Stephen Mather

Matter Over Mind

Science EN ↓ 24 episodes

Aimed at enthusiastic, but sometimes baffled, listeners to science podcasts, Matter Over Mind (we like to call it MOM) is the essential guide to the secrets of the Universe, as revealed through physics and psychology. So if you've been listening to a 'science communicator' talking about the AdS CFT Correspondence, but it still sounds like a News Agency to you, or you think the Legrangian is a character from The Matrix, but you really want to understand it, MOM's the word. Confusion is not limited to physics though, so if you're conscious that you don't know about the unconscious, or you don't...

Author

Stephen Mather

Category

Science

Podcast website

feeds.acast.com

Latest episode

Nov 8, 2025

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Episodes

How Gyroscopes Work 08.11.2025

How do Gyroscopes actually work? Physicist Thomas explains to his dad-in-law. Join the Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659/ Music by: https://www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Weighty Matters: Do extra pounds speed your descent? 25.10.2025

A person freewheels down a steep hill. What effect does their weight have on their velocity? Do they go faster the heavier they are? Do they go slower? Or does it make no difference? A question close to Stephen's heart. Physicist Thomas has the answer and he has the workings to prove it. Matter Over Mind (MOM) is a much needed alternative to hate-fuelled content. MOM caters to the inquisitive view...

Ex Machina in the era of ChatGPT 11.10.2025

It's worth a rewatch of Ex Machina now that we have LLMs chatting away to us. How do we think about that film now? Anyway, it's a good excuse to watch a great film again. Matter Over Mind (MOM) is a much needed alternative to hate-fuelled content. MOM caters to the inquisitive viewer, seeking something to calm the mind; Plasma Physicist Thomas and Organizational Psychologist Stephen explore a new...

A Billion Years of Darkness 18.09.2025

Shortly after the Big Bang the Universe went dark. Experimental Physicist, Thomas tells his dad-in-law all about it. Matter Over Mind (MOM) is a much needed alternative to hate-fuelled content. MOM caters to the inquisitive viewer, seeking something to calm the mind; Plasma Physicist Thomas and Organizational Psychologist Stephen explore a new topic every two weeks. Subscribe so you don't miss it....

Beating Tricks of the Scammers 04.09.2025

Con artists and scammers use psychological tricks to manipulate us. In this episode, Stephen and Thomas explore how it works and how to avoid becoming a victim. Paper: Modic, D., & Lea, S. E. (2013). Scam compliance and the psychology of persuasion. Available at SSRN 2364464. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm?abstractid=2364464 Biases https://thedecisionlab.com/biases Join the Facebook...

What is The Standard Model of Particle Physics? 22.08.2025

What is the Standard Model of Particle Physics? What is a fundamental particle? What are Quarks? What is the Higgs field? And more Lagrangian talk! Dad asks physicist son-in-law the fundamental questions. Illustration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Model Join the Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659/ Music by: https://www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See ac...

3 Seconds is All We Have: The Science of Now, Part 1 07.08.2025

How do we experience 'Now'? It's a psychology episode today, although Thomas throws in some physics teasers too. How do we perceive what is happening right now and how does our brain construct our reality. Also does time really exist or is it a human construct too? Organizational Psychologist Stephen and son-in-law, Plasma Physicist Thomas, get into the weeds. Join the Facebook Group https://www.f...

Are the neutrinos really mutating? Movie physics lies. 24.07.2025

Are the neutrinos really mutating? Physicist Thomas points to some funny mistakes in the movies. Thomas and his father-in-law, Organizational Psychologist Stephen, argue about faster than light travel and generally nerd out. Join our Facebook Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music by: https://www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Human Minds in Deep Space: The Psychological Frontier 10.07.2025

How might a trip to Mars change your brain? Mars is nine months away. No escape. No return. Can your mind handle it? In this episode, we dive into the psychological toll of the journey to Mars and how isolation, confinement, and cosmic distance test the limits of human resilience. What happens to memory, time perception, and mental health in deep space? And what can we learn from astronauts, psych...

