Two Brad For You

We broke the century mark and to celebrate we're revisiting the topic of mental health and social media. This time I turn the focus on myself and two good friends as we take a critical look at our own usage and how we feel it impacts our own mood and behavior, for better or worse. To add a professional and scientific element to the show we compare our habits to published research on the correlation between social media use, irritability, depression, anxiety and mental health.

Disease has profoundly shaped human history, influencing major events such as wars, colonization, and migration, while simultaneously being impacted by human behaviors and societal decisions. This conversation dives into the intricate relationship between pathogens and people, exploring how ecological changes and human activities create environments conducive to the spread of diseases. Environmental historian John McNeill and disease ecologist Elizabeth Blackmore discuss key historical moments where diseases like yellow fever and malaria played critical roles in military outcomes and societal transformations. They challenge common narratives about the rapid spread of diseases during colonization, arguing instead for a more nuanced understanding of how pathogens interact with human populations over time. By unpacking these dynamics, the episode emphasizes the importance of accurate storytelling in preparing for future encounters with infectious diseases.How Disease Really Spread in The Americas - NautilusTransoceanic pathogen transfer in the age of sail and steam - PNASElizabeth Blackmore, Yale UniversityJohn McNeill, Georgetown University

Today we delve deep into the fascinating world of the placebo effect, exploring its implications in medical treatments and the ethics surrounding its use. Dr. Helena Hartman, a neuroscientist, joins the show to talk about how expectations can significantly influence treatment outcomes. Hartman shares her research insights into pain, empathy and placebo and the importance of expectation in driving placebo effects. We also talk about the work being done by the Treatment and Expectations group uncovering the complex interplay between expectation, treatment efficacy, and the ethical dilemmas that arise when discussing placebo in a clinical context. Hartman emphasizes the importance of transparent communication with patients regarding the use of placebos and the potential benefits they can offer when patients are informed about their effects. We also discuss the challenges posed by wellness influencers who may mislead the public into thinking that they can heal themselves through mental power alone, neglecting the necessity of real medical interventions. Hartman highlights the importance of finding a balance between promoting the benefits of medical treatments and avoiding the pitfalls of over-hyping the placebo effect, especially in the age of misinformation.Finally we take an intriguing examination of side effects and their unexpected role in enhancing the efficacy of treatments. Hartman discusses a study showing that mild side effects from placebos can actually boost the perceived effectiveness of treatment, tying back to the central theme of expectation. This leads to a broader conversation on the implications for future medical practices, particularly in the realm of psychedelics, where the challenges of maintaining placebo control are complex. This is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo. Side-effects are often a curse. Can they also be a blessing? Accessible scientific results and exciting fictional stories in one.What can psychedelic drugs teach us about placebo-controlled trials?Treatment and Expectations Group - Find out and join in / TRR 289

The great science broadcaster and author Jay Ingram joins me once again to talk about science that goes mainstream. Why does do some topics jump out of dedicated science news channels and how should critics respond? Is there any good way to present the process behind science and why is that crucial for critiques of misleading stories. These are some of the topics we explore and Jay provides some positive examples of efforts to communicate the changing nature and long term vision of scientific research. We pose many questions about how best to tell science stories and not all were answered but just like research, communication is an ever evolving thing as well. Let me know what you think about science media and where you'd like to see change. This is the only link you need to subscribe to Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing CommissionYes, Social Media Really Is a Cause of the Epidemic of Teenage Mental Illness - Jonathan HaidtThe great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?Unsettled science on social media - ScienceDefy Dementia Podcast

