Rephonic
Artwork for Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

Sean Carroll
Quantum Mechanics
Artificial Intelligence
Consciousness
Democracy
Climate Change
Cosmology
Philosophy
Complex Systems
Black Holes
Entropy
Neuroscience
Longevity
Time
Dark Matter
Free Will
Quantum Field Theory
Cancer
Aging
Emergence
Exoplanets

Ever wanted to know how music affects your brain, what quantum mechanics really is, or how black holes work? Do you wonder why you get emotional each time you see a certain movie, or how on earth video games are designed? Then you've come to the right place. Each week, Sean Carroll will host conversations with some of the most interesting thinkers in the world. From neuroscientists and engineers t... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes442Founded8 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
PhysicsScience

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

Latest Episodes

Everyone lives through time, but we continue to struggle to fully understand it. We remain unsure whether time is fundamental or emergent, why it has an arrow pointing from past to future, and how that arrow connects to our experience of time's passa... more

Black holes, as Stephen Hawking discovered, do grow old: they emit radiation, lose mass, and eventually evaporate away. But our fascination with black holes never grows old. This is especially true today, as we are seeing a flood of new data and intr... more

One of the paradoxes of science is that it seeks objectively true understanding of the world, but its methodology is driven by ignorance, failure, and uncertainty. Some phenomena we understand pretty well, but interesting research happens at the boun... more

Large Language Models display an uncanny ability to construct human-sounding speech, and can synthesize concepts in novel ways. Is this because they are truly thinking like human beings in some way, or have they found a way to be human-like without r... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

People also subscribe to these shows.

Why This Universe?
Why This Universe?Dan Hooper, Shalma Wegsman
The Quanta Podcast
The Quanta PodcastQuanta Magazine
The Joy of Why
The Joy of WhySteven Strogatz, Janna Levin and Quanta Magazine

Recent Guests

Jim Al-Khalili
Physicist and science communicator
University of Surrey (former)
Episode: 366 | Jim Al-Khalili on Time, Quantum, Biology, and Cosmology
Vitor Cardoso
Director of the Center of Gravity at the Niels Bohr Institute; theorist in general relativity, quantum gravity, and black hole physics
Center of Gravity, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen
Episode: 365 | Vitor Cardoso on Why Black Holes Are Special
Stuart Firestein
Biologist and philosopher of science, former chair of biology at Columbia University
Columbia University
Episode: 364 | Stuart Firestein on How Science Relies on Ignorance and Failure
Chandra Sripada
Philosopher and cognitive scientist in the psychiatry department at University of Michigan; expert on LLMs
University of Michigan
Episode: 363 | Chandra Sripada on How LLMs and Humans are Cognitive Cousins
Luis Bettencourt
City scientist focusing on complex systems and urban scaling
Santa Fe Institute
Episode: 362 | Luis Bettencourt on the Universal Properties of Self-Organizing Cities
Bonnie Bassler
World-leading expert on quorum sensing; guest discussed her work and discoveries
Princeton University (implied by context as a leading researcher in quorum sensing)
Episode: 361 | Bonnie Bassler on How Bacteria Talk and Work Together
Marc Berman
Professor and author, expert in Environmental Neuroscience
University of Chicago
Episode: 360 | Marc Berman on the Science of Touching Grass
Jeff Coller
Professor of RNA Biology and Therapeutics, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
Episode: 357 | Jeff Coller on mRNA, Vaccines, and Bespoke Therapeutics
Andrea Wulf
Historian of science and author
Episode: 356 | Andrea Wulf on Enlightenment, Nature, Romanticism, and Modernity

Host

Sean Carroll
Host of Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 9.8k ratings
  • Wrong

    Ideas, theories and thoughts should not end with the word”right”making the listener agree with you rather than letting one decide if something is right or wrong or needs more time to think. Stop ending your sentences with the word -right. You are not always right.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    johnfivethousand
    United States2 months ago
  • Ad nauseum

    Great content and a great show, but the new ad inserts kill everything good about it. Nothing like trying to unwind and listen to a nice talk and then have someone randomly start screaming into your ears about airfare or whatever. The ad volume alone is like 40x the volume of the podcast. How dare you, Sean…

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    largestoof
    Denmark2 months ago
  • A true gem

    Exceptional podcast. SC is providing a much needed service to modern culture by engaging a diverse group of intellectuals and broadcasting their ideas.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Wittgeinstein86
    United Kingdom3 months ago
  • Adscape

    The dynamic ads are making it virtually unbearable for me to listen to episodes. I no longer care for the AMAs; the solo episodes are not properly structured; and the main episodes are almost all book promotion, the host having almost never actually done his homework beforehand. Carroll doesn’t need my money and the quality doesn’t make it worth it to pay for the ad free version.

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    NicolasAJD
    United States3 months ago
  • Thank you

    Thank you for taking the time to do this podcast! I found you thru Brian Greene’s World Science Fest and your guest appearances in Startalk! I am so intrigued and awed by the topics you explore ! Thank you again! 🙏💎🤗

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    BrendaLMFT
    United States3 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Fans praise the show's depth and the host's thoughtful interviewing style.
Audience notes the conversations are accessible yet rigorous, with strong guests.
A few reviews call out political commentary, reflecting the host's willingness to engage with contemporary issues.
Some listeners complain about ads and pacing in certain formats.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

365 | Vitor Cardoso on Why Black Holes Are Special
Q: Aren't axions a dark matter candidate that could interact with black holes, and what does that imply for observations?
Axions could form clouds around spinning black holes and potentially affect spectra; however, zero detection so far means any such effects would be subtle or require specific mass ranges and environments to reveal themselves.
365 | Vitor Cardoso on Why Black Holes Are Special
Q: Like there's a no-hair theorem that says that all black holes are kind of simple. Can you tell us about that?
The Kerr solution shows that a black hole in vacuum is fully characterized by mass and spin, with charge typically neutralized; real astrophysical settings demand considering departures from vacuum and stationarity, but the core idea is that many details are radiated away leaving a simple description.
363 | Chandra Sripada on How LLMs and Humans are Cognitive Cousins
Q: What is the role of in-context processing versus in-weight processing in LLMs?
In-context processing involves using the prompt as a scratch pad to perform extended serial reasoning with internal tokens, while in-weight processing concerns the automatic, weight-based activation created during training; together they mirror the system-two and system-one processes seen in humans.
363 | Chandra Sripada on How LLMs and Humans are Cognitive Cousins
Q: Could LLMs be thinking in similar ways to humans, or are they just very good at sounding human?
Sripada argues that there are strong parallels in core cognitive principles, especially through prediction, in-context reasoning, and a dual-process-like organization, but clarifies that this does not imply consciousness or moral agency; the similarity is functional and mechanistic rather than a direct equivalence.
Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | August 2026
Q: Do you think the many-worlds interpretation could ever be experimentally distinguished from other interpretations?
In principle, many-worlds is compatible with standard quantum predictions, and distinguishing interpretations experimentally is challenging; what matters is how the framework provides a coherent description of decoherence, the Born rule, and empirical adequacy, rather than unique testable predictions.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A thoughtful, longform interview show that blends science, philosophy, and culture through conversations with leading researchers, authors, and thinkers. Episodes often center on big ideas—from cosmology and quantum foundations to brain science, urban systems, and the philosophy of mind—while also exploring how science fits into society, technology, and education. The host steers deep-dive discussions with guests who bring rigorous expertise and wide-ranging perspectives, making complex topics accessible and engaging for curious listeners who enjoy critical thinking and interdisciplinary dialogue. The series stands out for its sustained, exploratory format, willingness to tackle controversial or speculative questions, and the way it connect... more

Where can I find podcast stats for this podcast?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to this podcast and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does this podcast get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for this podcast, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for this podcast?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for this podcast, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does this podcast have?

To see how many followers or subscribers this podcast has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to this podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with this podcast:

1. Why This Universe?
2. The Quanta Podcast
3. Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal
4. The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss
5. The Joy of Why

How many episodes of this podcast are there?

this podcast launched 8 years ago and published 442 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact this podcast?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for this podcast?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for this podcast from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for this podcast?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of this podcast. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Jim Al-Khalili
2. Vitor Cardoso
3. Stuart Firestein
4. Chandra Sripada
5. Luis Bettencourt
6. Bonnie Bassler
7. Marc Berman
8. Jeff Coller

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days