Measuring Meditation: the Study of Contemplative Science with Mareike Smolka

Religious practices and their effects are increasingly the
subject of scientific investigation. In the field of
Contemplative Science, mediative practices drawn from Buddhist
traditions are united with techniques of analysis from cognitive
and neurosciences.


In this episode, James and Will welcome Mareike Smolka, a PhD
Researcher at Maastricht University in Science and Technology
Studies and Fullbright Scholar at Arizona State University, who
has ethnographically explored this community. Mareike’s work
traces the development of Contemplative Science from fringe to
mainstream interest, and demonstrates the tensions and trade-offs
in play when exploring religious practices from within the
boundaries of the neoliberal academy.