Episodes

In the final episode of our second season, we meet three scientists who are creating a community of people who see the world differently, bringing together scholars from around the globe who are passionate about collaboration and exploration of the myriad intelligences throughout the planet and the cosmos. Richard Sergay speaks with Drs. Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster, co-directors of the Templeton World Charity Foundation Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute (DISI), and DISI associate direc...

Today, we speak with an ethicist, a computer scientist, and a neuroscientist who have teamed together at Duke University to research how we might build human morality into an artificially intelligent machine. Drs. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Jana Schaich Borg, and Vincent Conitzer also tell us about a surprising outcome of their research: that imbuing machines with the ability to act in accordance with moral principles can actually help us deepen our understanding of our own moral philosophy and b...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Denise Herzing, Research Director and Founder of the Wild Dolphin Project and Affiliate Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University in biological sciences. For the last 25 years, Dr. Herzing has been on a quest to crack the code — to discover the keys to the secret language of dolphins. Today she talks about what she’s learned so far about dolphin “language,” what’s surprised her about wild dolphins’ interactions with each other and the researchers, and t...

In today’s episode, we explore the social cognition found within our own species, and what the benefit to every person might be if we deepen our understanding of the wide variety of intelligences of human beings. We hear from two researchers at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Sue Fletcher-Watson, and her colleague, Dr. Catherine Crompton, about their study examining the social cognition of autism, which shines new light on the comfort and confidence that autistic people can experience in com...

Dr. Brian Hare is a core member of the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience and Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology and Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. In today’s episode, Dr. Hare shares how investigating diverse intelligences offers human beings insight into our own psychology. He’ll also describe the powerful new online tool he’s building to spark the acceleration of our understanding about animal — and human — cognition. Learn more about Dr. Brian Hare and Dognition: animal...

Today’s episode features the work of two scientists in seemingly unconnected fields of study: Dr. Andrew Barron, Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroethology at Macquarie University in Sydney specializing in the honeybee brain; and his colleague, Dr. James Marshall, Professor of Theoretical Computation and Biology at the University of Sheffield, who studies robotics and artificial intelligence. Richard Sergay spoke with this pair of scientists to find out how their unique areas of expertise...

Today’s episode features the collaborative exploration of Dr. Fred Sharpe, an expert in humpback whales and the Principal Investigator with the Alaska Whale Foundation, and Dr. Laurance Doyle, astrophysicist and Principal Investigator of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. Drs. Sharpe and Doyle are investigating humpback whales’ complex, long-distance communication with the aim of learning about how alien intelligences, if they exist, might attempt to transmit their me...

Host Richard Sergay speaks with Pranab Das, professor of physics at Elon University and Principal Advisor to the Diverse Intelligences Initiative from Templeton World Charity Foundation. Richard and Professor Das discuss the definition of intelligence and look at some of the DI projects we’ll hear more about this season. Learn more about Pranab Das and the Diverse Intelligences Initiative Mentioned in this episode: Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering O...

The Stories of Impact Podcast presents stories of the scientific breakthroughs that fuel the human search for meaning, purpose, and truth — how lives are transformed by science. Season 2 focuses on Diverse Intelligences. This project was made possible through the generous support of a grant from Templeton World Charity Foundation.