What is the function of emotional displays? We sit down with Thomas Ganzetti and discuss the role emotions serve in social contexts and how we use the displays of others to gather information about our realities. We chat about the evolutionary trajectory of emotional displays, how they help us navigate our environments, and what we learn about ours…

In this episode, the boys discuss Skeleton Crew, Night Court, Superman And Lois and Jack In Time.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Cobra Kai, Gundam, Dune Prophecy and The Last Dragon.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

How does the brain process music and how has the perception of music changed over time? We sit down with cognitive neuroscientist Anja-Xiaoxing Cui to chat about how we relate to music, music's role in social interactions, and how music might be used as a tool for regulating emotions. We cover theories of the emergence of music in human history, th…

What makes systemic inequality such a hard problem to tackle? We sit down with cognitive anthropologist Angarika Deb and cognitive psychologist Ákos Szegőfi and chat about their research on different aspects of the problem. We chat about the cognitive mechanisms involved in perpetuating systemic inequality both on the part of those benefiting from …

in this episode, the boys discuss the finale’s of Only Murders In The Building, The Penguin and Agatha All Along. Say goodbye to Terri Gar and Quincy Jones and talk about Cobra Kai.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

What are emotions and how do they impact cognition? We sit down with philosopher Juliette Vazard to talk about what we can learn from our emotions, the relationship between emotions and beliefs, and how emotions can shape our behavior. We cover everything from learning and curiosity, to the epistemic value of emotional states, to their impact on ho…

In this episode, the boys discuss Agatha All Along, Only Murders In the Building, Penguin and Tomb Raider.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Agatha All Along, Only Murders In The Building, The Penguin and Beetle Juice Beetle JuiceVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

Does everybody experience memory in the same way? We sit down with Andreas Arslan to chat about what we spontaneously imagine when we read or actively remember, and how everything from inferring causal relationships to the salience of symbols can impact recall. We also talk about how the structure of experience impacts and possibly even determines …

In this episode, the boys discuss Agatha All Along, Perfect Couple, Only Murders In The Building and The PenguinVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Agatha, Penguin, Only Murders, Rings of power and say goodbye to the many celebrities that died this week.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

How do we use symbols to construct and reconstruct our internal realities? We sit down with two new cohosts of The Monkey Dance, Mariem Diané and Xueyi Yao, to talk about the relationship between language and memory and the importance of symbols in abstract thought. We cover a lot of ground, going from temporal perception and learning to social dyn…

In this episode, the boys discuss Agatha All Along, Penguin, Only Murders and say goodbye to Maggie Smith and John AshtonVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys Agatha All Along, Rings of Power, Only Murders In the Building and a connection between Superman and Star Wars.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

Why do we have imagination? We sit down with philosopher Maria Fedorova to chat about what imagination is, ways to describe imagination as a process and a capacity, and whether it differs from perception and hallucination (if at all). We also discuss how imagination helps us navigate our realities, its relationship to our beliefs, and its role in e…

In this episode, the boys say goodbye to James Earl Jones, talk about KAOS, Rings Of Power and Only Murders In The BuildingVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss auto dealerships, Kaos, Evil and Only Murders In The Building.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Alien Romulus, The Umbrella Academy, Time Bandits and the DNC.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss the storm, D23 News and actor documentaries.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

How can we balance knowledge transfer and democratic empowerment? We sit down with Kristina Vasić and Ákos Szegőfi in a wide ranging discussion about the importance of access to information in a democracy, the need for institutions for knowledge transfer, and how decentralization can help deconstruct entrenched power structures. The conversation sp…

In this episode, the boys discuss Time Bandits, Twisters, Lost in Space and BatmanVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discus Comic Con, Deadpool and Wolverine, Atticus Shafer and the Open Ceremonies of the Olympics.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

What is the function of nostalgia? We sit down with Manu Sharma and talk about what makes a memory, what functions thinking about the past serves, and the impact of broader societal narratives on our senses of self. We discuss the construction of personal histories, their relationships to cultural histories, and also how historical narratives can b…

In this episode, the boys discuss the passing of Bob Newhart, the ending of The Acolyte, Cobra Kai and the new Beetlejuice Trailer.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss the passing of Shelly Duvall, Dr Ruth, Richard Simmons and Sharron Dougherty. Also discuss The Acolyte, the new Captain America trailer and Exploding KittensVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

