HoP 461 - Eileen Reeves on Galileo and t...

A royal scholar and philosopher sets aside the tribulations of her family to debate Descartes over the relation between mind and body and the nature of happiness. 

Descartes’ “provisional” morality and his views on free will and virtue. 

Descartes’ Meditations caused controversy as soon as it appeared. In this episode we look at criticisms including the “Cartesian Circle,” and how Descartes answered them. 

The Pisan scientist Galileo Galilei has been remembered as the "father of modern science." The discoveries he made with his telescope led to a completely new understanding of Earth's place in the cosmos. The theory first put forward by the Polish mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus ... Show More

There was a time when science and religion worked in harmony, as two parts of a celestial design. Astrologer and philosopher Johannes Kepler oversaw this marriage of theory and belief when he proposed the revolutionary laws of planetary motion in the early 17th century. Amidst pe ... Show More

Galileo is often credited with inventing the telescope, but he never made that claim. He simply whipped up his own take on the device and sold it to the Republic of Venice before his Dutch competitors could beat him to the punch. Galileo also gets credit for being the first perso ... Show More

Is technology holding us back?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesFrom work to entertainment, communication to travel, technology has shaped every aspect of our lives. We think technological progress is relentless and inevitable. But ... Show More

In his brief commentary, Azeem Azhar discusses the increasing complexity and capabilities of large language models (LLMs) and the transformative potential they hold. Just as the Copernican Revolution forced us to reassess our understanding of the universe and led to numerous soci ... Show More

When funding for the James Webb Space Telescope was in doubt, cosmologist Michael Turner argued passionately that it would transform our understanding of the origin and fate of our universe. Today, with the spectacular images being taken by the Webb exceeding even its designers’ ... Show More

In this historical fiction episode, two young Italians take a fascinating journey into Galileo's workshop, the very space where modern science was born. We'll explore the tools and instruments he used to revolutionize our understanding of the universe, from his famous telescope t ... Show More

Astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger explores the thrilling possibility of discovering life beyond Earth, highlighting how cutting-edge technology like the James Webb Space Telescope lets us analyze distant planets for signs of life in unprecedented detail. Could examining these "alie ... Show More

Walter Isaacson’s latest exploration of the lives of creative geniuses focuses on Jennifer Doudna, the co-inventor of the revolutionary gene editing tool CRISPR. Alan explores with Isaacson his fascination with people who have changed the world, from Leonardo to Benjamin Franklin ... Show More

We look forward to the Oct. 7 launch of the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft with Michael Küppers, project scientist for the mission. Then Ambre Trujillo, our digital community manager at The Planetary Society, lets you know how to celebrate Europa Clipper by joining NASA' ... Show More