Sounds About Right: Audiobooks to Help Us Understand the World

Nicolas Humphrey has been  studying the evolution of intelligence and consciousness for over 50 years.

He has been a Lecturer in Psychology at Oxford, Assistant Director of the Subdepartment of Animal Behaviour at Cambridge, Senior Research Fellow in Parapsychology at Cambridge, Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research, New York, and School Professor at the London School of Economics.

I had the pleasure of discussing with him his book titled: Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness.

Some of the topics we discussed in this episode includes:

1. What sparked Nick's interest in exploring the evolutionary history of consciousness ?
2. What has Nick seen thats changed his perspective from his research in animal science and behaviour?
3. Phenomenal Consciousness
4. Do animals have Phenomenal Consciousness?
5. What is the criteria for a machine to possess Phenomenal Consciousness and does the rise of Artificial Intelligence, make this a possibility ?
6. What are the most pressing areas of research for consciousness in the future?

The Book and Audiobook: Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness is out now.

You can also find out more about Nick on his website https://www.humphrey.org.uk


As of now, my podcast is biweekly and prior to an episode I’ll let you know what book/audiobook I’ll be listening to before the next show so we can delve into it together!

Please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you’re in the loop whenever a new episode comes out.

www.instagram.com/SoundsAboutPod

www.twitter.com/SoundsAboutPod

Are you an author that will like to be  on the next episode of the podcast?

Listeners: Did I cover a book you read or listened to? Did I discuss the things which also stuck out to you? Or did I miss it out?..... get in touch, and let me know what your experience was or to give me audiobook recommendations: [email protected]

I had a fascinating  conversation with John-Paul (@jpreads6. His TikTok account is one of the most prominent in an engaging  and community focused niche, black literary fiction. The books mentioned in the episodes are:

• Honey and Spice, by Bolu Babalola
• The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
• Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
• Small World by Caleb Azumah Nelson
• In Every Mirror She's Black by Lola Akinmade Åkerström
• Everything is Not Enough by Lola Akinmade Åkerström
• Light Seekers by Femi Kayode
• The Perfect Find by Tia Williams
• Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan
• Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh

Some of our topics discussed were:

• What inspired John-Paul on showcasing authors from black authors and how he chooses the books to review
• How are social media platforms changing the ways books are discussed and discovered 
• How does John-Paul feel about the responsibility and influence that comes with his reviews
• Books that had a profound impact on his perspective and emotions
• How do the books on the black experience contribute towards a better understanding of diverse narratives? 
• Are there any trends he has noticed in the portrayal of black characters in the stories he's read?
• John-Pauls recommendation of an authors that deserves more recognition 
• TV adaptations of books
• Upcoming books that he's excited about

Shane O'Mara is a Professor of Experimental Brain Research in Trinity College Dublin, and am a Principal Investigator in, and currently the Director of, the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and a member of the academic staff of the School of Psychology.

I had the please of discussing with him, his latest book titled: Talking Heads: The New Science of How Conversation Shapes Our Worlds

Some of the topics discussed includes:

1. How our memories influence our conversations and the importance of group conversations
2. What happens when our mind wonders?
3. The role of conversations in shaping societies
4. The potential for conversation to build a better future and how it can contribute to positive social and societal change.

The Book and Audiobook: Talking Heads: The New Science of How Conversation Shapes Our Worlds is out now.

You can also find out more about Shane via his instagram https://www.instagram.com/shanewriter
or his substack https://brainpizza.substack.com/

I had a lovely conversation with Costa (@NotThatCosta) about all things books. His TikTok account is one of my favourite to follow to hear some fascinating book reviews and recommendations.  Fair to say that after this episode, my 'to be read list' has grown much larger! The books mentioned in this episode includes:

• 1984, by George Orwell
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?  by Beverley Tatum
• Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire by Akala
• Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman  
• Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot
  by Mikki Kendall 
• Black Boy by Richard Wright 
• On Connection by Kae Tempest  
• Don't Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri 
• Municipal Dreams: The Rise and Fall of Council Housing by John Boughton 
• The Extreme Centre by Tariq Ali 
• Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner  
• black girl, no magic: essays and reflections on living whilst black by Kimberly McIntosh 

Some of our topics discussed were:

• How did he get into reading books and if there was any book that ignited  his interest?
• Deciding on the next book to read.
• Preferring to read books that are under 400 pages
• How has some of the books he's read, contributed to a broader understanding of cultural and social issues?
• Has been a book thats challenged his preconceived notions or reconsider a particular topic
• The topic of 'Self Help Books'
• Is there a book he finds himself referencing or mentioning to others to others?
• A book he would recommend for anyone who wants to get into reading?

