49 | Nicholas Christakis on Humanity, Biology, and What Makes Us Good
It's easy to be cynical about humanity's present state and future prospects. But we have made it this far, and in some ways we're doing better than we used to be. Today's guest, Nicholas Christakis, i...
3 Jun 20191h 54min
48 | Marq de Villiers on Hell and Damnation
If you're bad, we are taught, you go to Hell. Who in the world came up with that idea? Some will answer God, but for the purpose of today's podcast discussion we'll put that possibility aside and look...
27 Mai 20191h 11min
47 | Adam Rutherford on Humans, Animals, and Life in General
Most people in the modern world — and the vast majority of Mindscape listeners, I would imagine — agree that humans are part of the animal kingdom, and that all living animals evolved from a common an...
20 Mai 20191h 38min
46 | Kate Darling on Our Connections with Robots
Most of us have no trouble telling the difference between a robot and a living, feeling organism. Nevertheless, our brains often treat robots as if they were alive. We give them names, imagine that th...
13 Mai 20191h 6min
45 | Leonard Susskind on Quantum Information, Quantum Gravity, and Holography
For decades now physicists have been struggling to reconcile two great ideas from a century ago: general relativity and quantum mechanics. We don't yet know the final answer, but the journey has taken...
6 Mai 20191h 13min
44 | Antonio Damasio on Feelings, Thoughts, and the Evolution of Humanity
When we talk about the mind, we are constantly talking about consciousness and cognition. Antonio Damasio wants us to talk about our feelings. But it's not in an effort to be more touchy-feely; Damasi...
29 Apr 20191h 12min
43 | Matthew Luczy on the Pleasures of Wine
Some people never drink wine; for others, it's an indispensable part of an enjoyable meal. Whatever your personal feelings might be, wine seems to exhibit a degree of complexity and nuance that can be...
22 Apr 20191h 46min
42 | Natalya Bailey on Navigating Earth Orbit and Beyond
The space age officially began in 1957 with the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite. But recent years have seen the beginning of a boom in the number of objects orbiting Earth, as satellite tracking and...
15 Apr 201959min
