Podcasts about naturalistic

Support the show to get full episodes, full archive, and join the Discord community. The Transmitter is an online publication that aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. Visit thetransmitter.org to explore the latest neuroscience news and perspectives, written by journalists and scientists. Read more about our partnership. Sign up for Brain Inspired email alerts to be notified every time a new Brain Inspired episode is released. To explore more neuroscience news and perspectives, visit thetransmitter.org. Daniel Levenstein started his NeuroAI and Dynamics Lab at Yale University about a year ago. We briefly discuss what it's like to transition from a postdoc to a principle investigator, i.e. head of the lab. But most mostly we discuss his work and ideas. Dan studies spontaneous neural activity during sleep, specially in brain areas like hippocampus and cortex, and how this internally generated spontaneous activity is related to learning and memory and navigation. Really, he used to study those processes directly through experimental brain recording datasets. These days he builds and studies models of those processes, using AI models and seeing how their dynamics and functions match what we see in brains. Levenstein Lab Social: @dlevenstein.bsky.social Related papers On the Role of Theory and Modeling in Neuroscience The problem-ladenness of theory Sequential predictive learning is a unifying theory for hippocampal representation and replay 0:00 - Intro 9:12 - Neuro-AI 18:23 - Experiment vs theory 20:36 - Ground vs active state neuron activity 25:38 - Beginning a lab 31:34 - Sleep and Internally generated activity 40:02 - Spiking neural networks 52:13 - Naturalistic neuro-AI 59:52 - Cognitive maps, world models 1:04:16 - Weasel words and motifs 1:08:17 - Transformers and brains 1:18:53 - AI vs biology 1:24:32 - Neuroscience theory

Ponds, fountains and natural pools can transform luxury outdoor living into a daily retreat, and in this Luxury Outdoor Living Podcast episode, Mike and Trey Farley of Farley Pool Designs interview Diego of Fontana Ponds & Water Features, an Aquascape Master Certified contractor and Aquascape Artist of the Year. Diego shares his path from landscaping to specializing in ecosystem ponds and water features, explains his client-first process (aligning goals, discussing budgets early, marking layouts with spray paint, detailed drawings, and adapting designs during installation), and contrasts pond types including pondless waterfalls, koi ponds, and recreation swim ponds (which require increased biological filtration such as constructed wetlands). He discusses local stone sourcing, misconceptions like mosquitoes and required pond depth, maintenance offerings (bi-weekly to quarterly plus annual clean-outs), notable large projects including a retirement facility rebuild, and collaborations such as work in Africa and upcoming builds in Utah.   Discover more and connect: https://fontanawaterfeatures.ca/ https://www.farleypooldesigns.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@MikeFarleyDesigns https://www.instagram.com/farleydesigns/ https://www.instagram.com/luxuryoutdoorlivingpodcast/ Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MikeFarleyDesigns/podcasts   00:00 Podcast Welcome 01:42 Meet Diego Fontana 02:29 From Landscaping to Ponds 04:46 Where to See Work 06:42 Design Process Explained 12:09 Artist of the Year 14:08 Aquascape System Basics 17:23 Feature Types Overview 23:08 Pondless Waterfalls 24:40 Biggest Builds Stories 32:34 Small Spaces Big Impact 34:11 Sound Versus Visuals 34:43 Design From Indoors 36:49 Landscaping Makes Ponds 38:28 Choosing Local Stone 41:25 Pond Maintenance Plans 44:07 Ponds Improve With Age 45:57 Common Pond Misconceptions 48:42 Future Goals And Growth 51:10 Big Collaborations And Travel 54:27 Resale Value And Repeat Clients 59:53 Rapid Fire Favorites 01:02:29 Inspiration And Family Wrap 01:04:09 Podcast Mission Outro  

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2026.08.20 at the Sati Center in Redwood City, CA. ******* One of the most remarkable and original teachings of the Buddha is found in 7th discourse in the Middle Length Discourses. Couched in a short, fun story, this text describes insight and the unfolding of the path in naturalistic terms that are as relevant today as in the time of the Buddha. We will slowly read and discuss this short text so that it comes alive for our modern times. No familiarity with the Buddha's discourse or teachings necessary. A translation and Gil's study guide on the discourse will be sent out a week before the class. ******* Video of this talk is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaTo1Hb5xa8. ******* A machine generated transcript of this talk is available. It has not been edited by a human, so errors will exist. Download Transcript: https://www.audiodharma.org/transcripts/24825/download ******* For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ******* If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting AudioDharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ******* This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

