Behind the Stigma

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In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Angie Pepper, moral and political philosopher at the University of Roehampton, whose research focuses on what we owe to other animals. We move past the usual question of whether an individual pet is well cared for and look at pet keeping as an institution: the norms and roles that give humans near-total control over companion animals.

We discuss why Angie argues this control can't be justified even in loving homes, how animals can express assent and dissent, and what changed between her earlier work on human–animal relationships and the abolishment of pet keeping.

About:

Angie Pepper, a moral and political philosopher and lecturer in philosophy at the University of Roehampton. Her expertise is in contemporary political philosophy, applied ethics, normative ethics, and analytic feminist philosophy. Her recent research focuses on what we owe to other animals, including animal agency.

Papers:

Pets, Power, and Legitimacy (2025)

Interspecies justice: agency, self-determination, and assent

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In this week's episode, I'm joined by Professor Karl Friston, theoretical neuroscientist at UCL, and one of the most cited neuroscientists in the world. Friston is best known for the free energy principle, a framework that has reshaped how we understand the brain as a prediction machine.

We discuss what the free energy principle actually means, how precision-weighting might help explain conditions like schizophrenia, anxiety and depression, and why trauma may be better understood as a breakdown in the brain's capacity for metastability rather than something trapped in the body. 

About: Karl Friston is a theoretical neuroscientist at University College London and a leading figure in computational psychiatry, best known for developing the free energy principle and active inference. His work uses physics-inspired statistical methods to model brain function, and he is one of the most influential and widely cited neuroscientists working today.

Publications: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/2747-karl-friston/publications

Active Inference: The Free Energy Principle in Mind, Brain, and Behavior: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5299/Active-InferenceThe-Free-Energy-Principle-in-Mind

The Body Does Not Keep The Score: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2026.1812957/full

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In this episode, Professor Philip Goff, philosopher and professor at Durham University, explores the nature of consciousness, panpsychism, and the profound insights from his recent 5-MeO-DMT journey. We discuss some of his ideas, and how panpsychism challenges our understanding of reality and the universe.

About Philip Goff

Professor Goff is a British author, panpsychist philosopher, and professor at Durham University whose research focuses on philosophy of mind and consciousness. Specifically, it focuses on how consciousness can be part of the scientific worldview. 

‘Why? The Purpose of the Universe’:  https://www.amazon.com/Why-Purpose-Universe-Philip-Goff/dp/0198883765/

‘Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness’: https://www.amazon.com/Galileos-Error-Foundations-Science-Consciousness/dp/1524747963

Philip’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@philipgoffphilosophy

Substack: https://philipgoff.substack.com/

X: https://twitter.com/Philip_Goff

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/philipgoff.bsky.social

Website: https://philipgoffphilosophy.com/

The Beliefless Spirituality Project: https://www.belieflessspirituality.com/  

Key Topics:
What is consciousness 
Panpsychism as a theory of consciousness
The relationship between physicalism, dualism, and panpsychism
Physics' limitations in explaining intrinsic nature                                                          Significance of neural correlates of consciousness
Role of mystical experiences in understanding reality
Ego dissolution 
Philosophical implications of psychedelic experiences
The moral significance of panpsychism
Future directions in Goff's research

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In this week's episode, I'm joined by Rebekah Senānāyaka, ethnobotanist and PhD graduate in Cultural Anthropology, whose research takes us deep into the Amazonian rainforest. Rebekah spent 27 months immersed in indigenous plant medicine traditions, including her own experiences with ayahuasca and sanango and her work introduces the concept of extended multispecies liminality, exploring what happens when the boundary between human and plant consciousness begins to dissolve.

We discuss what it really means to do embodied fieldwork, why the psychedelic renaissance may be missing the point, and what plant medicine traditions can teach us about healing.

About: Rebekah Senānāyaka is a cultural psychologist and Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Anthropology, specializing in traditional Amazonian knowledge systems. With extensive fieldwork in the Amazon Rainforest, she examines how Indigenous practices inform modern understandings of altered states of consciousness. Rebekah is the founder of the Student Association of Psychedelic Investigation and a key advocate for integrating traditional and scientific perspectives in psychedelic research. 

Instagram

LinkedIn

Papers

It Was the Plants that Told Us: An Ethnographic Analysis into Amazonian Knowledge Transmission

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This week on Behind the Stigma, Professor Sanneke de Haan joins us to discuss how we define mental disorders and what the enactive approach to psychiatry reveals about the relationship between mind, body, and world. We talk about how this perspective challenges the biomedical model, what it means to see disorders as disorders of sense-making, and how it changes the way we think about treatment. Finally, Professor de Haan shares her thoughts on self–illness ambiguity, mental disorder classifications as helpful or harmful and what studying the philosophy of psychiatry can teach us about being human.

About: Sanneke de Haan is Associate Professor of Bioethics and Ethics of (Mental) Health at the Ethics Institute and Socrates Professor of Psychiatry and Philosophy at the Erasmus School of Philosophy at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She works on topics at the intersection of philosophy and psychiatry, in particular on questions around the boundaries of normality, authenticity and its relation to mental health problems, and integrative approaches to psychiatric disorders. Her book Enactive Psychiatry was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020. De Haan draws on insights from enactivism to develop an integrative view on the nature and development of psychiatric disorders. 

Website: https://sannekedehaan.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanneke-de-haan-b1886684/

Papers

An enactive approach to Psychiatry

What do my problems say about me 

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In this episode of Behind the Stigma, I sit down with Jerome Wakefield, NYU Professor and originator of the influential “harmful dysfunction” theory of mental disorder. We explore what makes something truly pathological, the fuzzy boundary between normal suffering and disorder, and the philosophical foundations shaping modern psychiatry.

