#489 - Four Billion Years of Life on Earth: A Dialogue with Andrew Knoll

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Andrew Knoll about the four billion years of life on earth. They discuss geobiology, carbon and the carbon cycle, nitrogen and phosphorus, sulfur, and metals in the human body. They also talk about plate tectonics, habitability, minerals, climate change, life on other planets, and the future of life on earth. Andrew Knoll is the Fisher Research Professor of Natural History and Earth and Planetary Sciences, Emeritus, at Harvard University. He is the recipient of the International Prize for Biology and the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences and member of the National Academy of Sciences. His books include A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters and Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth, and the most recent, Earth and Life: A four billion year conversation. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Stuart about the ancient Maya. They provide an overview of the Maya, Mayan language, beginnings of the Mayan civilization, Mayan creation myth, early collapse of the ancient Maya, dynasties in the classic Mayan period, Teotihuacán, the four heavens, Spanish conquest, and many more topics. David Stuart is the David and Linda Schele Professor of Mesoamerican Art and Writing and director of the Mesoamerica Center at the University of Texas at Austin. His books include Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya, The Order of Days: Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Maya, Spearthrower Owl: A Teotihuacan Ruler in Maya History, and the most recent, The Four Heavens: A New History of the Ancient Maya. He is the youngest person ever to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Elizabeth F. S. Roberts talk about different ways of thinking about addiction. They define addiction, substance and control, considerations on whether dependency is maladaptive, individual decisions, cultural distinctions, loneliness and substances, and many other topics. Elizabeth F. S. Roberts is professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan. Since 2013, she has participated in collaborative environmental health research in Mexico City. She is the author of the latest book, In Praise of Addiction. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Elaine Sciolino about the Louvre. They discuss the allure of the Louvre, history of the Louvre, the Mona Lisa, Nike, and stolen artifacts. They discuss Persian art, Pyramid of the Louvre, the Louvre at night, sexism in the Louvre, first time and returning visitors, and many more topics. Elaine Sciolino is a contributing writer and former Paris bureau chief for The New York Times, based in Paris since 2002. Her latest book, Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum, is now out in paperback. In 2025, it was named an Economist best book of the year, a Smithsonian Magazine best travel book, a New York Observer best art book, and a Library Journal best book of the year. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Adrian Goldsworthy about Augustus. They provide an overview of Augustus, his upbringing, his rise to power, early rule, transition from Republic to Empire, his rule as emperor, his legacy, and many more topics. Adrian Goldsworthy is a historian and author. He has his DPhil from Oxford University and has conducted research at Cardiff University and taught at King’s College London and University of Notre Dame. He is the author of numerous books on Roman history. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Cristina Florea about Bukovina. they provide an overview of Bukovina, ethnic makeup, Hapsburgs and Austrian-Hungarian Empire. They also talk about Moldova, the Orthodox Church, Jewish population, identity, Romania during World War II, Communism in Romania, Bukovina in present day, and many more topics. Cristina Florea is a historian and assistant professor of history at Cornell University. Her work is on Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on the interactions between German and Russian power (their competition for territory and influence) across this space, as well as the consequences these interactions have had for the people living in between. Her work explores questions such as the relationship between nationalism and empire, the importance of imperial legacies in modern European history, and the centrality of imperial competition to East European politics and societies. She is the author of the book, Bukovina: The Life and Death of an East European Borderland. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Arvid Ågren and Manus Patten about internal conflicts within organisms. They provide an overview of the paradox of the organism, clinical examples of cancer and pregnancy, direct, indirect, and inclusive fitness. They talk about cooperation within an organism, conflict, transmission and trait distorters, price equation, conflict awareness, neo-Darwinian embryology, biology of selfhood, and many more topics. J. Arvid Ågren is Assistant Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and Affiliated Researcher at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. He is the author of The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution.Manus M. Patten is an evolutionary biologist whose research explores the consequences of conflict, both for organisms and for evolutionary theory. He is Teaching Professor in Biology at Georgetown University. They are co-editors of the book, The Paradox of the Organism: Adaptation and Internal Conflict. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sari van Anders about gender/sex and sexual configurations theory. They talk about the sex binary and understanding a wider landscape, gender/sex, sexual configurations theory, endocrine system and hormones, neural correlates of hormones, mental health challenges, future of gender/sex research, and many more topics. Sari van Anders teaches at Queen’s University as the Canada 150 Research Chair in Social Neuroendocrinology, Sexuality, and Gender/Sex, and Professor of Psychology, Gender Studies, and Neuroscience. Her work and lab has been recognized with over 80 awards, including the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity, the APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions, as well as election to the Royal Society of Canada. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Marinos Sariyannis about the Supernatural in the Early and Middle Ottoman periods. They discuss the differences between the natural, supernatural, and preternatural, Islam and the supernatural, magic, occult, and divination. They talk about the relationship between natural science and supernatural, Lettrism, Jinn, limits of supernatural belief, Sufism, hell and purgatory, witchcraft and divination, preternatural, and many more topics. Marinos Sariyannis is Research Director at the Institute for Mediterranean Studies/FORTH in Rethymno, Greece. He has led research projects on the history of Ottoman political thought and on the Ottoman perceptions of the supernatural. He has published several books, articles and chapters on Ottoman social, cultural and intellectual history. He is the author of the recent book, Ottomans and the Supernatural: Nature and the Limits of Knowledge in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire, which you can find available for free through open access. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Megan Kate Nelson about the American West. They discuss the frontier myth, Sacajawea, shared history in the Southwest, Maria Gertrudis Barcelo and her wealth, Jim Beckwourth and shifting stories. They also talk about the 1862 Homestead Act, Ovando Hollister and his paradox, Chinese-American immigrants, Little Wolf, and many more topics. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian based in Boston, Massachusetts. She has written about US western history, the Civil War, and American culture for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, Time, and Smithsonian Magazine. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American studies from the University of Iowa. She is the author of many books, including her most recent, The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe