Final episode of the Giant's Shoulder Inner Experience Mini-Series.

I spent 10 weeks undergoing the process of descriptive experience sampling in order to peal back the layers of my own inner world. What I discovered truly shocked me.

Experiment Website (All 10 Hours of Interviews and transcripts dissecting my experience): https://hurlburt.faculty.unlv.edu/ieo/evan/evan_sampling.html

Check out Sentia Spirits the future of drinking (Use Code GIANT10 for 10% discount off your first purchase) - https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084

Dr. Russell Hurlburt is a clinical psychologist and professor, and the creator of Descriptive Experience Sampling, one of the most rigorous methods ever developed for studying inner experience and consciousness from the first-person perspective.

We tend to assume our inner world is obvious, continuous, and shared by everyone else — but it isn’t. Inner speech, imagery, emotion, and thought vary radically across individuals, and most people dramatically misunderstand what is actually happening inside their own minds. This conversation follows a ten-week self-experiment using experience sampling to reveal just how unreliable introspection can be.

Expect to learn why most people overestimate how much they inner speak, the difference between inner speech and unsymbolized thinking, why sensory awareness dominates conscious experience, how emotion can drive behavior without being consciously felt, what it means to think without knowing the contents of your thoughts, why questionnaires fail to capture inner experience, how language distorts introspection, why individual variation matters more than personality or gender, and what this all means for neuroscience, psychology, and theories of consciousness…

Timestamps:

00:00 Why Mapping Inner Experience Changes How You See Reality

03:15 The Five Frequent Phenomena Explained (Inner Speech, Imagery, Feelings & More)

07:05 Why People Assume Everyone Thinks Like Them

10:55 Comment Section Chaos: Why Inner Experience Triggers So Much Certainty

14:10 Introducing Experience Sampling and Why the First Day Is Thrown Out

17:45 Evan’s Results Revealed: Sensory Awareness Dominates

21:30 Bodily Sensations, Color, and the Hidden Structure of Awareness

25:10 Why Feelings Appear So Rare in the Data (And Why That’s Misleading)

29:00 Emotion vs Feeling: Having Emotions Without Experiencing Them

32:40 Thinking Without Knowing What You’re Thinking About

36:20 Deep Thought Without Words: Philosophical Thinking Below Language

40:10 Echoes of Thought and the Afterimage of Thinking

44:00 Why Inner Speech Is Vastly Overestimated

47:30 Inner Speech vs Thinking: How to Tell the Difference

51:10 Why Questionnaires Fail at Capturing Inner Experience

55:00 The Refrigerator Light Problem of Introspection

58:30 Are Introverts and Extroverts Experiencing Different Minds?

01:02:10 Why Most People Don’t Actually Know Their Inner Experience

01:05:40 The Illusion of Perfect Self-Knowledge

01:09:30 What the Beeper Really Does (And What It Doesn’t)

01:13:20 Why Confidence About the Mind Is Usually a Red Flag

01:17:00 Radical Individual Differences in Conscious Experience

01:21:00 What This Means for Psychology, Consciousness, and Self-Understanding

01:26:00 Final Reflections: Living With the Knowledge That Minds Differ

01:31:30 What Listeners Should Take Away From This Experiment

...

❤️ Subscribe to our main channel - https://www.youtube.com/@thegiantsshoulder?sub_confirmation=1💚 Follow on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=Ka2rAQv7TyqiC9wvGwERpA💜 Follow on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-giants-shoulder/id1752486249Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/

Dr. Robert Prentner is a philosopher of mind and consciousness researcher whose work bridges mathematics, phenomenology, information theory, and the foundations of reality. In this episode, he offers a rare deep dive into consciousness as a fundamental feature of the universe, the interface theory of perception, and the radical idea that physics itself may emerge from networks of conscious agents.Consciousness is not just subjective experience. It may be our only window into an underlying structure of reality that is far stranger than space, time, or matter. And understanding that structure could reshape how we think about minds, AI, biology, physics, and the nature of existence itself.Expect to learn why most consciousness researchers quietly converge on “what it is like to be” as their working definition of consciousness, why subjective experience may be far larger than our individual minds, why Prentner thinks a purely physicalist story struggles to explain inner experience, and how the interface theory of perception reframes everything we see as a species-specific user interface rather than a window onto objective reality.Timestamps: 02:30 Defining Consciousness08:25 Conscious Agent Theory Explained14:07 Phenomenal vs Access Consciousness20:05 Materialism vs Fundamental Consciousness25:48 Fitness Beats Truth Theorem31:23 Intuition and Meaning in Consciousness35:56 Exploring Consciousness and Meaning37:53 The Nature of Information in Biology41:04 Information as a Fundamental Concept43:17 Consciousness and Information Theory45:18 The Intersection of Consciousness and Physics49:24 Future of Consciousness and Physics Research52:51 Practical Applications of Consciousness Research54:23 Interface Theory of Perception and Consciousness01:05:13 Exploring the Nature of Time01:10:30 Quantum Entanglement and Reality01:14:40 Conscious AI: Perspectives and Possibilities01:26:26 Biological Properties and Consciousness in AI...❤️ Subscribe to our main channel - https://www.youtube.com/@thegiantsshoulder?sub_confirmation=1💚 Follow on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=Ka2rAQv7TyqiC9wvGwERpA💜 Follow on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-giants-shoulder/id1752486249Check out my first conversation with Robert here: https://youtu.be/U9IzFqNGf40Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/

