What is a Zen koan?
2026-11-02
Have you ever tried to solve a riddle that is actually impossible? What if the whole point of a puzzle is to completely break your brain? Welcome to the wild world of the Zen koan! In the 1700s, a famous Japanese Zen teacher named Hakuin asked his students a brain-twisting question: 'Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?' Students would spend months—even years!—trying to figure it out. They would guess snapping, waving, or even total silence, but every single answer was wrong! Why? Because this special puzzle wasn't meant to test their logic. It was designed to exhaust their busy, thinking minds until they simply gave up! Once their brains stopped trying to solve the problem, they could finally relax and experience the beautiful present moment without worrying. Join Mira and Finn on Philosophy is Not Boring as they explore this amazing ancient brain hack, learn how to turn off the noisy static in our heads, and challenge you with a fun trivia quiz! Get ready to listen... with one hand!
- No. of episodes
- 102
- Latest episode
- 2026-11-02
Where can you listen?
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A groundbreaking podcast for curious kids aged 4-12, and the grown-ups listening with them, that proves philosophy, psychology and religion are anything but dull.
Join our fictional AI hosts Mira, a brilliant 9-year-old, and her younger brother Finn, age 7, as they explore philosophy, psychology and religion as one big family of questions about how we make sense of things. Each episode takes a real thinker or idea seriously, from what makes you the same person you were as a baby to why people across the world believe such different things about the soul, and then lands it somewhere in your actual life.
We don't hand you the answer and move on. Some questions have one; some have several worth comparing; some nobody has ever settled, and we'll tell you which is which. On matters of faith we stay even-handed: we describe what people believe from the outside, and never tell you what to believe yourself. Because philosophy isn't a pile of hard words to memorize. It's learning to ask a better question, and to sit with it honestly, even when it's uncomfortable.
A note on why we use AI. For us, AI allows us to deliver learning at a scale and quality that previously would have been too expensive. If we make the odd technical error, or the sound goes a bit funny, bear with us, we're trying our best. We hope you enjoy the show!