Circle of Willis

A discussion about the role of fear and emotional recognition in our understanding of altruism and psychopathy. Dr. Abigail Marsh is a professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Georgetown University and the author of The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psychopaths, and Everyone In-Between. Subscribe and share! If you love what you hear, rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts! Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content.CircleOfWillisPodcast.com Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

What is the impact of avoiding emotions that we might code as unpleasant or difficult? This episode explores the key role that avoidance plays in psychopathology and the importance of confronting discomfort for mental health. Dr. David Barlow, a pioneer of modern Exposure Therapy, and Dr. Steven Hayes, the developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), provide expert interviews on their experience with this paradigm, both professional and personal. Subscribe and share! If you love what you hear, rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts! Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content.CircleOfWillisPodcast.com This episode features the music of Blue Dot Sessions. Special thanks to Kaylyn Feeley, Ashley Park, and Omega Ilijevich for production assistance! Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Content Warning : Mentions of Domestic Violence and Childhood Poverty Today's episode features a conversation with our show founder and host, Dr. Jim Coan! In addition to hosting Circle of Willis, Jim is a Professor of Psychology at UVa, where he directs the Virginia Affective Neuroscience Lab. He is also the principal of Brown Residential College. Circle of Willis is about to undergo a lot of developmental changes as we adapt our production over the next several months. It seemed like a perfect time to interview Jim to cap off the initial phase of this show! His story is one of struggle and triumph, and is a rarity in upper academia. Hopefully you are intrigued and inspired just as much as we are by this conversation with Jim Coan - as well as the greater context clips of his younger sister Sandra provides. CircleOfWillisPodcast.com Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content. Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Coming Monday, December 26th we interview our host Jim Coan about his unique path to academia.

Today's episode features a recent conversation with physicist and writer Alan Lightman during his visit to Brown College at the University of Virginia in October 2022. Dr. Lightman's prominent work in both science and the humanities challenges the divide between fields and he discusses his approach of both disciplines through a creative lens. Eventually, we get a little taste of what he does best - demonstrating the innate poetry of what we know, and don't know, about our universe. Are scientific and artistic pursuits really so different in their motivation? Alan Lightman presently serves as Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His new docu-series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science will premiere on January 7th, 2023 on public television stations and stream online at PBS.org. CircleOfWillisPodcast.com Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content. Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Coming on Monday, December 12th, a conversation with Alan Lightman about finding a creative outlet through physics and writing!

Today's episode features a conversation with psychologist and author Sarah Rose Cavanagh. What role do emotions play in the classroom and what can teachers do better to effect learning outcomes for the better? What can we learn about seemingly cognitive activities from affective strategies and analysis? Sarah Rose Cavanagh is presently an associate professor of Psychology at Assumption College. CircleOfWillisPodcast.com Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content. Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Coming on Monday, November 28th a conversation with Sarah Rose Cavanagh about the intersection of emotions and education - how can we be more effective in the classroom?

Today's episode features a conversation with developmental and comparative psychologist Felix Warneken. When do humans develop the ability to help one another and how does that differ from the behavior of our closest evolutionary relatives? If everything we do is ultimately self preservation on a biological level, how does altruism fit into our understanding of our own psychology? Felix Warneken is presently a professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. CircleOfWillisPodcast.com Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content. Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Coming on Monday, November 14th a conversation with Felix Warneken about the psychological development of altruistic behaviors in children - an adorable episode about helping each other!

Content Warning : This episode discusses sensitive topics including autopsy, execution, and miscarriage that may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. What is the Circle of Willis...and why is this show named after it? Sage and production assistant Kaylyn Feeley set out to learn more about physician Thomas Willis and stumble across a tale fitting the Halloween season. Special thanks to our guests: Zoltan Molnar for explaining Thomas Willis's biography and the historical impact of his scientific contributions; and Stephen Marrone for bringing us up to speed on dualism and monism in the 17th century! Subscribe and share! If you love what you hear, rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts! Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content.CircleOfWillisPodcast.com This episode features the music of Blue Dot Sessions: Darklit Carpet Olsted Valkan Elainne Chapter Crumbtown Lacaille Kilkerrin Glass Stopper Hardwood Lullaby Chel Taza Akonan Heath Il Villardo Her Caliber Idle Corridor Nightlight Lamprey In Passage Arizona Moon Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Coming Halloween Monday, October 31st - Producer Sage Tanguay and Production Assistant Kaylyn Feeley quest to learn more about the name of the podcast - Circle of Willis. Simple questions take them to grisly and enlightening moments of the mid 17th century in England and they return with a cyclical tale for Jim Coan. Content Warning : This episode will discuss matters of autopsy, executions, miscarriage, and other sensitive topics. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Make sure to listen to Part 1 first! Today's episode continues our conversation with Peter Sterling about allostasis and how the human body adapts to environment. In Part 2, we follow these concepts to their inevitable conclusions about the way we work and live. Peter Sterling is a Professor of Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a lifelong activist and advocate for progressive change in society as well as the field of neuroscience. CircleOfWillisPodcast.com Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content. Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Coming Monday, October 17th - The second half of a conversation with Dr. Peter Sterling, connecting the health implications of allostasis to the way we think about society and labor.

