440 episodes
Inquiring Minds Indre Viskontas
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- Science
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4.4 • 821 Ratings
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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.
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Why It’s Important to Know What’s Actually in Your Clothes
This week we talk to journalist and sustainable fashion expert Alden Wicker about her book To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick—and How We Can Fight Back.
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How You Could Have Survived History’s Disasters
This week we talk to writer Cody Cassidy about his new book How to Survive History: How to Outrun a Tyrannosaurus, Escape Pompeii, Get Off the Titanic, and Survive the Rest of History's Deadliest Catastrophes.
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How to Stop Your Brain from Falling for Lies
This week we talk to psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris about their new book Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It.
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How Society Created “You”
This week we talk to social psychologist and Stanford professor Brian Lowery about his new book Selfless: The Social Creation of “You”. In it, he proposes that what you think of as “you” is actually a social construct created by your relationships and affected by every interaction you have.
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The Science of Silo with Hugh Howey
This week we talk to Hugh Howey, author of the bestselling Silo series of books and executive producer of the new Apple TV+ series of the same name.
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Improbable Experiments That Changed the World
This week we talk to accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy about her most recent book The Matter of Everything: How Curiosity, Physics, and Improbable Experiments Changed the World.
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.
Love the Topics and Guests!
As a practicing therapists specializing in Addiction and Trauma, I’ve loved every episode I’ve listened to so far! You marry psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology/ cultural influence in such a seamless beautiful way to present oversimplified topics with the breadth and depth they deserve.
I particularly appreciate your episode on Addiction with Carl Erik Fisher (The Urge is phenomenal!) and the Science of Opinion. They both bring to mind Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which is something I use a lot in my practice… may be a good topic at some point.
Thank you for such a great podcast, I’ve been looking for this for a long time!
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.