The Psychosphere

By: Melanie Challenger
  • Summary

  • What is it like to be an octopus or an elephant? What kinds of minds and perceptions do they have and how can we understand these other worlds? Why do living beings behave so differently to the material world that surrounds them? And how did all this remarkable, intelligent life emerge in the first place? If you are interested in these questions, join writer and broadcaster, Melanie Challenger, in conversation with some of the world's foremost scientists and philosophers as they enter The Psychosphere...The world won't look the same again.
    Copyright Melanie Challenger
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Episodes
  • Agency in Nature
    Jun 13 2023
    A special finale episode with groundbreaking philosophers, Alan Love, Denis Walsh, John Dupre and Helen Steward. Melanie hosts a roundtable discussion on the new science of agency in nature. How did all this intelligence emerge in the first place and why do we ignore the role of the intelligence and agency of other species in our understandings of ecosystems and evolution? Why do other animals pursue their goals and where did all this purposiveness come from in the first place. Listen in to some of the best minds approaching one of the most exciting areas of new research in science.
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • Demystifying Consciousness
    Jun 13 2023
    So where did all this intelligence and agency come from in the first place? How did consciousness emerge on our planet and is it only a human property? Melanie gets into these ideas with researcher Todd Feinberg. Is it possible that the we exist in a thinking universe?
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    39 mins
  • Something to crow about
    Jun 13 2023
    Cambridge University professor Nicky Clayton discusses her pioneering work on the minds of crows and other corvids. Melanie and Nicky even get round to discussing the possibility of jackdaws performing magic tricks...
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    35 mins

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