Jack Westin MCAT Podcast

In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Usher and Molly walk through a daily CARS passage about Quentin Tarantino's use of pop music in violent film scenes. Together they break down each paragraph in real time, showing you how to identify arguments, separate key ideas from supporting details, and build a passage map that actually helps you answer questions. In this episode, you'l...

What's the actual difference between sensation and perception? And why does the MCAT test it so heavily? In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down one of the most commonly confused topics in psych/soc: sensation vs. perception. They walk through the key definitions, thresholds, theories, and perceptual principles you need to know, all with real-world examples, MCAT ap...

How does your brain actually detect smell and taste? And why does the MCAT care so much about the difference between flavor and taste? In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down everything you need to know about olfaction and gustation for the MCAT. Building on our previous episode about GPCR signaling, we walk through how smell and taste both rely on chemoreceptors, why t...

MCAT CARS Reading Skills Workshop: Struggling to find the main idea on MCAT CARS passages? In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Molly and Usher break down the Jack Westin Daily CARS Passage "Quitting Smoking" sentence-by-sentence, showing you exactly how to track repeated arguments across multiple paragraphs, avoid getting distracted by science-heavy details in a CARS context, and identify...

In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down MCAT signaling cascades with a clear, test-focused walkthrough of G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs). You’ll learn the core GPCR structure, how GDP → GTP activation works , why signaling pathways create amplification, and how cells shut signals off with built-in termination steps. We cover the high-yield cAMP pathway in detail, i...

MCAT CARS Reading Skills Workshop: Struggling to find the main idea on MCAT CARS passages? In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Molly and Usher break down the Jack Westin Daily CARS Passage "Quitting Smoking" sentence-by-sentence, showing you exactly how to track repeated arguments across multiple paragraphs, avoid getting distracted by science-heavy details in a CARS context, and identify...

In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down how vision works from start to finish, tying together physics (optics) and biology (retina + neural pathway) in the exact way the MCAT can test it across Chem/Phys, Bio/Biochem, and Psych/Soc. You’ll learn how light refracts through the cornea and lens, why the cornea does most of the refraction, and how the eye focuses images ont...

In this episode, we break down the Jack Westin daily CARS passage “Sibling Relationships” (Feb 11) sentence-by-sentence to train you how to: Identify key ideas in each sentence and paragraph Track repeating themes across short paragraphs Lock in the main idea (without bringing in your own opinions) Build a clean passage map you can use on test day Avoid the #1 trap: letting your personal experienc...

Light and optics show up everywhere on the MCAT, especially when physics meets biology (vision). In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down the must-know foundations of light as a wave and how it behaves in optical systems so you can stop memorizing and start solving. You’ll learn: 🌈 Light as a transverse wave and why it can travel in a vacuum 🧮 The wave equation v = fλ...

In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Molly and Usher break down the Jack Westin Daily Passage “Cuban Crisis” (Feb 4) sentence-by-sentence to help you read faster under time pressure, map smarter, and avoid common CARS traps 🧠📚 You’ll learn how to: ✅ Spot what the author is really asking in a “question-heavy” opening 🗺️ Map each paragraph with just a few words (without...

In this episode, Mike and Molly bridge the gap between the physics of waves and the biology of sensation. The MCAT loves the auditory system because it requires you to integrate knowledge from Physics (wave properties), Biology (structure of the ear and nervous system), and Psychology (signal detection). We take a "bird's ear view" of the auditory pathway, breaking it down into three...

Struggling to find the main idea under time pressure? 😵‍💫 In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Molly and Usher break down the Jack Westin Daily Passage “War on Drugs” (Jan 28) sentence-by-sentence to show you exactly how to read faster, map smarter, and avoid common CARS traps. 🧠✍️ In this episode, you’ll learn how to: ✅ Pause after key sentences to lock in structure...

In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike & Molly dive into one of the most tested MCAT Physics topics: Waves 🌊 We break down the essentials (and the traps) so you stop guessing and start getting points ✅ You’ll learn: 🌊 What a wave actually is (energy transfer, not matter) ↕️ Transverse vs longitudinal waves (easy examples) 📏 Wavelength vs frequency vs amplitude (no confusion) 🧠 The wave eq...