Patrick Fagan is a Sunday Times bestselling author, and public speaker, and consults for brands and political campaigns around the world.

I had the please of discussing with him, his latest book which he co-authored with journalist Laura Dodsworth titled: Free Your Mind: The New World of Manipulation and How to Resist It.

Some of the topics discussed includes:

1. How he came up with the idea of putting the book together
2. Why when it comes to freeing our mind, must we compare ourselves to soldiers on a battlefield 
3. How effective have governmental nudge units been?
4. How being smart, or having a high level of intellect, doesn't immune  you from being brainwashed or manipulated.
5. Do social media platforms keep us from being politically informed? and why must we practice social media distancing
6. The importance of reading
7. How changing our own information space, means we change our environment 
8. Did Patrick's life change after writing the book?

The Book and Audiobook: Free Your Mind: The New World of Manipulation and How to Resist It is out now.

You can also find out more about Pat via his twitter @PFagan87
or his website https://www.patrickfagan.co.uk/

Dr Phil Whitaker  has lived in a variety of locations around the UK including Nottingham, where he studied in medicine, and Oxford, where he undertook postgraduate training in general practice.

I had the please of discussing with him, his latest book titled: What Is a Doctor?: A GP's Prescription for the Future.
 
Using stories and case studies from across his thirty-year career as a GP,  Dr Phil Whitaker offers insight into the medical movements, political interference and societal changes that have transformed the role of doctor over the past three decades.

Some of the topics discussed includes:

1. How 'Evidence Based Medicine' has been hijacked by 'Evidence Dictated Medicine'
2. What has changed the two way relationship between a doctor and a patient?
3. Is it still an attractive job to be GP?
4. How reliable are algorithmic softwares such as'GP at Hand' and is it helping or hurting the role of being a GP?
5. Phil's thoughts on patient centred consulting in the form of: Ideas Concerns & Expectations (ICE)
6. What concepts that should be introduced to undergraduate medicine education, and is Phil optimistic for the future?

The Book and Audiobook: What Is a Doctor?: A GP's Prescription for the Future is out now.

You can also find out more about Phil via his twitter @pwhitakerwriter
or his website https://philwhitaker.co.uk

Arianne Shahvisi is a Kurdish-British writer and academic philosopher. Raised in Lancashire and Essex, she studied astrophysics and philosophy at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and now teaches applied philosophy at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, where her research focusses on gender, race, migration, and health.

She writes regularly for the London Review of Books, and her essays have also appeared in the Guardian, Prospect, the Independent, and the Economist.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Arianne about her book titled, Arguing for a Better World: How to talk about the issues that divide us.

Some of the topics discussed includes:

1. How Arianne picked the topics discussed in the book, and the importance of 'showing her working'
2.  How the tools of philosophy are useful in uncovering the topics discussed in the book.
3. How 'freedom of speech' often clashes with other rights we think are important to ourselves.
4.  How saying 'not all men are trash' trivialises and derails the conversation 
5. What is meant by ‘wokeness’ and ‘political correctness’?
6. How credibility deficits arises from stereotypes
7. Did any of Arianne's opinions change whilst writing the book or did the process reinforce her prior held beliefs? 

The Book and Audiobook: Arguing for a Better World: How to talk about the issues that divide us is out now.

You can also find out more about Arianne via her twitter @ArianneShahvisi

Professor Sean F. Ennis is an economist, author and expert. He focuses on company behavior, competition and regulation. 

He has developed economic market analysis for governments, academia and the private sector. After receiving a BA Hons from King’s College, Cambridge and a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, he spent more than two decades working on economic and regulatory topics at the OECD, the European Commission and the US Department of Justice. He is now a Professor at the University of East Anglia in England. He has advised and given seminars in more than 25 countries.

Sean has written technical articles published in academic journals, reports released by government institutions, and, most recently, the book Internet Empire: The Hidden Digital War, a lively examination of how the internet expansion of US companies has achieved consequences like those of traditional war.

I had the pleasure of discussing this book with Sean and some of the topics we discussed in this episode includes:

1. How does the internet allow the objectives of war to be achieved ?
2. Why we should think about 'Empire building' as an economic activity 
3. What is the irony in the United States victory in the internet war for control of economic activity?
4. Why has Europe lagged behind in comparison to the United States?
5. How companies such as Google has used acquisitions and mergers to maintain its dominance and minimalise competition
6. The possible government and individual responses

The Book and Audiobook: Internet Empire: The Hidden Digital War is out now.

You can also find out more about Sean on his website https://www.seanennis.com




As of now, my podcast is biweekly and prior to an episode I’ll let you know what book/audiobook I’ll be listening to before the next show so we can delve into it together!

Please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you’re in the loop whenever a new episode comes out.

www.instagram.com/SoundsAboutPod

www.twitter.com/SoundsAboutPod

Are you an author that will like to be  on the next episode of the podcast?

Listeners: Did I cover a book you read or listened to? Did I discuss the things which also stuck out to you? Or did I miss it out?..... get in touch, and let me know what your experience was or to give me audiobook recommendations: [email protected]

Bart Elmore is an award-winning professor and writer who investigates the impact of big business on our environment.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Bart about his latest book titled: Country Capitalism: How Corporations from the American South Remade Our Economy and the Planet. Where in the book, he uses the histories of five southern firms―Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Walmart, FedEx, and Bank of America―to investigate the environmental impact of our have-it-now, fly-by-night, buy-on-credit economy.

Some of the topics we discussed in this episode includes:

1. How did Bart choose the five companies the  in the book and what were the things about the companies he wanted to examine?
2. We discuss the term 'commercial ecology'
3. How did government spending have so much of an impact on how these companies managed to grow so big?
4. Delta Airlines and what were the ecological issues as a result of its growth
5. When did Banks start to become the target of environmental activism?
6. How is The Bank of America accredited as a sustainability leader but also dubbed 'The Bank of Coal?'
7. Will there be further urbanisation of the Southern landscape or has this time passed?

The Book and Audiobook: Country Capitalism: How Corporations from the American South Remade Our Economy and the Planet is out now.

You can also find out more about Bart on his website https://www.bartelmore.com/




As of now, my podcast is biweekly and prior to an episode I’ll let you know what book/audiobook I’ll be listening to before the next show so we can delve into it together!

Please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you’re in the loop whenever a new episode comes out.

www.instagram.com/SoundsAboutPod

www.twitter.com/SoundsAboutPod

Are you an author that will like to be  on the next episode of the podcast?

Listeners: Did I cover a book you read or listened to? Did I discuss the things which also stuck out to you? Or did I miss it out?..... get in touch, and let me know what your experience was or to give me audiobook recommendations: [email protected]

Dr. Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator with one foot in the world of practice--as the head of strategy at Wieden+Kennedy, NY--and one foot in the world of academia--as a clinical assistant professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

His deep understanding of brand strategy and consumer behavior has helped him bridge the academic-practitioner gap for blue-chip brands and startups alike. Over the course of his career, Marcus has developed a practice for creating culturally contagious ideas that inspire people to take action. His strategies and creative contributions have led to the launch and success of Google’s “Real Tone” technology, the “Made In America” music festival, and the Brooklyn Nets–among others.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Marcus about his latest book titled: For the Culture: The Power Behind the World's Most Successful Brands, from Apple to Beyoncé

Some of the topics we discussed includes: 

1. Why is Culture a word that is often used, but misunderstood and what are the systems that make it up?
2. The ways brands can tap into culture and how they find their 'congregation'  rather than  'audience'
3. How can brands identify with people and align their message with ones beliefs.
4. Evaluation & Legitimisation: how this taps into the idea of giving something meaning.
5. Meaning Incongruence: and why is this something that often happens with brands who are trying to get a message across. 

The Book and Audiobook: For the Culture: The Power Behind the World's Most Successful Brands, from Apple to Beyoncé
 is out now.

You can also find out more about Marcus on his website http://marctothec.com




As of now, my podcast is biweekly and prior to an episode I’ll let you know what book/audiobook I’ll be listening to before the next show so we can delve into it together!

Please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you’re in the loop whenever a new episode comes out.

www.instagram.com/SoundsAboutPod

www.twitter.com/SoundsAboutPod

Are you an author that will like to be  on the next episode of the podcast?

Listeners: Did I cover a book you read or listened to? Did I discuss the things which also stuck out to you? Or did I miss it out?..... get in touch, and let me know what your experience was or to give me audiobook recommendations: [email protected]