What Makes Music So Universal? (S1 EP16)

I spoke on Human Rationality and Academic Freedom at the Dissident Dialogues event in New York this year. Drawing from my book, Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters, I explore why rational thinking is essential yet slowly becoming elusive in our society.To ... Show More

In his latest and last episode of the series, Steven Pinker discusses his magisterial book, Enlightenment Now. According to Steven, humanism, reason, and science—the three pillars of enlightenment, has historically fueled enormous advancement in virtually every facet of life and ... Show More

On the latest episode of ‘The Life Of The Mind’, Steven walks you through the evolution of violence and how its trajectory has changed over the past two millennia. Steven also delves into good and bad aspects of human nature while also looking at how civil and societal progress h ... Show More

Music helped former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne come out of his shell and connect with others—and research shows he's not alone. We explore the science behind how music shapes our social lives.Summary: Musician and artist David Byrne reflects on how music opened his world ... Show More

Why does a clarinet play at lower pitches than a flute? What does it mean for sounds to be in or out of tune? How are emotions carried by music? Do other animals perceive sound like we do? How might a musician use math to come up with new ideas?This book offers a lively explorati ... Show More

Expert Michael Spitzer explains how culture can “tune” your musical taste. Do humans have something like an instinct for music? The musicologist Michael Spitzer thinks so. As he points out, every person is born with an innate ability to recognize rhythm, beat in time to it, and t ... Show More

Last year Science Quickly looked across disciplines to piece apart the science of singing. To understand why humans sing, musicologists collaborated on an international study of folk music. To understand how we sing, neuroscientists differentiated how our brain processes speech a ... Show More

The history of rock and roll music can be seen in a long arc of Western civilization's struggle for both greater individual expression and societal stability. In the 1960s, the West's relationship with authority ruptured, in part due to the rock revolution. The lessons and implic ... Show More

Classical music is packed with weird and wonderful musical terminology. Steve Wright speaks to author and critic Jessica Duchen about the meaning and stories behind some of music’s most common terms. This episode is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen. Learn more about your ad choices. V ... Show More

Dans la trilogie du Seigneur des Anneaux, la musique du compositeur Howard Shore est ce qu’on appelle “narrative”. C'est-à-dire qu’elle raconte une histoire en plus de ce que l’on voit à l’image. Dans cet épisode nous allons analyser une scène épique, et cela en partie grâce à la ... Show More

Join KP on Big Facts as he delves into his pivotal role in shaping Atlanta’s music scene. From his early days with Parental Advisory to his executive decisions that influenced artists like T.I. and OutKast, KP shares untold stories, the evolution of trap music, and his vision beh ... Show More

Continuing from episode 75, Middle Ages Music Pt.1, we will now get into the later part of this era. Polyphony is now becoming commonplace. We will discuss composition tools such as oraganum, chant, the motet and the hocket. We will also discuss how other cultures beyond the worl ... Show More