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MeaningofLife.tv videos — June 2018
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Jun 29, 2018 —
Robert Wright & Michael Pollan
- Michael Pollan’s new book, How to Change Your Mind
- Dissolving the ego via meditation and via psychedelics
- Brain, self, and personal narrative
- The underground subculture of psychedelic guides
- Michael feels the love and sees the unity (you had to be there)
- Do psychedelics validate scientific materialism or undermine it?
- Scientific vs. religious descriptions of psychedelic experience
- Why is the brain capable of psychedelic experiences?
- The future of psychedelics in research and society
Jun 27, 2018 —
Aryeh Cohen-Wade & Alissa Wilkinson
- First Reformed, Paul Schrader’s new film that takes Christianity seriously
- Schrader’s European art-house influences
- The film contrasts two versions of American Protestantism
- Ethan Hawke’s restrained lead performance
- Spoiler alert! Analyzing the film’s shocking twists
- The intentionally ambiguous ending
- Reaction to the film from the Christian press
Jun 26, 2018 —
Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci
- Dan and Massimo on ontology: What exists and what doesn’t?
- What, if anything, do Saturn’s rings have in common with virtue?
- Materialism as a product of scientism
- The immaterial features of human life and society
- The most important philosopher you’ve never heard of
- What does Daniel Dennett mean by “self,” anyway?
- Massimo: A single ontology isn’t enough to describe reality
Jun 25, 2018 —
Robert Wright & Stuart Hameroff
- The Hameroff-Penrose theory of quantum consciousness
- Why we’ll never construct a true artificial intelligence
- The implications of quantum consciousness for free will
- Do microtubules in the brain explain consciousness?
- How quantum physics could help us understand anesthesia
- Why Stuart doesn’t dismiss paranormal research
- Could quantum entanglement explain paranormal phenomena?
Jun 20, 2018 —
William Black & Jemar Tisby
- Jemar’s path from educator to historian
- How racial history shapes the landscape of the Deep South
- The “quiet exodus” of black Christians from white evangelical churches
- Not a “skin problem,” but a “sin problem”
- Jemar: Kindness isn’t just being polite to avoid offense
- Bill explains the historic racial divide within the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Jun 15, 2018 —
Robert Wright & Jim Holt
- Jim’s new book of essays, When Einstein Walked with Gödel
- The Platonists who believe mathematics is transcendent
- Against viewing math as transcendent
- The implications of Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem
- What’s so special about light? Einstein can explain
- Tachyons, the hypothetical particles that travel faster than light
- How Jim became a “rigorous dilettante” (with cameos by B.F. Skinner and Bette Midler)
Jun 13, 2018 —
Stephen Asma & Rami Gabriel
- Where do culture, emotion, and cognition intersect?
- Is altruism a fluke of humans’ inherently selfish nature?
- How Western individualism clouds our view of human nature
- Stephen: The strongest cultural adaptations are shared unconsciously
- An evolutionary explanation of Trump’s cult of personality
- Complicating the narrative on immigrant cultural values and success
- Reactions to Stephen’s new book, Why We Need Religion
Jun 12, 2018 —
Aryeh Cohen-Wade & Connie Wang
- Why Connie has grown sick of the cultural appropriation debate
- Nicki Minaj and the flattening of Asian cultures
- How social media escalated the cultural appropriation wars
- Why are these fights so often over fashion and food?
- Appropriation, mockery, and Halloween
- The Met Gala and Catholic-inspired fashion
- Who gets to decide that a particular outfit is “okay”?
Jun 11, 2018 —
Robert Wright & Adam Frank
- Adam’s new book, Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth
- Adam: Climate change is a civilizational inevitability
- How many planets are in our galaxy? Guess again. It’s more than that.
- How pessimists about the existence of extraterrestrial life became optimists
- Why haven’t we heard from any aliens?
- Does fighting climate change require spiritual change?
- Why the Gaia hypothesis isn’t new-age hooey
- The theoretical archaeology of exo-civilizations
Jun 7, 2018 —
William Dailey & Ross Douthat
- Ross’s new book, To Change the Church
- The strengths and weaknesses of Ross’s intellectual approach to faith
- Father Bill speaks from Ireland about the country’s recent abortion referendum
- Ross challenges liberal Catholics to explain their logic of doctrinal change
- How marriage, divorce, and communion came back into Catholic conversation
- What will people who read Ross’s book in a hundred years think of it?
Jun 4, 2018 —
Robert Wright & Brian Greene
- Why a particle isn’t what you think it is
- Reasons to doubt the many worlds interpretation
- The theory Einstein developed that he didn’t believe
- Would going back in time violate the laws of physics?
- Black holes and the natural selection of universes
- What are the strings in string theory made of?
- Audience Q and A
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