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• 3 experts reveal how psychedelics can expand the walls of perception

  This video was made in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators. What happens when the boundaries of “you” disappear? James Fadiman, PhD, Jamie Wheal, and Matthew Johnson, PhD explore how supported experiences with psychoactive drugs can dissolve identity and reveal a deeper reality. What if one experience could make you lose your sense of self, forget time, and feel deeply connected to everything around you? Experts Jamie Wheal, Matthew Johnson, PhD., and James Fadiman, PhD. Give us a deeper look at psychedelic medicine, exploring how substances like psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca change the way we see ourselves and the world. Used carefully, they can bring insight and unity. However, without support, they can be overwhelming and reveal just how fragile our sense of reality can be. These researchers explain the difference. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Matthew Johnson, PhD: Matthew W. Johnson, PhD, is The Susan Hill Ward Endowed Professor of Psychedelics and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins. Working with psychedelics since 2004, he is one of the world’s most widely published experts on psychedelics. He has published research on psychedelics and mystical experience, personality change, tobacco smoking cessation, cancer distress treatment, and depression treatment. About James Fadiman PhD: Dr. James Fadiman is a leading scientific expert on the use of psychedelics for personal exploration, healing, and transformation. He has been researching, writing and lecturing on the topic for more than fifty years. His research focuses on exploring the potential of psychedelics to help individuals achieve a more meaningful, balanced and enlightened life. About Jamie Wheal: Jamie Wheal is the author of the global best-seller and Pulitzer Prize-nominated Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, Navy SEALs and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work and the founder of the Flow Genome Project, an international organization dedicated to the research and training of ultimate human performance. Since founding the organization in 2011, it has gone on to become the leading voice of evidence-based peak performance in the world, counting award-winning academics, legendary professional athletes, special operations commanders, and Fortune 500 business leaders among the hundreds of thousands of people in its global community. ------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• How evolution creates problem-solving machines | Michael Levin

  Evolution doesn’t fix things — it reinvents them. Michael Levin, a biologist, explains. Esteemed biologist Michael Levin explores a captivating biological perspective of evolution — one that’s hard for engineers to come to terms with. In their work, making random changes to a system usually makes things worse, not better. But evolution, on the other hand, doesn't just produce specific solutions to specific challenges; instead, it creates what Levin calls "problem-solving machines." These machines are made up of hierarchical biological hardware with incredible adaptability, capable of tackling various challenges without assuming specific environmental conditions. Contrary to commonly held ideas about evolution, it doesn't just search for the best possible physical characteristics in organisms. It also uses signals and behaviors to shape how organisms function, so when things change or get damaged, the different parts of an organism can continue to function. From metabolic to physiological dilemmas, Levin highlights evolution’s remarkable ability to adapt. ------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Do less, become happier, says Yale cognitive scientist | Laurie Santos

  What if our incessant drive for self-improvement isn't always conducive to happiness? Cognitive scientist Laurie Santos proposes this intriguing question. She notes that while evolution has wired us for relentless self-enhancement, our modern environment, ripe with comparisons and demands for excellence, amplifies this instinct, often to our detriment. The incessant push for "more" and "better" can lead to societal harm, fostering a competitive, individualistic society rather than one rooted in collective harmony and goodwill. Moreover, it can compromise personal happiness. Genuine well-being, Santos suggests, arises from extending compassion towards others and ourselves. Self-compassion, defined as mindfulness, recognition of common humanity, and self-kindness, can surprisingly enhance performance and resilience without a drill-sergeant approach. Breaking free from the pervasive "hustle culture" requires acknowledging its illusory nature, prioritizing kindness towards oneself, orienting towards others, and practicing gratitude to appreciate one's journey. 0:00 The drive for perfection 1:48 2 consequences of pushing too hard 2:38 3 parts of self-compassion 4:15 Why hustle culture is toxic 4:59 Happiness comes from other-oriented behavior .com/the-well/how-hus... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Laurie Santos: Dr. Laurie Santos is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Her research provides an interface between evolutionary biology, developmental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, exploring the evolutionary origins of the human mind by comparing the cognitive abilities of human and non-human primates. Her experiments focus on non-human primates (in captivity and in the field), incorporating methodologies from cognitive development, animal learning psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Finding meaning at the quantum level

  Kmele steps inside Fermilab, America’s premiere particle accelerator facility, to find out how the smallest particles in the universe can teach us about its biggest mysteries. According to Fermilab's Bonnie Flemming, the pursuit of scientific understanding is “daunting in an inspiring way.” What makes it daunting? The seemingly infinite number of questions, with their potentially inaccessible answers. In this episode of Dispatches from The Well, host Kmele Foster tours the grounds of America’s legendary particle accelerator to discover how exploring the mysteries at the heart of particle physics help us better understand some of the most profound mysteries of our universe. Chapters:- 00:00:00 - The Miracle of Birth 00:04:48 - Exploring the Universe's Mysteries 00:09:20 - Building Blocks of Matter and the Standard Model 00:13:35 - The Evolving Body of Knowledge 00:17:39 - Understanding the Early Universe 00:22:05 - Reflections on Particle Physics 00:25:34 - The Extraordinary Effort to Understand the Small 00:29:59 - From Paleontology to Astrophysics 00:33:40 - The Importance of the Scientific Method and Being Critical ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Kmele Foster: Kmele Foster is a media entrepreneur, commentator, and regular contributor to various national publications. He is the co-founder and co-host of The Fifth Column, a popular media criticism podcast. He is the head of content at Founders Fund, a San Francisco based venture capital firm investing in companies building revolutionary technologies, and a partner at Freethink, a digital media company focused on the people and ideas changing our world. Kmele also serves on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). ------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Psychedelics could heal your trauma, says neuroscientist Rachel Yehuda.

  “Traumatic experiences are here to stay, and we shouldn’t view them as a prison.” Professor of Neuroscience Rachel Yehuda on how psychedelics may help liberate us from our post-traumatic stress. For myriad reasons, trauma is becoming a bigger part of everyday life in our society. Rachel Yehuda, who studies PTSD and the psychological effects of trauma, believes while many of us have become more educated on how traumatic events affect our mental health, we also might be inadvertently convincing ourselves that suffering from mental illness after trauma is inevitable. Yehuda believes trauma is survivable with the right tools and treatments. She is particularly interested in the potential of psychedelics, like MDMA, to facilitate post-traumatic growth and healing. She discusses potential of psychedelics in assisting psychotherapy, allowing individuals to delve deep into their trauma while remaining coherent. She also emphasizes that the success of these therapies depends on the setting, intention, and therapist's expertise. ------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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