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What is it like to be an octopus or an elephant? What kinds of minds and perceptions do they have and how can we understand these other worlds? Why do living beings behave so differently to the materi... more
FAQs about The Psychosphere:How many episodes does The Psychosphere have?The podcast currently has 23 episodes available.
June 13, 2023Agency in NatureA special finale episode with groundbreaking philosophers, Alan Love, Denis Walsh, John Dupre and Helen Steward. Melanie hosts a roundtable discussion on the new science of agency in nature. How did all this intelligence emerge in the first place and why do we ignore the role of the intelligence and agency of other species in our understandings of ecosystems and evolution? Why do other animals pursue their goals and where did all this purposiveness come from in the first place. Listen in to some of the best minds approaching one of the most exciting areas of new research in science....more1h 29minPlay
June 13, 2023Demystifying ConsciousnessSo where did all this intelligence and agency come from in the first place? How did consciousness emerge on our planet and is it only a human property? Melanie gets into these ideas with researcher Todd Feinberg. Is it possible that the we exist in a thinking universe?...more40minPlay
June 13, 2023Something to crow aboutCambridge University professor Nicky Clayton discusses her pioneering work on the minds of crows and other corvids. Melanie and Nicky even get round to discussing the possibility of jackdaws performing magic tricks......more36minPlay
June 13, 2023Minds in miniatureDo honeybees dream? When bees perform their famous waggle dance, is it a form of swarm intelligence? Is it a kind of language? In this episode, Melanie discusses insect intelligence with pioneer and veteran researcher Randolf Menzel. Honey will taste even sweeter......more44minPlay
June 13, 2023Hearing VoicesNovelist and psychologist Charles Fernyhough discusses his fascinating research on the phenomena of hearing voices. Some people have a "voice in their head" and others don't. Some people "hear voices" other than their own and don't view it as a pathology. Others find it distressing. This episode considers what the research has to say about human consciousness and subjectivity....more37minPlay
June 13, 2023Animal personhoodIn this episode, Brandon Keim and Melanie talk about the new science on animal personhood. How do other animals relate to one another as subjects, and how do we relate to them as intelligent beings?...more42minPlay
June 13, 2023Mind MythsScience writer Philip Ball discusses his writing life and his work on diverse kinds of minds and on the biological studies of agency in nature....more41minPlay
June 13, 2023Beyond WordsWell-known scientist and animal advocate Carl Safina discusses his work on animal cultures with Melanie. Carl makes a case for why humans aren't the only species with cultures. Are the cultures of other species overlooked in conservation? What would it mean not to only work to save animal populations but their ways of life too?...more34minPlay
June 13, 2023Creaturely connectionsBest-selling science writer Sy Montgomery discusses the idea of the psychosphere with Melanie. Sy has written about the minds and intelligence of a diverse range of animals from octopuses to goshawks. Do we need new paradigms for our understanding of the intelligence in nature and how it matters?...more32minPlay
June 13, 2023Something fishyCalum Brown is a pioneer researcher on fish cognition. He brings Melanie up to speed on the latest research on the diverse intelligences of fishes, the prejudices that still hold us back from acknowledging the mental attributes of sea creatures, and what this might mean morally....more38minPlay
FAQs about The Psychosphere:How many episodes does The Psychosphere have?The podcast currently has 23 episodes available.