Did you know that an artificial intelligence named "Eugene Goostman" recently passed the Turing Test, our gold standard criterion for whether an AI is conscious? At least, that's what many media outlets breathlessly reported. In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo take a critical look at Eugene, and at the Turing test in general as a standard for consciousness. In the process they debate what it would mean for an AI to be conscious, and how we could ever tell.
Jul 27, 2014•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Julia and Massimo talk about the problems with "race" as a genetically-based concept. Starting with the controversial recent book "A Troublesome Inheritance," by NY Times science writer Nicholas Wade, they critique the statistical analyses that group people into racial categories, and Wade's (and others') attempts to attribute differences between rich and poor countries to innate racial differences.
Jul 13, 2014•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ever heard someone sigh, "That's just human nature"? Have you wondered what that meant? In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo delve into the science and philosophy of human nature: what traits are "built in" to being human, and how would we know? And once we know what human nature consists of, should we try to protect it against changes?
Jun 29, 2014•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast For all the sniping that goes on between science and philosophy it's easy to forget that both fields are part of "scientia," the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo discuss the latter's new "Scientia Salon" online journal, how the boundaries blur between math, science and philosophy, and how the Internet can change scientific research.
Jun 15, 2014•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rebecca Newberger Goldstein -- philosopher, author, and Genius-grant recipient -- returns to the Rationally Speaking podcast to discuss her latest book, "Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away." Rebecca, Julia and Massimo argue over the value of philosophy in modern science, and whether it makes sense to designate "experts" in ethical reasoning.
Jun 01, 2014•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide," wrote Albert Camus. In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Massimo and Julia discuss the ethics of suicide through the lens of several major philosophies. They also explore the social science of suicide: how does one person's suicide affect the community?
May 18, 2014•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Does the future belong to MOOCs? Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs for short, have been hailed as the next wave in secondary education, poised to replace brick-and-mortar colleges with their expensive infrastructure and sky-high tuition. In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo discuss how to measure MOOCs' effectiveness, separating the hype from the genuine promise.
May 04, 2014•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rationally Speaking returns to NECSS for a live show with Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist and author of best selling books like The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe from Nothing. Julia and Massimo chat with Lawrence about whether the laws of the universe demand some kind of explanation, whether string theory should be deemed a failure, and how he ended up featured in a geocentrist documentary.
Apr 20, 2014•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Atheist activist and author Greta Christina appears on this episode of Rationally Speaking, to discuss her new book, "Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, And Why." A spirited debate ensues, in which Greta, Julia and Massimo disagree over the boundaries of the "atheist movement," and the role of social justice in it. Other topics include: The cognitive biases that can make it hard to get a clear picture of whether people regret "coming out" as atheists; Plus, Greta's argumen...
Apr 06, 2014•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can you find beauty -- even romance -- in mathematics? Mathematician Edward Frenkel, author of "Love and Math," joins Rationally Speaking to talk about how the subject seduced him as a young man, and how he believes it's generally mis-taught in schools. Other topics include: the search for a "grand unified theory" of mathematics, and the splash Edward caused when he produced -- and starred in -- "Rites of Love and Math," a steamy short film about equations.
Mar 24, 2014•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson returns for this episode of Rationally Speaking, with a particular question to discuss: Should he call himself an atheist? The impetus is a recent dust-up over Neil's appearance on Big Think, in which he explained that he avoids the label "atheist" because it causes people to make all sorts of unflattering (and often untrue) assumptions. Julia and Massimo reply with some counterarguments, and along the way delve into the philosophy of language.
Mar 09, 2014•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode features special guest Zach Weinersmith, author of "Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal," a popular webcomic about philosophy and science. Zach clarifies his position in the ongoing "philosophy vs. science" fight, poses a question to Julia and Massimo about the ethics of offensive jokes, and discusses BAHFest, his "Bad Ad Hoc Hypotheses" conference lampooning evolutionary psychology and his movie "Starpocalype." Somehow along the way, the three take a detour into discussing an unusual...
Feb 23, 2014•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Those among us who loathed high school calculus might feel some trepidation at the premise in this week's episode of Rationally Speaking. MIT Physicist Max Tegmark joins us to talk about his book "Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality" in which explains the controversial argument that everything around us is made of math. Max, Massimo and Julia explore the arguments for such a theory, how it could be tested, and what it even means.
Feb 09, 2014•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, recorded live at the Jefferson Market Library in New York City, Rationally Speaking podcast celebrates its 100th episode! The show features a full hour of audience Q’s and Julia & Massimo’s A’s. Topics range from science, philosophy and the borderlands between the two. The questions push the hosts to think on their feet, and even to admit their ignorance on stage!
Jan 27, 2014•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Creative geniuses are always a little bit cuckoo, right? At least, that's the impression you'd get from TV, movies, and plenty of common wisdom. In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Massimo and Julia are joined by psychologist Judith Schlesinger, author of The Insanity Hoax: Exposing the Myth of the Mad Genius, who explains why she thinks the "mad genius" archetype is simply the result of folklore, misunderstanding, and bad research.
Dec 22, 2013•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast What qualifies someone as mentally ill? The standard for diagnosis is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which just released a 5th edition in 2013 -- but just how objective is it? This episode of Rationally Speaking features Dr. Jerome Wakefield, psychiatrist, PhD in philosophy, and author of "The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder." Julia, Massimo and Jerome talk about the arbitrariness of the DSM and the controversie...
