We've had some of the most original thinkers from around the world on RNZ this year - here are ten of our most popular conversations
Matt Parker on the not-so-serious side of mathematics
None of we humans are much good at maths, even though it underpins modern society, says mathematician and comedian Matt Parker.
Photo: Supplied
Professor Brian Cox on black holes and life on Mars
Brian Cox believes life to be common across the universe and that we could discover it in our lifetime
Photo: Matt Wilkinson / CC BY-NC 2.0
AC Grayling: The History of Philosophy
In 2019, philosophy is still an important intellectual pursuit, says the British philosopher professor.
Photo: AFP / FILE
How statistics can help us separate fact from fiction
Sir David Spiegelhalter has built a career sorting the lies from the statistics.
Photo: Kelvin Chng / BT / Singapore Press Holdings / AFP
Ashleigh Young on creativity and self-consciousness
Writer Ashleigh Young spent "three days absolutely levitating" when she became the first New Zealander to win Yale University's Windham Campbell Prize for Non-Fiction.
Photo: Supplied
Kate Raworth: a good doughnut
It turns out that an economic model which would meet all the needs of everyone on the planet resembles a doughnut.
Photo: Supplied
Sean Carroll: are we alone in the world?
Somewhere out there, is there another you living the life you might have known if you had made different choices along the way? Professor Sean Carroll is a big believer in this 'many worlds' theory of quantum mechanics.
Photo: 123rf
Naomi Oreskes: can we trust scientists?
Historian Naomi Oreskes is interested in the tactics people use to destabilise the scientific consensus.
Photo: Naomi Oreskes
Why human beings need to resist the machines
The world order is being ripped to shreds by an alliance of ethnic nationalists, women-haters and authoritarian leaders, according to writer Paul Mason.
Photo: Supplied
Frank Dikotter: ruling with the cult of personality
Dictatorships have always exploited the ‘cult of personality’ to achieve the illusion of popular approval. But just how do they do it?
Photo: AFP Archive / AFP files / Collection Roger-Viollet
