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This podcast is a deep exploration of the problem of consciousness. Presented by Jesse Winters, The Hard Problem reviews critical evidence in the neuroscience literature, insights from the philosophy of mind, and the author’s novel ideas in pursuit of a robust theory of consciousness.
Episodes

Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Reincarnation and Time
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Key References:
Albert Einstein 'Relativity' 1916
Dean Buonomano 'Your Brain is a Time Machine' 2017
Carlo Rovelli 'The Order of Time' 2018

Friday Feb 17, 2023
Of Myth and Madness
Friday Feb 17, 2023
Friday Feb 17, 2023
Key References:
Julian Jaynes 'The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind' 1976
Oliver Sacks 'Hallucinations' 2012

Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
Mistaken for Consciousness
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
Key References:
Bjorn Merker, Kenneth Williford, and David Rudrauf 'The Integrated Information Theory: A Case of Mistaken Identity' 2022

Friday Jan 20, 2023
Entropy and Pain
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Key References:
Brett Kagan, Andy Kitchen, Nhi Tran, Forough Habibollahi, Moein Khajehnejad, Bradyn Parker, Anjali Bhat, Ben Rollo, Adeel Razi, and Karl Friston, 'In Vitro Neurons Learn and Exhibit Sentience When Embodied in a Simulated Game World', 2022
Karl Friston 'The Free-Energy Principle: A Unified Brain Theory?' 2010

Friday Jan 06, 2023
The Reward Function
Friday Jan 06, 2023
Friday Jan 06, 2023
Key References:
Matthew Hutson 'AI learns the art of diplomacy' 2022
'Lex Fridman Podcast' #344 with Noam Brown, 2022

Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Intelligence In Vitro
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Key References:
Brett Kagan, Andy Kitchen, Nhi Tran, Forough Habibollahi, Moein Khajehnejad, Bradyn Parker, Anjali Bhat, Ben Rollo, Adeel Razi, and Karl Friston, 'In Vitro Neurons Learn and Exhibit Sentience When Embodied in a Simulated Game World', 2022
Fabrizia Claudia Guarnieri, Antoine de Chevigny, Antonio Falace, and Carlos Cardoso 'Disorders of Neurogenesis and Cortical Development', 2018

Monday Nov 28, 2022
Science and Ideology
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Key References:
'Great Dialogues of Plato' Translated by W. H. D. Rouse, 1956
The Intercept 'Leaked Documents Outline DHS's Plans to Police Disinformation', 2022
Jordan Moss and Peter J. O'Connor 'The Dark Triad Traits Predict Authoritarian Political Correctness and Alt-Right Attitudes' 2020

Saturday Nov 19, 2022
Intuitions and Elephants
Saturday Nov 19, 2022
Saturday Nov 19, 2022
Key References:
Jonathan Haidt 'The Righteous Mind' 2012
Oliver Sacks 'The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat' 1970
Kaushal Shah, Shailesh B. Jain, and Roopma Wadhwa 'Capgras Syndrome' 2022

Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Awareness and Arousal
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Key References:
Minji Lee et al. 'Quantifying Arousal and Awareness in Altered States of Consciousness Using Interpretable Deep Learning' 2022
Christof Koch 'The Quest for Consciousness' 2004
David Chalmers 'The Conscious Mind' 1996

Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Death and Consciousness
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Key References:
Michael Shermer 'The Believing Brain' 2011
Oliver Sacks 'Hallucinations' 2012
Chris Timmermann et al. 'DMT Models the Near-Death Experience' 2018
Raul Vicente et al. 'Enhanced Interplay of Neuronal Coherence and Coupling in the Dying Human Brain' 2022
Jimo Borjigin et al. 'Surge of Neurophysiological Coherence and Connectivity in the Dying Brain' 2013