There’s an excellent interview with Steven Pinker on the BBC Radio 4 programme The Life Scientific that takes a look back at his work and his involvement with a long list of enjoyable controversies.
For those over-saturated with discussion about his new book on the decline of violence, The Life Scientific interview is actually a refreshing retrospective that reviews his career as a whole.
It tackles everything from the cognitive science of word learning to brawls over the influence of genetics on human behaviour (bonus segment: Oliver James making a tit of himself in a live radio debate).
A thoroughly engrossing discussion although if you want the podcast you’ll have to download it from a separate page (linked below) because linking to the podcast is a bit too advanced for the BBC.
Link to BBC Pinker interview and streaming audio.
Link to podcasts of The Life Scientific interviews.
Thoroughly enjoyed that (and Oliver James making a tit of himself.)
I have tickets to see an upcoming Pinker lecture, really looking forward to it. He’s a rare ‘un.