Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman

Episodes page 4 of 4

1. Ep39 "What is the future of AI relationships?"

   18 Dec 2023 · 37 min · Episode 39

   Why are our brains so wired for love? Could you fall head over heels for a bot? Might your romantic partner be more satisfied with a 5% better version of you? How does an AI bot plug right into your deep neural…

2. Ep38 "Why is it hard to teach an old brain new tricks?"

   11 Dec 2023 · 56 min · Episode 38

   Is it always harder to teach an old dog new tricks? Why is an older person slower to learn a new language but able to learn new faces easily? Why does Arnold Schwartzenegger have an accent but Mila Kunis doesn’t, even…

3. Ep37 "What is Insanity?" Part 2

   4 Dec 2023 · 39 min · Episode 37

   What does the insanity defense mean in a court of law? And is there such a thing as temporary insanity? Is the twinkie defense a real thing? Can someone use premenstrual syndrome as a defense? And what does the legal…

4. Inner Cosmos Inbox 2

   30 Nov 2023 · 11 min

   Eagleman answers listeners questions.

5. Ep36 "What is Insanity?" Part 1

   27 Nov 2023 · 39 min · Episode 36

   What is the insanity defense? Are some people’s brains so different that it makes sense to use a different legal category? How does a legal system decide where the dividing line is? How are science and law strange…

6. Ep35 "What sticks in your brain and what doesn’t? "

   20 Nov 2023 · 58 min · Episode 35

   f you look at a brain, how can you immediately tell if it belongs to a piano player or a violinist? How can a dog learn how to walk on its rear legs? And what does this have to do with expertise, or the good news about…

7. Ep34 "What is intelligence?"

   13 Nov 2023 · 54 min · Episode 34

   What would it be like to have a much lower or higher IQ than you currently have -- for example, to be a squirrel or an advanced space alien? This week's episode is about intelligence. What is it and what is its history…

8. Ep33 "Why do they start sprinters with a bang instead of a flash?"

   6 Nov 2023 · 42 min · Episode 33

   Why do they use a gun at the Olympics? And why can you get off the blocks after the bang but still be disqualified for jumping the gun? Few things are as bizarre as our time perception. From sprinters to basketball…

9. Ep32 "Is death reversible?"

   30 Oct 2023 · 47 min · Episode 32

   Does life end inevitably or instead only because we don’t understand biology well enough yet? Today’s episode is about understanding what happens when your molecular cycles grind to a halt... and whether there's…

10. Inner Cosmos Inbox 1

    25 Oct 2023 · 11 min

    Eagleman answers listeners questions.

11. Ep31 "Why do we see #TheDress differently?"

    23 Oct 2023 · 55 min · Episode 31

    Why can you hear some sounds two different ways, depending on which word you’re looking at? Why do electrical outlets sometimes look like a face? How can you have rich visual experience with your eyes closed? Are some…

12. Ep30 "What does it mean to know thyself in the age of neuroscience?" Part 2

    16 Oct 2023 · 43 min · Episode 30

    Can we explain our rich experience of life only by studying the molecules that compose us? How is the color of your passport related to your chances of presenting with schizophrenia? Males are more predisposed to…

13. Ep29 "What does it mean to know thyself?" Part 1

    9 Oct 2023 · 39 min · Episode 29

    Did Joan of Arc turn the tide of the 100 Years War as the result of a brain disorder? Would you appreciate Taylor Swift if you only had an internal camera to watch her vocal chords? What do almost all drugs of abuse…

14. Ep28 "Does your language shape your thinking?"

    2 Oct 2023 · 34 min · Episode 28

    Are there really dozens of words for snow in northern cultures? What did the movie Arrival have to do with language and cognition? Why are Russians better than Americans at distinguishing certain shades of blue? And…

15. Ep27 "Can we read brains at an airport to know who's going to bomb a plane?"

    25 Sep 2023 · 50 min · Episode 27

    Can your thoughts be read with neurotechnology? When is measuring the brain like reading the mind? How close or far are we from being able to know if you're thinking about some particular thing you did or intend to do?…

