This episode was recorded at 11:30 on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Yesterday (March 10), students blocked access to the state-run Serbian public television headquarters, accusing it of biased coverage. As of this recording, hundreds of students continue to block access to the building. There is a major protest scheduled for Saturday, March 15. Since No…

In this episode, the boys say goodbye to Gene Hackman, Michelle Tractanberg and David Johannsen and then discuss Severance, Horizon, Demon City and ParadiseAv Chris Hayner/John Michael

Making sense of a series of graphic representations is not simple, but our brains manage to do it with little effort. Our conversation with Neil Cohn starts out with a rethinking of language, moving from an understanding built solely on spoken language to the ability to express meaning across a range of modalities. This moves us into Neil's work on…

In this episode, the boys discuss Captain America, Severance, The producers and movie props.Av Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Cobra Kai, Severance, Super Bowl ads and the Master’s of the Universe pictures.Av Chris Hayner/John Michael

And how can complexity science help us understand them? We sit down with network scientist Gabriela Juncosa to discuss how political discourse unfolds in online spaces and whether toxic interactions shut conversations down or keep them going. We chat about the structure of online discussions, how social media algorithms influence engagement, and wh…

In this episode, the boys discuss High Potential, Yacht Rock, the Fantastic Four trailer and Fire Aid.Av Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss American Primeval, Godzilla x Kong, Severance and LocationlandAv Chris Hayner/John Michael

in this episode, the boys discuss snow, Alice In Borderland, Silo, Creature Commandoes and In A Violent NatureAv Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss the Skeleton Crew Finale, the new Daredevil trailer, Alice in Borderland and Silo.Av Chris Hayner/John Michael

We use the terms open mindedness and gaslighting a lot, but do we really understand what they mean? We sit down with Phyllis Pearson to discuss what it means to engage honestly with information and with others. We chat about curiosity and agency, empathy and perspective taking, and the blurry line between being open to the beliefs of others versus …

In this episode, the boys discuss Skeleton Crew, Silo, Goosebumps and Wicked.Av Chris Hayner/John Michael

In this episode, the boys discuss Skeleton Crew, Squid Games, Silo, The Disney Christmas Parade and what’s going on with BuzzyAv Chris Hayner/John Michael

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.Av Chris Hayner/John Michael

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

In this episode, the boys discuss Agatha All Along, Only Murders In The Building, The Penguin and Beetle Juice Beetle JuiceAv 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 PenguinAv 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.Av 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 AshtonAv 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.Av 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 BuildingAv Chris Hayner/John Michael

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

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

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

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

In this episode, the boys discuss The Acolyte, Doctor Who, Quiet On The Set and the possibility of Spaceballs 2Av 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.Av 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 DocumentaryAv 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.Av 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 SheldonAv 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…Av 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…