PODCAST · science
BookLab
by Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter
From neurons to nanotech and from quarks to the cosmos, BookLab is the podcast that puts science books under the microscope! Join hosts Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter for a look at the latest in popular science writing: what's new, what's hot, and what you ought to be reading right now.
Episodes
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BookLab 040: The best science books of 2025
A roundup of Dan and Amanda's picks for the top science books of the past year, featuring new books by Sam Kean, Dagomar Degroot, Lynn Gamwell, Pria Anand, David Baron, and many more!
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BookLab 039: More Everything Forever, by Adam Becker
Tech billionaires talk about colonizing Mars, building grand space stations far from Earth, lengthening life spans, and maybe even eradicating aging and death, or uploading our minds into computers. Well, not so fast, says Adam Becker in this provocative new book.
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BookLab 038: The Language Puzzle; Ways of Being; Playing Possum
There's no question that animals communicate -- but only humans have full-blown symbolic language. So, how did we get here? In The Language Puzzle, archeologist Steven Mithen tries to figure out how we became such a talkative species. And on the nightstand: Ways of Being, by James Bridle; and...
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BookLab 037: Ten Year Anniversary Special
Hosts Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter reflect on favorite science books, publishing trends, and more as BookLab marks its first ten years.
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BookLab 036: Her Time, Her Space and The Enlightenment's Most Dangerous Woman
You know about Galileo, Newton, and Einstein -- but what about the many women scientists who helped shape our understanding of the cosmos? In this episode, we look at two books give those overlooked women the recognition they deserve.
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BookLab 035: The Blind Spot; Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation; The Rigor of Angels
Some researchers believe that the traditional scientific approach, in spite of its impressive 400-year track record, has left something out. Adam Frank, Marcelo Gleiser, and Evan Thompson lay out the argument in The Blind Spot. And on the nightstand: Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation, by...
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BookLab 034: Determined by Robert Sapolsky and Free Agents by Kevin Mitchell
It's one of the oldest and most vexing questions in science and philosophy: Do we have free will? In this episode of BookLab, we take a close look at two books by two scientists who have considered the question at length -- and have been led to two very different conclusions.
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BookLab 033: The Book of Minds; The Darkness Manifesto; Existential Physics
The human mind is quite something. We can use it to reason; to envision past and future events; to ponder abstractions. But what other minds are out there? In Philip Ball's The Book of Minds, we're invited to explore the space of possible minds. And on the nightstand: The Darkness Manifesto, by...
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BookLab 032: The One; Sounds Wild and Broken; What We Owe the Future
The world around us seems incredibly diverse -- but what if beneath that diversity there was a unifying sameness? That's the idea behind "monism" -- an ancient idea that physicist Heinrich Pas believes is due for a comeback. He explores the idea in his new book, The One. And on the nightstand:...
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BookLab 031: Reality+; Well, Doc, You're In; and As Gods
Virtual reality has taken off in recent years. But what if the virtual worlds of VR are real -- just as real, perhaps, as the physical world we see around us? And... is it possible we're living in a simulation right now? Philosopher David Chalmers probes these questions in his provocative new…
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BookLab 030: Being You, The Monster's Bones, and Quantum Legacies
Featured book: Being You, by Anil Seth. A lot has been written on the subject of consciousness, but few are positioned to tackle the problem better than neuroscientist Anil Seth, whose new book examines how we experience "life in the first person." And on the nightstand: The Monster's Bones, by...
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BookLab 029: Hawking Hawking, The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy, and When We Cease to Understand the World
Featured book: Hawking Hawking, by Charles Seife. Charles Seife's new biography of Stephen Hawking takes an unflinching look at the good and bad sides of the famous physicist. And on the nightstand: The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy, by Arik Kershenbaum; and When We Cease to Understand the…
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BookLab 028: Life's Edge, by Carl Zimmer; and The Genesis Quest, by Michael Marshall
What is life? As Carl Zimmer shows in Life's Edge, the more we try to pin it down, the more elusive an answer becomes. And in The Genesis Quest, Michael Marshall examines the age-old puzzle of how life began on our planet.
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BookLab 027: Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain, Why Fish Don't Exist, and The Precipice
Featured Book: Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain, by Lisa Feldman Barrett. Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett take a deep dive into our most remarkable organ – and explains why the brain is for much more than just thinking. And on the nightstand: Why Fish Don't Exist, by Lulu Miller; and...
