Smells repel and attract; they bring emotionally charged memories to mind; they guide behavior and thought nonconsciously; they give food much of its taste; and the loss of sense of smell can help diagnose disease. But what features of the world do smells pick out? What is the olfactory code?
In her new book, Smellosophy: What the Nose Tells the Mind (Harvar ... Show More
Jul 10
Daniel Cohnitz and Jussi Haukioja, "Foundations for Metasemantics" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Metasemantics studies the foundations of meaning, asking what makes it the case that certain words have the meanings that they do. But what makes metasemantic theories true? This question has been all but ignored in philosophy of language. In this book, Cohnitz and Haukioja addre ... Show More
1h 9m
Jun 13
Philippe Huneman, "When Metaphysics Meets Biology: Kantian Approaches to the Concept of An Organism" (Routledge, 2026)
Central to modern biology and the study of life is the concept of the organism—roughly, a body with interconnected parts that make specific contributions to the development and functioning of the whole. There are competing organism concepts even today, but the 18th century was a ... Show More
1h 15m
Jun 3
Rivka Weinberg, "The Meaning of It All: Ultimate Meaning, Everyday Meaning, Cosmic Meaning, Death, and Time" (Oxford UP, 2026)
You can stock your life with important work, relationships, activities, and art, and yet, you can still ask: what's the point of it all? Almost every thinking person has had that question—many more than once. Granted, you're more likely to worry about the point of life when thing ... Show More
49m 59s
Dec 2021
Encore - Unlocking the mysteries of smell, our most underappreciated sense, with Pamela Dalton, PhD
Many people around the world have lost their sense of smell this past year due to COVID-19. Before the pandemic, scientists had already begun to gain a deeper understanding of how sophisticated our sense of smell is and how it is intertwined with our mental and physical health. N ... Show More
34m 43s
Mar 2021
What COVID-19 is teaching us about the importance of smell, with Pamela Dalton, PhD
Many people around the world have lost their sense of smell this past year due to COVID-19. Before the pandemic, scientists had already begun to gain a deeper understanding of how sophisticated our sense of smell is and how it is intertwined with our mental and physical health. N ... Show More
34m 1s
May 2025
Essentials: How Smell, Taste & Pheromones Shape Behavior
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explore how your sense of smell (olfaction), taste, and chemical sensing influence memory, alertness, focus, and even communication between people. I explain how these senses help us detect chemicals in the environment and respond to a v ... Show More
39m 51s