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Buffalo Bills promote OC Joe Brady to head coach
After firing Sean McDermott, the Buffalo Bills will promote offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach.
Bills reportedly promote OC Joe Brady to head coach following surprising Sean McDermott firing
WHO urges schools worldwide to promote healthy eating for children
Healthy food in schools can help children develop healthy dietary habits for life, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which released a new global guideline on evidence-based policies and interventions to create healthy school food environments.
UC San Diego’s Mobile Health Units Deliver Care and Bring Cutting-Edge Research to Local Communities
From screening children for vision problems and adults for cardiovascular disease to groundbreaking research on the effects of cannabis on driving performance, UC San Diego’s mobile health units promote well-being across the region.
Policies and interventions to create healthy school food environments: WHO guideline
This WHO guideline provides Member States with evidence-based recommendations and implementation considerations on policies to improve school food environments. It covers three areas: direct food provision in schools; nutrition standards or rules for foods and beverages served or sold at school; and nudging interventions that modify the school food environment to promote healthier choices.
UFC Makes Paramount+ Debut Averaging 4.96M Live Streaming Views
The UFC’s heavily promoted debut on Paramount+ delivered an average minute audience of 4.96M viewers on Saturday night, per data from parent company Paramount Global on Monday. The company says that UFC 324, which saw Justin Gaethje defeat a bloody Paddy Pimblett in the main event, marked the biggest exclusive live event on Paramount+ to-date. According …
Health officials team with a soccer tournament for cervical cancer vaccination for African girls
For a young girl, losing the soccer final 5-0 meant little compared to the goals of a tournament held in Zimbabwe to promote trust in cervical cancer vaccination
William H. Foege, Key Figure in the Eradication of Smallpox, Dies at 89
His containment strategy helped wipe out the disease in the 1970s, one of the world’s greatest public health triumphs. He also led the C.D.C. and promoted childhood vaccination worldwide.
'Team Freedom': Gov. DeSantis tightens Florida's ties with Germany
The accord promotes 'strategic investment, industrial ties and economic growth.'
TheWrap Promotes Carolyn Bernstein and Michael Kosasky to VPs of Entertainment Sales
President and COO Edward J. Menicheschi celebrates the pair as "instrumental in elevating TheWrap’s position as a trusted partner."
How Robin Williams' son is using AI as a mental health resource
Zak Williams is working with Headlamp Health to promote its recently launched Lumos AI, which is designed to help identify mental illness symptoms early.
Florida's Black lawmakers denounce attorney general's opinion as damaging political stunt
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An opinion by Florida's Republican attorney general calling into question the constitutionality of dozens of state laws which support minority contracting and promote diverse appointments ignores that racial discrimination still exists and could harm the state's Black residen...
Can leucovorin treat autism? History says, probably not
Parents of autistic children are clamoring for a prescription vitamin promoted by federal health officials. But there's little evidence the drug will help.
Kennedy, Kicking Off National Tour, Says He’s Not Running for President
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rallied supporters at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, where he promoted his new dietary guidelines.
BioStem Technologies Advances Entry into the Acute Wound Care Market with Acquisition of BioTissue Holdings’ Surgical and Wound Care Business
Accelerates expansion of BioStem’s commercial organization through integration of an experienced national sales force Expands access to major GPO networks, strengthening BioStem’s position across hospital settings Barry Hassett promoted to Chief Commercial Officer Conference call scheduled for tomorrow, January 22nd at 8am ET POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioStem Technologies, Inc. (OTC: BSEM), a leading MedTech company focused on the development, manufacturing, and comm
Matt Caja
First Bank Chicago, one of the five largest privately held banks in Chicago, is pleased to announce Matt Caja has been promoted to VP/Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Manager. Matt is responsible for collateral and personal financial analysis and preparing loan presentations, while also managing and servicing his own clients. Matt has over 30 years of expertise in commercial and consumer lending and joined the Bank in 2016.
Contributor: New food pyramid is a recipe for health disasters
The new guidelines spearheaded by RFK Jr. go so far as to promote beef tallow despite risks caused by saturated fats.
President Trump, Dr. Oz tout rural health IT investments
The CMS Administrator spoke at length about the Rural Health Transformation Fund at a White House-hosted event designed to promote innovation in payment and flexibility.
Recruiter pitches joining the military to Minneapolis high school students to protect their families from ICE
A military recruiter in Minnesota, pointing to fears over the ongoing ICE operations in Minneapolis, promoted joining the National Guard to high school students highlighting a program that can offer the immediate family of service members some protection against deportation.