I've condensed a full year of Giant conversations on topics of drug science and psychedelics into just 59 minutes. From life-saving medical cannabis to MDMA therapy, the serotonin myth, DMT entities, and the future of psychedelic mental health care, this episode brings together the most shocking, eye-opening and culturally important insights from leading experts — all in one place.Expect to learn from David Nutt on why medical cannabis laws are still failing sick children, from Dr Joanna Moncrief on how the serotonin imbalance theory of depression collapsed under scientific scrutiny and why antidepressants may work for reasons entirely different from what we’ve been told, from David Nutt on how MDMA helps people safely revisit trauma, the real neurobiology of psychedelic experiences and from Adam Saffron on what DMT is doing in the brain, why some users encounter “entities,” how misinformed drug policy has distorted science for decades, and much more…Timestamps: 00:42 David Nutt: "They're Lying To You About Cannabis"09:42 Christof Koch: "The Psychedelic Trip That Convinced Me Consciousness is Fundamental" 23:17 Joanna Moncrief: "Debunking the Serotonin Hypothesis of Depression"37:11 David Nutt: "The Insane MDMA Classification Story" 49:49 Adam Saffron: Why Do People See Mechanical Elves on DMT?...Episode Links: 1) Meet the Neuroscientist Fired For Exposing the Truth! Dr David Nutt - https://youtu.be/BLk6a5Vb2O02) The Psychedelic Trip that Convinced Christof Koch Consciousness is Fundamental - https://youtu.be/kJlV-b2bvaE3) Meet the Psychiatrist Debunking The Chemical Imbalance Myth That Fooled Millions! - https://youtu.be/lJq400heTaE4) Neuroscientist Ranks Every Drug By How Hard They Are to Quit! Tier List - https://youtu.be/G-OZ_UBGvvo5) Meet the Neuroscientist Unifying Consciousness, Free Energy & Psychedelics! - https://youtu.be/wlFt7jcaZC0...❤️ Subscribe to our main channel - https://www.youtube.com/@thegiantsshoulder?sub_confirmation=1💚 Follow on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=Ka2rAQv7TyqiC9wvGwERpA💜 Follow on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-giants-shoulder/id1752486249Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/

Black Friday Sale: Get 15% OFF + Free Kit Manta Masks for limited time: https://mantasleep.pxf.io/9LXagy and Code GIANTSMANTA10Dr. Johannes Kleiner is a mathematician, physicist, and one of the leading architects of mathematical consciousness science — an emerging field attempting to describe subjective experience with the same rigour that physics brings to space, time, and matter.He studies the deep structure of awareness itself, from the geometry of colour and time to the dynamics of minimal experience, and is helping rebuild major theories like Integrated Information Theory and the Free Energy Principle on clearer mathematical foundations.Expect to learn why experience can be treated as a structured space, how meditation reveals the building blocks of consciousness, why today’s AI systems almost certainly aren’t conscious, how quantum theories both illuminate and confuse the debate, what a “no-go theorem” means for artificial minds, and why the future of consciousness science may depend on mapping the shape of experience rather than its location in the brain.Timestamps: 00:00 Why Consciousness Needs Mathematics02:12 Descartes’ Coordinates and Mapping the Mind05:10 What Phenomenology Really Studies07:40 The Geometry of Experience: Is Mind a Structure?10:25 Colour Spaces and the Mathematics of Seeing13:18 “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” — Explained15:42 Meditation and Minimal Experience18:58 Sensory Expansion and New Human Senses24:55 The Big Problems in Consciousness Science Today27:11 Rebuilding Integrated Information Theory33:39 Predictive Processing in Plain English40:02 The Free Energy Principle: Why Brains Predict Everything49:24 Emergence: How Complex Systems Create Mind52:01 Will Mathematics Become the Next Microscope for Consciousness?54:46 Quantum Theories of Mind: Penrose, Hameroff, and the Debate01:03:59 Why Today’s AI Is Almost Certainly Not Conscious01:13:13 The No-Go Theorem: Why Silicone-Based AI Can’t Feel01:23:05 What Makes a System “Alive” or “Aware”?01:26:25 Neuromorphic Hardware and Future Conscious Machines01:32:32 Does Consciousness Force a New View of Reality?...❤️ Subscribe to our main channel - https://www.youtube.com/@thegiantsshoulder?sub_confirmation=1💚 Follow on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=Ka2rAQv7TyqiC9wvGwERpA💜 Follow on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-giants-shoulder/id1752486249Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/

I've condensed the best moments from a year of consciousness conversations on The Giant's Shoulder 2025 into 42 minutes. Truly the most Giant episode of the entire year!

