“How would you control yourself if you knew you were one of the only five people to have guns? You would be an asshole!” –– Ian Edwards Are you "man enough" for non-monogamy? Could citizen gun ownership deter crazy cops? Can brutal honesty launch your comedy career? This week, comedian [Ian Edwards][1], fresh off the release of his album 100% Half-Assed (on Conan O’Brian’s Team Coco Records) talks guns, sex, and laughs with host [Jason Gots][2], and stuns him into silence for a full three second...
Dec 12, 2015•30 min
What are the limits of tolerance? Can people with fundamentally different world views coexist peacefully? Is faith incompatible with reason? In the wake of the recent Paris attacks, these questions are more pressing than ever. In this week's episode philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris delves deep into all of the above with host Jason Gots, through the lenses of Islamic extremism, the telepathic powers of fiction, and what would happen to your identity if you could be replicated down to the...
Dec 05, 2015•43 min
"My goal is always to be laughing. Do you lose the laughter once you become too good at something?” - Maira Kalman Think Again is a spontaneous, brainy variety show – The world's brightest minds grapple with surprise topics. Artist and author Maira Kalman, best known perhaps for her startlingly original New Yorker covers, has a unique way of looking at and living in the world. On this week's episode of "Think Again," she and host Jason Gots try to sort out why they're both so terrified of math, ...
Nov 28, 2015•26 min
"There is no central logic in war. Victor Hugo wrote about street fights in Paris. In one street people are killing each other. In the next street people are enjoying their coffee. They’re not even aware of what’s happening." – Orhan Pamuk Think Again is a spontaneous intellectual variety show–The world's brightest minds grapple with surprise topics. On the heels of the publication of A Strangeness in My Mind, his extraordinary epic novel of life in Istanbul over four decades through the eyes of...
Nov 21, 2015•30 min
Smart people. Surprise topics. Deep fun. This week, actor and New Orleans native son Wendell Pierce ('The Wire', 'Treme'), author of the new book "The Wind in the Reeds," about his work at the local and national level rebuilding New Orleans over the past decade since Hurricane Katrina. Surprise clips from Big Think's interview archives launch a deep discussion between Wendell and host Jason Gots about sexuality, generosity, and the power of art across time and culture. Learn more about your ad c...
Nov 14, 2015•26 min
Send in the poets. Send in the seducers. Vulnerable people, not invulnerable drones who can mistake a wedding party for a terrorist cell. When those mistakes are made, that is how ISIS is born. – Saul Williams Saul Williams is a fiercely original, multitalented artist who burst on the scene as an actor and a slam poet in the 1998 film Slam, which won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, and as a rapper/musician with the 2001 album Amethyst Rock Star, produced by Rick Rubin. He has since released fo...
Nov 07, 2015•41 min
How to tell conspiracy and crazy apart. How six months a year "off the grid" in Mexico changes your perspective on everything. The "water bear", a possible alien life form among us. This week on Big Think's podcast, host Jason Gots talks with legendary professional wrestler, author, actor, and Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura, who has just published his latest book, American Conspiracies. Three surprise clips from Big Think's interview archives launch a thoughtful, searching, sometimes person...
Oct 30, 2015•23 min
When you lose everything, what do you reach for first? This week on Big Think's podcast, food critic Ruth Reichl, author of My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life talks with host Jason Gots about cooking, identity, and her year-long journey back to herself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 24, 2015•20 min
Is everybody leading a double life? Why are great comic books STILL NOT part of the "literary canon"? Would having a gay president actually change anything in America? This week on Big Think's podcast, Junot Díaz, Dominican-American, Pulitzer prize winning author of The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao talks with host Jason Gots about deception, culture, and techno-optimism. Three surprise clips selected from Big Think's interview archives spark intense, funny, fascinating observations on who w...
Oct 17, 2015•27 min
We surprise the world's sharpest minds with unexpected topics. This week, legendary TV producer Norman Lear, author ofEven THIS I Get to Experience joins host Jason Gots to discuss Mars colonies, immigration, and the upside of stress. “If I learned anything writing the book, it was that it’s hard to be a human being. I don’t care what the circumstances of one’s birth: if there is nothing in life that makes trouble, or mischief, we’ll make it up. It’s a hard game. But the kick is in knowing that,...
Oct 10, 2015•25 min
Fantasy can save your life but how much is too much? This week on Big Think's podcast we discuss three surprise ideas with game developer and researcher Jane McGonigal, author of the new book SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient--Powered by the Science of Games. Archival Big Think interview clips from President Grimsson of Iceland, last week's guest Salman Rushdie, and business guru Jerry Kaplan launch three in-depth discussions that may c...
Oct 03, 2015•22 min
“For most of the time, writing any book, it's not going well."–– Salman Rushdie on Think Again This week on Big Think's popular podcast, we're joined by the brilliant and occasionally notorious Salman Rushdie, author of the new book Two Years, Eight Months, and Twenty Eight Nights. Surprise video clips from Big Think's archives launch a fascinating conversation about reason, imagination, bad grammar on Twitter, theoretical physics, literary hoaxes and the late Oliver Sacks. Learn more about your...
Sep 26, 2015•22 min
Are Pirate Bay (illegal, free) and Spotify (legit, really cheap) undermining artists' incentive to create? This week on Big Think's podcast, we're joined by Freakonomics' Stephen Dubner. An interview clip from film producer Jonathan Taplin launches an in-depth discussion of the way we consume and pay (or don't pay) for media in the post-Napster age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 19, 2015•21 min
Can we escape our own irrationality? Is weaponized DNA something we should be worrying about? Does the future look like "Mad Max"? This week on Big Think's podcast, we're joined by the astounding Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt, creators and hosts of "Reply All," (one of our very favorite podcasts, EVER) and the astonishing Matt Farley writes us a theme song in under an hour. Interview clips from futurist Steven Kotler, psychologist Dan Ariely and actor/activist George Takei get us talking (and laughin...
