Beat Your Genes Podcast - podcast cover

Beat Your Genes Podcast

BeatYourGenesbeatyourgenes.org
Evolutionary psychology with Dr. Doug Lisle, PhD and Nathan Gershfeld, D.C. Most psychology advice treats your brain like a broken machine. Beat Your Genes starts somewhere different: your instincts aren't broken. They're just optimized for a Stone Age environment that no longer exists. Dr. Lisle - Evolutionary psychologist, former Stanford lecturer, and co-author of The Pleasure Trap - has spent decades developing frameworks that explain human behavior from the ground up. Nathan Gershfeld, D.C. - trained first as an electrical engineer and then spent 14 years as a Doctor of Chiropractic. He brings a systems thinker's curiosity to every conversation. He mostly lets Dr. Lisle talk. Topics include relationships and attraction, self-esteem, personality, depression and anxiety, willpower, the ego trap, and how pushy people exploit agreeable ones. 380+ episodes. New episodes every other week. New here? Start at beatyourgenes.org/start-here
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Episodes

187: Stuck in a stagnant rut, Mirror emotions, More detail on agreeableness

Questions for tonight's show are: 1. Why am I so stagnant? Despite doing poorly in practically all the dimensions of my life (romantic, social, pursuit) I don't take any effective action. I've done an immense amount of therapies from various modalities, worked with many therapists, including numerous other things to no avail. I stew and rage but don't do anything and I don't know why. I also like to feel like a victim so as to not feel the pressure of responsibility. 2. Your explanation of anger...

Sep 19, 201958 minSeason 1Ep. 187

186: Male/Female dynamics Part 2 with Drs. Doug Lisle and Jen Howk

We welcome back Dr. Jen Howk for her part 2 debut on the BYG podcast. Dr. Lisle and Howk answer the following questions from listeners: 1. I would describe myself as a 9. I am pretty and fit. I am educated and have a great job. Since I have graduated college I have had an extremely difficult time with dating. 2. If I slept with someone that I like too soon and they are showing less interest in me is there a way to get their interest back? I remember one episode you mentioned looking your best wa...

Sep 12, 201952 minSeason 1Ep. 186

185: Is effective health care possible? Sharing health info w sick friends

Our questions for this show are: 1. Given the profitability of prescribing pills and surgical procedures, do you believe the mainstream medical-industrial-complex will ever reach a tipping point and head in the direction of true health care? As opposed to the current system of what basically boils down to disease maintenance? 2. In church this week I felt very guilty. No one is specifically asking me for nutrition advice but every week we hear about and pray for members of our congregation that ...

Sep 05, 201945 minSeason 1Ep. 185

184: Male/Female Dynamics with Dr. Lisle & Dr. Jen Howk

In this episode, we introduce Dr. Jen Howk, who recently earned her PhD from Harvard. She brings a female perspective to our male/female dynamics questions and offers her insights to our show.

Aug 29, 201949 minSeason 1Ep. 184

183: Do rewards improve motivation? Can parents 'toughen' up their kids?

"I'll do it, but not because you told me to" is a common humorous refrain in movies & TV shows. In this show, we explore where this emotion comes from. First, by reviewing a famous study that found that kids spend less time drawing if you tell them that they'll get a good student award for drawing a good picture, compared to if you just let them draw without telling them anything. Then, Dr. Lisle answers the following questions: 1. With regard to the ego and pleasure traps, if you want to in...

Aug 22, 201958 minSeason 1Ep. 183

182: Enlightenment/Ego Trap, Trading w a Toddler, Keeping kids innocent? & more

We start this episode with a question about the Enlightenment & Ego Trap - left over from last episode. The rest of the questions are about interacting with children/kids. 1. I have a number of friends who come from difficult backgrounds – a family history of mental illness and/or abuse, poor decision-making, relative poverty and very little work experience. I've found that they're generally unwilling to consider most basic employment options to alleviate their financial difficulties, figuri...