In June an independent advisory committee recommended the FDA not approve MDMA assisted therapy for PTSD. This came as a surprise to many working in and following the field of psychedelic assisted therapy. It also raised questions as to where the field is at and what challenges still exist. To provide some context and perspective on this decision and some of the specific criticism raised during the hearing Henrik Jungaberle, a psychedelic and public health researcher in Berlin joined the show. This is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo. The MIND FoundationMethodological challenges in psychedelic drug trials: Efficacy and safety of psilocybin in treatment-resistant major depression (EPIsoDE) – Rationale and study design - ScienceDirectTreatment with psychedelics is psychotherapy: beyond reductionism - The Lancet PsychiatryMeasuring psychotherapeutic processes in the context of psychedelic experiences: Validation of the General Change Mechanisms Questionnaire (GCMQ) - Journal of Psychopharmacologyent...Was the FDA Panel Right to Recommend Against MDMA Approval? - MedPage TodayPsychiatric Drug Developers Make Recommendations Following Lykos Adcomm - BioSpaceAn emotional public hearing on MDMA: ‘Today you will vote on whether my friends live or die’

In this episode we have two interesting news stories from the unrelated worlds of infectious disease and psychedelic research. What's all the fuss with H5N1 moving into cows and is my milk safe? Plus a breakdown of a fascinating set of experiments aimed at answering whether MDMA increases empathy and why this could influence how doctors prescribe the drug in the future.This is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo. Listen to Two Brad For You Podcast: 'Mainstreaming' Psychedelic Drugs to Treat Mental Health - Brad van Paridon for Undark MagazineMDMA enhances empathy-like behaviors in mice via 5-HT release in the nucleus accumbensThe H5N1 Outbreak Is Not a Test Run, It's a Warning ShotUS to test ground beef in states with bird-flu outbreaks in dairy cowsU.S. dairy farm worker infected as bird flu spreads to cows in five statesScientists call new measures to control bird flu in cows ‘a drop in the bucket’

Have you ever thought about how knowledge, sometimes thought of as facts, get from the scientists, to journalists, to the articles and videos on your screen? Turns out there is a pipeline taking science discoveries from the lab to the news media. This pathway is a useful and well-used system but it is not without problems. Information can be distorted as it is translated and passed on and the fact checks you might assume are present sometimes aren't. My guest Elisa Nelissen is a Ph.D. researcher at KU Leuven the studying this pipeline and science media. Having worked as a press officer, freelance communications specialist and now academic she has worked at many stages along the knowledge pipeline. Our conversation was wide ranging and touched on how knowledge moves from the lab to the newsroom, the different incentives that distrot this message along the way. We discussed motivations for communicating science, what audiences are looking for when consuming science news, and the challenges of fitting science news into mass media structures. This is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo.

Ants and other eusocial insects have taken group living to the extreme and while we may not think of these animals as representative of human societies studying the fundementals of the evolution of and consequences of social living using ants makes a lot of sense. My guest Yuko Ulrich is a behavioral ecologist and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany. She joined me to discuss how she uses a unique ant species, commonly known as the clonal raider ant, to ask basic questions regarding evolution and behavior. She explains why the clonal raider ants are such a useful model system and discusses the results from two studies that look at the evolution of group living itself and how an individuals behavior within a group affects their risk for disease. This conversation really highlights the importance of experimental biology for asking and answering questions that may seem obvious but that must answered before we can discover exactly why group living is so succesful or understand how groups evolved to defend against disease. It was also a nice reminder that working together in the face of an outbreak offers unique defenses solitary individuals don't have. Finally, we touch on what happens when the parasite takes things to the extreme and manipulates host behavior. That's right, zombie parasites. Links to both of the studies discussed can be found below.Fitness benefits and emergent division of labour at the onset of group living | NatureBehavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies | Nature CommunicationsThis is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo. Listen to Two Brad For You Support this Podcast

When's the last time you checked your butt? It could save your life. This episode I chat with Anthony Morgan, host of CBC's The Nature of Things, about their upcoming film Butt Seriously and so much more. As Anthony explains the idea for the arose because people are literally dying from embarassment by not getting their butt's checked out by a doctor. This soon expanded to a deep dive into butt's from all over the animal kingdom. Creatues that breathe through their butt's and the researchers who think we can too. Insect butts that shoot acid at enemies. The evolution of the butt and more. I also chat with Anthony about science communication and the lessons he's learned from vaccum sealing himself to a building in dowtown Toronto. How we can tackle polarizing topics and the live game he tours around Toronto to "undivide us". Find out more about Anthony and his "Freestyle Socials" at anthonymorganscience.com and on Instagram @anthonymorganscience and @freestylesocialsgameThis is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo.

