Closer To Truth

Does mathematics have two transcendent attributes: truth and beauty? What makes math true? What makes math beautiful? Are there different kinds of mathematical existence? How can math combine idealized perfection and explanatory simplicity?   Featuring interviews with Robbert Dijkgraaf, Edward Witten, Max Tegmark, Sabine Hossenfelder, and Jim Holt.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for fr...

Do I disappear at death? My body? Sure, it's gone. But my awareness? Does my consciousness end forever? What could be more frightening! Is there any hope here?   Featuring interviews with Charles Tart, Richard Swinburne, Robert Park, James Tabor, and Keith Ward.   Register for a free membership today at closertotruth.com .

Creativity generates art. How to discern the creative process in order to inform the nature of art? Conversely, how to discern art in order to inform the nature of the creative process?   Featuring interviews with Aaron Rosen, Antonius Roberts, Alfonse Borysewicz, Murray Watts, and Carl Plantinga.   Register for a free-membership at closertotruth.com to receive subscriber-only exclusives today.

Everything I know -- everything! -- comes from my brain. Consciousness, our private sense of inner awareness, is the one big question to which we might find answers.   Featuring interviews with Arnold Scheibel, John Mazziotta, Christof Koch, Joseph LeDoux, and Stephen Chorover.   Register today for free for subscriber-only exclusives: www.closertotruth.com .

Philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett discusses his new memoir, I've Been Thinking , about the dominant themes of twentieth-century philosophy and cognitive science—including language, evolution, logic, religion, free will, consciousness, and AI.   Dennett's book, I've Been Thinking , is available for purchase now.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at closertotruth.c...

Cosmologist and physics professor Will Kinney discusses his latest book, An Infinity of Worlds: Cosmic Inflation and the Beginning of the Universe . Kinney considers what happened before the primordial fire of the Big Bang. What is the origin of structure in the cosmos? Can we come to terms with the possibility that our entire observable universe is one of infinitely many, forever hidden from our...

Einstein showed that space and time are essentially the same thing-a single entity, space-time. But space and time seem so radically different. How could space and time be literally the same thing?   Featuring interviews with Max Tegmark, J. Gott, Juan Maldacena, Fotini Markopoulou, and John Leslie.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for a free membership at closertotruth.com .

In honor of Rosh Hashanah, this week's podcast presents the arguments for, and against, the existence of God in Judaic history. From pogroms to the Holocaust, how to deal with the Problem of Evil — with respect to the existence of God and attributes of God? From a Jewish Orthodox perspective, do all religions worship the same God? Samuel Lebens is an academic philosopher and an ordained Orthodox r...

What exists? Lots of things exist. But what’s truly fundamental? The challenge is to discern the minimum number of basic categories that explains the entirety of existence.   Featuring interviews with Sean Carroll, David Wallace, David Chalmers, and Don Page.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at closertotruth.com .

Throughout history, dreams have fascinated and mystified. Messages from God? Images of the subconscious? Much about dreams is myth. What's real?   Featuring interviews with Robert Stickgold, Deirdre Barrett, Christopher Isham, and Patrick McNamara.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at closertotruth.com .

To appreciate Time is to touch the texture of reality. Does Time differ from our common perceptions of it? Is Time fixed or flexible? What is time, really?   Featuring interviews with Huw Price, Julian Barbour, David Albert, Jeff Tollaksen, and John Polkinghorne.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for a free membership at www.closertotruth.com .

Many theologians take angels and demons seriously. Why? Do most human beings believe in angels and demons? Certainly, such nonphysical beings, in one form or another, populate most of the world's religions. Featuring interviews with J.P. Moreland, Thomas Flint, Dean Radin, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, and James Tabor.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for a free membership at www.closertotru...

Astrobiologist Dr. Aomawa Shields discusses her latest book, Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe . The book charts her life as an astronomer, classically-trained actor, mother, and Black woman in STEM, searching for life in the universe while building a meaningful life here on Earth. Dr. Shields studies the universe outside our Solar System, researching and uncoveri...

