If I’m Really Honest

In this episode of If I’m Really Honest, I sit down with neurologist Adam Zeman, the researcher who coined the term aphantasia — the inability to form voluntary visual mental imagery. We explore what it means to lack a “mind’s eye,” how it affects memory and emotion, why many people with aphantasia dream visually, and what this reveals about consciousness itself. We also dive into Global Workspace...

Derek Lambert (host of MythVision) joins If I’m Really Honest for a candid conversation about myth, meaning, and why the “Historical Jesus” debate makes so many people lose their minds. We get into mythicism vs historicism, why stories feel true in the body before they’re true on paper, and what to do when certainty dies but curiosity doesn’t. @MythVisionPodcast https://www.youtube.com/mythvisionp...

In this episode of If I’m Really Honest, Jamin talks with bestselling science writer Mary Roach about curiosity, writing, research, and the surprising human stories behind science reporting. Mary’s books combine humor, science, and storytelling in a way that makes complex topics accessible without oversimplifying them. This conversation explores the mindset behind that work, and why curiosity migh...

In this episode of If I’m Really Honest, Jamin Coller talks with regenerative farmer Will Harris about changing course after decades of industrial farming, the ethics of animal welfare, soil health, and what it means to follow your conscience even when it costs you financially and socially. Will shares the story of transforming White Oak Pastures from an industrial cattle operation into a vertical...

Dr. Loftus has spent decades studying how memories can be distorted by suggestion, imagination, and time. Her research on the “misinformation effect” helped reshape how courts evaluate eyewitness testimony and recovered memories. We also talk about sleep paralysis, therapy-induced memories, and how understanding memory can make us more compassionate toward people we disagree with. Dr. Loftus's Boo...

In this episode of If I’m Really Honest, Jamin talks with behavioral economist Dan Ariely about misbelief, trust, COVID-era polarization, and why admitting mistakes is so difficult for individuals, institutions, and governments. They explore how mistrust grows, why social media accelerates conflict, and whether curiosity and conversation can rebuild trust between neighbors - even when agreement se...

Geoffrey West, physicist and former president of the Santa Fe Institute, joins Jamin Coller to explore scaling laws, sustainability, innovation, and the accelerating pace of modern civilization. West explains why cities and economies speed up as they grow, why innovation repeatedly postpones collapse while making future crises arrive faster, and what a mathematical “singularity” actually means — a...

In this episode of If I’m Really Honest, Jamin Coller and cognitive psychologist Jonathan Lewis-Jong unpack belief—what it is, how it functions in the human mind, and why it persists across cultures. Jonathan explains how the science of religion treats belief as natural psychological processes that can be measured and studied without making claims about metaphysical truth. They discuss cognitive t...

Neuroscientist and trauma researcher Dr. Willoughby Britton joins Jamin Coller to discuss the hidden risks of meditation, spiritual bypassing, and the psychology of religious and wellness communities. Drawing on her groundbreaking Varieties of Contemplative Experience study, Britton explains why meditation sometimes causes panic, dissociation, insomnia, and psychosis — and why communities often bl...

In this episode of If I’m Really Honest, Jamin Coller sits down with M.E. (Jamie) Thomas, a lawyer, educator, musician, and author of Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight, to discuss the psychology of psychopathy, what it really means to live without empathy as commonly understood, and how identity and morality are shaped by experience rather than instinct. Jamie shares h...

Lawyer, musician, and author of Confessions of a Sociopath, M.E. Thomas joins me to talk about psychopathy without fear, caricature, or moral panic. This is not a conversation about monsters. It’s a conversation about meaning, identity, empathy, boundaries, stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when a sense of self is missing—or too rigid. Topics include: Psychopathy vs sociopathy (and why t...

Victor M. Sweeney joins me for an unfiltered, humane, and surprisingly tender conversation about death, grief, funeral culture, and why modern Americans are so uncomfortable with mortality. Victor explains what actually happens behind the scenes at funerals, why “predatory funeral homes” are mostly a myth, how small towns grieve differently than cities, and what it means to care for both the livin...

