Humans are social creatures, so for many of us, self-isolation and living in quarantine can have a very negative impact on our mental health. Therefore we may turn to substances such as cannabis or alcohol to cope. To put it lightly, a Tweet by comedy writer Emily Murnane summed this up at the start of the quarantine stating "Days are now divided by coffee hours and alcohol hours." But jokes aside, we could see serious implications in society for our immediate and long-term health, both physical...
Nov 02, 2020•22 min•Season 3Ep. 16
According to a poll taken earlier this year, 1 in 8 Australians believe that Bill Gates and 5G are responsible for COVID-19. While this might sound ludicrous to 7 out of 8 of us, conspiracy theories can have a genuine impact in the real world. For example, according to Business Insider, 77 5G towers across the UK have been set on fire due to a conspiracy theory that links 5G technology to COVID-19. Additionally, 5G workers have been subject to abuse as a result of these beliefs. To understand wh...
Oct 26, 2020•44 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Randon Heim is the host of " Don't worry, We'll talk it out, " a podcast exploring the fundamental concepts that drive how we perceive the world. "The Psychology of a Riot," "The Black Death: Coronavirus and Race Relations," and "Ignorance is Bliss: How Anti-Intellectualism Ruined America," are just a few examples of subjects Heim has covered on his show, but today he joins us to discuss Cancel Culture. If you are unfamiliar with the term Cancel Culture... well, you are in the right place, but t...
Oct 19, 2020•34 min•Season 3Ep. 14
This week we are joined by our editor here at The Sociable, Tim Hinchliffe, to discuss his work focusing on UFOs, also referred to as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). For years Tim has reported on government technology and has published a number of articles on The Sociable relating to UFO news, insights, and theories from government bodies and UFO communities. In this episode, Hinchliffe picks apart his recent article " Origins of UFO technology theories: secret space programs, ETs & tim...
Oct 12, 2020•35 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Did you know that 4-year-old kids ask an average of 390 questions a day? In light of this, children can be considered the research and development of the human race, according to Moodi Mahmoudi , who previously gave a speech title “ Act like a child ” at Tech Day, a 2 day hackathon in Amsterdam. Mahmoudi is also the founder and CEO of NEXT , a company that focuses on design thinking and provides businesses with digitally guided processes, challenging the way they traditionally approach problems ...
Oct 05, 2020•30 min•Season 3Ep. 12
The hype surrounding CBD , one of over 100 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids found in the cannabis or marijuana plant, has exploded in recent years. In fact, the global CBD oil market is estimated to reach around $3.5 billion by 2027. But the benefits of CBD are nothing new for many cultures around the world, especially in Eastern medicine. In this episode, Brains Byte Back co-host Mags Tanev explores the benefits, uses, and history of CBD. She is joined by Dr. Jenelle Kim , the founder, ...
Sep 28, 2020•39 min•Season 3Ep. 11
It has been a stressful year and we are living in stressful times. In these moments, it is vital for us to exhibit strong emotional regulation to deal with the challenges of daily life. But what if this wasn't a skill we developed as adults but instead as children through the use of video games. That is the mission of Mightier , a biofeedback video game platform designed to help children regulate their emotions. Joining me to discuss how this technology works and how it was developed, we speak w...
Sep 21, 2020•25 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Advertising is a multibillion-dollar industry, with everyone in the industry competing to grab your attention. With so much money at stake, it probably comes as no surprise that there is a large body of research into the psychology of advertising. This is known as neuromarketing . In its simplest, neuromarketing is the practice of studying the brain to predict and potentially manipulate consumer behavior and decision making. To discuss this topic we are joined by Brett Frieman , the director of ...
Sep 14, 2020•31 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Loneliness and isolation is a topic we have covered before on the show, however, given these difficult times, it is now more important than ever to discuss as a society. With everything that has happened this year, many of us can understand what it feels like to be alone, isolated, or even just depressed. But sometimes a simple conversation with someone to discuss how you are feeling can make all the difference. Many of us have probably interacted with chatbots, perhaps even without knowing, whe...
Sep 07, 2020•33 min•Season 3Ep. 8
In 2014, Marcia Moran , a business co-founder, blogger, and columnist suffered a stroke which left her with aphasia, a language disorder that affects a person's ability to communicate. For years following the incident, Moran worked with numerous speech therapists and specialists looking for an answer to helper regain her speech and her life back. After a chance encounter with a former doctor of Moran's, she was recommended Neurofeedback, a treatment that would change her life. In its simplest fo...