In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Molly is joined by Usher (one of our Jack Westin CARS instructors) for a CARS Reading Skills Workshop using the Jack Westin Daily Passage: “Paul Cezanne”.Together, we go sentence-by-sentence and paragraph-by-paragraph to show you how to:✅ Track contrast words like “yet” (and why the MCAT loves them)✅ Spot the most repeated idea to lock in the main idea✅...

In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike and Molly continue their MCAT brain anatomy series by tackling one of the most underrated topics on the exam: how the brain actually makes you move. If you’ve ever thought “why are there so many brain parts just for movement?” this episode is your roadmap. You’ll learn: 🧠 Motor cortex basics – where voluntary movement starts and why it lives i...

Struggling with MCAT CARS, especially when the passage is about something science-y you actually like? 🤯In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Molly and guest tutor Asher (4th year med student & CARS expert) walk you through the “Eco-Archaeology” CARS passage from January 14 sentence by sentence and show you exactly how to think while you read. You’ll see how they:🧠 Track the author’s arg...

What the medulla oblongata actually does on the MCAT (besides sounding fancy)? In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly kick off a new MCAT brain anatomy series by starting with the structures that literally keep you alive: the brainstem and vital functions. Instead of drowning you in neuroanatomy, they connect what you see in MCAT passages to how the brain actually works in real l...

In this MCAT CARS Reading Skills Workshop episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Jack and Molly break down the Jack Westin Daily CARS passage “Old Folks Homes” (January 7) sentence by sentence and show you how to lock onto the author’s argument when the passage feels straightforward, but still testable. This passage is a great example of how clear tone and repeated contrasts point directly to th...

In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly continue the reproductive story, picking up right where the menstrual cycle left off. This time, they walk you through what actually happens after fertilization, from zygote to blastula to the three germ layers, focusing only on what the MCAT really cares about, not med school level detail. Instead of memorizing random diagrams and timelines...

Start the new year by finally making peace with MCAT CARS. In this CARS Reading Skills Workshop episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, we walk through a full Jack Westin Daily CARS passage called “Standardized Tests” (posted on December 31) and show you exactly how to think while you read. We treat this like a live CARS tutoring session: reading sentence by sentence, talking through confusion, a...

In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike and Molly break down one of the most confusing and heavily tested topics in MCAT Biology: the menstrual cycle. Instead of memorizing hormone charts and phase names, we focus on understanding the story behind the cycle so you can answer any MCAT question, even when it’s asked in an unfamiliar way. We cover: 🧠 Why the menstrual cycle is really t...

In this MCAT CARS episode, we walk through a full Jack Westin Daily CARS Passage called “Nativity Ode” (originally posted on December 24) and show you exactly how to read, interpret, and track the author’s ideas for tougher humanities passages. You’ll see us go sentence by sentence and break down: 📌 How to identify the subject vs. the author’s point 🖼️ Why familiar, domestic nativity paintings ma...

You can enjoy the holidays and still make real progress on your MCAT prep. This episode walks through how to balance family time, rest, and intentional studying so you don’t burn out or lose momentum. We talk about: 🎄 How to handle MCAT studying during the winter holidays without guilt 😴 Why rest is required for score growth, not a “reward” 🧱 What a “maintenance phase” looks like if your MCAT i...

Art passages making your MCAT CARS practice feel extra confusing? In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Molly and Jack break down a Rembrandt passage sentence by sentence and show you how to separate tone from main idea without getting lost in the details. Using this Daily CARS Passage, they walk through: How to spot tone words vs argument/content words Why “always,” “never,” and other...

Struggling with meiosis, gametogenesis, and all the weird details the MCAT loves to test? 🧬 In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode 🎧, we walk through meiosis step by step and connect it directly to spermatogenesis and oogenesis so you can finally see the full picture. You will learn how to: 🧠 Tell the difference between mitosis and meiosis in an MCAT context 🔁 Track ploidy changes from 2N to...