BS 193 What does it Mean to say the Mind is Embodied?

BS 193 What does it Mean to say the Mind is Embodied?

Episode 193 of Brain Science was inspired by the book Out of the Cave: A Natural Philosophy of Mind and Knowing by Mark L Johnson and Donald M Tucker. It explores two big picture questions: What does it mean to claim that the Mind is "embodied?" and How does this change our understanding of our place in the world?

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Exploring Language with David Shariatmadori (BI 77)

Exploring Language with David Shariatmadori (BI 77)

This month’s episode of Books and Ideas is an interview with David Shariatmadari author of "Don't Believe a Word: The Surprising Truth About Language." We explore some of the common myths about language. This includes a follow up of our recent discussion on Brain Science about the evidence against the assumption that language is an instinctive.

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Jeremy Sherman on the Origins of Purpose (BI 76)

Jeremy Sherman on the Origins of Purpose (BI 76)

Episode 76 of Books and Ideas features Jeremy Sherman, author of Neither Ghost nor Machine: The Emergence and Nature of Selves. We explore the mystery of how purpose arose in a purposeless universe. (Hint: the answer is not supernatural!)

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Amanda Poppei: Humanism and Unitarian Universalism (BI 75)

Amanda Poppei: Humanism and Unitarian Universalism (BI 75)

Episode 75 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Amanda Poppei, President of the Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association. We talk about the longstanding relationship between Humanism and Unitarian Universalism.

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Brian Keating Searches for the Origin of the Universe (BI 74)

Brian Keating Searches for the Origin of the Universe (BI 74)

This month's episode of Books and Ideas is an interview with astronomer Brian Keating about his memoir Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science's Highest Honor. His book is a first hand look at the hard work behind the scientific effort to determine how the universe really began, but as the title implies, it also contains a candid account of how striving for the Nobel Prize can be both motivating, but strangely counterproductive.

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Brain Science Concludes Series on Consciousness

Brain Science Concludes Series on Consciousness

This month my Brain Science podcast concludes its four part series about the neuroscience of consciousness with an interview with Christof Koch. We talk about his new book The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness Is Widespread but Can't Be Computed.

I have included all four episodes here for your convenience. You can also subscribe to Brain Science for FREE in your favorite podcasting app.

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Explore "The Hidden World of the Fox" with Adele Brand (BI 72)

Explore "The Hidden World of the Fox" with Adele Brand (BI 72)

The latest episode of Books and Ideas features Adele Brand, author of a fascinating new book called The Hidden World of the Fox. Learn some surprising things about this distant relative of dogs, wolves, and coyotes.

Please subscribe to Books and Ideas for FREE in your favorite podcasting app.

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A Podcasting Retrospective (BI 71)

A Podcasting Retrospective (BI 71)

Books and Ideas 71 is an adaption of the talk I gave in Atlanta in October 2019. I look back on my 13 years in podcasting and share a few lessons I have learned along the way. You do not have to be interested in podcasting to enjoy this episode, but if you think you might want to give podcasting a try some day, don’t miss this episode.

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"Lesbian Epiphanies" (GR 28)

"Lesbian Epiphanies" (GR 28)

The most recent episode of my new podcast Graying Rainbows: Coming Out LGBT+ Later in Life is a solo episode in which I discuss the book Lesbian Epiphanies: Women Coming Out in Later Life by the late Karol L. Jensen. We explore the question of why so many women do not discover their attraction to other women until after marriage. Jensen's book was published 20 years ago, but many of the cultural factors she identified remain powerful in women's lives.

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Historian Liz Covart explores "Ben Franklin's World" (BI 70)

Historian Liz Covart explores "Ben Franklin's World" (BI 70)

For Books and Ideas #70 it was an honor to interview historian Liz Covart, host of the highly regard show Ben Franklin’s World, which is a podcast that explores Early American history. We talked about why this period of our history remains vitally important as well as some of the challenges that face historians.

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