Podcast Episodes

June 3, 2024

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In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative neuroscientist Dave Vago. Dave has been studying the brain, meditation, and the self for over two decades, and has developed several models of how mindfulness might work from cognitive and neurobiological perspectives. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• his intertwined interests in brain, mind, self, philosophy, and religion;
• the temporal nature of memory;
• mindfulness for fibromyalgia and chronic pain;
• unconscious attentional bias;
• sticky thoughts and how they change with meditation;
• the role of the self in contemplative practice (S-ART model);
• meta-awareness and decentering;
• the centrality of inhibitory control in contemplative practice;
• dissolving the self/other divide;
• integrating wisdom to create meaning;
• how meditation can shift attentional bias at very early levels of processing;
• the deeply interconnected nature of brain function;
• self-pattern theory and (in)flexibility in the mind;
• mindfulness and the glymphatic system, and implications for sleep and neurodegenerative disorders;
• and the new academic society for contemplative research (ISCR).

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May 16, 2024

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In this episode, Wendy speaks with biocultural anthropologist and Tibetan medical doctor Tawni Tidwell. Tawni’s research focuses on living—and dying—with greater awareness and well-being, and integrates multiple biological and cultural perspectives on mind-body systems. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• merging interests in biology, culture, ecology, nature, and medicine;
• how our minds shape our bodies;
• the holistic approach of Tibetan medicine;
• understanding constitutions and individual proclivities;
• the subtle body and consciousness;
• studying monastics who are able to extend the death process (Tukdam project);
• implications for life, death, and the nature of consciousness;
• individual differences and determining which practices might be best for someone;
• studying Tibetan medicine’s approach to treating COVID;
• and coming back to our bodies, our communities, and our environments.

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May 2, 2024

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In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist and trauma researcher Brian Dias. Brian is one of the pioneers in understanding how trauma can be transferred between generations. Research in this space has helped fuel a major revolution in biology, because it means that not just our genes, but some aspects of our experiences can be inherited. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• his path into studying trauma;
• how trauma can pass through generations;
• links with the Buddhist concept of karma;
• understanding epigenetics & the interplay between genes and environment;
• implications for inheritance and evolution;
• whether such intergenerational transmission is helpful or harmful;
• epigenetic clocks in our cells;
• how trauma affects brain development;
• sociocultural, developmental, and biological pathways for transmission of experiences;
• creating legacies of flourishing;
• lessons learned from collaborating with Tibetan monastics;
• providing resources to parents to try to halt legacies of trauma;
• impacts of stress on our mitochondria and microbiome;
• and scientists as humans first.

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April 18, 2024

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In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist and mental health researcher Jyoti Mishra. Jyoti has been investigating how mindfulness and attention training affect our brains, and can help in the context of mental health challenges related to climate disasters and other trauma. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• her intertwined interests in neuroscience, meditation, and mental health;
• understanding climate trauma and its unique impacts on mental health;
• community resilience and action in the face of disaster;
• the rise of mental health issues worldwide;
• studying the mental health and brain function impacts of the deadliest fire in CA history;
• healing broken relationships with nature through mindfulness and ecotherapy;
• social justice issues around climate vulnerability;
• how childhood adversity affects brain circuitry for emotional awareness;
• developing contemplative tech interventions for disadvantaged youth, and impacts on brain and daily life functioning;
• nature and the sense of self;
• regulating the stress response through mindfulness and social connection;
• and empowering youth through the Climate Change & Mental Health Initiative.

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April 4, 2024

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In this episode, Wendy speaks with psychologist and contemplative researcher Simon Goldberg. Simon uses tools drawn from psychotherapy research to better understand the therapeutic processes and outcomes of mindfulness and meditation-based interventions. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• coming to practice through one’s own suffering;
• what we know from science about whether and how meditation “works;”
• the nuts and bolts of meditation research, and the importance of control groups;
• the file drawer effect and publishing negative findings;
• common factors in healing interventions;
• working with the self in psychotherapy vs. Buddhism;
• the critical role of acceptance;
• some challenges when measuring effects of meditation;
• individualizing contemplative practice to suit the person;
• delivering and studying meditation interventions through apps;
• and the possibilities of AI to help support meditation practice.

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