Closer To Truth

What is Evolutionary Developmental Biology?

Two big ideas in biology: the evolution of species via mutation, fitness and natural selection; and the embryological development of individuals, from fertilized egg to whole organisms. How do these two big ideas—“evo-devo,” as it’s called—relate? What novel ideas emerge?
 
Featuring interviews with Alex Rosenberg, Alan Love, Rachell Powell, and Terrence Deacon.
 
You can watch all episodes in Season 23 on our website.

Eastern Traditions: What is the Human Person?

How do Buddhism, Chinese traditions and Hinduism address the essenceof human sentience? What is consciousness? What is the self? What isqi? Do humans have souls or spirits? Are humans dualistic beings? Orpure souls/spirits?
 
Featuring interviews with Swami Sarvapriyananda, Swami Medhananda, Jay Garfield, and Franklin Perkins.
 
Get early access to watch Season 24 by registering for a free membership on our website.

Sean Carroll on Physics, the Multiverse, and Quantum Mechanics

Why is matter solid? Why is there antimatter? Where do the sizes of atoms come from? Theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll cuts to the bare mathematical essence of our most profound theories, explaining every step in his new book, Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe. In this interview, Carroll uses the basics of quantum mechanics itself to explain measurement and entanglement before exploring how the world is really made of fields.
 
Carroll's book, Quanta and Fields, is available for purchase now.
 
Sean Carroll is Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, and Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He is host of the Mindscape podcast, and author of several bestselling books. He has been awarded prizes and fellowships by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the American Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of London, and many others.

What are Scientific Breakthroughs in Biology?

What is the world fundamentally, deeply made of? What is life? We are always searching for Scientific Breakthroughs: those leaps in knowledge and jumps in understanding that change how we see the world. Now, we focus on Biology. What are Scientific Breakthroughs in Biology?
 
Featuring interviews with Geoffrey West, Stuart Kauffman, V.S. Ramachandran, Antonio Damasio, and Michio Kaku.
 
Watch all of Season 21 on the Closer To Truth website.

Why are Black Holes so Astonishing?

In honor of NASA's Black Hole Week (May 6-10, 2024), we're re-running our episode from Season 2 of Closer To Truth.
 
They warp space and time, squeeze matter to a vanishing point, and trap light so that it cannot escape. How can black holes perform such stupendous tricks, and what can we learn from them?
Featuring interviews with Robert Laughlin, Peter Atkins, Francisco Ayala, and Philip Clayton.

Anna Abraham on the Neuroscience of the Creative Brain

Professor Anna Abraham discusses her book, The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths, and provides a science-based understanding of the creative mind that dispels the pervasive myths we hold about the human brain—but also uncovers the truth at their cores. Drawing on cognitive psychology and neuroscience, Abraham offers an examination of human creativity that reveals the true complexity underlying our conventional beliefs about the brain.
 
Abraham's book, The Creative Brain, is available for purchase now.
Anna Abraham is the E. Paul Torrance Professor and Director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia. She is the author of "The Neuroscience of Creativity" and the editor of the multidisciplinary volume "The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination".
 
Watch all CTT Chats here: https://t.ly/jJI7e

Robert Wright on Evolution and the Future of Humanity

Creative thinker and media visionary Robert Wright discusses a fascinating variety of topics including social media's effect on society, sexual psychology and monogamy, the concept of non-zero, biological and cultural evolution, and more.
 
Robert Wright is an author and journalist known for his wide-ranging interests in philosophy, society, science (especially evolutionary psychology), history, politics, international relations, and religion. He has published five books and is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Bloggingheads.tv, the founder and editor-in-chief of Meaningoflife.tv, the founder and chief correspondent of the Nonzero Newsletter and Nonzero Podcast, and the creator of the Nonzero Foundation.
 
Watch Closer To Truth Chats here.

Eastern Traditions: What is World? What is Reality?

How do Buddhism, Chinese traditions, Hinduism and Shintoism addresscausality, consciousness, energies, God, ultimate reality? What is non-dualism? How is the world interconnected? How are metaphysics andmorality related?
 
Featuring interviews with Venerable Dr. Yifa, Jay Garfield, Yujin Nagasawa, Swami Sarvapriyananda, Swami Medhananda, Franklin Perkins, and Helen De Cruz.
 
Get subscriber-only benefits like early access to episodes by registering for a free membership at closertotruth.com.

Nick Bostrom on Superintelligence and the Future of AI

Philosopher Nick Bostrom discusses his new book, Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World, where he asks: In the face of incredible technological advances, what is the point of human existence? Will AI make our life and labor obsolete? In a "solved world," where would we find meaning and purpose?
 
Bostrom's book, Deep Utopia, is available for purchase now.
 
Nick Bostrom is a Professor at Oxford University, where he is the founding director of the Future of Humanity Institute. He is the world's most cited philosopher aged 50 or under.

Paul Thagard on AI, Animal Consciousness, and Human Intelligence

How do animals and smart machines measure up to human intelligence? Can fish feel pain and do dogs get jealous? Paul Thagard—a philosopher and cognitive scientist—explores hotly debated issues about animal and artificial intelligence to conclude that current bots and beasts fall far short of human capabilities.
 
Thagard's book, Bots and Beasts: What Makes Machines, Animals, and People Smart?, is available for purchase now.
 
Paul Thagard is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo. He is the author of many books and writes a popular blog for Psychology Today.