Thinking isn’t your brain’s most important job

Thinking isn’t your brain’s most important job

Author: Indre Viskontas November 19, 2020 Duration: 45:21
We talk to neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett about why the idea that you have a lizard brain and a rational brain is completely wrong, how you can fight against implicit biases by swamping your brain with new data, why your brain’s most important job isn’t actually to think or be rational, and about one time Carl Sagan was very wrong about how brains work. Her most recent books are How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain and Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

Hosted by neuroscientist and communicator Indre Viskontas, Inquiring Minds digs into the questions that shape our lives, where hard data meets human experience. This isn't just about lab results or abstract theories; it's about how scientific thinking directly influences our culture, our social structures, and the daily choices we all face. Every episode is a deep, thoughtful conversation that starts with curiosity and follows the evidence wherever it leads. You'll hear from researchers, thinkers, and sometimes skeptics, all in service of untangling complex issues with clarity and nuance. The goal is to move beyond headlines and hype to examine what we really know, what remains a mystery, and how that knowledge empowers us. Tuning into this podcast means joining a community that values rigor and open-minded inquiry, recognizing that understanding the mechanisms of our world is the first step toward navigating it more thoughtfully. It's for anyone who has ever wondered how science actually informs policy, art, relationships, and our sense of self, presented not as a lecture but as an engaging, ongoing exploration.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Inquiring Minds
Podcast Episodes
Unlocking the Mysteries of the Social Brain with Dr. Bruce Miller [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:36
In this powerful episode of Inquiring Minds, host Indre Viskontas reconnects with her longtime mentor, Dr. Bruce L. Miller—one of the world’s foremost authorities on dementia, empathy, and the neuroscience of human behav…
Thrive: Maximizing Well-Being in the Age of AI with Ravi Bapna [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:25
Indre sits to chat with co-author of "Thrive: Maximizing Well-Being in the Age of AI" and chair of business analytics at the University of Minnesota, Ravi Bapna, to explore the complex relationship between artificial int…
The Most Delicious Poison with Noah Whiteman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:04
Indre welcomes evolutionary biologist and UC Berkeley professor, Noah Whiteman unto the Inquiring Minds Show to delve into the world of nature’s toxins and Whiteman’s new book. "Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature…