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    Science

    Mind & Matter

    Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.

    The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.

    Not medical advice.

    At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.

    As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.

    I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.

    My beliefs:

    • Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
    • All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
    • Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.

    Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:

    • “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)
    • “Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)
    • “Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
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    Copyright: © 2025 Nick Jikomes

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    Latest Episodes:
    Cannabinoids, Inflammation, Brain Injury, Diabetes, Gut Health & Academia vs. Industry | Saoirse O'Sullivan | Episode 41 Oct 21, 2021
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    Nick Jikomes talks to Saoirse O'Sullivan, PhD, a physiologist specializing in the physiological effects of cannabinoids. Dr. O'Sullivan ran a lab at the University of Nottingham for many years before becoming a consultant and Vice President of Translational Research at Artello Biosciences.
    They discuss some of the physiological effects of cannabinoids in the body, including endogenous cannabinoids our own bodies produce, and plant cannabinoids associated with the Cannabis plant (e.g. THC, CBD, THCV, and CBG). They cover: inflammation, brain injury, the blood-brain barrier, gut health, the cardiovascular system. Near the end, Saoirse also described why she eventually transitioned from academia to the private sector, and what motivated her decision to do so.

    *Not medical advice.

    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    Drug Addiction, Cocaine, Nicotine, Caffeine, Amphetamines, Opioids, THC & Neuroscience | Christian Luscher | Episode 40 Oct 13, 2021
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    Christian Luscher, MD, PhD is a neuroscientist and neurologist who runs a research lab at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Dr. Lusher's lab studies the mechanisms that underlie drug reinforcement and addiction in the brain and he is an expert in the neuroscience of drug addiction.
    Christian talks to Nick about: what is addiction is and what some key parts of the brain and neurotransmitter systems are involved in drug addiction; differences in the addictive potential of different types of drugs, ranging from stimulants (e.g. cocaine, nicotine, caffeine) to cannabinoids (e.g. THC), opioids, and psychedelics; the difference between addiction vs. dependency, habitual vs. goal-directed behavior; latest research on how dopamine & serotonin systems in the brain are both involved in drug-seeking behavior.
    *Not medical advice.

    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    Origins of COVID-19 & SARS-CoV-2 Virus: Lab Leak or Wildlife Spillover? | Nicholas Wade | Episode 39 Sep 30, 2021
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    Nick Jikomes talks to writer and science journalist Nicholas Wade about the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the COVID-19 pandemic. Nicholas describes how this story has evolved since the start of the pandemic, and contrasts the the two main hypotheses for the origins of COVID: wildlife spillover vs. lab leak. He describes how viruses in the past (e.g. SARS1) emerged, peculiarities of the SARS2 genome, Peter Daszak & EcoHealth Alliance, Wuhan Institute of Virology, and various conflicts of interest that people have had. He describes how we don't have proof whether a wildlife spillover or a lab leak explains the origins of COVID-19, what definitive evidence would look like, and whether we are likely to resolve this mystery.

    *Not medical advice.


    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    Human Evolution, Ancient Drug Use, Ritual Burials, Homo Naledi, Origins of Human Mind, Paleoanthropology | Lee Berger | Episode 38 Sep 23, 2021
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    Nick Jikomes talks to paleoanthropologist Dr. Lee Berger about human evolution. Dr. Berger is a professor of anthropology in South Africa, explorer-in-residence for National Geographic, and author of, "Becoming Human." Lee's team has mapped and explored caves all over South Africa, discovering a treasure trove of ancient human fossils. This includes the discovery of Homo naledi, an ancient human ancestor that had a much smaller brain than humans, but may have nonetheless appear to have had advanced cognitive abilities. Lee described the discovery of Homo naledi, human brain evolution, and why we are in a gold age of paleoanthropology.

    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    Brain Development, Neuroplasticity, Learning, Sensory Maps & Simulations | Michael Crair | Episode 37 Sep 16, 2021
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    Nick talks to physicist and neuroscientist Dr. Michael Crair. Michael runs a lab at Yale University studying mechanisms of brain development. He discussed research related to neural plasticity, learning & memory, sensory maps, and critical periods of plasticity. Dr. Crair also described recent findings from his lab show that parts of the developing brain can simulate future sensory experiences, before animals ever open their eyes and see the external world.
    *Not medical advice.


