All Episodes

#327 Sarah Garfinkel: Interoception, Emotion, And Mental Health

Apr 30, 2020

Dr. Sarah Garfinkel is Professor of neuroscience and psychiatry based at the University of Sussex and the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Her research is focused on the link between interoception and emotion and memory. In 2018, she was selected as one of 11 researchers on the Nature Index 2018 Rising Stars. Dr. Garfinkel's research focuses on interoception, the ability to sense one’s own body, and the link between interoception and the brain. She specifically focuses on the heartbeat, and has shown that the heartbeat, and perception thereof, influences the way people process fear. Her research has furthermore shown that autistic people experience difficulty judging their heartbeat, causing anxiety and stress. This research has led to the development of a new therapy technique called interoception-directed therapy, which aims to reduce anxiety in autistic individuals. More»
#326 Cristine Legare: Child Development, Culture, and Scientific Reasoning

Apr 27, 2020

Dr. Cristine Legare is a professor of psychology and the director of the Evolution, Variation, and Ontogeny of Learning Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research examines how the human mind enables us to learn, create, and transmit culture. She conducts comparisons across age, culture, and species to address fundamental questions about cognitive and cultural evolution. More»
#325 Holger Wiese: The Psychology of Face Recognition

Apr 24, 2020
#324 Edward Fischer: The Anthropology of Wellbeing, The Good Life, Values, And Markets

Apr 23, 2020

Dr. Edward Fischer is the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Vanderbilt University. He is also the founder of Maní+, an award-winning social enterprise in Guatemala that develops and produces locally sourced foods to fight malnutrition. Dr. Fischer advises the WHO-Europe on the cultural contexts of health, and serves on the board of the Maya Education Foundation. His research focusses on issues of political economy, values, wellbeing, and development. He has authored or edited a number of books, including most recently The Good Life: Aspiration, Dignity, and the Anthropology of Wellbeing (2014). Dr. Fischer is currently working on a project that examines the ways moral and economic values are intertwined in the high-end coffee market. More»
#323 Rivka Weinberg: The Ethics of Procreation

Apr 20, 2020
#322 Curtis Marean: Zooarchaeology, Human Origins And Evolution

Apr 17, 2020
#321 Dick Swaab: The Neuroscience of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

Apr 16, 2020
#320 Max Beilby: Evolutionary Organizational Psychology

Apr 13, 2020

Max Beilby is a Management and Organizational Psychologist and author of the Darwinian Business blog. He’s currently working as a practitioner in the banking industry. More»
#319 Jeff McMahan: The Ethics of Killing; Abortion, Euthanasia, Suicide

Apr 10, 2020

Dr. Jeff McMahan is White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He specializes in Practical Ethics, Political Philosophy, and Ethics. He’s the author of books like The Morality of Nationalism, The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life, and Killing in War. More»
#318 Benjamin Bergen: Embodied Cognition, Embodied Simulation, Language, And AI

Apr 9, 2020

Dr. Benjamin Bergen is Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego. His research interests include language comprehension and production, including grammar, word meaning, metaphor, profanity, and talking while driving. He’s the author of the books Louder Than Words: The New Science of How the Mind Makes Meaning, and What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves. More»