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The Big Think Interview

134 episodes

Intimate interviews with the world’s biggest thinkers.

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All Episodes (134)

A man in a blazer holds up a yellow card with black line drawings and gestures with his other hand against a plain background.

The question nobody’s asking about space colonization

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9 min

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Illustration of three planets orbiting a star, with colored bands indicating the habitable zone; text reads "FINDING LIFE Habital Zone.

How close are we to finding alien life?

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19 min

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A small person stands at the base of a large staircase with the words "IT STARTS HERE" in bold black letters on a yellow background.

A neuroscientist’s guide to fixing your mind in 15 mins

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15 min

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with

Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Target symbol over a world map with a central orange circle displaying "< 2°", surrounded by numbers on concentric circles.

Is it too late for us to slow climate warming?

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6 min

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A mural shows an angel pointing toward a golden emblem, with rays emanating. Monks stand in reverence below, surrounded by flowers and architectural details.

Sam Harris: Is AI aligned with our human interests?

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13 min

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Several microphones facing forward against a blue background with the text "Agents of Conflict" above them.

Depression and anxiety triggers are ‘best practices’ in bad journalism

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11 min

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Two luminous circles connected by a glowing blue wave on a dark background, creating a sense of energy and motion.

Physicist Brian Cox explains quantum physics in 22 minutes

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22 min

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A person sitting on a chair in a studio setting with a white backdrop and two small tables on either side, each holding a small plant.

The Hard Problem of Consciousness | Annaka Harris

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11 min

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A person with long curly hair and a headband gestures with one hand, wearing a black shirt that says "everyday" and a smartwatch on the other wrist, against a plain background.

Former CIA agent: The truth about manipulation

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13 min

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Andrew Bustamante

The words "Cosmic Origins" appear in bold against a colorful, radiant explosion resembling a galaxy or cosmic event.

3 discoveries that change the way we think of the Universe

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22 min

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A person sitting on a chair in a cozy interior with brick walls, two windows, plants, and a lamp.

Are we disciplining ourselves out of happiness?

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8 min

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Oliver Burkeman

A missile in motion with the words "2025's Top Threats" against a blue background.

10 biggest world threats of 2025, ranked | Ian Bremmer

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22 min

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Close-up view of a marble sculpture's lower face, showing a smile with detailed lips and chin against a dark background.

The philosophy of happiness, explained in 10 minutes

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11 min

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A pink brain shaped like a heart with rays emanating from it against a black background.

Emotional intelligence: The 4 domains of high performance

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8 min

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Aerial view of a large cargo ship with multicolored containers navigating through deep blue ocean waters.

The basics of post-COVID monetary policy, explained by an economist

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11 min

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with

Joseph Politano

Close-up image of a human iris featuring vibrant blue and yellow hues with a dark pupil in the center.

The mystery at the heart of consciousness

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10 min

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A man with short, grayish hair, wearing a dark blazer and black shirt, stares directly at the camera against a black background.

Sam Harris: Your mind is all you have. Is yours working?

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10 min

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A person with glasses and a black blazer is looking directly at the camera against a black background.

Yuval Noah Harari’s guidebook for navigating the age of AI

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75 min

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Yuval Noah Harari

The image shows the words "Organizational Friction" in bold white text on a black background with red arrows crossing over them.

Why ‘friction thinkers’ see hidden opportunities first

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7 min

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Illustration of two human silhouettes facing each other with neural connections and nodes, featuring the text "BORN AND MADE" on a green background.

6 key abilities of strategic thinkers (you can learn them)

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7 min

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with

Michael D. Watkins

London Business School professor explains how to improve your critical inquiry skills

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6 min

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Illustration depicting human evolution from a primate to an early human holding a spear, advancing from left to right.

Everything about civilization is changing. Why aren’t our bodies evolving?

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8 min

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Sean B. Carroll

A dark background with the words "Generative AI HYPE" written in flames.

Generative AI is not the panacea we’ve been promised

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8 min

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The Earth partially submerged in water, symbolizing climate change and rising sea levels, against a black background.

Doomerism won’t fix the planet, but we can

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13 min

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Digital illustration of a human brain, displaying vibrant colors transitioning from green to blue and pink, set against a gradient and black background.

Reboot your mind for flow, unanxiousness, and resilience

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26 min

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The history of work: 3 experts debunk common myths

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25 min

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The lost art of accomplishment without burnout

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6 min

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The mind-blowing chaos that underpins the world

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11 min

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She studied extreme psychopaths. Here’s what it taught her about human nature

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11 min

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Text 'Period Myths' in bold white letters on a black background, surrounded by various-sized red spheres.

Period myths that “just need to die”

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11 min

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Related

A man in a black suit sits on a chair against a white backdrop, surrounded by several monarch butterflies on a bright blue background.

Your life is at the mercy of seemingly random tiny events

“It’s a true fact, but a bizarre one, that the reason why hundreds of thousands of people died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki rather than Kyoto and Kokura, is because of a 19-year-old vacation and a passing cloud.”

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01:36:26 min

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A man in a blazer holds up a yellow card with black line drawings and gestures with his other hand against a plain background.

The question nobody’s asking about space colonization

“There is interesting ethical questions about how we should actually conduct ourselves in [a space colonization] exploration phase.”

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9 min

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Illustration of three planets orbiting a star, with colored bands indicating the habitable zone; text reads "FINDING LIFE Habital Zone.

How close are we to finding alien life?

“There’s a long history of people claiming planets which look Earth-like, Earth 2.0, Earth twins.”

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19 min

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A person sits on a chair in front of a white backdrop in a loft-style room with brick walls, dark flooring, and two windows.

Conflict, crisis, consumption: What’s eating our nation?

“The more uncertain and scary things get in the world, the more we as humans are drawn to simple dichotomies.”

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01:18:14 min

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A small person stands at the base of a large staircase with the words "IT STARTS HERE" in bold black letters on a yellow background.

A neuroscientist’s guide to fixing your mind in 15 mins

“Being aware of your mindsets is the difference between living a conscious life, where you’re making choices in accord with what you actually want and going where you actually wanna go, versus being on autopilot and having those mindsets subconsciously drive all of your decisions.”

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15 min

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Anne-Laure Le Cunff