Braaains

Today's guests, Karen and Nikolijne Troubetzkoy, are the co-creators of the new CW and CTV show, SIGHT UNSEEN. The series is about a homicide detective who rapidly loses her vision and has to quit the homicide force. When she leaves, she's haunted by the cases she's left behind and is determined to solve them with the help of her visual guide via a visual assistance app.

In this episode, we discuss sight loss, the representation of vision loss and blindness on SIGHT UNSEEN, and what considerations had to be made when creating a television show for viewers across the entire vision spectrum.

DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT - https://braaainspodcast.com/https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Episode-046-TRANSCRIPT-Vision-Loss-and-Blindness-on-Sight-Unseen.pdf

Listen to the mini-episode with Niko and Kat on Working with Disability and Mental Health Consultants: https://braaainspodcast.com/episodes/visionlossconsultants

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

KEY POINTS

05:21 The Genesis of Sight Unseen

06:44 The Plot and Characters of Sight Unseen

07:35 The Importance of Sight Loss Representation

24:04 The Visual Representation of Sight Loss

34:15 Challenging Stigmas and Representing Vision Loss

36:07 Filming Challenges with an Immersive Point of View

For today's mini-episode, we're chatting with New York Times best-selling author Bassey Ikpi about the depiction of mental illness (specifically Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD) in The CW's musical comedy-drama series My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015–2019) by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna.

Our guest Bassey Ikpi is a Nigerian-American, ex-poet, current writer, mental health advocate, underachieving overachiever, and memoir procrastinator. Her best selling book I'm Telling the Truth But I'm Lying is available in both print and audio at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/im-telling-the-truth-but-im-lying-bassey-ikpi.

Listen to our full interview with Bassey: https://braaainspodcast.com/episodes/bipolardisorder

DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-EP045-transcript-BPD-and-Mental-Health-Representation-in-My-Crazy-Ex-Girlfriend.pdf

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Welcome to season three of Braaains! Today we have the pleasure of talking with New York Times Best Selling author Bassey Ikpi about Bipolar II disorder, how she got her diagnosis, and the representation of bipolar and depression on shows like Atlanta, Insecure, and Dave.

Bassey is a Nigerian-American, ex-poet, current writer, mental health advocate, underachieving overachiever, and memoir procrastinator. Her best selling book I'm Telling the Truth But I'm Lying is available in both print and audio at https://www.harpercollins.com/products/im-telling-the-truth-but-im-lying-bassey-ikpi.

DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-Podcast-Episode-44-bipolar-disorder-transcript.pdf

Listen to our mini-episode with Bassey on BPD in My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: https://braaainspodcast.com/episodes/bpdincrazyexgirlfriend

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Today is our last episode of 2023 just in time for the holidays. We bring all of the Taylor/Deppisch siblings together – our little sister, Becky Taylor, and our little brother, Jonathan Deppisch – who is also our composer – to discuss how to deal with stress and protect your mental health over the holidays!

We're especially grateful for all of our listeners, friends, and family who submitted voice recordings, and text messages with advice on how to deal with your mental health over the holidays and throughout the year. We're grateful to have so much to share today to hopefully make the upcoming weeks a little lighter.

Our conversation explores the topics of creating healthy expectations, setting boundaries, saying no, and reconciling your capacity with your expectations during the holiday season. Our advice emphasizes the importance of appreciating simple things and respecting boundaries. The conversation also highlights the value of creating alone time and quiet spaces. As the holidays approach, find a way to find joy in everyday moments and cherish happy memories.

Thank you to Mary-Anne Taylor (our mom!), Marcie Peterson, Blair Drover, Nicole Tersigni, Julia Rowland, Lilly Waterfield, Amanda Smith-Kolic, Sarah Snyder from Adulting ADHD, Susan Madigan, Leah Iwaniuk, Leah Simmons, Lisa Lutes, Erin Davis, Kathleen Smith (The Anxious Overachiever), Stephanie Fornasier from Psychocinematic, Pete Whemby, and Celeste Koon.

DOWNLOAD OUR TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-EP043_a-little-advice-for-the-holidays_transcript.pdf

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

In the penultimate episode of our second season, we're looking at the experiences and representation of Traumatic Brain Injuries, or TBIs with our guest, Naomi Mellor. Naomi is an equine veterinarian and podcaster, who not only runs a podcast production company but also founded the amazing International Women's Podcast Awards.

We discuss how a TBI can impact you with symptoms like headaches, neuro exhaustion, double vision, depth perception issues, sensory stimulation overload, and how Naomi spent 23 hours a day in bed after her accident.

Lastly, we talk about the representation of TBIs in film and TV and how Naomi would love to see more stories about the subtlety and variety of the effects of TBIs and what the long-term impact is on your brain, body, and mental health. We also talk about the film Causeway and how it is one of the few films dealing with some of the lasting effects of TBIs.

DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT HERE

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

We're mixing things up today with a conversation about the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and their research on representation in film and TV. We spoke with Katherine Pieper, the program director at the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. As the leading global think tank studying inclusion in media, the initiative examines the prevalence and portrayal of groups such as: girls and women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, and mental health conditions. They analyze who is on-screen and behind the camera across film, episodic, and short film content.

As part of our conversation, we discuss the results of one of their latest studies – Inequality in 1600 popular films examining portrayals of gender, race, ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and disability in Films from 2007 - 2022, as well as dive into the Inclusion Index, and learn more about their new study on indigenous representation in film.

DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT: https://braaainspodcast.com/s/Braaains-EP041_Investigating-Inequality-Across-Film-and-TV-with-the-Annenberg-Inclusion-Initiative_t.pdf

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Instagram: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Happy Halloween!! In our second SPOOOKY episode for October, we're talking all about ghosts with the spooktacular host of Geist, Danielle Matar. We discuss why we, as a society, have such a fascination with ghost stories, the paranormal, and what happens to us after we die.

We also look at the impact on our brains when we experience these types of unexplainable experiences and how to avoid trauma after an experience with something you think is supernatural.

TRANSCRIPT

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

As part of SPOOOOOOKY month, we touch on topics in the next two episodes that are often the subject of horror films – and we look at their impact on our brains. Today, we have the fabulous Guinevere Turner as our guest. She is the screenwriter of films like American Psycho and Charlie Says, and has recently published 'When the World Didn't End,' a book about her experiences growing up in a cult.

In this episode, we do a deep, deep dive into the representation of cults in film and TV and look at what filmmakers get right and what they get wrong. We also discuss the characteristics of a cult, who is susceptible to them, their impact on one's mental health, and how to help family and friends who may find themselves deeply entwined in a cult community. Lastly, we talk about why it's hard to find the right therapist if you are a cult survivor and why the world is so obsessed with cult stories.

DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

Key moments in this episode:

00:01:12 - Representation of Cults in Film and TV

00:03:58 - Defining a Cult

00:06:17 - Warning Signs of Being in a Cult

00:08:16 - Changing Perceptions of Cults

00:15:27 - Humanizing David Koresh & His Followers in the series Waco

00:16:48 - Exploring Characters Trying to Escape Cults

00:17:14 - Understanding the Vulnerability of Cult Followers

00:18:36 - Living in a "Cult-Ready Culture"

00:29:00 - When Guinevere Realized She Grew Up in a Cult

00:35:32 - Therapy and Recovery Process

00:41:59 - Changing Coercion Laws and Law Enforcement Training

00:42:53 - Supporting Someone in a Cult

00:45:17 - Cult Documentaries and Awareness

00:48:13 - Society's Obsession with Cults

00:55:02 - Creating a Unique Movie about the REAL Cult Experience

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

Steph is a psychologist and host of the Psychocinematic podcast who currently works in Disability Inclusion in schools in Naarm (Melbourne) and has her own mental illness lived experience. Steph joins us to discuss how you approach disclosure, concerns around discrimination about disclosure and how to address it, and why some people incorporate their mental illness or disability into their identity after disclosure.

This is episode three of our three-part series, You're Not Alone: Navigating Life with Mental Illness. This is for Mental Illness Awareness Week 2023 (October 1 - 7) and it explores mental illness, the barriers that can block your journey to good mental health, and how stigmas, diagnoses, and disclosure are represented on film and TV.

TRANSCRIPT

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

GUEST BIO

Stephanie (Steph) Fornasier is a psychologist currently working in Disability Inclusion in schools in Naarm (Melbourne), with her own mental illness lived experience. She has a 13-year career so far, including working with kids and adults with disabilities, in private practice, and in the education system. A passionate mental health advocate and disability ally, Steph is also a big film and TV nerd and loves to overthink even the most basic media portrayal of a thing. She's a mum of a toddler human, an adult cat Myf, and also a bit of a music snob with no right to be.

Psychocinematic Podcast - Psychocinematic Podcast was a concept formed back in 2019 when Steph decided she'd like to put her passion for psychology together with her passion for cinema. But as a full-time psychologist working with kids, when was she going to get the time to work on it? Then the pandemic hit... just as she was about to have a baby... suddenly time was limitless! Psychocinematic officially launched in September 2020. But over 2 years later, Psychocinematic is only growing with every episode and has become more than just a passion project. Psychocinematic Podcast is a form of entertainment, education, and a connection point with a community of people who desperately wish to smash mental health and disability stigma and end ableism in media.

Dr. Lily Le, a registered psychologist and Director of Clinical Innovation at the mental health tech company, DiveThru, discusses how to take the next step when you need help with a mental illness or are looking to improve your mental health. We also get advice on what to do when it's difficult to see a therapist due to affordability or long wait times and the importance of having a support system in place.

This is episode two of our three-part series, You're Not Alone: Navigating Life with Mental Illness. This is for Mental Illness Awareness Week 2023 (October 1 - 7) and it explores mental illness, the barriers that can block your journey to good mental health, and how stigmas, diagnoses, and disclosure are represented on film and TV.

TRANSCRIPT

Contact us: BraaainsPodcast.com

Follow: @BraaainsPodcast

Music: @_Deppisch_

Design: Perpetualnotion.ca

Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao

Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast

GUEST BIO

Dr. Lily Le is a Registered Psychologist with a Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from the University of Alberta. Dr. Le has over a decade of experience in mental health and has worked in university, private practice, and public healthcare settings. She is dedicated to de-stigmatizing mental health, making care more accessible, and leveraging innovation and technology to enhance clinical processes and outcomes.

Dr. Le is the Director of Clinical Innovation at DiveThru, a mental health tech company on a mission to ensure no one struggles alone. In her role, Dr. Le oversees the clinical side of the company, employing research and clinical expertise to develop, evaluate, and refine clinical products and processes.

In her spare time, Dr. Le can be found binging the latest hit show, picking up a new activity (currently, it's rowing!), and exploring local events with her family and friends.