Aug 15, 201945 minSeason 1Ep. 182

181: Showing weakness, Dominance Hierarchy, Sharing Evopsych, Ego Trap?

In this show, we discuss showing weakness as a sexual strategy, then we move to a question about dominance hierarchies vs. competence hierarchy (is there a difference?). Next question is about the mixed perceptions of evolutionary psychology. Finally, Dr. Lisle then takes some time to discuss elements of the ego trap. The questions are as follows: 1. Do you think there are situations where a man showing weakness to a woman can be positive? Can women get away with it easily, or weakness also a si...

Aug 08, 201946 minSeason 1Ep. 181

180: Subjective experiences, Downsides of overshooting evolutionary advantage

Dr. Lisle goes in depth about why nature has selected for subjective experiences. The question is as follows: What is your take on why a subjective experience would have been selected for, as opposed to animals simply being like machines with no subjective experience inside? More importantly, what is your take on how a subjective experience can possibly be created in the mind? How could neurons firing create a personal experience? Next, he tackles this broad few questions: Why were we given the ...

Aug 01, 201947 minSeason 1Ep. 180

179: Money & Esteem, Casual mating friends, Communication manipulation, LDR's

Questions tonight are as follows: Can you please talk about the relationship between money and self-esteem and how to learn to enjoy the money one makes? If women in one's social circles, acquaintances, friends, etc. seem receptive to casual mating, should we go for it without much worry, or is it bound to lead to future problems with them and the group? Why does it appear that people make so much up? (at least on TV when asked questions) Am I the oddball for feeling that when you've known someo...

Jul 25, 201951 minSeason 1Ep. 179

178: Stress of decision-making, Esteem choices

A recent study published in the Journal of Personality & Social Psychology* attempts to tackle understanding the stress of decision making. Nate G goes over the article and Dr. Lisle offers his take. Can the stress of decision making be explained solely by the personality trait conscientiousness? Dr. Lisle and Nate discuss. The next topic stems from a listener's question: "Can we choose who we want the most esteem from? Is there a way I can care less about the esteem from some people? It is ...

Jul 18, 201946 minSeason 1Ep. 178

177: Does seeking validation hinder happiness? Role of evolutionary mismatch

In this episode, we review a new study in the science of happiness. The first, by Bruce Headey called, Happiness and Longevity: Unhappy People Die Young, Otherwise Happiness Probably Makes No Difference, explains what effect happiness has on our longetivity. The first listener question is from a young man whose short love life has allowed him to feel the moods of happiness while in a relationship. Since the most recent breakup, he feels as though he has low self-esteem and is curious about wheth...

Jul 11, 20191 hr 3 minSeason 1Ep. 177

176: Behavioral Genetics, Hiding w status loss, getting ignored in class

We start the show with a question about whether a higher extroversion individual would act more introverted due to status loss. Then, we move on to a question about why & what to do when getting ignored or constantly interrupted in an academic setting. Then we move on to a quesiton about whether we have natural, genetic discipline and ambition. Dr. Lisle shares his opinion about a recent book, Blueprint by Robert Plomin.

Jul 04, 201951 minSeason 1Ep. 176

172: Dating a Salesman: Why Relentless Pursuit Isn't Proof He's the One | On Air Session

Most dating advice tells women that if a man keeps pursuing you, he must really be into you. Dr. Lisle says that's exactly backwards when the man is a salesman. Salesmen are trained to not take no for an answer, and that same wiring shows up in how they chase sex. Relentless pursuit is evidence of strategy, not sincerity. In this on-air session with a 31-year-old caller named Jessie, Dr. Lisle walks through the two problems every health-conscious single woman faces: how to advertise her lifestyl...

Jun 06, 201948 minSeason 1Ep. 172

162: Explaining the Ego Trap 2 of 2

The second part of a 2-part show explaining the ego trap. In this episode, we take questions from listeners about their own ego trap.

Mar 28, 201954 minSeason 1Ep. 162
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