
Mind & Matter
Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it. The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today. Not medical advice. At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it. As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet. I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint. My beliefs: Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information. Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi: “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)“Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)“Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
Show episodes

Seed Oils & Heart Disease: Oxidized LDL, Cholesterol, Fat & Cardiology | Tucker Goodrich | 244
Send us a text Overview and alternative interpretation to the mainstream view on how dietary fat and cholesterol relate to cardiovascular disease. Episode Summary: Tucker Goodrich is an engineer by training who has become a prominent independent researcher and blogger on nutrition and metabolic health, focusing on the

Evolution & Variation in Human Diet, Energy Expenditure & Metabolism | Herman Pontzer | 243
Send us a text Human metabolism, primate evolution, and modern health challenges with evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer. Episode Summary: Anthropologist Dr. Herman Pontzer discusses human evolution and metabolism, comparing humans to primates like chimps and gorillas to explain our higher energy use, bigger br

Sunlight: Cosmology, Energy Metabolism & the Physics of Life | Robert Fosbury | 242
Send us a text The deep connection between sunlight and life, from the scale of the cosmos to the quantum. Episode Summary: Astrophysicist Dr. Robert Fosbury discusses the sun"s characteristics as a star, its analogies to living systems via entropy and complexity, and Erwin Schrödinger"s insights on life as order-maint
Send us a text How brain synapses work and fuel themselves with fat. Episode Summary: Dr. Timothy Ryan talks about the high energy costs of synapses, the role of mitochondria and glycolysis, and challenge the long-held view that the brain relies solely on glucose by discussing new evidence that neurons burn fats from l
Send us a text Episode Summary: Dr. Eugene Chang talks about the microbiome’s role as a vital organ, the impacts of antibiotics and Western diets on microbial health, and strategies for restoring a damaged microbiome through diet and fecal microbial transplants. They delve into microbiome dysbiosis, its links to modern
Send us a text The genetics of sleep duration and sleep timing. Episode Summary: Dr. Ying-Hui Fu discusses her research on the genetics of sleep, focusing on natural short sleepers who thrive on 4-6 hours of sleep and the heritability of sleep traits like duration and timing. She explores how sleep efficiency, rather t