x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Smart Cookies

Host Zaza talks to some of the SMARTEST PEOPLE on the planet, getting his greedy hands on as many topics as he can 😋🧠

history philosophy

All Episodes

71:00

God Wills It: The HOLY WAR That Changed History...

Smart Cookies ·

2025/05/03

Nicholas Morton is an Associate Professor in Middle Eastern history at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, and has been teaching Medieval - Middle Eastern History, especially the history of the Crusades, since 2008.In the first part of our conversation on the CRUSADES, we talk about the conditions in medieval Europe at the turn of the 11th century, the religious ideas that made the prospect of a holy war possible in the first place... as well as the first military expedition that ventured to the

en

100:39

What if REALITY is an elaborate COSMIC PLAY? A...

Smart Cookies ·

2025/04/23

Dr. James Glattfelder is a theoretical physicist turned complexity scientist, who's interested in the really big picture, questions such as the nature of consciousness, the universe and reality itself. He's also the author of the book The Sapient Cosmos: What a modern-day synthesis of science and philosophy teaches us about the emergence of information, consciousness, and meaning.In this mind-bending conversation we talk about the stubborn limits of known science, mind-altering experiences, the

en

54:48

Luka Doncic and the most SHOCKING TRADE in the...

Smart Cookies ·

2025/04/11

Tim McMahon is a sports writer and journalist covering the NBA for ESPN. He is also the author of the book, Wonder Boy: Luka Doncic and the Curse of Greatness.In this conversation we talk about Luka Doncic's beginnings in the NBA, his exceptional basketball talents and competitive nature, but most of all, we talk about his involuntary move to the Los Angeles Lakers, in what is quickly becoming one of the most controversial and shocking trades in the entire history of sports.

en

67:00

How a strain of rice changed the course of human...

Smart Cookies ·

2025/03/19

Sunil Amrith is a professor of History at Yale University. He is the author of four books, and a recipient of multiple awards including a MacArthur “Genius” fellowship. His latest book is called The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years. In this conversation we explore the impact the environment has on the development of civilisations - we begin a 1000 years ago in medieval China and the Mongol Empire, move on to Europe and it's violent push outwards, discuss the many effects

en

50:48

Why are the YAKUZA going extinct? With Jake...

Smart Cookies ·

2025/02/25

Jake Adelstein was a reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper, from 1993 to 2005. He has also written for The Daily Beast/Newsweek, The Independent, and The Guardian, and is a regular contributor to The Atlantic Wire. However, most of us will probably be familiar with the name from the hit TV series Tokyo Vice, which is based on his memoir.In this conversation we talk about his pioneering career as a foreign journalist at a Japanese newspaper, his decades long reporting on crime,

en

66:07

How the FAR-RIGHT is destroying the West from within,...

Smart Cookies ·

2025/02/03

Dr. Nafeez Ahmed is a trans-disciplinary academic, investigative journalist and systems theorist, who's also the author of the best-selling book, “The Alt Reich: The Network War to Destroy the West from Within”. In this conversation we're talking about the long historical reach of the far-right, it's shadowy resurgence after WWII, as well as it's current, frightening grip on Western politics.We also discuss a role of billionaires, such as Elon Musk, in propping up these networks, the rise of Donald

en

61:30

Are we on the verge of LIVING FOREVER? With dr. Ariel...

Smart Cookies ·

2025/01/24

Dr. Ariel Zeleznikow - Johnston is a neuroscientist, and a Research Fellow at Monash University. He's also the author of the acclaimed book, The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death.In this conversation we talk about the current prospects of brain preservation, the possibilities of mind revival in the future, and also about the implications of living unimaginably long lives.

en

50:03

If we come from different cultures, do we FEEL the...

Smart Cookies ·

2025/01/08

Batja Mesquita is a social psychologist, an affective scientist, and a pioneer of cultural psychology. She is a professor of psychology at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and director of the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology at the University of Leuven. She's also the author of the groundbreaking book, “Between Us - How Cultures Create Emotions,” In this conversation we explore the complex interplay between emotions and culture, focusing on how different societies perceive and express

en

38:05

What is a HANGOVER... and how do you treat one? With...

Smart Cookies ·

2024/12/23

The holiday season is here, which means we need to have a conversation about... ALCOHOL. And that's why I invited dr. Sally Adams, an alcohol researcher from the University of Birmingham, to the pod to discuss the physiological and psychological effects of alcohol consumption, the risks associated with drinking, and the cultural expectations surrounding alcohol use. We also talked about alcohol's effects on the brain, such as impaired decision-making, as well as potential long-term health risks,

en

63:17

Does the Universe Have a Purpose? With prof. Philip Goff

Smart Cookies ·

2024/12/03

Phillip Goff is a professor of philosophy at Durham University and the author of extremely thought-provoking books, such as Consciousness and Fundamental Reality, Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness and his last one Why? The Purpose of the Universe.We talk about the utterly improbable conditions for life in the universe, the stubborn problem of human consciousness, the idea of a God of limited abilities and the purpose behind... everything.

en

90:49

How HITLER took power... and what's it got to do with...

