Lights On: How Understanding Consciousness Helps Us Understand the Universe

“Consciousness might be the greatest mystery of the universe, and Annaka Harris is our best detective... You’ll never think about what happens between your ears in the same way again.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again

“Follow along as Annaka Harris interviews (and graciously challenges) the world’s leading scientists on the nature of consciousness... Magnificent.” —Susan Cain, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Quiet

As accessible as it is awe-inspiring, this exclusive audio documentary by New York Times bestselling author Annaka Harris explores the unknown corners of consciousness and the cosmos.

Is consciousness a fundamental building block of the universe, like gravity? Can humans develop new senses through neuroscience? And can artificial intelligence ever truly replicate the subjective experience of being conscious?

Join Annaka Harris as she calls on distinguished experts in science and philosophy to find answers to today’s most perplexing questions about our minds and the universe at large. Through interviews with thinkers such as Brian Greene, David Eagleman, Anil Seth, Carlo Rovelli, and more, Harris presents diverse perspectives on whether consciousness could be considered a fundamental aspect of the universe.

This revolutionary idea challenges traditional neuroscience and quantum physics, shattering what we think we know about ourselves and scientific phenomena as foundational as space and time. Lights On also questions how a new understanding of consciousness might affect our perception of existence, our notions of free will, the development of technology, and the future of scientific discovery. In a follow-up to her seminal book, Conscious, this audio-original documentary offers beginners and experts alike a chance to unravel some of humankind’s most enduring puzzles. Where Conscious presents new questions about felt experience, Lights On seeks to find the answers.

“Only Annaka Harris could take one of the greatest mysteries of science and make it not only an adventure but also deeply relevant to everyday human flourishing.” —Dan Harris, author of the New York Times bestseller 10% Happier and host of the 10% Percent Happier podcast

Narrated by Annaka Harris; featuring Jay Shapiro, Susan Blackmore, Sean Carroll, Daniel Chamovitz, David Eagleman, Sascha Fink, Adam Frank, Philip Goff, Joseph Goldstein, Brian Greene, Donald Hoffman, Patrick House, Christof Koch, Janna Levin, George Musser, Zoë Schlanger, Anil Seth, Lee Smolin, Sara Imari Walker

Produced and directed by Jay Shapiro and Annaka Harris

An audio original from Macmillan Audio.