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Why do mathematicians talk about “truth” and “beauty” in their creative work? How to define “truth” and “beauty” in a mathematical context? How do these...

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Semir Zeki

Topic Series

3:09

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What are the applications of mathematics to biology? What are the categories? For example: statistical analysis (e.g., drug effectiveness), pattern recognition (e.g., DNA...

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Gregory Chaitin

Topic Series

9:25

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Cover image for Full Interview: Uziel Awret on The Science of Consciousness

Closer To Truth journeys to Barcelona for the 31st annual conference of The Science of Consciousness. Topics include: quantum consciousness, AI and transhuman consciousness,...

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Full Interview: Uziel Awret on The Science of Consciousness

Classic Chats, CTT Chat

53:23

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Cover image for Priya Natarajan: Did the James Webb Telescope ‘Blow Up’ Cosmology?

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed galaxies that seem too massive, too early— discoveries that could shake the very foundations of cosmology. Theoretical...

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Priya Natarajan: Did the James Webb Telescope ‘Blow Up’ Cosmology?

Classic Chats, CTT Chat

14:23

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Cover image for Full Interview: Daniel Whiteson: Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality

When the long-awaited day dawns and the aliens finally arrive on Earth, they might eat us and destroy the planet―or, just maybe, they might share the secrets of the...

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Full Interview: Daniel Whiteson: Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality

Authors Series, CTT Chat

1:21:18

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Cover image for Full Interview: Dean Radin on The Science of Magic: How the Mind Weaves the Fabric of Reality

There is an idea that shakes the core of our scientific principles: That our consciousness participates in creating our physical reality. It’s an idea that runs counter to...

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Full Interview: Dean Radin on The Science of Magic: How the Mind Weaves the Fabric of Reality

Authors Series, CTT Chat

1:27:42

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NEW SERIES

Six-part interview with Sir Roger Penrose

Watch new videos on physics, cosmology, mathematics, and more on the Closer To Truth YouTube channel.

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Recent News

Perspective

What 350 different theories of consciousness reveal about reality

There are hundreds of coherent theories attempting to explain the origins of experience. Robert Lawrence Kuhn explores what they reveal about free will, AI, and life after death for NewScientist.

Perspective

Roger Penrose and Me

Robert Lawrence Kuhn reflects on 20 years of interviews with Sir Roger Penrose.

Announcement

Five Questions with Blaise Agüera y Arcas

Blaise Agüera y Arcas—AI researcher and the CTO of Technology & Society at Google—spoke to Closer To Truth about artificial intelligence, his biggest influences, and more.

Book Excerpt

Blaise Agüera y Arcas: What is Intelligence?

Read an excerpt from Blaise Agüera y Arcas' new book, "What is Intelligence?"

Announcement

New article series with IAI.tv

Closer To Truth is thrilled to announce a new article series, presented in partnership with the Institute of Art of Ideas.

Perspective

An interview with John Leslie

An interview with philosopher John Leslie, originally published by Cambridge University Press.

Curated Playlists

Some scientists claim that the universe did not have a beginning. Some theologians contend that the universe did not need a beginning. Yet the universe is expanding, and so...

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Did the Universe Begin?

Topic Series

9 videos

1:16:22

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Cover image for AI and Transhumanism: AI Consciousness & Virtual Immortality

Can machines become conscious? Can human minds live forever in digital form? Explore the radical frontier where artificial intelligence meets the mysteries of mind and...

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AI and Transhumanism: AI Consciousness & Virtual Immortality

Curated

5 videos

1:03:21

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Cover image for Death, Life After Death, Reincarnation (Part I)

What happens after we die? Is there life after death? If so, what kind of life? From heaven and hell to systems and cycles of reincarnation, we explore Hinduism, Buddhism,...

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Death, Life After Death, Reincarnation (Part I)

Topic Series

5 videos

48:47

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Cover image for Why Explore Cosmos and Consciousness?

Cosmos and consciousness seem utterly different, cosmos encompassing the vast universe, consciousness emerging from tiny brains. Yet consciousness is the basis of religion,...

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Why Explore Cosmos and Consciousness?

Topic Series

7 videos

1:15:14

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Explore our vast universe: its size, scope, beginning, expansion, ending. How did it all happen? How does it all work? Where is it all going? We target the mysteries.

playlist

Best of Cosmology

Curated

10 videos

4:27:45

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Cover image for Ultimate Questions of Existence

What is real? What is nothing? Why is there “something” rather than “nothing”? Does the nonphysical world exist? These are the ultimate questions of reality, the...

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Ultimate Questions of Existence

Curated

12 videos

5:21:15

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1 of 2

What are you interested in?

Cosmos

Questions like:
Why is there something rather than nothing? What exists? How vast is the cosmos? Are there multiple universes (multiverse)?

Consciousness

Questions like:
What is consciousness? Can brain explain mind? What are persons? Do persons have souls? Life after death? What is free will?

Meaning

Questions like:
What is God? Does God exist? Does God make sense? Is God a person? What are God’s traits? Alternative concepts of God?

2 of 2

Which formats do you prefer?