This talk was given by Gil Fronsdal on 2026.08.20 at the Sati Center in Redwood City, CA. ******* One of the most remarkable and original teachings of the Buddha is found in 7th discourse in the Middle Length Discourses. Couched in a short, fun story, this text describes insight and the unfolding of the path in naturalistic terms that are as relevant today as in the time of the Buddha. We will slowly read and discuss this short text so that it comes alive for our modern times. No familiarity with the Buddha's discourse or teachings necessary. A translation and Gil's study guide on the discourse will be sent out a week before the class. ******* Video of this talk is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaTo1Hb5xa8. ******* A machine generated transcript of this talk is available. It has not been edited by a human, so errors will exist. Download Transcript: https://www.audiodharma.org/transcripts/24825/download ******* For more talks like this, visit AudioDharma.org ******* If you have enjoyed this talk, please consider supporting AudioDharma with a donation at https://www.audiodharma.org/donate/. ******* This talk is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License

Proanthropy II When humans receive the developmental and life support they require, they are naturally inclined towards being cooperative, caring, and wanting to participate, and contribute. In Naturalistic Humanism this idea is called proanthropy. There is substantial evidence for the proanthropic perspective in multiple disciplines including psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology. Sadly, despite the evidence, much of … Continue reading "Show 701: Naturalistic Support"

Proanthropy  When humans receive the developmental and life support they require, they are naturally inclined towards being cooperative, caring, and wanting to participate, and contribute. In Naturalistic Humanism this idea is called proanthropy. There is substantial evidence for the proanthropic perspective in multiple disciplines including psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology. Sadly, despite the evidence, much of … Continue reading "Show 700: Naturalistic Support"

Metawareness III When our understanding of the world is based on evidence and reason it is obvious that the way each moment unfolds is the inexorable result of all that precedes it. In Naturalistic Humanism this idea is called metawareness. Applied to humans, the implications of metawareness are revolutionary requiring, among other things, that we reconsider the … Continue reading "Show 699: Naturalistic Support"

A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.

Metawareness II When our understanding of the world is based on evidence and reason it is obvious that the way each moment unfolds is the inexorable result of all that precedes it. In Naturalistic Humanism this idea is called metawareness. Applied to humans, the implications of metawareness are revolutionary requiring, among other things, that we reconsider … Continue reading "Show 698: Naturalistic Support"

Metawareness When our understanding of the world is based on evidence and reason it is obvious that the way each moment unfolds is the inexorable result of all that precedes it. In Naturalistic Humanism this idea is called metawareness. Applied to humans, the implications of metawareness are revolutionary requiring, among other things, that we reconsider the … Continue reading "Show 697: Naturalistic Support"

The Experimental Mindset- A Heritage We All Share III When we adopt an experimental mindset or participate in experimental activities we are connecting to a significant part of our heritage- the one that everybody shares. Our universal legacy is the recognition that our perception is easily flawed by bias. It took hundreds of thousands of years, … Continue reading "Show 696: Naturalistic Support"

The Experimental Mindset- A Heritage We All Share II When we adopt an experimental mindset or participate in experimental activities we are connecting to a significant part of our heritage- the one that everybody shares. Our universal legacy is the recognition that our perception is easily flawed by bias. It took hundreds of thousands of years, … Continue reading "Show 695: Naturalistic Support"

The Experimental Mindset- A Heritage We All Share When we adopt an experimental mindset or participate in experimental activities we are connecting to a significant part of our heritage- the one that everybody shares. Our universal legacy is the recognition that our perception is easily flawed by bias. It took hundreds of thousands of years, … Continue reading "Show 694: Naturalistic Support"

