Science of Perception Box cover art

Science of Perception Box

Science of Perception Box

By: Unlikely Collaborators | Pod People
Listen for free

Season's Savings | £0.99/mo for 3 months

£5.99/mo after 3 months - terms apply. Cancel monthly
Join renowned scientists Dr. Heather Berlin and Dr. Christof Koch on the Science of Perception Box, where they delve into the Perception Box—a groundbreaking concept developed by Elizabeth R. Koch, that reveals how our beliefs, biases, and neural wiring shape our reality and define how we experience the world. Through captivating conversations with expert guests like psychiatrist Dr. Judson Brewer, anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher, and journalist Michael Pollan, the show explores how the Perception Box expands in states of awe, curiosity, and love, and contracts during fear, anxiety, or anger. From mindfulness and romantic relationships to psychedelics and human connection, each episode uncovers transformative insights into unlocking greater awareness, fostering curiosity, and reshaping how we perceive the world. New episodes drop every Thursday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow the journey and redefine your reality.© Copyright 2025 Unlikely Collaborators. All Rights Reserved. Biological Sciences Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science
Episodes
  • Can a Plant, a Chatbot, or Your Gut Be Conscious? With Michael Pollan

    Can a Plant, a Chatbot, or Your Gut Be Conscious? With Michael Pollan
    Oct 14 2026
    In this special live episode, journalist and bestselling author Michael Pollan explains how a psychedelic experience “smudged the windshield” of his consciousness and started the search behind his new book, A World Appears. He explains the difference between sentience and consciousness and shares some surprising plant research: corn that solves mazes, plants that recognize their relatives, and anesthetics that knock out a Venus flytrap. Pollan’s exploration of consciousness reveals a central idea of the Perception Box, a framework developed by Elizabeth R. Koch for understanding the forces within us that shape how we see ourselves, relate to others, and move through the world. Dr. Heather Berlin is a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Dr. Christof Koch is Chief Scientist for the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation and the current Meritorious Investigator and former President of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. Join us for new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever podcasts are found. Love the show? Write us a review on your podcast app, or tell a friend about the show. Visit unlikelycollaborators.com for more information. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 03:29 How psychedelics “smudged the windshield” 08:41 Are plants conscious? 16:03 Can machines be conscious? 18:53 Do we need a cortex to be conscious? 23:53 Materialism vs. idealism 33:17 The microbiome and embodied consciousness 34:53 Why the brain isn’t a computer 40:15 How gut bacteria shape the mind 48:55 Consciousness hygiene 55:00 The Perception Box question
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • The ‘Self’ You Can’t Find with Sam Harris

    The ‘Self’ You Can’t Find with Sam Harris
    Oct 7 2026
    Most of us feel like there's a "me" behind our eyes, a thinker of our thoughts and author of our choices. Author and Waking Up founder Sam Harris argues that when you look closely enough, that self disappears. Dr. Heather Berlin and Dr. Christof Koch dig into why the sense of self may be something the brain constructs moment to moment, and why free will, in Sam's view, doesn't hold up to either physics or careful attention. Along the way they explore what meditation and psychedelics reveal about the mind, why denying free will isn't fatalism, and why Sam sees that as grounds for optimism about how much we can change. Sam’s exploration into free will reveals a central idea of the Perception Box, a framework developed by Elizabeth R. Koch for understanding the forces within us that shape how we see ourselves, relate to others, and move through the world. Dr. Heather Berlin is a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Dr. Christof Koch is Chief Scientist for the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation and the current Meritorious Investigator and former President of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. Join us for new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever podcasts are found. Love the show? Write us a review on your podcast app, or tell a friend about the show. Visit unlikelycollaborators.com for more information. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 6:50 Self-consciousness and the neuroscience of self 12:50 Do we have free will? 24:00 Waking up: lucid dreaming and meditation 29:20 Intrusive thoughts and what we can control 31:00 Psychedelics and meditation 38:45 Can free will be settled?
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • The Physics of Consciousness

    The Physics of Consciousness
    Sep 30 2026
    Theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku joins hosts Dr. Heather Berlin and Dr. Christof Koch to explore what physics can teach us about consciousness and reality itself. Dr. Kaku argues that consciousness is best understood as feedback loops, shaping the walls of our own Perception Box™ long before we're aware of it. The conversation asks if quantum mechanics has anything to do with a "warm, wet" brain, illuminating a central idea of the Perception Box, a framework developed by Elizabeth R. Koch for understanding the forces within us that shape how we see ourselves, relate to others, and move through the world. Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, bestselling author, acclaimed public speaker, renowned futurist, and popularizer of science. As co-founder of String Field Theory, Dr. Kaku carries on Einstein's quest to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into a single grand unified theory of everything. He received a B.S. (summa cum laude) from Harvard University in 1968, then went on to the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a Ph.D. in 1972. In 1973, he held a lectureship at Princeton University. Dr. Heather Berlin is a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Dr. Christof Koch is Chief Scientist for the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation and the current Meritorious Investigator and former President of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. Join us for new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever podcasts are found. Love the show? Write us a review on your podcast app, or tell a friend about the show. Visit unlikelycollaborators.com for more information. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:48 Can Physics Explain Consciousness? 03:24 Defining Consciousness vs. Intelligence 09:57 Schrödinger's Cat and the Many-Worlds Theory 12:47 Do Quantum Effects Scale Up to the Brain? 16:13 Could AI Ever Be Conscious? 21:04 Perception Box Question: How Do Others Perceive You? 23:15 Kaku's Multiple Identities Through Life
    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet