Episodes of the Books and Ideas podcast
Most recent episodes at the top.
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!)
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.
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.
Episode 73 of Books and Ideas features Susan Schneider author of a thought-provoking book called Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind.
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.
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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.
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.
This episode of Books and Ideas is an interview with psychologist Dr Pete Etchells about his new book Lost in a Good Game: Why we play video games and what they can do for us. We explore both the myths and the science behind video games and consider why the effects of video games are actually quite difficult to study. It seems strange that many people in this field don't play games themselves. Most of the bad things you have heard about video games do not stand up to the basic standards of good science. Whether or not you enjoy video games yourself this is a fascinating interview.
This month’s episode of Books and Ideas is an interview with LGBT+ historian Lillian Faderman about her newest book, Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death.
BI 66 is an interview with Sarah Rhea Werner from Girl in Space and the Write Now podcast.
Books and Ideas 65 features my friend Jody Cole, founder of Wild Rainbow African Safaris.
Episode 63 of Books and Ideas an interview of Jonathan Losos, author of Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution. This fascinating book reveals the surprising world of experimental evolutionary biology. We explore how experiments both in the laboratory and in the wild are answering long-standing questions about how evolution works.
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Books and Ideas returns with an interview with Rhodes Perry, author of Belonging At Work: Everyday Actions You Can Take to Cultivate an Inclusive Organization. His book contains lessons that we can take beyond work to all aspects of our lives.
In BI 61 Mur Lafferty talks about her new novel Six Wakes and also reflects on the surprising ways that podcasting has influenced her writing career.
In Episode 60 of Books and Ideas, Matthew Cobb talks about his new book Life's Greatest Secret: The Race to Crack the Genetic Code.
Episode 59 of Books and Ideas is an interview with philosopher Anthony Chemero about his book Phenomenology: An Introduction. We put phenomenology into historical perspective and explore how it is making contributions to contemporary cognitive science. This episode doesn't require any prior knowledge.
BI 58 is a special episode in memory of my late husband Dr. Dennis G Smith who died unexpected on July 25th, 2015.
Episode 57 is the first episode of Books and Ideas that I have produced in 2015. It is a conversation with experienced podcaster Elsie Escobar. Elsie brings a unique perspective to the question Why Podcast? because she does it all: she hosts and produces 2 shows, works for Libsyn, the company that hosts my shows and many others, and she listens to more podcasts than seems humanly possible.
Both Books and Ideas and the Brain Science Podcast were launched in 2006. This post includes a list of all the episodes posted in 2014.
In July 2014 I started a Fellowship in Palliative Medicine. Episode 56 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Dr. Amos Bailey, a respected pioneer in the field.
Episode 55 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Dr. John Ratey, co-author of Go Wild: Free Your Body and Mind from the Afflictions of Civilization. Dr. Ratey has also been featured several times on the Brain Science Podcast. He is an expert on the brain benefits of exercise.
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.