61 | Quassim Cassam on Intellectual Vices and What to Do About Them
All of us have been wrong about things from time to time. But sometimes it was a simple, forgivable mistake, while other times we really should have been correct. Properties that systematically preven...
26 Aug 20191h 10min
60 | Lynne Kelly on Memory Palaces, Ancient and Modern
Memory takes different forms. Memories can be encoded in the strength of neural connections in our brains, but there's a sense in which photographs and written records are memories as well. What did p...
19 Aug 20191h 15min
59 | Adam Becker on the Curious History of Quantum Mechanics
There are many mysteries surrounding quantum mechanics. To me, the biggest mysteries are why physicists haven't yet agreed on a complete understanding of the theory, and even more why they mostly seem...
12 Aug 20191h 40min
58 | Seth MacFarlane on Using Science Fiction to Explore Humanity
Fiction shines a light on the human condition by putting people into imaginary situations and envisioning what might happen. Science fiction expands this technique by considering situations in the fut...
5 Aug 20191h 12min
57 | Astra Taylor on the Promise and Challenge of Democracy
"Democracy may not exist, but we'll miss it when it's gone" — or so suggests the title of Astra Taylor's new book. We all know how democracy falls short, in practice, of its lofty ideals; but we can a...
29 Jul 20191h 23min
55 | A Conversation with Rob Reid on Quantum Mechanics and Many Worlds
As you may have heard, I have a new book coming out in September, Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime. To celebrate, we're going to have more than the usual number o...
15 Jul 20191h 26min
54 | Indre Viskontas on Music and the Brain
It doesn't mean much to say music affects your brain — everything that happens to you affects your brain. But music affects your brain in certain specific ways, from changing our mood to helping us le...
8 Jul 20191h 15min