    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    Evolutionary Toolkit for the 21st Century | Heather Heying & Bret Weinstein | Episode 36 Sep 09, 2021
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    Applying evolutionary principles to navigate modern challenges like health, culture, and society. Not medical advice.

    TOPICS DISCUSSED:

    • Human niche as niche-switching: Humans uniquely adapt by changing behaviors and environments, enabling survival across diverse conditions, unlike specialized animals.
    • Culture vs. consciousness: Culture encodes efficient, habitual behaviors passed down generations, while consciousness drives innovation in novel situations, creating a balance disrupted by modernity.
    • Omega Principle: Cultural traits serve genetic fitness, being flexible but subordinate to genes, explaining why behaviors like traditions persist if beneficial.
    • Mismatches in modern medicine & diet: Overuse of antibiotics harms microbiomes; processed foods and supplements often ignore evolutionary contexts, leading to health issues like deficiencies or imbalances.
    • Chesterton’s Fence: Before removing traditions or biological features (e.g., appendix as microbiome reservoir), understand their function to avoid unintended harms.
    • Childhood & education: Formal schooling is recent; pre-modern learning via observation and mixed-age groups fostered independence, unlike today’s systems that externalize motivation.
    • Religion’s adaptive role: Religions are evolved packages of metaphorically true behaviors that aid group success, not literal truths, but essential for cohesion.
    • Civilizational senescence: Societies accumulate innovations with early benefits but late costs (e.g., pollution), mirroring biological aging, requiring navigation to sustainable systems.

    ABOUT THE GUEST: Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying are evolutionary biologists who studied under renowned figures like Robert Trivers and Richard Alexander; Weinstein holds a PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan, while Heying, with an anthropology background, conducted fieldwork on poison frogs in Madagascar. They co-authored “A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century.”

    RELATED EPISODE:

    • M&M 206 | Cultural Evolution, Religion & the Origins of WEIRD Psychology | Joseph Henrich

    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    Psychiatry, Depression, Anxiety, Autism, Dissociation & "Projections: A Story of Human Emotions" | Karl Deisseroth | Episode 35 Sep 02, 2021
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    Nick talks to Stanford psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Karl Deisseroth. They discuss a range of topics about the brain, including autism, depression, bipolar disorder, dissociation, and more. They also talk about optogenetics, a technique Karl co-developed which uses light to control specific neurons in the brain, allowing neuroscientists to turn circuits in the brain on and off to reveal how the brain generates perception, emotion, and behavior. They also talk about Karl's new book, "Projections: A Story of Human Emotion."
    *Not medical advice.

    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    Social Status, Luxury Beliefs, Social Psychology & Human Social Behavior | Rob Henderson | Episode 34 Aug 26, 2021
    Show notes

    Send us Fan Mail

    Nick to talks to psychology student Rob Henderson about social status, social signaling, luxury beliefs, and related topics in social psychology and human behavior.
    *Not medical advice.

    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    LSD, Mescaline, DMT, MDMA, Medicinal Chemistry & Psychedelic Medicine | David Nichols | Episode 33 Aug 19, 2021
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    Nick talks to medicinal chemist Dr. David Nichols, who has spent decades studying the chemistry and pharmacology of psychedelics. Dr. Nichols shared his knowledge of psychedelic tryptamines, including LSD and DMT, as well as phenethylamines, such as mescaline and MDMA. He also discussed his relationship with the late Dr. Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin and how his thoughts on companies trying to make non-hallucinogenic drugs derived from psychedelics.
    *Not medical advice.

    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


    SARS-CoV-2 Variants, mRNA Vaccines, Virology, Evolution & Future of COVID-19 | Sarah Otto | 32 Aug 11, 2021
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    Nick talks with evolutionary biologist Dr. Sarah Otto about the evolutionary dynamics of SARS-CoV-2, the emergence of new variants, whether she thinks we will need shots every year (like with the flu), mRNA vaccines, and more.

    *Not medical advice.


    Support the show

    Support my work:

    • Good Chemistry: Personalized, science-based health consulting. Work with Dr. Nick Jikomes directly.
    • Affiliate Partners: Visit this link to see my affiliate partners and get discounts codes for products & services to support health.

    For all the ways you can support my efforts.


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