Smart Cookies ·

2024/11/01

Timothy Ryback is the co-founder of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in the Hague. Some of His previous books include the highly acclaimed Hitler's Private Library: The Books that Shaped his Life, The Last Survivor: Legacies of Dachau, and Hitler's first Victims: The Quest for Justice.His latest book, Takeover: Hitler's Final Rise to Power just came out and has already been showered with praise. In this conversation we talk about the failing Weimar republic, Hitler's rise to

en

88:51

The history of the OCCULT with dr. Justin Sledge from...

Smart Cookies ·

2024/10/09

Dr. Justin Sledge is a professor of philosophy and religion whose work focuses on the Western Esoteric Tradition, particularly in religious and philosophical thought. He's also the host and creator of the extremely popular Youtube channel, Esoterica.In this exhilarating conversation we talk about the fascinating tradition of summoning demonic entities, mystical experiences and magic, as well as the brutal medieval persecution of esoteric practices.

en

95:02

GLADIATORS with Alexander Mariotti

Smart Cookies ·

2024/09/15

As an undying fan of Ridley Scott's Gladiator, I've always wanted to learn the real history of these celebrated, yet mysterious figures - and now I finally have the chance...Alexander Mariotti is a Roman historical consultant and a leading speaker on gladiatorial life, combat, and weaponry.Following academic work, his main focus has been working as an advisor to the media, featuring in countless documentaries, TV shows, and movies, most recently for the Amazon Prime TV show, Those about to die.We

en

93:26

Is AI mostly hype? With dr. Emmanuel Maggiori

Smart Cookies ·

2024/08/17

Dr. Emmanuel Maggiori is a software engineer, writer, and speaker, who's on a mission to help develop a more balanced view about the tech and AI industries in the midst of the relentless hype. He's also the author of the books Smart Until It's Dumb and Siliconned: How the tech industry solves fake problems, hoards idle workers, and makes doomed bets with other people's money.We talk about the potential rise of artificial consciousness, the way large language models really work, doomsday AI

en

70:44

Prof. NORMAN FINKELSTEIN on Zionism, Israeli society,...

Smart Cookies ·

2024/08/03

Professor Norman Finkelstein is a political scientist whose primary fields of research are the politics of the Holocaust and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He's the author of many books, such as The Holocaust Industry, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it, and Gaza: an Inquest into its martyrdom.We talk about the origins of Zionism, the current state of Israeli society, the horror of the conflict in Gaza, the prospects of Kamala Harris... as well as his notorious debate with the popular

en

63:51

Did we domesticate DOGS or did dogs domesticate us?...

Smart Cookies ·

2024/07/25

The story of dog domestication seems as simple as pie - humans took some wolf puppies, brought them over to the campfire and the rest is history... However, the truth is far less straightforward and far murkier, sometimes even downright bizarre.From rabbits and chickens, to dogs and cats, prof. Greger Larson, an evolutionary geneticist from University of Oxford breaks down the extremely complicated story of humans and the process of animal domestication.

en

81:49

What does the BIBLE really say? With dr. Dan McClellan

Smart Cookies ·

2024/06/26

Daniel McClellan is a scholar of the Bible and religion, and an honorary fellow at the University of Birmingham's Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion. He's also the c0-host of the Data over Dogma podcast and runs a brilliant Tik Tok channel where he tackles common questions and misunderstandings about the Bible. In this amazingly illuminating conversation we talk about the origins of the Old Testament, the historicity of its personalities, the inconsistencies in the four Gospels,

en

71:35

NEANDERTHALS with Prof. Chris Stringer

Smart Cookies ·

2024/05/31

Chris Stringer is a physical anthropologist celebrated for his work on human evolution, as well as a research leader in human origins at the Natural History Museum in London. He comes back to Smart Cookies to share of his vast knowledge on my favourite archaic humans, the Neanderthals. We discuss their origins, culture, language, technology, interbreeding with Homo Sapiens, their eventual extinction... as well as the rise of garbage origin theories propagated by the likes of Graham Hancock.

en

97:39

The French Revolution with Prof. David Andress: The...

Smart Cookies ·

2024/05/13

In the second part of the fantastic conversation about the FRENCH REVOLUTION with historian David Andress, we discuss the downward spiral of Louis XVI, the relentless reign of terror, the bloody civil wars that rocked France... as well as the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

en

81:04

The French Revolution with Prof. David Andress (Part 1)

Smart Cookies ·

2024/04/26

Professor David Andress is a renowned historian of the French Revolution at the University of Portsmouth. In this episode we talk about the prelude to arguably the most important revolution of all time, the deteriorating social conditions before the storm, the emerging class of urban revolutionaries, the that were ideas driving them... as well as the events that finally push France into irreversible turmoil.

en

76 results

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Biography Flash

Inception Point Ai