Two major breakthroughs in gene editing recently occurred and show how our ability to edit the human genome is rapidly increasing. This episode we dive into how these technologies work and how they were able to treat two diseases. One a rather mundane sounding cholesterol problem and the other an exteremely painful and potentially deadly condition known as sickle cell disease. Both stories invovle a combination of new technologies, mRNA techniques and gene editing either using or inspired by CRISPER. These stories highlight how all of these technologies are combining to open new possibilities, that gene editing may become just a regular treatment as we age, and the less talked about downsides or hidden trade-offs that come with these treatments. Sources Base editing, a new form of gene therapy, sharply lowers bad cholesterol in a clincal trial - Science A Closer Look at the Approval of CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease - MedPage TodayNew gene therapies confront many sickle cell patients with an impossible choice: a cure or fertility - STAT WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send an email or voice message. We read/listen to them all and will put them on air. This is your show too so get involved and don't let Brad have all the fun.

Some recent episodes have really got me thinking about science communication and our responsibility as citizens to be informed. Also, about the challenges of being informed and of informing people about issues, discoveries and topics that will not only change our lives but could end them too. Contemplating these things led me to look back at the pandemic as a lens through which many of the issues facing science communication and public discourse become more clear. This episode is my attempt to talk through and honestly remember some of the moments and ways that shaped how we talked about and dealt with the pandemic. My hope is that we can find areas to improve because as I've said a few times now, the world is getting weirder and it behooves all of us to get a grip on the fast pace of change headed our way. I hope you find it helpful.

Responsible members of society should have some understanding of science. Hot take? I don’t think so. Decisions on personal and public health require some knowledge and look no further than debates surrounding the application and use of things like AI and gene editing technology. Citizens should have and use their voice to speak on these topics. And this is why science communication exists as a volunteer activity for many academics and as a career for people like me. Unfortunately, the very people who have the scientific expertise for this work, scientists etc., don’t have the training or data needed to improve their communication efforts. Social sciences and communications research has established tools to ask questions about effective communication strategies and how audiences are reacting. What are their beliefs, motivations, ideas and morals when it comes to science and controversial science topics like gene editing and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). I would argue, and I’m sure my guests today would agree, that science communicators need to use these tools more to investigate the science of science communication. On this episode I speak with professional science communicator Cristina Fonseca and genetics professor Jonathan Pettitt. Both were members of a team that published two papers that surveyed British audiences about their attitudes and trust toward science pre and post pandemic and explored the relationships between people’s knowledge of science, their confidence in their knowledge and their views on controversial science topics. This is a fascinating look at how researchers can apply the scientific method to their communication efforts and the results of the two papers raised excellent questions about who needs and wants to hear from scientists and what sorts of things influence their views on science. SourcesPeople with more extreme attitudes towards science have self-confidence in their understanding of science, even if this is not justifiedBoth trust in, and polarization of trust in, relevant sciences have increased through the COVID-19 pandemicThe Genetics SocietyWhy Peter Hotez Should Not Debate RFK Jr. On The Joe Rogan ExperienceWE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send an email or voice message. We read/listen to them all and will put them on air. This is your show too so get involved and don't let Brad have all the fun.