Support the show to get full episodes, full archive, and join the Discord community. he Transmitter is an online publication that aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. Visit thetransmitter.org to explore the latest neuroscience news and perspectives, written by journalists and scientists. Read more about our partnership. Check out this story: Beyond the algorithmic oracle: Rethinking machine learning in behavioral neuroscience Sign up for Brain Inspired email alerts to be notified every time a new Brain Inspired episode is released. To explore more neuroscience news and perspectives, visit thetransmitter.org. Neuroscience studies in part the relation between brain activity and behaviors. But, what is a behavior? It's a simple question, but there's no simple answer. For example, you're behaving right now, whatever you're doing, even if you're not doing much. When you cross the street, how many behaviors do you use? When you sleep, what behaviors do you do? Hopefully these simple examples make you think about how difficult it can be call some single movement a behavior. Nedah Nemati is a philosopher of neuroscience at Columbia University. I met Nedah at a workshop a few months ago, where we chatted about the growing trend in neuroscience toward what is sometimes being called "naturalistic neuroscience," which really means varying levels of allowing organisms to behave more freely, less constrained, than traditional neuroscience experiments that seek to minimize unrelated to the behavior or cognition you want to isolate to study and explain. In more extreme cases, researches will try in the lab to emulate as much as possible the ecological world a particular organism has evolved to exist in, or even perform the experiments out of the lab, in the wild, so to speak. So a good part of our discussion revolves around this trend, and what counts as a "naturalistic" behavior, and how the tools we use to perform experiments shape the experiments and the scientific questions themselves. Nedah has a neuroscience background, but in her philosophical work she has embedded herself into various neuroscience labs to better understand how the experiences of the researchers themselves, called their lived experiences, shape the assumptions and questions in their science. As an example, we discuss her work looking into the neuroscience of sleep from over a 100 years ago to today. When a modern neuroscientist studies sleep, are they studying the same thing a scientist claimed to be studying 100 years ago, even though they claimed to be studying sleep back then as well? Nedah's website. Transmitter piece: Beyond the algorithmic oracle: Rethinking machine learning in behavioral neuroscience Related papers Rethinking Neuroscientific Methodology: Lived Experience in Behavioral Studies What is ‘Natural' about Naturalistic Neuroscience? 0:00 - Intro 5:00 - Philosopher in a lab 20:21 - Sleep as behavior 22:22 - How the study of "sleep" has changed 27:24 - How tools and methods shape definitions 46:07 - Naturalistic neuroscience 1:00:47 - Naturalistic vs experimental 1:14:32 - How tools change theory 1:16:57 - Lived experience 1:26:28 - Lived experience vs. bias 1:37:09 - AI and engineering in neuroscience 1:45:29 - Should a lab hire a philosopher?

Should we Listen to our Elders II There are some things we can learn from our elders and some things that we cannot.  Join us to explore how to connect with seniors in ways that are satisfying and rewarding. Listen to show #89 below!

Should we Listen to our Elders There are some things we can learn from our elders and some things that we cannot.  Join us to explore how to connect with seniors in ways that are satisfying and rewarding. Listen to show #88 below!

Heroism and Virtue Celebrating those who have acted heroically may seem logical, but identifying some people as heroes raises issues that are often overlooked. Listen to show #87 below!

The Challenge of Identity II Our personal identity can be based on a wide range of characteristics including race, ethnicity, religion, skin color, sexuality, gender, neighborhood, and beliefs. There is also a transcendent, universal, human identity which all of us share. The way we balance our tribal and human identities may determine the future of … Continue reading "Show 690: Naturalistic Support"

The Challenge of Identity Our personal identity can be based on a wide range of characteristics including race, ethnicity, religion, skin color, sexuality, gender, neighborhood, and beliefs. There is also a transcendent, universal, human identity which all of us share. The way we balance our tribal and human identities may determine the future of humankind. … Continue reading "Show 689: Naturalistic Support"

Harmonizing with Nature II We continue our consideration of humanity's role in the destruction and, hopefully, the preservation of life. We frequently regard humankind as being in perpetual conflict with nature.  And while no other animals have transformed the earth so profoundly, humans are also life's best hope. Only humans can transform life so that sentience, experience, … Continue reading "Show 688: Naturalistic Support"

Harmonizing with Nature In recognition of Earth Day, we consider humanity's role in the destruction and, hopefully, the preservation of life. We frequently regard humankind as being in perpetual conflict with nature.  And while no other animals have transformed the earth so profoundly, humans are also life's best hope. Only humans can transform life so that … Continue reading "Show 687: Naturalistic Support"

Reimagining God II It is entirely possible to be a Naturalistic Humanist and to believe in God, but it does involve giving our concept of God an update. Throughout human history, as societies changed, people have adjusted their understanding of God.  But the God that most westerners worship presently, was envisioned centuries ago – long … Continue reading "Show 686: Naturalistic Support"

New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 155 Underneath the hood of Fascism is a heavy insistence that its program aligns with various aspects of Nature. Generally, the belief that something being "natural" (right or wrong in the assessment) means that it is also good is referred to as the "naturalistic fallacy." That means it is an error. That something is "natural" does not necessarily imply that it is good. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay addresses the weird appeals to Nature in Fascist ideologies. Join him to understand the mentality! Latest from New Discourses Press! The Queering of the American Child: https://queeringbook.com/ Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Fascism

Reimagining God It is entirely possible to be a Naturalistic Humanist and to believe in God, but it does involve giving our concept of God an update. Throughout human history, as societies changed, people have adjusted their understanding of God.  But the God that most westerners worship presently, was envisioned centuries ago – long before … Continue reading "Show 685: Naturalistic Support"

Free Will & Sin In just a few days millions of Christians all over the world will celebrate the most important holy days of the Christian liturgical year – Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday.  The paschal triduum celebrates the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Jesus's ordeal is based on the belief … Continue reading "Show 684: Naturalistic Support"

Forvgiveness and Freedom; Pt 2 The most powerful impact of letting go of our anger, resentment, and indignation, is the way it frees us from having to carry around feelings that are toxic. But forgiving isn't easy, and it can be especially difficult to forgive ourselves. Join Elaine, Arnell, and the Naturalistic Support community as … Continue reading "Show 683: Naturalistic Support"

Forgiveness and Freedom; Pt. 1 The most powerful impact of letting go of our anger, resentment, and indignation, is the way it frees us from having to carry around feelings that are toxic. But forgiving isn't easy, and it can be especially difficult to forgive ourselves. Join Elaine, Arnell, and the Naturalistic Support community as … Continue reading "Show 682: Naturalistic Support"

Volunteering and Acts of Kindness We can easily overlook the many acts of kindness happening all around us, but compassion is fundamental to our human experience.  Acts of kindness are psychologically and physically beneficial to those acting kindly as well as to the recipien Listen to show #77 below!

Change That Will Last There are many faith-based leaders and followers who are inspired by texts, teachings, and traditions, from their respective faiths to support a progressive agenda.  These include Jim Wallis, founder of the progressive nonprofit organization, Sojourners and Rev Dr. William Barber, co-chair of Poor People's Campaign. But despite decades of hard work and … Continue reading "Show 680: Naturalistic Support"

Becoming Something New Becoming the widely diverse, multi-cultural society we aspire to be has never before attempted on such a scale.  It requires all of us to learn new ways of thinking and behaving.  And in such a dynamic and ever-changing environment even the best intentioned among us may inadvertently act or speak in a … Continue reading "Show 679: Naturalistic Support"

Working on our Relationships II Intimacy is an indispensable human need, but the path to maintaining healthy intimate relationships is illusive. With plenty of time before Valentine's Day, join Elaine, Arnell, and our Naturalistic Support community as we consider how a Naturalistic Support approach can help us achieve healthier, stronger, and more satisfying relationships. Listen to show #73 … Continue reading "Show 677: Naturalistic Support"

Working on our Relationships Intimacy is an indispensable human need, but the path to maintaining healthy intimate relationships is illusive. With plenty of time before Valentine's Day, join Elaine, Arnell, and our Naturalistic Support community as we consider how a Naturalistic Support approach can help us achieve healthier, stronger, and more satisfying relationships. Listen to show #72 below!

