We are finally releasing a long awaited episode with Dr. Jason Winters! If you are interested in what it looks like to be in sex therapy, how sex therapists interact with their clients, how Jason treats and assesses sex addiction, or any other sex therapy related inquiries… you found the perfect episode. The episode starts with Dr. Jason discussing how he became a sex therapist (discussing his work in pedophilia, sex addiction, and other interesting study designs including penile plethysmography...
Dec 07, 2021•Ep. 81
On today's episode we are joined by Dr. Ashley Randall from Arizona State University and Gabe Leon (A PhD student from The University of Southern California). Ashley and Gabe are two researchers that recently published a paper examining how couples cope with COVID-19. In their paper they examined couples across a whopping 27 different countries to see how what impact COVID 19 has had on the way couples cope with the stress of the global pandemic. Make sure to check this episode out for tons of i...
Nov 09, 2021•Ep. 80
Dive into the grey areas of global development and youth peacebuilding with our long awaited guest, Alina Dixon. Alina is a PhD student at Queens University, in Kingston, Ontario. She is interested in troubling the western, liberal traditions of the dominant peacebuilding lexicon by examining how peacebuilding knowledge is constructed and maintained, and what the implications of this are for youth-led, everyday peace efforts. We talk about her new work on how the show “Derry Girls” depicts youth...
Oct 20, 2021•Ep. 78
Do single people really have it worse than couples??? Dr. Yuthika Girme joins Brain Buzz Podcast to talk about her work on Singlehood! Do people in relationship have better mental and physical health than single people? How many single people want to be single vs. want to be in relationships? We also talk about the unique gender differences that single people experience (Men are treated like sexy, eligible bachelors while women are often treated like they are running out of time). If you are cur...
Sep 21, 2021•Ep. 77
Episode 76 has Dr. Eric Helms, host of Iron Culture, and research fellow for AUT at the Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand talks all things POWERlifting and bodybuilding! Eric fills us in on how what the differences are between powerlifting and bodybuilding. Today’s episodes includes conversation on how traditional strength sports came to be and how competitive bodybuilding grew out of circus acts and expos. Why is it important to consume fats and carbs? Why are we so obsessed wit...
Sep 07, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 76
Where were you from 4pm-10pm last Tuesday? Who did you speak with or see? Can anyone corroborate your whereabouts? True crime enthusiasts, science lovers, and crime psychology fans rejoice! Dr. Kureva Matuku is going to explain how to make the perfect alibi. On episode 75 we figure out what issues are related to providing ACCURATE alibis, the fallibility of our memory and recollections, and what you can do to improve your alibis if you are ever required to provide one. Dr. Matuku also explains h...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 75
Shownotes: Check out Petra’s open access paper on how to reduce stigma: Gronholm, P. C., Nosé, M., Van Brakel, W. H., Eaton, J., Ebenso, B., Fiekert, K., ... & Thornicroft, G. (2021). Reducing stigma and discrimination associated with COVID-19: early stage pandemic rapid review and practical recommendations. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences , 1-23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7884669/ Want to learn more about what Petra’s group does on mental health stigma? Check out ww...
Aug 10, 2021•Ep. 74
If you enjoyed the content of today’s show, make sure to pick up John’s new book, “The Life Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit” wherever you buy books!
Jul 27, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 73
Follow Dr. David Shiffman on Twitter @whysharksmatter and check out his “Save our seas” project here: https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/david-shiffman/. For David’s open access research on marine conservation and other topics visit: davidshiffmancv.com
Jul 13, 2021•47 min•Ep. 72
For more information Sir Graham Thornicoft’s research: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/graham-thornicroft Make sure to follow us on Twitter and instagram @brainbuzzpod and to follow us on Spotify/Apple podcast to get updates when new episodes are published! Cheers :)
Jul 01, 2021•59 min•Ep. 71
Do you or one of your good friends strongly believe the earth is flat? Do you believe the COVID-19 vaccines are tracking us? Are all politicians really lizard people? Our guests: Ricky Green and Mikey Biddlestone (two PhD students from the University of Kent) are researchers that investigate why people are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. We discuss how attachment theory can predict the likelihood of you believing in conspiracy theories. We explain what collective narcissism is and...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 70
Dr. Edward Slingerland from the University of British Columbia joins Brain Buzz to talk discuss his new book DRUNK! We talk about how alcohol and drinking may have shaped our modern civilization, impacted how we interact as humans, and why alcohol is so important to humans. What benefits does drinking really provide us as humans? Why would we continue to drink considering the negative consequences associated it with? Should evolution not have weeded this behaviour out already? What barriers does...
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 69
Grab a cup of coffee, take a cold shower, do what you have to do to wake yourself up! In episode 68 we got Dr. Lauren Whitehurst in the studio to talk about her work on sleep and cognition. Are you curious about what the world record for hours spent awake is? Have you ever wondered what sleep stages we go through every night and what each stage does? What exactly are microsleeps? We discuss these topics as well as Dr. Lauren Whitehurst’s research on how drugs, stress, and discrimination can sign...
May 18, 2021•Ep. 68
Tiana Sharifi is the founder and owner of Sexual Exploitation Education, a British Columbia based organization dedicated to raising awareness and addressing service gaps around sexual exploitation in Canada. Tiana joins Kyle and Drake to discuss the prevalence and severity of sexual exploitation and human trafficking in Canada today. What constitutes sexual exploitation and human trafficking? Where is human trafficking most likely to occur and is it a problem in Canada that is worth addressing? ...
May 04, 2021•Ep. 67
Gabe Brooks, a returning guest from the University of British Columbia joins us to talk about the phenomenon of online gaming “Lootboxes” and the possible implications they have on imbuing problematic gambling behaviours in children and adult gamers! Why do people spend money on online lootboxes and what populations are at risk? We also discuss the future of gaming and microtransactions. If you are interested in how gambling may be related to online gaming for you, your friends, or children… che...
Apr 19, 2021•Ep. 66
On today’s episode we are joined by Tessa Charlesworth, researcher at Harvard University, to talk about implicit attitudes and biases over time. Tessa shares with us how people change their minds in response to new experiences across the lifespan and how social attitudes and stereotypes shift over time in response to societal events. How do you measure implicit attitudes in historical records? Can we predict future levels of implicit biases? Are all biases harmful? All this and much more in Impl...
Apr 06, 2021•48 min•Ep. 65
On today’s episode we are joined by Ben Davis-Purcell, researcher at Carleton University, to talk about the study of the smallest things in the universe. Ben shares with us why studying particle physics is important to understanding the natural world and how particles interact to create everything in the known universe. How many fundamental particles are there and what do they do? What are the four fundamental forces? What does the Large Hadron Collider do and what kind of research is being cond...
Mar 23, 2021•49 min•Ep. 64
On today’s episode we are joined by Dr. Gwendolyn Seidman, Associate Professor of Psychology and Department Chair at Albright College, to talk about presentations of relationships on social media and how the posts are related to relationship satisfaction. Gwen shares with us how patterns of social media use, and how the relationship is presented, can be indicative of the relationship satisfaction, long-term prognosis, and desire to ward off or invite potential suitors. What is the investment mod...
Mar 09, 2021•55 min•Ep. 63
On today’s episode we sit down to chat with Ryan Dwyer, graduate student in the Social Cognition and Emotion Lab at the University of British Columbia, to talk about phones and happiness. Ryan shares with us how phone use impacts our social and emotional relationships, and why it might be important to put your phone down. How do you define happiness? How are phones affecting our happiness? What is Phubbing? All this and much more in Phubbing with Ryan Dwyer! Today we are re-releasing a classic e...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 62
In episode 61 we are joined by Dr. Chris Barry, Professor of Psychology at Washington State University, to chat about how adolescent’s self-perceptions impact their social media use. Chris shares how selfies and “posies” are related to an individual’s self-esteem and narcissism, and what that means for how they interact with social media. We talk about his work on the fear of missing out and how social media contributes to it in the digital age. What is a “posie”? How do others perceive your sel...
