NBN Book of the Day - Alan Lightman, “The Transcendent Brain: Spirituality in the Age of Science” (Pantheon, 2023)
Are science and spirituality incompatible? From the acclaimed author of Einstein’s Dreams comes a rich, fascinating answer to that question...
Gazing at the stars, falling in love, or listening to music, we sometimes feel a transcendent connection with a cosmic unity and things larger than ourselves. But these experiences are not easily understood by science, which holds that all things can be explained in terms of atoms and molecules. Is there space in our scientific worldview for these spiritual experiences?
According to acclaimed physicist and novelist Alan Lightman, there may be. Drawing on intellectual history and conversations with contemporary scientists, philosophers, and psychologists, Lightman asks a series of thought-provoking questions that illuminate our strange place between the world of particles and forces and the world of complex human experience. Can strict materialism explain our appreciation of beauty? Or our feelings of connection to nature and to other people? Is there a physical basis for consciousness, the most slippery of all scientific problems?
In The Transcendent Brain: Spirituality in the Age of Science (Pantheon, 2023), Lightman weaves these investigations together to propose what he calls “spiritual materialism”—the belief that we can embrace spiritual experiences without letting go of our scientific worldview. In his view, the breadth of the human condition is not only rooted in material atoms and molecules but can also be explained in terms of Darwinian evolution.
What is revealed in this lyrical, enlightening book is that spirituality may not only be compatible with science, it also ought to remain at the core of what it means to be human.
Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network’s Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. She's on Twitter @embracingwisdom. She blogs here.
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Articles of Interest - Inside The Factory
On the ten year anniversary of a horrible manufacturing disaster- a look at what has changed, what hasn’t, and the massive secret industry behind it all.
If you’d like to sign the petition from Clean Clothes Campaign, click here or head to articlesofinterest.substack.com for more links and resources on the audit industry and audit deception.
In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt - Tucker Carlson and Our Blue Check Society (with Scott Galloway)
Tucker Carlson’s ousting from Fox News shocked the masses on Monday. Andy processes the news with writer and business entrepreneur Scott Galloway, who offers his thoughts on the breakup and predicts whether we’ll see Carlson make a run for president. They also commiserate over their shared addiction to Twitter, reflect on why we should embrace AI, and discuss how to foster more empathetic men.
Keep up with Andy on Post and Twitter @ASlavitt.
Follow Scott Galloway on Twitter @profgalloway.
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- Listen to Scott’s podcast: https://profgmedia.com/the-pod/
- Check out Scott’s book, “Adrift: America in 100 Charts”: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/713560/adrift-by-scott-galloway/
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- Order Andy’s book, “Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response”: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165
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Are all our password not belong to us? Part 2 of quantum computers! Our expert Anne tells us about the current landscape of actual quantum computers in the real world. It may not be what you think!
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The NewsWorthy - Campaign Promises, New Gun Law Challenged & Marijuana with a Mission- Wednesday, April 26, 2023
The news to know for Wednesday, April 26, 2023!
Now that President Biden is officially in the 2024 race, we'll tell you what he's promising and how his top Republican rival is responding.
Also, the new law in Washington state is already being challenged in court, and there are protests and controversy in Montana involving the first transgender lawmaker in state history.
Plus, the latest ways you can protect your data on ChatGPT, the next business venture for Ben from Ben & Jerry's, and a new kind of Barbie to represent more kinds of kids.
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What A Day - Supremely Sus
There are growing calls for the Supreme Court to adopt stronger ethics rules. It follows revelations earlier this month that Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose gifts and lavish vacations paid by a major Republican donor, along with a new report from Politico involving a real estate deal between Justice Neil Gorsuch and a law firm that had business before the high court. Jay Willis, editor-in-chief of Balls & Strikes, joins us to discuss what’s being done to address the allegations.
And in headlines: a Washington D.C. jury is deliberating seditious conspiracy charges against five members of the Proud Boys, the maker of Bud Light placed two executives on leave following backlash from its collaboration with a transgender influencer, and Ben of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream has started a new cannabis venture.
Show Notes:
- Balls & Strikes – https://ballsandstrikes.org/
- POLITICO: Law firm head bought Gorsuch-owned property – https://tinyurl.com/mwtnm5xh
- What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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The Daily Signal - INTERVIEW | US Urged to ‘Reassert Its Role’ as Energy, Political ‘Power Broker’
Fred Zeidman, director and co-chair of Council for a Secure America, says the U.S. must “reassert its role as both an energy and a political power broker.”
“It’s important for the future of mankind. We now have an ability to destroy the earth, and you have a lot of folks that don’t really care if we do it or don’t do it running around with or getting close to having these weapons of mass destruction,” he says. “So, for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and the future of civilization, we have got to get a grip on this thing.”
“And we’ve got to rein in the rogue countries that are trying to destroy Western civilization and the greatest country in the history of the world, the United States of America,” says Zeidman, whose New York City-based organization focuses on U.S. energy independence as “the underpinning for U.S. security” and on a “strategic alliance with Israel [to] strengthen America’s mutual security and global standing.”
Zeidman joins today’s episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss how the U.S. can supports its allies, notably Taiwan and Ukraine; how the Biden administration’s energy policies specifically have affected U.S. national security; and how he would grade those energy policies.
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Ologies with Alie Ward - Delphinology Part 2 (DOLPHINS) with Justin Gregg
Wow. It gets weirder. Military dolphins, dolphins on drugs, sensory deprivation, deciphering dolphin language, the search for alien life, and more with the affable and knowledgeable Delphinologist Dr. Justin Gregg. Should you cuddle a dolphin? Can one kill you? Should you hire dolphins as midwives? Why do they follow boats? And what’s Drake got to do with it?
Start with Delphinology Part 1 here, or wherever you get podcasts.
Visit Dr. Justin Gregg’s website and follow him on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok
Buy Dr. Gregg’s books: If Nietzsche Were A Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity, Are Dolphins Really Smart?: The Mammal Behind the Myth, and 22 Fantastical Facts About Dolphins
He also has a Substack newsletter
A donation went to Dolphin Communication Project
More episode sources and links
Other episodes you may enjoy: Delphinology (DOLPHINS) Part 1, Functional Morphology (ANATOMY), Phonology (LINGUISTICS), Ichthyology (FISHES), Primatology (APES & MONKEYS), Corvid Thanatology (CROW FUNERALS), Biological Anthropology (SEXY APES), Gorillaology (GORILLAS), Selachimorphology (SHARKS), Screamology (LOUD VOCALIZATIONS), Laryngology (VOICEBOXES), Speech Pathology (TALKING DOGS... AND PEOPLE)
Transcripts and bleeped episodes
Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes
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Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Mark David Christenson
Transcripts by Emily White of The Wordary
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
What Next | Daily News and Analysis - The Ballad of Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson has now completed the holy trinity of cable TV news: joining — and leaving — MSNBC, CNN, and now Fox News. Why did Fox oust him so abruptly? And how did he create a feedback loop that made Fox millions — and changed American politics forever?
Guest: Nicole Hemmer, Director of the Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency at Vanderbilt University.
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