THE RATIO PODCAST

In this episode, we talk to the biologist Matthew Cobb about the different theories about the brain and consciousness.

We discussed Matthew’s early career, which involved getting drunk for science and continued on to:

• Why does Matthew think materialism is the soundest approach to understanding the brain?
• What are the implications of determinism on the punitive law system?
• Can dogs be left- or right-handed?
• What does a dead salmon teach us about the way we set up scientific experiments?
• Is being female genetically determined?
• What does “your brain on drugs” really look like?

If you like the podcast, you can support us at patreon.com/ratiobg.

• The Idea of the Brain – a 2-hour exclusive event on his latest book, which is available for sale in Bulgaria through our store
• Where are the aliens? – the talk was part of our Ratio Forum event in 2018
• The Sense of Smell – an old talk Matthew did during his first visit to Bulgaria for Ratio Forum 2013

About the guest

Matthew Cobb is Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester. As well as studying how maggots smell, he writes popular science books, most recently Life’s Greatest Secret – The Race to Crack the Genetic Code. In 2020 he will publish The Idea of the Brain: A History.

About the podcast

Ratio Podcast is a program for intellectually curious people. We’re having informal conversations, connected with or inspired by science. Bear in mind, we’re not experts on basically anything – but thankfully most of our guests are.

You can check out more episodes via RSS, in Stitcher, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud. Most episodes are in Bulgarian, but we do interviews with international guests, as well.