Feb 24, 2021•57 min•Ep. 61
On today’s episode we are joined by Dr. Gary Lewandowski, Professor of Psychology at Monmouth University, to chat about his new book Stronger than You Think: The 10 Blind Spots That Undermine Your Relationship... and How to See Past Them. Gary shares with us some of the signs of healthy relationships, how to strengthen them, and some of the best ways to maintain them. What is optimal distinctiveness and how can couples maintain the ‘you, me, and we’ of their personalities? What is the Michelange...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 60
Today we are joined by Dr. Anna Radke, Director of the Reward and Addictive Disorders Lab and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Miami University, to talk about sex differences in alcohol consumption. Anna shares with us how they use mice to understand how males and females differ in alcohol consumption behaviour and what that might mean for humans. Why does sex matter in alcohol consumption and why do we need to study sex differences? How much alcohol does a mouse drink if given the chance? W...
Feb 02, 2021•29 min•Ep. 59
Today we are joined by Dr. Seth Pollak, Letters and Science Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Professor of Anthropology, Pediatrics, Neuroscience, and Public Affairs, and Laboratory Director of the Child Emotion Lab at the Waisman Centre at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, to talk about emotions. Seth shares with us how humans develop the ability to display and read emotions, and how important context is when interpreting emotions. Are reading and displaying emotions innate skills tha...
Jan 19, 2021•43 min•Ep. 58
In today’s episode we are joined by Dr. Kaitlyn Goldsmith, Registered Psychologist and Lecturer at the University of British Columbia, to talk about long distance relationships. Kaitlyn shares with us why sexual satisfaction and well-being, including body image, mindfulness, and sexual communication, makes for lasting and meaningful romantic relationships when physically separated from your partner. How do partners deal with sexuality and intimacy during long distance relationships? What are the...
Jan 05, 2021•50 min•Ep. 57
In today’s episode we are joined by Dr. Gary Lewandowski, Professor of Psychology at Monmouth University, to talk about relationships, break-ups, and self-expansion. Gary explains why the ending of a relationship is not always a bad thing and instead can lead to self-growth and rediscover of the self. How long does it take to get over a breakup? Why should being selfish be considered a good thing in a relationship? What are ‘expander’ and ‘conserver’ personality traits in relationships, and what...
Dec 22, 2020•52 min•Ep. 56
In today’s episode we are joined by Dr. Tom Griffiths, Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Princeton University, to talk about the mathematical principles behind human cognition. Tom shares with us how mathematical models are used to understand cognition, and how these can be applied in computer science to machine learning to create more efficient and capable computer systems. Why are humans so good at solving problems that computers struggle with? What is inductive bias and how doe...
Dec 08, 2020•42 min•Ep. 55
In today’s episode we are joined by A Month in Neurodegenerative Disease Research’s Sarah Louadi and Elyn Rowe to talk about neurodegenerative research, Alzheimer’s Disease, and AMiNDR Podcast. Elyn shares with us how heart health is related to Alzheimer’s Disease, and how good cholesterol might help identify, prevent, and treat Alzheimer’s Disease. Sarah explains how trying to keep up with the incredible volume of literature on neurodegenerative research inspired the creation of AMiNDR podcast....
Nov 25, 2020•29 min•Ep. 54
In episode 52: Superbug Slayer we are joined by Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Steffanie Strathdee, to chat about superbugs and how to treat them. In this episode Steffanie shares with us the incredible story of how she helped resurrect a little known, but highly effective, treatment for antibiotic resistance bacteria and, in the process, saved her husband’s life. ...
Nov 13, 2020•43 min•Ep. 52
On episode 51 we are joined by Dr. Jiaying Zhao from the University of British Columbia to talk about how direct cash transfers can reduce homelessness and improve wellbeing in people experiencing homelessness. Jiaying shares with us how providing homeless people with $7500 aided them in finding employment, improved their cognitive function, alleviated concerns of food security, and enabled these individuals to find stable housing solutions. How did individuals spend the money they received? How...
Oct 27, 2020•46 min•Ep. 51
Brain Buzz Podcast makes research and science accessible to everyone. Every episode is on a new topic with a new expert guest. Follow Drake and Kyle as they interview research experts on each new episode. New topics every episode make sure that you will have something to mention at the watercooler or next cocktail party that is backed by researchers themselves. Casual sex relationships; how direct cash transfers can reduce homelessness; breaking up and making relationships stronger; how drinking...
Oct 21, 2020
