Closer To Truth

Paul Davies on What’s Eating the Universe (Part 2)

Astrophysicist Paul Davies continues the conversation on his new book, What’s Eating the Universe? And Other Cosmic Questions. From Consciousness, the Cosmic Horizon, and the fate of our universe to if there's meaning to existence, the Doomsday Argument, and if aliens exist.
 
Davies' book, What’s Eating the Universe?, is available for purchase now.
 
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Paul Davies is Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University. He is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist, and best-selling science author. He has published 30 books and hundreds of research papers across a range of scientific fields, including quantum gravity, early universe cosmology, the nature of time, astrobiology, and an evolutionary theory of cancer. Among his many awards are the 1995 Templeton Prize and the Faraday Prize from The Royal Society.

Paul Davies on What’s Eating the Universe (Part 1)

Astrophysicist Paul Davies talks his new book, What’s Eating the Universe? And Other Cosmic Questions. In it, he covers teleology in the cosmos, the fine-tuning of our universe, multiple universes, how to understand reality, dark energy, dark matter, time travel, and much more.
 
Davies' book, What’s Eating the Universe?, is available for purchase now.
 
For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at www.closertotruth.com.

How Do Humans Differ from Other Animals?

How are humans and animals different? Physically, humans and animals seem similar. Mentally, humans seem so superior. What's so special about human nature?
 
Featuring interviews with Colin Blakemore, Barry Smith, Nicholas Humphrey, Jared Diamond, and Julian Barbour.
 
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Frank Wilczek on the Future of Science (Part 2)

Theoretical physicist and mathematician Frank Wilczek discusses his way of thinking about fundamental science, his writing and philosophy, humanity's place and purpose, what is and what could be in science, and the laws of physics.
 
Wilczek's latest book, Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality, is available for purchase now.
 
Frank Wilczek is a theoretical physicist, author, and intellectual adventurer. He has received many prizes for his work, including a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004 and the Templeton Prize in 2022. Wilczek has made seminal contributions to fundamental particle physics, cosmology, and the physics of materials. His current theoretical research includes work on Axions, Anyons, and Time Crystals, concepts in physics which he named and pioneered.

Frank Wilczek on the Future of Science (Part 1)

Theoretical physicist and mathematician Frank Wilczek discusses humankind's place and purpose, what is and what could be in science, and the laws of physics.
 
Wilczek's latest book, Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality, is available for purchase now.
 
Frank Wilczek is a theoretical physicist, author, and intellectual adventurer. He has received many prizes for his work, including a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004 and the Templeton Prize in 2022. Wilczek has made seminal contributions to fundamental particle physics, cosmology, and the physics of materials. His current theoretical research includes work on Axions, Anyons, and Time Crystals, concepts in physics which he named and pioneered.

Can Art Clarify The Mind-Body Problem?

What’s the relationship between the mental activity of our minds and the physical actions of our brain? It’s called The Mind-Body Problem. To many, it’s a perennial problem in philosophy of mind. Can art provide fresh insight?
 
Featuring interviews with Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Chris Stewart, Gordon Graham, Nathan A. Jacobs, Anjan Chatterjee, and Raymond C. Tallis.
 
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Sara Manning Peskin on the Deepest Mysteries of our Brains

Neurologist Sara Manning Peskin discusses her book, A Molecule Away From Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain, about how the very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds.
 
Dr. Peskin recounts gripping tales of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake. A college student cannot remember if she has eaten breakfast; by dinner, she is strapped to a hospital bed, convinced she is battling zombies. A man planning to propose marriage instead becomes violently enraged, gripped by body spasms so severe that he nearly bites off his own tongue. One after another, poor farmers in South Carolina drop dead from a mysterious epidemic of dementia.
 
From to Alzheimer's Disease to hallucinations, A Molecule Away from Madness is an unputdownable journey into the deepest mysteries of our brains.
 
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What are Scientific Breakthroughs in Physics?

Science explores how the world works. Breakthroughs drive science, challenging conventional wisdom, changing ways of thinking. Physics is foundational. What are Breakthroughs in physics? What characterizes Breakthroughs in physics?
 
Featuring interviews with Robbert Dijkgraaf, Edward Witten, Karen Uhlenbeck, and Sabine Hossenfelder.
 
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Did the Universe Have a Beginning?

How did the universe begin? Some scientists claim that the universe did not have a beginning. Some theologians contend that the universe did not need a beginning. What do you believe?
 
Featuring interviews with Andreas Albrecht, Anthony Aguirre, Rodney Holder, Dirk Evers, and Leonard Mlodinow.
 
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How Does Deception Affect Human Behavior?

What can we learn when people deceive? There are all kinds of deception: from lying, duplicity, and disguises, to propaganda, disinformation, and deep fakes. Self-deception, too, offers insight. Why would evolution select for deceiving ourselves? Is deception bred into us, affecting all humans?
 
This episode features interviews with Joshua Greene, V.S. Ramachandran, Robert Trivers, and Max Tegmark.
 
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