New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik joins us to discuss what it takes to master a skill and to explain why the real benefit comes not in becoming a virtuoso but, rather, in just forcing your brain to try something hard.
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The mental health effects of caring for dementia patients
Dasha Kiper is consulting clinical director of support groups at CaringKind. She discusses the disconnect between the healthy mind of a caregiver and the ailing mind of a patient, and the counterproductive ways we try to help but cause harm instead.
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Why you should be scheduling time for fun
Psychologist Mike Rucker joins us to discuss why adding fun back into the daily grind will make you more productive and lead to a happier life.
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Plenty of people hear voices nobody else can hear
Ben Alderson-Day, an associate professor of psychology, joins us to discuss the psychology and neuroscience of feeling watched or hearing voices as he tries to unravel a phenomenon felt by people the world over.
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The mysteries of memory and how to improve it
Andrew E. Budson discusses his work studying memory, how to control what you remember and how diet plays into this ability.
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Meet your new AI shrink
Dhruv Khullar, a physician and assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, discusses the shortage in the mental health field and the development of predictive algorithms to spot suicidal triggers.
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The impossible expectations on American mothers
Jessica Grose is an opinion writer at The New York Times who writes the newsletter On Parenting, and she joins us to talk about what successful parenting really looks like and the societal expectations we have for parents.
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What veterinarians do for pet parents
Veterinarians might not care for humans, but they still tend to members of the family. Karen Fine joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss her dream to become a vet and the lessons she’s learned from it.
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Why military service members can’t sue their employer
Military servicemembers don’t have the legal recourse for cases of malpractice, negligence and even sexual assault. Vanity Fair editor Maximillian Potter joins guest host John McCaa to discuss the Feres Doctrine.
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Psych lessons from one of Yale’s most popular classes
Paul Bloom, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto and Yale University, discusses the science of the mind, from nature vs. nurture, to what these insights can tell us about the most hot-button topics of our time.
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Mourning a loved one is complicated by suicide
Laura Trujillo shares the shock she faced when her mother took her own life, the dark secret she had to plumb to move forward, and where she ultimately found peace.
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If you needed asylum, who would believe you?
Dina Nayeri talks about how trust is codified in boardrooms, hospitals, the asylum process and elsewhere – and the relationship between trust and privilege.
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