Dr. Aaron Adair joins If I’m Really Honest to break down quantum mechanics, infinity, cosmology, CERN optics, why the universe expands faster than light in some regions, how misconceptions spread, and why intuition is a terrible roadmap for understanding reality. This is a deep dive into what physics actually says - stripped of mysticism, marketing, and wishful thinking. https://draaronadair.com/...

In this episode, Jamin sits down with Kristen Ulmer, former extreme skier and author of The Art of Fear, to unpack why most of us are taught the wrong relationship with fear—and how that broken relationship fuels anxiety, sleeplessness, and emotional overwhelm. Kristen explains why resisting fear (“letting it go,” calming it down, distracting from it) actually creates anxiety, and why intimacy wit...

Dr. James L. McGaugh - a founder of modern memory science - joins me for an hour of deep exploration into how memory actually works. We talk about autobiographical memory, the puzzle of retrieval, why forgetting is both a feature and a mercy, and what makes Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory so different from anything else in neuroscience. He explains why PTSD persists, why emotion strengthen...

This episode dives into the paradox of being human - how we care, how we deny care, how we form meaning, and how love requires both vulnerability and courage. We discuss the embodied nature of mind (E-cognition), the tension between self-protection and connection, and the possibility of relating without collapsing into defensiveness or certainty. https://www.andreahiott.com/ https://www.youtube.co...

In this conversation with Dr. Stefanie Green, we explore medical assistance in dying (MAiD) through real stories, real families, and real ethical questions. Stefanie is a physician and clinical leader in the field of assisted dying in Canada, and the author of This Is Assisted Dying. This is not a debate. It’s a human conversation about autonomy, compassion, suffering, dignity, and how we care for...

In this episode of If I’m Really Honest, I sit down with Jamie Reed - a former case-manager at the Washington University Transgender Center in St. Louis - to explore her journey, the ethical and medical questions she raised, and what it means to reconsider deeply held beliefs about care, identity, and transformation. We dig into whistle-blowing, community backlash, the nature of belief, and how on...

What exactly is love? And why does our brain completely change when we fall into it — only to change back again two years later? In this conversation, biologist Dawn Maslar explains the neuroscience, hormones, and evolutionary roots of attraction, bonding, commitment, and long-term connection. We break down everything from the fear-based origins of attraction to why “the spark” fades and what real...

Anthony Magnabosco, the public face of Street Epistemology, joins Jamin Coller to discuss what it means to have conversations that don’t devolve into debates. They explore the evolution of SE, how it differs from traditional apologetics or argumentation, and how curiosity and grace can reshape how we talk about deeply held beliefs. They also discuss the role of personal experience, emotional reaso...

Dr. Chris Germer co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion and co-author (with Kristin Neff) of Self-Compassion for Burnout — joins Jamin Coller for an honest conversation about radical acceptance and the “voice of love.” They discuss non-fixing as a teaching posture, why warmth matters as much as awareness, and how curiosity turns empathy into compassion. Guest Links: ChrisGermer.com |...

In this thoughtful conversation, I sit down with Patrick Ryan, veteran cult intervention specialist and longtime practitioner in the field of coercive influence. We talk through the evolution of cult deprogramming, how belief systems shift, the tension between gentle engagement vs. confrontation, and why many people leave high-control groups on their own terms. He also shares insight into cultic d...

What does it mean to be awake—as a human, or as a machine? In this wide-ranging conversation, Jamin Coller and Jim Rutt explore consciousness, religion, evolution, metaphysics, and whether AI can ever truly “wake up.” They unpack Game B, noble lies, mystical experience, and why the illusion of God might be as neurologically real as the love you feel for your child. Guest links: IfImReallyHonest.co...

This conversation gets precise about what makes a cult a cult. Rick Alan Ross explains early warning signs, how authority gets sacralized, why “thought-terminating clichés” work, and what respectful, evidence-based interventions look like. We revisit Waco, NXIVM, and other case studies—not to sensationalize, but to learn how to spot coercion, preserve relationships, and protect loved ones. Guest l...

This episode features an honest, moving conversation with author and educator Michelle Dowd, whose memoir Forager: Field Notes on Surviving a Cult explores growing up inside a high-control religious community and building a new life beyond it. We discuss her forthcoming book A Prodigal Daughter, her Substack newsletter where she engages with readers, and her pilot series based on the stories of pe...