Four renowned brain scientists tackle the conundrum of how to define, let alone study, consciousness. Their differences are immediately apparent as they attempt to describe consciousness and determine why it should include our sensory inputs, our experiences and our inner lives. They discuss the concept of “zombies” — where a mythical patient being is capable…
As two practitioners for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) square off with a traditionally-trained medical doctor and a leading public health advocate, their strongly-felt disagreements center on a question of proof: how do you tell what works and what doesn’t? All bemoan the disturbing number of bogus therapies being peddled on the Internet to desperate…
A physicist, a defense contractor, and an air force general link laboratories and battlefields. Three experts from different areas in the national defense establishment take turns offering perspectives on the importance of basic science for safeguarding our nation, especially in the absence of a large standing army. People need to be trained for complex systems,…
Drugs and talking cures: why both may be good medicine. A psychiatrist and two psychologists debate the extent to which psychoanalysis, or “talk therapy,” has been supplanted by pharmaceutical solutions in treating most psychiatric problems, including depression and anxiety. All express concern about ignoring the benefits of talk therapy, especially at a time when depression…
Weird physics may spawn the next high tech. Three scientists who research the peculiar and tantalizing world of quantum computing speculate about how the fundamentals of quantum mechanics will revolutionize computing and thereby transform our lives. Using atomic and subatomic particles to store, retrieve, and manipulate data promises more than a new way to miniaturize…
From brain development to culture, music pervades the human psyche. A neuroscientist, musicologist and an educator discuss music’s universal appeal and its importance to the development of human society. All concur its inherent symmetry and organizational principles tap into a deep human need to order, or manage, our environment. They investigate how music may affect…
Two Nobel laureates – a biologist and a physicist – take on the big questions. One of the greatest challenges facing science at the beginning of the 21st century is how do we account for the evolution of the universe, an evolution that includes the appearance of life on earth, when we know that the…
A group of biologists examine the multitude of unseen bacteria and viruses that inhabit every part of the globe, as well as the distinct differences between “good” and “bad” microbes. The guests emphasize that the key to understanding microbes is their amazing evolutionary potential, or the ability to change properties quickly. The surprising element in…
A group of distinguished physicists and astrophysicists outline the latest discoveries of how our universe began and continues to function, and marvel at how quickly the exotic becomes commonplace as they recall that until recently black holes were fantasy. They debate what could be behind the universe and postulate on the new kind of energy,…
An autistic teen helps brain researchers unravel the mysteries of the mind. Tito, a remarkable autistic teenager, joins three brain experts in a search for the causes and effects of autism, a mysterious developmental and behavioral disorder that severely impairs a person’s communication and cognitive skills. While Tito cannot speak verbally, he writes compelling and…
A skeptic duels with a Christian theologian and a scientist who is a devout Muslim on whether or not belief in an all-powerful, eternal deity is truly compatible with scientific principles and discoveries. For the theologian and the Islamic scientist, the antipathy between science and religion has been overplayed. They make the case that science…
A salon with celebrated inventors of alternative futures. Science fiction is really a look at human history, society, and even human nature. Three authors of popular science fiction spar over exactly how science fiction is constrained by known science and then question the value of science fiction. The authors describe the way in which science…