In March of 2025, Closer To Truth teamed up with the Center for the Future Mind during their MindFest weekend on the theme of "Sentience, Autonomy, and the Future of Human-AI Interaction". Over two days, we worked together to produce interviews with nine expert contributors like Jonathan Schooler, Zoltan Istvan, Susan Schneider, and many others.
Check out our comprehensive playlist with videos on AI, deep fakes, transhumanism, the future of language, and much more: shorturl.at/9xrko
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Closer To Truth is heartbroken to share that Helen De Cruz—a renowned philosopher of cognitive science, mind, science, religion, art, and the humanities, a remarkable human being, a wide-ranging contributor to Closer To Truth, and a dear friend—has died at the age of 47.
Born in Belgium to a multicultural family, Helen became a highly respected philosopher with astonishingly wide interests and expertise. When, after the Covid-19 pandemic, Closer To Truth had to film four series simultaneously, Helen was featured in all four: Global Philosophy of Religion, Eastern Traditions and the Big Questions, Art Seeking Understanding, and Philosophy of Biology.
Helen held the Danforth Chair in the Humanities at Saint Louis University. Their work examined why and how humans engage in pursuits that seem remote from the immediate concerns of survival and reproduction, such as theology, mathematics, and science. They wrote several monographs, most recently Wonderstruck: How Awe and Wonder Shape the Way We Think (Princeton University Press (which we featured on Closer To Truth). They are the author of Religious Disagreement; she edited and illustrated Philosophy Illustrated: Forty-Two Thought Experiments to Broaden Your Mind; and they are the co-editor of Philosophy through Science Fiction Stories with Johan De Smedt and Eric Schwitzgebel, as well as of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy.
In addition to their PhD in Philosophy (2011, University of Groningen), Helen held a PhD in Archaeology and Art Sciences (2007, Free University of Brussels). They have written public philosophy for The Guardian, Aeon, Psyche, and The Raven Magazine. They also wrote short fiction and played the Renaissance lute and archlute.
We grieve with Helen’s family, husband Johan De Smedt, and their children. More importantly, we celebrate Helen’s extraordinary life and unparalleled contributions with their family, friends, and colleagues. We are privileged that Closer To Truth features a very small part of Helen’s work and ways of thinking: closertotruth.com/contributor/helen-de-cruz/.
Our world is a better place that Helen De Cruz has been among us.
Robert Lawrence Kuhn
Creator and Host
Closer To Truth
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Brand new interviews on consciousness and the mysteries of the mind are now live! Delve into AI consciousness, life after death, and new theories on philosophy of mind with top thinkers and philosophers.
Explore the playlist, "Understanding Consciousness," now: shorturl.at/f6bCv
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An all-new season of Closer To Truth is here! Watch the first two episodes of our "Philosophy of Biology" series and explore topics like evolution, artificial intelligence, and sex and gender: shorturl.at/Hodih
New episodes drop every Tuesday at 11am ET.
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Watch the first installment in our new interview series with cosmologist Janna Levin on black holes, the James Webb Space telescope, gravitational waves, and more.
Don't miss the premiere tomorrow, May 1, at 11am ET: shorturl.at/663tY
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Today marks the start of national AI Week, and to celebrate, we've put together a playlist with videos on everything from AI consciousness and transhumanism to ChatGPT and other large language models.
Explore the playlist today, and stay tuned to our channel for new videos every day this week centered around artificial intelligence: shorturl.at/ZcPx5
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The late Steven Weinberg's new book, "A Life in Physics", was released earlier this week. To celebrate, Closer To Truth has curated a playlist containing all of our interviews with the famous physicist, and we've also designed some special edition merch so you can carry his wisdom with you wherever you go.
Explore the curated playlist: shorturl.at/JRLVp
Shop special edition merch: shorturl.at/cjTqK
Order Weinberg's new book here: amzn.to/4hHSPrT
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Don't miss our latest CTT Chat with Philip Goff and Helen de Cruz as they discuss their individual journeys moving toward and away from religion.
Watch the illuminating interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrgbZ...
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Closer To Truth's Robert Lawrence Kuhn bids farewell to 2024, recounts CTT's greatest recent accomplishments, and shares a glimpse of what's to come in the new year.
Read Robert's blog here: shorturl.at/O1xFK
Happy holidays from all of us at Closer To Truth!
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In partnership with @TheInstituteOfArtAndIdeas, join Closer To Truth host Robert Lawrence Kuhn for an online discussion on white holes, featuring panelists Roger Penrose, Carlo Rovelli, and Laura Mersini-Houghton.
Get 50% off your tickets with promo code CTTDEC50 at checkout: iai.tv/live
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Closer To Truth is the definitive source for Cosmos, Life, Mind, and Meaning. Filmed both on location and virtually, Closer To Truth features leading philosophers and scientists exploring humanity’s deepest questions.
On the air continuously since 2000, Closer To Truth is broadcast weekly on PBS and public television stations in the U.S.
Robert Lawrence Kuhn is the creator, executive producer, writer and presenter of the series. Peter Getzels is the co-creator and producer/director.
Visit our website for our entire library of over 5,000 in-depth video interviews: www.closertotruth.com
Closer To Truth is a nonprofit endeavor made possible by funding from the Kuhn Foundation and other partners. All revenue generated from advertisements on our YouTube channel goes back into production so that we can continue to make our material free to everyone.