The Middle Way with Dr. Matthew Goodman

Monday Mini: This is the first Monday Mini! Woo!!  The practice: Meditation can be overwhelming. Especially for folks with anxiety or trauma. Try this: instead of closing your eyes at the beginning of practice, start with a mental scan of your environment. Open your eyes and ears. Try to notice detail (e.g., color, texture). Touch something soothing. Feel your bum on the chair/cushion/ground....

It's been a year since the first episode (wooo!!!). On this episode, I reflect on lessons learned (from guests, and as a podcaster), give a preview of what's to come next season, and share some additional updates.  THANK YOU for being a listener! I want to connect more, so drop a message to say hello or any other feedback you want to share... hello@matthewgoodmanphd.com hello@the-middle-way.c...

In this episode I speak with Jason Littlefield and Erec Smith of Free Black Thought (FBT). Jason is a co-founder and co-editor of FBT, educator, Executive Director of EmpowerED Pathways , and designer of Compassionate Humanism, a humanity-centered framework for life, leadership, and learning. Dr. Erec Smith is a co-founder and co-editor of FBT, Writing Fellow for Heterodox Academy, Associate Profe...

What a treat to bring you today's conversation with Mónica Guzmán. Mónica is a bridge builder, journalist, and entrepreneur who lives for great conversations sparked by curious questions. She’s director of digital and storytelling at Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan grassroots organization working to depolarize America; host of live interview series at Crosscut; and cofounder of...

In this episode I share some reflections on the immensely tragic and troubling eruption of mass shootings. I first point out the great disservice that polarization does on this topic; we can focus on both "gun control" and "mental health" at the same time, irrespective of the pull to choose one solution or the other based on our group's ideology. I explain why I think focusing on these debates act...

In this episode I speak with Dr. Jaime A. Pineda. Dr. Pineda is Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, where he spent 28 years impacting and inspiring generations of undergraduate and graduate students to take on hard questions in the neurobiology of the human mind. He is the author of many widely cited papers in animal and...

In this episode I discuss the dynamic relationship between Order and Chaos–the basic building blocks of the universe. I have come to see this dynamic tension underlying EVERYTHING, from psychological well-being, to relationships, to the success of athletes, artists, and companies, to the health and survival of social and political systems. Striking the balance between these two forces–or, we might...

In this episode I have the special privilege of speaking with Jesse Singal. Jesse is a journalist who has written for New York Magazine, The New York Times, and The Atlantic, amongst other publications. He is the author of, “The Quick Fix: Why Psychology Can’t Cure Our Social Ills.” He writes a popular newsletter on Substack called “Singal Minded” and co-hosts the podcast, “Blocked and Reported” w...

🙏♥ our hearts are with the people suffering right now ♥🙏 In this episode, we break down the "Middle Way" perspective on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. We are currently facing the potential for escalation between these two sides, and between East and West more broadly. The people in the middle of this tug-of-war, suffering the most, are the Ukrainians. In this episode we explore the importance of P...

Christian Picciolini is the former leader of America’s largest Neo-Nazi skinhead group. He is now one of the most influential figures in countering and preventing extremism, helping hundreds of individuals deradicalize and leave hate behind. Christian and I sit down and talk about how he became radicalized at age 14; what he was looking for and the holes (or “potholes”) that were filled by joining...

Has "science" become religious in its thinking? Are the core principles of being "pro science," particularly in the age of COVID, the new religious standards by which we dole judgment? We don't need a vaccine card to get into heaven (as far as I can tell); god (whoever and whatever that is) accepts and loves everyone. Yet, we are starting to see a division into the "good" and "bad," the "followers...

My thoughts on our current state of affairs.  Link to article on Medium: https://matthewgoodmanphd.medium.com/can-more-control-save-us-from-the-pandemic-6bf0ead2bbdb Matthew S. Goodman, Ph. D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (PSY32423) and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He is a...

In this episode, author Maia Szalavitz breaks down the helpful and not-so-helpful approaches to drug addiction. She discusses her own journey with addiction, the problems with "tough love," why shame and humiliation don't work, harm reduction, and how other countries have compassionately solved addiction. Plus, Maia and Matthew discuss "pandemic shaming" and the parallels between shaming addicts a...

Well... we're four episodes deep into this podcast. And I have yet to describe what The Middle Way podcast really is - why it exists, what "The Middle Way" refers to, and what the mission of the podcast is. So here we go. Enjoy.  Matthew S. Goodman, Ph. D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (PSY32423) and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences in the Keck Scho...

In this episode, I speak with the well-respected and prolific researcher Dr. Dean Radin about the science of consciousness and paranormal phenomena. We discuss the science of collective consciousness (including data from September 11th), psychic experiences such as "telephone telepathy" and "the feeling of being stared at," Dean's work with the U.S. government on remote viewing espionage, skeptici...

In this episode I discuss the science of interconnectedness. Based on the wisdom of ancient spiritual traditions, now supported by science, I make the case that we should view the world as a single, interconnected organism. This not only generates more compassion for others by seeing our "oneness," but also helps "diagnose" and "treat" the world's problems by drawing upon knowledge of disease at t...

This week I speak with Teresa Cassou. Teresa is a psychotherapist in Mexico and yoga teacher in the U.S. She began working with terminally ill children and prisoners in Mexico, before migrating to the U.S. at 24 years old to rebuild her life after recovering herself from alcohol addiction and divorce. Today she teaches yoga in San Diego and hold psychotherapy groups in Puebla, Mexico City, and Tij...

Welcome to the podcast! In this debut episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the American Medical Association. Dr. Mukkamala is a board-certified otolaryngologist in private practice in Flint, MI. He is currently President of the Michigan State Medical Society, past President of the Genesee County Medical Society, former Chair of...

Here is a preview of what is to come on the podcast!