Today

How to deal with intrusive thoughts

Have you ever had a disturbing thought pop up into your head? Thoughts that are distressing, repetitive and unwanted are called intrusive thoughts. NPR's Senior Visuals producer LA Johnson talks with a therapist and a researcher to figure out what these thoughts mean, where they ... Show More

20m 46s

Aug 21

Ouch, I've got a crick! Neck pain 101

Have you ever woken up with a crick in your neck after a bad night's sleep? Or feel like you can't rotate your head? Many people will experience neck pain at some point in life. Luckily, there are science-backed treatments and exercises to ease those nagging aches. This episode, ... Show More

26m 38s

Aug 19

A better way to support your teens as they go back to school

Today's teens struggle with perfectionism and mood swings, and their parents struggle to have hard conversations with them, according to a 2024 Walton Family Foundation and Gallup poll. Teen psychologist Lisa Damour explains how parents can better support their kids as a new scho ... Show More

22m 56s

Nov 2021

What happens in the brain when we grieve

When we lose someone or something we love, it can feel like we've lost a part of ourselves. And for good reason--our brains are learning how to live in the world without someone we care about in it. Host Emily Kwong talks with psychologist Mary-Frances O'Connor about the process ... Show More

15m 10s

Mar 2022

How grieving changes the brain, with Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD

Few of us will make it through life without losing someone we love. Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, of the University of Arizona, discusses howneuroscience can help us to better understand grief and resilience after loss, why grief is different from depression, effective therapy for ... Show More

34m 25s

May 2022

The Science of Loss and Recovery | Mary-Frances O’Connor

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Very few of us will live a life without loss. As part of our Mental Health Reboot series in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, this week’s episod ... Show More

1h 6m

Jun 2024

The Grieving Brain: How to Navigate Emotions After Loss with Mary-Frances O'Connor

Why do you grieve and how can you overcome the intense emotions grief can often produce?Grief is one of the most profound human experiences you’ll go through. It’s also inevitable. You can’t escape grief, no matter how hard you try. That’s what makes it so challenging. But you ca ... Show More

19m 59s

Jun 2023

When We Die

What happens in our brains when we die? Where does consciousness come from? And what can out of body experiences teach us about how we create our own realities? In this episode of How We’re Wired, join evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin as she unpicks the neuroscience of ... Show More

32m 14s

Jul 2022

Learning to Live After Loss

Time heals all wounds, so the saying goes. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, when a loved one dies, it can feel like we’re stuck in an endless loop of pain. In this episode Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks to Wendy Lichtenthal, Director of the Bereavement Clinic at Memorial Sloan ... Show More

34m 57s

Apr 2023

Focus - When We're Stressed

How does stress affect decision-making? What does burnout do to the brain? And how can parents find ways to cope with emotional exhaustion and fatigue? In this focus episode of How We’re Wired, join producer Dr Eva Higginbotham as she explores the neuroscience of burnout, from ho ... Show More

39m 52s

Apr 2022

Healing Your Heart

We’ve all heard about the five stages of grief. But what happens when your experience doesn’t follow that model at all? Resilience researcher Lucy Hone began to question how we think about grief after a devastating loss in her own life. She shares the techniques she learned to he ... Show More

49m 35s

Apr 2023

Brains On: How Do We Learn to Read — and Why is It Hard?

This week we have an episode of a show called Brains On. It’s a science podcast for kids from our colleagues at APM. In this episode, Emily joins the Brains On hosts to talk about how people learn to read. Grab the kids in your life and listen to this special episode made for kid ... Show More

37m 51s

Jul 2022

The Grieving Brain with Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor

There’s a lot of loss in the world these days, both in our individual lives and in our broader communities, and with those losses comes grief. Grief is one of the most challenging emotions to be with, and it can be difficult to offer generalized advice because everyone's experien ... Show More

1h 11m

What happens in our brain when we grieve...