Inquiring Minds

We talk to writer and technologist Gary Bengier about AI and his new science fiction novel Unfettered Journey.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to president and CEO of Lumina Foundation Jamie Merisotis about his new book Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to neuroscientist and computer pioneer Jeff Hawkins about his new book A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to New York Times reporter and author Cade Metz about his new book Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

This week: New research on the first known interstellar object in our solar system, A/2017 U1—or Oumuamua—suggesting it’s probably a chunk of a Pluto-like planet, and not from aliens; research that used 2,000 microphones to get super detailed recordings of hummingbirds and learn how they make the sounds they make; the impact of alcohol consumption policies at major league baseball stadiums; and new research on people with aphantasia—the inability to form mental imagery—and how scary stories are less likely to scare them.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to acclaimed science writer and return guest Carl Zimmer about his new book Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

On the show this week we talk to professor of story science Angus Fletcher about his new book Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

On the show this week we talk to professor of genetic epidemiology Tim Spector about his new book Spoon-Fed: Why almost everything we’ve been told about food is wrong.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

This week: We look at new paleogenetic research on mammoth molars; delve into the biological drive for napping; and talk about a surprising new study on memory that involves transcranial magnetic stimulation.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to behavioral scientist and former lead researcher at Google's behavioral economics unit Logan Ury about her new book How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

Your voice is much more than just the medium by which your thoughts can be heard—it's as fundamental to who you are as your face or your fingerprints. This week we talk to journalist John Colapinto about his new book This Is the Voice.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to Jay Bhagwan from the International Water Association about his work reinventing how we think about sanitation.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

This week we take a look back at some of our favorite episodes from 2020 and talk about what’s next for the podcast.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to cosmologist and writer Katie Mack about her new book The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking).Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to historian of medieval science Seb Falk about his new book The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to journalist Kermit Pattison about his new book Fossil Men: The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to orthopedic surgeon Roy A. Meals about his new book Bones: Inside and Out.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

We talk to neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett about why the idea that you have a lizard brain and a rational brain is completely wrong, how you can fight against implicit biases by swamping your brain with new data, why your brain’s most important job isn’t actually to think or be rational, and about one time Carl Sagan was very wrong about how brains work. Her most recent books are How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain and Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

This week we explore the implications of there being much more water on the moon than we previously thought; a new study that looked at the possibility that our brains have an underlying propensity to understand words; and a quick look at a paper about Tennessee bicycle crashes.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

A special drop of the first episode of the new season of Indre’s other podcast, Cadence—which is about what music can tell us about our minds. This new season explores how music influences us, and the first episode is all about politics. Indre talks to musicians, academics, and politicians to find out what role music plays in the political machine—how it’s used to sway minds and gather votes. If you’re interested in hearing more, check out the earlier seasons of Cadence wherever you get your podcasts.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds