My BrainWise Coach

My BrainWise Coach
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to My BrainWise Coach — a podcast exploring the intersection of neuroscience, behavioral science, and psychology to help you live and lead better lives. Hosted by Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon, each episode connects brain science to everyday life, leadership, and relationships. You’ll gain practical insights into emotional intelligence, habits, trust, change, growth, and many other topics — all grounded in research and real human experience. 🧠 Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay BrainWise.

  1. The Science of Why Your Heart Syncs With People You Love (S3E2)

    3d ago

    The Science of Why Your Heart Syncs With People You Love (S3E2)

    Sit beside someone you trust and your hearts begin to keep time with each other. That alignment is not a metaphor or a mood. It is a measurable signal of real social connection, and it can vanish the moment a room gets too loud. This episode walks through the new science of physiological synchrony and what it reveals about how your body registers the people around you. You learn: Hanlu He's 2026 PNAS Nexus study, which tracked heart rate synchrony across 72 students on three trips to New York CityHow physical proximity, joint attention, and prior social familiarity strengthen synchronyWhy excessive noise and open-plan offices break the conditions genuine connection needsHeart rate alignment in couples, including the hidden cost of synchrony during conflictRuth Feldman's research on parent and infant cardiac attunementMusician and audience synchrony, and why live performance feels irreplaceableThe mechanisms behind it: vagal tone, Stephen Porges' polyvagal theory, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and oxytocinThe McClintock effect and an honest look at the weak evidence for menstrual synchronyHow all of this maps onto the Personal Threat Profile and its participation and protection driversPresence is not a metaphor. The people you give real attention to, in spaces quiet enough to allow it, you are physically tuning toward. If this episode changes how you think about connection, leave a five-star rating and review, and follow @mybrainwisecoach across your platforms. 00:00 Hearts That Beat Together 02:20 Welcome And Episode Roadmap 03:15 Established Science Versus Open Questions 04:00 Taking The Research Into Manhattan 05:00 The Wearable Sensor Setup 05:50 Consistent Results Across Three Trips 06:30 Proximity, Attention, And Familiarity 07:45 How Noise Disrupts Connection 08:40 A Biological Fingerprint For Engagement 09:50 Heart Rate Synchrony In Couples 10:45 When Conflict Synchrony Harms Health 12:00 Parent And Infant Cardiac Attunement 13:00 Musicians And Audiences In Sync 13:50 Why Live Performance Is Irreplaceable 14:30 Teachers, Coaches, And Therapists 15:10 Shared Environment As First Mechanism 16:45 The Vagus Nerve And Vagal Tone 17:50 Breathing And Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia 19:00 Oxytocin And Physiological Tuning 20:40 The McClintock Effect And Its Origins 22:30 Why The Idea Spread Widely 23:30 The Failed Replication Attempts 24:30 Statistical Artifact And Missing Mechanism 26:10 Compelling Versus Well-Supported Science 27:40 Connection Lives In The Body 28:20 The Open Office Problem 29:10 Linking Synchrony To The PTP 30:00 The Protection Driver And Conflict 30:50 Your Heart Knows Who You're With 31:50 The Primary Paper And Close

    32 min
  2. How Your Brain Processes Language Under Anesthesia (ND3E1)

    6d ago ·  Bonus

    How Your Brain Processes Language Under Anesthesia (ND3E1)

    You go to sleep stuck on a problem and wake up with the answer. The solution surfaces in the shower, on a walk, three days after you stopped trying. A new Nature study finally reveals the machinery behind those moments, and it should change how you treat the quiet gaps in your day. Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon break down research from Baylor College of Medicine showing your hippocampus stays at work while you are fully unconscious under general anesthesia. It detects patterns, processes the meaning of language, and predicts what comes next, all without conscious direction. This episode covers: The Katlowitz and Sheth Nature study on the anaesthetized hippocampusHow the brain detects oddball tones and keeps learning while unconsciousSemantic processing and word prediction without awarenessWhat patients may still hear during surgeryThe default mode network and the science of shower momentsWhy unstructured time protects insightDesigning the space between coaching sessionsHow your Personal Threat Profile shapes background processingYou walk away with three moves you can use today: create space for insight to surface, trust the delay when answers refuse to come, and capture them fast before they dissolve back into the background. If this helps you think differently about how your brain works, leave a five-star rating, write a review, and follow the show at @mybrainwisecoach. 00:00 Waking Up With The Answer 01:00 The New Nature Study 02:00 Predicting And Learning While Unconscious 03:00 The Assumption Being Challenged 04:00 The Old Hierarchy Of Consciousness 05:00 Clues From Sleep And Insight Research 06:00 Why The Hippocampus Is Surprising 07:00 Inside The Baylor Anesthesia Study 08:00 Detecting Oddball Tones And Learning 09:00 Processing The Meaning Of Language 10:00 The Prediction Engine Keeps Running 11:00 What Patients Hear During Surgery 12:00 The Science Of Shower Moments 13:00 The Default Mode Network 14:00 Why Unstructured Time Matters 15:00 Designing The Space Between Sessions 16:00 The Three-Day Reflection Window 17:00 Prediction Driver And Background Processing 18:00 Participation Driver And Relational Replay 19:00 Three Practical Takeaways To Apply 20:00 Your Brain Is Larger Than You 21:00 The References And Close