How does the engineering of concepts impact how we think about them? We sit down with Bojin Zhu to discuss what makes a concept, how concepts change over time, and what it means to build a methodology for understanding conceptual change. We chat about the intersection of the value and meaning of concepts with their pragmatic and societal implicatio…

In this episode, the boys talk about the Acolyte, That 90’s Show, the new Beverly Hills Cop movie and the death of Martin Mull.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss The Acolyte, Doctor Who, Quiet On The Set and the possibility of Spaceballs 2Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss The Acolyte, Doctor Who, Sweet Tooth, Godzilla Minus One, Eric and Chris had a MRI.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

How is it that human beings achieve collaboration? We sit down with Arianna Curioni and chat about the cognitive science of joint action in its many forms. We talk about human robot interactions, how moving a couch is not the same as boxing, and the difference between a hammer, a neural implant, and a teammate. We also chat a bit about collaboratio…

In this episode, the boys discuss Tales Of The Empire, Doctor Who, Star Trek Discovery and the Jim Henson DocumentaryVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Star Trek Discovery, the new Beetlejuice trailer, Doctor who and the passing of Morgan Spurlock and The Fall Guy.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

What differentiates lying from other examples of communicative intent? We sit down with Akos Szegofi and talk about misinformation, institutional trust, and the cognitive mechanisms underlying information processing. We chat about skepticism, how the media has changed over time, and why the intent to deceive is as old as communication itself. Show …

In this episode, the boys say goodbye to Dabney Coleman and talk about Bas Batch, Doctor Who and Young SheldonVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this weeks episode, the boys discuss 3 body Problem, Bad Batch, XMen 97 and we interview William Shatner! Kind of…Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

Does Democracy have intrinsic value or is it only as good as what it helps us achieve? We sit down with Kristina Vasic and chat about what Democracy is, whether it is for individual autonomy or collective autonomy, and the individual's place in systems of power. We chat about disenfranchisement, inequality, and what kinds of political structures ar…

In this episode the boys discuss Fallout, the new Deadpool trailer, Bad Batch and Rock and Roll Hall of FameVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

How can we build better tools to identify and predict large scale corruption? We sit with Irene Tello Arista and chat about everything from what corruption is to the systemic pressures that bring it about, and discuss how grand corruption and petty corruption are different not only in scale but in methods. We cover a bit of Irene's background in Me…

In this episode, the boys discuss Bad Batch, Fallout, SNL and the death of OJ SimpsonVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Bad Batch, Bambi, Star Trek Discovery and a bit of Star WarsVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

Should we consider art beyond its utility? We sit down with Emily Kay Williamson to chat about what aesthetics can tell us about art's role in society and its impact on cognition. We talk about whether there is a difference between art and everyday objects, whether art has any boundaries, what there is to learn from art, and where things like journ…

In this episode, the boys discuss the passing of Louis Gossett Jr., Bad Batch, 3 body Problem and High Plains DrifterVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Ghostbusters Frozen Empire, The Bad Batch, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Trailer and Chris takes his dad to WWE.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

How we as a species define ourselves and what we do? We sit down with Aleksandra Knežević and chat about the work to integrate different fields in science and whether anybody is making a genuine attempt to do so. This takes us to questions of what science is and what it does, and how feminist thinkers have helped to improve science as an institutio…

In this episode, the boys discuss the Oscars, Bad Batch, Night Court and Jake LloydVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

How do cultures change over time? We look at the framework of cultural evolution, picking apart some of its aspects and trying to build a framework we can both agree on. We look at how you can take a systems level approach of looking at culture, which is looking at the mechanisms of culture itself, or a component level approach, which looks at indi…

In this episode, the boys discuss The Bad Batch, Resident Alien and the passing of Richard Lewis and Mark DodsonVon Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss the making of Percy Jackson, Richard Kind and Resident Alien.Von Chris Hayner/John Michael

Who is responsible for the actions of machines? Questions around who is responsible for the behavior of generative statistical algorithms, like large language models, have direct implications for our daily lives. Particularly as they become increasingly "intelligent". We chat with Pelin Kasar about the current state of philosophical debates around …