| ABOUT | SHOW NOTES | EPISODE LIST | GUEST LIST | TRANSCRIPTS | BIBLIOGRAPHY |
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Episode 57 is the first episode of Books and Ideas that I have produced in 2015. It is a conversation with experienced podcaster Elsie Escobar. Elsie brings a unique perspective to the question Why Podcast? because she does it all: she hosts and produces 2 shows, works for Libsyn, the company that hosts my shows and many others, and she listens to more podcasts than seems humanly possible.
Read MoreIn July 2014 I started a Fellowship in Palliative Medicine. Episode 56 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Dr. Amos Bailey, a respected pioneer in the field.
Read MoreEpisode 55 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Dr. John Ratey, co-author of Go Wild: Free Your Body and Mind from the Afflictions of Civilization. Dr. Ratey has also been featured several times on the Brain Science Podcast. He is an expert on the brain benefits of exercise.
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Michael Sagg, MD (click to listen)Episode 54 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Dr. Michael Saag, one of the pioneers in the battle against HIV-AIDS and author of the provocative new book Positive: One Doctor's Personal Encounters with Death, Life, and the US Healthcare System. When I asked him why he wrote his book he said bluntly "Because I am angry!"
Saag shares the frustration of most American physicians who struggle with the current chaos that we call a healthcare "system." As he notes on page 2 of Positive, “over three decades of unparalleled advances in science and healing, so much about practicing medicine seems to have gotten worse. Medical professionals’ time with patients has decreased while the workload had increased. The cost of patient care has risen by every measure, while insurers appear to profit more and help less.”
In Positive Dr. Saag blends the inside story of how HIV-AIDS was transformed from a death sentence to a manageable chronic medical condition with a candid discussion of our sytems failings. He recognizes that those of us who want to see real change face an uphill battle against powerful, (and rich) entrenched interests who are profiting from the current chaos, but it is his hope that Positive will motivate physicians and patients to use the actvisim that helped spur success against AIDS as an inspiration to fight together for change.
Listen to Episode 54 of Books and Ideas
Episode Transcript (Download PDF)
The latest episode of the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 107) is an interview with Dr. Penelope Lewis, author of The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest.
Click here to play the interview.
Click here for the full show notes and episode transcript.
The latest episode of Books and Ideas (BI 53) is an interview with Rebecca Hale, president of the American Humanist Association. We explore the basic tenets of humanism and also discuss the particular challenges facing humanists in the United States.
Hale describes humanism as "a life philosophy based on personal responsibility: humans made the problems in the world, and it's up to us to take responsibility to fix them, so that we leave the planet better than we found it."
Listen to Episode 53 of Books and Ideas (right click to download mp3)
Free Episode Transcript (Download PDF)
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I have just posted the February episode of the Brain Science Podcast and so I wanted to give you an update.
The new Premium Subscription is off to a good start. In addition many listeners are buying individual episodes and transcripts. These are on sell for only $1 each. However it is important to note that the most recent 25 episodes remain free to download or stream. Last year the Brain Science Podcast also became available on Stitcher.
Here is a brief description of the most recent free episodes:
Michael Merzenich (BSP 105)BSP 105 is an interview with Dr. Michael Merzenich, author of Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life. Although this is Merzenich's first book, he was also interviewed back in BSP 54. This interview focuses on why the choices each of us make effects whether brain plasticity is our friend or foe.
Listen to BSP 105 (right click to download)
BSP 106 is an interview with Dr. Luiz Pessoa, author of The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration. Although this book is aimed at students and
Luiz Pessoa (BSP 106) working scientists, this interview gives all listeners a chance to learn about how recent experiments are challenging traditional assumptions about emotion and cognition.
Listen to BSP 106 (Right click to download)
Please visit the Brain Science Podcast website for detailed show notes and episode transcripts.
Mur Lafferty (photo by Philip Peterson)Mur Lafferty inspired me to start podcasting back in 2006, so I am very proud that she recently won the prestigious John W. Campbell Award at this year's Hugos Celebration. Her latest novel The Shambling Guide to New York City is also garnering well-deserved praise.
Mur was my guest way back in Episode 17 of my Books and Ideas podcast so I am very pleased to have her back on for Episode 52. We talked about her writing career and what she has learned along the way. Mur continues to produce her long-running podcast I Should Be Writing, which is a must listen for all aspiring fiction writers.