Episodes

Complete Closer To Truth TV episodes as broadcast on PBS stations nationwide in the U.S.

Topic Series

Intimate discussions with leading scientists, philosophers, and creative thinkers on hundreds of topics related to cosmos, consciousness, and meaning.

Curated Playlists

Collections of the best videos selected by the Closer To Truth team.

CTT Chats

Informal, free-flowing conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, and creative thinkers.

Seasons

All seasons of the acclaimed television series.

How can philosophy advance biology? How can biology influence philosophy? In this in-depth series on Philosophy of Biology, featuring pioneers and leaders of this burgeoning...

playlist

Season 27

Season

8 videos

3:34:16

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The Ultimate Questions of vast existence, human sentience and human futures from the perspectives of Global Philosophy of Religion, featuring diverse religions/traditions...

playlist

Season 26

Season

Watch

Art delights us, but how and why? What makes art transcendent and how does the art-transcendence nexus engage the mind? Explore art, appreciate art, with cognitive science,...

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Season 25

Season

4 videos

1:47:04

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How do Eastern traditions address the Big Questions of existence and sentience—Closer To Truth’s pillar categories of Cosmos, Life, Consciousness, Meaning? How do...

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Season 24

Season

2:13:55

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In this first series on Philosophy of Biology, Closer to Truth explores the challenges and implications of evolution.

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Season 23

Season

5 videos

2:13:54

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To seek the foundations of reality we look through the prism of mathematics. Mathematics is the universal language anyone, anywhere, can appreciate. We ask profound...

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Season 22

Season

10 videos

4:28:34

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Science explores how the world works. Breakthroughs drive science, challenging conventional wisdom, changing ways of thinking. What are Breakthroughs in science?

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Season 21

Season

13 videos

5:48:11

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Art Seeking Understanding: Art delights us, but how and why? Explore art and cognitive science, philosophy, history, theology, and more.

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Season 20

Season

10 videos

4:27:50

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Philosophical inquiries including the anthropic principle; fine-tuning in physics and cosmology; and atonement, salvation, and incarnation.

playlist

Season 19

Season

13 videos

5:48:24

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Are there multiple universes? What is extended mind? What causes consciousness? Challenges of analytic theology? If God, what’s evolution?

playlist

Season 18

Season

13 videos

5:48:20

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How did the universe begin? What exists? What are the risks of scientific knowledge? Can metaphysics discern God, and what or who is God?

playlist

Season 17

Season

13 videos

5:48:24

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Cosmos: Doomsday argument? Philosophy & science? Consciousness: Brain alone? Brains go bad? Language? Meaning: How miracles? God fallacies?

playlist

Season 16

Season

13 videos

5:48:24

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Cosmos: Reason? Implications? Consciousness: ESP mean? ESP work? Dualism? Ultimate reality? Meaning: Speculating about God? God intervenes?

playlist

Season 15

Season

13 videos

5:48:13

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Cosmos: Information? Truth? Multiverse? Consciousness: Science of consciousness? Mind heal body? Meaning: Blame God for evil? God not free?

playlist

Season 14

Season

13 videos

5:48:07

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Cosmos: Ever end? Ultimate reality? Consciousness: Death final? Free will for moral responsibility? Meaning: What causes religious belief?

playlist

Season 13

Season

13 videos

5:48:03

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Cosmos: Beginning? What is Nothing? Why anything? Consciousness: Personal identity persist? Sleep? Human uniqueness? Meaning: New atheism?

playlist

Season 12

Season

13 videos

5:47:50

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Cosmos: What is time? Infinite cosmos? Consciousness: How brains work? Free will illusion? Meaning: Alternative Gods? Resurrection? Hell?

playlist

Season 11

Season

13 videos

5:47:52

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Cosmos: Religiously ambiguous? General principles? Consciousness: Illusion? Dreams? Belief systems? Meaning: What is God? Arguing God?

playlist

Season 10

Season

13 videos

5:47:56

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Cosmos: Life inevitable? Inflation? Complexity? Consciousness: Alien intelligence? Meaning: Creator God? God all powerful? God fallacies?

playlist

Season 09

Season

13 videos

5:47:56

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Cosmos: Beyond physics? Cosmic purpose? Consciousness: ESP clues? Keep identity? Souls? Meaning: God’s nature? Evil necessary? Immortality?

playlist

Season 08

Season

13 videos

5:47:51

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Cosmos: SpaceTime? Science limits? Consciousness: How brains conscious? Survive death? Meaning: God vs science? Miracles? God & free will?

playlist

Season 07

Season

13 videos

5:47:55

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Cosmos: Cosmic structure? Quantum strange? Consciousness: ESP spirit? Brain free will? Meaning: God all knowing? Necessary? Agnosticism?

playlist

Season 06

Season

13 videos

5:47:54

Watch

Featured Topic Series

Cover image for Universe: Beginning, Vast Size, End

Did the universe have a beginning? What was it like? Will our universe end? How? How big is the cosmos? Does it go on forever, and what would that mean? How many universes...