Episode Notes Today's episode features Peter Sterling, a stand-out in the field of neuroscience. In Part 1 of this conversation, Peter explains the concept of allostasis and how the human body is constantly responding to external stresses. Peter Sterling is a Professor of Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a lifelong activist and advocate for progressive change in society as well as the field of neuroscience. Stay tuned for Part 2, when the conversation expands in terms of implications for individual health and social organization. CircleOfWillisPodcast.com Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content. Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Coming Monday, October 3rd - The first of two parts of a conversation with Dr. Peter Sterling about how adaptive the human body is to environment every moment...and what that means for our long-term health.

Episode Notes Today's episode features John Allen, an old colleague of Jim's from the University of Arizona. They discuss the complexity of Frontal EEG Asymmetry, the development of scientific tech during their careers, and the winding path of research. John Allen is a Distinguished Professor in the University of Arizona's Psychology Department specializing in Clinical and Cognition Neural Systems where he is the director of the Psychophysiology Lab and the Depression Risk Lab. CircleOfWillisPodcast.com Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content. Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Coming Monday, September 19th - a conversation with Dr. John Allen about Frontal EEG Asymmetry and how the path of successful science can be long and winding. A failed hypothesis can be just as useful as a proven one. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Happy Labor Day and welcome back to Circle of Willis! This episode celebrates the labor of love with a conversation between Jim Coan and Drs. John and Julie Gottman. It was recorded in 2019 at a live event hosted by Fountain Books in Richmond, Virginia to celebrate the release of their book Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love. Through their extensive research and observation of couples, the Gottmans outline the importance of communication and the acceptance of conflict in a strong relationship. Using their own relationship experiences, they condense their findings into a handful of basic tenets that are easily understood, but sometimes a challenge to adopt in practice. Love is hard work! After a long hiatus, this podcast is back with a bang...and a new producer : Sage Tanguay. Look for new episodes every other Monday from here on out! Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content. Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Coming on Monday, September 5th - a conversation with Drs. Julie and John Gottman about their book Eight Dates. Recorded LIVE in Richmond, Virginia in 2019. The Gottmans provide insight into what makes relationships work or fail Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Episode Notes Welcome to Circle of Willis, my podcast about science and the scientists who do it, brought to you by generous folks at VQR, the Center for Media and Citizenship, and WTJU Radio at the University of Virginia here in Charlottesville. Folks, sometimes the chaos swirls and the lights dim. Sometimes things go very wrong and we don’t know what to do with ourselves. Sometimes those who’ve dedicated their lives to helping don’t know how to help, or, more likely these days, they don’t have the tools they need. And despite what you may have heard, laughter is not the best medicine. But in Part 2 of our conversation, my guest TIM CUNNINGHAM is here to remind us that sometimes laughter is the only medicine available, that laughter can catalyze the kinds of social connections we need most during our times of trial, and that laughter might even make those medicines that are the best more effective. Maybe that’s why Pablo Neruda once wrote, Take bread away from me, if you wish Take air away But do not take from me your laughter Humor has an almost mystical power to make life a little better, sometimes a LOT better. That’s why, in addition to being the VP for Practice and Innovation at Emory Healthcare, a Registered Nurse, and a Dr. of Public Health, Tim Cunningham is a professional Clown, trained at the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre up in Northern California, and a board member of CLOWNS WITHOUT BORDERS, which you are going to hear all about in just a few moments. Tim is going to tell us how being a professional clown has informed his work, world view, and personal life, and how all of that converged in all too real moments of life and death in a time of pandemic. ———————— Folks, the Music on Circle of Willis is written and performed by TOM STAUFFER and his band THE NEW DRAKES… For information about how to purchase their music, check the “Music if Circle of Willis” page at circleofwillispodcast.com Circle of Willis is Produced by SIVA VAIDHYANATHAN and brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia… And that Circle of Willis is a member of the VIRGINIA AUDIO COLLECTIVE! You can find out more about that at Virginiaaudio.org. Special thanks Circle of Willis Associate Producer GRACE BOYLE, NATHAN MOORE, General Manager and swell guy at WTJU FM in Charlottesville, VA, and tough as nails editor-in-chief PAUL REYES at VQR—otherwise known as the Virginia Quarterly Review, winner of the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, in 2019, and finalist for the same award right here in 2020. If you like this podcast, how about giving us a little review at iTunes and letting us know how we’re doing? It’s super easy and we like it! Or send us an email by going to circleofwillispodcast.com and clicking on the “contact” tab. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

