The Brain and Beyond Podcast

What can we learn from "the giving of gifts" that might help us understand the REAL meaning – and perhaps the biological importance – of generosity? This episode explores how gift-sharing seems to have its roots in stress-reducing, even survival-serving emotions (ones that may date back millions of years!) rather than the fraught and often unsatisfying transactions we enact today.  You&a...

Here's the truth. I've been stuck. Trying to understand why by looking to the brain? Nothing worked.  And then I stumbled across another organ that offered a clue – and a perspective – about why we get stuck and how to get out of it.  This one's short and simple. Yet it's set me on my way to what comes next: things that give me (and hopefully you) hope, understood through the l...

Beauty, it turns out, is in the brain of the beholder. Research looking to pin down the correlates and functions associated with "experiencing beauty" so far leave scientists wondering where and how the the whole beauty thing happens. Yet the chase to "be" beautiful is a major cultural phenomenon, not to mention a $650B + global industry. Today's guest, Grace Gold, is an e...

Stories shape our world – and our lives. Even when they're simply... stories, not actual truths. That's where Lucy Cooke comes in. With a deep understanding of the natural world and the courage to be a shotcaller, she goes to where the truth is revealed: the wild places our animal kin inhabit, getting first-hand accounts of what the world's species are really about. Looking beyond o...

We're back in action – and look forward to sharing a lively interview as our first official episode of Season Two. Thanks for your patience as I've prioritized other work and taken a deep dive into evolutionary biology – as in "how did our brains evolve?" – human history – as in "what events and changes have made us who we are today?" – and a whole lot about the mutua...

Change, it's said, begins within – and it's hard to imagine a more inspiring advocate for inner change and outer action than Dr. Susanne von der Becke. Susanne's path to mindful living grew, from the inside out, through her work as a scientist, economist, and banker. Along the way she realized the power of an inner-guided way of living, a path she today teaches at corporate retreats...

Breath is essential to each moment of your life – yet seldom do we realize, or harness, its power. Yet we can  guide,  even reset, the outlooks and presence with which we navigate the world when we understand the power of breath.  Zee Clarke illuminates that path through her book Black People Breathe and through the abundance of resources she shares via YouTube , Instagram , her website , and in a...

What took this episode so long? Seriously, it was the amount of eye-opening information on how much intelligence there is to be discovered in the systems of your body – so much so that I don't think I'll ever see the "brain" as the 3-pound mass so far explored in this episode. It is and you are so much more. We scratch the surface here with a look at the "body brain"...

Maybe you already know about Nia, the dance technique celebrated worldwide, the one that combines martial arts, healing arts, dance arts, and amazing music in a whole body, whole heart experience. Today's episode shares the voice of Nia founder, Debbie Rosas, and her unique look at the power of sensing – very different from thinking – as a primary intelligence. Listen to Debbie and you'l...

Between us? I believe we humans, and all beings, are much (much) more than machines driven by pulses of electricity and surges of chemicals in the body and brain. That's the "mechanistic" view, and – much to a few science-focused friends' dismay – I'm not a mechanist. Though... our neurochemistry, and the way it interacts with lots of other things in the body, across the b...

Take 15 minutes to breathe, invite curiosity, balance your mind, and ... experience presence.  Maybe you're noticing a theme between the last few episodes and Everyday Mindfulness practices: something about you having more agency and power in your life than the common narratives want you to believe. After all, it's harder for them to meet their goals when you, as the saying goes, are the...

In this episode you'll meet two tiny organelles with the power to transform you – or anyone – into a fight, flight, or freeze follower of their survival agenda: your amygdalae. The fight or flight response, or its more modern-day expression,  the "Amygdala Hijack," carries an ancient legacy of success in getting our long line of ancestors away from threats to their survival. After a...

Some of us are already bracing ourselves for the conflict and tension anticipated in the upcoming 2024 US elections. Yet we don't have to wait 'til then for the escalation of polarizing political – and media – triggers that seem to show up wherever we look. And often, uncomfortably close to home. This episode shares the unique, bridge-building perspectives of author, activist, and Braver...

It's great to be back from some travel and to share another Everyday Mindfulness episode. VALUES shape perceptions, and even the brain – and thus, pretty much everything we experience, think, or do. Yet for most of us the idea of actively choosing and knowing our values simply ... doesn't happen. Interestingly, some of the most  popular undergrad classes at Stanford, Princeton, Yale, and...

This episode explores the binary – or better yet, the lack thereof – when it comes to sexual and gender identity. Celebrating PRIDE and the activist spirit of transgender entrepreneur, community leader, and family man Nat Stratton-Clarke, this special interview weaves in perspectives from social science and biology to support the life-affirming power of a gender spectrum... one on which we all hav...

Greetings – this one took some heavy lifting, yet I wanted to publish before leaving for business travel. I'll catch up with the description and the Episode Page as soon as I can. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy.  – Ellen www.ellenleanse.com

I didn't leave anything on the table with this one. Yes, there's neuroscience.  There's definitely balance. And ... maybe ... there's even hope. Maybe.  Because this episode lays out what I think is the most important opportunity we humans have to face the "poly-crises" we're currently addressing and rethink our place in a future we want to be part of. That belie...

When it comes to cooking, the ingredients in your mind are as important as the ones you're prepping or simmering. This Everyday Mindfulness practice explores how intention can change both your experience in the kitchen AND increase your ease as you practice mindfulness. Remember that mindfulness involves both your presence as you navigate an experience, pretty much any experience, and your ob...

This episode continues where Episode 5 left off – moving from the "Mindsets" of world-changing activist, restauranteur, and non-profit visionary Alice Waters to the "Skillsets" that have shaped her extraordinary life – and balanced brain. Using Alice's fierce "Slow Food Manifesto" as a framework, this episode examines the difference between the brain's two h...

Listen to these words honoring mothers, all mothers over time and history, in honor of Mother's Day 2023. Consider this a meditation on the concept of mothering: one you can sit quietly with, or one to consider thoughtfully as you practice mindfulness through everyday action, experiencing all that you notice and observe, all that arises inside you as you listen.  As always, you can find a res...

This is the first episode to feature an interview – and what a person to speak with. Alice Waters is an icon – a catalyst shaping the US Farmers Market, Slow Food, Farm to Table, and many other movements that champion both our health and the health of our planet. She's also the visionary founder of Chez Panisse, the legendary Berkeley, CA restaurant that challenged assumptions about what a re...

Run this mindfulness guide in background while you're living everyday life. It activates new ways of thinking that may boost  your mindful moments as you continue the exercises it suggests. This is the very first Everyday Mindfulness practice on this podcast. I'll share one every week, each with a focus on a life experience, activity, or part of the brain that deserves thought and reflec...

Understanding how the brain ages is a cause for concern to many – especially since we are all, well... aging. That's how life works. Yet  research points to a surprising "Aha!" about how mindful practices might support brain health in a meaningful way at any life chapter.  Listen in for the science going on in the grey stuff of the brain so you can direct your thoughts toward perhap...

The brain's newest, most uniquely human, and singularly powerful Prefrontal Cortex – the PFC – delivers many of the functions and abilities we want more of in our lives. Yet it's not always available when we need it – until, that is, we learn how it works and how WE can work with it. This episode invites you to explore the PFC's abilities and the challenges to accessing them so that...

Here are five important insights about the brain that might come in handy as you navigate this thing called life – and especially as you look to update habits or reset outdated ways of doing things. Pay special attention to Tip #5 ... it's a great one to have around if you're ready to make changes in your thoughts, behaviors, or ways of seeing the world. This is my inaugural episode (hoo...