STEIN Fireside Podcast

Waves of the Mind: Dr. Michael Breakspear on Brain Dynamics, Surfing & Science

Listen Later

In this episode of the STEIN Fireside Podcast, Dr. Kai Miller and Bryan Klassen sits down with world‑renowned neuroscientist, psychiatrist, mathematician — and lifelong surfer — Dr. Michael Breakspear.

They dive into Breakspear’s unconventional path through math, medicine, physics, and psychiatry, and how those experiences shaped his groundbreaking work on neural field theory, brain oscillations, and large‑scale brain dynamics.

From his early days programming on 1980s Mac computers to surfing the powerful reefs of Newcastle, Breakspear shares how curiosity, creativity, and lifestyle balance fuel his scientific thinking.

You’ll hear discussion on:

  • How dynamical systems and wave equations reveal hidden structure in brain activity
  • Why large‑scale brain modes may explain attention, cognition, and consciousness
  • How hippocampal traveling waves shape memory, behavior, and epilepsy
  • What theory of mind, autism, and interoception might look like through a dynamical-systems lens
  • The parallels between neuroscience and AI, including latent manifolds and generative modeling
  • The importance of pure mathematics in modern science
  • The role of physical embodiment, stress regulation, and human connection in psychiatry

    • Whether you’re into neuroscience, physics, AI, medicine, or just love a good story about surfing and science colliding, this episode is a deep, engaging ride through the brain’s most beautiful patterns.

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    STEIN Fireside PodcastBy steinfiresidepodcast