In this intimate interview, Mel Rosenberg speaks with Prof. Eugene Rosenberg and his partner in life and in science, Dr. Ilana Zilber-Rosenberg on their new book for the general public on how life started and developed on earth, titled Where Did We Come From? The Origin and Evolution of Life (Austin Macauley, 2025). We talk about their scientific backgrounds ... Show More
Today
Christopher Kemp, "Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation" (Norton, 2022)
Inside our heads we carry around an infinite and endlessly unfolding map of the world. Navigation is one of the most ancient neural abilities we have―older than language. In Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation (Norton, 2022), Christopher Kemp embarks on a jour ... Show More
50m 51s
Aug 21
Mario Livio and Jack Szostak, "Is Earth Exceptional?: The Quest for Cosmic Life" (Basic Books, 2024)
For a long time, scientists have wondered how life has emerged from inanimate chemistry, and whether Earth is the only place where it exists. Charles Darwin speculated about life on Earth beginning in a warm little pond. Some of his contemporaries believed that life existed on Ma ... Show More
55m 44s
Aug 9
Paul Thagard, "Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?" (MIT Press, 2021)
Octopuses can open jars to get food, and chimpanzees can plan for the future. An IBM computer named Watson won on Jeopardy! and Alexa knows our favorite songs. But do animals and smart machines really have intelligence comparable to that of humans? In Bots and Beasts: What Makes ... Show More
59m 54s
Feb 2023
Paul Bloom on Psych, Psychology, and the Human Mind
Do psychologists know anything? Psychologist Paul Bloom says yes--but not the things that you might think. Bloom discusses his book Psych with EconTalk's Russ Roberts and what the field of psychology can teach us about human intelligence, consciousness, and unhelpful instincts. T ... Show More
1h 13m
Sep 2024
Mariana Craciun, "From Skepticism to Competence: How American Psychiatrists Learn Psychotherapy" (U Chicago Press, 2024)
From Skepticism to Competence: How American Psychiatrists Learn Psychotherapy (U Chicago Press, 2024) offers an examination of how novice psychiatrists come to understand the workings of the mind - and the nature of medical expertise - as they are trained in psychotherapy. While ... Show More
1h 48m
Jan 2025
The Psychology of Serial Killers
Dr. Rachel Toles, a licensed forensic psychologist, delves into the psychology of criminals, addressing the motivations behind some of the world’s most notorious killers. Her expertise spans trauma, addiction, and impulse control, culminating in her upcoming U.S. theater tour, Th ... Show More
1h 59m
Oct 2024
E209: Wind Goodfriend: Blazing new trails--Teaching, writing, and living fearlessly
In this episode Garth interviews Wind Goodfriend from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, IA. Discussing her personal challenges, such as undiagnosed mental health issues and her keen interest in social justice from an early age, Wind reveals how these experiences shaped her c ... Show More
1h 11m
Mar 2025
Magic, Skepticism, and Success w/ Dr. Richard Wiseman
This week, Scott is joined by Dr. Richard Wiseman, a psychologist renowned for his work on magic, illusion, deception, luck, and self-development. As the UK's only Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, Dr. Wiseman has published ov ... Show More
1h 6m
Feb 2025
How academia’s ‘lone wolf’ culture is harming researcher mental health
Academia’s focus on individual achievement can be a breeding ground for poor mental health, says astrophysicist Kelly Korreck.Korreck, who experienced pandemic-related burnout while working on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, describes a competitive and ultimately damaging ‘lone wolf’ ... Show More
30m 17s