Here We Are

Today I'm speaking with Cassie Holmes, professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. We talk about her new book "Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most" How can we use our time more wisely and accomplish the tasks we care about most? What's the difference between pickleball and tennis? Why is it easier to brainstorm in the shower or while driving across the country? Is multitasking a myth? Check out Cassie's book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Happier-Hour/Cassie-Holmes/9781982148805

Today I am speaking with Anne McLaughlin, who is a psychology professor at North Carolina State University. We discuss her book "All Too Human", which takes a look at applied Human Factors. Human Factors may be a lesser known field within psychology but its implications become obvious once realized.  Huge thanks to Chris of Hygge Production House for filming this episode. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with Hillary Anger Elfenbein, who is a professor at the Olin School of Washington University. We discuss the parallels between stand up comedy and teaching at a university, cross cultural analysis of emotional intelligence, being overly self-aware, and much more! Come and see the physical manifestation of Mind Under Matter and hang out with The WBBC™, the team, and all the other MUMies September 9 thru 11: https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout

Today I'm hanging out with my good friend, Cole Marta. Cole is the Co-founder, Medical Director, and Clinician at California Center for Psychedelic Therapy. We do a little catching up and discuss Cole's personal journey into psychedelic research and therapy as well as touch on ways you can get involved yourself. Visit California Center for Psychedelic Therapy: https://psychedelictherapyca.com/ https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

In this episode, I catch up with my good friend, Michael Garfield. Michael is the host of the Future Fossils podcast and the Complexity podcast. In his 4th appearance on Here We Are, we discuss topics like fatherhood, lifestyle changes, and the ever-changing world we live in.

Today I'm speaking with one of my very first guests on the Here We Are podcast, Marlene Zuk. Marlene is a Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. We talk about common misconceptions about evolution and comparing humans to other animals.  Check out Marlene's upcoming book, "Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters" here: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324007227 And check out some of her other books here: https://cbs.umn.edu/zuk-lab/books Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with Martie Haselton and Jaimie Krems. Martie is the world's leading researcher on how ovulatory cycles influence women's sexuality. She is a professor of psychology at UCLA and the Institute for Society and Genetics, and a really great friend of mine. Jaimie is a professor of Social psychology focusing on female friendship, conflict, stereotypes, and prejudice.  We discuss the influence large social institutions, like religion, has on one's perspective of the sanctity of life, in and out group bias, the scientific reaction to the recent Supreme Court ruling, and much more! Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

In this first ever in-person video episode of Here We Are I talk with human paleontologist, Steven E. Churchill in his lab at Duke University. We talk about the lingering Neanderthal DNA in modern humans, genetic diversity, the recent discovery of Homo naledi, and the Rising Star Expedition which is a part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa. Learn more about Steven's work: https://scholars.duke.edu/person/churchy Steven will also be coming to the MUM Campout so come meet him and check out some cool fossils! https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout

Today I'm talking with my very close friend, Peter McGraw. We talk about the pros and cons of being single vs being in a relationship, traveling as a single person, living with another person, and the strange, negative view society has on singlehood. Get tickets to the Mind Under Matter Campout Festival here: https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout Check out Peter's podcast "Solo: The Single Person’s Guide To A Remarkable Life" here: https://petermcgraw.org/podcasts/solo/ Check out Peter's books on his site here: https://petermcgraw.org/books/ Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

I have a couple special announcements and updates to share with you in this short solo episode.  Check out the latest Mind Under Matter episode to hear Ramin and I share all the details about our campout/festival: https://youtu.be/z1gkwbUX2rg Get tickets before they run out: https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout Stay tuned! Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:50 Campout Festival 05:19 Campout Location 06:37 Campout Events 21:36 Check out the latest MUM episode to learn more 24:01 Here We Are updates and improvements! Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Helena Miton is a cognitive anthropologist and complexity postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute. She investigates how culture is maintained through time and what determines the shapes traditions take. She holds her Ph.D. in cognitive science from Central European University and previously was a member of the Minds & Traditions research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. Follow her on Twitter @HelenaMiton. Helena and I discuss cultural evolution, the balance between biological and societal influences on culture, and how history and ideas embellish across time, similar to a game of telephone.  Enroll in Helena's Introductory course to Open Science here: https://www.complexityexplorer.org/courses/125-open-science-tutorial

Today I'm speaking with Dr. Christopher Kavanagh, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology. Chris is also the cohost of the Decoding the Gurus Podcast. We talk about the effect that internet gurus and thought leaders have on public perception of science and politics.  Chris’ research focuses broadly on collective rituals and their impact on social identity and group orientated behaviors, using a combination of field and lab based experiments, online surveys, and traditional ethnographic methods. Check out the Decoding the Gurus podcast: https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/c_kavanagh Learn more about Chris' work: https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-chris-kavanagh

Today I am speaking with Cecilea Mun, who is a Visiting Assistant Professor of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program, with the Department of Philosophy, at the University of Louisville, KY, and the founding director of the Society for Philosophy of Emotion, and the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Philosophy of Emotion. We talk about how money shifts the way we think about our ethical principles, Realism emotional theory and Instrumentalism emotional theory, how people on the autism spectrum process emotions, and much more! Check out Ceclia's book "Interdisciplinary Foundations for the Science of Emotion" here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-71194-8 Also check out her website here: https://sites.google.com/site/muncecilea Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

This week I’m talking with Dave Ader, an interdisciplinary scholar in the fields of sustainable agriculture and rural development. He currently works as the Assistant Director and Research Assistant Professor in the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Tennessee.   Joining me as a part of the One Health Initiative, we discuss how agricultural issues in one area can end up affecting communities on the other side of the globe and how very niche scientific research can be used to solve much larger issues. https://onehealth.tennessee.edu/

This week I am talking with Itai Yanai, Director of the Institute for Computational Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at NYU.  We discuss Richard Dawkin’s book: The Selfish Gene, Darwin’s work with Evolution and Itai’s Podcast: The Night Science Podcast. Throughout the conversation we dive into extended phenotypes, spandrels in genetics, and evolution of things like facial hair and tails.  Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

This week I’m talking all about science communication with Susanna L Harris. Susanna earned her PhD in microbiology at UNC-Chapel Hill and is now working to build better communication in Biotech.  We chat about how to more effectively communicate scientific information by guiding conversations, getting other people’s individual contexts, and the best way to present new information.  We also explore ideas like celebrating being wrong, enjoying boredom and how covid has affected scientific thinking. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

My biggest hero Robert Sapolsky returns to the show for an exceptionally important conversation about stress during a time where many of us have experienced the most in our life. This is an important conversation about how lack of predictability and control can lead to learned helplessness. This recipient of the MacArthur Foundation genius grant is a Professor at Stanford University holding joint appointments in several departments, including Biological Sciences, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery. In addition to everything else, he spent summers in Kenya study baboons which you can read about in his amazing book ‘A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons’ As someone who has spent years interviewing scientists, taking classes, watching talks, and reading science books, I believe Robert Sapolsky is the greatest science communicator alive. I hope you enjoy this episode. His Human Behavioral Biology class changed my life and is probably the most useful a

This week I am talking with Sophia Rokhlin, co-author of the book “When Plants Dream”. Sophia Rokhlin is an author, speaker and nonprofit organizer dedicated to supporting the conservation of Indigenous wisdom and territories. She currently serves as Technical Secretariat of the Amazon Emergency Fund We discuss ayahuasca, work in the amazon rainforest, and the role of indigenous peoples in our environmental future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I’m talking with Matthew Gray, associate director of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Center for Wildlife Health about amphibians. He is also a part of the One Health Initiative. Dr. Gray specializes in disease ecology. His interests include transmission dynamics of emerging infectious disease and identifying management strategies that can thwart or eradicate outbreaks. We discuss the amphibian trade, reproductive strategies across the species and the spread of disease. Matt also tells me about unique evolutionary traits like warning colorations, producing chemicals, and regenerating limbs. Pharmaceutical attributes of amphibian skin:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037887411632373X?via%3Dihub  Video on limb regeneration: https://youtu.be/byLDgtSMI0w Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Shane is talking with Graham Walker, an Emergency Room Physician in San Francisco, CA. They discuss how Covid has effected hospitals and staff over the last 2 years. Graham runs down hospital checklists, decision making in the ER setting, and what he’s seen while working. They also go into the spread of misinformation through the media, and what could possibly be done in the future. References https://twitter.com/grahamwalker/status/1489429245520580608 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02741-x Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices