It has been more than 30 years since the Satanic Panic gripped popular culture. Millions were convinced there was an epidemic of child abuse stemming from satanic beliefs and rituals. There was no evidence to support these claims. There were TV specials, arrests, prosecutions, and even convictions - all based on something that never happened. Dr Randy Paterson joins Mind Full to look back at this phenomenon. He draws a parallel to today's QAnon beliefs, and points out psychology's role not only in explaining the panic in retrospect, but in fueling the flames in the first place.

CBC’s Uncover podcast: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/472-satanic-panic

John Denver testifying at Tipper Gore’s Parents Music Resource Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSjjD6rRu4

Frank Zappa testifying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgAF8Vu8G0w

Dee Snider testifying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Vyr1TylTE

In this week's edition of People I Think You Should Meet on the Mind Full podcast, we talk to Hannah Burrows, a Master's psychology student specializing in animal behaviour. Specifically, the relationship between dogs and people. We talk about dogs, research, and the incredible things we have learned about animals over the years - crows, cuttlefish, and of course our own furry companions.

Crows and magic tricks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQa9dPGe0J8

Dogs helping endangered species through scat detection (an article by Hannah): https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1023547

Brainwave synchronization or "neural coupling" occurs when humans and dogs look at each other, or when a human pets a dog: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202402493

Whale dog helping to save orcas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ3BngMNv-g

Every time we get to celebrate something, we’re a little happier as a result. A promotion, a birthday, an unusually warm and sunny day in January. The fact is, there are hundreds of reasons for a celebration, but for some reason we don’t lean into them all. Dr. Rehman Abdulrehman has a radical idea – let’s celebrate EVERYTHING!

Dr. Abdulrehman's website Lead With Diversity: https://leadwithdiversity.com/

The Celebrate Everything initiative: https://leadwithdiversity.com/ce/

Dr. Katherine Starzyk and Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff created a virtual reality tour of a residential school. They collaborated with Survivors and computer scientists to see if a tour in this manner could change attitudes toward residential schools and reconciliation. Did it work? Well...kind of. But that doesn't mean the study wasn't worth doing! On today's episode we discuss what they learned and how even disappointing results move science and understanding forward.

Can a virtual reality residential school, developed with Survivors, improve empathy toward Indigenous people? Conversation article: https://theconversation.com/can-a-virtual-reality-residential-school-developed-with-survivors-improve-empathy-toward-indigenous-people-249996

Open-access paper 'The influence of Survivor stories and a virtual reality representation of a residential school on reconciliation in Canada': https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/social-psychology/articles/10.3389/frsps.2024.1346101/full

Open-access paper '“I definitely felt like I was there”: enacting empathy and negotiating a virtual reality Indian Residential School': https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/11771801221117561

Missing Matoaka: https://www.missingmatoaka.ca/

Dr. Iloradanon Efimoff's lab website: https://psychlabs.torontomu.ca/iel/

We’ve spoken on Mind Full before about anti-trans legislation, and the push to sideline the scientists doing work in the sex and gender space. But we’ve always done so from a Canadian perspective. We were curious to know how American psychologists are feeling at the moment. Dr. Alison Phillips and Julia Standefer, researchers at Iowa State University, tell us about their current situation and their recent article.

Conversation article ‘The psychology behind anti-trans legislation: How cognitive biases shape thoughts and policy’: https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-behind-anti-trans-legislation-how-cognitive-biases-shape-thoughts-and-policy-251691

The federal election is over, and it looks like a Liberal minority. We speak with the CPA's Director of Policy and Public Affairs Glenn Brimacombe for the third time in our election series about the results, the reshaping of the federal government, and the path forward for advocacy. What is the current outlook for the health system in general? What are the possible scenarios for achieving parity between mental health coverage and physical health coverage? And what's next for Pierre Polievre and the NDP?

With just under two weeks until the federal election, we spoke with our director of policy and public affairs Glenn Brimacombe (again!) about public health, mental health, and what we can all do to keep those topics top of mind as we approach April 28th.

Policy Primers: https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Advocacy/CPA%20Policy%20Primer%20Final%20December%202024.pdf

Ten questions for candidates:

https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Advocacy/2025%20Federal%20Elections%20Questions%20Final%20April%208%202025.pdf

Glenn Brimacombe is the CPA's Director of Policy and Public Affairs, and a registered lobbyist. Glenn advocates for mental health funding and parity (to get mental health coverage on par with physical health coverage), and has some ideas about how to keep mental health at the forefront of the issues as an election looms.

CPA's Policy Primer 'The Federal Government & Mental Health Policy…Preparing for the Next Federal Election': https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Advocacy/CPA%20Policy%20Primer%20Final%20December%202024.pdf

Dr. Liisa Galea is a scientific lead for the CAMH (the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) program womenmind™. It’s a community of philanthropists, thought leaders and scientists dedicated to tackling gender disparities in science, and to put the unique needs and experiences of women at the forefront of mental health research.

womenmind: https://www.camh.ca/en/get-involved/join-the-cause/womenmind

Women's Health Research Cluster: https://womenshealthresearchcluster.com/

Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/frontiers-in-neuroendocrinology

Organization for the Study of Sex Differences: https://www.ossdweb.org/

Canadian Organization for Gender and Sex Research: https://www.cogsresearch.ca/

Dr. Jillian Roberts is a Professor at the University of Victoria, a registered psychologist in B.C., and an author who has written a string of successful children's books in the Just Enough and The World Around Us series. Her latest book, The Friendship Guide, is a book that helps kids learn how to make friends and how to be a good friend.

Pre-order The Friendship Guide: https://www.orcabook.com/The-Friendship-Guide

The Just Enough series, World Around Us series, and other books: https://www.drjillianroberts.com/books/

Dr. Roberts' website: https://www.drjillianroberts.com/

Mindkey Health: MindKeyHealth.com