All In The Mind

The imagination of an artist living with schizophrenia can feel like it's been colonised...by diagnostic labels, by medication and by the often unforgiving and frightening contents of hallucinations or delusions. What then does it mean to reclaim imagination? Is madness a muse or a hurdle? Artists Simon Champ and James de Blas are joined by acclaimed pop artist Martin Sharp, to reflect on the perplexing nature of our imaginative selves.

Bird brains don't deserve the bad rap they get. Like us, songbirds are among the only animals that can learn new and complex vocal skills. Mental time travel isn't beyond them, and even mastering grammar-like patterns could be part of their cognitive repertoire! This week, three top bird brain researchers leave their aviaries and join Natasha Mitchell to discuss the unique heads of our flying feathered friends.

Chronic pain. Gnawing, throbbing, aching. Like a rotten apple at the core, razor blades down the spine, barbed wire coursing through the body. Talking about it is difficult enough, but does how we think about pain actually change the nature of pain itself? Many of us still consider pain as solely biological, with major implications for the treatment we seek and receive. This week—a philosopher, a top pain psychologist and a young man who understands the intimate interplay between mind and pain better than most.

Mind. Brain. Are they the same thing, or is the mind something special? The conundrum has perplexed us for centuries. Descartes' split the two - into a spiritual, soul-like mind and fleshly, material brain. But in 1956 a group of 'renegade' Oxford graduates Down Under, now international stars in philosophy, launched a challenge. Consciousness and the brain were united, and any talk of mental spooks and ghosts in the machine was out...almost. Now in their 80s, David Armstrong and Jack Smart join Natasha Mitchell and others to reminisce on taking Descartes to task. (Part of ABC Radio National's The Big 56 celebrations)

This week, a candid family story of life inside. Inside psychiatric hospitals, inside schizophrenia, and inside a remarkable journey towards compassion, activism and understanding. Penelope and Lloyd met and married after years of cycling in and out of Perth's psychiatric institutions. Penelope's 19-year-old daughter, Tynx, reveals a wisdom beyond her years about the impact of growing up with a parent with mental illness. They join Natasha Mitchell in conversation with a story that is sure to move you.

What adventures does your sleeping brain take you on at night? Wild rides into vivid landscapes with a strange cast of characters from your past? Or, mundane replays of the day's events? The purpose of dreams remains the focus of heated scientific conjecture. Do they serve to consolidate our memories and experiences, or is their meaning more complex? The second episode in this BBC series leaves the waking world to uncover a phenomenon that some argue offers a window onto our soul. NOTE: The transcript or audio won't be available because of copyright reasons. Instead you'll be able to enjoy a popular show from our archives, Attachment Therapy and Pseudoscience in Psychology, as this week's podcast edition, here...

Prick up your ears and eyelids and listen in. Despite over 100 years of theory and research, no-one knows exactly why we need to sleep and dream yet we know we can't survive without precious slumber. Why? Join BBC radio broadcaster Claudia Hammond as she's wired up in a sleep clinic to reveal the inner workings of her own sleepy brain, and yours too. NOTE: The transcript or podcast won't be available because of copyright reasons. Instead enjoy The Dancing Mind as this week's podcast, from our archives. Click here...

Why can two children born into the same household be like two different peas in a pod? Harvard's Jerome Kagan trailblazed the controversial science of temperament to investigate why. In a career that spans more than half a century, now he's going into battle for our minds, with a compelling retrospective, An Argument for Mind. To some an iconoclast - one of the biggest names in psychology of our time joins Natasha Mitchell in conversation...and reflection.

Why do you believe what you do? Is the human mind an organ designed for belief? Why are we so convinced of the existence of things we can't prove or see? Are some beliefs healthy and others pathological? Margaret Wertheim, author of Pythagoras' Trousers, and The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace; cognitive scientist Professor Max Coltheart, co-editor of Pathologies of Belief, and theologian, film-maker and cult-buster, Reverend Dr David Millikan, join Natasha Mitchell to unravel the perplexing power of belief. If you don't believe us - tune in!

Northern Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sri Lanka, Columbia. Some of the world's conflicted countries where young children are recruited, or violently abducted, to serve as soldiers. Two psychologists at the coalface, and a teenage abductee, join Natasha Mitchell to discuss the complex psychology of child recruitment, reintegration and repatriation. Little innocents or self-aware agents? A confronting issue that's not straightforward. Stories of hope prevail too.