BookLab

Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter
  • 4.6 (10)
  • SCIENCE
BookLab Podcast

From neurons to nanotech and from quarks to the cosmos, BookLab is the podcast that puts science books under the microscope! Join hosts Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter for a look at the latest in popular science writing: what’s new, what’s hot, and what you ought to be reading right now.

  1. BookLab 035: The Blind Spot; Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation; The Rigor of Angels

    AUG 22

    BookLab 035: The Blind Spot; Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation; The Rigor of Angels

    Some researchers believe that the traditional scientific approach, in spite of its impressive 400-year track record, has left something out. Adam Frank, Marcelo Gleiser, and Evan Thompson lay out the argument in The Blind Spot. And on the nightstand: Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation, by George Musser; and The Rigor of Angels, by William Egginton.

    1h 23m

  2. 12/21/2023

    BookLab 034: Determined by Robert Sapolsky and Free Agents by Kevin Mitchell

    It’s one of the oldest and most vexing questions in science and philosophy: Do we have free will? In this episode of BookLab, we take a close look at two books by two scientists who have considered the question at length -- and have been led to two very different conclusions.

    1h 15m
  3. BookLab 033: The Book of Minds; The Darkness Manifesto; Existential Physics

    08/03/2023

    BookLab 033: The Book of Minds; The Darkness Manifesto; Existential Physics

    The human mind is quite something. We can use it to reason; to envision past and future events; to ponder abstractions. But what other minds are out there? In Philip Ball’s The Book of Minds, we’re invited to explore the space of possible minds. And on the nightstand: The Darkness Manifesto, by  Johan Eklöf; and Existential Physics by Sabine Hossenfelder.

    1h 16m
  4. BookLab 032: The One; Sounds Wild and Broken; What We Owe the Future

    02/27/2023

    BookLab 032: The One; Sounds Wild and Broken; What We Owe the Future

    The world around us seems incredibly diverse -- but what if beneath that diversity there was a unifying sameness? That’s the idea behind “monism” -- an ancient idea that physicist Heinrich Pas believes is due for a comeback. He explores the idea in his new book, The One. And on the nightstand: Sounds Wild and Broken, by David George Haskell; and What We Owe the Future, by William MacAskill.

    1h 16m
  5. BookLab 031: Reality+; Well, Doc, You’re In; and As Gods

    12/16/2022

    BookLab 031: Reality+; Well, Doc, You’re In; and As Gods

    Virtual reality has taken off in recent years. But what if the virtual worlds of VR are real -- just as real, perhaps, as the physical world we see around us? And... is it possible we’re living in a simulation right now? Philosopher David Chalmers probes these questions in his provocative new book, Reality+. And on the nightstand: A new biography of physicist Freeman Dyson, called Well, Doc, You’re In, edited by David Kaiser; and As Gods, by Matthew Cobb.

    1h 10m
  6. BookLab 030: Being You, The Monster’s Bones, and Quantum Legacies

    09/15/2022

    BookLab 030: Being You, The Monster’s Bones, and Quantum Legacies

    Featured book: Being You, by Anil Seth. A lot has been written on the subject of consciousness, but few are positioned to tackle the problem better than neuroscientist Anil Seth, whose new book examines how we experience “life in the first person.” And on the nightstand: The Monster’s Bones, by David K. Randall; and Quantum Legacies, by David Kaiser.

    58 min
  7. BookLab 029: Hawking Hawking, The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy, and When We Cease to Understand the World

    12/26/2021

    BookLab 029: Hawking Hawking, The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy, and When We Cease to Understand the World

    Featured book: Hawking Hawking, by Charles Seife. Charles Seife’s new biography of Stephen Hawking takes an unflinching look at the good and bad sides of the famous physicist. And on the nightstand: The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Arik Kershenbaum; and When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamin Labatut.

    57 min
  8. BookLab 028: Life’s Edge, by Carl Zimmer; and The Genesis Quest, by Michael Marshall

    10/16/2021

    BookLab 028: Life’s Edge, by Carl Zimmer; and The Genesis Quest, by Michael Marshall

    What is life? As Carl Zimmer shows in Life’s Edge, the more we try to pin it down, the more elusive an answer becomes. And in The Genesis Quest, Michael Marshall examines the age-old puzzle of how life began on our planet.

    50 min
See All (35)

4.6
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

From neurons to nanotech and from quarks to the cosmos, BookLab is the podcast that puts science books under the microscope! Join hosts Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter for a look at the latest in popular science writing: what’s new, what’s hot, and what you ought to be reading right now.

Information

  • Creator
    Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2024
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (c) 2014 Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter
  • Show Website
    BookLab

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