Serious Inquiries Only

Author: seriouspod.com

Join Thomas for some critical thinking on questions of science, philosophy, skepticism and politics. These serious topics are discussed with some serious guests, but in an entertaining and engaging way! This is not your typical interview podcast; it's a friendly dialogue, conducted thoughtfully and with plenty of humor. It's Serious Inquiries Only; but like, not boring or anything.
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Language: en

Genres: News, News Commentary, Politics

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SIO501: What Pluribus Gets Right about Neuroscience
Episode 501
Wednesday, 7 January, 2026

Subject of much sci-fi media and philosophy discussions, the "hive mind" is also a key element of Vince Gilligan's (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) new show, Pluribus. Dr. Jenessa Seymour joins the pod to walk us through examples that we have studied of hive mind behavior (in the insect world), and why we can reasonably assert that you could not maintain your individuality if our brains directly communicated with each other (in the human world). Wolman, D. (2012). A tale of two halves. Nature, 483, 260-263. Split brain patient video demonstration Wittlinger, M., Wehner, R., & Wolf, H. (2006). The ant odometer: Stepping on stilts and stumps. Science, 312, 1965-1967. Penick, C.A. & Smith, A.A. (2015). The true odor of the odorous house ant. American Entomologist, 61, 85-87. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!