Smooth Brain Society

Apr 17 2024
Smooth Brain Society Podcast artwork

In an attempt to change the way information is presented, we’ll be speaking to researchers, experts, and all round wrinkly brained individuals, making them simplify what they have to say and in turn, hopefully, improving our understanding of a broad range of topics rooted in psychology. Join us as we try to develop ourselves, one brain fold at a time.
Instagram: @thesmoothbrainsociety 
TikTok: @thesmoothbrainsociety
Youtube: @thesmoothbrainsociety
Facebook: @thesmoothbrainsociety
Threads: @thesmoothbrainsociety
X/twitter: @smoothbrainsoc
https://linktr.ee/thesmoothbrainsociety

RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


EA #4. Atheism After Near Death Experiences - Dr. Alex Fry

Apr 17 2024 80 mins  
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are common amongst those coming close to death and profoundly impact how they make sense of the world. Dr. Alex Fry of the University of Bournemouth draws on interviews with atheists who have had a NDE to explore whether death anxiety motivates attempts to make sense of the world and the extent to which the dominant belief systems in the UK shape their

#35. International Law and Armed Conflict - Prof. Alberto Costi

Apr 02 2024 98 mins  
As the term "international law" is brought up frequently in discourse these days we sat down with Professor Alberto Costi to get an introduction into international law and laws of armed conflict. We cover how international law works and how it is implemented? Who can be held accountable for breaches in international humanitarian law? Where do non-state actors fit in? The

#34. How Virtual Reality is Reshaping Neuroscience - Dr. Chris Maymon

Mar 20 2024 81 mins  
On this episode, Dr. Christopher Maymon, Head of the Virtual Reality lab at Victoria University of Wellington delves into the captivating realm of VR and emotion research. Explore with us as we dissect groundbreaking studies and innovative experiments, uncovering the intricate interplay between VR experiences and human emotions. From negative emotions like fear and disgust to the t

#33. So Emotional - Assoc. Prof. Gina Grimshaw

Mar 06 2024 76 mins  
Associate Professor Gina Grimshaw leads the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab at Victoria University of Wellington. She joins to talk about emotions and her research on how emotional states affect cognitive processes like attention, language, and executive control. Gina also gives us an intro into multiple aspects of emotions such as the association of emotions with colors a

#32. Elite Dominance and Inequality in Academia - Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Orhan

Feb 22 2024 69 mins  
Dr. Mehmet Orhan, Associate Professor of Management and Organizational Behavior at EM Normandie Business School joined us to talk about authorship inequality, elite dominance, and the ethical and problematic issues of doing science and academic careers. It covers issues such as unequal opportunities and bias in journal publications and how this inequality of research output can inf

EA #3. Unholy Catholic Ireland - Dr. Hugh Turpin

Feb 07 2024 90 mins  
Dr. Hugh Turpin of Oxford University joins Feryl and Sahir on the podcast to share his work on the decline of Catholicism in Ireland and the factors which have led to it. We also cover his current research with the Explaining Atheism project about understanding how Ireland, Northern Ireland and Poland, 3 regions with strong religious identities have seen steep declines in religious

EJOP #1. Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland - Rachael Loxston

Jan 31 2024 70 mins  
For the very first episode of our collaboration with Europe's Journal of Psychology, Rachael Loxton joins to discuss her research paper titled “Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland. This paper investigates how these concepts are experienced by Muslim women in Switzerland,

EA #2. The Rise and Fall of Rituals - Dr. Martin Lang

Jan 17 2024 75 mins  
Dr. Martin Lang is assistant professor at Masaryk University, Czech Republic. And is the Director of the Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion (LEVYNA). He joins us to talk us through how rituals form and the roles they have played in fostering cooperation. We discuss the benefits of rituals in reducing anxiety and his current work on why we are seeing a decline in c

#31. AI and Māori/Indigenous Data Sovereignty - Dr. Karaitiana Taiuru

Jan 05 2024 59 mins  
Dr. Karaitiana Taiuru is a Māori technology ethicist specializing in Māori rights with Artificial intelligence, Māori Data Sovereignty and Governance with emerging digital technologies and biological sciences. He brings his extensive expertise in advocacy for digital Māori rights and data sovereignty and experience in roles including Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Scien

#30. Unravelling the Role of Dopamine - Dr. Kate Witt

Dec 20 2023 80 mins  
Dr. Kate Witt, lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, joins to discuss her research on Dopamine. Dopamine is an integral neurotransmitter, mainly associated with pleasure and motivation. Dr. Witt's work uses a genetically modified animal model to understand changes in behaviour focusing particularly on anhedonia (the inability to experience joy or pleasure), asociality