Inequality and Unease Are Rising as Elite Davos Event Opens With Pro-Business Trump Set to Attend
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Corporate chiefs and government leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump swarm into Davos, Switzerland this week, joining an elite annual meeting that promotes dialogue and economic progress — even as a domineering tone from Washington has upended the global order and ...
Professor promoted to interim head of political science department
Purdue announced Friday that professor James McCann will become the new interim head of the Department of Political Science.
PCC event raises health awareness for Black men and honors late coach Aaron Bell Sr.
An event honoring the late Aaron Bell Sr., a beloved coach and community figure, was held at PCC to promote health awareness among Black men.
Utica's Sticker Project Engages Residents and Promotes Local Business
A creative sticker project is bringing new energy and pride to Utica while connecting residents with local businesses.
Personnel note: Julia Canady King promoted to VP at BGR Group
She joined the firm last year as a Director for Washington and Florida.
Mainstay Entertainment Promotes Dean Gild To Manager
Dean Gild has been promoted to manager and producer at Mainstay Entertainment, three years into his tenure at the company.
O’Connor unveils Main and Main initiative to revitalize business districts
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on Tuesday promised to help rebuild neighborhood business districts, like the stretch of Homewood Avenue in the city’s East End that he toured as he launched his Main and Main initiative. Main and Main, O’Connor said, will promote revitalization and investment in business districts throughout the
A $2,500 full body scan said he was healthy. Then he had a catastrophic stroke.
Prenuvo promotes full body MRI scans to detect hazardous conditions early. But medical associations say they may cause unnecessary alarm or a false sense of security.
How DreamWeek San Antonio promotes mental health, honors MLK legacy
The city’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. March is set for Jan. 19, with DreamWeek, a separate series of events, running through Jan. 31.
Wearing a weighted vest can promote bone health and weight loss, but it's not a cure-all
Weighted vests are among the latest fitness trends. But like any tool, their effectiveness depends on their use.
Abby Zeltser Promoted To SVP Corporate Communications At Sony Pictures Entertainment
EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Entertainment has upped Abby Zeltser to SVP Corporate Communications, Corporate Affairs. Zeltser has been at Sony Pictures collectively for seven years. She re-joined the studio last year as VP, Corporate Communications after leading corporate and executive communications for Tubi. She worked in corporate comms for Sony Pictures’ motion picture group and in …
Promoter Peachtree Entertainment Adds Brain Lowe As Talent Buyer, Names Candice Baker Director of Touring
Independent concert promoter Peachtree Entertainment has added two industry veterans to its team, with Brian Lowe named talent buyer and Candice Baker named
After Series Of Carriage Battles, Disney Ups Jimmy Zasowski To President Of Platform Distribution For Entertainment And ESPN
After navigating carriage battles over the past three years, Disney has promoted longtime executive Jimmy Zasowski to a key distribution post.
Dose of uncertainty: Experts wary of AI health gadgets at CES
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Health tech gadgets displayed at the annual CES trade show make a lot of promises. A smart scale promoted a healthier lifestyle by scanning your feet to track your heart health…
Dose of uncertainty: Experts wary of AI health gadgets at CES
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Health tech gadgets displayed at the annual CES trade show make a lot of promises. A smart scale promoted a healthier lifestyle by scanning your feet to track your heart health, and an egg-shaped hormone tracker uses AI to help you figure out the best time to conceive.
Dose of Uncertainty: Experts Wary of AI Health Gadgets at CES
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Health tech gadgets displayed at the annual CES trade show make a lot of promises. A smart scale promoted a healthier lifestyle by scanning your feet to track your heart health, and an egg-shaped hormone tracker uses AI to help you figure out the best time to conceive. Tech and ...
Health officials promote vaccination amid surging flu season
Massachusetts health officials are encouraging everyone to get a flu shot amid a surge in illnesses already linked to the deaths of at least 29 adults and four children.
Bay city mayor uses life-size cutout scavenger hunt to promote local businesses
Bay City Mayor Chris Girard is launching a monthly scavenger hunt in 2026 that uses a life-size cardboard cutout of himself to encourage residents to visit local shops.
Personnel note: EDGE Communications promotes David Cruz Ramos to Chief of Staff
'David is the kind of leader every candidate hopes for: steady, strategic, and relentless in his pursuit of excellence.'
