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PODCAST

Closer To Truth

Closer To Truth

Closer To Truth presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions in Cosmos, Life, Consciousness, and Meaning. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Seek your own answers.

education philosophy

All Episodes

27:02

Global Philosophy: Why Inner Life Practices?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/12/10

Compare inner-life practices among diverse religions/traditions. Islamic prayer as the core of Muslim belief. Buddhist meditation calms the mind. Hindu meditation can be theistic-devotional or non-dual inner exploration. Embodied practices in Chinese traditions.Featuring interviews with Helen De Cruz, Venerable Dr. Yifa, Swami Sarvapriyananda, Franklin Perkins, Aaron Segal, and Hamza Yusuf.

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28:37

Blaise Agüera y Arcas: What is Intelligence in an AI...

Closer To Truth ·

2025/12/03

This holiday season, support Closer To Truth with a tax-deductible donation of any amount.What is intelligence, and how is AI emergence a natural consequence of evolution? In his book "What Is Intelligence?" and in this conversation, Google's Blaise Agüera y Arcas takes up the idea that prediction is fundamental not only to intelligence and the brain but to life itself, and explores the wide-ranging implications. These include radical new perspectives on the computational properties of living

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27:17

Global Philosophy: What is the Person?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/11/26

Giving Tuesday is around the corner! Make a donation to Closer To Truth to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.How do diverse religions/traditions treat the “person,” present status and afterlife future? Buddhism’s no self. Hinduism’s soul illuminating the mind. Prior lives in Eastern and African traditions. Body and soul, resurrection and judgment, in Abrahamic traditions. Featuring interviews with Jay Garfield, Yang Xiao, Oludamini Ogunnaike,

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35:54

Stephen Wolfram on The Concept of the Ruliad

Closer To Truth ·

2025/11/19

Make a donation to help Closer To Truth continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.The Ruliad is a term that Stephen Wolfram developed, which he describes as the entangled limit of everything that is computationally possible, the result of following all possible computational rules in all possible ways. Stephen Wolfram is a British-American computer scientist, physicist, and businessman. He is known for his work in computer algebra and theoretical physics. In

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27:10

Global Philosophy: Is God Ultimate?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/11/12

This giving season, contribute what you can to help Closer To Truth continue exploring the world's deepest questions.Concepts of God/deities/ultimates in diverse, non-Western religions/traditions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, African. Is God/deities a “person?” Islam’s one transcendent God. Hinduism’s many schools: personal, impersonal, both. Buddhism’s no God but many deities. Featuring interviews with Hamza Yusuf, Mohammed Saleh Zarepour, Oludamini Ogunnaike, Swami Medhananda, Venerable

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81:32

Daniel Whiteson on Aliens, Physics, and the Nature of...

Closer To Truth ·

2025/11/05

Support the show with a tax-deductible donation of any amount so we can continue exploring the world's biggest questions without the need for paywalls.When the long-awaited day dawns and the aliens finally arrive on Earth, they might eat us and destroy the planet―or, just maybe, they might share the secrets of the Universe with us. When that time comes, will we be able to cross the communication barrier to beg for our lives? If the aliens do hold out those precious jewels of knowledge, will we

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50:38

Death, Life After Death, & Reincarnation

Closer To Truth ·

2025/10/29

Make a donation to Closer To Truth to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.What happens after we die? Is there life after death? If so, what kind of life? From heaven and hell to systems and cycles of reincarnation, we explore Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Chinese traditions, as well as Christianity. Featuring interviews with Hamza Yusuf, Carol Zaleski, Tao Jiang, Andrew Loke, and Yujin Nagasawa.

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27:02

Is Consciousness Ultimate?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/10/22

Make a donation to Closer To Truth to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls. How do different religions/traditions address consciousness, our inner mental awareness? Is consciousness ultimate, as in Eastern traditions, or created by God, as in Abrahamic traditions? If ultimate, what is the relationship between personal and cosmic consciousness? Featuring interviews with Jay Garfield, Swami Medhananda, Franklin Perkins, Swami Sarvapriyananda,

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47:05

Roger Penrose on Deep Reality and Quantum Mechanics

Closer To Truth ·

2025/10/15

Make a donation to Closer To Truth to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls: https://shorturl.at/OnyRqIn the first two installments of a brand new, six-part interview series with Nobel Laureate Sir Roger Penrose, we explore his approach to the deep nature of reality. Trace the intellectual and scientific history of each of his major contributions to the fields of science and philosophy, the challenges he faced, the criticisms he received, and his

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44:01

Is Mathematics Eternal?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/10/08

Contribute what you can to help Closer To Truth continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.Mathematics is like nothing else. The truths of math seem to be unrelated to anything else—independent of human beings, independent of the universe. The sum of 2 + 3 = 5 cannot not be true; this means that 3 + 2 = 5 would be true even if there were never any human beings, even if there were never a universe! When then, deeply, is mathematics? Featuring interviews

