Past Programs
Books - 2007
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002
The Stuff of Thought with Steven Pinker
27/10/2007
Why do we often avoid speaking our mind? Does swearing have an evolutionary function? What do linguistic taboos do to your brain? How are new words born? Acclaimed author of The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker is a self-confessed verbivore. To him language offers a window into the human mind and how it works. He joins Natasha Mitchell in a feature interview to argue there's nothing mere about semantics.
Radio National often provides links to external websites to complement program information. While producers have taken care with all selections, we can neither endorse nor take final responsibility for the content of those sites.
The Stuff of Thought with Steven Pinker
27/10/2007
Why do we often avoid speaking our mind? Does swearing have an evolutionary function? What do linguistic taboos do to your brain? How are new words born? Acclaimed author of The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker is a self-confessed verbivore. To him language offers a window into the human mind and how it works. He joins Natasha Mitchell in a feature interview to argue there's nothing mere about semantics.
Radio National often provides links to external websites to complement program information. While producers have taken care with all selections, we can neither endorse nor take final responsibility for the content of those sites.
Writing the Brain: Part 1 - Into the Silent Land with Paul Broks
26/05/2007
Our brains tell our stories and narrate our lives for us. But stories about brains are now in vogue more than ever too. Neuropsychologist, playwright and author Dr Paul Broks climbs inside the fractured minds of his patients and their fragile selves, to tell a bigger story about the mysterious nature of consciousness. From egghood to personhood, he asks, why and how did our conscious selves come to be?
