Mind & Matter
Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.
The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.
Not medical advice.
At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.
As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.
My beliefs:
- Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
- All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
- Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.
Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:
- “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)
- “Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)
- “Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
Episodes
Hormones & Instincts: Hunger, Aggression & Parenting Behavior | Jonny Kohl | 262
Mitochondrial Transfer, Obesity & Immune-Metabolism Interactions | Jon Brestoff | 261
Energy Resistance Principle in Life, Healing & Disease | Martin Picard & Nirosha Murugan | 260
Menstrual & Lunar Cycle Synchrony, Circadian Rhythms | Charlotte Förster | 259
Evolution of Bipedality, Human Pelvis, Muscle & Brain | Terence Capellini | 258
Sleep, Mitochondrial Metabolism & Oxidative Stress | Gero Miesenbock | M&M 257
Bacterial Infection, Oral Hygiene, Atherosclerosis & Heart Disease | Pekka Karhunen | 256
Unlocking Energy: How Nutrition & Drugs Impact Your Mitochondria | Chris Masterjohn | 255
How Genes & Environment Shape Your Brain: ApoE, Alzheimer's & Space Radiation | Jacob Raber | 254
Maternal Obesity, Immune System, Fatty Liver Disease & Epigenetics | Elvira Mass | 253
Scarring, Fibrosis, Oxidative Stress, and Psilocybin & Aging | Louise Hecker | 252
Protein Restriction & Liver Hormones: Appetite, Brain, Behavior | Chris Morrison | 251
Cognition, Form, Regeneration & Metaphysics: Does Biology Arise From Math? | Michael Levin | 250
Fructose, Microglia, Anxiety & Brain Development | Justin Perry | 249
Autism, Acetaminophen (Tylenol) & Oxidative Stress | William Parker | 248
Cholesterol: Immune Benefits, Heart Health, Statins & Research Malpractice | Uffe Ravnskov | 247
Appendix, Gut Worms, Allergies & Autoimmunity | William Parker | 246
Cannabinoid System: Metabolism, Evolution & Energy Storage | Giovanni Marsicano | 245
Seed Oils & Heart Disease: Oxidized LDL, Cholesterol, Fat & Cardiology | Tucker Goodrich | 244
Evolution & Variation in Human Diet, Energy Expenditure & Metabolism | Herman Pontzer | 243
Sunlight: Cosmology, Energy Metabolism & the Physics of Life | Robert Fosbury | 242
Synapse Energetics & Fat Metabolism in the Brain | Timothy Ryan | 241
Microbiome as a Modifiable Organ System | Eugene Chang | 240
Sleep Duration, Sleep Timing & Short-Sleepers | Ying-Hui Fu | 239
Hormones, Endocrine Disruptors & the Fate of Modern Liberal Society | Charles Cornish-Dale | 238