logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
1h 5m

Adam Mastroianni on the Brain, the Ears,...

RUSS ROBERTS
About this episode

Psychologist and writer Adam Mastroianni says our minds are like the keep of a castle protecting our deepest held values and beliefs from even the most skilled attacks. The only problem with this design for self-preservation is that it also can keep out wisdom that might be both useful and true. Mastroianni's summary of the problem is "you can't reach the brain through the ears." Listen as Mastroianni talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the implication of this view of mind for teaching, learning, and our daily interactions with the people around us.

Up next
Jul 7
What Is Capitalism? (with Mike Munger)
What is capitalism, really? Drawing on Adam Smith, Douglass North, and his own experience as a teacher and economist, economist Michael Munger of Duke University discusses three stages of economic development with EconTalk's Russ Roberts: voluntary exchange, markets, and capitali ... Show More
1h 19m
Jun 30
The Deceptive Power of Maps (with Paulina Rowinska)
How can the state of Colorado have nearly 700 sides? Why is a country's coastline as long as you want it to be? And how is it that your UPS driver has more routes to choose from than there are stars in the universe? Listen as mathematician Paulina Rowinska talks with EconTalk's R ... Show More
1h 9m
Jun 23
How to Be a Super Ager (with Eric Topol)
What if we could delay--or even prevent--Alzheimer's, cancer, and heart disease? What if much of what you know about aging is wrong? Listen as cardiologist and author Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Institute talks about his new book Super Agers with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. T ... Show More
1h 1m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2021
39. Brains Love Stories: How Leveraging Neuroscience Can Capture People's Emotions
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, lecturer and podcast host Matt Abrahams sits down with David Eagleman, a neuroscientist and the host of the PBS series The Brain, to discuss why our brains are wired for storytelling and how new senses might impact our connection and com ... Show More
20m 47s
May 2023
90. Rethinks: Brains Love Stories – How Leveraging Neuroscience Can Capture People’s Emotions
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, lecturer and podcast host Matt Abrahams sits down with David Eagleman, a neuroscientist and the host of the PBS series The Brain, to discuss why our brains are wired for storytelling and how new senses might impact our connection and com ... Show More
21m 35s
Jul 2021
The Ever-Changing Brain with David Eagleman and Brian Eno
What does drug withdrawal have in common with a broken heart? Why is the enemy of memory not time, but other memories? How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin? Why did many people in the 1980s mistakenly perceive book pages ... Show More
59m 52s
Jun 2022
Revealing the Hidden Brain, with Shankar Vedantam
How much insight do people have into why they behave the way they do? Science journalist Shankar Vedantam, host of the Hidden Brain podcast and author of “Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain,” talks about why he is fascinated by the paradoxes of hu ... Show More
40m 38s
Aug 2016
TU02: Brain Science 101 – How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Relationship
Show Notes This episode offers a foundation for future episodes. This is key to understanding the relational brain so that you can use that information to help build secure relationships. Everyone has security in them or the capacity for it, no matter what background you show up ... Show More
27m 53s
Aug 2022
Understanding Your Brain
Chantel Prat is a brain researcher, a professor at the University of Washington, and the author of The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain is Different and How to Understand Yours. She joins Erica Chidi to talk about how to better understand our individual brain strengths and wh ... Show More
43 m
May 2023
Can Neurotechnology Already Read Our Minds?
In this episode we bring you our event ‘The Battle for Your Brain’, recorded on the 2nd of May 2023.Imagine a world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, where the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories a ... Show More
38m 42s
Apr 2023
#317 — What Do We Know About Our Minds?
Sam Harris speaks with Paul Bloom about the state of psychological science. They discuss fiction as a window onto the mind, recent developments in AI, the tension between misinformation and free speech, bullshitting vs lying, truth vs belonging, reliance on scientific authority, ... Show More
1h 7m
Apr 2021
#247 — Constructing Minds
Sam Harris speaks with Lisa Feldman Barrett about the origins and function of the human brain. They discuss how brains evolved, the myth of the “triune brain,” the brain’s network organization, the predictive nature of perception and action, the construction of emotion, concepts ... Show More
1h 7m
May 2021
Hidden Brain: Laurie Talks Monkeys and Bad Money Decisions.
Hidden Brain is a weekly podcast hosted by Shankar Vedantam. It's a show about science and human behaviour we think you'll enjoy. Dr Laurie Santos was a guest on the show - so we thought you'd appreciate a chance to hear her tell Shankar all about her research work on monkeys and ... Show More
48m 9s