring Urban Ecology 1:00:40

4M ago1:00:40

1:00:40

Lively Cities departs from conventions of urban studies to argue that cities are lived achievements forged by a multitude of entities—human and nonhuman—that make up the material politics of city making. Generating fresh conversations between posthumanism, postcolonialism, and political economy, Barua reveals how these actors shape, integrate, subs…

1
Revolutionising the construction industry – Mariana Popescu 18:54

4M ago18:54

18:54

Here’s how to put the ‘fabric’ into fabricate, as ETH Zurich alumna and TU Delft Assistant Professor of Digital Fabrication Mariana Popescu explains. Could a knitting machine revolutionise construction? For her PhD, ETH Zurich alumna Mariana Popescu worked with the Block Research Group to show that it’s possible to use lightweight knitted textiles …

1
Wie der Fuchs zur Ethik kam - Die scheinbar paradoxe Befreiung vom Leiden bei Dōgen und Spinoza (German podcast) 49:41

4M ago49:41

49:41

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Raji Steineck «Alles ist Buddhanatur.», heisst es bei Meister Dogen. Was bedeutet das? Wenn im Buddhismus nach Erleuchtung gestrebt wird, scheint es doch darum zu gehen, die Unausweichlichkeit der leidhaften Existenz allen Lebens einzusehen und sich letztendlich aus ihr zu befreien. D…

1
Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone – Sandra Herrmann 26:11

4M ago26:11

26:11

ETH Alumna Sandra Herrmann is an oceanographer, a geologist, a paleontologist, a pilot… and member of NASA's Analog Astronauts. Sandra Herrmann studied geology and palaeontology at TU Bergakademie Freiberg and completed her doctorate in natural sciences at ETH Zurich. She subsequently emigrated to the USA and spent 12 years working for the Internat…

1
In Conversation with Jean-David Gerber (The Urban Lives of Property Series III) 1:16:17

5M ago1:16:17

1:16:17

Property, Planning and Institutional Power: A view from Switzerland This episode of the Urban Lives of Property Series expands discussions geographically and conceptually: Our guest in this episode, Jean-David Gerber, helps us think property from Switzerland and other places. Starting off with the observation that there is no single understanding o…

1
Confucius the Stoic? - On an early encounter between Eastern and Western philosophy (English podcast) 43:34

5M ago43:34

43:34

Send us a Text Message. English Description (German below) Guest: Andrew Yeung Bun Hui With the Metis project, we are trying to bring philosophical traditions and voices of the world into contact with each other. Intercultural exchange has a long history that goes back much further than our Metis project. Andrew Hui has been working on a project en…

1
Becoming AI Literate – Anne Scherer 21:15

5M ago21:15

21:15

Anne Scherer, co-founder of Delta Labs AG and author of the book You and AI, explains why trust and comfort are crucial in human-machine interaction. The development of AI has sparked a lot of interest and enthusiasm, and Anne Scherer thinks its rate of development is expected to continue to surprise us. Anne is co-founder of Delta Labs AG and auth…

1
Der Atem der Welt - Über die Bambusflöte Shakuhachi (尺八) (German Podcast) 50:00

5M ago50:00

50:00

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Dieter Weische Die japanische Bambusflöte Shakuhachi ist der Stargast des heutigen Podcasts. Sie ist in Begleitung von Dieter Weische zu uns ins Studio bekommen, welcher mit Michael Hampe über dies – in westlichen Ohren – exotisch klingende Instrument, seine Geschichte, seine klanglic…

1
Nextcasts | From Lab Bench to Market: Unlocking Innovation at Universities with Eva Maria Håkanson & Darren Cooke 48:23

5M ago48:23

48:23

In this episode of "Nextcasts" from Swissnex in San Francisco, we dive into the fascinating world of entrepreneurship and innovation in the academic sphere. Our special guests, Darren Cook from UC Berkeley and Eva Maria from the University of Zurich, share their unique insights and experiences in fostering startup culture within their respective in…

1
the Far Right and the City 53:40

5M ago53:40

53:40

With the research network Territorialisations of the Radical Right (Terra-R). Tune in for our new episode on the far-right and the city! In this discussion, members of the Terra-R (Territorialisations of the Radical Right) network examine the developments of the radical right in Germany beyond simplistic urban-rural and East-West attributions, and …

1
The Future of Human Civilisation – Olivier de Weck 29:01

5M ago29:01

29:01

Olivier de Weck is a leading systems engineering expert, which he describes as “the art and science of building, implementing, and operating complex systems.” Born in Switzerland, he holds degrees in industrial engineering from ETH Zurich (1993) and aerospace systems engineering from MIT (2001), where is now Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautic…

1
Rent Strike Series Episode 3 27:07

6M ago27:07

27:07

The third in an ongoing series hosted by Mathilde Lind GustavussenThis is episode three of the Rent Strike Series, focusing on the Veritas Tenants Association’s ongoing multibuilding rent strike in San Francisco to demand a say in the terms of sale of their buildings. In November 2023, the Prado Group assumed ownership of 20 Veritas-owned buildings…

1
Transportation for All — Georg Polzer 25:53

6M ago25:53

25:53

Georg Polzer went straight from completing his studies at ETH Zurich to co-founding Teralytics, an official Spin-Off company of ETH Zurich. An AI-powered platform providing mobility data solutions, Teralytics collects and analyzes large amounts of location data to improve transportation efficiency and equity. Georg highlights the importance of desi…