Does Chameleon Gravity Hide in Cosmic Voids? 27.06.2025

Are these the voids you're looking for? Season 2 kicks off with a bang! Thomas explains a paper he co-authored in the Journal of Cosmology and Particle Physics, exploring the question of whether chameleon screening could be part of the answer to how modified gravity might work? Where would you look to find out if high density regions might turn off modified gravity effects? Cosmic voids of course!...

Bonus: Separating Quantum Science From Quantum Woo 01.06.2025

Primordial Matter Over Mind. A recording with Thomas and Stephen as part of the Cult Hackers podcast. Quantum physics, separating the science from the woo. Music: www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is God all in the mind? And does that matter? 05.04.2025

In this, the final episode of the season, Thomas, an experimental physicist and Stephen, Organizational Psychologist explore the psychology of a belief in God. Have we evolved to believe? Is god a type of psychological attachment? If so what type? And what happens when that relationship feels abusive. Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music: www.purpl...

Is God in the Math? 04.04.2025

Does Math and Physics prove or even suggest a God or first cause? Experimental physicist Thomas gives his thoughts along with some of his own speculation about the beginning of the Universe. Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music: www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mind Mythbusters: TV & Film’s Biggest Psychology Lies 22.03.2025

TV and Film introduce us to all sorts of psychological concepts and ideas. Are they true? Or is it a case of mental misinformation? Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music: www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Playing with Plasma: Thomas' Experiment 22.03.2025

Thomas plays with plasma! Exciting stuff! He talks about his experiment for his PhD in plasma physics. Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music: www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At last! The Self Revealed 08.03.2025

Stephen makes a big claim this week! He thinks he knows what the 'self' actually is - it's probably not what you thought. Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music: www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the Universe a Donut? And Other Existential Questions 08.03.2025

A listener request today. What shape is the Universe? Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music: www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OCEAN's Five: An explanation of self? 22.02.2025

In their continuing mission to understand the self Thomas asks Stephen to explain how trait based theories work and the use of psychometrics. Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music:  www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fusion Confusion 22.02.2025

Dad asks Thomas: exactly what is nuclear fusion? And is it still 20 years away? Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music:  www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is Consciousness? 08.02.2025

Thomas asks Stephen to explain the 'small matter' of consciousness. Stephen focuses upon the element of consciousness sometimes called a subjective experience. There is a lot of talk about this question on podcasts and YouTube channels - sometimes called the "hard question of consciousness', coined by David Chalmers. Stephen introduces the work of neuroscientists and psychologists to try to unders...

What is the Lagrangian? Also a bit of Higgs Field talk. 08.02.2025

Dad keeps hearing science podcasters talk about The Lagrangian, but it sounds like a character from the Matrix to him. Thomas takes his future father-in-law on a journey, with stops along the way at Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, System Dynamics, Energy Conservation and the Higgs Field. Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music:  www.purple-plan...

Me, Myself and Us: Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious 25.01.2025

What is an archetype? What did Jung mean when he talked about them? How did Jung draw on, and then adapt Freud's ideas about the unconscious? What is the collective unconscious? This time of Matter Over Mind we focus on the inner world of the mind. Come and join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/537847055973659 Music:  www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

The Fast and the Massless: The Science Behind the Speed of Light 25.01.2025

After watching a Sabine Hossenfelder video on YouTube claiming it might be possible to exceed the speed of light, Stephen asks Thomas whether this could be true, and just why it seems to be impossible. Also included in this episode: What is light? What is a field? What is a charge? What is the electromagnetic spectrum? How does an upside down ice-cream cone help us to understand the Universal spee...

Introducing Matter Over Mind 05.01.2025

Welcome to Matter Over Mind, your essential guide to help you make sense of the science chatter. This is a short introduction. Music:  www.purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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