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Universe: Beginning, Vast Size, End

Curated

5:48:03

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Cover image for The Global Philosophy of Religion Project

The Global Philosophy of Religion Project, in partnership with the University of Birmingham, aims to make the philosophy of religion a truly global field by promoting the...

playlist

The Global Philosophy of Religion Project

Project

24 videos

22:46:58

Watch

Cover image for Asking Ultimate Questions (Part I)

Push boundaries. Discern the deep essence of existence. Search the foundations of reality. Imagine all that may exist in physical realms beyond current understanding. Seek to...

playlist

Asking Ultimate Questions (Part I)

Topic Series

6 videos

49:02

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Cover image for What is Philosophy of Biology?

We ask the broadest and most fundamental questions about biology, seeking meaning, purpose and implications of biological phenomena and systems. Questions include: life,...

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What is Philosophy of Biology?

Topic Series

4 videos

35:03

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Cover image for Women in Philosophy and Physics/Cosmology

Closer To Truth is highlighting remarkable women in philosophy and physics/cosmology.

playlist

Women in Philosophy and Physics/Cosmology

Curated, Topic Series

11 videos

1:38:00

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Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered?

Episode 09

Season 04

26:46

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Cover image for Janna Levin on Black Holes and Spacetime

Janna Levin discusses black holes, spacetime, and other cosmological phenomena.

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Janna Levin on Black Holes and Spacetime

Classic Chats, CTT Chat

42:46

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Cover image for Big Questions in Free Will I?

What is free will? Do we have free will? The ‘Big Questions in Free Will’ project tackles these issues in a multi-year study. In Part I, scientists and philosophers...

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Big Questions in Free Will I?

Episode 10

Season 14

26:47

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Cover image for Are there Extra Dimensions?

Extra dimensions-beyond length, width, height-seem the stuff of science fiction. What would extra dimensions be like? Is time the fourth dimension? Could deep reality be so...

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Are there Extra Dimensions?

Episode 06

Season 04

26:45

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Death is the ultimate defeat. No matter our successes, we are all doomed to suffer the final failure. But some claim that death is not final. Can the defeat be defeated?

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Is Death Final?

Episode 06

Season 13

26:47

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Cover image for Is Time Travel Possible?

Some scientists take time travel seriously. Should you? What does time travel reveal about the nature of space and time and the laws of physics under extreme conditions?

video

Is Time Travel Possible?

Episode 06

Season 02

26:46

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Featured Contributors

Roger Penrose

Nobel Prize in Physics; Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, University of Oxford

Sabine Hossenfelder

Physicist and Science Writer, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy

Sean Carroll

Research Professor of Physics, Caltech

Michio Kaku

Professor of Physics, City College of New York; Futurist; Author

David Chalmers

Professor of Philosophy and Co-director, Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness, New York University

Sarah Coakley

Norris-Hulse Emeritus Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge; Anglican priest

V.S. Ramachandran

Distinguished Professor; Director, Center for Brain and Cognition, UC San Diego

Paul Davies

Regents' Professor, Arizona State University

The greatest thinkers. The deepest questions.

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Cosmos. Life. Mind. Meaning.

Contemporary Conversations

Newest

Semir Zeki

Gregory Chaitin

Full Interview: Uziel Awret on The Science of Consciousness

Priya Natarajan: Did the James Webb Telescope ‘Blow Up’ Cosmology?

Full Interview: Daniel Whiteson: Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality

Full Interview: Dean Radin on The Science of Magic: How the Mind Weaves the Fabric of Reality

Six-part interview with Sir Roger Penrose

Recent News

What 350 different theories of consciousness reveal about reality

Roger Penrose and Me

Five Questions with Blaise Agüera y Arcas

Blaise Agüera y Arcas: What is Intelligence?

New article series with IAI.tv

An interview with John Leslie

Curated Playlists

Did the Universe Begin?

AI and Transhumanism: AI Consciousness & Virtual Immortality

Death, Life After Death, Reincarnation (Part I)

Why Explore Cosmos and Consciousness?

Best of Cosmology

Ultimate Questions of Existence

What are you interested in?

Which formats do you prefer?

Seasons

Season 27

Season 26

Season 25

Season 24

Season 23

Season 22

Season 21

Season 20

Season 19

Season 18

Season 17

Season 16

Season 15

Season 14

Season 13

Season 12

Season 11

Season 10

Season 09

Season 08

Season 07

Season 06

Featured Topic Series

Universe: Beginning, Vast Size, End

The Global Philosophy of Religion Project

Asking Ultimate Questions (Part I)

What is Philosophy of Biology?

Women in Philosophy and Physics/Cosmology

Featured Topics

Cosmic Beginnings

Black Holes, Dark Energy, Dark Matter

Breakthroughs in Mathematics

Consciousness

Life After Death?

Eastern Traditions and the Big Questions

Popular

Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered?

Janna Levin on Black Holes and Spacetime

Big Questions in Free Will I?

Are there Extra Dimensions?

Is Death Final?

Is Time Travel Possible?

Featured Contributors

Roger Penrose

Sabine Hossenfelder

Sean Carroll

Michio Kaku

David Chalmers

Sarah Coakley

V.S. Ramachandran

Paul Davies