All in the Mind
This podcast, also available through player.fm, explores everything from addiction to artificial intelligence. Hosted by Lynne Malcolm, the Australian-based show brings leading experts into the studio to offer insights into the mind, brain, and behavior. It is a weekly podcast.
In the podcast Music and the Brain, we learn the unique challenges involved in studying how music affects the brain. The equipment needed is not always conducive to this, especially if the researcher wants to study cultural differences. Taking a PET scanner into the field is not usually possible.
We also learn how musical preferences activate the Default Mode Network (DMN) in the brain. The DMN is described as what makes us “us.” This episode includes an excellent explanation of how neurons develop, get pruned, and affect learning. It also answers how music affects the aging brain. Dr. Hodges references the “nun study” (Iacono et al., 2009).
Speaking of Psychology
In September 2013, the American Psychological Association launched the Speaking of Psychology podcast. Every episode breaks down psychological research and applies it to everyday life.
The first episode taught listeners the ins and outs of teaching social skills to teens with autism. Covering every facet of a person’s psychological experience is one of the goals of the show. For example, how do mirror neurons affect empathy?
Dr. Sara Konrath explains the connection in the episode The Decline of Empathy and the Rise of Narcissism.
Other topics have included:
- Psychological purpose of nostalgia
- How memories are manipulated
- Fake news
- Healthy workplace
- Living in a lonely world
- How to find meaning in life
This podcast is broad in scope, much like the previous two. Because it has been in production for a number of years, there is a lot to learn and explore.
The Happiness Lab With Dr. Laurie Santos
This research-based program is engaging, entertaining, and thought provoking. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos explores all facets of happiness and wellbeing. Her class is the most popular in the school’s 300-year history. She discusses, along with expert guests, topics like:
- Laughter, including “canned” laughter and how it affects us
- How too many choices exhaust us
- The negative effects of grades
- How the brain gets stuck on things
- The downside to positivity
The Make ‘em Laugh episode is a great introduction to this podcast. In it, you learn how you are influenced by other people’s behavior, particularly laughter. The host also highlights research about how an inability to express facial expressions negatively affects us.
We are behavioral chameleons and experience emotional contagion. This episode explains the research around these ideas with straightforward, real-world examples.
What our readers think
May I add here the work of Michelle McQuaid:-
https://www.michellemcquaid.com/podcast/
Many thanks,
Shane
Great! Thanks for this good list!
Carlos