{"podcast":{"title":"The Functional Mind","slug":"the-functional-mind-7826989","podcast_index_feed_id":7826989,"rss_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/8698142.rss","website_url":"https://thefunctionalmind.substack.com/podcast","image_url":"https://substackcdn.com/feed/podcast/8698142/2c8bd2577949e6b2e5288e35e2d46025.jpg","author":"Steve Wagar","episode_count":7,"summary":"What are we, exactly? Not biologically — we have good answers there. I mean scientifically: what kind of thing is a mind, a feeling, a self? I think the answer has been hiding in plain sight for a century. This is where I make the case.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-15T08:19:50.761977+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-functional-mind-7826989"},"episode":{"title":"Lesson 1: The Missing Lever","slug":"lesson-1-the-missing-lever","published_at":"2026-05-05T19:56:17+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-functional-mind-7826989/lesson-1-the-missing-lever","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-functional-mind-7826989","url":"https://thefunctionalmind.substack.com/p/lesson-1-the-missing-lever","audio_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/196582103/385a9046f4eed310f0e77d6955187274.mp3","summary":"The mind-body problem has been framed wrong for centuries. The real question isn't whether mind and body are two distinct things. They aren't — not fundamentally. The real question is what separates living things from nonliving ones. That's where the answer has been hiding. The Functional Mind is a complete argument in 28 lessons, released fortnightly. By the end, you will have a coherent scientific framework for understanding life, mind, and what it means to be the kind of thing we are. Not a survey of existing ideas — a new framework, built from first principles, that I believe resolves questions that have been officially unanswered for a century. The written version of every lesson is available at thefunctionalmind.substack.com — same content, readable at your own pace. Music by Brylie Christopher – full credits: Solo This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thefunctionalmind.substack.com","meta_description":"The mind-body problem has been framed wrong for centuries. The real question isn't whether mind and body are two distinct things. They aren't — not fundam…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":386,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-functional-mind-7826989/episodes/lesson-1-the-missing-lever/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-functional-mind-7826989/lesson-1-the-missing-lever.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}