Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

The most intelligent discussion on pretty much everything. The gulf of knowledge, balance, maturity and demeanor between Sean Carroll and someone like Eric Weinstein or Sam Harris is inconceivably vast. An adult podcast for thinking adults. The best guests. Great questions from the host.

I used to be a fan of this podcast but I’ve come to think that more often than not, Carroll is woefully unprepared for his interviews. More often than not, he clearly hasn’t read the guest’s book. More often than not, his professed philosophical inclinations betray a sophomoric command of philosophical concepts and theories (a recent, embarrassing example is the Birch interview). This lack of preparation and overconfidence are disrespectful to the guest and to the audience. I still love the podcast and admire Carroll’s books, but the criticism needs to be heard and I hope he does listen.

good episode

Possibly the best science podcast around. Sean is an academic scientist with broad interests and the ability to ask excellent/deep questions. He gets very interesting guests and manages them well. Some of his solo podcasts are priceless (e.g., on relativity).