Sleep may be an utterly common activity, but neuroscientist Giulio Tononi believes it's the greatest experiment in consciousness.
You can also listen to the EXTENDED interview, and read the extended transcript.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Hardeep Dhaliwal has an interesting take on “The Wizard of Oz.” She thinks it’s riddled with Yogic symbolism.
Geoffrey O’Brien grew up in a musical family. He says that the advent of recording changed our relationship to music - it made the past permanent.
Gaby Wood is the author of “Edison’s Eve: A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life.” She talks about the many experiments with automata and early mechanical beings.
Poet MK Asante recounts his tough childhood in Philadelphia and the sad story of his beloved older brother, and also how the rhythms of hip hop evoke the sensibility of his generation.
Is it actually possible to give a truly selfless gift? Anthropologist David Graeber says it's not only impossible, the entire idea of a "free gift" is nothing but a construct born in opposition to impersonal market economies. In other words, it’s you know, complicated.
Maybe feminism is a moot point. According to journalist Hanna Rosin, in the rapidly changing world we live in, women are far outpacing men. She writes about the trend in her book "The End of Men."
Desperate times may call for desperate measures. But do we really want to put space mirrors into clouds to deflect the sun's rays? Economist Clive Hamilton outlines the promise and perils of geoengineering.
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