Philosopher David Chalmers is famous for outlining the "hard problem of consciousness." In this EXTENDED INTERVIEW, he says the materialist framework of science will never be able to explain subjective experience - our thoughts and feelings, the expereince of joy or sorrow, self-awareness.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Dr. Mark Clanton talks with Jim Fleming about new directions in cancer research and the new targeted treatment drugs.
Clio Cresswell tells Steve Paulson that out of 100 possible partners, you’re mathematically likely to make the right choice if you pick the most attractive person who’s left after 37 dates.
David Maraniss talks with Jim Fleming about Robert Clemente and how he changed major league baseball for Latin-American players in the U.S.
Angie da Silva is a historian of black cultural life in the United States, going back to the Civil War. She collects stories, both through oral history and archival research. But she's not merely a writer. She brings these stories to life through historical reenactment, often as a slave character she's created named Lila. She says that the stories she hears and tells are too often left out of our history books.
In this interview, she talks about her work and tells the story of Mary Meachum, a free black abolitionist who worked on the Mississippi in St. Louis.
Writer Elizabeth Royte spent some time on Panama’s Barro Colorado Island, the best-studied rainforest in the world. She describes some of the naturalists she met and their work in her book “The Tapir’s Morning Bath.”
There are lots of ways to amplify our senses, from hallucinogens to cochlear implants. A few people are taking it further, creating original sensory experiences by implanting new technologies in their bodies.
Artist Neil Harbisson is greyscale color blind. He designed a new electronic body part that would help him experience color.
If you want to hear about the art Neil makes thanks to his new sense, here's his extended interview.
Psychologists John and Julie Gottman are famous for being able to predict with 94% accuracy whether a couple will break up, stay together unhappily, or stay together happily. In their Love Lab, they've identified hidden patterns of behavior that can strengthen or weaken relationships. If we'd known the secret to a good marriage was non-linear differential equations, we might have paid more attention in math class.
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