Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchCo-Founder of The Free Press reports on the Culture Wars (Nellie Bowles)
Episode 431
As a Hillary voter, a New York Times reporter, and frequent attendee at her local gay bars, Nellie Bowles fit right in with her San Francisco neighbo…
2 years, 3 months ago
The Latest Research on Consciousness (Christof Koch)
Episode 430
In Then I Am Myself the World, Christof Koch explores the only thing we directly experience: consciousness. At the book's heart is integrated-informa…
2 years, 3 months ago
Everything is Predictable: How Bayesian Statistics Explain Our World
Episode 429
At its simplest, Bayes's theorem describes the probability of an event, based on prior knowledge of conditions that might be related to the event. Bu…
2 years, 3 months ago
The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos
Episode 428
For thousands of years, humans have wondered whether we're alone in the cosmos. Now, for the first time, we have the technology to investigate. But o…
2 years, 4 months ago
The Science of Happines
Episode 427
We all want to be happier, but our brains often get in the way. When we're too stuck in our heads we obsess over our inadequacies, compare ourselves …
2 years, 4 months ago
How Rhetoric Shapes Your Opinions
Episode 426
Robin Reames breaks down the major techniques of rhetoric, pulling back the curtain on how politicians, journalists, and "journalists" convince us to…
2 years, 4 months ago
Accomplishment and Happiness (Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker)
Episode 425
We push ourselves toward the highest-paying, most prestigious jobs, seeking promotions and public recognition. As Adam Gopnik points out, the result …
2 years, 4 months ago
Should We Prepare for Nuclear War? (Annie Jacobsen)
Episode 424
Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen investigated this ticking-clock scenario, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civili…
2 years, 4 months ago
An AI... Utopia? (Nick Bostrom, Oxford)
Episode 423
Nick Bostrom's previous book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, changed the global conversation on AI and became a New York Times bestse…
2 years, 4 months ago
Life on Mars? (Robert Zubrin)
Episode 422
When Robert Zubrin published his classic book The Case for Mars a quarter century ago, setting foot on the Red Planet seemed a fantasy. Today, manned…
2 years, 4 months ago