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Philosophy
Examine life’s biggest questions, from ethics to existence, with curiosity and critical thinking.
Visionaries from Socrates to Steve Jobs have touted curiosity as an essential quality. Here’s how to supercharge your spirit of inquiry.
'Six Persimmons,' an ink painting by the Chinese monk Mu Qi, has long been hailed as the poster child of Zen Buddhism. But is its reputation deserved?
An influential series of books argues that the history of the world is the history of generations. Is it right?
That completely useless thing you want to get rid of — it's probably more important than you think.
This necropsy represents an early entry in what would become a tradition of performing autopsies to consider an individual’s sanctity.
Two of the answers add a dimension to physics that doesn’t belong there. Maybe we could call it "astrotheology."
In a remarkably similar way, conspiracy theories around the world cast doubt on the existence of real places.
Gladiators fought in rounds, and there were referees to enforce rules. Only rarely were gladiators killed.
In our competitive world, fortune does not appear to favor the humble — but a strong counter-narrative is emerging.
There are many things in life that cannot be improved with greater effort. Sometimes, life requires that you step back.
42mins
The Santa Fe Institute is a cradle of modern research. Our host Kmele meets some of the brilliant minds who work there.
He co-created one of TV’s funniest shows. He still felt like a failure in his 30s. This is comedian Neal Brennan’s story about conquering toxic self-talk.
Unlikely Collaborators
38mins
Our host Kmele went inside Fermilab, America’s premiere particle accelerator facility, to find out how the smallest particles in the universe can teach us about its biggest mysteries.
Borrow the same technique that produced McDonald’s, the Hawaiian pizza, the Beatles’ greatest hits, and Shakespeare’s rhetorical flair.
In hospice care and hospitals, we prioritize those with more life to live over those who are terminally ill. What is that, if not prejudice?
Once students master the basics of math, they are allowed to use calculators. The same should be true of writing and ChatGPT.
See the world through the eyes of a horse — or a cake pan.
The pursuit of excellence is a noble goal — but constantly having to prove your self-worth can derail your plans for success.
All matter particles can act as waves, and massless light waves show particle-like behavior. Can gravitational waves also be particle-like?
We need a hypothesis that accounts for both the fine-tuning of physics for life but also the arbitrariness and gratuitous suffering we find in the world.