We’re busting myths about how the brain works with guest Annie Murphy Paul, author of The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain. Annie shares her research into how “context sensitive” our brain actually is and why our environment matters so much when it comes to how we think and work. Plus, she shares how we need to rethink the way we create groupiness (a real scientific term) at work in the hybrid era.

Annie is an acclaimed science writer who's also had work in The New York Times Magazine and Scientific American, among other publications.Her TED talk about how we learn before we're even born has been viewed nearly 3 million times. But in this episode, we’re talking about thinking and learning as grown ups at work.

Following our conversation with Annie, we’re joined by Steelcase workplace researchers Patricia Kammer and Patricia Wang to connect Annie’s scientific study of the brain with the workplace today and work they’ve done this year to study hybrid workers.

Additional resources:

Annie Murphy Paul’s work and book The Extended Mind (https://anniemurphypaul.com/)

Annie’s TED Talk, What We Learn Before We Are Born (https://www.ted.com/talks/annie_murphy_paul_what_we_learn_before_we_re_born?language=en)

Hybrid worker research https://www.steelcase.com/NewHybridNeeds

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Work Better podcast is hosted by Chris Congdon. Produced by Rebecca Charbauski. Creative art direction by Erin Ellison and Emily Cowdrey. Technical support by Mark Caswell and Jose Jimenez. Digital publishing by Areli Arellano and Jordan Marks. Editing and sound mixing by SoundPost Studios.