Episode description

Consciousness [Part One]: Exactly what is it? And can it be uploaded into a computer?

Speakers: Dr. Robert E. Hampson, Dr. Robert "Sam" Lightfoot, Julie Cochrane, Philip Wohlrab.

Dr. Robert E. Hampson is a researcher in the field of neuroscience-–the structure and function of the brain. He is also part of a multi-university team working to develop a "neural prosthetic" capable of restoring memory by connecting between different regions within the brain.

Robert "Sam" Lightfoot, Ph.D. is an active social scientist, researching in archaeology, anthropology, and sociology. He also studies medieval weapons and teaches judo.

Julie Cochrane has degrees and training in chemistry, psychology and computer science. Her hobbies include pistol marksmanship, history, criminology and folk music. She is coauthor of three military SF novels with the New York Times best-selling author John Ringo.

Philip Wohlrab is pursuing a master's degree in public health with a focus on epidemiology; he is also a medic serving in the Virginia Army National Guard, currently as an instructor in combat medicine, basic lifesaving skills, and teaching the communicable diseases portion of field sanitation courses.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 14, 2015 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 26 minutes] This discussion was recorded in front of an audience at the science fiction and fantasy convention LibertyCon in Chattanooga TN, on June 27, 2015.

Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for his work as an author, futurist, magazine writer, ghostwriter, and award-winning podcaster. A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. For the last nine years he has produced a weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores (through interviews, panel discussions and commentary) all the ways the future will be different from today. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. Stephen is the author of an ebook about the future entitled: Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.