RSam Podcast
Rahul Samaranayake
Philosophy & Theory | AI & CogSci
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 31, 2025 • 1h 41min
Merleau-Ponty & Cognitive Science (w/ Robin Muller & Jeffrey Yoshimi)
Prof Robin Muller is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge. She works mainly in phenomenology and the history of philosophy, and is especially interested in the intersections of phenomenology with the human sciences, and has written extensively on Merleau-Ponty's thought. You can find more of Prof Muller's work at www.robinmullerphilosophy.com Prof Jeffrey Yoshimi is Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at UC Merced. He studies the relationship between the dynamics of consciousness and the dynamics of neural activity in an embodied brain. As part of this, Prof Yoshimi models neural networks, creates mathematical models of embodied agents and studies Husserl.You can find more of Prof Yoshimi's work at https://jeffyoshimi.net/ In this episode, we discuss Merleau-Pontyan philosophy, cognitive science and the fundamental ambiguity of reality.Watch it on YouTube here.RSam Podcast #81--------------------------------------- Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means). Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com---------------------------------------{Podcast}YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSamSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1LeSFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake Website: https://rahulsam.me/ {Social Media}https://substack.com/@trsam/https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/https://twitter.com/trsam97Find reference links at https://youtu.be/YPmuFqUwSLw{Music Used}"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapaoMusic powered by BreakingCopyrightChill Lofi Hiphop - 'Breath' by l33 is under a Free To Use YouTube licenseSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightlofi/no-copyright-chill-lofi-hiphop-breath-by-l33---------------------------------------If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/--------------------------------------- Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.Thank you.
Aug 21, 2025 • 1h 52min
A Masterclass on Enactivism and Cognition (w/ Shaun Gallagher)
In this conversation with Shaun Gallagher, a leading philosopher of embodied cognition, listeners dive into the world of enactivism and its impact on cognitive science. Gallagher discusses how cognition emerges through interactions between organisms and their environments, challenging traditional views. He explores the transition from cognitivism to enactivism, emphasizing the implications for understanding nature and consciousness. The talk also touches on free will, individuality, and social contexts, offering fresh insights into how our experiences shape our perception of reality.
Aug 1, 2025 • 1h 60min
German Idealism and Neuroscience (w/ Rafael Holmberg)
Dr Rafael Holmberg is a political writer, social theorist, and researcher on philosophy and psychoanalysis based at University College London. His work broadly draws on post-war Continental philosophy, German Idealism, Marxism, and psychoanalytic theory, drawing from psychology and neuroscience. In this episode, we discuss the relationship between neuroscience, psychoanalysis and German Idealist philosophy.You can find more of Dr Holmberg's work at https://substack.com/@rafaelholmbergWatch it on YouTube here.RSam Podcast #79--------------------------------------- Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means). Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com---------------------------------------{Podcast}YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSamSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1LeSFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake Website: https://rahulsam.me/ {Social Media}https://substack.com/@trsam/https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/https://twitter.com/trsam97{Music Used}"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapaoMusic powered by BreakingCopyrightChill Lofi Hiphop - 'Breath' by l33 is under a Free To Use YouTube licenseSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightlofi/no-copyright-chill-lofi-hiphop-breath-by-l33---------------------------------------If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/--------------------------------------- Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.Thank you.
Jul 17, 2025 • 1h 40min
Žižek vs. Pinkard and the Hegel of Analytic Philosophy (w/ Joshua Wretzel)
Dr Joshua Wretzel is the Associate Teaching Professor of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University, specialising in social and political philosophy, Kant and German Idealism, hermeneutics, phenomenology, and the philosophy of art and logic. Prof Wretzel's work on German philosophy is published in journals such as the European Journal of Philosophy, Hegel Bulletin, International Journal of Philosophical Studies, and Continental Philosophy Review. He's also co-editor of Cambridge's Hegel's Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences: A Critical Guide, Routledge's Hegel's Encyclopedic System and is currently co-editor of the Cambridge Elements series on the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel. In this episode, we discussed Žižek vs. Pinkard, the Pittsburgh School of Philosophy, Hegel in analytic philosophy, Hegelianism and American pragmatism and contradictions in Hegelian philosophy.You can find more of Dr Wretzel's work at https://philosophy.la.psu.edu/people/jiw10/.Watch it on YouTube here.RSam Podcast #78--------------------------------------- Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means). Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com---------------------------------------{Podcast}YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSamSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1LeSFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake Website: https://rahulsam.me/ {Social Media}https://substack.com/@trsam/https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/https://twitter.com/trsam97{Music Used}"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapaoMusic powered by BreakingCopyrightChill Lofi Hiphop - 'Breath' by l33 is under a Free To Use YouTube licenseSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightlofi/no-copyright-chill-lofi-hiphop-breath-by-l33---------------------------------------If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/--------------------------------------- Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.Thank you.