Support the show to get full episodes, full archive, and join the Discord community. The Transmitter is an online publication that aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. Visit thetransmitter.org to explore the latest neuroscience news and perspectives, written by journalists and scientists. Read more about our partnership. Sign up for Brain Inspired email alerts to be notified every time a new Brain Inspired episode is released. To explore more neuroscience news and perspectives, visit thetransmitter.org. Michael Shadlen is a professor of neuroscience in the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University, where he's the principle investigator of the Shadlen Lab. If you study the neural basis of decision making, you already know Shadlen's extensive research, because you are constantly referring to it if you're not already in his lab doing the work. The name Shadlen adorns many many papers relating the behavior and neural activity during decision-making to mathematical models in the drift diffusion family of models. That's not the only work he is known for, As you may have gleaned from those little intro clips, Michael is with me today to discuss his account of what makes a thought conscious, in the hopes to inspire neuroscience research to eventually tackle the hard problem of consciousness - why and how we have subjective experience. But Mike's account isn't an account of just consciousness. It's an account of nonconscious thought and conscious thought, and how thoughts go from non-conscious to conscious His account is inspired by multiple sources and lines of reasoning. Partly, Shadlen refers to philosophical accounts of cognition by people like Marleau-Ponty and James Gibson, appreciating the embodied and ecological aspects of cognition. And much of his account derives from his own decades of research studying the neural basis of decision-making mostly using perceptual choice tasks where animals make eye movements to report their decisions. So we discuss some of that, including what we continue to learn about neurobiological, neurophysiological, and anatomical details of brains, and the possibility of AI consciousness, given Shadlen's account. Shadlen Lab. Twitter: @shadlen. Decision Making and Consciousness (Chapter in upcoming Principles of Neuroscience textbook). Talk: Decision Making as a Model of thought Read the transcript. 0:00 - Intro 7:05 - Overview of Mike's account 9:10 - Thought as interrogation 21:03 - Neurons and thoughts 27:05 - Why so many neurons? 36:21 - Evolution of Mike's thinking 39:48 - Marleau-Ponty, cognition, and meaning 44:54 - Naturalistic tasks 51:11 - Consciousness 58:01 - Martin Buber and relational consciousness 1:00:18 - Social and conscious phenomena correlated 1:04:17 - Function vs. nature of consciousness 1:06:05 - Did language evolve because of consciousness? 1:11:11 - Weak phenomenology and long-range feedback 1:22:02 - How does interrogation work in the brain? 1:26:18 - AI consciousness 1:35:49 - The hard problem of consciousness 1:39:34 - Meditation and flow

Dealing with Loss & Grief 2026 II Just about everyone has experienced loss and grief.  How can a naturalistic approach help? Join the discussion with Elaine, Arnell, and the Naturalistic Support community. Listen to show #71 below!

“Naturalistic stimuli open up new exploration…”Dr. Christopher Baldassano is an associate professor at Columbia University and leads the Dynamic Perception and Memory Lab. With a background in electrical engineering from Princeton and a PhD in computer science from Stanford, Chris has pioneered innovative approaches to understanding memory and cognition. Following a postdoc at Princeton with Uri Hasson and Ken Norman, he joined Columbia in 2018. His research focuses on how the brain processes, stores, and retrieves events using naturalistic stimuli, hidden Markov models, and multivariate analysis techniques.In this episode, Peter and Chris explore the fascinating world of event structures and memory. They discuss Chris's pioneering work on event scripts, neural frameworks that act as cognitive scaffolds for autobiographical memories. The conversation covers how the brain segments continuous experience into discrete events, the role of event boundaries in memory encoding, and the critical function of the hippocampus in organizing these temporal structures. Chris explains his use of naturalistic stimuli and hidden Markov models to reveal the subtle dynamics of how we combine recurring information to respond more efficiently to future experiences. Along the way, Chris shares valuable insights on the evolution of neuroscience research and offers thoughtful advice for aspiring scientists navigating the field.We hope you enjoy this episode!Chapters:00:00 - Introduction07:37 - Transitioning from Computer Science to Neuroscience13:01 - Exploring Naturalistic Stimuli in Neuroscience18:11 - Hidden Markov Models in Narrative Perception22:46 - Event Boundaries and Memory Encoding27:49 - The Role of the Hippocampus in Memory33:01 - Implications for Mental Health and Memory Disorders38:19 - Enhancing Memory Techniques41:11 - Contextualization in Memory46:19 - Understanding Brain States49:01 - AI and Contextual Knowledge53:29 - Infant Cognition and Event Structures01:01:31 - Future Directions in ResearchWorks mentioned:2:28 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPLWOBmaLkY(Baldassano talk at NIH workshop on naturalistic stimuli)14:42 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28772125/(Baldassano et al., 2017 - Neuron - "Discovering Event Structure in Continuous Narrative Perception and Memory")15:02 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30249790/(Baldassano et al., 2018 - Journal of Neuroscience - "Representation of Real-world Event Schemas During Narrative Perception")18:24 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29087305/(Vidaurre, Smith & Woolrich, 2017 - PNAS - "Brain network dynamics are hierarchically organized in time" - using Markov models in a different way)19:41 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17338600/(Zacks et al., 2007 - Psychological Bulletin - "Event perception: A mind-brain perspective" - foundational work on event boundary processes)27:04 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27121839/(Huth et al., 2016 - Nature - "Natural speech reveals the semantic maps that tile human cerebral cortex" - semantic information stored throughout the brain)37:15 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22982082/(LePort et al., 2012 - Neurobiology of Learning and Memory - Jim McGaugh's study on highly superior autobiographical memory)53:01 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36252007/(Yates et al., 2022 - PNAS - "Neural event segmentation of continuous experience in human infants")Episode producers:Xuqian Michelle Li

