Think Again – a Big Think Podcast
We surprise some of the world's brightest minds with ideas they're not at all prepared to discuss. With host Jason Gots and special guests Neil Gaiman, Alan Alda, Salman Rushdie, Mary-Louise Parker, Richard Dawkins, Margaret Atwood, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Saul Williams, Henry Rollins, Bill Nye, George Takei, Maria Popova, and many more . . . 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're pushed outside of our comfort zones. So each week on Think Again, we surprise smart people you've probably heard of with hand-picked gems from Big Think's interview archives on every imaginable subject. The conversation could go anywhere. SINCE 2008, BIG THINK has captured on video the best ideas of the world’s leading thinkers and doers in every field, renowned experts including neurologist Oliver Sacks, physicist Stephen Hawking, behavioral psychologist Daniel Kahneman, authors Margaret Atwood and Marylinne Robinson, entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, painter Chuck Close, and philosopher Daniel Dennett.
101
136. Michio Kaku (physicist) – Timid Monkeys on...
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and Dr. Kaku feels fine.
48 min
102
135. Niall Ferguson (historian) – The Ghost of ...
A bracing splash of cold Laphroaig in the face of some of our biggest misconceptions, from historian Niall Ferguson.
43 min
103
134. Jacob Sager Weinstein (children's author) ...
Wild boars in the sewers of London. Augmented humans of the future. Jason's high school friend, celebrated children's author Jacob Sager Weinstein on imaginary histories and possible futures.
53 min
104
133. Jeremy Bailenson (VR expert) – Through the...
The virtual reality that's coming is like nothing we've ever experienced. Now's the time to decide what it's good for.
46 min
105
132. Karl Ove Knausgaard (writer) – The Way I S...
If your vision is clear, everything is revelatory. The author of "My Struggle" on writing his way into life.
40 min
106
131. Daniel Alarcón (writer) – There's No Such ...
The stories we wrap around ourselves, our neighbors. our children. The invisible stories we struggle against.
55 min
107
130. Mark Epstein, MD (Buddhist psychiatrist) –...
While the unchecked ego might be popular at parties, it can get us into all kinds of trouble. Mark Epstein, MD combines psychotherapy and Buddhism to help people live with the self.
55 min
108
129. Fatih Akin (film director) – This Blood-Dr...
Fatih Akin has first-hand experience of strong cultural cross-winds. Ethnically Turkish and raised in Germany, he has made many films dealing with sudden dislocation and how people respond to it.
43 min
109
128. Noël Wells (actor/director) – Out of Context
100,000 years of human history and young adulthood is still getting weirder. Noël Wells on art, power, and our super dark times.
57 min
110
127. Manoush Zomorodi (journalist) – The Upside...
When was the last time you were well and truly bored? If you can't remember, you're not alone. Manoush Zomorodi on what our brains need, and what they're getting.
58 min
111
126. Maya Jasanoff (Historian) – Civilization a...
Terrorism. Technological disruption. Globalization. Life in the 1870’s was wild. Harvard historian Maya Jasanoff on Joseph Conrad, his times, and ours.
60 min
112
125. Reza Aslan (author) – Deus Ex Hominem
Since at least the dawn of our species, we've been making and remaking god(s) in our own image. The strange transformations of religion—and faith, the strange impulse that animates it.
51 min
113
124. Juli Berwald (writer) – Our Jellyfish Over...
Jellyfish have their tentacles all tangled up in our lives in ways we’re only dimly aware of.
47 min
114
123. (Henry) Rollins, Redux: Monogamy+Genius+Vi...
Two classic episodes from Think Again's origins, reunited at last.
41 min
115
122. David Eagleman (neuroscientist) – Your Cre...
Bending, breaking, & blending: How humans remake the world. Neuroscientist David Eagleman on creativity.
43 min
116
121. Van Jones (social entrepreneur) – Blind Sp...
Democracies can fail. They usually do. Van Jones on how America might become functional again.
44 min
117
120. Nancy Koehn (Historian) – Holdin' on for a...
What's a real leader anyway? Harvard historian Nancy Koehn mines history for some answers.
46 min
118
119. Aaron Mahnke (of 'Lore') – The Hunger for ...
For thousands of years, all over the world, we've told tales of monsters and the undead. Why? Aaron Mahnke, creator of the 'Lore' podcast, on the hunger for mystery.
47 min
119
118. Stephen Greenblatt (humanities scholar) – ...
Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Humanities scholar Stephen Greenblatt on an ancient, one-and-a-half-page story that just won't let us go.
55 min
120
117. Kurt Andersen (writer) – The Sleep of Reason
Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Writer Kurt Andersen on passionate kookiness as the American Way.
52 min
121
116. Claire Messud (writer) – All These Falls F...
Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Author Claire Messud on childhood, growing up, and how we contain the things that scare us.
53 min
122
115. Salman Rushdie (writer) – A Permeable Fron...
Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Author Salman Rushdie on the secret life of cities and so much more.
56 min
123
114. 2017 Mixtape #2 – Words, Values, Self, Other
The deepest, funniest, strangest moments from the past year of the Think Again podcast. Featuring Kory Stamper, Teju Cole, George Saunders, Slavoj Zizek, Jennifer Doudna, and Timothy Spall.
57 min
124
113. 2017 Mixtape #1 – Mind, Body, Authenticity...
The deepest, funniest, strangest moments from the past year of the Think Again podcast. Featuring Daniel Dennett, Sarah Goldhagen, Ian McEwan, Alison Gopnik, Erik Kandel, and Alan Alda.
49 min
125
112. Richard Dawkins (biologist) – Red in Tooth...
Spontaneous talk on surprise topics. Biologist Richard Dawkins on speaking plainly, animal cruelty, Christopher Hitchens and so much more.
53 min