Ep. #225: A Special Alchemy: Curiosity, Empathy & Social Media, with Dr. Ben Rein

04/04/24 • 28 min

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Today’s conversation with Ben Rein, PhD is a Choose to be Curious trifecta: a neuroscientist, who studies empathy, has devoted himself to science communication, and willingly stands in the chaotic swirl where curiosity can go weirdly very awry. Ben is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Robert Malenka's lab at Stanford University and a science communicator on social media. You might know him as @Dr.Brein on TikTok or @Doctor.Brein on Instagram. He’s the one summarizing research papers, teaching neuroscience basics, and debunking viral videos that promote scientific misinformation. Somehow, Ben has managed to combine curiosity, empathy and social media and have genuine good come of it. At some point in our conversation I declared his work a "special kind of alchemy." I stand by that. Find Ben Rein, PhD on line at: www.benrein.com and follow him on social media: Instagram: @doctor.brein TikTok: @dr.brein Theme music by Sean Balick; “Perspiration” by The Ballonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.

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Ep. #224: Curiosity, Community Radio & Choosing to Trust, with Katya Gordon

Author, journalist, sailor and community radio host Katya Gordon says radio pulls together everything she believes in: a shared purpose, old fashioned connection to one another, a vast array of differing ideas and priorities, and plain old hard work and commitment. We had a lovely and candid conversation about curiosity, spirituality, our many media biases, and the power in choosing to trust. Get to know Katya Gordon through Amicus Adventure Sailing, which she owns and operates with her husband: https://amicusadventuresailing.com/credentials Check out KTWH 99.5 FM, Two Harbors Community Radio: https://ktwh.org Theme music by Sean Balick; “Temporal Slip" by CloudBreaker, via Blue Dot Sessions.

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Ep. #226: Foraging: Curiosity & Dancing with Nature, with Tama Matsuoka Wong

I’ve been thinking that foraging – going from place to place looking for things one can eat – is a lot like the sampling and prioritizing of information gathering that neuroscientists are studying, just applied to things many of us readily dismiss as "weeds". Tama Matsuoka Wong is a finance lawyer turned professional forager. She got curious about the “weeds” around her when she moved to a fixer-upper house in northern New Jersey. She started to see them and their ecosystem differently. Now she forages for high-end chefs in Manhattan and is an advocate for thoughtful stewardship of what's naturally all around us. That struck me as a curiosity conversation worth having. Learn more about Tama Matsuoka Wong here: https://www.meadowsandmore.com Theme music by Sean Balick; “Lakeside Path" by Duck Lake, via Blue Dot Sessions.