Author: This Is Your Brain producer
We are the only species that creates and experiences art – not just visual art but music, poetry, dance, theater, and even architecture. The impact that art has on us cannot be overstated, as it affects cognition, mental health, and physical wellbeing.Today’s guests are Susan Magsamen of the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Ivy Ross, vice president of design for the Hardware Product Area at Google and an artist and designer in her own right. Magsamen and Ross co-authored a book about the brain and the arts; the new field of neuroaesthetics…
Dr. Tony Nader, an academic, author, and the leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement, knows how you can find inner peace. TM is like a deep dive to the stillness at the bottom of the ocean, leaving the turbulent waves far above.Learn how the body and mind are inextricably bound, and how meditation can improve mental and physical health. Plus… what the Beatles taught us about meditation.Phil Stieg: Hello, I’d like to welcome to Dr. Tony Nader, head of the Transcendental Meditation Organization, globally and successor to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. How can we explain the brain-body interaction? What can…
Where do imagination and creativity live in the brain – and how can we tap them? Neuroscientist and author Anna Abraham reveals the three elements of creativity and explores the myths surrounding it. Phil Stieg: Our guest today is Dr. Anna Abraham, a neuroscientist and renowned expert on one of the most fascinating aspects of the human brain, creativity and imagination. We are here to discuss her most recent book, The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths. She’ll answer some of the most perplexing questions about the creative mind. Do our brains work differently when creating a poem or painting compared…
Dolphins have large, complex brains that are a lot like the human model — what if we could get inside their heads and communicate with them? Meet cognitive psychologist and marine mammal scientist Diana Reiss, PhD, who has been doing just that. Turns out our underwater friends have a lot going on in their brains, if only we could learn to decode it. Plus… Hear from one of the musician/scientists who discovered fifty years ago that whales produce actual songs. Phil Stieg: Hello. Some of us remember the TV show Flipper and how he developed an appreciation for the intelligence…
Candace Pert discovered the opioid receptor, created a drug to stop AIDS in the brain, and identified stress as a cause of disease. She also inadvertently unleashed the overdose epidemic, got kicked out of the NIH, and was denied credit for much of her work. Largely forgotten, Pert was a trailblazing yet mercurial neuroscientist. Emmy award winning writer and producer Pamela Ryckman shines a light on Pert’s breakthroughs and her fascinating legacy on the podcast. Dr. Phil Stieg: Today our guest is Pamela Ryckman, Emmy award-winning film producer, screenwriter, journalist, and business executive who has focused much of her career…
ASMR, or the autonomous sensory meridian response, is a state of deep calm accompanied by a sense of “brain tingles.” Not everyone experiences it, but if you do, you know what triggers it: a whisper or other soft sounds, a gentle touch or movement, even watching a Bob Ross video. Physiologist Craig Richard explains the science behind ASMR, and why in some people, it induces a deeply relaxing response that can resolve insomnia, relaxation, and stress. Plus: who are the top “artists” of ASMR? Phil Stieg: Hello. I’d like to welcome Professor Craig Richard, founder of ASMR University. ASMR is…