Psychedelics receive a lot of positive press regarding their potential as tools for introspection, therapy, and lifestyle or health improvements. And rightfully so, there is compelling evidence for their benefit in treating some mental health issues and a ton of anecdotal evidence and writings about the positive benefits both mentally and physically from tripping. But just below the surface of positive headlines there is a sea of unknowns. We really don’t know how these compounds work physically in the brain and why some people seem to benefit from the experience. This also leads to a huge gray area in terms of the systems of therapy and access different jurisdictions are experimenting with. On this episode we talk with Grace Browne, staff writer at Wired UK, about her reporting on the less illuminated corners of the psychedelic renaissance and why it’s important to have these conversations. We talk about everything from the influx of VC money to the dark side of psychedelic cults and the under reporting of negative experiences. Quick disclaimer though. We both believe this research is important and that we should explore psychedelic uses and reconsider the laws surrounding prohibition, but maybe let’s acknowledge just a wee bit more that we really don’t know much about the good, the bad and the strangeness of psychedelics. You can follow Grace Browne on Twitter and check out all of her writing for Wired here. Links to other pieces discussed in the episode:The Therapy Part of Psychedelic Therapy Is a Mess – Grace Browne for WiredPsychedelic Therapy Is Here. Just Don’t Call It Therapy – Grace Browne for WiredDark loops: contagion effects, consistency and chemosocial matrices in psychedelic-assisted therapy trials – Tehseen Noorani, et al.As psychedelics near approval, there’s no consensus on how they work – Olivia Goldhill for STATPeter Gasser: Psychedelic Psychotherapy in Switzerland – Psychedelic Science Sweden YouTube Channel Lower-dose psycholytic therapy – A neglected approach – Torsten Passie, et al. Do people who experienced long-term difficulties after tripping still think psychedelics are worth the risks? – Jules Evans on Medium On philosophy, theology and ‘psychedelic integration’ – Jules Evans on MediumWE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!...

How does one go from believing in every conspiracy under the fake moon to being an atheist activist dedicated to critical thinking and reason? Read the Bible. At least that’s what did it for this episode’s guest Calvin Smith. Calvin is podcaster, Tik Tok’er (check below for all his links and handles) and the social media manager for the Secular Alliance of Michigan. In this episode we talk about his path from self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist to self-proclaimed atheist activist. We discuss the encroachment of religion into US politics and policy and how the Secular Alliance of Michigan pushes back. We also chat about using social media and conversation to reach those lost in the conspiracy rabbit hole and as you’ll see this leads to more than a few yet to be answered questions. When and if public debates are needed or useful? How to deal with alternative sources and how to harness the negativity of social media. You can find Calvin Smith and the Secular Alliance of Michigan below:Tiktok: @UnquestionableCalvinYouTube: @UnquestionableCalvinTwitter: @UWCSPodcastSecularAlliance.orgMichiganAtheists.comYouTube for SAM: @SecularMichiganWE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send an email or voice message. We read/listen to them all and will put them on air. This is your show too so get involved and don't let Brad have all the fun.

Every other month it seems there is some news coming out regarding psychedelic assisted therapy. Just recently the FDA posted some draft guidelines for clinical trials. But the topic of today’s episode concerns psychedelics outside of a clinical setting. As some places move to decriminalize or even legalize the use of LSD, psylocibin and other psychedelics there is a looming question. How can a society with very little context or experience with these substances and states of mind incorporate them? If we agree there is the potential for positive outcomes from there use how best to achieve it? These are strange and powerful experiences and not easily explained or put into context especially when society as a whole has demonized them for a long time. One group I’ve seen who is talking about these questions and attempting to offer answers with their Beyond Experience Workshop is the MIND Foundation. I’ve reported on and interviewed members of MIND before and was granted access to this workshop to see what it was all about and how it might help with the so-called integration or enculturation of psychedelics into a naïve society. Surprisingly this story turned out to be more difficult and personal to tell…. Music in the episode by Freak Motif, Brad van Paridon and MichaelBandacExtra ReadingOn philosophy, theology and ‘psychedelic integration’ – Jules EvansPsychedelic integration: An analysis of the concept and its practice – Bathje, et al.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy – Psychology TodayWE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send an email or voice message. We read/listen to them all and will put them on air. This is your show too so get involved and don't let Brad have all the fun.