Jun 27, 2025 • 2h 10min
Lacan for Analytic Philosophers (w/ Andrew Flores)
Andrew Flores is an autodidact in Freudo-Lacanian psychoanalysis, philosophy, theology, and Marxism. In this episode, we discuss Lacan's relationship to analytic philosophy and science.You can find more of Andrew's work at https://www.youtube.com/@The_Big_Sig and https://www.youtube.com/@thevanishingmediatorsGOAT memes: https://www.instagram.com/the_big_sig/1st podcast with Andrew: https://youtu.be/Wzu63JKoB3w?si=-mCpXQDvot5tD2C8Watch the video version here.RSam Podcast #77--------------------------------------- Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means). Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com---------------------------------------{Podcast}YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSamSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1LeSFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake Website: https://rahulsam.me/ {Social Media}https://substack.com/@trsam/https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/https://twitter.com/trsam97{Music Used}"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapaoMusic powered by BreakingCopyrightChill Lofi Hiphop - 'Breath' by l33 is under a Free To Use YouTube licenseSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightlofi/no-copyright-chill-lofi-hiphop-breath-by-l33---------------------------------------If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/--------------------------------------- Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.Thank you.
May 23, 2025 • 1h 46min
Tim Maudlin: Physics and Epistemology
Prof Tim Maudlin is a philosopher of physics and science who, in the last few decades, has pioneered forwarding the field' Foundations of Physics.' He's the founder of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics, domiciled in Split, Croatia. He taught for over two decades at Rutgers University before joining the Department of Philosophy at New York University. Prof Maudlin is the author of numerous books, including New Foundations for Physical Geometry, Philosophy of Physics with Princeton University Press and Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity. In this episode, we discussed Lee Smolin and Carlo Rovelli's radical ontology of time, the difference between a mathematical representation, theory and interpretation, the Kuhn-Popper debate in the philosophy of science, Wittgenstein and Moore's views on knowledge, metaphysics of physics and the relationship between physics and epistemology.You can find more of Prof Maudlin's work at https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/tim-maudlin.htmlJohn Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org/John Bell Institute GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-permanent-home-for-the-john-bell-instituteWatch the video version here.RSam Podcast #76--------------------------------------- Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means). Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com---------------------------------------{Podcast}YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSamSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1LeSFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake Website: https://rahulsam.me/ {Social Media}https://substack.com/@trsam/https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/https://twitter.com/trsam97{Music Used}"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapaoMusic powered by BreakingCopyrightChill Lofi Hiphop - 'Breath' by l33 is under a Free To Use YouTube licenseSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightlofi/no-copyright-chill-lofi-hiphop-breath-by-l33---------------------------------------If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/--------------------------------------- Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.Thank you.
May 8, 2025 • 48min
Paul Cockshott: Defending Materialism and Scientific Socialism
Dr Paul Cockshott is a computer scientist and multidisciplinary economist working through Marxism and scientific socialism. Dr Cockshott earned a PhD in Computer Science from Edinburgh University. Named on fifty-two patents, his research covers political economy, robotics, computer parallelism, 3D TV, foundations of computability, and data compression. He is the author of numerous books, including How the World Works, Towards a New Socialism and Defending Materialism. In this episode, we discuss the history of materialism, whether dialectical or mechanical materialism is correct, what type of materialist Marx was, scientific socialism, centralised planning, computational economics and whether markets without capitalism are possible.You can find more of Dr Cockshott's work at https://www.youtube.com/@paulcockshott8733, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eDREwZMAAAAJ&hl=en and https://paulcockshott.wordpress.com/ Defending Materialism: https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/defending-materialism-9781350447349/Towards a New Socialism: https://users.wfu.edu/cottrell/socialism_book/new_socialism.pdfWatch the video version here.RSam Podcast #75--------------------------------------- Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means). Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com---------------------------------------{Podcast}YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSamSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1LeSFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake Website: https://rahulsam.me/ {Social Media}https://substack.com/@trsam/https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/https://twitter.com/trsam97{Reference Links}https://youtu.be/9aK4OztueuE?si=ejHFFQ_BnThrxgvA{Music Used}"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapaoMusic powered by BreakingCopyrightChill Lofi Hiphop - 'Breath' by l33 is under a Free To Use YouTube licenseSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightlofi/no-copyright-chill-lofi-hiphop-breath-by-l33---------------------------------------If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/--------------------------------------- Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.Thank you.
