Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

By: Sean Carroll | Wondery
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  • Summary

  • Ever wanted to know how music affects your brain, what quantum mechanics really is, or how black holes work? Do you wonder why you get emotional each time you see a certain movie, or how on earth video games are designed? Then you’ve come to the right place. Each week, Sean Carroll will host conversations with some of the most interesting thinkers in the world. From neuroscientists and engineers to authors and television producers, Sean and his guests talk about the biggest ideas in science, philosophy, culture and much more.
    © Sean Carroll 2018
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Philosophy Physics Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • AMA | November 2024

    AMA | November 2024
    Nov 4 2024

    Welcome to the November 2024 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questions themselves are good -- and sometimes group them together if they are about a similar topic. Enjoy!

    Support Mindscape on Patreon.

    Blog post with AMA questions and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/11/04/ama-november-2024/

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    3 hrs and 50 mins
  • 294 | Addy Pross on Dynamics, Stability, and Life

    294 | Addy Pross on Dynamics, Stability, and Life
    Oct 28 2024

    Erwin Schrödinger said that the important characteristic of life is that it "goes on doing something... for a much longer period than we would expect an inanimate piece of matter to keep going under similar circumstances." Living organisms are in constant motion inside; so where does this stability and persistence come from? Addy Pross points to a novel kind of chemical phenomenon -- "dynamic kinetic stability" (DKS), a feature that enables a chemical "fountain" to persist in the presence of an energy source. This suggests an interesting perspective on the question of life's origin, and perhaps on the origin of consciousness.

    Support Mindscape on Patreon.

    Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/10/28/294-addy-pross-on-dynamics-stability-and-life/

    Addy Pross received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Sydney. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Ben-Gurion University. He has held visiting positions in the University of Lund, Stanford University, Rutgers University, University of California at Irvine, University of Padova, the Australian National University Canberra, and the University of Sydney. He is the author of What Is Life? How Chemistry Becomes Biology.

    • Web page
    • Amazon author page
    • Google Scholar publications

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • 293 | Doyne Farmer on Chaos, Crashes, and Economic Complexity

    293 | Doyne Farmer on Chaos, Crashes, and Economic Complexity
    Oct 21 2024

    A large economy is one of the best examples we have of complex dynamics. There are multiple components arranged in complicated overlapping hierarchies, out-of-equilibrium dynamics, nonlinear coupling and feedback between different levels, and ubiquitous unpredictable and chaotic behavior. Nevertheless, many economic models are based on relatively simple equilibrium principles. Doyne Farmer is among a group who think that economists need to start taking the tools of complexity theory seriously, as he argues in his recent book Making Sense of Chaos: A Better Economics for a Better World.

    Support Mindscape on Patreon.

    Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/10/21/293-doyne-farmer-on-chaos-crashes-and-economic-complexity/

    J. Doyne Farmer received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is currently Director of the Complexity Economics program and Baillie Gifford Professor of Complex Systems Science at the University of Oxford, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and Chief Scientist at Macrocosm. He was the founder of the Complex Systems Group in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and co-founder of The Prediction Company.

    • Web site
    • Oxford web page
    • Google Scholar publications
    • Amazon author page
    • Wikipedia


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 11 mins

What listeners say about Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

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Foundation of ideas

Sean Caroll is an amazing figure. He is a good moderator that is well-articulated with a sense of humor, humble that some popular science communicators lack (e.g. Neil deGrasse Tyson), not to mention his intelligence, and actively listens with a genuine sense of interest in ideas. Moreover, it seems that he can grasp the gist of ideas foreign to him in a short time, and, meanwhile, ask questions that audience a la laypeople egaer to know the answers thereof. A big bonus to me is that he loves philosophy and invites philosophers on the show. As for the content? The topic of each episode speaks for itself -interesting! No need to worry about the quality. But I don't recommend binge listening even though the series is arresting because rich and complex thoughts take time to sink in.

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The Ultimate Podcast for the Curious

Sean may not be widely popular perhaps because he dwells not in hypes and elusive ambitious statements - a trait most of his colleagues are known for. Here Professor Carroll leads the curious mind to explore many disciplines from "working" experts in the fields. No other science popularization and education podcast compares to Mindscape.

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Best Podcast

This is the best podcast In its space!

Sean has a brilliant mind and he does an amazing job of navigating conversations with those whom he didn doesn’t agree with.

Great for fans of Skeptics Guide or Sam Harris’ Making Sense (but w/out Sam’s particular set of biases). More science and philosophy, less pushing a set agenda.

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My favorite podcast

I've been following the podcast for a while on Spotify, and was thrilled to find it here on Audible while looking for his books. Sean Carroll's ability to walk a lay audience through a wide range of difficult ideas is truly Asimovian.

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Came here for Robert Sapolsky ...

Stayed for Sean Carroll. I’m enjoying more than 70% of these podcasts. 3 more words needed.

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The Very Best

The very best of academia interviewed by one of the deepest thinkers of our time.

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more sociology than game theory.. wonders

more sociology than game theory wonders from topic. should rel'llabel titlte or stick to subject not very good

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Loves to talk about himself

This guy is a bore in the true sense of the word. Spends more time than enough talking about himself, ego driven.

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