WELCOME BACK to CIRCLE OF WILLIS, my podcast about science and the scientists who do it. In this episode, I introduce you to TIM CUNNINGHAM, VP for Practice & Innovation at Emory Healthcare, super nice guy, and badass who's given more of himself than you have to the cause of health, well being, and even literal survival. Here in Part 1 of our interview, we talk about how caregivers and patients endure pandemics like the one we’re going through right now, from a guy who’s been through one before, as a pediatric nurse in Sierra Leone during the Ebola Crisis. Watch for Part 2, coming up in a couple of weeks, where Tim and I talk about the existential and life affirming practice of Clowning, and indeed about how Clowning dovetails with nursing and medicine, especially during times of crisis. Yes, I'm talking about being a literal professional clown. Tim is that, too. Folks, the Music on Circle of Willis is written and performed by TOM STAUFFER and his band THE NEW DRAKES… For information about how to purchase their music, check the “Music if Circle of Willis” page at circleofwillispodcast.com Circle of Willis is Produced by SIVA VAIDHYANATHAN and brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia… And that Circle of Willis is a member of the VIRGINIA AUDIO COLLECTIVE! You can find out more about that at Virginiaaudio.org. Special thanks Circle of Willis Associate Producer GRACE BOYLE, NATHAN MOORE, General Manager and swell guy at WTJU FM in Charlottesville, VA, and tough as nails editor-in-chief PAUL REYES at VQR—otherwise known as the Virginia Quarterly Review, winner of the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, in 2019, and finalist for the same award right here in 2020. If you like this podcast, how about giving us a little review at iTunes and letting us know how we’re doing? It’s super easy and we like it! Or send us an email by going to circleofwillispodcast.com and clicking on the “contact” tab. Find out more at http://circleofwillispodcast.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Welcome to Circle of Willis! For this episode I'm sharing a conversation I had a while ago with BRIAN NOSEK, professor of Psychology here, with me, at the University of Virginia, as well as co-Founder and Executive Director of the CENTER FOR OPEN SCIENCE, also here in Charlottesville. Brian earned his PhD at Yale University way back in 2002, only about a year before I first met him here, when I was just a jittery job candidate. Brian has been in the public eye quite a lot in the past decade or so, not only due to his work with the Implicit Association Test, otherwise known as the IAT, but also and perhaps mainly for his more recent path breaking efforts to increase the transparency and reproducibility of the work scientists do. I think you'll find that in our conversation, Brian is relentlessly thoughtful about everything that comes up. And I want to say here, publicly, that I think he's absolutely right, at the very least, about the toxicity of the current system of incentives and rewards faced by academic scientists. Occasionally you'll hear that "science is broken." It's a great, click-baity phrase that thrives in our current social media ecosystem. But it's completely wrong. Science is not and has never been broken. Even now, science is our most precious, life affirming, life saving, human activity. Literally nothing humans have invented has done more than science has to improve our welfare, to increase our sensitivity to the natural world, or to reveal the forces and mechanisms that form and constrain our miraculous universe. But the institutional structures within which science is done are in bad shape. At the foundation, public funding for science is dismal, and that problem is yoked to the steadily declining public commitment to higher education in general. Our institutions have come to rely on bloated federal grants to just keep the lights on, and the responsibility for securing those federal dollars has fallen heavily on the shoulders of scientists who ought to be focused on making discoveries and solving the world's problems. And because that is a heavy burden, institutional structures have formed to incentivize -- some would say coerce -- scientists into striving for those federal dollars. Want to get tenure? Better bring in some big federal grants. Want 12 months of continuous salary? Better bring in some big federal grants. You get the idea. But there are other problems, too. Want to get a good raise? You'd better publish a lot. Note that I didn't say you'd better publish excellent work. No one would say that excellent work isn't valued -- it is -- but what you really want is good numbers, because numbers are easier to evaluate. And we love indices we can point to, that can help us evaluate each other as algorithmically as possible. So each individual scientist has an h-index associated with their name (Google Scholar thinks mine is 44). Journals come with impact factors. And all of these indices are relatively easy to game, so professional advancement and stability orients itself toward gaming the indices at least as much as doing high quality work. In the meantime, a profession -- a passion, and even an art, really -- can gradually transform into a cynical race for money and prestige. And though a scientist may well grow skilled at reeling in the money during their career, whatever level of prestige they attain will ultimately fail them. As John Cacioppo argued in a previous episode of this very podcast, you and your specific work are not likely to be remembered for long, if at all. Prestige and recognition are understandable but ultimately foolish goals. Far better, Cacioppo argued, to focus your attention on the process -- on the doing of your work. And your best shot at enjoying that work -- perhaps at enjoying your life -- is to make sure that the work that you do is aligned with your values. Brian Nosek and I are in full agreement on at least one point: The system within which science is done -- particularly within which American science is done -- discourages a process-oriented focus, and, by extension, discourages us from aligning our scientific process with our values. Why? Because our institutions have to keep the lights on. So, science isn't broken at all. How could it be? Science is a system, a philosophy, perhaps even a moral commitment...to transparency and openness, to verifiability, to repeatability, to discovery, and, I would argue, to humility. Science is far more than a collection of methods and techniques, and, by the way, there is nothing about science that requires coverage by the New York Times to be valid. What may be broken is the system within which science manifests as a profession. So here's why I admire Brian Nosek so much: He isn't just complaining about things, the way I do. Instead, he's working hard to develop an alternative system -- a system based on the scientific process instead of rewarding outcomes, and, by extension, a scientific process based on deeply held scientific values. You and I may not agree with all the details in Brian's approach, but, you know, it's easy to criticize, right? Anyway, here are Brian Nosek and me, having a conversation in one of the conference rooms at the Center for Open Science. *    *    * Music for this episode of Circle of Willis was written and performed by Tom Stauffer of Tucson, Arizona. For information about how to purchase Tom’s music, as well as the music of his band THE NEW DRAKES, visit his Amazon page.  Circle of Willis is Produced by Siva Vaidhyanathan and brought brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   Special thanks to VQR Editor Paul Reyes, WTJU FM General Manager Nathan Moore, as well as NPR reporter and co-founder of the very popular podcast Invisibilia, Lulu Miller.  

Hi Everyone! My conversation with BRIAN NOSEK is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready yet. In this preview we talk about how despite being the most successful endeavor in human history, science can be improved upon, not least through changing how we evaluate the success of individual scientists. Our current incentives might be encouraging us to make scientific “beauty out of mush.”  This conversation is priceless. More soon! Jim  

Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with SUSAN JOHNSON, inventor of Emotionally Focused Therapy, or EFT, which is an evidence based therapy for couples that she's been developing and refining for more than30 years. How do you develop and refine a psychological intervention? Well, on the one hand, you spend a lot of time working with your intervention targets—in Sue's case, romantic couples in distress. On the other hand, you put a lot of time and energy into subjecting the intervention to scientific studies, not only to see whether it works, but to pick apart HOW it works, what the mechanisms are. Sue's work has influenced thousands of therapists and couples over the past several decades, and her work continues to this day, as professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa, as founder of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and as inductee into the very prestigious Order of Canada in recognition of her profound service to her adopted country. In the last episode, I mentioned her books HOLD ME TIGHT and LOVE SENSE. I advise you to check them out if you are interested in sprucing up your relationships and learning a little about what Sue calls the science of love. Sue is certainly passionate and committed to this work, but you'll also find that she's unusually thoughtful about it, too. Sue is a first generation college student who grew up working in a pub, in Chatham, Kent, southeast of London. I think you can hear that background in her, in the way she allows herself a sort of straight-talky candor and accessibility. But don't let that accessibility fool you. Sue is one of our deepest and most sophisticated thinkers. So here in Part 2, we dive a little deeper into the scientific side of Sue's life and into the development of EFT. And we talk a little bit about what life's all about, too. Wisdom, folks.   *    *    * Music for this episode of Circle of Willis was written and performed by Tom Stauffer of Tucson, Arizona. For information about how to purchase Tom’s music, as well as the music of his band THE NEW DRAKES, visit his Amazon page.  Circle of Willis is Produced by Siva Vaidhyanathan and brought brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   Special thanks to VQR Editor Paul Reyes, WTJU FM General Manager Nathan Moore, as well as NPR reporter and co-founder of the very popular podcast Invisibilia, Lulu Miller.

Welcome to Part 1 of my epic conversation with SUSAN JOHNSON, inventor of Emotionally Focused Therapy—EFT—which is an evidence-based therapy for couples, one focused on repairing and enhancing the kinds of emotional bonds that we all depend on for our health and well being.   The author of numerous scientific articles, Sue has also written a bunch of books—some for practicing psychotherapists and some, notably HOLD ME TIGHT and LOVE SENSE, for the general public.   In 2017, Sue was honored by the Canadian Government with membership in the Order of Canada, one of Canada's highest civilian honors, which recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the country. Sue is Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa, and the founder of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. *    *    * Music for this episode of Circle of Willis was written and performed by Tom Stauffer of Tucson, Arizona. For information about how to purchase Tom’s music, as well as the music of his band THE NEW DRAKES, visit his Amazon page.  Circle of Willis is Produced by Siva Vaidhyanathan and brought brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   Special thanks to VQR Editor Paul Reyes, WTJU FM General Manager Nathan Moore, as well as NPR reporter and co-founder of the very popular podcast Invisibilia, Lulu Miller.

Welcome to the first annual Circle of Willis Halloween Special, THE WIDOWMAKER, in which I tell the story of almost dying recently of a particularly deadly heart attack.    If you have a family history of heart disease, if you had a traumatic childhood, if you have been under a lot of stress, for a long period of time, if you work too much, especially in a sedentary job, if you’re overweight, if you smoke, if you’re hypertensive or have high cholesterol... consider at least chatting with a cardiologist. Make an appointment. Get a calcium scan test. Reflect on your life as it’s happening now, not at some future point where you’ve achieved some kind of goal or real stability or peace and contentment or whatever thing it is. Think about how you’re living this single life you’re ever going to have, or even whether you are living that life. Because The Widowmaker can strike at any time, without warning, on any ordinary day. It almost got me. Don’t let it get you.   *    *    * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer and his band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

Hi Everyone! My conversation with SUSAN JOHNSON—Episode 14—is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready yet. In this preview we talk about how Sue's work on the science and practice of couple's therapy has begun to expand to a general mission of giving away what she calls "the science of love" to the general public, with the goal of creating a more nurturing society.  Lofty goals, for sure, but as I say in this preview, these goals feel right to me just now, on the cusp of the anniversary of the hate that came to my home and workplace--Charlottesville, VA and UVA--just one year ago. Thanks to Sue for providing a good counterpoint to this crummy anniversary. And cheers to Sue's goal.  More soon! Jim

Welcome to Episode 13, where I’m talking with NILANJANA DASGUPTA  about how young women interested in STEM disciplines can benefit from women teachers and mentors. We also talk about Nilanjana’s fascinating family history that for generations has combined science and social activism.   Nilanjana is Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she also serves as Director of Faculty Equity and Inclusion.    In Part 1 of this episode, Nilanjana talks about the origins of her work on women in STEM—how she discovered the effect of women mentors for young women in these disciplines—and gets us up to date on her latest attempt to use this knowledge to develop targeted interventions designed to encourage young women interested in STEM to stick with it!   In Part 2, Nilanjana tells the story of her family history—a history of science and social activism that begins in India and influences her choices step by step to the work she’s doing today. We’ll also hear about some of her earlier work on what psychologists call implicit biases — the attitudes, beliefs or stereotypes thought by some to be guiding our actions unconsciously. As you’ll hear, Nilanjana’s contribution to this research radically changed how we understand it.    *    *    * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

Hi Everyone! My conversation with NILANJANA DASGUPTA—Episode 13—is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready yet. In this preview we talk about the origin of Dr. Dasgupta's work on the factors that encourage (or discourage) women from participating in the STEM professions.  We'll talk more about this important work in Episode 13, where we'll also delve into her fascinating family history—a history that for generations has combined science and social activism. More soon! Jim

In this special episode of Circle of Willis I talk with five developmental scientists about what may be happening to the children who are currently being separated from their parents as part of a policy to deter immigration and asylum seekers at the southern border to the United States. We discuss what happens to the private emotional lives of these children, but also what happens to their brains and to their bodies. Specifically, I spoke with   Jude Cassidy, Professor of Psychology and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the University of Maryland.               Megan Gunnar, Regents Professor and McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota                         Dylan Gee, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Yale University                       Charles Nelson, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital                       Nim Tottenham, Associate Professor of Psychology at Columbia University                     Thanks also to VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia   To Siva Vaidhyanathan, professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia and Executive Producer of Circle of Willis.    To Nathan Moore, General Manager of WTJU FM, here in Charlottesville, VA and director of the TEEJ.FM network.   To Tom Stauffer for original musical contributions to this episode, and for the music he made with Gene Ruley as part of their band the New Drakes.   Finally, a special thanks to Lulu Miller, co-founder of the podcast Invisibilia and reporter for NPR News.   ******** Note: Mirian G's story, related in the show, can be found here.  

Welcome to Episode 12, where JAY VAN BAVEL and I discuss the effect of moralizing language on political debates, how scientists--how we all--use social media to settle disputes, and how a kid from Fox Creek, Alberta manages to become a renowned social scientist at New York University.    Jay is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University and an affiliate scholar at the Stern School of Business, in their Managment and Organizations program. Jay's work on group identity, social motivation, moral values, and political beliefs have rocketed him to the national spotlight as one of social science's most influential young scholars. Jay's work and perspective has increasingly seen him working with, and for, such popular outlets as Scientific American and the New York Times.    Interested in learning more about Jay Van Bavel’s work? Check out some of these links:   Jay Van Bavel on Twitter The Flexibility of Racial Bias (with Mina Cikara) Twitter’s Passion Politics   *    *    *   As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

Hi Everyone! The JAY VAN BAVEL episode--Episode 12--is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about what Jay discovered when he used data from Twitter to analyze the effect of what he calls "moralizing language."    More soon! Jim