You’ll hear groundbreaking ideas from Anil Seth, Michael Levin, Nick Lane, Peter Godfrey Smith and Mark Solms as they explore the deepest scientific questions we can ask. Is perception just the brain’s best guess? Do bacteria have primitive feelings? Why are nervous systems so central to the evolution of subjectivity? Could machines ever develop inner experience? And is consciousness something we create, or something we reveal?

Expect to learn why your brain constantly updates its predictions to control hallucinated reality, how membrane charge and metabolic states may be the physical roots of feeling, why large scale neural oscillations unify experience, and why affective consciousness might be the true foundation of the mind.Timestamps:

00:00 Intro00:31 Anil Seth: The Cognitively Impenetrable Messi Illusion 07:42 Michael Levin: Radical Theories Of Consciousness17:06 Peter Godfrey Smith: How Animals First Evolved Experience 23:39 Nick Lane: How Bioelectricity and Metabolism Creates Consciousness33:27 Mark Solms: How Consciousness is Raw Feeling...Episode Links1) No. 1 Consciousness Expert: Optical Illusions that Prove Reality is a Lie, Emotions, Books and AI - https://youtu.be/lOSA06K0l1o2) Meet the Scientist Creating New Forms of Synthetic Life! Dr Michael Levin - https://youtu.be/LTBZRVKUwyM3) Meet the Neuroscientist Exploring the World of Animal Consciousness - https://youtu.be/DSCX4A8q9sY4) Nick Lane: Origin of Life, Aliens, Metabolism, Bioelectricity, Consciousness and Ai! - https://youtu.be/2Nq-Whmpw5I5) Meet the Scientist Proving Dreams Hold the Key to Consciousness! Dr Mark Solms - https://youtu.be/nMWaQ1U6dcc❤️ Subscribe to our main channel - https://www.youtube.com/@thegiantsshoulder?sub_confirmation=1💚 Follow on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=Ka2rAQv7TyqiC9wvGwERpA💜 Follow on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-giants-shoulder/id1752486249Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/

Dr. Adam Frank is a theoretical astrophysicist, NPR science commentator, and professor at the University of Rochester whose work spans the cosmos—from dying stars to the deep nature of consciousness.In this episode, we explore why life—not black holes—is the most mind-blowing problem in physics, how bacteria challenge our view of machines, and why the science of the future must take subjective experience seriously. We break down why LLMs aren’t even in the right stadium when it comes to sentience, how quantum mechanics reveals the blind spots of reductionism, and what it would take to detect intelligent life on distant worlds. Plus, a journey through Zen meditation, alien technosignatures, and the real problem with Skynet.Expect to learn why science needs a reboot, why your brain isn’t just code, and how a planet’s lights might give away its civilization.Timestamps: 02:30 The Emergence of Life Beyond Reductionism 05:33 The Journey from Physics to Consciousness 08:28 Interrogating Inner Experience 11:25 The Role of Subjectivity in Science 14:25 AI and the Misconceptions of Consciousness 17:23 Quantum Mechanics and the Measurement Problem 23:18 Life as an Emergent Phenomenon 29:26 Rethinking Cognition and Experience 32:30 The Challenge of Subjective Experience in Science 36:26 Agency and the Physics of Life 38:57 Astrobiology and the Search for Life 45:25 Technosignatures and the Search for Intelligent Life 51:59 Mars Discoveries and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life...Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/Get Adam Franks Books: The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience: https://amzn.to/4p56MDUThe Little Book of Aliens: https://amzn.to/3KbkBBJ

Dr. Kevin Mitchell is a neurogeneticist at Trinity College Dublin and author of Innate and Free Agents, two very influential books on how brain wiring shapes who we become.

Autism is one of the most heritable conditions in psychiatry — yet for years, headlines have claimed gut bacteria, probiotics, and mouse models could explain or even treat it. Kevin’s new paper tears that story open, revealing how tiny samples, noisy data, and weak statistics created an illusion of evidence that never truly existed.

Expect to learn why early microbiome studies were almost guaranteed to produce false positives, how mouse “models of autism” rely on behaviours that barely map onto human symptoms, why effect sizes of ~1.1 don’t mean what people think, what proper replication actually looks like, why placebo-controlled trials keep finding nothing, how hype and incentives distort entire fields, and how bad science creates real-world harm for autistic people and their families.