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BookLab 026: The End of Everything, and Black Hole Survival Guide
We double up on the physics in this episode: First, Katie Mack looks at the universe's end-game in The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking). Then we explore the universe's most exotic objects in Janna Levin's new book, Black Hole Survival Guide.
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BookLab 025: COVID-19, by Debora MacKenzie
In this special episode of BookLab, we focus on COVID-19 by journalist Debora MacKenzie. Her book examines how this pandemic happened, how it might have been prevented – or at least mitigated – and what can be done to make sure a similar catastrophic public health crisis doesn't happen again.
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BookLab 024: Until the End of Time, Superior, and Moral Tribes
Featured book: Until the End of Time, by Brian Greene. Where exactly do human beings fit in, in this vast cosmos? Brian Greene tackles the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything in an ambitious new book. And on the nightstand: Superior, by Angela Saini; and Moral Tribes by Joshua Greene
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BookLab 023: The Feeling of Life Itself, Supernavigators, and The Math of Life & Death
Featured book: The Feeling of Life Itself, by Christof Koch. A neuroscientist who's spent decades studying the puzzle of consciousness explores the problem of how the brain gives rise to the mind. And on the nightstand: Supernavigators, by David Barrie; and The Math of Life and Death, by Kit Yates.
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BookLab 022: The Number of the Heavens, and Something Deeply Hidden
It's one of the most provocative ideas in all of science – the notion that our universe might just an infinitesimal part of a much larger reality. In this episode, we look at two new books that take us deep into the multiverse: The Number of the Heavens, by Tom Siegfried; and Something Deeply...
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BookLab 021: The Goodness Paradox; The Overstory; The Trouble with Gravity
Featured book: The Goodness Paradox, by Richard Wrangham. Our species, Homo sapiens, is less violent than any of our primate cousins -- but how did we get that way? A Harvard anthropologist suggests an answer. And on the nightstand: The Overstory, by Richard Powers; and The Trouble with Gravity…
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BookLab 020: What is Real? and Beyond Weird
Featured Books:What is Real? by Adam Becker; and Beyond Weird by Philip Ball. Quantum physics has been with us for more than 100 years – but what is it actually telling us about the world?
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BookLab 019: Adventures in Memory; Outside Color; The Invention of Nature
Featured Book: Adventures in Memory, by Hilde Østby and Ylva Østby Few things are as fundamental to the human experience as memory. But what exactly is memory? How do memories actually work, in our brains? And why did we evolve to have memories? And on the nightstand: Outside Color, by Mazviita...
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BookLab 018: Lost in Math; Through Two Doors at Once; The Order of Time
Featured Book:Lost in Math, by Sabine Hossenfelder Physics made enormous progress in the 20th century – but Sabine Hossenfelder says we've reached a dead-end in the 21st, because today's physicists take their equations too seriously. And on the nightstand: Through Two Doors at Once, by Anil...
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BookLab 017: The Strange Order of Things; Internal Time; The Last Man Who Knew Everything
Featured Book:The Strange Order of Things, by Antonio Damasio How did emotions and feelings – and conscious awareness in general – come into existence? Neuroscientist and philosopher Antonio Damasio weighs in. And on the nightstand: Internal Time, by Till Roenneberg; and The Last Man Who Knew...
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BookLab 016: A special episode – Why Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time still matters, 30 years later
Stephen Hawking's first book aimed at a popular audience, A Brief History of Time, became a surprise bestseller and turned the world of popular science writing upside down. We look back at this remarkable book, 30 years after its publication.
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BookLab 015: Life 3.0; Prehension; The Social Conquest of Earth
Featured Book: Life 3.0, by Max Tegmark Artificial intelligence is set to change the world. Will humanity have what it takes to survive, in the age of intelligent machines? And on the nightstand: Prehension, by Colin McGinn; and The Social Conquest of Earth by E.O. Wilson.
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BookLab 014: The Big Picture; You Belong to the Universe; Time Travel
Featured Book: The Big Picture, by Sean Carroll. Do our lives have any significance in a universe of impersonal particles and forces and physical laws? That's a big question – but a physicist with an eye on the big picture takes a shot at answering them. And on the nightstand: You Belong to the...
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BookLab 013: The Gene; Surfing Uncertainty; Black Hole Blues
Featured Book: The Gene, by Siddhartha Mukherjee. The gene shapes who we are. While the science of genetics is still fairly young, it's advancing at a breakneck speed. What will we do with this new knowledge? And on the nightstand: Surfing Uncertainty, by Andy Clark; and Black Hole Blues, by…
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BookLab 012: Spooky Action at a Distance; Why Information Grows; Inventology
Featured Book: Spooky Action at a Distance, by George Musser. Quantum entanglement is one of the strangest ideas in modern physics – and could end up changing the way we think about space and time. And on the nightstand: Why Information Grows, by César Hidalgo; and Inventology, by Pagan Kennedy.
