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I can wholeheartedly recommend Sean Carroll's Mindscape podcast if you want to listen to interesting topics related to Physics, Philosophy, Quantum Mechanics an

by eis 21d ago

I can wholeheartedly recommend Sean Carroll's Mindscape podcast if you want to listen to interesting topics related to Physics, Philosophy, Quantum Mechanics and Science in general: https://www.youtube.com/@seancarroll/videos https://www.youtube.com/@seancarroll/videos He has a talent for explaining complex topics in easy to understand terms and avoids the trap of outrage and controversy driven social media tricks like some others in the field.

giglamesh 21d ago
Thank you! I will never click on a you tube link without a solid prior recommendation. I really appreciate "complex topics in easy to understand terms" and look forward to checking this out.
- layer8 21d ago
  You don’t even have to click on a YouTube link, the podcast is here: https://preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/ https://preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/
iammjm 21d ago
Came here to say exactly this. Mindscape is great, with lots of interesting guests and topics. And new episodes come fairly frequently, 1-2 a month i think
- eis 21d ago
  He actually publishes a new episode every Monday! Once a month he publishes a special AMA episode which covers a lot of listener (Patreon subscribers) questions and usually is 3-4 hours long! I'm always looking forward to these especially :)
syspec 21d ago
It's good, but man he is pompous. Every question anyone asks is answered some form of "your question is stupid"
- Trasmatta 21d ago
  I've never once gotten that impression from him
- goatlover 21d ago
  Are you confusing Caroll with someone else? I've listened to many of his podcasts and talks. Never heard hims say anything like that.
  - AaronAPU 21d ago
    That is really interesting. To me he does sound very pompous. I still like him, but he treats most questions like the person should be ashamed of having asked something so foolish. Different interpretations of the same personality I suppose.
    - Jach 21d ago
      I don't have a great sample size but I've never thought he was being dismissive or implying something was a stupid question or someone should be ashamed of asking. However I do still think he sounds pompous, purely as a matter of the way he speaks. It's the pace, the cadence, and how he hangs on or stresses certain syllables and words. It's a recognizable style, not unique to him. Leonard Susskind has a similar one, though I'd say not as extreme. You get a more extreme form listening to various philosophers. (An example as parody here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leQ1bczMu7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leQ1bczMu7c) It usually doesn't bother me, as I can filter out the information from the presentation, but I still notice something. Reading is better than listening in part for not needing that layer of filtering.
      - AaronAPU 21d ago
        That makes sense. There is a certain honesty to it, not to throttle your speech for tact’s sake. He expresses the level of confidence he has.
  - russdill 21d ago
thisisauserid 21d ago
I can just barely recommend it. The physics is great but for a 3 hour AMA it's about 51% politics and basketball.
- sbuttgereit 21d ago
  In all honesty I think this is an unfair characterization. I've listened to his podcast for a fair number of years and I think you're exaggerating quite a bit. Mostly the episodes are specific topics with a guest who's area of research/specialty is the topic and which stay pretty well on-topic. Most of the AMA episodes are in the area's where Carroll specialize: physics and philosophy of science. It -occasionally- veers off into politics or basketball, but it's nowhere close to 51% politics and basketball. I think the most recent AMA did have more basketball than usual, and admittedly more than I like. And I am not a fan of his politics nor do I consider his political positions especially thoughtful or insightful. But those diversions are more occasional distractions than some majority of the AMA content. And in a 3+ hour Q&A format its not surprising that he's asked about those areas where his regular listeners know that he has a particular interest or position.
josh-sematic 21d ago
Seconded. I truly consider that podcast a gem of our culture. I know of no comparable resource for generally curious people willing to try and think deeply about things.
- __rito__ 21d ago
  Not that much ground covering, but you should listen to Steven Strogatz's podcasts - The Joy of x, and The Joy of Why!
briHass 21d ago
I'll add that it's my favorite podcast to listen to while falling asleep - if you do that with podcasts. Sean uses high quality audio gear (and he ships/loans similar to his guests), so the audio is almost always top notch. He also must do what I would consider to be the bare minimum of editing to normalize volumes. So many podcasts are unlistenable to me for bedtime, because of mismatched volume levels of host/guest or poor quality audio for the guest (through zoom or whatever). He also tends to speak in a smooth tone, with obvious inflection for emphasis (i.e. not monotone), but not irritatingly chipper or fake sounding like some other physics podcasters.
- mercer 21d ago
  one of my biggest pet peeves is podcasts/youtube videos that would be perfect to listen to while resting, if not for some loud and obnoxious intro/outro music. Or a too-loud background muzak track. If I want muzak I'll go to the supermarket or stand in an elevator.
__rito__ 21d ago
I go through chosen episodes from it regularly, and I can vouch for its quality. The podcast covers a niche that is not common. But all the episodes are not equally good, of course, and much depends on the guests. I really liked the Carlo Rovelli episode (#2), the Tyler Cowen episode (#19), Kip Thorne (#24), Steven Strogatz (#41), etc.