1
Cosmopolitan Solidarity 1:02:38

6M ago1:02:38

1:02:38

A talk on Hope, Affection, and Welcoming the 'Other' To live in the age of precarity is a tolling, everyday struggle. It erodes one's strength to carry on, live another day, and keep the hope for a modicum of prosperity due to come in some vague future. And when things get unbearably harsh, when the hegemony of neoliberalism has individualised the …

1
Earth, Mars, and beyond – Mariko Burgin 26:34

6M ago26:34

26:34

ETH Zurich alumna and NASA JPL engineer Mariko Burgin discusses her passion for space exploration. Mariko transitioned from ETH Zurich to the University of Michigan before joining NASA, where she works on mission formulation: the journey from a mere idea, to a project for space exploration complete with scientific objectives, cost constraints, and …

1
Stay calm like piglets in a storm - On Pyrrhonian skepticism (English podcast) 57:10

6M ago57:10

57:10

Send us a Text Message. English Description (German below) Gast: Katja Vogt Reading newspapers, studying media discourses, eying political debates, one cannot shake the thought that we certainly do not live in a world where skepticism is widespread or has many adherents. Because skeptics seem to be very cautious when expressing opinions, if they do…

1
42: One worldview to rule them all - On the uses of big pictures (English podcast) 54:33

6M ago54:33

54:33

Send us a Text Message. English Description (German below) Guest: Raymond Geuss The sages and wise writings often seem to want to tell us that we should fundamentally change our lives, that we should fundamentally change who we are. But according to which rules and ideas? Should we simply adopt their worldviews? We spoke to Raymond Geuss about what…

1
Kafka bläst das Licht aus - Über die dunkle Weisheit Franz Kafkas (German podcast) 59:59

6M ago59:59

59:59

Send us a Text Message. German Description (English below) Gast: Andreas Kilcher Greifen Sie auf Franz Kafkas Literatur zurück, wenn Sie Rat im Leben suchen? Würden Sie Franz Kafka ganz allgemein mit Weisheit oder Weisheitsliteratur in Verbindung bringen? Vermutlich haben Sie an die Verwandlung Gregor Samsas in einen Käfer gedacht oder auch an den …

1
Visionary Crossroads: Charting the Evolution of Silicon Valley and Swissnex in San Francisco with Christian Simm, Founder of Swissnex in San Francisco, Nextcasts: METROPOLIS Episode 6 42:17

7M ago42:17

42:17

In “Nextcasts: METROPOLIS Episode 6”, the CEO of Swissnex in San Francisco, Emilia Pasquier, talks with Christian Sim, the founder of Swissnex of Swissnex in San Francisco, about his background and the early days of Silicon Valley. They discuss the excitement and dreams of the internet age, the Silicon Valley mindset, and the evolution of the tech …

1
Imagining Tomorrow: Fostering Foresight and the Artist's Role in Future Cities with Sara Skvirsky, Research Director at the Institute for the Future, Nextcasts: METROPOLIS Episode 5 39:22

7M ago39:22

39:22

In “Nextcasts: METROPOLIS Episode 5”, the CEO of Swissnex in San Francisco, Emilia Pasquier, talks with Sara Skvirsky, Research Director at the Institute for the Future (IFTF). They discuss the importance of thinking about the future and developing a foresight mindset. Sara explains that while we can't predict the future, we can be smart about look…

1
Why Switzerland may host the next Silicon Valley – Pascal Mathis 30:35

7M ago30:35

30:35

Pascal Mathis, co-founder of Get Your Guide and Wingman Ventures, shares his journey as an entrepreneur and angel investor. Starting as an entrepreneur, Pascal Mathis co-founded Get Your Guide, ETH Zurich's first tech unicorn, and later transitioned to angel investing and co-founding Wingman Ventures. Pascal believes that Switzerland has the potent…

1
Crafting Connections: Exploring Interspecies Bonds and Sustainable Urbanism with Carolina Marques Bernard, Book Designer and Researcher, Nextcasts: METROPOLIS Episode 4 38:34

7M ago38:34

38:34

In “Nextcasts: METROPOLIS Episode 4”, the CEO of Swissnex in San Francisco, Emilia Pasquier, talks with Carolina Marques Bernard a book designer and independent researcher. Carolina discusses her work in book design and design research, with a focus on culture, anthropology, and the arts. She introduces her project, Speaking Bread, which explores i…

1
River rafting from Samsāra to Nirvāna - On Mahāyāna Buddhism (English podcast) 1:00:41

7M ago1:00:41

1:00:41

Send us a Text Message. English Description (German below) Guest: Michael von Brück In this podcast, we explore with Michael von Brück the question of what distinguishes Mahāyāna Buddhism as a supposed "great vehicle" from other schools of Buddhism. What do we read in the important sutras such as the Heart Sutra and the Lotus Sutra? What are the di…

1
What does education mean to you? - Patricia Schramm 25:51

7M ago25:51

25:51

For Patricia Schramm, former president of the American Swiss Foundation, learning the classics at ETH’s neighbour, the University of Zurich, was invaluable. From using Latin to learn English, and now working as a consultant for the Alumni Association of ETH Zurich, education has been the core of her career. Patricia talks about following your passi…

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