Calendar Pick: Workhorses of the Entertainment/Recreational Industry
Composed of veteran musicians Rob Keller (The Welfare Liners), Ben Reynolds (Chickasaw Mudd Puppies), Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz (Widespread Panic) and William Tonks (MrJordanMrTonks), Workhorses of the Entertainment/Recreational Industry is an Athens-based band inspired by the sounds of acoustic rock, traditional folk, country and blues. As of late, the band has played several shows and is working on its album. In a bill presented by local promoter Aubrey Entertainment, the quartet will be performing alongside Scott Low & the Blue Bouillon. Seen sharing stages with artists like Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton and Shovels & Rope, Low is a folk musician whose sound has been compared to Americana acts like Jamey Johnson and Ryan Bingham, but the influence of artists like Tom […]
Derek Van Pelt & Ray Moheet Named Co-CEOs Of Mainstay Entertainment
Derek Van Pelt & Ray Moheet have been promoted to co-CEOs at Mainstay Entertainment, Deadline can report exclusively.
Company news: Brianna Earl promoted by Oswego Health
She began her career with the organization in 2016.
Lauren Madden named Sound Science Fellow by the National Center for Science Education
Lauren Madden, professor of elementary science education, was named a Sound Science Fellow by the National Center for Science Education. As one of six scholars receiving this fellowship, Madden will be contributing to national efforts to promote accurate and evidence-based science education in K-12 classrooms. “I’m incredibly proud of this honor and grateful to partake […]
4Wall Entertainment Promotes Brad Hafer & Elliot Krowe To Executive Vice President Roles
4Wall Entertainment, a leading provider of entertainment equipment rentals, sales, and production, is excited to announce the promotions of Brad Hafer to Executive Vice President of Production and | These leadership advancements reflect 4Wall's focus on delivering exceptional client service and support across all aspects of the entertainment industry.
'We want to promote unity through boxing'
Non-profit club Unity Boxing in Rotherham is celebrating its fourth anniversary.
Steelers elevate DB for Week 18
D’Shawn Jamison gets promoted ahead of a big matchup against the Ravens.
I’m not sure a bakery needs a branded condom – can any business resist selling merch now?
From Trader Joe’s totes to Greggs jewellery, swag mania reveals how small businesses can promote their ‘brands’ – and how we use stuff to signal our tribe, says freelance journalist Elle Hunt
Kim’s daughter promotes her status as heir in North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — The teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made her first known visit to a sacred family mausoleum, a step that experts say bolstered
Scientists tested intermittent fasting without eating less and found no metabolic benefit
Time-restricted eating has been widely promoted as a simple way to boost metabolic health, but new research paints a more complicated picture. When calorie intake stayed the same, an eight-hour eating window did not improve insulin sensitivity or cardiovascular markers. What did change was the body’s internal clock, which shifted based on meal timing and altered sleep patterns. The results suggest calorie reduction, not the eating window itself, may be the real driver of health benefits.
In a tumultuous year, U.S. health policy transforms under RFK Jr.
He has also promoted controversial views on vaccines, including removing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation for COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women.
In a tumultuous year, U.S. health policy transforms under RFK Jr.
He has also promoted controversial views on vaccines, including removing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation for COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women.
Small Business Specials Submission Form
COVINGTON, Ky. – As part of the City of Covington’s Bridging the Gap initiative, we're launching a roundup to help promote existing specials and discounts from our restaurants, bars, retailers, and other small businesse...
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT | When the Movie Comes Before the Budget
Blood On The Turntables is a grassroots MN film created without a budget or studio. Built on community trust, it was promoted before completion and funded by resolve.
WHO updated recommendations on HIV clinical management: recommendations for a public health approach
This document provides an overview of the updated World Health Organization recommendations for HIV clinical management, which focus on optimizing antiretroviral therapy, preventing vertical transmission, and enhancing tuberculosis prevention among individuals with HIV. These updates are intended to support global initiatives aimed at ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Key changes include the introduction of new antiretroviral drugs and regimens, revised postnatal prophylaxis and breastfeeding guidelines for managing infants at risk of vertical transmission, and the endorsement of shorter tuberculosis preventive treatments to improve efficacy and adherence. The recommendations are designed to simplify and advance HIV care, promote equity, and contribute to improved health outcomes and quality of life for individuals living with HIV. The updated guidance will be incorporated into the forthcoming revision of the antiretroviral therapy chapter within the Consolidated Guidelines on HIV Prevention, Testing, Treatment, Service Delivery, and Monitoring: Recommendations for a Public Health Approach.