Apr 24, 2025 • 1h 55min
Everything You Wanted to Know About Australian Politics (w/ ActuallyAdu)
ActuallyAdu is a video essayist and political commentator. He has a background in economics and makes videos about Australian and global politics. In this episode, we discuss the housing crisis, how bad the Australian economy is compared to the rest of the world, neoliberalism and its discontents, decommodifying housing, energy policy, migration, identity, preferential voting and building alternate systems.You can find more of Adu's work at https://www.youtube.com/@adu__ and https://www.instagram.com/actuallyadu/Watch the video version here.RSam Podcast #74--------------------------------------- Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means). Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com---------------------------------------{Podcast}YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSamSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1LeSFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake Website: https://rahulsam.me/ {Social Media}https://substack.com/@trsam/https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/https://twitter.com/trsam97{Reference Links}https://youtu.be/LZLwKwWOW88?si=xUE95QtYt9lY30Vqhttps://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/05/morrison-government-spent-208bn-on-consultants-and-outsourcing-public-service-in-final-year-audit-findshttps://www.innovationaus.com/australias-economic-complexity-ranking-worsens-again/{Music Used}"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapaoMusic powered by BreakingCopyrightChill Lofi Hiphop - 'Breath' by l33 is under a Free To Use YouTube licenseSoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightlofi/no-copyright-chill-lofi-hiphop-breath-by-l33---------------------------------------If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/--------------------------------------- Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.Thank you.
13 snips
Apr 18, 2025 • 1h 21min
Cognitive Computing vs. LLMs (w/ Mahault Albarracin)
Mahault Albarracin, a PhD student at UQAM and Director of Research Strategy at VERSUS, dives into the world of cognitive computing and AI. She reveals the critical distinctions between large language models and true cognitive agents, stressing the latter's need for self-awareness. The conversation also traverses her interdisciplinary journey from sexology to cognitive science, highlighting the philosophical implications of AI's development. Additionally, Mahault touches on engineering challenges, sustainability in AI, and the importance of a sociological perspective on sentience.
Apr 13, 2025 • 1h 44min
Can AI Lie? Chatbots, Language & Psychoanalysis (w/ Jack Black)
Dr Jack Black is an Associate Professor of Culture, Media, and Sport at Sheffield Hallam University (UK), where he's affiliated with the Centre for Culture, Media, and Society and is Research Lead for the Anti-Racism Research Group. He is an interdisciplinary researcher primarily focused on Freudo-Lacanian psychoanalysis, media, and cultural studies, authoring numerous books, including The Psychosis of Race, Racism and Political Correctness in Comedy (published with Routledge) and co-authored the edited collections of Sport and Psychoanalysis. Dr Black has also written about the relationship between AI and humans, which was the central subject of this discussion. In this episode, we discuss the relationship between AI, language and subjectivity through a psychoanalytic lens.You can find more of Dr Black's work at https://www.jackblackphd.co.uk/ and https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-profiles/jack-blackWatch the video version here.RSam Podcast #72--------------------------------------- Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means). Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com---------------------------------------{Podcast}YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSamSubstack: https://rsampod.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1LeSFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake Website: https://rahulsam.me/ {Social Media}https://substack.com/@trsam/https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/https://twitter.com/trsam97{Reference Links}https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41282-021-00241-5https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08944393241282602https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41282-023-00406-4https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41282-021-00241-5{Music Used}"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapaoMusic powered by BreakingCopyright---------------------------------------If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/--------------------------------------- Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.Thank you.