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27:17

What is Global Philosophy of Religion?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/10/01

Make a donation to Closer To Truth to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.Global Philosophy of Religion seeks diverse views and fresh ways of thinking from different religions/traditions about Ultimate Questions: God, consciousness, person/self, evil/suffering, afterlife/reincarnation, world to come. It does not avoid hard differences; it celebrates them. Featuring interviews with Yujin Nagasawa, Swami Sarvapriyananda, Venerable Dr. Yifa, Tao

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42:03

Stephen Wolfram on Physics and Computation

Closer To Truth ·

2025/09/24

Make a donation to Closer To Truth to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.Physicist and computer scientist Stephen Wolfram explores how simple rules can generate complex realities, offering a bold new vision of fundamental physics and the structure of the universe. Additionally, from the foundations of cellular automata to the discovery of surprising patterns in nature, Wolfram shows how computation reshapes our understanding of reality and

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27:17

What Does Transhumanism Foreshadow?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/09/17

If you enjoy our content, consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.Humanity’s future is now framed by artificial intelligence (AI) and increasing interventions in the body to enhance features and functions. This is transhumanism. Considering the stakes, and the dangers, a philosophical perspective is imperative. Featuring interviews with Paul Griffiths, Nathan Lents, Carol Cleland, Quayshawn Spencer,

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27:02

Can We Explore Transcendence Via Art and Mind?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/09/10

Make a donation to Closer To Truth to help us continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.What is the three-way relationship among mind, art, and transcendence? What is it about art that can elicit the sense of transcendence, going beyond the self, bursting the constraining bonds of semantic language? What is it about transcendence that it can be expressed by art? What in fact is transcendence, from a momentary escape from self to a full- blown mystical

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27:17

Can Philosophy Discern Sex and Gender?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/09/03

Make a donation of any amount to help Closer To Truth continue exploring the world's deepest questions.Sexual questions abound. What is “normal” sexual behavior in light of diverse sexual variations? LGBTQ+ issues? Is sex in animal models relevant for human sexuality? A philosophical perspective can provide clarity. Featuring interviews with Nathan Lents, Joshua Swamidass, Rachell Powell, Lisa Lloyd, and Quayshawn Spencer. Watch all of Season 27 on the Closer To Truth website now.

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28:36

Can Near-Death Experiences Affect Consciousness...

Closer To Truth ·

2025/08/27

Contribute what you can to support Closer To Truth and keep our content free without the need for paywalls.Many people believe that out-of-the-body experiences (OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs) are real. We do not assess the evidence and arguments, pro or con. We do explore what OBEs and NDEs would mean, if real, for theories of consciousness. This episode features interviews with Bernardo Kastrup, Etzel Cardeña, Àlex Gómez-Marín, and Liad Mudrik.

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27:02

Evolution vs. Religion: Anything New?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/08/20

Contribute what you can to help Closer To Truth continue exploring the world's deepest questions without the need for paywalls.Two kinds of questions probe evolution vs. religion. The first explores discrepancies, even contradictions, between the science of evolution and the beliefs of religion. The second examines how religion itself evolved. Featuring interviews with Richard Dawkins, Michael Ruse, Alexander Rosenberg, Helen De Cruz, Massimo Pigliucci, and Elliott Sober.

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01:29:09

Clément Vidal on Life's Biggest Questions

Closer To Truth ·

2025/08/13

Contribute what you can to help Closer To Truth continue exploring the world's deepest questions.Clement Vidal, philosopher of science and astrobiologist, discusses the idea of something rather than nothing, differing religious worldviews, fine tuning and metaphysics, and more. Watch more CTT Chats here. Dr. Clément Vidal is a philosopher with a background in logic and cognitive sciences. He is co-director of the 'Evo Devo Universe' community and founder of the 'High Energy Astrobiology'

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27:16

How did Cognition and Emotion Evolve?

Closer To Truth ·

2025/08/06

Contribute what you can to help Closer To Truth continue exploring the world's deepest questions. What can evolution reveal about the developmental history of thinking and feeling? How did cognition and emotion (affect) co-develop over evolutionary time? Can evolution help solve the mystery of consciousness? Featuring interviews with Peter Godfrey-Smith, S. Joshua Swamidass, Rachell Powell, Denis Noble, Terrence Deacon, Paul E. Griffiths, Helen De Cruz, and John Dupré.

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42:02

Mark Bailey on AI: Consciousness, Dangers, and Morality

Closer To Truth ·

2025/07/30

Make a contribution of any amount to help Closer To Truth continue exploring life's deepest questions. Dr. Mark Bailey writes about the intersection between artificial intelligence, complexity, and national security. He is an associate professor at the National Intelligence University, where he is the Department Chair for Cyber Intelligence and Data Science, as well as the Director of the Data Science Intelligence Center. This Chat was made possible by MindFest 2025: "Sentience, Autonomy, and

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