421 episodes
Inquiring Minds Indre Viskontas
-
- Science
-
-
4.4 • 815 Ratings
-
Each week we bring you a new, in-depth exploration of the space where science and society collide. We’re committed to the idea that making an effort to understand the world around you though science and critical thinking can benefit everyone—and lead to better decisions. We want to find out what’s true, what’s left to discover, and why it all matters.
-
The Neuroscience of What Makes You You
This week we talk to cognitive neuroscientist Chantel Prat about her new book The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain is Different and How to Understand Yours. The book is the result of Prat’s decades of work on the biological basis of individual differences in cognition—what makes you you.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
What do animals dream about?
This week we talk to philosopher and animal ethicist David Peña-Guzmán about his new book When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness. David explores the idea that there really is a subjective world—a dream world—that lights up when animals sleep, what that actually looks like, and its moral implications.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
The Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion
This week we’re joined by podcaster, journalist, and author David McRaney to discuss his latest book How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion. It’s a deep look at what we know about what it takes to change someone’s mind and why it’s more complicated than you might think.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
The language of food, science, and critical thinking with J. Kenji López-Alt
This week we welcome back James Beard award winning food science writer J. Kenji López-Alt. He talks about growing up around science, studying architecture at MIT, and how, strangely enough, both subjects pertain to cooking. Kenji is the author of the bestselling The Food Lab and the recently released The Wok: Recipes and Techniques.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Derek Gow Is Turning His Farm Into an Ark for Lost Species
You might not be aware of it, but the UK is experiencing a wildlife crisis. Ecologist Derek Gow joins us this week to talk about what we ought to do about it and how he’s trying to rewild the country with his farm-turned-wildlife breeding center. Gow wrote the bestselling Bringing Back the Beaver and will soon release his latest book Birds, Beasts and Bedlam: Turning My Farm into an Ark for Lost Species.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Wild but Delicate: What Hawks Can Teach Us About Nature, Life, and Love
On the show this week we’re joined by naturalist, author, and returning guest Sy Montgomery. Throughout her career, Montgomery has repeatedly shown an incredible ability to understand, befriend, and interact with animals. We last heard from her in episode #128 where she talked about her 2016 book The Soul of an Octopus, but she’s written about everything from tigers to snakes to hummingbirds. In this episode we explore her latest book, where she covers her perhaps most challenging animal yet, The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Customer Reviews
Offspring of Elevatorgate
“Inquiring Minds” began in 2013 when Chris Mooney and Indre Viscontas quit their jobs as hosts of the Center for Inquiry podcast “Point of Inquiry” in protest over remarks by CFI chief Ron Lindsey that were critical of skeptic personality Rebecca Watson, the central figure of the “Elevatorgate” brouhaha that marked the beginning of the end of the New Atheist movement of the aughts. After leaving PoI at the behest of the show’s producer—who was Watson’s boyfriend—Mooney and Viscontas started this podcast. Mooney didn’t stick around for long, but Viscontas has kept the show going for eight years. The show currently consists primarily of interviews with the authors of popular science books. Viscontas is a decent interviewer. I sort of wish that she and Mooney hadn’t dropped the religious skepticism aspect of the “Point of Inquiry” show when they started this show, but that decision probably helped the show last this long.
Fantastic show.
This show has been one of my favorites for a long time. Science, research based material is what the world needs more of. Indre does an amazing job.
terrific podcast
really great information :)