The Dissenter
Ricardo Lopes
My name is Ricardo Lopes, and I’m from Portugal. Thank you for visiting my podcast.
Over the past few years, I have conducted and released more than 900 interviews and talks with experts and academics from a variety of areas and disciplines, ranging from the Arts and Philosophy to the Social Sciences and Biology. You will certainly find a subject of your interest covered here.
New interviews are released on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Over the past few years, I have conducted and released more than 900 interviews and talks with experts and academics from a variety of areas and disciplines, ranging from the Arts and Philosophy to the Social Sciences and Biology. You will certainly find a subject of your interest covered here.
New interviews are released on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 2, 2026 • 1h
#1235 Nicole Rust: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders―and How We Can Change That
Nicole Rust, a Penn psychology professor who studies memory, mood and neural computation. She explores why molecular neuroscience often fails to produce cures, contrasts reductionist and complex systems frameworks, traces the serendipitous history of psychiatric drugs, and argues for dynamical, multi‑level models and AI tools to rethink how we find and test brain treatments.
Mar 30, 2026 • 1h 12min
#1234 Uljana Feest - Operationism in Psychology: An Epistemology of Exploration
Uljana Feest, philosopher of science and professor at the University of Hannover, explores how experiments and concepts co-evolve in psychology. She discusses operationism, implicit memory studies, the multiple epistemic roles of experiments, discovery versus justification, and how conceptual work shapes replication and generalization across sciences.
11 snips
Mar 27, 2026 • 54min
#1233 Steven Hollon: A Clinical and Evolutionary Approach to Depression
Steven Hollon, a Vanderbilt psychology professor who studies the causes and treatment of adult depression. He discusses what depression is, diagnostic patterns, and why rates spike in adolescence. He explores an evolutionary view of sadness, hard-to-treat chronic depression, and compares psychotherapy versus medication. He ends by outlining when different treatments are appropriate.
Mar 26, 2026 • 50min
#1232 Michael Mann - Science Under Siege: The Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World
Michael Mann, Presidential Distinguished Professor and climate scientist, discusses his book Science Under Siege. He examines five major forces undermining science: plutocrats, petrostates, credentialed pros, propagandists, and a complicit press. Short segments cover climate denial’s evolution, media false balance, and strategies for scientists to push back and communicate more effectively.
6 snips
Mar 23, 2026 • 2h 16min
#1231 Michael Gurven - Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer
Michael Gurven, an evolutionary anthropologist and author of Seven Decades, explores why humans live into their seventies. He discusses evolutionary trade offs, lessons from traditional societies, healthspan versus lifespan, and the roles elders play in families and societies. Short, clear takes on aging, activity, diet, social ties, and how environments shape long lives.
21 snips
Mar 20, 2026 • 1h 10min
#1230 William von Hippel: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness
William von Hippel, an evolutionary psychologist and author of The Social Paradox, explains how humans balance autonomy and connection. He explores their evolution, cultural and political effects, urbanization, education, and tech’s role. Short, sharp discussions cover loneliness, marriage changes, hunter-gatherer happiness, and practical ways to rebuild social ties.
Mar 19, 2026 • 1h 7min
#1229 Nandita Bajaj, Zachary Neal, and Jennifer Neal: Debunking Pronatalist Claims
Jennifer Watling Neal, psychology professor studying childfree adults; Zachary Neal, psychology professor researching fertility trends; Nandita Bajaj, reproductive-choice advocate and population scholar. They debunk pronatalist claims, define childfree versus involuntary childlessness, examine why people opt out of parenting, analyze fertility declines and contraception’s role, and discuss population, policy, and reproductive rights.
Mar 16, 2026 • 1h 11min
#1228 David Calnitsky: Basic Income, Poverty, and Socialism
David Calnitsky, an Associate Professor of Sociology studying poverty and basic income, explains what basic income is and how different variants work. He discusses evidence from experiments, effects on work, wages, poverty, and domestic violence. He also contrasts individualist and structural views of poverty and outlines institutional definitions of socialism and gradual policy paths toward it.
Mar 14, 2026 • 3min
8 Years of The Dissenter: I Need Your Support, Please
A celebration of eight years and a heartfelt call for financial support to keep the project sustainable. Discussion of current Patreon shortfall and the $900 monthly target. A plea for small monthly pledges of $1, $3, or $5 and encouragement for free members to convert. Clear instructions on where to donate and what perks supporters receive. Gratitude toward long-time patrons and collaborators.
Mar 13, 2026 • 45min
#1227 Steven Sloman - The Cost of Conviction: How Our Deepest Values Lead Us Astray
Steven Sloman, a Brown University cognitive scientist and author of The Cost of Conviction, explores how sacred values differ from consequentialist reasoning. He breaks down when people think in absolute, binary terms versus weighing trade-offs. The conversation covers causal reasoning, why simplified sacred-value messaging empowers extremists, subconscious drivers of outrage, and possibilities for reframing entrenched beliefs.
