The Avid Reader Show Podcast
1) Episode 783: Eric Rath - Kanpai: The History of Sake
Lift a glass to the story of sake—from Japanese homebrew to global phenomenon. Sake, Japan’s iconic rice-based alcoholic drink, has been central to Japanese culture for over 1,300 years. Traditio...Show More
2) Episode 782: Steve Ramirez - How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist's Quest To Alter The Past
A disarmingly personal account of the new science of memory manipulation by one of today's leading pioneers in the fieldAs a graduate student at MIT, Steve Ramirez successfully created false memories ...Show More
3) Episode 781: William O. Stephens - Marcus Aurelius: Philosopher-King
The moving life and legacy of Rome’s great emperor philosopher. This book guides us through the fascinating life and writings of Marcus Aurelius, Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor. Philos...Show More
4) Episode 780: James Barrat - The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans At Everything
With the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence, both existential fears and uncritical enthusiasm for AI systems have surged. In this era of unprecedented technological growth, understanding...Show More
5) Episode 779: Michaela Vieser & Isaac Yuen - The Sound Atlas: A Guide to Strange Sounds across Landscapes and Imagination
Mapping the acoustic onto the human soul, moving meditations on the power and meaning of sound. Nature writers Michaela Vieser and Isaac Yuen set out in search of sounds beautiful and loathsome, ...Show More
6) Episode 778: Mary Roach - Replaceable You: Adventures In Human Anatomy
From the New York Times best-selling author of Stiff and Fuzz, a rollicking exploration of the quest to re-create the impossible complexities of human anatomy.The body is the most complex machine in t...Show More
7) Episode 777: Svend Brinkmann - The Experience Society: Life Beyoned Subjectivity
An enlightening look at how our elevation of the sensorial and the subjective has impaired our ability to connect—and how we might build that connection back. In today’s so-called experience soci...Show More
8) Episode 776: Einstein in Oxford - Andrew Robinson
An intimate account of Albert Einstein’s visit to Oxford in the 1930’s, casting new light on why he continues to be the world’s most famous scientist.In 1931, Albert Einstein visited Oxford to receive...Show More
9) Episode 775: Hidden in the Heavens - Jason Steffen
Are we alone in the universe? It’s a fundamental question for Earth-dwelling humankind. Are there other worlds like ours, out there somewhere? In Hidden in the Heavens, Jason Steffen, a former scienti...Show More
10) Episode 774: Ciara Greene and Gillian Murphy - Memory Lane: The Perfectly Imperfect Ways We Remember
We tend to think of our memories as impressions of the past that remain fully intact, preserved somewhere inside our brains. In fact, we construct and reconstruct our memories every time we attempt to...Show More