16. Ep26 "Why do people dislike moist more than moose, but not as much as merts?"

    18 Sep 2023 · 40 min · Episode 26

    We all know people who hate the word "moist". But why are they fine with synonyms such as "damp" or "wet"? What’s going on in their brains, and what does this have to do with synesthesia, autism, shapes, slacks, and…

17. Ep25 "Why are we so easy to fool?"

    11 Sep 2023 · 1 h 06 min · Episode 25

    Why are we humans so easily deceived? What are the tricks of the trade, and how can we train ourselves to be more aware of them? What does all this have to do with Theranos, forged letters, and the shell game? Although…

18. Ep24 "What does drug withdrawal have in common with heartbreak?"

    4 Sep 2023 · 47 min · Episode 24

    Why do you still feel the waves after getting off a boat? Why does the wall seem to come at you faster after you step off the treadmill? Why do the rocks seem to move upward after you stare at a waterfall? Why did…

19. Ep23 "How can we learn to speak alien?"

    28 Aug 2023 · 1 h 01 min · Episode 23

    If we meet extraterrestrials someday, how will we figure out what they're saying? We currently face this problem right here at home: we have 2 million species of animals on our planet... and we have no Google Translate…

20. Ep22 "What do we find beautiful?"

    21 Aug 2023 · 47 min · Episode 22

    Why do briefly glimpsed people appear to be more attractive? Why did portrait photographers put Vaseline on their lenses, and what does that have to do with Instagram filters? Why are thirsty people more likely to…

21. Ep21 "How far would you follow authority?"

    14 Aug 2023 · 39 min · Episode 21

    Would you torture someone if you were commanded by an authority figure? To what degree are your decisions contextual, and what does this have to do with matching the length of a line, the Iroquois Native Americans, the…

22. Ep20 "Why does your brain care more about some people than others?"

    7 Aug 2023 · 38 min · Episode 20

    Why do we so naturally form ingroups and outgroups? And what does that have to do with evolution, monkeys, Greeks, psychopaths, Syndrome E, and propaganda posters? Join Eagleman to learn why our brains are so wired for…

23. Ep19 "How far can you trust your memory?"

    31 Jul 2023 · 44 min · Episode 19

    How good is your memory, really? Why do we feel so certain about our memory, even while it is so suspect? Can something told to you after an event change your memory of the event? Why is it so hard to reconstruct a…

24. Ep18 "Could you upload your brain to live forever?"

    24 Jul 2023 · 39 min · Episode 18

    How would we know if we were living in a simulation? What if you were a butterfly having a dream it was a human? What does any of this have to do with John Lennon, or Renee Descartes, or freezing yourself in a vat of…

25. Ep17 "What is consciousness?"

    17 Jul 2023 · 41 min · Episode 17

    How do your billions of tiny brain cells build consciousness as they chatter away with electrical spikes and chemical signals? And why is your laptop, with its sophisticated algorithms and billions of parts, presumably…

26. Ep16 "Why is everyone who disagrees with you misinformed?"

    10 Jul 2023 · 1 h 01 min · Episode 16

    Why is there so much polarization, and what does this have to do with neuroscience? Why do people on all sides of the political spectrum feel that if they could shout loudly enough in all caps on Twitter, everyone…

27. Ep15 "What should happen when someone with a brain tumor breaks the law?"

    3 Jul 2023 · 55 min · Episode 15

    When does neuroscience overlap with the legal system? Do we have free will or don't we? Did changes in Charles Whitman's brain have something to do with him becoming a mass shooter? Why was the heir to the Gucci…

28. Ep14 "Why do we have so little access to what’s happening under the hood?"

    26 Jun 2023 · 38 min · Episode 14

    Who is doing the choosing when you make a choice? Is there someone in your head but it’s not you? What is a chicken-sexer, and what do they have to do with British plane spotters during WWII? Do we have free will or…