Welcome to Episode 11, where NICOLE PRAUSE and I discuss, among other things, the scientific study of orgasm, the pernicious effects of social discomfort about sex on those trying to study it, and her journey from sleepy little Beaumont, Texas to sparkly, cutting-edge Los Angeles. Life hasn’t always been easy for Nikky, but that’s just made her scrappy—a determined problem solver.    Nikky Prause is an expert psychophysiologist and neuroscientist. She trained among other places at the KINSEY INSTITUTE for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, at Indiana University in Bloomington. She’s an associate research scientist at UCLA and a licensed clinical psychologist. Recently, she founded LIBEROS, LLC, which is her very own private research institute and biotech company.   I don’t have a Nicole Prause book to link to here, but I do have things for you to check out if you’re interested in learning more (see links below).    And I do want to say this: Nicole Prause is doing vitally important work—work that for all kinds of bad reasons has been made unreasonably difficult for her to do. She has been subject to threats, lies, attempts to derail her career…it goes on and on. So she has fashioned an unorthodox approach that seeks to overcome the various and relentless impediments she’s had to face. This makes me think at least two things: 1) She really is going to win these battles. Don’t let her good humor and warmth deceive you—she’s a real fighter. 2) We owe Nikky a tremendous debt of gratitude. She’s fighting to do her work, yes, but when the ultimate accounting is done—when we realize the fruits of her labor—we’ll realize that WE are the real beneficiaries.    So thanks Nikky. Keep up the fight. We’re standing with you.    And here are those links I promised! Check them out: Nicole Prause in the Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers Studying Sexual Rewards: It May Not Be Orgasm: TEDx Boulder   *    *    * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

Hi Everyone! The NICOLE PRAUSE episode--Episode 11--is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about how Nicole actually, literally, stimulates research participants to orgasm in her laboratory.  A warning:this preview contains a lot of genital talk.  And apologies for my nervous giggling. I'm only human! More soon! Jim

John Cacioppo has died. I went through some of the material that got cut from our original conversation, and found this gem, which I wanted to share with everyone. Among other things, it includes this: "You want to be able to contribute a brick to the temple of science...but recognize that, whether you know it or not, by your death, or shortly after your death, that will be an anonymous brick...and, if you accept that you’re going to do it anonymously…the value isn’t the reward of fame, it’s that you never had to go to work in your whole life." Rest in peace, friend.

Hey Everyone! This is not a full episode of my podcast Circle of Willis! Instead, this is bonus material related to Episode 10, where I talked with DAVID SLOAN WILSON. I say "related to" because really this bonus material is not stuff I cut from the original interview with David, as all the other bonus episodes have been.  Instead, for this bonus episode, David Sloan Wilson is interviewing me! I'm thrilled to say he had so much fun chatting that he proposed this follow-up interview to learn more about my own journey to the field of Behavioral Ecology as a psychologist and neuroscientist. I was happy to tell him all about how the book An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology sort of changed my intellectual and scientific life, causing me to think very differently about my own work, but also about things like the evolution of the human brain, and about psychological science in general.  I'm also grateful that this conversation gave me an opportunity to sing the praises of my friend and colleague Dennis Proffitt, whose work informs and inspires me all the time, and who was, for me, the "gateway drug" to ecological thinking.  Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did! Jim

Welcome to Episode 10, where I talk to DAVID SLOAN WILSON, Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University, about, well, a lot of stuff, from Skinnerian behaviorism to multilevel selection theory, to the behaviors that impede and facilitate scientific progress and even to what Wilson calls “the science to narrative chain,” which is the process by which scientists might most effectively engage with the general public.     Wilson is the author of numerous classic papers in the field of evolutionary biology and several books, including Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society, Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives, The Neighborhood Project: Using Evolution to Improve My City, One Block at a Time, Does Altruism Exist?: Culture, Genes, and the Welfare of Others, and others.   And as if that weren’t enough, Wilson also founded Binghamton University’s Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) program, as well as the Evolution Institute, which sets as its goal the application of evolutionary science to the solving of pressing social issues, and, ultimately, to improve quality of life around the globe. The Evolution Institute in turn publishes a fascinating online magazine called This View of Life, “an online general interest magazine in which all of the content is from an evolutionary perspective.”    I was a little starstruck during our conversation, but David was an amazing sport about it, generously engaging with each topic and happily spending time with me. I’m extremely grateful for this. My advice for listening is to keep a notepad handy. David Sloan Wilson is almost perpetually quotable!    Enjoy!   *    *    *   As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

Hi Everyone! The DAVID SLOAN WILSON episode is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about what David calls the "Science to Narrative Chain." More soon! Jim

Hey Everyone! This is not a full episode of my podcast Circle of Willis! What this is…this is BONUS MATERIAL from Episode 9, where I talked with HAL MOVIUS.   This is just Hal telling the story of his graduate school experience. I think it's super interesting, and hope you will, too! Jim

Welcome to Episode 9, where I talk to HAL MOVIUS, founder and president of Movius Consulting, about the nature of confidence, the ways in which confidence can both help us and hurt us when we’re working through a difficult negotiation.    My conversation with Hal takes Circle of Willis in a bit of a different direction, since Hal isn’t currently a working scientist, per se, but is instead applying his training and expertise in behavioral science to work with some of the world’s most impactful and recognizable companies and NGOs, including Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s, Ogilvy & Mather, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett-Packard, the United Nations Development Program, the Federal Aviation Administration, the University of Chicago, the Society for Neuroscience, and the Rockefeller Foundation!   Hal advises these organizations about the science of negotiation, influence, emotion regulation, leadership, and organizational development. As he notes in our conversation, “[the science on these topics] makes you cautious. It helps you recognize BS, which is in no short supply…[there are] endless claims…endless misrepresentations of research…and I like to think that the advice that we’re giving is really grounded in evidence…” Hal is a trusted advisor to the leaders of these companies, not least because he helps them spot and avoid unsupported claims and advice.    Hal is the author of two books: Resolve: Negotiating Life’s Conflicts with Greater Confidence (2017, LifeTree Media) and Built to Win: Creating A World Class Negotiating Organization (Harvard Business Press, May 2009). He has produced a bunch of films on negotiation and influence challenges, published papers on the effectiveness of negotiation training, cross-cultural business negotiations, and dealing with difficult negotiation counterparts, and he has taught at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.   Most importantly, Hal Movius is among the closest friends I’ve ever had—ever will have. I met him 20+ years ago as a first-year graduate student at the University of Arizona, and my life has been far better as a result.   In this episode, Hal talks with me not only about his specific areas of expertise, but also about how he came to work in the private sector instead of academia, when, it seemed to me, academia was his natural home.    Hal has does things differently than most of us. He’s an independent thinker, and he’s passionate about his work. I’m thrilled to be able to share him with the world!   Oh! Catch Dahlia Lithwick’s Slate interview with Hal here!   *    *    * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

Hi Everyone! The HAL MOVIUS episode is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about leaving academia, and the problem of confidence in difficult negotiations. More soon! Jim

Welcome to Episode 8, where I talk to SIMINE VAZIRE, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Davis, about the stability of personality, our ability to know ourselves, and some of the nuances within the prescriptive advice of the Open Science Movement.    Simine wears a number of different hats. In recent years, she’s been at or near the center of ongoing conversations among scientists about the virtues and challenges of open science. As part of this work, she co-founded the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS) and co-hosts a science podcast (with Sanjay Srivastava and Alexa Tullett) called THE BLACK GOAT. Simine is also editor in chief of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science and a senior editor at Collabra.    Interestingly, Simine has also been a part of the conversation about the process of criticism in science. As most listeners well know, criticism is unquestionably essential if science is going to be self-correcting (which is of course the whole point!). One question the field has been grappling with is the point at which criticism crosses over into harassment and bullying—a question at the heart of a recent op-ed Simine wrote for Slate.   I have my own thoughts on this question, which I’ll save for another time, but one of the reasons I was so keen to ask Simine to be on Circle of Willis is that I find her approach to grappling with such questions to be equal parts humble, charitable, and firm. She isn’t likely to allow a legitimate criticism to be brushed aside in order to avoid hurting someone's feelings, but neither is she going to participate in (or for that matter tolerate) bullying. I think that in our age of shoot-from-the-hip outrage, that can be a hard path to find, let alone walk, and I genuinely admire her efforts.   There are many other things I love about Simine, but as you’ll hear in this episode, at or near the top of the list of her agreeable traits is that she’ll be the first to tell any of you that sometimes she’s wrong. We try to be right while tolerating (and admitting to) our mistakes.    Oh, and — seriously — keep a notepad handy for this episode. Simine is unusually quotable!   *    *    *   As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

Hi Everyone! The SIMINE VAZIRE episode is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about Simine's role in the movement to improve psychological science. More soon! Jim

Welcome to Episode 7, where Professor MARCO IACOBONI and I talk about the mirroring, mirror neurons, the science of empathy, and how we understand the minds of others.   Marco is Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he directs the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Laboratory within the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center.   Marco has written volumes of vitally important scientific papers, including a very famous paper published in the journal Science back in 1999 called Cortical Mechanisms of Human Imitation.   But Marco has also written a fantastic, highly readable book for the general public that I recommend to anyone interested in the human mind generally, and human empathy more specifically. This book is called MIRRORING PEOPLE: THE NEW SCIENCE OF HOW WE CONNECT WITH OTHERS, and, as I said, it is excellent. I’m not the only one who thinks so. Check this out:    “Those of us who thirty years ago began to speculate about the social brain never guessed what riches were in store. Iacoboni's book is both a thrilling account of how research on mirror neurons is revolutionising our understanding of inter-subjectivity, and a passionate manifesto for what he calls ‘existential neuroscience.’ Mirroring People does for the story of mirror neurons what The Double Helix did for DNA.”      —Nicholas Humphrey, author of Seeing Red: A Study in Consciousness   As enjoyable as Marco is in Episode 7, I wish all my listeners could spend some actual time with him. Marco Iacoboni is one of he friendliest, optimistic, and open-minded folks you’re likely to meet. I feel very lucky indeed to count him as a friend. Thanks for the great conversation, Marco!    *    *    * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

Hi Everyone! The MARCO IACOBONI episode is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation about mirror neurons. More soon! Jim

Hey Everyone! This is not a full episode of my podcast Circle of Willis! What this is…this is BONUS MATERIAL from Episode 6, where I talked with JOHN CACIOPPO. This is material that might be a little tougher for some people—people who are not social psychologists or psychophysiologists… But if you are one of those people, or if you're comfortable doing a little google searching, there is some great stuff here. It’s me and John Cacioppo talking about the work John did with Richard Petty on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, John’s methodological work on the field of Electromyography (see the awesome image at the right for the picture John and I laugh about), John’s willingness to forgo tenure in order to do the science correctly…good stuff! And of course at some point John and I just started to geek out about the early days of a discipline called psychophysiology. We talk a bit about how psychophysiologists can easily get really focused on their physiological specialty. It was great fun for me and I hope it's enjoyable for you, too!  

