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Philosophy of mind

Why we laugh

Why we: a) laugh b) love TV c) have nightmares

Science

There are good reasons to do all three things, explains a cognitive scientist, although the spurs to these actions can sometimes be silly. “It’s your mind thinking, I’ve seen zombies, I need to prepare for what’s going to happen when zombies start attacking me.”

Bioethicist raises ethical questions over long-term life support

Health & Medicine

Research looks at science behind the smell of fear

Environment

Microsoft’s Bill Buxton on risk and innovation

Environment
The World

What Going Viral Means

Development & Education

Understanding ‘How the Mind Makes Meaning’

Today, The Takeaway spends the hour looking at the science of the mind, and how understanding the brain gives us new insights into how we understand ourselves. Cognitive science professor Benjamin Bergen  explains that language particularly illuminates how researchers’ understanding of the brain has evolved over time. Scientists once believed that parts of the brain were […]

The World

Myanmar to release thousands of prisoners

Conflict & Justice

The highly secretive and authoritarian nation of Myanmar announced on state-controlled television that it would grant amnesty to 6,300 prisoners. Viv Marsh, Asia-Pacific editor for the BBC, reports on the latest details of the story.

The World

China’s Reception of New US Ambassador Gary Locke

Global Politics

Gary Locke has had a series of firsts. He was the first Chinese-American governor of the United States and now is the first Chinese-American to be US ambassador to China.

Consciousness, Poetry, and Bilingual Babies

The World in Words

In this week's World in Words podcast, we take a trip inside the mind. Rhitu Chatterjee takes us through some of the recent research into the bilingual brain. Also, theoretical psychologist Nicholas Humphrey gives us his take on consciousness, and why language may be only a small part of it. Then we consider poetry, which […]

The World

Catholic Earth Spirituality

A growing number of Roman Catholics are making conscious connections between linking their faith and their concern for the earth. But as Richard Schiffman reports it’s not always easy to reconcile age-old religious traditions and a new environmental consciousness.