    21 min
  3. The Neuroscience of Courage: Why Bravery Doesn't Transfer (S3E1)

    Jun 28

    The Neuroscience of Courage: Why Bravery Doesn't Transfer (S3E1)

    You know someone who jumps out of planes but cannot give a colleague honest feedback. You know someone who races cars at the limit but never says how they actually feel. Courage is not one trait. It is domain specific, and the bravery you show in one part of your life does not automatically transfer to the parts that matter most. The three-part research definition of courage from Christopher Rate and Robert Sternberg (2007)Cynthia Pury's two decades of courage research at Clemson University and the idea of process courageUri Nili's Weizmann Institute snake study and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex that overrides fearHow Milad and Quirk's fear extinction work shows the prefrontal to amygdala circuit physically remodels with practiceThe five domains of courage: physical, social, moral, emotional, and intellectualWhy chronic stress and elevated cortisol quietly weaken your courage circuitThe Personal Threat Profile and how your sensitive drivers predict your courage gapsSteven Maier's learned controllability research and why courage builds one small act at a timeWhy the corporate trust fall never delivered the courage it promisedIf this episode helps you see your own courage differently, rate and review the show wherever you listen, then follow @mybrainwisecoach across your platforms. 00:00 Why Brave People Aren't Brave Everywhere 03:00 The Research Definition of Courage 06:00 Aristotle and the Types of Courage 08:00 The Brain's Courage Override Circuit 10:00 How Practice Rewires the Courage Circuit 11:00 How Chronic Stress Weakens Courage 12:00 Why Courage Is Domain Specific 13:00 Physical Courage and Its Limits 15:00 Social Courage and Fear of Judgment 17:00 Moral Courage and Personal Cost 20:00 Emotional Courage and Vulnerability 23:00 Intellectual Courage and Changing Your Mind 25:00 Why Courage Doesn't Transfer 27:00 Why the Corporate Trust Fall Fails 30:00 How to Build Courage Safely 33:00 Map Your Personal Courage Profile 38:00 What Leaders Should Do Differently 40:00 Building Courage One Step at a Time 42:00 The Courage Nobody Gives Medals For

    44 min
  4. The Neuroscience of Attitude: How Mindset Reshapes Your Body (ND2E26)

    Jun 25 ·  Bonus

    The Neuroscience of Attitude: How Mindset Reshapes Your Body (ND2E26)

    Drink a milkshake you believe is rich and indulgent, and your body produces a stronger fullness signal than if you drink the identical shake believing it is light and sensible. Your attitude is not a mood or a motivational slogan. It is a stored evaluation your brain runs as a prior, and it shapes your hormones, your thinking, and your ability to recover from setbacks. This episode breaks down what attitude actually is inside the brain, and how to work with it instead of against it. You will learn: The difference between explicit and implicit attitudes, and where the brain stores each oneThe Implicit Association Test and the implicit social cognition research of Greenwald and BanajiCarol Dweck's fixed and growth mindset researchJason Moser's EEG study on how mindset changes the brain's response to mistakesAlia Crum's milkshake study on mindset and the hunger hormone ghrelinThe Crum, Salovey, and Achor stress mindset study on cortisol and performancePlacebo and nocebo effects and the brain's opioid systemJob, Dweck, and Walton's research on willpower beliefs and ego depletionHow the Personal Threat Profile maps your implicit attitudesA three-part field guide for managing your own and other people's attitudesYour attitude toward stress, failure, and effort is a neurologically active input, and you have more say over it than you think. Rate and review the show wherever you listen, and follow @mybrainwisecoach across every platform. 00:00 The Milkshake Mindset Experiment 02:00 Welcome And Episode Introduction 03:00 Defining Attitude In Neuroscience 03:40 Explicit Versus Implicit Attitudes 04:30 The Implicit Association Test 06:00 Attitudes And Your Threat Profile 07:00 Carol Dweck's Mindset Research 08:00 How Mindset Shapes Error Response 09:30 Mindset Is Learnable And Changeable 11:00 The Milkshake And Ghrelin Study 12:00 How The Predictive Brain Works 13:30 The Stress Mindset Research 15:00 Willpower Beliefs And Ego Depletion 16:00 Placebo And Nocebo Effects 18:00 How Leaders Shape Attitudes 19:00 A Practical Field Guide 21:00 Sources And Study Citations 22:00 Closing Thoughts And Sign Off

