For the very first episode of our collaboration with Europe's Journal of Psychology, Rachael Loxton joins to discuss her research paper titled “Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland. This paper investigates how these concepts are experienced by Muslim women in Switzerland, a minority group targeted in the political campaign nicknamed the “burka ban.” We go through the key research questions, back...
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are common amongst those coming close to death and profoundly impact how they make sense of the world. Dr. Alex Fry of the University of Bournemouth draws on interviews with atheists who have had a NDE to explore whether death anxiety motivates attempts to make sense of the world and the extent to which the dominant belief systems in the UK shape their attempts to do so. Support the show Support us and reach out! https://smoothbrainsociety.com https://www.patreon...
Dr. Hugh Turpin of Oxford University joins Feryl and Sahir on the podcast to share his work on the decline of Catholicism in Ireland and the factors which have led to it. We also cover his current research with the Explaining Atheism project about understanding how Ireland, Northern Ireland and Poland, 3 regions with strong religious identities have seen steep declines in religious beliefs in recent years. We cover his book "Unholy Catholic Ireland: Religious Hypocrisy, Secular Morality...
Dr. Martin Lang is assistant professor at Masaryk University, Czech Republic. And is the Director of the Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion (LEVYNA). He joins us to talk us through how rituals form and the roles they have played in fostering cooperation. We discuss the benefits of rituals in reducing anxiety and his current work on why we are seeing a decline in certain rituals along with the rise of non-theism, particularly in nations with greater existential security. Su...
For the first episode of our Explaining Atheism series, Dr. Sara Rahmani from the School of Social and Cultural Studies at Victoria University of Wellington joins us to talk about her project exploring Māori atheism. It explores the individual, sociocultural and historical processes contributing to Māori deconversion. https://www.explainingatheism.org/research-projects/explaining-mori-atheism-in-aotearoa-new-zealand Support the show Support us and reach out! https://smoothbrainsociety.com ht...
Smooth Brain Society is collaborating with the Explaining Atheism Project to bring you a brand new series focusing on non-religion. Over the course of the series we will have multiple guests from across the world explaining the factors which lead to atheism or non-belief and how religion has changed over time. This introductory episode talks about the program, what its aims are and why such work is even needed? Feryl interviews the core team members Dr. Aiyana Willard and Dr. Conn...
Behrouz Boochani and Abdul Samad Haidari speak about their journeys as refugees, the systems which demonize asylum seekers as criminals, Manus Prison Theory and structural oppression, and the role of art, literature and storytelling in resistance an healing. Guest Profiles: Behrouz Boochani is a Kurdish-Iranian journalist, human rights defender, writer, film producer and research fellow at Canterbury University. He, along with Omid Tofighian, developed the Manus Prison Theory which is a fr...
"You’re a hero. It’s in your DNA." The NHS and NIHR BioResource has started a nationwide movement for ages 0 - 15 to help health research. Dr. Anna Moore, University of Cambridge, and Elizabeth Mordey of the DNA, Children + Young People's Health Resource (D-CYPHR) talk about the project and how it has the potential to revolutionize healthcare in the UK and around the world.. By studying thousands of DNA samples together with health information, scientists can begin to see the big pictur...
Children and young people whose parents use substances often feel alone in their experiences, with very few people to trust or talk to. Parents and caregivers mention uncertainty on how and when to have conversations with children in their family and answer their questions in the best way. Dr. Cassey Muir, Dr Ruth McGovern and teams at Newcastle University brought together the messages from their studies which are told in this story about Arti, the wishing star. The story was writ...
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a self-inflicted act that causes pain or superficial damage but is not intended to cause death. Dr. Kealagh Robinson, of Massey University, works in emotion and emotion regulation, with a specific emphasis on how these factors underpin self-injurious thoughts and behaviours. She discusses the role of emotion regulation in self-injury behaviours and some fascinating results from her latest study which demonstrate that the role of emotion in NSSI is more comple...
We Collaborated with Voice of Aroha on an exciting podcast featuring Lawyer and Host of the Podcast, Me, Racism and I, the incredible Thoraya Abdoul-Rassol. In the episode we delve into thought-provoking discussions on identity, culture, and personal experiences. Check it out! Support the show Support us and reach out! https://smoothbrainsociety.com https://www.patreon.com/SmoothBrainSociety Instagram: @thesmoothbrainsociety TikTok: @thesmoothbrainsociety Twitter/X: @SmoothBrainSoc Facebook...
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, better known as concussions, are poorly understood. This means diagnosis and proper management are difficult often leading to people living with the impacts of milder injuries for years. Asha Strom of the University of Birmingham talks about UoB's current project, Called mTBI predict, looking at multiple aspects of traumatic brain injury to identify biomarkers (biological identifiers) which will help better detect and manage concussions. Link to project: https://...
Dr. Frankie Fong, of Victoria University of Wellington, discusses imitation behaviors and how they are key to child development. He also shares his research on how these behaviours differ between cultures and influence digital media effects on children's socio-cognitive development. Dr. Frankie Fong: https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/frankie.fong Support the show Support us and reach out! https://smoothbrainsociety.com https://www.patreon.com/SmoothBrainSociety Instagram: @thesmoothbrainsociety...
Dr. Nuzha Saleem is a Teaching Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington. She discusses her research working with youth from migrant and refugee backgrounds. She has particularly focused her work around understanding the role of friendships in educational performance, identity and feelings of belonging for people from refugee backgrounds. Fellow Youth wellbeing researcher Niusha Aryan joins as co-host as we learn about Dr. Saleem's transition from neuroscience into social research, her key ...
Dr. Jo-Anne Puddephatt of Edge Hill University is a mixed-methods researcher in the field of mental health, alcohol use, and co-occurring problems. She combines her experience of working in psychiatric intensive care units with her expertise using datasets to explore the patterns of drinking across individuals experiencing different mental health problems. Jo-Anne also conducts qualitative research and works with patient involvement groups to explore the mechanisms of co-occurring alcohol and...
Finally! after 47 episodes as host, Sahir takes his place in the wrinkly brained experts chair to talk about his research on how alcohol drinking by fathers can impact development of the future generations. Amer Hussain and Jeremy Hall co-host this special episode where we discuss the importance of animal research, find out why Dr. Hussain gets rats drunk and talk about the importance of science communication. Support the show Support us and reach out! https://smoothbrainsociety.com https:...
Bayesian Statistics allows combining prior information of a population to the current sample of experimentation to create stronger inferences. Dr. Taylor Winter, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics at University of Canterbury, uses Bayesian methods to investigate a range of societal and group factors (Social Psychology). Dr. Winter takes us through some of the basic ideas around Bayesian statistics and how it differs from traditional methods of hypothesis testing in research. We di...
Bethany Facer, PhD student at University of Liverpool and Science Communicator explains the intricacies of Parkinson's Disease. We discuss Beth’s Neuroimaging research into the neurodegenerative condition as she goes over some of the key biological mechanisms, clinical manifestations and current treatments which together highlight the need to better understand this multifaceted disorder. Later, co-host Pollyanna Ward and Beth discuss the importance of science communication in current times an...
There is often a tendency to focus on physical rather than mental health during pregnancy. While rates can vary by country, research suggests that about 10 - 20% of pregnant women experience depression during pregnancy. This is higher than the average rate of 6% seen in the general population. The changes during pregnancy can also make it hard for mood disorders to be detected and treated. Dr. Stephanie D'Souza of University of Auckland joins to discuss her research as maternal depression and...
At its core, Stoicism is a tool in the pursuit of self-mastery, perseverance, and wisdom: something one uses to live a virtuous life. However, the English language has dealt great injustice to the word “Stoic.” Dr. John Sellars, Reader in the History of Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Research Fellow at King's College London, joins along with Dr. Johannes Karl, Dublin City University, to give us an introduction to Stoicism and how these ideas born in Ancient Greece&nbs...