show episodes
 
If you are curious about how your brain really works this is the podcast for you! Hosted by physician Dr. Ginger Campbell (2022 Podcast Hall of Fame) from 2006-2023, Brain Science explores how recent discoveries in neuroscience are unraveling the mystery of how our brain makes us human. It features conversations with leading scientists and philosophers and is "the podcast for everyone who has a brain" because Dr. Campbell makes neuroscience accessible to listeners of all backgrounds. Over 10 ...
  continue reading
 
Books and Ideas is hosted by Dr. Ginger Campbell, an emergency physician who is best known for the highly regarded Brain Science Podcast. On Books and Ideas Dr. Campbell explores a wide range of topics ranging from science fiction to the philosophy of science. The show is no longer in regular production, but occasional special episodes may be published.
  continue reading
 
Graying Rainbows is a community that supports people of all genders and sexual identities, with a focus on the challenges of Coming Out LGBT+ Later in Life. We use interviews, history, and storytelling to connect people who are new to the Rainbow Community. Graying Rainbows is released on the first Monday each month.
  continue reading
 
Loading …
show series
 
This is the 17th Annual Review episode of Brain Science, celebrating the first episode which aired on December 15, 2006. We review the highlights of 2023, which included both new guests and the return of several favorites. Episodes Released in 2023: BS 204 (Encore) and BS 205 featured molecular biologist Guy Caldwell, PhD from the University of Ala…
  continue reading
 
This is the Premium Transcript for BS 213 with Kevin Mitchell, author of Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. If you are a Premium (MyLibsyn) Subscriber LOGIN to access this transcript in your browser or the free Brain Science mobile app. Click here if you are a Patreon supporter. You may also buy this transcript separately at https://brai…
  continue reading
 
In the this episode of Brain Science we talk with neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell about his new book Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. While many neuroscientists and philosophers argue that free will is an illusion, Mitchell argues that the ability to make meaningful choices is part of our evolutionary heritage. He also addresses the impo…
  continue reading
 
This is the FREE Transcript for BS 212 with is an encore presentation of an interview with Thomas Metzinger, author of The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self. Additional transcripts are available to Premium (MyLibsyn) subscribers and some Patreon supports. Learn more at https://brainsciencepodcast.com/premium. Scroll up/do…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science features Thomas Metzinger, author of "The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self." Metzinger is a philosopher with a longstanding interest in Philosophy of Mind with a focus on incorporating the findings of neuroscience. We discuss the implications of the discovery that consciousness is a …
  continue reading
 
This episode of Brain Science features the return of molecular biologist Seth Grant. We briefly review his decades of research into the complexity of the protein structure of the synapse and then we focus on his most recent paper, which describes how the life-span of synapse proteins appears to change as animals age. Grant reflects of the significa…
  continue reading
 
This episode is our first review of neurotransmitters since episode 8 way back in 2007. We start with some basics of neuron function and brain anatomy, but the meat of the episode is a discussion of neurotransmitters and how they work. The key idea is that a simple molecule, such as dopamine, can have a wide variety of effects because of the existe…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Luiz Pessoa, author of The Entangled Brain: How Perception, Cognition, and Emotion Are Woven Together. This is Pessoa's first book aimed at a general audience and it provides a concise overview of our current understanding of basic brain function. However, he also explains the limitations o…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode is an interview with Cambridge Psychology professor Sander van der Linden, author of "Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity." We discuss the important topic of how techniques like appealing to emotion contribute to the spread of misinformation. Dr. Campbell reflects on why this topic is impor…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode is an encore presentation of an interview with neuroscientist Luiz Pessoa discussing his fascinating book "The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration." We explored the surprising role of the amygdala in decision making and learned that cognition and emotion are deeply intertwined at every level. Links and R…
  continue reading
 
This month we have an intriguing interview with Dr. Paco Calvo from the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Mercia in Spain. We talk with him about his new book Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Intelligence. We discuss the scientific evidence for plant intelligence while acknowledging that intelligence and consciousness are not t…
  continue reading
 
In this follow-up interview with molecular biologist Dr. Guy Caldwell we learn more about how the tools of molecular biology are used to unravel questions in neurobiology and provide hope for better treatments for problems like Parkinson's Disease. Links and References: Guy Caldwell, PhD (University of Alabama) LinkedIn BS 204 Encore of 2009 interv…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode is an encore presentation of an interview with Dr. Guy Caldwell from the University of Alabama. Dr. Caldwell explains how tools from molecular biology make it possible to use the famous C. Elegans roundworm to improve our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. Dr. Caldwell will return to Brain Sci…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode (BS 203) celebrates the 16th Anniversary of Brain Science with the annual review episode. This is a listener favorite providing highlights and key ideas from the episodes of Brain Science that were posted in 2022. Topics included hearing, grief, emotion, embodied cognition, consciousness and more. Note: This month's episode tra…
  continue reading
 
The idea that meditation is a "mind science" is popular, but in this interview Canadian philosopher Evan Thompson argues that this claim does not stand up to either scientific or philosophical scrutiny. As one of the pioneers of the Embodied Cognition movement Thompson reminds us that the Mind is not restricted to the Brain and we must also conside…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with WA (Bill) Harris, author of Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built. We explore how the human brain develops from the fertilized egg up until birth. There are some surprises along the way, including the fact that we actually have more neurons before we are born than we will ever have ag…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode is a discussion with the editors of a fascinating new book Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning. We explore how embodied cognition challenges long standing dualist approaches to both cognition and learning. Sheila Macrine and Jennifer Fugate also share some of the innovative approaches that imp…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode is an interview with Batja Mesquita, author of "Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions." This is an important book because it describes the evidence that Emotions are not just something people experience "from the inside out," but they also occur between people, which means that culture plays a critical role. We also explore …
  continue reading
 
