Brain Science Podcast turns Seven

Ginger Campbell with Rusty and GretaEarlier this month my Brain Science Podcast celebrated its seventh anniversary. I haven't been doing a very good job of updating this website in recent months, but I wanted to take a moment to look back at 2013. While I only published two episodes of Books and Ideas, I did publish 12 episodes of the Brain Science Podcast and I am looking forward to some major changes in 2014.

BSP 103 featured the return of Olaf Sporns who was also interviewed back in BSP 74. Last month we talked about his most recent book Discovering the Human Connectome.

BSP 104 is our seventh annual review episode, which highlights the main ideas that we explored in 2013. I also announced that beginning on December 30, 2013 I will be offering a Premium Subscription. The most recent 25 episodes of the Brain Science Podcast will remain free while older episodes and episode transcripts will be available via subscription. Subscribers will get unlimited access to the entire library of content while individual episodes and transcripts can be purchased on the BSP website.

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Brain Science Podcast Nominated as Best Science Podcast

The Brain Science Podcast has been nominated as the Best Science Podcast in the Ninth Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards. Voting runs from November 1-15 at http://podcastawards.com. Listeners are allowed to vote up to once a day and since we are up against several large radio shows I am encouraging listeners to vote as often as they can.

Recent Episodes:

• BSP 102 is an interview with Dr. Allen Frances, author of Saving Normal: An Insider's Revolt Against Out-of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life.
• BSP 101 is an interview with Seth Grant. Dr Grant was first interviewed back in BSP 52. Grant has pioneered the study of evolution of the synapse. In this interview we discuss the growing evidence that changes in the synapse were critical to the subsequent evolution of complex brains and nervous systems. 

Mur Lafferty returns to Books and Ideas

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)

Additional Show Notes:

• Listen to Mur's first interview: Books and Ideas #17
• Mur's website is at MurVerse.com. That's where you can get a link to the Magic Spreadsheet
• Her podcast is I Should Be Writing and is available in iTunes and all the major podcasting apps.
• The Shambling Guide to New York City (The Shambling Guides) by Mur Lafferty (Audible link)
• The Takeover by Mur Lafferty. This is an hilarious take on zombies in the work place.
• Playing For Keeps (Kindle version) by Mur Lafferty
• The Takeover and many of Mur's other audio efforts are available at Podiobooks.com

Brain Science Podcast passes 5 Million Downloads

Thanks to a library of 100+ episodes the Brain Science Podcast is now averaging over 100,000 downloads per month and recently passed 5 million downloads.

I am particularly grateful to all my loyal listeners who have helped the show grow by sharing it with others.

The Brain Science Podcast has a discussion group at Goodreads.com, a Fan Page on Facebook and a page on Google+.

If you haven't checked it out yet I hope you will.

Brain Science Podcast #100

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.

Listen to Episode 100.

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.

Temple Grandin Share Practical Advice (BSP 99)

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.

BSP 98 "The Autistic Brain"

Click image above to play audioI hope to post a new episode of Books and Ideas before the end of the summer. Meanwhile the Brain Science Podcast is heading toward episode 100! Last month's episode (BSP 98) was a discussion of The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum  by Temple Grandin. This book is a tremendous gift, not just to patients and their families, but also to teachers, mentors, friends, and everyone who is interested in understanding how our brains make us who we are.

I think that this is a book everyone should read because as we come to appreciate the fact that the strengths and challenges of autism occur across a broad spectrum, we may also realize that some of these issues actually affect people who aren't considered autistic.  It is not the label that matters.  What does matter is recognizing that each of us has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, but thanks to brain plasticity, we all have the potential to nurture our strengths and, when necessary, accommodate our weaknesses.

Please visit the Brain Science Podcast website for full show notes and free episode transcripts.

What is Neuroanthropolgy? (BSP 97)

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.

Robert Burton Returns to the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 96)

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.

Listen to BSP 96

Go to Brain Science Podcast website for complete show notes and free episode transcripts.

Brain Science Podcast Update

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:

Pain Part 2 (BSP 95):

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.

Listen to BSP 95 

Click here for the detailed show notes.

How the Brain Understands Language (BSP 94):

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.

Listen to BSP 94

Go to the complete show notes.

Why Animal Emotions Matter (podcast)

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)

 Subscribe to Books and Ideas

Recommended Reading:

• Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions by Jaak Panksepp

• The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions  by Jaak Panksepp and Lucy Biven
• Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain by Antonio Damasio
• Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
• Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
• Why Animals Matter: Animal Consciousness, Animal Welfare, and Human Well-being by Marian Stamp Dawkins
• Project Nim (Video) directed by James Marsh

Related Podcasts:

• Jaak Panksepp on the Brain Science Podcast: BSP 65 and BSP 91
• Kyla Duffy of Happy Tails Books (dog rescue): B&I 33
• Stuart Brown on the importance of Play: BSP 61

Announcements:

• Books and Ideas has its own Facebook Fan Page.
• You can also post your feedback about Books and Ideas within the BSP Group on Goodreads.
• A new version of the Books and Ideas website will be launching soon. The URL will not change.

Meet Dr. Campbell:

• Atlanta, Georgia: February 19-21, 2013
• South by SouthWest in Austin, Texas: March 7-10, 2013
• Johannesburg, South Africa: April 8-10, 2013
• I love to meet listeners when I travel so if you will be at any of these places just drop me an email at gincampbell at mac dot com.

Neuroscience of Pain (BSP 93)

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.

Listen to Episode 93

Click Here for Detailed Show Notes and Episode Transcripts

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