29. Ep13 "Will you perceive the event that kills you?"

    19 Jun 2023 · 33 min · Episode 13

    How far in the past do you live? Why are live television shows not actually live? What does any of this have to do with nuclear bombs, car accidents, plane crashes, volcanos, or the last episode of the Sopranos? Join…

30. Ep12 "Can we create new senses for humans?"

    12 Jun 2023 · 50 min · Episode 12

    Can a blind person come to see through her tongue? What would it be like to smell with the nose of a dog? How can we perceive streams of information that are normally invisible to us? And what does any of this have to…

31. Ep11 "What does dreaming have to do with the rotation of the planet?"

    5 Jun 2023 · 48 min · Episode 11

    Why are some of the best musicians blind? Can blind people learn how to echolocate, like a bat? What do your nightly dreams have to do with the rotation of the planet? Once we find alien life on other planets, should…

32. Ep10 "Why is it so hard to spot a counterfeit bill?"

    29 May 2023 · 36 min · Episode 10

    What do charlatans have to understand about human perception? Why are you so bad at recognizing a real penny among fakes? What did Eagleman have to do with the redesign of the Euro, and why did he campaign to the…

33. Ep9 "What does eating that cookie have to do with the hero of the Trojan war?"

    22 May 2023 · 42 min · Episode 9

    We all have goals, and we all face temptations that get in the way. So what's happening in the brain when we act in a manner that isn't in accordance with who we want to be? Computers don’t have these problems, but…

34. Ep8 "How does your brain decide what to buy?"

    15 May 2023 · 37 min · Episode 8

    What’s happening when you stand in the supermarket aisle and stare at the shelf full of options? It may not look like there’s much going on from the outside, but inside there’s a war of networks raging. How is your…

35. Ep7 "Is AI truly intelligent? How would we know if it got there?"

    8 May 2023 · 46 min

    Modern AI is blowing everyone’s mind. But is it intelligent like humans, or is it just playing impressive statistical games? Could AI reach or exceed our level of intelligence, and how would we know when it gets there?…

36. Ep6 "What will AI mean for artists?"

    2 May 2023 · 50 min

    Will writers, artists, and musicians find themselves unemployed by AI? What are the new capabilities we’re seeing and what does it all mean for human creativity? And what does this have to do with diamonds, Westworld,…

37. Ep5 "How is your brain like a team of rivals?"

    24 Apr 2023 · 41 min

    Would you kill one person to save the lives of five others? Why do you find yourself on the horns of a dilemma when someone offers you a chocolate cake? How can you believe different things at once? Find out what's…

38. Ep4 "Do people experience different realities?"

    17 Apr 2023 · 53 min

    Do you see blue the same way I do on the inside? Why do some people think the northern lights make noise? Why do you think the low note on the piano is larger, and the high note brighter? Join Eagleman on a wild ride…

39. Ep3 "Could animals learn to speak human?"

    10 Apr 2023 · 35 min

    What is intelligence? Why don’t gophers write novels? Why didn't crows invent the internet? And what does any of this have to do with brain algorithms, finding aliens on earth, and why World War 5 could involve species…

40. Ep2 "What would you do with robotic wings? (or How to get a better body)"

    3 Apr 2023 · 54 min

    How is it possible for a dog to become a champion surfer? Why does the world’s best archer have no arms? Why might someone come to believe that her leg doesn’t belong to her? How can we build robots that simply figure…

41. Ep1 "Does time really slow down when you're in fear for your life?"

    27 Mar 2023 · 31 min · Episode 1

    When he was a child, Eagleman fell off a roof and time seemed to run in slow motion. When he became a neuroscientist, he grew curious about the experience and collected hundreds of similar stories from others. But is…

42. Introducing: Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman

    20 Mar 2023 · 1:23 · Trailer

    Neuroscientist and author David Eagleman discusses how our brain interprets the world and what that means for us. Through storytelling, research, interviews, and experiments, David Eagleman tackles wild questions that…