100 episodes

This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg provides a fascinating look into the human brain, with each episode asking new questions — and finding new answers — about our most mysterious organ. Together with his expert guests, Dr. Stieg takes us on a journey that reveals unexpected secrets at every turn, and redefines what we know about ourselves and our place in the world.

The podcast explores the many fascinating aspects of neuroscience, ranging from how the brain is wired for both sudden bursts of violence and the pervasive inner calm of meditation. Where does confidence come from? How do we remember traumatic events – or do we? How do other animals experience consciousness? Does storytelling change our brains?

Take the journey with us as we explore the very foundation of what makes us human.

This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery

    • Science
    • 4.6 • 133 Ratings

This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg provides a fascinating look into the human brain, with each episode asking new questions — and finding new answers — about our most mysterious organ. Together with his expert guests, Dr. Stieg takes us on a journey that reveals unexpected secrets at every turn, and redefines what we know about ourselves and our place in the world.

The podcast explores the many fascinating aspects of neuroscience, ranging from how the brain is wired for both sudden bursts of violence and the pervasive inner calm of meditation. Where does confidence come from? How do we remember traumatic events – or do we? How do other animals experience consciousness? Does storytelling change our brains?

Take the journey with us as we explore the very foundation of what makes us human.

    Do You Hear What I See?

    Do You Hear What I See?

    Synesthesia is the mysterious mingling of the senses that creates the experience of "seeing" sounds or "hearing" colors. Neurologist Richard E. Cytowic, M.D. has spent his career exploring this remarkable phenomenon, and has some fascinating insight into how these sensations are formed in the brain -- and how we might use it to reunite our fractured society.
    Plus... meet the man whose extreme form of synesthesia mingled all five of his senses! 
    For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com
    For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

    • 22 min
    What Are Your Hands Saying?

    What Are Your Hands Saying?

    Most of us talk with our hands, some more than others, but what are we really saying? Susan Goldin-Meadow, PhD, professor of psychology and comparative human development at the University of Chicago, is an expert on gestures – what they mean, why they don't always agree with what words we are using, and even how they develop in blind children who have never seen them.
    Plus... why you should never use the thumbs-up sign in Iran!
    For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com
    For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

    • 26 min
    “The Change Is Gonna Come” - Menopause and the Brain

    “The Change Is Gonna Come” - Menopause and the Brain

    Menopause can wreak havoc on mood and body temperature as it signals the end of fertility, but some of the biggest changes it causes are in the brain. Emily Jacobs, assistant professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at UC Santa Barbara, explains how the precipitous decline in estrogen during the "change of life" disrupts the endocrine system and makes a woman's brain more like... a man's! Plus: Hear from real women describing the wide range of effects they experienced.
    For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com
     For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org
     

    • 18 min
    The Incredible Shrinking Attention Span

    The Incredible Shrinking Attention Span

    Is the deluge of digital media killing our ability to focus? Psychologist Gloria Mark, a professor in the Department of Informatics at University of California, Irvine, explains how we are shaped by what we pay attention to – and why today’s short snippets of everything are reinforcing short attention spans. Learn how playing a few minutes of Solitaire on your phone can help relieve stress, and why it can be so hard to stop. And in case you need to ask, you’ll find out why it’s such a bad idea to give an iPad to a baby.
    For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit
     https://thisisyourbrain.com
    For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit
     https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org 

    • 26 min
    Near Death Experiences (reprise)

    Near Death Experiences (reprise)

    Near-death experiences may seem like the stuff of supermarket tabloids, but there are real patterns to what people report after coming close to departing this life.   Dr. Bruce Greyson has been studying near-death experiences  for decades and has stories to tell about out-of-body phenomena, that light at the end of the tunnel, and a near-universal finding of new meaning in life after coming close to death. Plus... a glimpse of what happens to your brain after death. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com
    For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

    • 24 min
    Game Changer - A Concussion Revolution (reprise)

    Game Changer - A Concussion Revolution (reprise)

    The impact of mild traumatic brain injury extends far beyond the gridiron – concussions can happen anywhere, including playing fields, bike paths, and war zones. Kenneth Kutner, PhD, who specializes in head injuries and has been the team neuropsychologist for the New York Giants for 30 seasons, joins us to talk about what the latest research has revealed about concussion and how it affects physical health and cognitive function. From the military to the NFL, and even in the corporate boardroom, this invisible injury is finally emerging from the shadows. Plus… why don’t woodpeckers get concussions?

    • 28 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
133 Ratings

133 Ratings

g3423 ,

learning experience

I learn so much with every episode. Simple a great podcast. Thank you, Doctor.

rosallea ,

Fascinating!!!

Well executed. current , insightful and interesting. I’m getting a lot from listening . Thank you

Wishitate ,

I absolutely love this podcast!

Dr. Steig brings curiosity, intellectual rigor, and genuine humanity to all interviews. The experts who come on the show speak well with knowledge, compassion and a sense of purpose. This is one of my favorite podcasts.

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