    21 min
  5. Feynman's Restaurant Problem: The Neuroscience of Better Decisions (S2E26)

    Jun 21

    Feynman's Restaurant Problem: The Neuroscience of Better Decisions (S2E26)

    Every important decision hides the same question. Do you stick with what already works, or gamble on something new that might be better? A team of researchers just answered it with math, using a problem Richard Feynman scribbled on a napkin and left unsolved for nearly 50 years. Cole and Phil walk you through the answer and what it means for the choices you face right now. The explore-exploit problem and why both naive strategies, always settling and always searching, leave value on the tableFeynman's 1986 ice-water demonstration at the Rogers Commission and the structural thinking behind itThe decreasing-threshold solution: explore early, commit late, recalibrated to how many chances remainHow Brian Christian, Evan Russek, and Tom Griffiths deciphered Feynman's notes and proved his answer optimal (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2026)What 2,520 participants revealed in a pre-registered experiment about the strategies people actually useGerd Gigerenzer's fast and frugal heuristics and why your mental shortcuts come close to optimalRight-skewed and left-skewed environments and where your calibration quietly failsHow your personal threat profile, prediction sensitivity versus protection sensitivity, pushes you to commit too soon or search too longIf this changes how you weigh your next big decision, rate and review the show, then follow @mybrainwisecoach across your platforms. 00:00 The Feynman Ice Water Demonstration 02:00 What This Has To Do With Dinner 03:00 Welcome And Episode Roadmap 04:00 Feynman's Search For Structure 05:00 The Thai Restaurant Napkin Problem 06:00 The Paper That Cracked It 07:00 Defining The Explore Exploit Problem 08:00 Why Both Naive Strategies Fail 09:00 The Optimal Decreasing Threshold 10:00 How Your Environment Changes Everything 11:00 Testing 2,520 Real People 12:00 Linear Thresholds And Cognitive Shortcuts 13:00 Why Brain Shortcuts Usually Work 14:00 Where The Heuristic Breaks Down 15:00 Hiring, Careers, And Relationships 16:00 The Two Most Common Errors 17:00 Three Variables And The Challenger Lesson 18:00 Your Personal Threat Profile 20:00 The One Question To Ask 21:00 Less Irrational Than We Fear 22:00 Stay Curious, Stay Brainwise

    22 min
  6. What 87 Years of Harvard Research Reveals About Resilience (ND2E25)

    Jun 18 ·  Bonus

    What 87 Years of Harvard Research Reveals About Resilience (ND2E25)

    Why do some people come through loss, failure, and illness intact, sometimes even stronger, while others facing the same hardship never recover? Phil and Cole turn to the longest-running study of human life ever conducted to answer that question with evidence instead of opinion. Across 87 years and two very different groups of men, the same pattern keeps surfacing. You come away with a clear map of how people adapt under pressure, and why the deciding factor is something you can build at any age. The Harvard Study of Adult Development (the Grant Study) and the Glueck inner-city cohortPsychiatrist George Vaillant and his validated hierarchy of defense mechanismsThe four levels of defense: psychotic, immature, neurotic, and matureThe five mature defenses: humor, sublimation, anticipation, altruism, and suppressionWhy conscious suppression beats unconscious repression for long-term wellbeingRobert Waldinger's central finding that relationship quality predicts health, happiness, and longevityAnn Masten's "ordinary magic" and how resilience holds up across very different populationsThe BrainWise field guide: relationships, meaning, and self-awareness through your Personal Threat ProfileIf this episode helps you think differently about how your brain handles hard things, rate, review, and follow the show wherever you listen. It takes thirty seconds and helps new listeners find the show. You can find us everywhere at @mybrainwisecoach. 00:00 Why Some People Endure Hardship 02:00 The Harvard Study Of Adult Development 06:00 Vaillant's Hierarchy Of Adaptive Defenses 08:00 The Five Mature Defense Mechanisms 10:00 Suppression Versus Repression Explained 11:00 Why Relationships Predict Long-Term Health 12:30 Honest Limitations Of The Study 14:00 Ann Masten And Resilience Research 15:30 How To Build Mature Adaptation 18:00 The Single Most Important Lesson 19:30 Recommended Resources And Closing

    21 min
  7. The Neuroscience of Accountability: Why Your Brain Defaults to Victim (S2E25)

    Jun 14

    The Neuroscience of Accountability: Why Your Brain Defaults to Victim (S2E25)

    Think back to the last time something went wrong for you. Your first instinct was probably to look outward, at what someone else did or at what the situation made unavoidable. That reflex is not a character flaw, it is what your brain is built to do under threat, and the neuroscience behind it changes how you hold yourself and everyone you lead accountable. Where the above the line and below the line model actually comes from: Julian Rotter's 1966 locus of control research, Karpman's drama triangle, Werner Erhard's est, and how The Oz Principle by Connors, Smith, and Hickman popularized it in 1994Martin Seligman and Steven Maier's learned helplessness research, and Maier's 2016 revision showing passivity is the brain's default while controllability is what you have to learnHow your Personal Threat Profile predicts which below the line behavior you fall into, from blame to denial to wait and hopeThe neuroscience of crossing the line, where prefrontal cortex control competes with the amygdala and the threat systemThe four above the line stages decoded: See It, Own It, Solve It, Do ItWhy psychological safety builds accountability far better than fear, with Amy Edmondson's research and Google's team findingsWhat actually moves people above the line, and the four things that keep them stuckIf this episode shifts how you think about accountability, follow the show and leave a five-star rating and review wherever you listen. Share your biggest takeaway with us at @mybrainwisecoach. 00:00 Why The Brain Looks Outward First 02:05 Welcome And What's Ahead 03:15 Where The Model Actually Came From 04:50 Rotter, Karpman, And Est Origins 08:45 Learned Helplessness And Seligman's Dogs 11:00 Maier's Revision To The Theory 12:50 The Immunization Effect Of Control 13:50 Threat Profiles And Below-Line Behavior 18:20 What The Line Is Neurologically 20:50 Psychological Safety And The Leader 23:40 The See It Stage Decoded 25:20 The Own It Stage Decoded 27:20 The Solve It Stage Decoded 29:20 The Do It Stage Decoded 30:50 What Moves People Above The Line 33:20 Four Things That Keep You Stuck 35:50 Building An Accountability Culture 40:20 The Most Important Takeaway 42:20 Field Guide And Further Reading 43:20 Closing Thoughts And Sign-Off

    44 min
  8. How Ambitious Should You Be? The Science of Optimal Ambition (ND2E24)

    Jun 11 ·  Bonus

    How Ambitious Should You Be? The Science of Optimal Ambition (ND2E24)

    You have heard both pieces of advice. Shoot for the moon. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. They flatly contradict each other, and neither one tells you when to apply which. This episode walks through a 2025 mathematical model that settles the question of how ambitious you should actually be, and the answer takes real pressure off you. What you get in this episode: The sequential search model from Ekaterina Landgren, Ryan Langendorf, and Matthew Burgess, published in Physical Review EWhy your optimal satisfaction threshold sits above average but stays strictly finiteThe asymmetry finding: holding out for perfect costs you more than being slightly too easily satisfiedHow left-skewed and right-skewed environments flip the right level of ambition, with economic policy and entrepreneurship as the two casesBurgess on why you take entrepreneurial risks without needing to become the next billionaireThe upward social comparison trap, and how LinkedIn and Instagram feed you a distorted reward landscapeThe BrainWise link: chronic dissatisfaction runs as a threat state and drains the prefrontal capacity good decisions needA practical field guide for entrepreneurs, leaders, job seekers, and anyone navigating relationshipsIf this reframes how you set your goals, rate and review the show wherever you listen, then follow along at @mybrainwisecoach for more. 00:00 Two Contradictory Pieces Of Advice 02:00 Welcome And Today's Big Question 03:00 The Sequential Search Model Explained 05:00 Above Average But Strictly Finite 06:00 Why Perfectionism Costs You More 07:00 How Distribution Shape Changes Ambition 08:00 Right Skewed Environments And Entrepreneurs 10:00 Left Skewed Environments And Risk 12:00 The Upward Social Comparison Trap 13:00 How Social Media Distorts Ambition 14:00 Chronic Dissatisfaction As Threat State 15:00 Practical Field Guide Four Groups 19:00 Calibrate Ambition Don't Lower It 21:00 Closing Thoughts And Signoff

    21 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
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About

Welcome to My BrainWise Coach — a podcast exploring the intersection of neuroscience, behavioral science, and psychology to help you live and lead better lives. Hosted by Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon, each episode connects brain science to everyday life, leadership, and relationships. You’ll gain practical insights into emotional intelligence, habits, trust, change, growth, and many other topics — all grounded in research and real human experience. 🧠 Stay curious. Stay compassionate. Stay BrainWise.

Information

  • Creator
    My BrainWise Coach
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    91
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © My BrainWise Coach
  • Show Website
    My BrainWise Coach