324 episodes

Ever wanted to know how music affects your brain, what quantum mechanics really is, or how black holes work? Do you wonder why you get emotional each time you see a certain movie, or how on earth video games are designed? Then you’ve come to the right place. Each week, Sean Carroll will host conversations with some of the most interesting thinkers in the world. From neuroscientists and engineers to authors and television producers, Sean and his guests talk about the biggest ideas in science, philosophy, culture and much more.

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas Sean Carroll | Wondery

    • Science
    • 4.8 • 3.7K Ratings

Ever wanted to know how music affects your brain, what quantum mechanics really is, or how black holes work? Do you wonder why you get emotional each time you see a certain movie, or how on earth video games are designed? Then you’ve come to the right place. Each week, Sean Carroll will host conversations with some of the most interesting thinkers in the world. From neuroscientists and engineers to authors and television producers, Sean and his guests talk about the biggest ideas in science, philosophy, culture and much more.

    Gavin Schmidt on Measuring, Predicting, and Protecting Our Climate

    Gavin Schmidt on Measuring, Predicting, and Protecting Our Climate

    I talk with climate scientist Gavin Schmidt about the past, present, and future of Earth's climate.

    • 1 hr 19 min
    Solo: Quantum Fields, Particles, Forces, and Symmetries

    Solo: Quantum Fields, Particles, Forces, and Symmetries

    To celebrate the publication of Quanta and Fields, a solo episode diving into some of the coolest aspects of quantum field theory.

    • 2 hr 12 min
    AMA | May 2024

    AMA | May 2024

    Ask Me Anything episode for May 2024.

    • 3 hr 35 min
    Gizem Gumuskaya on Building Robots from Human Cells

    Gizem Gumuskaya on Building Robots from Human Cells

    I talk with biologist and architect Gizem Gumuskaya about building robots out of human cells.

    • 1 hr 10 min
    Stefanos Geroulanos on the Invention of Prehistory

    Stefanos Geroulanos on the Invention of Prehistory

    I talk with intellectual historian Stefanos Geroulanos about the stories we tell ourselves about our prehistoric humanity.

    • 1 hr 19 min
    Leslie Valiant on Learning and Educability in Computers and People

    Leslie Valiant on Learning and Educability in Computers and People

    I talk with computer scientist Leslie Valiant about learning and educability in computers and people.

    • 1 hr 8 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
3.7K Ratings

3.7K Ratings

turbotrader ,

Outstanding Discussion

Nice interplay with his guest on peeling back the underlying properties of nature from experimental data

Literroy ,

Great science; wish advertising choices reflected that

This is an unbeatable podcast for people interested in science, or even in just thinking through issues deeply and rigorously. That said, I wish the host applied that same rigor to his choice of advertising partners. I completely understand the need to monetize the podcast given the incredible amount of work that must go into it. However, given the podcast’s emphasis on the importance of empiricism and scientific inquiry, I have to say that there have been empirical studies that show BetterHelp and similar text-based therapy platforms demonstrate no benefit to their users (or exceedingly small benefits), especially when you compare them with traditional mental health providers. I get that it’s difficult to ever fully live your values in a capitalistic system, but I do wish scientific podcast hosts (and Carroll is not the only scientific podcast host who has BetterHelp as a sponsor) would apply the same rigor they apply to everything else to their sponsors. I worry that people might take their BetterHelp ads as endorsements of the product, a product they likely wouldn’t make if they took the time to review the empirical evidence in this area.

Ben Ilan ,

This is awesome

One episode and I was hooked. This podcast goes much deeper than most others. It’s two experts talking about the universe and physics and some other things.
The one problem I have is the ads. I’m not here to hear about babbel or whatever. I would rather have the ads at the beginning and end then every 15 or so minutes.
Other than that, it’s pretty awesome

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