We also discuss the DSM and it's removal of the bereavement exclusion in depression, evolutionary perspectives on neurodiversity movements and his work on harmful dysfunction. This conversation asked a central question: when does human distress become a mental disorder, and does that distinction matter?

About Jerome Wakefied

Dr. Wakefield is an NYU University Professor and Professor at NYU Silver, known internationally for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of philosophy, psychiatry, and psychology. He has authored over 300 publications on the conceptual foundations of mental health theory.

He is best known for developing the influential “harmful dysfunction” analysis of mental disorder, the most cited framework for distinguishing true disorder from normal distress. His work has shaped debates on DSM diagnoses, grief, depression, anxiety, and the boundary between pathology and everyday suffering. He is also the coauthor of the award-winning books The Loss of Sadness (2007) and All We Have to Fear (2012), and has contributed major analyses in psychoanalysis, social work theory, and evolutionary perspectives on mental health. 

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NkiWM10AAAAJ&hl=en

Paper on Harmful Dysfunction analysis: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2174594/

Paper on the Theory of generativity: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-07139-005

Books: https://www.amazon.com/Loss-Sadness-Psychiatry-Transformed-Depressive-ebook/dp/B001CHRHHO

https://www.amazon.com/All-Have-Fear-Psychiatrys-Transformation/dp/0199793751

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In this episode of Behind the Stigma, I sit down with Dr. Prince Kouassi, Assistant Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at the American University of Dubai, to explore the landscape of mental health in the UAE. We discuss whether we are over-diagnosing mental health, the educational psychology market and careers in the UAE, using AI in the classroom and his thoughts on digital mental health apps. Timestamps added!

About Dr. Prince Kouassi
Dr. Kouassi is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Chair of the Department of Psychology at the American University of Dubai. He completed his Ph.D. at City, University of London (UK) in computational psychology, and after completing his PhD accepted a Teaching Fellowship in Psychology at Coventry University (UK). Dr. Kouassi has a wide range of active research interests in psychology which include but not limited to cognitive modeling, quantum probability applications, research participation, psychology education, and the practical application of psychological principles in the workplace.

Find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-prince-kouassi-phd-0616a71aa/

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In this episode, I speak with Professor Edouard Machery to explore experimental philosophy and the question of whether morality is truly universal. We discuss why humans need morals in the first place, why we often fail to live up to our own moral ideals. We also look at cross-cultural differences in moral judgments, the limits of relying on intuition in philosophy, and what new technologies like VR reveal about the gap between moral judgment and moral action. Timestamps added!

About Edouard Machery

Professor Machery is the Director of the Center for Philosophy of Science and Professor at The University of Pittsburgh. His research  focuses on the philosophical issues raised by the cognitive sciences, currently focusing on the methodology of experimental psychology. His recent research projects and publications also include the nature and origin of racial categorization, the application of evolutionary theories to human cognition, the nature of culture, and the structure of moral concepts. Finally, he is involved in the development of experimental philosophy, and has used experimental and quasi-experimental methods to study intuitions about reference, folk judgments about intentional action, causation, the folk concept of race, and the folk concept of phenomenal consciousness.

Website: https://www.edouardmachery.com/

Books

Doing without concepts - https://global.oup.com/academic/product/doing-without-concepts-9780195306880?cc=ae&lang=en&

Philosophy within its proper bounds - https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Within-Its-Proper-Bounds/dp/019880752X

Book Chapter: Experimental Philosophy of Science: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118661666.ch33

Bluesky: @edouardmachery.bsky.social

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In this episode of Behind the Stigma, Seiara speaks with Dr. Carme Isern-Mas about the rise of “therapy-speak”, the popular use of psychological language in everyday life. Together, they explore how these phrases can help us express emotions and foster self-awareness, but also how they risk becoming disingenuous, individualistic, or even weaponized in relationships and society. 

About Carme Isern-Mas

Dr. Isern-Mas is an Assistant Professor in Moral Philosophy at the University of the Balearic Islands, with a background in Human Evolution and Cognition for her M.A. and Ph.D. Her research interests lie in the field of moral psychology, with a particular focus on topics such as blame, empathy, moral motivation and self-deception. She is also interested in applied ethics, particularly in mental health ethics.

Profile: https://www.uib.eu/personal/ABjIyMjIzNg/

Unmasking Therapy Speak Paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11017-025-09730-5

Recent Paper - Blunting concepts: The double-edged effect of popularizing psychotherapy language: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09515089.2025.2573763

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In this week's episode, academic psychologist Dr. Lucy Foulkes, speaks to us about her book 'Coming of Age' and the importance of our adolescent years, the complexity of mental health awareness in today's society. We explore how rising conversations around mental illness, especially among young people, have reshaped identity, education, and the language we use to describe our inner lives. We also discussed why young adults self-diagnose, the role of social media, and the Netflix series 'Adolescence'. 

About Dr. Foulkes: Dr. Foulkes is an academic psychologist in the Dept of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford where her group researches mental health and social development in adolescence. They are most known for their focus on the unintended consequences of mental health awareness in schools and society more broadly. Her first book, What Mental Illness Really Is (…and what it isn’t), focuses on the rise of mental health problems in society, and the possible contributing role of mental health awareness efforts. Her second book, Coming Of Age: How Adolescence Shapes Us, which we will be discussing today, focuses on the power of adolescent memories and the stories we tell ourselves about our formative years. I will be linking both books to this episode description.

Website: https://www.lucyfoulkes.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drlucyfoulkes

Coming of Age: https://www.amazon.com/What-Mental-Illness-Really-what/dp/1529113377

What Adolescence Is (And What It Isn't): https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Age-author/dp/1847927297

Paper - Self-Diagnosis of Mental Disorders: A Qualitative Study of Attitudes on Reddit: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10497323241288785

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