logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
36m 48s

Ep85 "What is a Thought?"

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Brains bear thoughts like a peach tree bears peaches. Even for meditators it's almost impossible to stop the firehose of words and images and ideas. But what in the world is a thought, physically? How can you hear a voice in your head when there's no one speaking in the outside world? And what does any of this have to do with a small marine animal who eats its own brain? Join Eagleman for this week's deep dive into our inner life.

Up next
Jul 6
Ep161 "What Do Ancient Brains and Future AIs Have in Common?" with Read Montague
What do honeybee brains have in common with human brains -- and with the AI that beat the world's best Go player? What simple algorithm has been hiding inside brains for 100s of millions of years? When babies throw food from a high chair again and again, are they being mischievou ... Show More
1h 3m
Jun 29
Ep160 "Do You Really Have a Self?" with Sam Harris
re you the author of your thoughts or just their witness? Do we simply watch our thoughts like we watch unfolding dream plots? What if the most familiar thing you experience — yourself — isn’t really there? If that’s the case, why does the experience of the self feel so solid tha ... Show More
1h 6m
Jun 22
Ep159 "If Your Brain Changed Slightly, Would You Still Be You?" with Masud Husain
Could a tiny injury to your brain change your personality? If your friends didn’t know something had happened in your brain, would they just think you're choosing to act strangely? What if the self is nothing but a fragile coalition of neural processes? Join Eagleman today with M ... Show More
1h 12m
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
Sources of thinking
Where does our thinking come from? And what are the generators of our thoughts? An episode that will bring enlightenment to the table and leave you with a greater knowledge of your brain. 
3m 52s
Jun 2023
Don't believe everything you overthink
Your thinking is the beginning and end of your suffering. This episode will give you answers to questions you've had your entire life. We can only feel what we think, how is that possible? What is the core of overthinking? This episode will take you on a journey of discovery of t ... Show More
7m 14s
Jul 2024
Let Your Mind Settle Guided Meditation (Female Voice) 😌
Sometimes my mind can be like an untamed animal running loose, and wreaking havoc with its wild thoughts.  It creates so much noise and clutter in my mind.  For, that is the nature of the mind.  To think.  To analyze.  To assess.  To calculate.  To judge.  And so we have ... Show More
14m 51s
Sep 2022
Ep 145: Minds
What is a mind? Can we pin it down? To what do the pronouns "I" and "you" really refer? Is the mind different to its contents? What do we know and what are we struggling still to understand? 
7m 9s
Jul 2023
How to stop thinking
Is our thinking becoming our enemy? How do we control our own thoughts and flow of thinking? And is it true that by limiting our thinking we are limiting our suffering? 
6m 14s
Jan 2015
The Secret History of Thoughts
In "The Secret History of Thoughts," co-hosts Alix Spiegel and Lulu Miller ask the question, "Are my thoughts related to my inner wishes, do they reveal who I really am?" The answer can have profound consequences for your life. Hear the story of a man gripped by violent thoughts, ... Show More
56m 26s
May 2022
"What we THINK, We BECOME" | Best Motivational Speeches 2022
<p>What consumes your mind controls your life...</p> 
32m 26s
Jul 2021
Brain in a Vat
Have you considered that you might be a brain in a vat of liquid floating in a laboratory somewhere? How can you know that the world around you is real, not just a simulation being piped directly to your brain? In episode 30, Ellie and David unpack one of philosophy's favorite th ... Show More
52m 45s