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)
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Ancient Diets, Human Carnivory, Mammoth Hunting, Clovis Culture & Origin of Native Americans | Ben Potter & Jim Chatters | 199
Send us a text Podcast episodes are fully available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and on YouTube. Partial versions are available elsewhere. About the guest: Ben Potter, PhD is an archaeologist & Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. James Chatter, PhD is a retired archaeologist and
Send us a text Podcast episodes are fully available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and full video versions are free on YouTube. This episode will not be posted on YouTube due to the controversial nature of the content. About the guest: Jessica Rose, PhD is a computational biologist who has been studying and an
Send us a text Full episodes are available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and free on YouTube. This is a free, partial version. About the guest: Andrew Cutler, PhD is a machine learning engineer who has studied natural language processing, psychometrics & personality using quantitative methods. He writes about
Neurobiology of Stress: Resilience, HPA Axis, Stress Hormones, Sex Differences, Early Life Stress | Rosemary Bagot | #191
Send us a text Full episodes are available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and free on YouTube. This is a free, partial version. About the guest: Rosemary Bagot, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at McGill University and the Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Neurogenomics. Her lab
Mental Illness & Substance Abuse: Genetics, Psychosis, THC, Dopamine & the Brain | Jibran Khokhar | #190
Send us a text About the guest: Jibran Khokhar, PhD is Associate Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology at Western University in Ontario. His lab studies the neurobiology of the co-occurrence of psychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia with substance use disorders. Episode summary: Nick and Kevin discuss high comorbidity
Send us a text Full episodes are available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and free on YouTube. This is a free, partial version. About the guest: Kevin McKernan is the founder and Chief Science Officer of Medicinal Genomics. He has worked in biotechnology since the early 1990s, when he was involved in the Human