The space of (possibly) sentient beings
We may not know what it's like to be a bat, but we're pretty confident that it's like something—that bats (and other mammals) are sentient creatures. They feel pleasure and pain, cold and warmth, agit...
22 Aug 20241h 7min
From the archive: Cities, cells, and the neuroscience of navigation
Hi friends, we're still on a brief summer break. We'll have a new episode for you later in August. In the meanwhile, enjoy this pick from our archives! ---- [originally aired September 21, 2022] If yo...
7 Aug 20241h 17min
From the archive: What does ChatGPT really know?
Hi friends, we're on a brief summer break at the moment. We'll have a new episode for you in August. In the meanwhile, enjoy this pick from our archives! ---- [originally aired January 25, 2023] By no...
24 Juli 202455min
From the archive: Medieval monks on memory, meditation, and mind-wandering
Hi friends, we're on a brief summer break at the moment. We'll have a new episode for you in August. In the meanwhile, enjoy this pick from our archives! _____ [originally aired May 17, 2023] You know...
10 Juli 20241h 2min
A new picture of language
If you've taken Linguistics 101, you know what language is. It's a system for conveying meaning through speech. We build words out of sounds, and then complex ideas out of those words. Remarkably, the...
26 Juni 20241h 55min
Climate, risk, and the rise of agriculture
It's an enduring puzzle. For hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors were nomadic, ranging over large territories, hunting and gathering for sustenance. Then, beginning roughly 12,000 years ago,...
12 Juni 20241h 11min
Consider the spider
Maybe your idea of spiders is a bit like mine was. You probably know that they have eight legs, that some are hairy. Perhaps you imagine them spending most of their time sitting in their webs—those cl...
30 Maj 20241h 17min
Can we measure consciousness?
A cluster of brain cells in a dish, pulsing with electrical activity. A bee buzzing its way through a garden in bloom. A newborn baby staring up into his mother's eyes. What all these entities have in...
16 Maj 20241h 10min
