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PODCAST

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman

Neuroscientist and author David Eagleman discusses how our brain interprets the world and what that means for us. Through storytelling, research, interviews, and experiments, David Eagleman tackles wild questions that illuminate new facets of our lives and our realities.

science mental health

All Episodes

29:29

Ep82 Re Broadcast "Why Do Your 30 Trillion Cells Feel...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/12/29

Happy Holidays- New Episodes starting Jan. 5th Every cell in your body changes, so why do you have a sense of continuity of the self – as though you're the same person you were a month ago? What does this have to do with the watercraft of the Greek demigod Theseus, or the End-of-History illusion, or why you go through so much trouble to make things comfortable for your future self, even though you don't know that person? And if there really were an afterlife, what age would your deity make

en-US

33:52

Ep70 Re Broadcast "Why do our memories drift? Part 1:...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/12/22

Happy Holidays- New episodes starting Jan. 5th Why did lions look so strange in medieval European art? What does this have to do with Native American folklore, eyewitness memory of a car accident, or what a person remembers 3 years after witnessing the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center? And what does any of this have to do with flashbulb memories, misinformation, and the telephone game that you played as a child? Join Eagleman for part 1 of an astonishing journey into what we believe about our

en-US

75:32

Ep134 "What do brains teach us about morality?" with...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/12/15

Why will you make differentmoral decisions in similar circumstances? Why do some people make different choices than you? What happens when ancient moral instincts collide with modern problems such as pandemics, AI alignment, and political tribalism? Could a simple online game reduce polarization? Could you contribute to charities more effectively if you understood how your moral brain decides? Join Eagleman this week with guest Joshua Greene as weopen the hood of human morality.

en-US

46:35

Ep133 "Why do people hold misbeliefs?" with Dan Ariely

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/12/08

Why do people sometimes buy into ideas that seem obviously false from the outside, as with conspiracy theories? Is this kind of misbelief a universalfeature of human brains? Does itoffer clarity and belonging when reality feels chaotic and threatening? What would it take for you (under the right emotional conditions) to begin believing something that your past self would find unbelievable? Today we’ll speak with behavioral economist Dan Ariely, who has thought a lot about misbelief: for him

en-US

51:24

Ep132 "What will AI mean for the economy?" with...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/12/01

If AI can do everything from writing novels to designing proteins, what remains that only humans can do? What's the human advantage in a world where machines can outperform us at almost any measurable task? What does any of this have to do with Stephen King’s nightmares, Tom Cruise’s stunts, the first shoeshine caught on camera, the shortage of air conditioner repairmen, and why hyper-capable AI might actuallyincreasethe demand for unexpected jobs? Today we speak with author and

en-US

49:02

Ep131 "What do brains tell us about politics?" Part...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/11/24

How do societies work their way out of polarization? And what does the answer have to do with broken trucks, the Apollo program, the movie 'Watchmen', Iroquois Native Americans, a new idea for social media algorithms, moral taste buds, and how we can take advantage of the common threads that bond us -- coming to see each other again as fellow travelers improvising their way through the same noisy world?

en-US

45:43

Ep130 "What do brains tell us about politics?" Part...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/11/17

What do propaganda posters have in common across nation and time, and how is that related to the medial prefrontal cortex? What is behind repeating cycles of societal polarization? What does any of this have to do with the American Civil War, hippies vs soldiers, border ruffians vs free-staters, hanging chads, Pearl Harbor, and why education can serve as an immune response to mind viruses?

en-US

43:48

Ep129 "Is utopia possible or do human brains preclude...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/11/10

Would a utopia be possible? Or does our innate tribalism and jealousy make perfect societies difficult to achieve? Do we secretly love hierarchies? Why are primate brains such excellent detectors of unfairness? Why do things become more desirable when we’re told we can’t have them? Did the church’s disavowal of first-cousin marriage lead to better politics? This week Eagleman talks with psychologist Paul Bloom about the (im)possibility of achieving societal utopias.

en-US

63:22

Ep128 "Would space aliens see the world as we do?"...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/11/03

Imagine we eventually meet some alien scientists. If they can see electrons or smell photons, would their science look like ours? Is physics a universal language, or just a local dialect of the human brain? Would aliens use math, or might their truths be organized unrecognizably? Are the “laws of nature” really laws, or simply our interpretations? Join Eagleman withparticle physicist Daniel Whiteson, author of the new book “Do Aliens Speak Physics?”

en-US

60:04

EP127 "What happens when we marry brains to...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/10/27

What is a brain-computer interface? How can a paralyzed person use her brain to control a robotic arm? How can someone who's lost the gift of speech use brain signals to broadcast his voice again? Can we eventually restore autonomy and dignity so seamlessly that the technology disappears and the person reappears? Where are the ethical boundaries between restoring function and spying on private thought?Who owns the stream of neural data that represents you? Join this week with guest neuroscientist

en-US

35:39

Ep126 "Does science fiction shape reality?" with...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/10/20

How is sci-fi like a cultural research and development lab? Will we someday have AI agents that live in robot bodies, and will we be liable if they commit murder? What happens when reality is no longer verifiable? How can we create AI advocates that guide us toward self-actualization over distraction? What is a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer? This week we talk with researcher Bethany Maples about science fiction and how it might prepare us to wrestle with the deepest questions about AI, identity,

en-US

54:54

Ep125 "Why do brains need friends?" (with Ben Rein)

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/10/13

Why do human brains need social interaction? Why might AI chatbots be insufficient to scratch the itch? What do we love so much about real human touch and in-person interaction? Why doso many of us live with dogs? From empathy to introversion to social media to isolation (and what to do about it), we’ve got it all this week with guest Ben Rein, author of the new book Why Brains Need Friends.

en-US

41:34

Ep124 "Why don't we notice gaps in time?"

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/10/06

How is your consciousness like a flame that continually goes out and gets re-lit? Why can you see other people's eyes move, but you can't see your own eyes move in the mirror? And what does any of this have to do with deep sleep, anesthesia, comas, amnesia, and empires of soft-bodied creatures that came before us? Tune in this week for some science that will shift your view of reality.

en-US

40:48

Ep123 "Will AI cure loneliness?" with Paul Bloom

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/09/29

On the one hand, AI companions are (increasingly) amazing at rectifying isolation. But on the other hand, loneliness is a biological signal that pushes us towardimproving ourselves socially. So what's the right balance here? And does everyone have the same need to cure loneliness? In other words, might AI relationships mess up our young evenwhile providing a critical lifeline to our seniors? Join this week as we dive deep with psychologist Paul Bloom.

en-US

44:01

Ep122 "Why do we so rarely say what we mean?" (with...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/09/22

Why do people on a date speak in innuendo? Why do dictators squelch protests? Why do humans stand apart from the rest of the animal kingdom by blushing, laughing, and crying? And what does any of this have to do with bullies, George Costanza, or cancel culture? Join this week with cognitive scientistSteven Pinker as we discuss his new book oncommon knowledge:“When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows”.

en-US

41:35

Ep121 "What’s the secret to intelligence (in brains...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/09/15

Is AI going to go the same way as computing: from colossal LLMs owned by a few companiesto billions of networked AI agents? How does that parallel one of thegreat underappreciated secrets of the human brain? Join this week with guest MIT Media Lab professor (and AI-decentralizer) Ramesh Raskar.

en-US

33:37

Ep120 "Will AI build us into better humans?"

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/09/08

Will AI end up building us into stronger, more talented humans? What might this have to do with linguistics, the movie Arrival, self-driving cars, debate, video games, elections, chess, and the ancient game of Go? Are we going to be taken over, or instead exposed to ideas and concepts that stretch the boundaries of our thinking? Join this week to see how AI might just up the human game.

en-US

36:55

Ep119 "Why do brains believe in the unbelievable?"...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/09/01

Why are brains superstitious? Would you wear a nice sweater that belonged to a murderer? What does this have to do with lucky socks, ghosts, our interpretation of coincidences, why kids often need their special blankets, and what any of this has to do with the brain? Join this week with guest Bruce Hood to learn why it's so natural for brains to take incomplete data and infer causes.

en-US

59:15

Ep118 "Why has the brain always been our hardest...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/08/25

Howhave humans through the ages tried to crack the mysteries of the brain, and why are our theories always yoked to the most recent technologies? What does the history of brain science have to do with bumps on the skull, electricity, Frankenstein, animatronics, telegraphs, telephone exchanges, computers, and LLMs? What's the next metaphor we'll use to try to capture the brain’s magic? Join this week with guest Matthew Cobb.

en-US

60:23

Ep117 "What does brain science have to do with free...

Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman ·

2025/08/18

Most peopleclaimto be in favor of free speech, but they often mean speech from their own side (and not whatever those crazy people on the other side want to say). But from the point of view of the brain, why does free speech need to be rigorously defended? What does this have to do with internal models, printing presses, college campuses, John Stuart Mill, online indecency, cultures of honor, Robinson Crusoe, cancel culture, the importance of literature, and why free speech makes everyone safer?

en-US

148 results

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