A Podcast that Explores how neuroscience is unraveling the mystery of how our brain makes us human
Brain Science is a monthly podcast Brain Science, hosted by Ginger Campbell, MD. We explore how recent discoveries in neuroscience are helping unravel the mystery of how our brain makes us human. The content is accessible to people of all backgrounds.
In response to listener requests, I recently interviewed Dr. Steven Novella from the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. This has been posted as Episode 16 of Books and Ideas , my other podcast. The details are available in the show notes on the Books and Ideas website. I hope you will consider subscribing to the podcast, but if you just want to hear the interview,
In his new book, Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter, Terrence Deacon writes that his goal is to “demonstrate how a form of causality depending specifically on absent features and unrealized potential can be compatible with our best science.” (page 16). But in a recent interview (Books and Ideas #47) he also contends that his book "grew out of a dissatisfaction with the systems theory approach."
He feels strongly that "to understand the origin of end-directed phenomena, representational phenomena, or mental phenomena, you need to take one further step; you need to figure out what’s beyond self-organization that needs to be explained to account for these things." Thus, his ambitious goal is to find a place for meaning within science.
Incomplete Nature is a dense but compelling book, and the goal of this interview is to introduce listeners to the idea that life and meaning are compatible with a scientific world view.
I am putting Episode 43 of Books and Ideas into the Brain Science Podcast feed because it should be of interest to BSP fans. This episode is an interview with psychologist Carol Tavris.
We talk about the relationship between psychology and neuroscience as well as cognitive dissonance, which is the subject of Dr. Tavris's recent book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts.
Post your comments in the thread on the BSP Discussion Forum in Goodreads or send me feedback at gincampbell at mac dot com.
On May 11, 2011 I gave a talk entitled "Why Neuroscience Matters" at the London Skeptics in the Pub. Episode 42 of Books and Ideas is an edited version of that talk, including the lively Q and A with the audience.
Bayes, A., Grant, S., et al. "Characterization of the proteome, diseases and evolution of the human postsynaptic density." Nature Neuroscience 14, 19–21 (2011) (Published online 12/23/2010).
Libet, B. "Do We Have Free Will?"Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6. No. 8-9, 1999, pp. 47-57.
On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not (2008), by Robert Burton; p 127.
Philosophy in the Flesh : The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought (1999), by George Lakoff, Mark Johnson; p 4.
Brain Waves Module 2: Report on Education and Neuroscience from the Royal Society (2011).
BSP 25: Rolf Pfeifer, PhD, author of How the Body Shapes the Mind.
BSP 26: Norman Doidge, MD, author of The Brain That Changes Itself.
BSP 42:On Being Certain; and BSP 43: Interview with Robert Burton, MD
BSP 51: Evolution of the Synapse, with Seth Grant, PhD.
BSP 59: Use of C. elegans in Neuroscience, with Guy Caldwell, PhD.
BSP 65: Subcortical Origins of Basic Emotions, with Jaak Panksepp, PhD.
Dr. Campbell will be a speaker at The Amazing Meeting 9, which is coming up in Las Vegas, Nevada July 14-17.
Please send your feedback to Dr. Campbell at gincampbell at mac dot com, or post a comment on the Facebook Fan Page.
Don't forget to sign up for Ginger Campbell's Newsletter so you can get show notes for every podcast.
In his new book, Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All, pediatrican Dr Paul A. Offit traces the history of the anti-vaccine movement from opposition to the smallpox vaccine in the 19th century up through recent events. Unfortunately, the results are predictable; reducing vaccination rates lead to reemergence of dangerous preventable infectious diseases. That is why the decision not to vaccinate is not a personal decision; it is one that involves the whole community.
This is the focus of the conversation I had with Dr. Offit in Episode 40 of Books and Ideas. This is a follow-up to Dr. Offit's first interview here in Episode 25. Because I think this issue is literally a matter of life and death, I encourage you to share this podcast with others.
Send email feedback to Dr. Campbell at gincampbell at mac dot com or leave voicemail at 205-202-0663.
Episode 34 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Bruce M Hood, author of SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable .
Dr. Hood is a developmental psychologist with a long-standing interest in why people believe weird things. In SuperSense, he argues that innate cognitive structures (how we think without being taught) give people a natural tendency toward belief in the supernatural. Our intuitive sense of how the world works is often at odds with the findings of modern science.
In this interview we discuss the evidence for these conclusions and their implications.
New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE. All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free. See the individual show notes for links the audio files.
Click here for detailed show notes and to learn more about more free episodes of Books and Ideas.
I am including the latest episode of my Books and Ideas Podcast (Episode 25) in the feed for the Brain Science Podcast because I think it may be the most important interview I have ever recorded. My guest was Dr. Paul Offit, author of Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. This book examines the history of on-going controversy about whether vaccines cause autism.
I recommend Dr. Offit’s book, Autism’s False Prophets, to everyone because of its thorough examination of the vaccine-autism controversy. He examines the evidence from both sides, while showing compassion for why parents are easily confused and frightened by claims that physicians and scientists have dismissed. The book is unlikely to dissuade those who are convinced by the tactics of vaccine opponents, but it will be a valuable resource to parents who want a clear explanation that includes a sober account of the risks of not vaccinating their children. Physicians and scientists will also benefit from reading this book because it provides an important case study in how lack of scientific literacy can threaten public health.
Dan Ariely is a professor of behavioral economics at MIT and author of the bestseller, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. He was my guest for Episode 19 of Books and Ideas.
During the interview, he explains how his came to study human behavior. He uses examples from his book to explore the question, "What makes a good experiment?" He also discusses how he hope that his findings can help strengthen our society, despite our human tendency to make "irrational" choices.
Books and Ideas Podcast #15 is an interview with Robert Schleip, PhD, from the University of Ulm in Germany. Dr. Schleip is an experienced practitioner of the body work method known as Rolfing, but several years ago he went back and earned his PhD in Biology and began a second career as a research scientist.
In our interview, we discuss some of the recent discoveries that may revolutionize the way we look at the connective tissue that is commonly called fascia. We also talk about the importance of applying the scientific method to the evaluation of alternative and complimentary healing methods (CAM). Dr. Schleip's enthusiasm for science made this a very enjoyable interview.
Dr. Schleip recommends the Wikipedia entry on fascia if you would like to learn the basics.
To learn more about Dr. Schleip's work, visit the Fascia Research Project website at http://www.fasciaresearch.de/
The First International Congress International Research Congress was held in October, 2007 in Boston, MA.
You can find some of the scientists Dr. Schleip mentions this.
Click here for more references, including those written in German.
I have posted Episode 12 of Books and Ideas. It is my response to The Myth of Free Will (2007), which was edited by Cris Evatt.
This week's episode of Books and Ideas is a discussion of the book, Challenging Nature: The Clash of Science and Spirituality at the New Frontiers of Life , with author Lee M. Silver of Princeton University. I have inserted it into the Brain Science Podcast feed so that listeners can sample my second podcast. If you are already subscribed to both podcasts this will be a duplicate, which you can delete.
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