Minds and Mics

Latest Episodes:

Ultralearning and the Art of Personal Possibility with Scott Young Aug 16, 2020

Show notes

Scott Young is a prolific writer and thinker best known for his concept of ultralearning. In today's episode, I pick Scott's brain about what ultralearning actually is and the many psychological benefits that come with it.

Show Notes

The MIT Challenge
The Year without English (6:00)
The 30-Day Portrait Drawing Challenge (11:00)
What is ultralearning? (18:00)
Ultralearning and deep satisfaction (21:00)
Ultralearning and the expansion of personal possibility (27:00)
Ultralearning and curiosity (37:00)
Ultralearning and self-confidence (40:00)
The relationship between ultralearning and Deep Work (47:00)
Scott’s advice on a first ultralearning project (50:30)

You can learn more about Scott and his work here:

ScottHYoung.com (Website)
Ultralearning (Book)

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Childhood Anxiety with Psychologist Kristen Ohlenforst Jul 26, 2020

Show notes

Child psychologist Kristen Ohlenforst comes on the show to discuss childhood anxiety, followed up by a no-holds-barred round-robin between Nick and Kristen recounting their own "embarrassing blunders" and "tricks of the trade" as psychologist-parents.

Show Notes

How Kristen became interested in psychology (1:24)
Talk Therapy vs Play Therapy for kids (12:58)
Common misconceptions about childhood anxiety (19:10)
Normal childhood anxiety vs clinically significant anxiety (22:30)
Common types of childhood anxiety (28:14)
To what extent are parents involved in their child’s therapy (30:15)
What to look for in a good child therapist (33:48)
Embarrassing Blunders & Tricks of the Trade
- Kristen’s 1st Embarrassing Parenting Blunder (40:05)
- Nick’s 1st Embarrassing Parenting Blunder (43:28)
- Kristen’s 1st Tricks of the Trade (46:50)
- Nick’s 1st Tricks of the Trade (50:10)
- Kristen’s 2nd Embarrassing Parenting Blunder (54:00)
- Nick’s 2nd Embarrassing Parenting Blunder (57:48)
- Kristen’s 2nd Tricks of the Trade (60:45)
- Nick’s 2nd Tricks of the Trade (64:30)
Kristen and Nick’s picks for historical figures from psychology they would least and most like to have dinner with (68:30)
Kristen’s 2 parenting book recommendations (71:35)
Kristen’s book Moose the Worry Mutt (73:45)

You can learn more about Kristen and her work here:

Therapy Dallas (Website)

Ancient Chinese Philosophy and Mental Health with Alexus McLeod Jul 12, 2020

Show notes

Philosopher Alexus McLeod comes on the show to discuss ancient Chinese philosophy and what it can tell us about alternative approaches to mental health today.

Show Notes

Mental health in ancient Chinese philosophy
Eastern vs Western approaches to philosophy
Alexus’s Essay in Aeon (12:00)
Communal approaches to personhood (13:00)
Character and community (19:30)
Stoicism and Buddhism (23:20)
Can society cause mental illness? (25:00)
Harmony and mental health (39:50)
Individuality, alienation, and mental health (44:00)
Questioning cultural assumptions productively (49:40)
Community innovation and mental health (55:00)

You can learn more about Alexus and his work here:

Website

A Primer on Psychiatric Medication with Dr. Brian Wu Jul 12, 2020

Show notes

Psychiatrist Brian Wu comes on the show to discuss how to think about psychiatric medication.

Show Notes

Psychiatrists vs psychologists
The most important factor when choosing a psychiatrist (17:00)
What is psychiatric medication, exactly? (18:52)
The most common psychiatric medications (20:00)
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (26:00)
Benzodiazepines (29:00)
Getting prescribed psychiatric medication by non-psychiatrists (32:00)
Children and psychiatric medication (35:00)
Working with a psychiatrist vs a psychologist (38:00)
How to know if your medication is working? (39:50)
Getting off psychiatric medications (43:00)
Can we really trust psychiatric medications? (48:20)

You can learn more about Brian and his work here:

Website

The Science of Procrastination with Piers Steel Jun 28, 2020

Show notes

Piers Steel, one of the world's leading researchers on the science of procrastination, explains how to think about procrastination, what really causes it, and the changes we can make to do it a little less.

Show Notes

Meta-analysis
David Hume, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding
The four factors in procrastination:
1. Values
2. Self-confidence
3. Impulsiveness
4. Reward delay
Task aversiveness
Subjective Expected Utility Theory
The Procrastination Equation
The Marshmallow Test
Steven Covey
Aldus Huxely, Brave New World Revisited
Roy Baumeister and willpower research
Presatiation
Drive Theory
Learned Helplessness
SMART Goals
The Attention Economy
Procrastination vs Laziness
How to help kids with procrastination

You can learn more about Piers and his work here:

Secrets to a Happy Marriage with Sam Hamburg Jun 14, 2020

Show notes

Clinical psychologist and marriage therapist Sam Hamburg joins Nick to discuss common myths and misconceptions about happy marriages, communication in relationships, and the advice all newlyweds should get but never do.