Dec 08, 2013•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Few philosophers have as wide of an impact on the general public as ethicist Peter Singer, this week's guest on Rationally Speaking podcast. Singer's utilitarian arguments about how we should treat animals, why we have a moral obligation to give to charity, whether infants should count as "people," and more have won him widespread fame -- and notoriety -- over the last few decades, and launched multiple movements. Tune in to hear his discussion with Massimo and Julia about why he's a utilitarian...
Nov 25, 2013•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast It seems like a week can't go by without a news story about how neuroscience has discovered the neurological basis of love, morality, addiction, you name it. Yet how much explanatory power does neuroscience really have -- and are we putting too much trust in its findings? On this episode of Rationally Speaking, Massimo and Julia explore these questions with psychiatrist Sally Satel and professor of psychology Scott O. Lilienfeld, the authors of "Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neur...
Nov 10, 2013•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is the mind a kind of computer? This episode of Rationally Speaking features philosopher Gerard O'Brien from the University of Adelaide, who specializes in the philosophy of mind. Gerard, Julia, and Massimo discuss the computational theory of mind and what it implies about consciousness, intelligence, and the possibility of uploading people onto computers.
Oct 27, 2013•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast What's the difference between science and pseudocience -- and is it even possible to draw a clean line separating them? In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Massimo and Julia interview philosopher Maarten Boudry from Ghent University. Tune in to hear them discuss Massimo and Maarten's new book, "Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem"... and stick around to learn how Maarten pranked theologians.
Oct 03, 2013•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo talk to physicist and climatologist Michael Mann about how we know the climate is getting warmer. Among other things, they cover the physical processes of climate change, the role that predictive models have played in confirming scientists' theories about the rate of warming, and what are uncertainties in the science. Also, how optimistic we should be about technological solutions to the problem. Dr. Michael E. Mann is Distinguished Profe...
Sep 29, 2013•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast How has alternative medicine managed to become so mainstream? This episode of Rationally Speaking features Dr. Paul Offit, award-winning specialist in vaccines, immunology and pediatrics, and author of popular books such as "Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine." Julia and Massimo interview Dr. Offit about the fight against alternative medicine, why it's still unregulated, and whether or not to tell patients about placebos.
Sep 15, 2013•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode of Rationally Speaking, Massimo and Julia survey the present, past, and future of skepticism. Special guest Kendrick Frazier, editor of Skeptical Inquirer, talks about how the movement's focus has changed and what the frontiers of skepticism should be. Kendrick Crosby Frazier is a science writer and editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine for over 30 years. He is also a former editor of Science News, author or editor of ten books, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Ad...
Sep 01, 2013•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo turn their attention to connoisseurship -- or snobbery, depending on your point of view! Fine wines, bottled water, high-end audio equipment -- what all these have in common are passionate customers who are discriminating enough to pay top dollar for subtle differences between options. Or are they? This episode explores the evidence on whether connoisseurs can really tell the difference between, for example, the $7 wine and the $700 one -...
Jun 30, 2013•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Looking for love online? You're not alone -- one in five new relationships nowadays begin on a dating site. But just how scientific are the "matching algorithms" sites like eHarmony and OKCupid use? What does cognitive psychology tell us about how this new choice context affects our happiness? Massimo and Julia turn an analytical eye on the math and science of online dating, in this episode of Rationally Speaking.
Jun 16, 2013•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast The next time you're kicking yourself for some stupid mistake, remember: Even history's genuises screw up! Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio joins this episode of Rationally Speaking to talk about his latest book, "Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe." Learn about why Darwin's theory of natural selection "shouldn't" have worked, why Einstein was confused about the role of aesthetics in phy...
Jun 03, 2013•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Astrophysicist and author Sean Carroll joins this episode of Rationally Speaking, to talk about "naturalism" -- the philosophical viewpoint that there are no supernatural phenomena, and the universe runs on scientific laws. Sean, Julia, and Massimo discuss what distinguishes naturalism from similar philosophies like physicalism and materialism, and what a naturalistic worldview implies about free will, consciousness, and other philosophical dilemmas. And they return to that long-standing debate:...
May 19, 2013•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why does the universe exist? And is that even a sensical question to ask? Philosopher Jim Holt has written extensively for publications such as the New Yorker, the New York Times and Harper's, and most recently embarked on this "existential detective story" in his new book, "Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story" Jim discusses his book with Massimo and Julia in this live episode of Rationally Speaking, taped at the 2013 Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism in New Yo...
May 05, 2013•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a special live Rationally Speaking, taped at NECSS 2013, Julia Galef moderates a lively discussion between Massimo and Michael Shermer, head of the Skeptic Society and founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine. The topic: Can science tell us what is "moral"? This discussion comes after both men have tackled the question separately in books (Massimo's Answers for Aristotle and Michael's The Science of Good and Evil), and jointly in a recent debate on the Rationally Speaking blog. Questions under ...
Apr 21, 2013•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Just like love, motherhood, and apple pie, no one could be against fairness. No one, that is, except philosopher Stephen Asma, the author of "Against Fairness." Massimo and Julia sit down with Stephen in this episode of Rationally Speaking, to talk about what he thinks is wrong with the concept of fairness -- and about certain traditional values he thinks are more important.
Apr 07, 2013•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
