Philosophy of Brain is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and neurophilosopher Patricia Churchland, UC San Diego. Patricia Churchland has done extensive research in the fields of philosophy of neuroscience, philosophy of the mind and neuroethics. During this mind-stretching conversation Patricia explores how the brain works, how w ... Show More
Yesterday
Hector Amaya, "The Economy of Anonymity: Power in the Age of Identification" (Stanford UP 2026)
We use avatars to play video games. We use pseudonyms on social media. We use VPNs to mask our identities and activities. In the digital realm, anonymity is everywhere, a persistent option for those who wish to hide, experiment, and deceive. But we are anonymous in more contexts ... Show More
56m 51s
Yesterday
Gretchen Heefner, "Sand, Snow, and Stardust: How US Military Engineers Conquered Extreme Environments" (U Chicago Press, 2025)
Deserts, the Arctic, outer space—these extreme environments are often seen as inhospitable places at the edges of our maps. But from the 1940s through the 1960s, spurred by the diverse and unfamiliar regions the US military had navigated during World War II, the United States def ... Show More
50m 9s
Jul 17
Fenwick McKelvey, "SimPolitics: America’s Quest to Solve Politics with Computers" (MIT Press, 2026)
This book is available open access. For more than six decades, the public has been promised that computers will revolutionize politics, both nationally and internationally. In SimPolitics: America’s Quest to Solve Politics with Computers (MIT Press, 2026), Dr. Fenwick McKelvey tr ... Show More
51m 22s
Apr 2021
#247 — Constructing Minds
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sam Harris speaks with Lisa Feldman Barrett about the origins and function of the human brain. They discuss how brains evolved, the myth of the "triune brain," the brain's network organization, the predictive nature of perception and action, the ... Show More
1h 7m
Dec 2021
Susan Wolf, “Meaningfulness” (Open Agenda, 2021)
Meaningfulness is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Susan Wolf, the Edna J. Koury Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This fascinating conversation explores what it is to live an ethical, meaningful life in ... Show More
2h 6m
May 2025
Assembloids: Recreating the Brain with Sergiu Paşca
<p>How do you recreate a brain circuit in a dish, and what can it unlock about our minds? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore the frontier of neuroscience with Stanford neuroscientist Sergiu Pașca, to break down stem cells, how the brain forms itself, and a ... Show More
1h 5m
May 2023
Unlocking the mysteries of the brain’s neocortex
efJf Hawkins’ 2021 book A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence, focuses on the neocortex and how it helps us to understand the world around us, before examining the future of artificial intelligence, based on what we already know about the brain.In this final episode of ... Show More
26m 3s
Nov 2022
Life Stages Of The Brain (2021)
Original broadcast date: March 5, 2021. In each stage of life, our brains morph and change. This hour, TED speakers explore pivotal chapters where the brain can either flourish or decline – and what control we might have over brain health. Guests include neuroscientists Kimberly ... Show More
51m 5s