My BrainWise Coach

Your brain isn't resisting change because you lack willpower or motivation. It's resisting because it's running a model, a prediction about how the world works, that it built from real experience and has been quietly reinforcing ever since. In this episode, Cole and Phil break down the neuroscience of how your mental models form, why they're so hard to shift, and what it actually t...

You think you're tasting the food. You're not. According to Oxford professor Charles Spence, whose 30 years of research produced an Ig Nobel Prize, the brain constructs flavor from everything happening around the meal: the sound in the room, the weight of the fork, the color of the plate, and the memories already loaded into your amygdala. What this means is that every meal you've eate...

Your brain isn't underperforming because you lack knowledge. It's underperforming because you're too attached to outcomes, identities, and the need to be right. In this episode, physicist-turned-leadership coach Prasad Kaipa joins Cole and Phil to explore what decades of neuroscience research, Silicon Valley experience, and contemplative traditions reveal about how the brain actually r...

Your skeleton is not passive calcium scaffolding. It is in active, two-way molecular conversation with your brain every day, and new research reveals that conversation controls whether your bones heal, build, or break down. If you have ever lived with chronic stress or depression, this episode gives you a concrete reason to take that seriously beyond mood and cognition. Topics, research, and frame...

The world isn't just difficult right now, it's relentlessly difficult, and that distinction matters more than most people realize. Chronic stress does something specific to your brain that makes coping harder, not easier. This episode gives you six research-grounded practices that work with your neurology instead of against it, so you can function, connect, and stay grounded while the turb...

Enclothed Cognition: How What You Wear Shapes How You Think and Perform Hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon discuss “enclothed cognition,” the research-backed effect of clothing on the wearer’s psychology and biology, framed by Bastian’s ritual of wearing two mohair jackets for keynotes and colleagues’ equivalents like high heels and red lipstick. Citing Adam and Galinsky’s 2012 lab-coat study, they...

The Neuroscience of Grief: Why It Ambushes Us and How the Brain Learns Loss Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon discuss grief through a neuroscience lens, starting with Phil’s “supermarket ambush” triggered by seeing his late father’s marmalade 18 years after his death. They explain grief as measurable biological stress involving amygdala hyperactivity, reduced prefrontal cortex function (“grief brain”),...

AI as Therapist and Friend: What Brain Science Says About Benefits, Risks, and Human Connection Hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon discuss the growing use of AI chat tools like ChatGPT as companions and mental health support, starting with a story of someone using it nightly because it feels nonjudgmental. Citing a Bournemouth University study of nearly 31,000 adults across 35 countries, they note...

The Courage to Close: Navigating Endings, Failure, and Leadership with Pepper Landson Hosts Cole Bastian and Phil discuss “closure” with guest Pepper Landson, a longtime medical research and drug development professional turned executive coach. Pepper shares her experience founding a biotech company focused on diseases of aging, the challenges of fundraising through COVID, early NIH funding wins,...

Hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon discuss research on why some people exposed to viruses stay symptom-free, focusing on the gut microbiome’s role in immunity. They explain that about 70% of the immune system lies in the gut lining, where microbes “train” immune cells to distinguish friend from foe; germ-free mice show underdeveloped, confused immune responses. The gut barrier is described as one c...

Hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon welcome AI researcher and Symbiokinetics co-founder/CTO Tanya Grinberg to discuss how artificial intelligence is shaping work, relationships, and mental health. Tanya argues thriving with AI depends on retaining human agency, self-awareness, and curiosity, warning that people are outsourcing real engagement (texts, homework) and risking “wireheading” through easy...

Hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon discuss new neuroscience research on the gut–brain connection, describing it as a busy two-way “superhighway” via the vagus nerve, with most signals traveling from gut to brain. They explain that the gut contains about 500 million neurons and trillions of microbes that produce serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and anti-inflammatory compounds that influence mood, immunity...

Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon host My BrainWise Coach with guest Peter Johnson, a former general and plastic surgeon turned entrepreneur and board member, who recounts leaving a tenured academic surgery career to found and run biotech and consulting ventures, later joining a Fortune 500 company, co-founding a CMO-services firm, leading biotech organizations, and even farming barley for single-malt w...

In this episode of Neuroscience Digest, hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon discuss research suggesting empathy is a human capacity shaped more by culture and expectations than by sex or gender. They open with a lab experiment where men and women show nearly identical empathic brain activation while watching videos of people in pain, but gender differences appear in self-report questionnaires—except...

Hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon discuss how buying decisions are shaped non-consciously by neuroscience and behavioral science, using examples of a grocery shopper drawn in by lighting, smells, music, and end caps, and a Netflix viewer influenced by personalized thumbnails and rapid algorithmic predictions. They explain that the brain shops emotionally first (limbic system, dopamine, anticipatio...

Hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon on Neuroscience Digest (powered by My BrainWise Coach) discuss the neuroscience and behavioral science behind “keeping up with the Joneses,” defined as a drive to match or exceed others based on relative position (money, status, appearance, career, and more). They explain that social comparison often operates non-consciously and is tied to brain processes such as...

In this episode of My BrainWise Coach, hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon explore the intricate topic of how growing up in poverty affects brain development. With statistics showing that 40% of children in the U.S. grow up in poverty, the hosts dive deep into the impact of chronic stress on key brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and areas related to language. The di...

In this episode of Neuroscience Digest, hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon dive into recent research on the cognitive benefits of cursive writing. They discuss a recent article from Nature Magazine, exploring studies that show how handwriting, particularly cursive, activates broader brain regions compared to typing. The conversation highlights the potential benefits of reintroducing cursive writing...

In this episode of My BrainWise Coach, hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon delve into the intricate world of political neuroscience. They discuss how the brain processes political information and the emotional triggers involved, emphasizing a non-partisan, scientific approach. The conversation explores the amygdala's role in threat detection, biases like confirmation bias, and the impact of fram...

In this episode of My BrainWise Coach, hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon are joined by Ryan, founder of BetterOn, an organization focused on helping professionals improve their presence and authenticity through video-based, asynchronous communication training. Ryan shares insights into BetterOn's approach, discussing the impact of self-reflection, the importance of self-awareness, and the role...

In this episode of Neuroscience Digest, host Cole Bastian, filling in solo for Phil Dixon, delves into the emotional and mental challenges of job searching, using his recent personal experiences as a case study. Cole explains how the brain perceives job searching as a potential threat and activates both stress and reward centers. He offers practical tips for managing this process through maintaini...

In this episode of My BrainWise Coach, hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon dive into a proprietary model called the 5P Model, or Personal Threat Profile (PTP). They explore how neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science can help decode and improve our lives. Focusing on the five key dimensions of protection, participation, prediction, purpose, and pleasure, they explain how understanding these...

In this episode of Neuroscience Digest, Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon discuss the concept of 'fatal flaws' in leadership. They explore why some leaders are remembered for their one major flaw rather than their achievements and how strengths can become weaknesses when overplayed. Using examples like Margaret Thatcher's leadership and personal experiences, they delve into the neuroscience behind these...

In this episode of My BrainWise Coach, hosts Cole Bastian and Phil Dixon dive into the science of life transitions. They discuss the importance of having a clear future vision and understanding one's current state by identifying strengths, weaknesses, values, and past experiences. The conversation extends to building the resolve and determination necessary for change, tackling obstacles, and p...