Listen to Episode 52 of Books and Ideas
Episode Transcript (Download PDF)
Alvaro FernandezLast month I posted episode 100 of the Brain Science Podcast. To celebrate this milestone I supplemented the discussion of Brain Fitness with Alvaro Fernandez with feedback from listeners.
Visit the Brain Science Podcast website for the full show notes and free episode transcript.
Comment: During the interview with Alvaro Fernandez he talked about the upcoming SharpBrains Virtual Summit, which is scheduled for September 19-20. Fans of the Brain Science Podcast have been offered a 25% discount. Just use the code brainpodcast when you register.
photo by Rosalie WinwardLast month in BSP 98 I reviewed Temple Grandin's latest book The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum. That podcast focused on the current science, but this month's follow up interview (BSP 99) is a little different. It focuses on Dr. Grandin's practical advice for living with autism. Besides emphasizing the need for more research into the sensory problems that are common in autism and applying the recent discoveries about brain plasticity. Dr. Grandin believes very strongly in nurturing strengths while accommodating weaknesses. She said that it is very important that "we accommadate weaknesses in a way that is enabling." She is particularly worried that many young people are not being taught the social skills they need to succeed in a work environment, even thought they have valuable talents to contribute.
In my opinion, Dr. Grandin's advice carries extra weight because her personal example shows how an autistic person can make a unique contribution if given extensive training and support.
Listen to Dr. Grandin's interview.
Visit Brain Science Podcast website for full show notes and a free episode Transcript.
Featured on BSP 97The latest episode of the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 97) is a conversation with Daniel Lende and Greg Downey, editors of The Encultured Brain: An Introduction to Neuroanthropology. We explore how neuroscience and anthropology can work together to unravel the mystery of how our brains make us who we are.
Listen to BSP 97 (or download mp3)
Click here for complete show notes and the FREE episode transcript.
The latest episode of the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 96) marks the return of one of my favorite guests: retired neurologist and author Dr. Robert Burton. We discussed his new book A Skeptic's Guide to the Mind: What Neuroscience Can and Cannot Tell Us About Ourselves. In this book Dr. Burton expands on the ideas he first presented in On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not. He also argues that because mental sensations like certainty, agency, and causation originate outside of conscious awareness there are inherent limits in our ability to use neuroscience to understand the Mind. This is a somewhat controversial and definitely thought-provoking position, which I invite you to explore further by listening to this interview.
Go to Brain Science Podcast website for complete show notes and free episode transcripts.
Last month we launched a completely redesigned website for the Brain Science Podcast. It is intended to be more accessible to people on mobile devices, but it also makes it easier for visitors to submit feedback directly from the site.
Here is a brief summary of our most recent episodes:
Click image to listenBSP 95 is the second part of our discussion of Understanding Pain: Exploring the Perception of Pain by Fernando Cervero, who is the current president of the International Society for the Study of Pain. Dr. Cervero was interviewed in BSP 93 and in this episode I discuss additional key ideas from his book. (BSP 93 and 95 can be enjoyed in any order.
Click here for the detailed show notes.
Dr. Benjamin BergenBSP 94 was an interview with linguist Benjamin Bergen author of Louder Than Words: The New Science of How the Mind Makes Meaning.
Go to the complete show notes.
Dr. Jaak Panksepp (click for audio)Episode 51 of Books and Ideas is actually a followup of Dr. Jaak Panksepp's recent interview on the Brain Science Podcast. There we talked in depth about the scientific evidence that humans share basic emotional circuitry with other mammals. In this interview we talk about the implications of this discovery, focusing on how it should impact the treatment of laboratory animals. We also consider our relationships with pets and other domestic species.
Listen to Episode 51 of Books and Ideas
Episode Transcript (Download Free PDF)
Click Logo to ListenDr. Fernando Cervero of McGill University has been studying pain since the beginning of his career back in the 1960's. These decades have seen tremendous advances in our neuroscientific understanding of what causes different types of pain as well as changing attitudes. Pain was once regarded as something that most people had to endure, but now most of us demand adequate pain relief, sometimes even to the point of not tolerating minor pain. Dr. Cevero's new book Understanding Pain provides an accessible account of both the history of pain research and a thoughtful consideration of the challenges facing the field.
The latest episode of the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 93) is an interview with Dr. Cervero. This is Part 1 of a planned two part series.
Click Here for Detailed Show Notes and Episode Transcripts
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Ted Meisner (click to listen)I recently had the opportunity to be a guest on The Secular Buddhist podcast, which is hosted by Ted Meisner. We talked about neuroscience and my new eBook Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty. I enjoyed learning about the Secular Buddhist Association, which is an outgrowth of the podcast, but I was surprised that listener feedback indicated that many listeners have a poor understanding of Buddhism and how it relates to Secularism. That is why I invited Meisner to come on my Books and Ideas podcast.
I have just posted this interview as Episode 50:
Listen to Episode 50 of Books and Ideas
Episode Transcript (Download FREE PDF)
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Dr. Jaak Panksepp (click to play audio)In his new book The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions Jaak Panksepp set out to make his life's work more accessible to a general audience. To be honest, reading this book requires a significant commitment, but I think he does a wonderful job of updating his classic textbook Affective Neuroscience. Anyone who is interested in this field will definitely want this book as a reference. The other strength of Archeology of Mind is its evolutionary approach. The primary emotional processes that Panksepp has spent his career studying have their origins in the ancient parts of the brain that are shared by all mammals. This contradicts longstanding assumptions in neuroscience, but it has important implications for both humans and other animals.
In Episode 91 of the Brain Science Podcast Dr. Panksepp and I talked about some of the new information contained in Archeology of Mind with a particular focus on FEAR, which contrary to what many researchers claim, does NOT begin in the amygdala, but begins much lower. We do talk briefly about the experimental evidence, but this was covered in more detail during Dr. Panksepp's previous appearance on the Brain Science Podcast in BSP 65.
Click here for detailed shownotes and free transcript.
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Emily Reese (Photo by Nate Ryan) Episode 49 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Emily Reese from Minnesota Public Radio. Reese is the host of two podcasts that I enjoy: Top Score and Learning to Listen. In this interview we focus on Top Score, which is a podcast about video game music. Reese interviews the composers and gives listeners an inside look at the challenges that face composers in this new, but growing field. You don't need to be a musician or a gamer to enjoy Emily's podcasts.
Listen to Episode 49 of Books and Ideas
Free Episode Transcript (Download PDF)
Be sure to see the free episode transcripts for links to all the composers mentioned in the podcast.
If you enjoy video games and/or good science fiction check out Books and Ideas #44 with author Karen Traviss.
All music clips in this episode comply with the 30 second limit for Fair Use.
Click here for a full list of the music used or see the free episode transcript.
Please post your comments on the Books and Ideas Fan Page on Facebook or on Google+. You can also post to the Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum at Goodreads.com.
Next month's Books and Ideas is an interview with Ted Meissner who is the host of The Secular Buddhist podcast. In the meantime you might want to check out my interviews on his show: ep 124 and ep 133
I also plan to interview Jaak Panksepp. We will be talking about how discoveries from affective neuroscience should influence the treatment of laboratory animals.
Send me email at gincampbell at mac dot com or follow me on Twitter (@docartemis).
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Evan Thompson, PhDEmbodied Cognition is a movement within cognitive science that argues that the mind is inseparable from the fact that the brain is embedded in a physical body. This means that everything that the brain does, from the simplest perception to complex decision-making, relies on the interaction of the body with its environment. Evan Thompson's book Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind is an in depth look at what he calls the "enactive" approach to embodied cognition. The enactive approach was pioneered by Thompson's mentor Francisco Varela and it emphasizes the importance of the body's active engagement with its environment.
In a recent interview (BSP 89) I talked with Thompson about some of the key ideas in Mind in Life. Unlike most episodes of the Brain Science Podcast, this is not really a stand-alone episode. It is part of my ongoing exploration of both embodied cognition and the controverial topic of emergence. It is also intended as a follow-up to my recent interview with Terrence Deacon.
Click here for complete show notes and the free episode transcript.
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Bruce Hood, PhD
The Self Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity by Bruce Hood is a fascinating look at how our brains create both our experience of the world and our sense of being a single, coherent self. As the word "illusion" in the title indicates, neither is exactly what it seems. When I interviewed Dr. Hood (for BSP 88) he explained that The Self Illusion is a broad introduction to this somewhat surprising idea. The Self Illusion was written with a general audience in mind. For those already familiar with the topic he also puts a new emphasis on the role of development. All readers should come away with a new appreciation for the critical role social interactions play through out human life.
It was fun to talk with Dr. Hood again. I first interviewed him for Books and Ideas #34. At that time we discussed his first book, SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable.
Click here for the full show notes and FREE episode transcript.
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Listen to Episode 93
