Ep67 "How did human brains get runaway intelligence? "
We're the single species who composes symphonies, erects skyscrapers, builds computers, and regularly gets off the planet. But how did human intelligence evolve from our ancestors in the animal kingdo...
15 Jul 20241h 6min
Ep66 "Why do brains love conspiracy theories?"
Why are conspiracy theories a natural output of the brain? What do they have to do with puzzle-solving, cognitive dissonance, ingroups/outgroups, and storytelling? If you hear an unlikely explanation ...
8 Jul 202453min
Ep65 "Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks?"
Did magicians discover tricks of the mind centuries before neuroscientists? Why can’t you see what they’re doing right in front of you? How do magicians steer your attention or appear to read your min...
1 Jul 20241h 7min
Ep64 "Why do familiar things lose their shine (& what can we do about it)? "
If you could get a kiss from your favorite celebrity, how long would you want to wait before receiving it? And why do things seem less meaningful or joyful over time than they were at the beginning? W...
24 Jun 202451min
Ep63 "Why do brains love faces?"
Why do we have so much circuitry in the brain devoted to faces? Why does your electrical plug seem to look like a little face? Did aliens plant a signal for us on Mars, or are we looking at a quirk of...
17 Jun 202436min
Ep62 "Is it possible to rehumanize the enemy?"
The brain easily forms ingroups and outgroups – and shows different responses when viewing one or the other. At the extreme, the brain stops seeing outgroup members as people, but more like objects. B...
10 Jun 202459min
Ep61 "When should you (not) trust your intuition?"
Why do you sometimes feel that you trust this person but not that one -- for reasons you can't quite put your finger on? What signals does the brain vacuum up in your daily life, and what fraction of ...
3 Jun 202439min
Ep60 "Can we think better by wrestling with conflicting ideas?"
Why do we believe our own truths so strongly? What is steel-manning, and why is it so important? What does any of this have to do with F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Keats, or the future of our society? Th...
27 Mai 202455min