Show Notes

Why communication is never really the problem
Why commitment is no guarantee of happiness
The myth of hard work in marriage
Why compatibility is the secret to a happy marriage
The 3 dimensions of compatibility
- Practical Dimension
  - Gender roles
  - Money and finances
  - Maintenance
  - Leisure time
  - Family boundaries and privacy
- Wavelength Dimension
  - Shared values
  - Spiritual orientation
  - Sense of justice
  - Shared primary concern (kids, careers, hobbies)
- Sexual Dimension
  - Sexual preoccupation
  - Comfort with sexuality
  - Sexual style
Thinking systematically about marriage
The romantic phase of love
The mechanics of a happy marriage
- Don’t leave your sex life to chance
- Maintain your wall of privacy
- Childproof your sexual relationship (and the rest of your relationship)
- Have rachmones with your spouse

You can learn more about Sam and his work here:

Language and Emotion with Yvonne Barnes-Holmes May 31, 2020

Show notes

Psychologist and researcher Yvonne Barnes-Holmes joins Nick to discuss the role of language in mental health and human suffering, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and the state of psychotherapy in the 21st century.

Show Notes

The power of language for mental health and suffering
Thought-Identity Fusion
Learning histories and narrative habits
Reading and social perspective-taking
The Cat in the Hat
False belief
Does reading novels lead to psychological flexibility?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Meta-Cognitive Therapy (MCT)
Relational Frame Theory (RFT)
Functional Analysis
Behaviorism
Cognitive Revolution
B.F. Skinner
Iatrogenics
You can learn more about Yvonne and her work here:
Website

The Psychology of Overeating with Caitlin Faas May 17, 2020

Show notes

Caitlin Faas, a professor of human development and life coach, joins Nick to discuss the psychology of overeating.

Show Notes

The Life Coach School
“Overeating” vs “weight loss”
Eating as a way to push down difficult feelings
How long do emotions really last?
Patterns of emotional eating
Managing urges
Intentional vs automatic thoughts
Curiosity and “I wonder…” statements
Indulgent feelings
System 1 and System 2 thinking
Why relying on willpower usually backfires
Shaping desire
Real joy vs false pleasures
Is “Listen to your body” really good advice?
Relationship between stress and weight loss
Relationship between food and mood
Body positivity

You can learn more about Caitlin and her work here:

Get the latest Minds&Mics episodes as soon as they're released
If you enjoyed this episode of Minds&Mics and want to get notified whenever new episodes are released, you can join Nick's free weekly newsletter here →

Morita Therapy and The Art of Taking Action with Gregg Krech May 03, 2020

Show notes

Gregg Krech, an expert in a form of Japanese psychology called Morita Therapy, discusses how to think differently about the role of emotions in mental health and the surprising power of taking action to improve things like anxiety, procrastination, and depression.

Show Notes

The relationship between feeling and action
Morita therapy
Feeling-centered vs purpose-centered lifestyle
Coexisting with unpleasant feelings without acting on them
Cultural difference in our understanding of emotions
Acceptance of emotions
Content of emotions vs your relationship with your emotions
Zen meditation and the nature of emotions
Working on feelings vs accepting them
Acceptance, attachment, and suffering
Non-resistance
Self-focused attention
Iatrogenics in psychotherapy
Performance anxiety
The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
Soren Kierkegaard
Anxiety and intelligence
Procrastination
Michael Singer and The Untethered Soul

You can learn more about Gregg and his work here:

Thriving After 15 Years of Heroin Addiction with Brian Pennie Apr 20, 2020

Show notes

Neuroscience researcher and author Brian Pennie reflects on his 15-year addiction to heroin and how he managed to not only survive those harrowing years but to come out of it and build a life he loves.

Show Notes

Anxiety and addiction
"The opposite of addiction is connection." Johann Hari
Awareness is the opposite of addiction
Awareness by Anthony DeMelo
Storytelling and “the grand self-deception”
The relationship between self-awareness, self-belief, and self-deception
Where does self-belief come from?
The importance of friendship and vulnerability
Surrender and peace of mind
Relational Frame Theory and the connection between language and emotion
The relationship between addiction and values (or the lack of values)
Curiosity as the key to recovery and thriving
Positive addictions
Transforming desire
Surviving vs thriving
Brian’s Dr. Dolittle Story
The importance of playfulness and humor

You can learn more about Brian and his work here:

Website
Bonus Time (Book)
Social Media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Medium

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