Ways of Knowing

Mar 11 2024 1.6k

Ways of Knowing Podcast artwork

New ways of thinking about the world, brought to you by the humanities and The World According to Sound. We’re working with universities to translate academic research into sound. Each season has a radically different format and topic. You’ll never hear the same kind of thing twice. We’re independent and ad free. Patreon is the best way to support our work. https://www.patreon.com/theworldaccordingtosound

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Listening Experience 01: Transposition

Mar 11 2024 82 mins

The first in a 9-part series dedicated to deep, intentional listening. Episodes of "The Listening Experience" will be released about every four months.

Cosmic Visions: Sounds of Space

Dec 21 2023 8 mins

There's a lot to hear in outer space if you change the way you listen.

Cosmic Visions: Sonic Gravity

Dec 20 2023 13 mins

The story of how gravitational waves were finally discovered and how we are making sense of them.

Cosmic Visions: Picturing the Universe

Dec 19 2023 11 mins

Some of the most iconic images we have of the universe closely resemble 19th-century landscape paintings of the American West. A big part of the reason has to do with how scientists interpreted visual data from telescopes like Hubble.

Cosmic Visions: Dante's Universe

Dec 18 2023 10 mins

With the telescopes of the 20th century, astronomers began to see a universe that just so happened to resemble the cosmos as described by a 13th century Italian poet…Dante Alighieri.

Cosmic Visions: Aliens

Dec 17 2023 11 mins

An observational error in the 19th century leads to a belief that there is an advanced alien civilization on Mars...which leads to a boom in astronomy investment, research, and actual discoveries, including the first sighting of Pluto.

Cosmic Visions: Kepler's Fiction

Dec 16 2023 14 mins

"Somnium" is considered one of the first pieces of science fiction. The short story, written in 1608, recounts a trip up to the moon. There are magical beings, aliens, drugs, and a perspective of the stars that would fundamentally change how people understood the solar system.

Cosmic Visions: Deep Patterns

Dec 15 2023 12 mins

Near the end of the 11th century CE, there was a crisis in China’s Song Dynasty. The imperial calendars were filled with errors. To fix them, the imperial court would have to reform one of the most essential institutions in the empire: The Bureau of Astronomy.

Cosmic Visions: The Mayan Zero

Dec 14 2023 13 mins

In the 9th century CE, Mayan astronomers were able to calculate the period of Venus down to the minute. They were only able to achieve this unrivaled accuracy because they had developed one of the most important mathematical concepts in human history, the zero.

Cosmic Visions: The Beautiful Order

Dec 13 2023 10 mins

In the 6th Century BCE, Ancient Greeks began thinking about the cosmos in a fundamentally new way. Their novel approach led them to believe the things they saw in the night sky were not ethereal, but solid bodies—balls of fire or rock that may even have inhabitants of their own.