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BookLab 011: Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs; The Brain; Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Featured Book: Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, by Lisa Randall. A physicist puts forward a bold idea about how the dinosaurs met their demise – and the role that an exotic kind of matter may have played. And on the nightstand: The Brain, by David Eagleman; and Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by…
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BookLab 010: Ada's Algorithm and It Began with Babbage
Featured Books: Ada’s Algorithm, by James Essinger; and It Began with Babbage, by Subrata Dasgupta. Two new books look at the history of the computer – the invention that would usher in the modern age.
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BookLab 009: Sapiens and The Upright Thinkers
Two new books look at the history of our species, the rise of science, and how one puny primate conquered the planet: The Upright Thinkers, by Leonard Mlodinov; and Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari.
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BookLab 008: The Patient Will See You Now; On the Move; The Clockwork Universe
Featured Book: The Patient Will See You Now, by Eric Topol. Eric Topol says medicine itself has been sick for years – but he’s confident that we can use digital technology to improve the health care system. And on the nightstand: On the Move, by Oliver Sacks; and The Clockwork Universe, by Edward...
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BookLab 007: Mind Change; Invisible; Unflattening
Featured Book: Mind Change, by Susan Greenfield. Digital technology is all around us, and there’s more of it every day. It’s changing the way we live our lives – and neuroscientist Susan Greenfield says it’s also affecting our brains. And on the nightstand: Invisible, by Philip Ball; and...
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BookLab 006: The Island of Knowledge; Orfeo; Why Does the World Exist?
Featured Book: The Island of Knowledge, by Marcelo Gleiser. Are there limits to what science can discover? Marcelo Gleiser says that no matter how far science progresses, there’s always something that’s unknowable. And on the nightstand: Orfeo, by Richard Powers; and Why Does the World Exist? By...
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BookLab 005: The Human Age; The Moral Landscape; Eureka!
Featured Book: The Human Age, by Diane Ackerman. Human beings have completely transformed the planet, and even greater changes lie ahead. According to Diane Ackerman, we must now harness human creativity and create the world we want to live in. And on the nightstand: The Moral Landscape, by Sam...
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BookLab 004: Superintelligence; Our Final Hour; Tubes
Featured Book: Superintelligence, by Nick Bostrom. Within a few decades, our computers could be smarter than we are. According to Nick Bostrom, we should be afraid of where Artificial Intelligence may lead us. And on the nightstand: Our Final Hour, by Martin Rees; and Tubes, by Andrew Blum.
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BookLab 003: Colliding Worlds; Logicomix; Only the Longest Threads
Featured Book: Colliding Worlds, by Arthur I. Miller. The art-science connection: Over the last 50 years, the world of modern art has been completely transformed, Arthur I. Miller argues, because of the influence that modern science has had on art and artists. And on the nightstand: Logicomix, by...
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BookLab 002: Consciousness and the Brain; Time Reborn; The Idea Factory
Featured Book: Consciousness and the Brain, by Stanislas Deheane. Stanislas Deheane tackles the problem of consciousness, and tells us how his own research is helping to explain how that three-and-a-half pound lump of squishy gray mater inside your head does what it does. And on the nightstand:...
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BookLab 001: Our Mathematical Universe; A Universe from Nothing; Me Myself and Why
Featured Book: Our Mathematical Universe, by Max Tegmark. How many universes are there, anyway? Physicist Max Tegmark says there could be an infinite number of them, and he argues the case in his latest book. And on the nightstand: A Universe from Nothing, by Lawrence Krauss; and Me Myself and…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
From neurons to nanotech and from quarks to the cosmos, BookLab is the podcast that puts science books under the microscope! Join hosts Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter for a look at the latest in popular science writing: what's new, what's hot, and what you ought to be reading right now.
HOSTED BY
Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does BookLab have?
BookLab currently has 40 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is BookLab about?
From neurons to nanotech and from quarks to the cosmos, BookLab is the podcast that puts science books under the microscope! Join hosts Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter for a look at the latest in popular science writing: what's new, what's hot, and what you ought to be reading right now.
How often does BookLab release new episodes?
BookLab has 40 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to BookLab?
You can listen to BookLab on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts BookLab?
BookLab is created and hosted by Dan Falk and Amanda Gefter.
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