The best podcasts for nuanced thinkers interested in social sciences and mental health

My name is Benoit Kim, a US army veteran, Penn-educated former policymaker turned psychotherapist, and host of Discover More- an Apple Podcasts Top U.S. 100 podcast. Discover More is a show for independent thinkers by independent thinkers, with an emphasis on mental health. The topics include cognitive psychology and mental health, the power of hypnosis, why spirituality and science are related, exorcism and psychology, and more. Looking for practical mental health insights? Notable guests include Fr. Vincent Lampert, Brothers Green, David Rudd Ph.D., Austin Chiang M.D., Anthony Kaveh M.D., Zach Pincince, Pain Academy, and more. I pivoted early into the non-profit and policy sector from management consulting upon graduation, then committed to Teach for America (AmeriCorps program) teaching in inner-city Philadelphia before taking a military leave from this commitment and graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania due to a 2017 near-deployment. In this 2017 near-deployment to the North-South Korean border, I experienced my first major depression and had to acknowledge that perseverance does not always prevail, which catalyzed my venture into the realm of mental health. Then, I worked in the policy sector for a few years after becoming the youngest policymaker in the agency's 100-year history and, then pivoted recently into the clinical field as an aspirational psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist. Lastly, I started the podcast in 2019 as a passion project which has turned into a growing business with an expanding team, and the show has been recently featured on Apple Podcasts Top U.S. 100 in 2023, Apple Podcasts Top 200 Global Chart in 2022, and is a top 2% globally ranked podcast in all categories. I invite you to seek curiosity over fear by joining us in our collective journey of Discovering More. Let's get this started. As a U.S. Army veteran, former policymaker, and psychedelic psychotherapist, I am passionate about further exploring wide-ranging domains of knowledge and applying them beyond their operational contexts to gain a deeper understanding of the subject at hand. In 2017, the U.S. Army unexpectedly announced my deployment, forcing me to take a leave of absence from the University of Pennsylvania and Teach for America. The fear of deploying to the North-South Korea border catalyzed my first major depression. It revealed unparalleled hopelessness, which significantly impacted my ADL. Through the bleakness, unattended childhood traumas and the sexual trauma from college surfaced. My deployment taught me the power of vulnerability. Until this, I believed that mental fortitude would always prevail. Therefore, I had to accept that compartmentalization of one’s emotions, often expressed as “just don’t think about it,” is a scant approach to combat the complexities of one’s inner realities. Similarly, one must extrapolate beyond the provided context to understand the multidimensional aspects of social sciences (i.e., psychology and mental health) and their impact on individuals and society. I believe mental health is a throughline for everyone, no matter what stage of life we are in. Indeed, it is a universal thread that binds us all, weaving its way through the fabric of our existence. Ultimately, I tackle social science topics on the podcast because knowledge cannot be compartmentalized. Instead, all sects of knowledge must be integrated through a multidisciplinary approach.

My podcast playlist encompasses experts discussing social science topics, such as cognitive psychology, neuroscience, psychedelic science, emotionality and trauma, and more, in an intellectually and academically rigorous yet digestible format for independent thinkers and curious seekers alike.