by eis 21d ago

giglamesh 21d ago

Thank you! I will never click on a you tube link without a solid prior recommendation. I really appreciate "complex topics in easy to understand terms" and look forward to checking this out.

layer8 21d ago
You don’t even have to click on a YouTube link, the podcast is here: https://preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/ https://preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/

iammjm 21d ago

Came here to say exactly this. Mindscape is great, with lots of interesting guests and topics. And new episodes come fairly frequently, 1-2 a month i think

eis 21d ago
He actually publishes a new episode every Monday! Once a month he publishes a special AMA episode which covers a lot of listener (Patreon subscribers) questions and usually is 3-4 hours long! I'm always looking forward to these especially :)

syspec 21d ago

It's good, but man he is pompous. Every question anyone asks is answered some form of "your question is stupid"

Trasmatta 21d ago
I've never once gotten that impression from him
goatlover 21d ago
Are you confusing Caroll with someone else? I've listened to many of his podcasts and talks. Never heard hims say anything like that.
- AaronAPU 21d ago
  That is really interesting. To me he does sound very pompous. I still like him, but he treats most questions like the person should be ashamed of having asked something so foolish. Different interpretations of the same personality I suppose.
  - Jach 21d ago
    I don't have a great sample size but I've never thought he was being dismissive or implying something was a stupid question or someone should be ashamed of asking. However I do still think he sounds pompous, purely as a matter of the way he speaks. It's the pace, the cadence, and how he hangs on or stresses certain syllables and words. It's a recognizable style, not unique to him. Leonard Susskind has a similar one, though I'd say not as extreme. You get a more extreme form listening to various philosophers. (An example as parody here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leQ1bczMu7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leQ1bczMu7c) It usually doesn't bother me, as I can filter out the information from the presentation, but I still notice something. Reading is better than listening in part for not needing that layer of filtering.
    - AaronAPU 21d ago
      That makes sense. There is a certain honesty to it, not to throttle your speech for tact’s sake. He expresses the level of confidence he has.
- russdill 21d ago

thisisauserid 21d ago

I can just barely recommend it. The physics is great but for a 3 hour AMA it's about 51% politics and basketball.

sbuttgereit 21d ago
In all honesty I think this is an unfair characterization. I've listened to his podcast for a fair number of years and I think you're exaggerating quite a bit. Mostly the episodes are specific topics with a guest who's area of research/specialty is the topic and which stay pretty well on-topic. Most of the AMA episodes are in the area's where Carroll specialize: physics and philosophy of science. It -occasionally- veers off into politics or basketball, but it's nowhere close to 51% politics and basketball. I think the most recent AMA did have more basketball than usual, and admittedly more than I like. And I am not a fan of his politics nor do I consider his political positions especially thoughtful or insightful. But those diversions are more occasional distractions than some majority of the AMA content. And in a 3+ hour Q&A format its not surprising that he's asked about those areas where his regular listeners know that he has a particular interest or position.

josh-sematic 21d ago

Seconded. I truly consider that podcast a gem of our culture. I know of no comparable resource for generally curious people willing to try and think deeply about things.

__rito__ 21d ago
Not that much ground covering, but you should listen to Steven Strogatz's podcasts - The Joy of x, and The Joy of Why!

briHass 21d ago

I'll add that it's my favorite podcast to listen to while falling asleep - if you do that with podcasts. Sean uses high quality audio gear (and he ships/loans similar to his guests), so the audio is almost always top notch. He also must do what I would consider to be the bare minimum of editing to normalize volumes. So many podcasts are unlistenable to me for bedtime, because of mismatched volume levels of host/guest or poor quality audio for the guest (through zoom or whatever). He also tends to speak in a smooth tone, with obvious inflection for emphasis (i.e. not monotone), but not irritatingly chipper or fake sounding like some other physics podcasters.

mercer 21d ago
one of my biggest pet peeves is podcasts/youtube videos that would be perfect to listen to while resting, if not for some loud and obnoxious intro/outro music. Or a too-loud background muzak track. If I want muzak I'll go to the supermarket or stand in an elevator.

__rito__ 21d ago

I go through chosen episodes from it regularly, and I can vouch for its quality. The podcast covers a niche that is not common. But all the episodes are not equally good, of course, and much depends on the guests. I really liked the Carlo Rovelli episode (#2), the Tyler Cowen episode (#19), Kip Thorne (#24), Steven Strogatz (#41), etc.