A podcast promoting claims that non-verbal autistic children can read minds briefly knocked Joe Rogan off the top of the charts this month, which made the Science Weekly team wonder, how has science attempted to prove or disprove the existence of mind reading? To find out, Ian Sample speaks to Chris French, emeritus professor of psychology at Goldsmiths University. They discuss how scientists have tested this phenomenon, what else could be behind the apparent ability of some people to read minds, and why the idea is still so popular. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

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