Aug 31, 2020•36 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Sleep is incredibly important for all of us considering we spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping, and in today's episode, we will be looking at sleep science and technology. If you are a true fan of Brains Byte Back, you will know that we have covered sleep and technology before in our previous episode " Sleeping with technology, " where we looked at how modern tech hinders our sleep. However, today's episode will be different as we will look at how technology can help our sleep, specifi...
Aug 24, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 6
We’re diving straight back into the topic of ethical user experience design with the second installment of the two-part series. Tech’s diversity problem has implications for many aspects of society, even with a task as simple as dispensing soap in public toilets. However, some members of the tech community refuse to wash their hands of the responsibility of inclusion in tech. But, as we find out in this episode, tech is riddled with biases, and some of them are more subtle than you may realize. ...
Aug 17, 2020•49 min•Season 3Ep. 5
If you are unfamiliar with dark pattern design, then you might be thinking, as TechCrunch put it - " WTF is dark pattern design? " To put it simply, dark pattern design is when a user interface is carefully constructed to trick users into doing things they might not otherwise do. Today’s episode is the first installment in a two-part series that explores ethical user experience design - commonly known as UX design. In this interview, Brains Byte Back co-host Mags Tanev, is joined by Claudia Cabr...
Aug 10, 2020•41 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Addiction of any form can be a hard demon to battle with, but it is made even more difficult when amoral companies use tactics to prey on those struggling with addiction. This is best demonstrated in the murky world of online gambling. In this episode of the podcast, we will take a look at the insidious psychological tactics used by some online casinos to keep addicts playing, and we will also explore what happens in the brain when an addict engages in gambling. Joining me on the podcast to bett...
Aug 03, 2020•28 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Since the start of the pandemic, many aspects of our regular lives have been turned upside-down, and this seems to also be true for our sex lives. In fact, an article published by The Washington Post at the start of the pandemic stated that we might see " a Coronavirus baby blip ," as a result of couples isolated together looking to pass the time. Meanwhile, for singletons, it would seem that social distancing and quarantines have thrown a spanner in the works for any hopes of dating. In this ep...
Jul 27, 2020•35 min•Season 3Ep. 2
On March 18, 2018, Elaine Herzberg of Phoenix, Arizona was the first person to be killed by a self-driving car. This brought into question the complicated issue of accountability when AI makes a mistake, who do we hold responsible for this type of accident? However, on the other end of the spectrum, if AI produces something marvelous, who takes ownership of this? That is the topic of discussion on today’s episode. Joining me on today’s show is Sekou Campbell , an attorney whose practice focuses ...
Jul 20, 2020•33 min•Season 3Ep. 1
According to Statista , in 2018, 16,128 cases of online identity theft and 65,116 cases of non-payment or non-delivery fraud were reported to the U.S. Internet Crime Complaint Center. But cybercrime has not always been this prevalent in our lives. Though it is hard to imagine in today's modern world, there was a time before computers where cybercrime wasn't considered a threat. To understand how cybercrime has evolved from nothing to the ubiquitous threat that it is today, we spoke with Cindy Mu...
Jul 13, 2020•42 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Being able to speak and understand a foreign language is a lot like having a superpower. It gives you an ability that is often very useful and impressive. But like anything that is great to have, it doesn’t come easy. If you have ever tried to learn a new language, the process can be exhausting and difficult at times. Fortunately, we live in a world where technology can help speed up this process. Now, with the help of machine learning, we can use technology to accelerate or even gamify the lear...
Jul 06, 2020•24 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Trying to prove who we are online, or even trying to prove that we are human, can be a laborious task. Every day we give our information and credentials to a large number of people, organizations, and businesses, often using various forms of ID. However, we could soon be living in a world where all of this information and these processes can be streamlined using modern technology. To discuss how our digital identity could soon become safer and simplified, we spoke with Jamie Smith , Strategic En...
Jun 29, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 23
If you have played Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and asked yourself how soon before we can all run around in Iron Man-style exoskeletons, then you are not alone because we want answers here at Brains Byte Back. In this episode, we will take a look at some of the technology that is being used in combat situations and what we can expect from the not too distant future. To discuss this, we are joined by an expert in this industry who served in the Israeli military and counter-terrorism special for...
