Music, Consciousness and the Power of Connection

2026-06-06

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How should we understand the relationship among sound, consciousness and a healthy mind? It has to do with the power of connection, not just to other people but the world around us. In this episode of the Hacking Longevity series, Kara talks to Dr. AZA Allsop, an artist and psychiatrist who runs a lab at Yale that studies how music and sound can affect mental well-being and the power of connections we feel with other people. Later, she talks to science journalist Michael Pollan, author of A...

How should we understand the relationship among sound, consciousness and a healthy mind? It has to do with the power of connection, not just to other people but the world around us.

In this episode of the Hacking Longevity series, Kara talks to Dr. AZA Allsop, an artist and psychiatrist who runs a lab at Yale that studies how music and sound can affect mental well-being and the power of connections we feel with other people.

Later, she talks to science journalist Michael Pollan, author of A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness. He goes deep on what makes the brain work, and he has some very interesting thoughts on whether machines could become sentient.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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