Welcome to Episode 6, where Professor JOHN CACIOPPO and I talk about inferring causal associations between mind and body, and how to be human is to care for others.   John is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor, and the founder and director of the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, at the University of Chicago   John’s contributions to the fields of Social Psychology, Psychophysiology, Social Neuroscience (an entire field he helped create more or less from scratch), research methodology, philosophy of science…on and on…would be hard or impossible to overstate. He is a quasi-religious figure to me in that I’ve been reading his methodological critiques and recommendations about mind-body research, as well as his work on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, Electromyography, and Loneliness, for my entire career. I’ve described his groundbreaking book, PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY (later, the HANDBOOK OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY) as the holy text of my scholarly origin story, and I mean it. It was published in 1990, right about the time I went back to college as a nervous 21-year-old, and soon after going to work in John Gottman’s lab. There, the book was literally required reading. As I moved through graduate school and well into my career, John has been a guide to the work I do, conceptually, methodologically, and philosophically, and the same can be said of a relatively unknown ocean of researchers all across the globe.    John’s recent popular book, LONELINESS, covers decades of work he and others have done documenting the cost of social isolation, whether “objective” isolation (as he calls it) or perceived. It turns out that perceived isolation may be the most harmful of the two kinds, and in any case, isolation kills. We are not a species that relies on our own resources to survive just long enough to reproduce. We are a species that cares for others, and that expects to be cared for.    At any rate, I hope you enjoy this chance to spend a little time with one of psychology’s most prolific and restless minds. I know I did.    *    *    * As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page. 

SNEAK PREVIEW: JOHN CACIOPPO Hi Everyone! The JOHN CACIOPPO episode is coming soon, but it isn't quite ready for release yet. In the meantime, here's a short clip from our conversation. More soon! Jim

Hey everyone!   This is not a proper episode of my podcast, Circle of Willis…   It’s a BONUS EPISODE, sort of like the extras you get on a DVD or something like that. It's an extra bit of conversation recorded with LISA FELDMAN BARRETT   What happened is: after Lisa and I recorded our first conversation, we got to chatting about how she started studying emotion and what it was like for her to go against the dominant view of what emotions were, and we realized that we should start the recorder again.   We didn’t have as much time, but we did indeed switch on the recorder and continued our chat more or less as we had been doing.    So now you get to hear Lisa describe not only what she knows, but a bit more about her process--how and why she started the work for which she's best known!    Enjoy!  

  Welcome to Episode 5, where Neuroscientist LISA FELDMAN BARRETT and I talk about the nature of human emotion, and how misunderstanding emotion may be more consequential than you think. Lisa is one of the world's leading theorists of emotion—of what emotions are—and the conclusions she’s drawn from decades of research may surprise you—a lot.    Her work so compelling and fresh that it's been prominently featured—along with Lisa herself—pretty much all through Season 3 of the popular NPR podcast INVISIBILIA, which is all about the invisible forces that control human behavior.    Lisa and I spoke in Boston shortly after her recent book came out. It's called, HOW EMOTIONS ARE MADE: THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN and I highly recommend it.      This book has got everything. It’s feature interest—human emotion—is compelling all by itself. But her exploration of the topic draws from a deep dive into  neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, behavioral ecology, linguistics, philosophy, and on and on—following whichever leads help her find answers. And along the way, she accessibly addresses tough theoretical questions like, "what is a brain even for?” “How do brains work?” and “Why does this matter?”   But Lisa also gets into why researchers might have gotten these questions wrong for so long—and that not only touches on a lot of contemporary controversies regarding the way science is done, but also grounds the doing of science in a historical and cultural perspective. This really highlights, among other things, the fact that science is a human activity, conducted by people who, just like you, sometimes have a hard time reconciling strongly held beliefs with conflicting evidence.     Science is hard, friends.    It requires cleverness, sure, but also courage and persistence. Lisa Feldman Barrett has all of that in abundance.    *        *        *   As always, remember that this podcast is brought to you by VQR and the Center for Media and Citizenship. Plus, we're a member of the TEEJ.FM podcast network.   AND... The music of CIRCLE OF WILLIS was composed and performed by Tom Stauffer, Gene Ruley and their band THE NEW DRAKES. You can purchase this music at their Amazon page.