Deception pervades all life, up and down the phylogenetic tree. Deceptions have a "purpose" - the well-being, often the survival, of the deceiver. But deceptions need not be done "on purpose". In the tool-kit of evolution, what is the workload of deception?   Featuring interviews with Robert Trivers, Jennifer Mather, Daniel Chamovitz, and Max Tegmark.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for...

Astrophysicist Paul Davies continues the conversation on his new book, What’s Eating the Universe? And Other Cosmic Questions. From Consciousness, the Cosmic Horizon, and the fate of our universe to if there's meaning to existence, the Doomsday Argument, and if aliens exist.   Davies' book, What’s Eating the Universe? , is available for purchase now.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for...

Astrophysicist Paul Davies talks his new book, What’s Eating the Universe? And Other Cosmic Questions. In it, he covers teleology in the cosmos, the fine-tuning of our universe, multiple universes, how to understand reality, dark energy, dark matter, time travel, and much more.   Davies' book, What’s Eating the Universe? , is available for purchase now.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register f...

How are humans and animals different? Physically, humans and animals seem similar. Mentally, humans seem so superior. What's so special about human nature?   Featuring interviews with Colin Blakemore, Barry Smith, Nicholas Humphrey, Jared Diamond, and Julian Barbour.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at closertotruth.com .

Theoretical physicist and mathematician Frank Wilczek discusses his way of thinking about fundamental science, his writing and philosophy, humanity's place and purpose, what is and what could be in science, and the laws of physics.   Wilczek's latest book, Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality , is available for purchase now.   Frank Wilczek is a theoretical physicist, author, and intellectual adventu...

Theoretical physicist and mathematician Frank Wilczek discusses humankind's place and purpose, what is and what could be in science, and the laws of physics.   Wilczek's latest book, Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality , is available for purchase now.   Frank Wilczek is a theoretical physicist, author, and intellectual adventurer. He has received many prizes for his work, including a Nobel Prize in...

What’s the relationship between the mental activity of our minds and the physical actions of our brain? It’s called The Mind-Body Problem. To many, it’s a perennial problem in philosophy of mind. Can art provide fresh insight?   Featuring interviews with Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Chris Stewart, Gordon Graham, Nathan A. Jacobs, Anjan Chatterjee, and Raymond C. Tallis.   For subscriber-only exclu...

Neurologist Sara Manning Peskin discusses her book, A Molecule Away From Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain , about how the very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds.   Dr. Peskin recounts gripping tales of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake. A college student cannot remember if she has eaten breakfast; by dinner, she is strapped to a hospital bed,...

Science explores how the world works. Breakthroughs drive science, challenging conventional wisdom, changing ways of thinking. Physics is foundational. What are Breakthroughs in physics? What characterizes Breakthroughs in physics?   Featuring interviews with Robbert Dijkgraaf, Edward Witten, Karen Uhlenbeck, and Sabine Hossenfelder.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at closertot...

How did the universe begin? Some scientists claim that the universe did not have a beginning. Some theologians contend that the universe did not need a beginning. What do you believe?   Featuring interviews with Andreas Albrecht, Anthony Aguirre, Rodney Holder, Dirk Evers, and Leonard Mlodinow.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at closertotruth.com .

What can we learn when people deceive? There are all kinds of deception: from lying, duplicity, and disguises, to propaganda, disinformation, and deep fakes. Self-deception, too, offers insight. Why would evolution select for deceiving ourselves? Is deception bred into us, affecting all humans?   This episode features interviews with Joshua Greene, V.S. Ramachandran, Robert Trivers, and Max Tegmar...

Tim Palmer discusses his new book, The Primacy of Doubt: From Quantum Physics to Climate Change, How the Science of Uncertainty Can Help Us Understand Our Chaotic World . In it, he challenges conventional wisdom on quantum mechanics, free will, and more.   For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at closertotruth.com .   Tim Palmer is a Royal Society Research Professor in the department o...