The Curious Introvert

Is it possible to maintain mental acuity well into your golden years? How do we assess ourselves (instead of waiting to see)?   Dr. Dale Bredesen earned his M.D. from Duke University Medical Center & served as Chief Resident in Neurology at the University of California. He's now a Neuroscience researcher & internationally recognized expert in the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseas...

What happens when attraction never shows up? Why does this label matter?   Tony Bogaert, PhD, is the professor of health sciences at Brock University in Ontario, Canada where he has taught & conducted research for the last 30 years, primarily in the area of human sexuality. He’s also the author of Understanding Asexuality.   In this episode, you’ll learn the difference between asexuality &...

What was it like to work on Project Stargate? Is Psi science being taken seriously? What if our mind is not our brain?   Dean Radin, PhD, has been researching the paranormal for 45 years & currently serves as Chief Scientist at the Inst of Noetic Sciences. His new book, The Science of Magic, is a straight-faced look behind the scenes of psi research & even shares how you can do your own ex...

Why do most of us work Mon-Fri?  What would happen if Thursday was the new Friday?   Joe Sanok is a former psychologist & current author of Thursday is the New Friday.  In this episode, he shares how the signs of a shorter work week (& longer weekends) have been popping up since the 1980’s.    In this episode he shares why a four-day work week is critical to society’s advancement, examples...

What do we have to show for the #metoo movement? Were men benefited or hurt by the movement? Carter Sherman is an Emmy nominated reproductive health & justice reporter at The Guardian & author of the book The Second Coming. Her comprehensive review of sex, culture & policy combined with over 100 conversations with people about their sex lives made her uniquely qualified to unpack the g...

Is there an uptick of people claiming to be actual witches? When in history were witches NOT seen as evil? Is this commercialism packaged as a spiritual practice?   Julie Walsh, PhD, is the Whitehead Associate Professor of Critical Thought & Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Her primary research focus is on metaphysics & the ethics of human freedom in...

When & why did circumcision begin (it’s not what you think)? What are the arguments for it & what are the experts saying? Sugar water instead of anesthetic??   Brendon Marotta is a filmmaker whose feature-length documentary, American Circumcision, won multiple awards & can be found on Amazon & YouTube. In this episode, we talk about the surprising history of circumcision, the pract...

Forget good news. How about just honest news? How did we get here? Guest Ken LaCorte unpacks the history of news production, behind the scenes of how it’s made, information vs entertainment & how human psychology ironically drives the train we’re all so desperate to get off.   Ken LaCorte left main stream media in 2016 after nearly 20 years of serving in senior management at Fox News. Today he...

Can we take psi seriously while maintaining critical thinking? Jeffrey Kripal, PhD, explores the YES AND of the ordinary & extraordinary. You’ll hear about precognition, poltergeists, Skinwalker Ranch, time travel, demons & X-Men.   Jeffrey Kripal, PhD is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is also the author or co-author...

Is psychedelic assisted therapy is BETTER than traditional talk therapy? You’ll hear how they’re different, how psychedelics may help not just the combat veteran or trauma survivor, but the functional griever (goes to work every day, acts like everything is fine, but having panic attacks out of nowhere). You’ll also hear about my own experience with psychedelics and different types of medicines fo...

In this episode, we discuss the difference between addiction & dependence, convenient diagnoses, compulsive sexual behavior within bipolar disorder & OCD, how to identify sex addiction & what recovery looks like. Dr. Joshua Grubbs is an addiction researcher who found his interest in sex addiction in college (not as exciting as it sounds). He’s since published over 100 papers on sexual...

Rachel Bernstein is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Cult Specialist & the Host of the IndoctriNation Podcast. She has spent the last 35 years helping former cult members & those who have had loved ones in cults, focusing on emotional abuse recovery, identity repair & moral injury. In this episode she explains the psychology of political allegiance, why religion & politics...

Michael Glawson is a PhD philosopher of science, technology, religion & ethics. As an ethicist, he has created corporate ethics training for government organizations & fortune 500 companies. In this episode, he puts into plain language the ever evolving world of AI.  We cover Anthropic’s recent report of their AI technology blackmailing two of their executives in a recent sandboxed experim...

Before Lauren Sisler was an Emmy award-winning ESPN sideline reporter, she was an 18-year-old in her dorm room when she found out that her parents had died just hours of each other due to a hidden battle with opioids. When her world came crashing down, the next decade became a wrestling match with the truth. In this episode, she’s going to share her story & unpack her thoughts on legacy, shame...

Our first ever FEED DROP SWAP! I'm personally endorsing UAP STUDIES Podcast because I know how much you all love the UFO topic! This week's episode is a sample of their show - an episode I picked that I think you'll love. Listening supports my show, but the real magic happens when you also subscribe to the UAP Studies Podcast & download a few episodes for later (they are doing t...

Dr. Benjamin Bergen is a Cognitive Science professor at the University of California San Diego, the author of the book, What the F, and was featured on the Netflix series “The History of Swear Words.” Here he shares what makes a word bad, discusses the future of cussing, the efficacy of word prohibition & the cultural influence of cursing etymology around the world. This episode originally air...

Pranic healing, known as acupuncture without needles, is a type of biofield therapy belonging to the family of naturopathic medicine. Jason Yuan is a certified Associate Pranic Healer, with a bachelor’s in Biology & a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and a Masters in Acupuncture. In this episode, you’ll hear how pranic healing helped him go from hospitalized with eczema to nearly completely...

Catherine De Noir has two Masters degrees & is a PhD student. She has also been a brothel manager in Western Europe for nine years. You’ll hear stories of clients like the unironic plumber & the man who sold his house as well as insights from the sex workers, like the secret of their top earning woman. We discuss what these moments teach us about the things that connect & disconnect us...

Heather Lillico is a registered holistic nutritionist who struggled with bulimia. In this episode, you’ll hear which mineral deficiencies can cause anxiety, which foods are mood boosting, who the top food offenders are for anxiety & opens up about her relationship with food to illustrate how mindset is at the heart of it all. Spotify mental health playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2V...

Jose Herrera had Marine squad leader training that included learning about & using a “sixth sense.” In this episode, he shares his journey to developing pre-cognitive abilities & how he used them in his 3 combat tours in Iraq & Afghanistan. He also shares a bit of military history around this topic & how we might all be able to upgrade our senses. This episode originally aired Sept...

Megan Stodard, PhD is a clinical psychologist, the founder of Harbor Wellness & has over a decade treating mood disorders. In this episode, she breaks down in plain language the KEY differences between depression & sadness, symptoms in men & women, the best time to see a therapist & the difference between spaghetti & waffles (it’s relevant, I promise). This episode originally a...

Dr. Sabine Hazen is a Gastroenterologist, Researcher, & CEO of Progena Biome. In this episode, she explains how fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) have the potential to treat Alzheimer's, Autism, Crohn's, Anxiety, Depression & Alopecia. She explains how it works, why mapping the microbiome is like mapping the human genome & interesting cases of personality changes post transp...

Do we accept the creepy side of tech in order to enjoy its benefits? Bill Ottman is a technologist best known for founding the decentralized social network Minds, but you may have seen him on Joe Rogan Experience, NPR, or the NYTimes. In this episode, we discuss the privacy paradox of public outrage at government surveillance living alongside public over disclosure on social media. You’ll also hea...

Who’s talking about men’s mental health? In this episode, four guests join me – Russ Jones, an ADHD mentor, Paul Roberts, a blue-collar business owner, Ali Mattu, a clinical psychologist & Jon Patrick Hatcher, a nonfiction humor writer. We discuss how men talk to each other about mental health behind closed doors, the mistakes women are unknowingly making when they try to help, the problem wit...

Dr. Barbara Cohen is psychotherapist, certified ADHD Coach, international ADHD researcher, and fellow ADDer. In this episode, you’ll hear why adult ADHD is often misdiagnosed, the #1 question you should be asking to a mental health counselor if you think you have ADHD, some practical tips for work & even how ADHD might be sabotaging your sex life. This episode is a combination of episodes orig...