E220: Melissa Maffeo: Classroom innovations, academic life, the supernatural, and neuroscience

In this episode Eric interviews Melissa Maffeo from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. Melissa shares insights about her freshman seminars on alcohol history, use, and misuse, emphasizing harm reduction over abstinence. The conversation delves into her biopsychology class and creative teaching methods, such as murder mysteries to teach neurobiology. The episode also covers Melissa's career path, her role as an associate teaching professor, and advocacy for teaching-focused faculty. Highlighting her passion for neuroscience and education, Melissa discusses her upcoming book 'Science of the Supernatural' and the Neuroscience Teaching Conference she co-founded. [Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]