ASTP/ONC seeks relaxation of health IT certification criteria with HTI-5
The proposed rule aims to reduce burdens and costs on health IT developers. It also includes measures to promote FHIR-based interoperability, strengthen information blocking rules and simplify certification of AI models.
Your roommate’s genes may be shaping your gut bacteria
Scientists studying thousands of rats discovered that gut bacteria are shaped by both personal genetics and the genetics of social partners. Some genes promote certain microbes that can spread between individuals living together. When researchers accounted for this social sharing, genetic influence on the microbiome turned out to be much stronger than previously thought. The study suggests genes can affect others indirectly, without DNA ever being exchanged.
A rift in MAGA has top Heritage Foundation officials leaving to join with Mike Pence
The exit of more than a dozen staffers follows turmoil at Heritage and the larger conservative movement over the role of right-wing influencers who've promoted antisemitic and other extremist ideas.
Jackson Rising sets example as it moves into Downtown building
Jackson Rising is the newest member of the Downtown Jackson community. Its goal is to promote rebirth of the central business district.
DraftKings backed Healey’s political nonprofit on housing. Other funders are a mystery
DraftKings, the Boston sports-betting giant, donated $50,000 to a political advocacy group launched by Gov. Maura Healey to promote housing policies. It's a rare look at who's donating to this fund, at a time when sports gambling is getting greater scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators.
VA to launch largest reorganization of health care system in 30 years
The Department of Veterans Affairs will slash the number of networks that support VA medical centers and realign policy offices to promote consistency.
NYC Health + Hospitals' NYC Care Partners With Consulates to Promote Health Care Access and Provide Blood Pressure Screenings - NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals’ NYC Care program today announced a partnership with the Consulate General of Guatemala in New York to provide NYC Care tabling
Milan vs Sassuolo – Predictions, Betting Tips & Match Preview
Sunday’s Serie A action kicks off at the San Siro as title-bidding Milan take on newly promoted Sassuolo. The home side’s pursuit of a landmark 20th Scudetto continued to go swimmingly earlier thi...
Youth Mental Health Spotlighted at U.S. Launch of the Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing | Johns Hopkins Center for Global Mental Health
In October 2025, global health leaders, policymakers, youth advocates, and researchers convened in the nation’s capital for a two-day A Call to Action for Youth Mental Health. The event served as the U.S. launch of the report of the Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, an international effort to address the urgent and escalating challenges facing adolescents worldwide. Hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Mental Health, the convening followed the World Health Assembly launch in May 2025. The next steps will be to continue collaborating with partners across the U.S. and the world to support the actions responsive to youth needs, including, Integrate youth lived experience expertise into mental health research, policy, and practiceApply data-driven accountability for equitable access to quality careShape urban environments to promote youth mental healthUnderstand gendered drivers and tailored responses to support youth mental healthCatalyze intersectoral engagement for youth mental health: health, education, and social support systems
WHO highlights health risks and opportunities in the global waste crisis
A new World Health Organization (WHO) report, Throwing away our health: the impacts of solid waste on human health – evidence, knowledge gaps and health sector responses, warns that poorly managed solid waste is driving a public health crisis and calls for urgent action to protect people and the environments they live in.Globally, the volume of municipal solid waste is growing at an unprecedented rate. Yet, many countries still lack the systems and resources to manage this waste safely. “Solid waste reflects how our societies produce and consume, and how we treat people and the environment in the process,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director a.i., Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health & Migration at the World Health Organization. “If we continue to treat waste as an afterthought, we will lock in avoidable disease, climate pollution and deep social inequities. This report is a clear call to put health and equity at the centre of how we design, manage and ultimately reduce waste.”The report summarizes evidence on how solid waste – especially municipal solid waste – affects health through polluted air, water, soil and food. When waste is not collected, or is dumped, burned or not poorly treated, it can release hazardous chemicals, contaminate drinking-water sources and create breeding grounds for insects and rodents.Communities underserved by waste management services, those living near dumpsites and poorly managed landfills and incinerators, children and pregnant women, as well as waste workers – particularly those working informally – face the greatest risks. For the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) community, the report underlines that safe management of municipal and health care waste is integral to safely managed, climate-resilient systems.A large share of municipal solid waste is still not collected or is disposed of in uncontrolled conditions, including open dumpsites and open burning. These practices damage ecosystems, contribute to climate change and undermine efforts to build healthy cities. When waste is properly managed, however, it can become a resource – generating energy and creating green jobs. The report calls for a coordinated, multisectoral response grounded in the waste hierarchy: preventing waste where possible, then reducing, reusing and recycling, with safe recovery and disposal.Key actions for governments and partners include reducing waste generation at source; expanding affordable and reliable waste collection services, especially in underserved communities; improving control at recovery and disposal facilities; and eliminating open dumping and burning, including hazardous waste. The new report identifies a central role for the health sector in addressing solid waste as a public health threat. The health sector can prevent and minimize health-care waste at source, improve segregation and safe treatment, invest in cleaner climate-resilient technologies, and advocate for health-protective policies and standards. The report also encourages more surveillance, research and biomonitoring to strengthen the evidence base, and promotes social protection and inclusion of informal waste workers.“This report gives countries and health authorities a very practical agenda,” said Mr Bruce Gordon, Head, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Unit, WHO. “Health ministries can start now by ensuring safe management of health-care waste, developing strong occupational health programmes for waste workers, and working with municipalities to reduce health risks from solid waste by closing open dumps and burn sites and gradually improving towards safe services. These concrete steps save lives today and will make cities cleaner and healthier in the future.
Ant Group Announces Major Upgrades to Its 15-Million-MAU AI Health App AQ Amid Wider Push into Health Sector
HANGZHOU, China, December 15, 2025--Ant Group today announced major upgrades to its AI health app AQ, with a new Chinese name "Ant A-Fu." The character "Fu" conveys good wishes and well-being, reflecting the app’s goal to promote better health and quality of life.
Bills seek to promote telemedicine and regulate AI in New Hampshire’s health insurance industry
A Nashua lawmaker has filed two bills related to New Hampshire’s health insurance industry: one would prohibit health insurers from using artificial intelligence to overrule doctors while the other would prevent insurers from reimbursing providers less money for equivalent services provided via telemedicine.
Japan: Promote Safe Sports by Ending Abuse, Discrimination
The Japanese government’s Japan Sports Agency (JSA) should adopt policies to promote safe sports in Japan by ending abuses and discrimination against athletes, 12 nongovernmental organizations and individuals said in a joint letter to Junichi Kawai, the JSA’s commissioner.
EXCLUSIVE: Prediction markets launch coalition amid sports betting fight
Several major prediction markets are forming a coalition to promote and defend their political interests amid a growing fight over sports betting, Axios has learned.
Solid data is essential to making AI and VBC work
As we look to 2026, there's a bright future for well-governed healthcare information to advance artificial intelligence innovation and promote value-based care, an expert says.
Global scientists gather in SW China's Tengchong to drive innovation
The 2025 Tengchong Scientists Forum opened Saturday in southwest China's Yunnan Province, drawing hundreds of scientists, university leaders and entrepreneurs from across the globe to explore cutting-edge research and promote deeper integration between
Culture Council: What Bob Geldof Can Teach Business Owners About Choosing Compassion Over Competition
Just as Geldof brought superstars together for a cause, leaders can promote a sense of compassion over competition to build teams eager to help each other out.
FDA announces digital health services pilot
The Food and Drug Administration announced Dec. 5 that it will launch the Technology-Enabled Meaningful Patient Outcomes for Digital Health Devices Pilot, or TEMPO, an initiative aimed to promote access to certain digital health devices.
KC nonprofit is committed to strengthening Black-owned businesses, CEO says
“To promote and support Black businesses means that you look for them and you put forth an effort to do that.” Kim Davis, Black chamber CEO.
Under Kennedy, America’s Health Department Is in the Business of Promoting Kennedy
Under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services increasingly uses its social media channels to promote Kennedy himself and his agenda. Interviews with over 20 former and current employees provide a look inside an agency where personality and politics steer communications with the public.
Fact check: The five wildest conspiracy theories from Trump’s late-night posting spree
President Donald Trump promoted a bunch of unfounded conspiracy theories during a late-night social media posting spree on Monday.
It’s not just vaccines. How RFK Jr. is reshaping public health messaging
Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services uses its social media channels to promote Kennedy himself and his agenda.
'Affordability is a con job by the Democrats': Trump tells Cabinet.
Trump promoted lower inflation and tariffs at a Cabinet meeting where he called Democratic complaints about 'affordability' a 'scam.'
Christopher Vitullo Promoted to Sports Performance Coach
LOWELL, Mass. – Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance Marcus Williams has announced the promotion of Chris Vitullo to Sports Performance Coach.
Netanyahu's unusual pardon request sets up political test
Benjamin Netanyahu's request for a pardon to "promote reconciliation" in Israel has sparked huge debate, as the prime minister's long-running corruption trial continues to divide Israeli society.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
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