Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
Ever wanted to know how music affects your brain, what quantum mechanics really is, or how black holes work? Do you wonder why you get emotional each time you see a certain movie, or how on earth video games are designed? Then you’ve come to the right place. Each week, Sean Carroll will host conversations with some of the most interesting thinkers in the world. From neuroscientists and engineers to authors and television producers, Sean and his guests talk about the biggest ideas in science, philosophy, culture and much more.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 99 minutes
- Episodes
- 391
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
69 | Cory Doctorow on Technology, Monopoly, and the Future of the Internet
Like so many technological innovations, the internet is something that burst on the scene and pervaded human life well before we had time to sit down and think through how something like that should …
01:17:50 |
Mon 21 Oct 2019
68 | Melanie Mitchell on Artificial Intelligence and the Challenge of Common Sense
I talk with computer scientist Melanie Mitchell about artificial intelligence, deep learning, and why computers struggle with common sense.
01:22:16 |
Mon 14 Oct 2019
67 | Kate Jeffery on Entropy, Complexity, and Evolution
I talk with neuroscientist Kate Jeffery about the rise and fall of complexity in biology and cosmology.
01:12:58 |
Mon 07 Oct 2019
66 | Will Wilkinson on Partisan Polarization and the Urban/Rural Divide
I talk with policy analyst Will Wilkinson about the increasing sorting of liberal voters into urban areas and conservatives into suburban/rural areas.
01:52:51 |
Mon 30 Sep 2019
65 | Michael Mann on Why Our Climate Is Changing and How We Know
I talk with climate scientist Michael Mann on how we study the Earth's temperature over time, and how it's changing now.
01:17:24 |
Mon 23 Sep 2019
64 | Ramez Naam on Renewable Energy and an Optimistic Future
I talk with technologist and author Ramez Naam about how renewable energy could help us save the environment.
01:16:48 |
Mon 16 Sep 2019
63 | Solo -- Finding Gravity Within Quantum Mechanics
A solo episode explaining the idea that we shouldn't be trying to quantize gravity, we should be trying to find gravity within quantum mechanics.
01:50:26 |
Mon 09 Sep 2019
62 | Michele Gelfand on Tight and Loose Societies and People
I talk with psychologist Michele Gelfand about the differences between tight and loose societies, and how to live within them.
01:12:16 |
Mon 02 Sep 2019
61 | Quassim Cassam on Intellectual Vices and What to Do About Them
I talk with philosopher Quassim Cassam about intellectual vices -- personal attributes that needlessly prevent us from being correct.
01:10:12 |
Mon 26 Aug 2019
60 | Lynne Kelly on Memory Palaces, Ancient and Modern
I talk with memory expert Lynne Kelly about the use of memory palaces, both today and in prehistoric societies.
01:15:38 |
Mon 19 Aug 2019
59 | Adam Becker on the Curious History of Quantum Mechanics
I talk with Adam Becker about how and why physicists in the 20th century abandoned the idea of trying to understand quantum mechanics.
01:40:09 |
Mon 12 Aug 2019
58 | Seth MacFarlane on Using Science Fiction to Explore Humanity
I talk with Seth MacFarlane about his episodic science fiction show, The Orville, and its use of allegory to explore real-world situations.
01:12:14 |
Mon 05 Aug 2019
57 | Astra Taylor on the Promise and Challenge of Democracy
A conversation with filmmaker, author, and activist Astra Taylor, on what democracy is and why it matters.
01:23:53 |
Mon 29 Jul 2019
56 | Kate Adamala on Creating Synthetic Life
A conversation with synthetic biologist Kate Adamala on constructing artificial cells, and what that tells us about life on Earth and elsewhere.
01:12:02 |
Mon 22 Jul 2019
55 | A Conversation with Rob Reid on Quantum Mechanics and Many Worlds
I am interviewed by Rob Reid about quantum mechanics and the Many-Worlds formulation.
01:26:16 |
Mon 15 Jul 2019
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 l…
01:15:11 |
Mon 08 Jul 2019
53 | Solo -- On Morality and Rationality
What does it mean to be a good person? To act ethically and morally in the world? In the old days we might appeal to the instructions we get from God, but a modern naturalist has to look elsewhere. T…
02:05:18 |
Mon 01 Jul 2019
52 | Frank Lantz on the Logic and Emotion of Games
Games play an important, and arguably increasing, role in human life. We play games on our computers and our phones, watch other people compete in games, and occasionally break out the cards or the M…
01:04:39 |
Mon 24 Jun 2019
51 | Anthony Aguirre on Cosmology, Zen, Entropy, and Information
Cosmologists have a standard set of puzzles they think about: the nature of dark matter and dark energy, whether there was a period of inflation, the evolution of structure, and so on. But there are …
01:31:52 |
Mon 17 Jun 2019
50 | Patricia Churchland on Conscience, Morality, and the Brain
It’s fun to spend time thinking about how other people should behave, but fortunately we also have an inner voice that keeps offering opinions about how we should behave ourselves: our conscience. Wh…
01:12:08 |
Mon 10 Jun 2019
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are the property of Sean Carroll | Wondery. This content is not affiliated with or endorsed by eachpod.com.