This is a free transcript for BS 198 with Evan Thompson, author of "Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind." Since this is an encore episode the transcript if being provided for free to give a sample of the content available to Premium subscribers. Premium subscribers also get the entire back catalogue of audio content. You …
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science is a free encore playing of my interview with Evan Thompson about his book Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind. We discuss how the enactive approach to embodied cognition offers potential clues to the mystery of how the brain can generate Consciousness. A free episode transcript is al…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science features an encore playing of my interview with Dr. Frank Amthor, author of Neuroscience for Dummies and Neurobiology for Dummies. It is a great episode for newbies and will be a good review for longtime listeners. This is a FREE sample of my Premium content and the episode transcript is also FREE. Links and Re…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Hakwan Lau, author of In Consciousness we Trust: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Subjective Experience. Lau talks about shortcomings in current theories about how the brain generates consciousness, but he also introduces something he calls perceptual reality monitoring. Although this is a som…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode is an interview with David J Anderson from Cal Tech. We talk about his new book The Nature of the Beast: How Emotions Guide US. We talk about how emotion CAN be studied in animals by using methods that focus on brain states rather than verbal descriptions. Dr. Anderson also explains why this experimental work is essential to de…
  continue reading
 
The neuroscience of grief and grieving is a relatively new field, but one that offers practical discoveries for people of all backgrounds. This month we talk with Mary-Frances O’Connor, author of The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How we Learn from Love and Loss. We talk about what has been learned from a variety of approaches, including…
  continue reading
 
In this month's episode of Brain Science I explore two big picture questions: What does it mean to claim that the Mind is "embodied?" and How does this change our understanding of our place in the world? The conversation was inspired by the book "Out of the Cave: A Natural Philosophy of Mind and Knowing" by Mark L Johnson and Donald M Tucker. This …
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Nina Kraus, author of "Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World." Dr. Kraus has spent 30 years exploring how the brain processes sound. We explore why sound processing involves much more that just the auditory cortex as well how the sounds we experience change our br…
  continue reading
 
This is our 15th annual review episode, which highlights the guests and key ideas we have shared in 2021. Interviews included return visits from Jeff Hawkins and David Eagleman. New guests including Anil Seth and Antonio Damasio, who both emphasized the importance of our bodies (not just our brains) in understanding Consciousness. Available soon: F…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science features David Badre, author of "On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done." He gives us an overview of recent research in the field of cognitive control, which has has actually overturned some popular assumptions about things like willpower. Our focus is on the practical implications of this research. Links and …
  continue reading
 
Graying Rainbows launched in November 2018. It's been an eventful three years, so this episode is a little different. It contains some advice for new listeners, reflections on lessons learned, and a brief look toward the future. Now that there are over 50 episodes I have done some re-organizing to make it easier to find certain content. The About p…
  continue reading
 
Neurologist and best-selling author Antonio Damasio is one of our most requested guests. This month we finally had the opportunity to talk about his newest book "Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious," which he explained is somewhat different from his previous efforts. His goal was to write something "briefer" and more accessible. Thus it is de…
  continue reading
 
This episode of Graying Rainbows is a review of Billie Jean King's new autobiography "All In." I highly recommend the audio version because it is read by King and her emotions come through. King's story includes "coming out later in life." She describes the toll that the delay took on her health and happiness, as well as the new sense of freedom sh…
  continue reading
 
BS 188 features neuroscientist Anil Seth discussing his new book "Being You: A New Science of Consciousness." We have had many guests talk about consciousness, but Seth represents the newer generation who have actually been able to devote their careers to this fundamental question: How does the brain generate conscious experience. His perspective i…
  continue reading
 
This episode of Graying Rainbows features Gender Transition Coach Rae McDaniel. She shares her own story and her passion for helping clients of all ages. Rae's Websites: Practical Audacity Genderfck: The Club Other References: Transgender History by Susan Stryker (GR 12) Unbound: Transgender Men and the Remaking of Identity by Arlene Stiene (GR 27)…
  continue reading
 
BS 187 features bestselling author and neuroscientist David Eagleman. We talk about his latest book "Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain." It is a great overview of the current science of brain plasticity appropriate for both new listeners and longtime fans. Links and References: Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing B…
  continue reading
 
In this month's episode of Graying Rainbows Army veteran Andre Barnhardt shares his struggle to embrace his identity as a gay man. He reminds us that despite the new more "open" policies it remains difficult to come out in a military culture. Learn more about Andre: esinnej.com/blog/Transition Americanwoodpics.com Announcements: Sign up for the FRE…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode features Mark Humphries, author of "The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds." We explore how the brain uses electrical signaling in surprising ways, beginning with a look at how an action potential (aka. "the spike") is produced. Then we consider what Humphries calls "the dark neurons," which are neurons tha…
  continue reading
 
This episode is an interview with Julie Sondra Decker, author of "The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality." Most people acknowledge that sexual orientations includes homosexuals, bisexuals, and heterosexuals, but there is actually a fourth possibility. A person who identifies as asexual does not feel sexual attraction to anyone. Un…
  continue reading
 
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Dr. Stephen Fleming, author of "Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness." We explore the concept of metacognition and learn that while explicit metacognition (thinking about thinking) may be unique to humans, it is built on building blocks shared with other species. We also explore what…
  continue reading
 
Dr. Larry Millhoffer is a retired physician who is grateful to have been with his husband for 45 years. Over that time the meaning of "coming out" has evolved, but a pivotal time in his life was caring for the first patients with AIDS as a young physician in the early 80's. During our conversation he reflects on the challenges of caring for patient…
  continue reading
 
Loading …

Quick Reference Guide