About Gregory McNiff

Gregory McNiff is a Managing Director in the New York office of the Blueshirt Group, an IR firm focused on technology. Greg holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an M. Litt. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of St. Andrews and a B.A. in Classical Languages from Columbia University.

Greg is the Executive Director and Founder of the World War II Discussion Forum (wwiidf.org). He also has a strong interest in literature, culture, religion, science and philosophy (translation: he's an eclectic reader who is constantly missing deadlines for book reviews).

Greg is the Executive Director and Founder of the World War II Discussion Forum (wwiidf.org). He also has a strong interest in literature, culture, religion, science and philosophy (translation: he's an eclectic reader who is constantly missing deadlines for book reviews).

NBN Episodes hosted by Gregory:

Scott Solomon, "Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds" (MIT Press, 2026)

April 30, 2026

Becoming Martian

Scott Solomon
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

How living in space will affect future generations—and what the potential unintended consequences of space settlements are.We are on the cusp of a gol…

A Shakeup Is Coming for the Nation-State: A Conversation with Stephen Sims

April 27, 2026

A Shakeup Is Coming for the Nation-State

Stephen Sims
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Stephen Sims’ New Atlantis essay examines how emerging technologies are reshaping the structure and authority of the modern nation-state. He argues th…

Masud Husain, "Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain" (Canongate, 2025)

April 22, 2026

Our Brains, Our Selves

Masud Husain
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

What makes us who we are?Through the stories of seven of his patients, acclaimed Oxford University neurologist Masud Husain shows us how our brains cr…

Adrian Woolfson, "On the Future of Species: Authoring Life by Means of Artificial Biological Intelligence" (MIT Press, 2026)

April 20, 2026

On the Future of Species

Adrian Woolfson
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Imagine a future where we grow houses rather than build them. Where smartphones are alive, clothing has opinions and all human knowledge fits into a s…

Matthew Bothwell, "The Invisible Universe: Why There's More to Reality than Meets the Eye" (Simon and Schuster, 2021)

April 12, 2026

The Invisible Universe

Matthew Bothwell
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Since the dawn of our species, people all over the world have gazed in awe at the night sky. But for all the beauty and wonder of the stars, when we l…

Adam Zeman, "The Shape of Things Unseen: A New Science of Imagination" (Bloomsbury, 2025)

April 8, 2026

The Shape of Things Unseen

Adam Zeman
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

A compelling insight into how our imagination works, based on the latest scientific research. People often think of imagination as something used onl…

Emma Chapman, "Radio Universe: How to Explore Space Without Leaving Earth" (Hachette UK, 2026)

March 19, 2026

Radio Universe

Emma Chapman
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

In Radio Universe: How to Explore Space Without Leaving Earth (Hachette UK, 2026) award-winning astrophysicist Emma Chapman takes us on an electrifyin…

Alan J. McComas, "Consciousness: The Road to Reductionism" (American Scientist, 2025)

February 27, 2026

Consciousness

Alan J. McComas
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Neuroscientific evidence increasingly shows that consciousness is a remarkable but explainable function of a machinelike brain. Alan J. McComas' discu…

Robert Endres, "The Unreasonable Likelihood of Being: Origin of Life, Terraforming, and AI" (arXiv, 2025)

February 24, 2026

The Unreasonable Likelihood of Being

Robert Endres
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

In this episode we discuss the paper "The Unreasonable Likelihood of Being: Origin of Life, Terraforming, and AI" (arXiv, 2025) with Robert Endres. P…

Emily Dufton, "Addiction, Inc: Medication-Assisted Treatment and America's Forgotten War on Drugs" (U Chicago Press, 2026)

February 18, 2026

Addiction, Inc

Emily Dufton
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

How the war on drugs created the gold standard treatment for addiction--until America's opioid crisis got privatized for profit, to the detriment of p…

Antonio Padilla, "Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them: A Cosmic Quest from Zero to Infinity" (FSG,2022)

February 15, 2026

Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them

Antonio Padilla
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

A fun, dazzling exploration of the strange numbers that illuminate the ultimate nature of reality. For particularly brilliant theoretical physicists …

Tom Griffiths, "The Laws of Thought: The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind" (Henry Holt and Co., 2026)

February 4, 2026

The Laws of Thought

Tom Griffiths
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

The Laws of Thought: The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind (Henry Holt and Co., 2026) is an exploration of the quest to use mathematics to d…

Max Telford, "The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle" (W.W. Norton, 2025)

January 30, 2026

The Tree of Life

Max Telford
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Are humans really fish? Why are we the only animals with chins? How much of our DNA do we share with the trillions of bacteria in our bodies? For cent…

Giuseppe Longo and Adam Nocek, "The Organism Is a Theory: Giuseppe Longo on Biology, Mathematics, and AI" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)

January 20, 2026

The Organism Is a Theory

Giuseppe Longo and Adam Nocek
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

A bold reimagining of life that bridges science, philosophy, cybernetics, and the complexities of biological existence The Organism Is a Theory: Gius…

Rafael Yuste, "Lectures in Neuroscience" (Columbia UP, 2023)

January 16, 2026

Lectures in Neuroscience

Rafael Yuste
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

The human brain is perhaps the most intricate and fascinating object in the known universe. Through a mysterious process, the activity of billions of …

Dagomar Degroot, "Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean: An Environmental History of Our Place in the Solar System" (Harvard UP, 2025)

January 13, 2026

Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean

Dagomar Degroot
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Our solar system is a dynamic arena where asteroids careen off course and solar winds hurl charged particles across billions of miles of space. Yet we…

Heino Falcke and Jörg Römer, "Light in the Darkness: Black Holes, the Universe, and Us" (HarperCollins, 2021)

January 9, 2026

Light in the Darkness

Heino Falcke and Jörg Römer
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

An astrophysicist chronicles his quest to photograph a black hole and reflects on its spiritual ramifications in this international-bestselling memoir…

James Welsh et al., "Weathering Space" (American Scientist 114:1 2026)

December 31, 2025

Weathering Space

James Welsh, Robert Peter Gale, and Andrew Karam
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

Past human space missions were protected by Earth’s magnetic field and a measure of luck, but future missions beyond the Earth–Moon system will face f…

James Franklin and Jeremiah Joven Joaquin eds., "The Necessities Underlying Reality: Connecting Philosophy of Mathematics, Ethics and Probability" (Bloomsbury, 2025)

December 24, 2025

The Necessities Underlying Reality

Jeremiah Joven Joaquin and James Franklin
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

The Necessities Underlying Reality: Connecting Philosophy of Mathematics, Ethics and Probability (Bloomsbury, 2025) is an open access book that covers…

Yossi Yovel, "The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal" (St. Martin's Press, 2025)

December 16, 2025

The Genius Bat

Yossi Yovel
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

With nearly 1500 species, bats account for more than twenty percent of mammalian species. The most successful and most diverse group of mammals, bats …

Matthew A. Tattar, "Innovation and Adaptation in War" (MIT Press, 2025)

December 15, 2025

Innovation and Adaptation in War

Matthew A. Tattar
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

An analysis of advances in military technology that illustrates the importance of organizational flexibility in both an attacker’s innovations and an …

Henry Rausch, "Submerged: Life on a Fast Attack Submarine in the Last Days of the Cold War" (Independently Published, 2024)

December 6, 2025

Submerged

Henry Rausch
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

In Submerged: Life on a Fast Attack Submarine in the Last Days of the Cold War (Independently Published, 2024), the author graduates from an elite uni…

Jon Willis, "The Pale Blue Data Point: An Earth-Based Perspective on the Search for Alien Life" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

December 3, 2025

The Pale Blue Data Point

Jon Willis
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

A thrilling tour of Earth that shows the search for extraterrestrial life starts in our own backyard. Is there life off Earth? Bound by the limitation…

Andrew H. Jaffe, "The Random Universe: How Models and Probability Help Us Make Sense of the Cosmos" (Yale UP, 2025)

November 25, 2025

The Random Universe

Andrew H. Jaffe
Hosted by Gregory McNiff

An award-winning astrophysicist looks at how the understanding of uncertainty and randomness has led to breakthroughs in our knowledge of the cosmos …