Sep 12, 2015•28 min
Is attention an endangered species? How do you collaborate with someone who hates you? Is xenophobia a natural side effect of religion? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots is joined by actor, activist, and internet superhero George Takei. Interview clips from Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ben Parr, and Daniel Kahneman launch a lively conversation about religion,human rights, and the three types of attention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adc...
Sep 05, 2015•30 min
How do colors affect us psychologically? Will a less hierarchical, more collaborative society lead inevitably to robot wars? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots is joined by Tina Roth Eisenberg (AKA Swissmiss), Swiss-born designer and entrepreneur who runs the popular SwissMiss blog and the Creative Mornings lecture series. Interview clips from Adam Alter and Chris Fussell launch a lively discussion of design, entrepreneurship, and the purpose-driven life L...
Aug 29, 2015•23 min
Will nanobots someday deposit Shakespeare directly into our brains? If we paid politicians tons of money would they do a better job? Does epigenetics solve the nature/nurture debate? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots is joined by Mark Epstein, Buddhist-influenced psychiatrist and author of Thoughts Without a Thinker and The Trauma of Everyday Life. Interview clips from Stephen Dubner, Kayt Sukel, and Nicholas Negroponte launch a probing discussion of educ...
Aug 22, 2015•31 min
Can anything cure what ails America? What's a "genius", exactly? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, we air part two of our conversation with legendary hardcore musician and spoken word artist Henry Rollins. Interview clips from Paul Ekman and James Gleick launch a discussion of a nation divided and the character traits of "geniuses". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 15, 2015•25 min
Can "positive thinking" keep you physically and mentally young? Do schools kill creativity? Should white boys ever rap or breakdance? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots is joined by Maria Konnikova, author of The Confidence Game and Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. Interview clips from Kelly McGonigal, Lawrence Krauss, and Tavis Smiley launch a discussion of 21st century education, racial identity, and the powers and limits of positive thinki...
Aug 08, 2015•23 min
At what point do sex robots become sex slaves? How are bandwidth and storage capacity changing our lives? Can you have a "personal brand" and "be yourself" at the same time? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots is joined by author and tech pundit Baratunde Thurston, "a philosopher comedian fighting for the future." Interview clips from Rick Smolan, Lawrence Krauss, and Guy Kawasaki launch a discussion of human potential, social status, identity, and how Kim ...
Aug 01, 2015•26 min
Can anyone afford college anymore? Would it help if we sold stock in students? Would Young Einstein have been a popular commodity? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots and sometime co-host Eric Sanders are joined byBrian Greene, theoretical physicist, director of the World Science Festival, and author of The Elegant Universe. An interview clip from economist Daniel Altman launches a discussion of why we bother to learn anything in the first place. Learn more...
Jul 24, 2015•16 min
Will our brainpower soon be exponentially enhanced by technology? Or will the world turn into a Terminator movie? Can genetics overcome its early history of racism? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots is joined by poet and educator Clint Smith. Two interview clips from Ray Kurzweil and Alain de Botton launch a discussion of human potential, social status, and identity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 18, 2015•22 min
Was Einstein a fashion genius? Why is Malcolm Gladwell unimpressed by search engines? What will money look like in 500 years? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots is joined by beloved actor/educator Bill Nye, host of the "Tuesdays With Bill" series on Big Think. Big Think interview clips from Simon Doonan, Malcolm Gladwell, and Kabir Sehgal launch Bill and host Jason Gots on a spirited discussion that spans continents and centuries. And Bill Nye commits, on ...
Jul 11, 2015•33 min
Is the modern world designed to kill you? Do Fitbit and meditation apps make us healthier and happier? Are women changing science for the better? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, host Jason Gots is joined by neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki, author of the book Healthy Brain, Happy Life. Two interview clips from Dan Ariely and Arianna Huffington spark lively conversation about healthy living in the modern world and the changing face of science. Learn more about your ad choice...
Jul 04, 2015•23 min
Is monogamy ridiculous? Does this change with age? What do we really want out of love and sex? In this week's episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, we're joined by legendary hardcore musician and spoken word artist Henry Rollins. This clip from columnist Dan Savage launches Henry and host Jason Gots on an intense, personal conversation about love, big cities, and whether the two are incompatible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 27, 2015•20 min
"Dealing with the everyday requires us to close ourself off. . . But when you see art you want the opposite of shutdown.. . . .How do you adjust the treble and the bass of experience as it’s coming in?" With everything competing for your attention, how do you decide what to pay attention to? Can a movie, a song, or a novel transform your life? Your society? This week, on the first ever full episode of Big Think's Think Again podcast, we're joined by psychedelic pop philosopher and futurist Jason...
Jun 20, 2015•18 min
You've got 10 minutes with Einstein. What do you talk about? Black holes? Time travel? Why not gambling? The Art of War? Contemporary parenting? Some of the best conversations happen when we find ourselves outside of our comfort zones, thrust into unfamiliar, unexpected territory. So each week on Think Again, we surprise some of the world's brightest and most energetic minds with ideas they're not at all prepared to discuss. We listen together to a short interview clip from Big Think's archives ...
Jun 04, 2015•5 min
