All In The Mind

In 1971, 23 American college students' lives were changed by the now notorious Stanford Prison Experiment. For the eminent psychologist responsible, Philip Zimbardo, the parallels to the atrocities at Abu Ghraib are palpable. In an exclusive Australian interview, he joins Natasha Mitchell, to reflect on the capacity in all of us to commit evil. It's a case of good apples put in bad barrels.

A rare glimpse from the inside. An Australian neuroscientist and an animal welfarist share their experiences of working together on animal experimental and ethics committees. Personal philosophies are challenged, compromises are made, and change happens through dialogue. Good animal welfare equals good science, they argue. But does good science always underpin animal welfare? And, a vet turned animal welfare researcher, now driving the effort to improve methods of pain reduction for lab animals.

That old chestnut - what defines human nature? Genes or experience? Are we free agents or genetically determined souls? These questions have fuelled a fierce fight - polarizing a battleground of social scientists, biologists, parents and politicians. World renowned science writer Matt Ridley is calling a truce, and arguing the case for Nature via Nurture. Genes aren't Gods, he argues, they're cogs. As agents of nurture, genes get switched on and off by our experiences. Join Natasha Mitchell with Matt and special guests to debate the implications. Part of the 2007 Alfred Deakin Innovation Lecture series.

'How do I get them to talk?' Hinted-at events, listening to the silence, roundabout stories. Mental health and other professionals inexperienced at working with Indigenous clients struggle with the limits of their cultural awareness, with language barriers and with the historical legacies of mistrust and misunderstanding. Cultural competency is more than sharing a joke. So what is it? And how can psychologists, doctors and others acquire it?

Our lives are increasingly under surveillance. Is the mental wilderness between your ears your last truly private space? Scientists are uncovering new ways to fish for your thoughts, and to decipher the brain's neural code behind your thinking. The applications are potentially revolutionary -- from probing the mental capacity of patients trapped in coma, to lie detection or brain-machine interfaces for controlling computers with thoughts alone. But the ethical questions surrounding this fledgling science are profound. What cost for personal privacy as the cognitive borders of our minds are penetrated?

'But officer, my brain made me do it!' Brain scans are becoming commonplace as evidence in US courts, in the bid to convict offenders or free them. But is the technology half-baked? Can we biologically categorise people as criminals -- mad, bad and dangerous to know? Free will, privacy and personal responsibility are all up for grabs in the collision between science and the law.

Happiness is paradoxical. What we think will give it to us - invariably doesn't. When we think we've got it - we invariably haven't. We're not even good at predicting what will make us happy people. From languishing to flourishing - can even the most troubled mind be primed for happiness? A panel of international trailblazers in the study of emotion, positive psychology and Buddhism get earnest about pleasure.

An exhaustion like none other, disturbed and unrefreshing sleep, aching limbs, cognitive blur - often for many years. The physical impact is immense. Despite this, Chronic fatigue syndrome remains difficult to biologically and medically define, and to treat - even for those most specialized in the condition. World-leading researchers discuss the ongoing challenges and debates, the quest for a diagnostic test, and recent genetic and immunological research.

Acclaimed novelist Sue Woolfe, author of Leaning Towards Infinity, found herself mystified by her own mind as she wrestled with narrative of her book, The Secret Cure: a tale of love, science and autism. She set out to answer a question troubling her, 'What are people who sit in rooms making up stories doing with their minds?' She lays her writer's psyche bare to discuss shame, subversion, control and the creative process. A rare glimpse inside the mind's eye of a storyteller.

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist, John Mann, has a grisly job. He wants to understand why some deeply depressed souls take their own lives, yet others resist. His team's post-mortem studies suggest a distinct neurobiology of suicide. And, for those left behind, might there be a definite 'biology of sadness' too? Also, a bereft father writes to his dead son, and asks 'why?'