Dealing with Loss & Grief 2026 Just about everyone has experienced loss and grief.  How can a naturalistic approach help? Join the discussion with Elaine, Arnell, and the Naturalistic Support community. Listen to show #70 below!

Dealing with Difficult People II People who are fortunate enough to have received healthy genes and the essential developmental support vital for the full expression of their human potential are most likely to be caring, kind, and cooperative.  Unfortunately, the world has many people who have not been that lucky. As a result, we all … Continue reading "Show 673: Naturalistic Support"

Dealing with Difficult People Whether it's a coworker, a neighbor, or even a family member, sooner or later almost everyone will have to deal with a difficult person.  Today we ask – is there a way to understand difficult people that can protect and empower us? Join Elaine, Arnell, and the Naturalistic Support Community as … Continue reading "Show 672: Naturalistic Support"

In this punchy, practice-rich episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Wem unpack The Land — a 2016 documentary about an adventure playground in Wrexham — as screened via the Boston Children's Museum panel. They dig into filming that sits inside the play, what “looks like a dump” can signal to children, and how adventure playground philosophy intersects with Forest School when you factor in nature's needs, community, and inclusion. From risk versus hazard to loose parts in public parks, it is a tour through culture, pedagogy, and what real autonomy feels like.

Hopes, Fears, and Dreams for the New Year Join Arnell and Elaine on New Year's Eve to talk about all our hopes, fears, and dreams for 2026.  Find out how a Naturalistic Humanist approach can support the expression of our fullest potential. Listen to show #67 below!

Naturalistic Xmas Special! Equal Time for Freethought's annual Naturalistic Christmas Special returns on Thursday December 25th from 3 to 5 via Naturalistic Support – with two jam packed hours including: a conversation with Santa Claus, a special transcendent meditation, a new interview with a space scientist (because it's the winter solstice), plus Christmas music and parody songs. Listen … Continue reading "Show 670: Naturalistic Support"

Xmas Alone Each year in America, the way Christmas is rolled out with idealized holiday images bombarding us, often makes otherwise happy people feel insecure and lonely —  particularly if they live alone.  How should we deal with loneliness or feeling disconnected when it seems as if everyone else is having a great time? Listen to show #65 … Continue reading "Show 669: Naturalistic Support"

Personal Victories and Setbacks during 2025 With just a couple of weeks left until the New Year, it's time to look back at our personal victories and setbacks of 2025.   What were the high points for you?  What brought you joy, and what are you most pleased about? What challenges did you struggle with, and … Continue reading "Show 668: Naturalistic Support"

Passive-Aggression, Anger and Rage! How should we understand what makes us angry?  And what's best way to deal with it? How should we respond to others when they are angry?  And what about passive-aggression? Join Elaine, Sharon, and Arnell and as they examine passive-aggression, anger, and rage and how a Naturalistic Humanist approach can help. … Continue reading "Show 666: Naturalistic Support"

Bridging the Communication Gap The holidays present many of us with a problem – dealing with people who may have ideas directly opposed to our own. Is there a way for people with very different ideas to get beyond conflict? How can we speak to people who have beliefs that are very different than our … Continue reading "Show 665: Naturalistic Support"

