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Do novelists understand consciousness better than neuroscientists? episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 28, 2026 · 52 MIN

Do novelists understand consciousness better than neuroscientists?

from The New Statesman Podcast, Subscriber Only Edition

Michael Pollan, a writer best known for his work on the effect of psychedelics, has taken a journey into the inner mind.   For much of modern history, we've understood the mind in comparison to our most advanced machines. Once it was clockwork, then looms, now computers. Each metaphor promises clarity - the ability to be mapped and modelled - but each, in its own way, falls short.   Drawing on philosophy, literature and his own experiments with altered states, in Michael Pollan takes aim at this habit of thinking.    

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Do novelists understand consciousness better than neuroscientists?

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How long is this episode of The New Statesman Podcast, Subscriber Only Edition?

This episode is 52 minutes long.

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This episode was published on March 28, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Michael Pollan, a writer best known for his work on the effect of psychedelics, has taken a journey into the inner mind.   For much of modern history, we've understood the mind in comparison to our most advanced machines. Once it was clockwork, then...

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