Sean Carroll

Solo: Theories of Dark Energy | Mindscape 359

Sean Carroll explores the theoretical landscape of dark energy, dissecting dynamical models like quintessence and phantom energy, and modified gravity, while reflecting on their naturalness, experimental implications, and his personal contributions to the field.

Solo: Vacuum Energy and the Cosmological Constant | Mindscape 358

Explore the perplexing history and current challenges of the cosmological constant, from Einstein's initial 'blunder' to the modern 10^122 discrepancy and its profound implications for the universe's past and future.

Jeff Coller on mRNA, Vaccines, and Bespoke Therapeutics | Mindscape 357

mRNA technology, rapidly deployed for COVID-19 vaccines, is poised to revolutionize medicine by enabling rapid, personalized therapies for genetic diseases and cancer, but faces significant delivery and regulatory challenges.

Andrea Wulf on Enlightenment, Nature, Romanticism, and Modernity | Mindscape 356

Historian Andrea Wulf explores how 18th-century thinkers like Georg Forster, Alexander von Humboldt, and the Jena Circle fundamentally reshaped our understanding of nature, humanity, and the individual, laying the groundwork for modernity and environmentalism.

Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | June 2026

Sean Carroll fields a diverse range of listener questions, from the hypothetical Pope Leo XIV's stance on AI to the intricacies of quantum cyclic universes, the philosophy of free will, and the future of science and society.

Solo: Looking Quantum Mechanics in the Eyeball | Mindscape 355

Sean Carroll argues that fundamental reality in quantum mechanics is an abstract vector in Hilbert space, and familiar concepts like space and locality are emergent properties, not fundamental.

Christian List on Free Will and Levels of Reality | Mindscape 354

Christian List redefines free will as an emergent property of intentional agents, compatible with physical determinism at lower levels, and applicable to AI and corporate entities.

Alvin Roth on the Economics of Morally Contested Markets | Mindscape 353

Nobel laureate Alvin Roth unpacks the complex economics of 'morally contested markets,' revealing why societal bans often fail and how market design can address critical shortages in areas like organ donation.

Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | May 2026

Sean Carroll tackles a wide array of listener questions, from the detectability of antimatter and the nuances of anthropic reasoning to the weaponization of rationality and the profound implications of consciousness and mortality, all while sharing personal reflections on sports fandom and the impact of AI on education.

Bing Brunton on Connecting the Connectome to the Body | Mindscape 352

Neuroscientist Bing Brunton reveals how mapping the fruit fly's brain wiring led to the discovery of a minimal three-neuron circuit responsible for walking rhythms, challenging assumptions about brain-body interaction and the utility of connectomes.

Peter Singer on Maximizing Good for All Sentient Creatures | Mindscape 351

Philosopher Peter Singer outlines his journey to hedonistic utilitarianism, advocating for objective moral reasoning to maximize well-being for all sentient beings and tackle global issues like poverty and factory farming.

J. Eric Oliver on the Self and How to Know It | Mindscape 350

Explore the multi-layered nature of the 'self' as a dynamic process, not a fixed entity, integrating insights from physics, philosophy, and psychology to understand human experience and well-being.

Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | April 2026

Daniel Harlow on What Quantum Gravity Teaches Us About Quantum Mechanics | Mindscape 349

Quantum gravity's most profound puzzles, from black holes to the universe itself, are forcing physicists to fundamentally rethink the nature of quantum mechanics and the role of the observer.

Jessica Riskin on Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Life as Creative Agency | Mindscape 348

Re-examining the historical and scientific legacy of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck reveals a nuanced view of evolution, challenging the passive organism model and highlighting the active role of living beings in shaping their own development and environment.

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson on How Your Data Will Be Used Against You | Mindscape 347

Modern smart devices create a 'self-surveillance trap,' generating vast amounts of personal data that law enforcement can access with minimal legal safeguards, fundamentally altering privacy in the digital age.

Erica Cartmill on How Human and Animal Minds Think and Play | Mindscape 346

This episode explores the complex, non-linear nature of intelligence across human and animal species, challenging anthropocentric views and revealing the sophisticated social and cognitive abilities of great apes, dogs, and birds.

Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | March 2026

Sean Carroll explores the multifaceted nature of information, the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics and cosmology, and the societal impacts of AI and technological disruption in this wide-ranging AMA.

Adam Elga on Being Rational in a Very Large Universe | Mindscape 345

This episode explores the profound challenges to rationality and Bayesian reasoning when confronted with extreme uncertainties, such as self-locating problems in vast cosmological models or the implications of Boltzmann brains.

Adam Gurri on Liberal Democracy and How to Fight For It | Mindscape 344

Adam Gurri, founder of Liberal Currents, argues that liberalism's dominance led to complacency, making it vulnerable to modern critiques, and outlines a proactive strategy to defend and evolve its core principles for contemporary challenges.

Tom Griffiths on The Laws of Thought | Mindscape 343

Cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths explores the historical quest for the 'laws of thought,' revealing how logic, probability, and neural networks offer distinct yet complementary frameworks for understanding human and artificial intelligence, especially concerning resource constraints and inductive biases.

Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | February 2026

Rachell Powell on Evolutionary Convergence, Morality, and Mind | Mindscape 342

This episode explores the profound tension between contingency and convergence in evolution, challenging anthropocentric views and revealing how these forces shape everything from biological traits to human morality and the future of intelligence.

Stewart Brand on Maintenance as an Organizing Principle | Mindscape 341

Stewart Brand argues that maintenance, often overlooked, is a fundamental organizing principle for everything from personal well-being to global civilization, fighting the universal tendency towards decay.