Our pilgrim continues walking through the old-growth forest, so dark that very little light can get into its cooling shade.He is eventually blocked by two seemingly small things: a little brook flowing to the left and a solitary lady across the way, singing and picking flowers.But the poet Dante gives us hints that all is already not what it seems.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we continue our journey across the top of Mount Purgatory . . . and notice that meaning is becoming layered over the naturalist details our pilgrim innocently notices.If you'd like to help cover the fees for this podcast with a one-time donation or a small monthly stipend, you can do so at this PayPal link right here.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:07] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, lines 22 - 42. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me by dropping a comment about this episode, please do so on my website: markscarbrough.com.[03:03] A glance back to the start of the canto . . . and a glance back to the start of INFERNO.[05:59] More repeated words in the poetry.[07:31] Naturalistic details and the initial layering of metaphysical, moral, or allegorical meaning.[16:30] No geographical understanding of this place (yet) . . . but a literary understanding of it: pastoral poetry.[22:48] The unnamed, solitary lady as an interpretive trap.[24:57] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, lines 22 - 42.

What is Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT), and how can it support social communication skills? In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Jessica Osos, BCBA, to explore the definition and application of RIT—a naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention (NDBI) designed to teach learners to imitate spontaneously through ongoing, play-based social interaction. Unlike structured drills, RIT is child-led and play-focused, helping to build social skills that go far beyond imitation.For many SLPs and BCBAs, this is a new approach. Dr. Osos explains how the back-and-forth of imitation highlights the value in what the child is doing and how strategies like Sports Casting (narrating the interaction) can enrich play. Expanding play might mean introducing more toys, exploring new play schemas, or creating deeper sequences.Key factors for successful RIT involve simple language, emphasizing important words, being repetitive, and expanding language by copying and adding. Focusing on goals beyond imitation? RIT doesn't have to be a “this or that” choice. This child-led expansive approach works with a variety of social communication, like joint attention and more! #autism #speechtherapy What's Inside:Naturalistic Intervention using Reciprocal Imitation Training.What is RIT?Expanding play for a variety of social, communication, and leisure skills. Mentioned In This Episode:Episode #146: Early Intervention and Project Impact with Anna Dvortcsak and Dr. Brook Ingersoll - ABA SpeechSpeech Membership - ABA Speech  ABA Speech: Home

Continuing on Natural Goodness, getting more into concrete cases of moral reasoning. How and why do we decide to keep promises, even in cases where violating them would produce more utility? How do we take into account different kinds of grounds in moral reasoning? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion, including a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion.  Sponsor: Visit IDOU.com/PEL for 15% off online courses on using AI in creative, human-centered ways.

If God exists and Jesus rose from the dead, then Christianity is true. Case closed! However, there are still those who offer alternative explanations for the empty tomb despite the evidence for the resurrection. What are these theories and do they withstand critical analysis?This week, Frank sits down with Dr. Gary Habermas, the world's leading resurrection scholar to discuss, 'On the Resurrection: Refutations', the second volume of his magnum opus--a massive 4-volume project nearly 40 years in the making. From second-century texts that seem to challenge the resurrection to modern skeptical scholars like Bart Ehrman, Gary will uncover why naturalistic explanations for the empty tomb simply don't hold up. Tune in as Frank and Gary answer questions like:Who was David Hume and why do so many modern atheists still lean on his centuries-old arguments?What was Hume's actual argument against miracles, and how did C.S. Lewis respond?Are there any good arguments for naturalism or materialism?Why did former skeptic Antony Flew become a theist before he died?What are the top 5 reasons naturalistic explanations for the resurrection fail?What are the 4 best arguments in favor of an afterlife?If you're looking for the most well-researched scholarship to refute common resurrection objections, you won't find a better resource than this! Be sure to pick up your own copies of Gary's amazing work and stay tuned for the next podcast where he'll return to discuss even more insights from his life's work on the resurrection!Resources mentioned during the episode:PODCAST: Did Jesus REALLY Rise From the Dead? - https://bit.ly/3VnrtiDOn the Resurrection: Evidences (Vol.1) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1087778603On the Resurrection: Refutations (Vol.2) - https://a.co/d/48jozEvOn the Resurrection: Scholarly Perspectives (Vol.3) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1087778646Gary's website - https://www.garyhabermas.com/There is a God by Antony Flew - https://a.co/d/eOhWkSTSignature in the Cell by Stephen C. Meyer - https://a.co/d/5XLmVhc

On Natural Goodness (2001). Can we base ethics on the model of biology? Foot argues that just as we understand what a healthy specimen of a plant or animal is, so there is a natural way for humans to work properly, which will include the ability to will according to reflective reasoning. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.