Think Again - a Big Think Podcast

“How would you control yourself if you knew you were one of the only five people to have guns? You would be an asshole!” –– Ian EdwardsAre you "man enough" for non-monogamy? Could citizen gun ownership deter crazy cops? Can brutal honesty launch your comedy career? This week, comedian [Ian Edwards][1], fresh off the release of his album 100% Half-Assed (on Conan O’Brian’s Team Coco Records) talks guns, sex, and laughs with host [Jason Gots][2], and stuns him into silence for a full three seconds (which was heretofore believed to be impossible).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What are the limits of tolerance? Can people with fundamentally different world views coexist peacefully? Is faith incompatible with reason? In the wake of the recent Paris attacks, these questions are more pressing than ever.In this week's episode philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris delves deep into all of the above with host Jason Gots, through the lenses of Islamic extremism, the telepathic powers of fiction, and what would happen to your identity if you could be replicated down to the atom.Sam's latest book, Islam and the Future of Tolerance, is a dialogue with Maajid Nawaz, a former Islamic extremist now working for tolerance within and for the Muslim world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"My goal is always to be laughing. Do you lose the laughter once you become too good at something?” - Maira KalmanThink Again is a spontaneous, brainy variety show – The world's brightest minds grapple with surprise topics.Artist and author Maira Kalman, best known perhaps for her startlingly original New Yorker covers, has a unique way of looking at and living in the world. On this week's episode of "Think Again," she and host Jason Gots try to sort out why they're both so terrified of math, and whether militarized sociopaths are a necessary part of our world.Maira's new book "Beloved Dog" is a poignant, hilarious look at a creature the artist once considered a deadly monster, and now can't live without. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"There is no central logic in war. Victor Hugo wrote about street fights in Paris. In one street people are killing each other. In the next street people are enjoying their coffee. They’re not even aware of what’s happening." – Orhan PamukThink Again is a spontaneous intellectual variety show–The world's brightest minds grapple with surprise topics.On the heels of the publication of A Strangeness in My Mind, his extraordinary epic novel of life in Istanbul over four decades through the eyes of a street vendor, Nobel Laureate Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk joins host Jason Gots for a soulful, far-ranging discussion of immigration, war, love, and the art of the novel.And he teaches Jason something he'll never forget about how to live the writing life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smart people. Surprise topics. Deep fun. This week, actor and New Orleans native son Wendell Pierce ('The Wire', 'Treme'), author of the new book "The Wind in the Reeds," about his work at the local and national level rebuilding New Orleans over the past decade since Hurricane Katrina.Surprise clips from Big Think's interview archives launch a deep discussion between Wendell and host Jason Gots about sexuality, generosity, and the power of art across time and culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Send in the poets. Send in the seducers. Vulnerable people, not invulnerable drones who can mistake a wedding party for a terrorist cell. When those mistakes are made, that is how ISIS is born. – Saul WilliamsSaul Williams is a fiercely original, multitalented artist who burst on the scene as an actor and a slam poet in the 1998 film Slam, which won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, and as a rapper/musician with the 2001 album Amethyst Rock Star, produced by Rick Rubin. He has since released four additional albums, five books of poetry, and starred in the Broadway musical Holler if You Hear Me, based on the life and poetry of rapper Tupac Shakur. His latest book of poetry, U.S.(a.) captures some of his thoughts on this country and this moment in history after four years of living abroad in Paris.This week on Big Think's podcast Think Again, Saul and host Jason Gots respond to three surprise clips from the interview archives and go deep into everything from war to religion to whether Saul's art is "unpackageable". It's one of our most intense and engaging conversations yet.Listen to the end for a special bonus –– "Horn of the Clock Bike", a track from Saul's upcoming 2016 album Martyr Loser King Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How to tell conspiracy and crazy apart. How six months a year "off the grid" in Mexico changes your perspective on everything. The "water bear", a possible alien life form among us.This week on Big Think's podcast, host Jason Gots talks with legendary professional wrestler, author, actor, and Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura, who has just published his latest book, American Conspiracies.Three surprise clips from Big Think's interview archives launch a thoughtful, searching, sometimes personal discussion of our accelerating culture and how to live the life you want. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you lose everything, what do you reach for first?This week on Big Think's podcast, food critic Ruth Reichl, author of My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life talks with host Jason Gots about cooking, identity, and her year-long journey back to herself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is everybody leading a double life? Why are great comic books STILL NOT part of the "literary canon"? Would having a gay president actually change anything in America?This week on Big Think's podcast, Junot Díaz, Dominican-American, Pulitzer prize winning author of The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao talks with host Jason Gots about deception, culture, and techno-optimism.Three surprise clips selected from Big Think's interview archives spark intense, funny, fascinating observations on who we are, what we know (and don't know about ourselves), and where we're headed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We surprise the world's sharpest minds with unexpected topics. This week, legendary TV producer Norman Lear, author ofEven THIS I Get to Experience joins host Jason Gots to discuss Mars colonies, immigration, and the upside of stress.“If I learned anything writing the book, it was that it’s hard to be a human being. I don’t care what the circumstances of one’s birth: if there is nothing in life that makes trouble, or mischief, we’ll make it up. It’s a hard game. But the kick is in knowing that, and beating the odds.” –– Norman Lear Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices