Sports history is full of generational choke-jobs: the Falcons against the Patriots during the Super Bowl; the Clippers against the Nuggets during the 2020 NBA playoffs; James Harden’s entire career. Choking isn't unique to the sports world either; test-takers, performing artists, quiz bowl players - it seems like expertise does not prevent people from faltering under high pressure. In today’s episode, Akshata and Christian explore different theories of why choking occurs and what kind of attentional failures in the brain can lead to choking. By analyzing studies that test performance under high pressure, they start to unpack how expertise and practice affect memory and performance, and moreover, what people can do to potentially avoid choking.

Sources and show notes can be found at: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/?p=671

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What about robots? AIs? How does science fiction construct these beings based on real social ideas of what it means to be a person, and how do real social systems affect the creation of these fictional beings? In today’s episode, Akshata and Christian take a break from discussing scientific studies and dive into the world of Blade Runner, its sequel Blade Runner 2049, and the book that inspired them, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Spoilers for all of the above). What starts out as a discussion about the nature of personhood in science fiction quickly evolves into a broader discussion about themes commonly found in cyberpunk media. Our hosts begin by discussing the differences between robots, artificial intelligence, and androids. They then move on to other topics, such as the influence of capitalism in cyberpunk societies, the presentation of women in Blade Runner 2049, and use and abuse of Asian aesthetics in cyberpunk. Overall, it's a riveting and wide-ranging discussion, one that this time explores connections between sci-fi and society.

Sources and shownotes can be found at: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/?p=665

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

Email us with any questions or topic ideas at [email protected].

Support us on Patreon if you like what we do, want to see bonus content, or have a couple bucks to spare: https://www.patreon.com/expandingbrain

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein.

What does it mean to have a single, unified consciousness? Is that the only way consciousness can work? In this episode, Akshata and Christian discuss a scientific paper that explores these questions through the lens of one of the most alien species on the planet: the octopus. The paper, titled “Where is it like to be an octopus,” argues that the unusual setup of the octopus nervous system could lead to a consciousness that lives not in their brain, but in their eight arms. How can we even understand what that type of disjoined conscious experience would be like? Our hosts try their best to expand their brains and understand this phenomenon in the new episode. Hope you enjoy!

Sources and show notes can be found at: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/?p=661

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

Email us with any questions or topic ideas at [email protected].

Support us on Patreon if you like what we do, want to see bonus content, or have a couple bucks to spare: https://www.patreon.com/expandingbrain

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein.

Akshata and Christian discuss how psychedelic drugs can help us understand consciousness by analyzing a new theory of consciousness based on entropy. Are certain forms of consciousness “lower” or “higher” entropy? And what does that mean for the subjective experience of the conscious person? What happens in the brain under psychedelics to lead to all these revelatory, hallucinogenic, and expansive effects people report -and how can we study it with entropy? Through the framework of entropic consciousness, can psychedelics be useful in treating mental illnesses? We explore all these questions and more in this truly brain-expanding episode, hope you enjoy!

https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/2022/12/25/**13-entropic-consciousness-psychedelics-and-disorder-in-the-brain**/

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

Email us with any questions or topic ideas at [email protected].

Support us on Patreon if you like what we do, want to see bonus content, or have a couple bucks to spare: https://www.patreon.com/expandingbrain

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein.

Akshata, Christian, and Ryan continue their discussion of mathematical creativity in Part 2 by getting deep into the four stage Gestalt model of creativity. They rank the four stages: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification; and discuss how accurate this model is to real life mathematical creativity. The hosts also discuss the role of social factors like stereotype threat in how creativity is valued, or undervalued, in mathematics tests and classrooms. Overall, an insightful way to round out and wrap up a discussion about a topic very close to the hosts, thanks again to Ryan for being a guest!

Sources and show notes can be found at: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/?p=599

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

Email us with any questions or topic ideas at [email protected].

Support us on Patreon if you like what we do, want to see bonus content, or have a couple bucks to spare: https://www.patreon.com/expandingbrain

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein.