Jun 22, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 22
As an additional segment of The New Era of Psychedelics series, we bring the series to a close with a one on one interview with the series creator and co-host here at Brains Byte Back, Mags Tanev. Over the course of this series, Tanev has interviewed experts relating to various areas of psychedelics exploring topics related to microdosing, the healing potential of psilocybe, and the powers of Ayahuasca. She sits down with Brains Byte Back host, Sam Brake Guia, to discuss how she first became int...
Jun 15, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 21
In this final installment of The New Era of Psychedelics , exploring scientific research, therapies, and the potential benefits of psychedelic compounds and plant medicines in our societies, Brains Byte Back co-host, Mags Tanev, interviews Tim Hinchliffe , the editor of The Sociable. They discuss how Hinchliffe first became interested in psychedelics, some of his wildest trips, and how psilocybin helped him overcome his addiction to alcohol....
Jun 08, 2020•40 min•Season 2Ep. 20
For the third installment of The New Era of Psychedelics series, exploring scientific research, therapies, and the potential benefits of psychedelic compounds and plant medicines in our societies, Brains Byte Back co-host Mags Tanev is joined by Kat Courtney , founder of AfterLife Coach and a fully trained Ayahuascera with over 10 years of experience, to discuss the healing properties of this sacred plant. Courtney explains how ayahuasca helped her deal with her own mental health issues, which t...
Jun 01, 2020•29 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Mags Tanev, our co-host here at Brains Byte Back, brings the second installment of her series The New Era of Psychedelics, exploring scientific research, therapies, and the potential benefits of psychedelic compounds and plant medicines in our societies. In this episode, Tanev interviews Gaurav Dubey , a clinical biologist and science blogger, to discuss research surrounding microdosing, the benefits of microdosing vs. other types of psychedelic use, and changing attitudes towards microdosing an...
May 25, 2020•55 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Brains Byte Back cohost, Mags Tanev, kicks off her new series The New Era of Psychedelics, exploring scientific research, therapies, and the potential benefits of psychedelic compounds and plant medicines in our societies. In this first installment, she interviews Jackee Stang , the founder of Delic Corp , the first-ever psychedelics corporation that specializes in education, content, and events about psychedelic substances. In addition to this, she is also the former VP of content and programmi...
May 18, 2020•53 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Welcome to our final installment of The Most Dangerous Countries on the internet edition and today we will be discussing what makes Russia such a dangerous online entity. My guest joining me today is Charity Wright , a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst with over 15 years of experience at the US Army and the National Security Agency, where she translated Mandarin. She now focuses her attention on dark web cyber threat intelligence. And for our Weird Wide Web piece , rain may soon be an effective ...
May 11, 2020•28 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Welcome to another episode of The Most dangerous countries on the Internet series. Today’s country probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone and I don’t think this series would be complete without featuring this country. On this episode, we will be looking at North Korea. To discuss this topic I am joined by Porter Adams , a cybersecurity researcher at Blacktop Government Solutions in Washington DC. And for our Weird Wide Web piece, we have news of Burning Man becoming a virtual experience for...
May 04, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 15
In this episode of the most dangerous countries on the internet, we will be looking at Iran. My guest joining me today to discuss this is Irfan Asrar , the Head of Threat Research at Blue Hexagon , a company that focuses on threat detection powered by deep learning. He also previously led the Malware and Threat Research team at Palo Alto Networks. He has been in the Malware Research/Threat Intelligence industry for over ten years and has worked with several security vendors across Asia and North...
Apr 27, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Welcome to our mini-series, the most dangerous countries on the internet. Today we will be looking at the dangers of Brazil and my guest to discuss this topic is Evgen Verzun , a cybersecurity expert, inventor, serial entrepreneur and founder of HyperSphere.ai , a global decentralized cybersecure real-time network for e-services and e-commerce platforms. Evgen will be speaking about Brazil and its cybercriminal underground landscape discussing the malicious practices and techniques used by Brazi...
Apr 20, 2020•23 min•Season 2Ep. 13
As economies around the world suffer from the impact of the Coronavirus, it can be hard to know where to put your money, without its value dropping like the stock market in recent weeks. Some might speculate in Bitcoin or other investments, but nothing seems safe from the impact of COVID19. My guest joining me to discuss the situation during these challenging times is David Dorr , a veteran in global capital markets and international estate planning with over 25 years of experience under his bel...
Apr 13, 2020•43 min•Season 2Ep. 12