Akshata and Christian bring on a new guest Ryan to talk about the ever elusive idea of mathematical creativity. How do mathematicians experience creativity? How is creativity different while problem solving in math class versus while doing actual mathematical research? Does the process of creativity or its results matter more? Through this more conversational episode, our hosts discuss what it means for something to be "beautiful" to mathematicians and even the commonalities between mathematical creativity and artistic creativity -like in painting or music. For more of a cultural angle, listeners may be interested to hear about how success in math is often dependent on recognition by "gatekeepers" in a more Anglocentric mathematics community, and how the politics of funding can affect math research itself. So many wide-ranging topics, and even more to come in Part 2! 

Sources and show notes can be found at: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/?p=591

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

Email us with any questions or topic ideas at [email protected].

Support us on Patreon if you like what we do, want to see bonus content, or have a couple bucks to spare: https://www.patreon.com/expandingbrain

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein.

Akshata and Christian are back, and this time they’re tackling one of the most expansive and interesting topics in cognitive science: sleep. Specifically, this episode explores sleep deprivation and what can happen to the brain when you don’t get enough sleep -from effecting integral phenomena like basic visual or auditory processing, to disrupting higher level functions like emotion, memory, creativity, and a whole host of other cognitive abilities. They also step outside of the brain -chatting about the under-discussed affects sleep deprivation has on education, transportation, and even how material and socio-economic factors can contribute to sleep deprivation. This episode is an amazing way to kick off the next season of The Expanding Brain Podcast, and we hope you join us for the ride!

Sources and show notes can be found at: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/2022/09/06/**10-sleep-deprivation-in-the-brain-and-in-society**/

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

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If you like what we do, want to see bonus content, or have a couple bucks to spare, you can check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/expandingbrain

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein.

In this episode, Corinne Burch joins Akshata to talk about their experience as a music therapist. We begin with how music therapy benefits cognition, emotion, and social development, but we take a couple interesting detours. What actually counts as music and who gets to make that definition? Is music therapy an isolated, elite, individualistic phenomenon? Or can we make it more community-oriented and culturally inclusive? We cover a lot of ground, from the weird and creative ways that musicians push boundaries, to the concrete and clinical ways that music therapy helps premature babies regulate their bodies. We really hope you enjoy this truly expansive episode!

Sources and show notes (written by Christian) can be found here: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/?p=489

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

Email us with any questions or topic ideas at [email protected]

Support us on Patreon if you like what we do, want to see bonus content, or have a couple bucks to spare: https://www.patreon.com/expandingbrain

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein. Corinne’s instagram is https://www.instagram.com/corinne.burch/

In this episode Akshata and Christian, and their special guest Sadie discuss Montessori education and its effects on cognitive phenomena like creativity, executive function, and semantic memory. They delve into this somewhat niche teaching method that centers wholistic development for children and avoids grades or standardized tests. The hosts compare and critique some of the research that has been done into Montessori education and wonder what, if anything, about the method could provide tangible benefits to students in their academic careers? And even if the research is exciting, it has serious methodology issues. So can the Montessori method be scaled outside of the wealthier private school setting in which it’s usually found? Join us in this episode to find out!

Sources and show notes can be found at: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/2022/05/02/8-montessori-and-your-brain-show-notes/

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

Email us with any questions or topic ideas at [email protected]

Support us on Patreon if you like what we do, want to see bonus content, or have a couple bucks to spare: https://www.patreon.com/expandingbrain

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein. Sadie’s is https://twitter.com/radiofreesadie

Akshata and Christian continue the conversation from last episode about the faults in the DSM and psychiatry brought up in Gary Greenberg’s “The Book of Woe.” In this second part, we talk about alternate ideas for diagnosis, we compare the DSM to the ICD (a manual developed by the ICD which is used internationally for diagnosis), and we touch on topics like self-diagnosis and public accessibility of the DSM.

Sources and Shownotes can be found at: https://workbyakshata.wordpress.com/2022/03/08/7-does-the-dsm-need-a-rethink-the-book-of-woe-pt-2/(opens in a new tab)

Follow The Expanding Brain Podcast on twitter: https://twitter.com/brain_expanding

Email us with any questions or topic ideas at [email protected]

Our personal twitters are: https://twitter.com/artbyakshata and https://twitter.com/blkWittgenstein