Timestamps:

03:30 Introduction and Gratitude

04:30 The Link Between Gut Microbiome and Autism

07:08 The Tylenol Controversy and Misinterpretation of Data

11:24 The Complexity of Autism and Its Causes

16:12 Exploring the Gut-Brain Axis

25:34 Evidence Line 1: Human Observational Data

42:42 Understanding Causation in Microbiome Research

45:16 The Role of Effect Size in Autism Studies

48:04 Confounding Factors in Scientific Research

54:30 Evidence Line 2: Mouse Models of Autism

59:20 The Limitations of Germ-Free Mouse Studies

01:05:45 Statistical Flaws in Microbiome Research

01:13:14 Skepticism in Behavioural Studies and Drug Testing

01:17:15 Understanding Autism's Heterogeneity

01:19:14 The Challenges of Diagnosing Autism

01:24:35 Evidence Line 3: Human Trials

01:29:28 The Importance of Placebo-Controlled Trials

01:34:42 The Role of Citations in Scientific Literature

01:40:15 The Ethics of Marketing Probiotics for Autism

01:45:17 Current Research and Future Directions

...

Professor Lee Cronin is one of the world’s most visionary chemists — the Regius Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow — whose work is redefining how we search for alien life, invent new drugs, and understand the fundamental rules of the universe.

He’s the creator of Chemputation, the first real attempt to program matter itself, and co-author of Assembly Theory, a radical new framework that measures the “memory” embedded in molecules — revealing how chemistry becomes biology, how complexity evolves, and how we might detect life anywhere in the cosmos. His lab is building inorganic cells, digitising chemical synthesis, designing billions of new drug candidates at once, and working with NASA to develop a universal test for extraterrestrial life.

Expect to learn why the universe has a memory, why copy number may be the most important concept in astrobiology, how assembly index can quantify causation and complexity, how Cronin’s “chemputer” could democratise drug discovery, how mass spectrometry can reveal alien biosignatures, why he thinks life on other planets won’t look like Earth at all, why chemistry and consciousness are linked through causation, and much more…

Timestamps:

00:02:30 Celebrating Chemify's Milestone Funding

03:06:34 Understanding Chemputation: Programming Chemistry

06:10:38 Exploring Chemical Space: The Universe of Molecules

09:10:19 The Future of Drug Discovery: Beyond Current Limitations

12:26:54 The Intersection of Chemistry and Biology

15:21:51 Building the Chemifarm: A New Era in Chemistry

18:22:50 The Vision for Personalized Medicine

23:19:49 Assembly Theory: A New Approach to Drug Discovery

43:21:51 The Challenge of Pain Management and Addiction

46:44:14 Exploring Assembly Theory and Drug Development

52:34:04 The Assembly Index: Measuring Complexity in Chemistry

54:31:01 Assembly Theory and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

01:02:53 Rethinking Astrobiology: Life Beyond Earth

01:17:26 Radical Ideas: Faster Than Light Information Transfer

...

Black Friday Sale: Get 15% OFF + Free Kit Manta Masks for limited time: https://mantasleep.pxf.io/9LXagy and Code GIANTSMANTA10

Check out Sentia Spirits the future of drinking (Use Code GIANT10 for 10% discount off your first purchase: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084

Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/

Earl K. Miller is an MIT neuroscientist and one of the most influential thinkers in modern brain science. His 2001 paper on prefrontal cortex function is one of the most cited in the entire field, transforming how we understand thought, control, and the architecture of the mind.Miller’s research reveals that the brain doesn’t compute like a digital machine — it builds models of the world and uses top-down control to guide perception, attention, and action. He discovered mixed selectivity, showing that neurons flexibly encode combinations of rules, goals, and context, giving rise to the incredible adaptability of human cognition. And his more recent work uncovers how dynamic oscillatory brain waves — alpha, beta, and gamma rhythms — synchronize vast networks of neurons, shaping working memory, decision-making, and even consciousness itself.Expect to learn why the prefrontal cortex is the brain’s command centre, how the mind constructs internal models of reality, why neurons don’t have fixed jobs, how mixed selectivity unlocks high-dimensional thought, why brain waves may be the real “language of the mind,” how oscillations unify brain regions into consciousness, what anesthesia reveals about losing subjective experience, whether consciousness is an emergent phenomenon of coordinated rhythms, why digital AI misses the essence of thought, what it would take to build conscious machines, how the brain computes like an analog system, and much more…...Timestamps:00:00 Intro03:00 The Paradigm Shift in Neuroscience06:03 Understanding the Prefrontal Cortex's Role09:00 Consciousness and Decision Making11:53 The Complexity of Memory and Representation14:54 Mixed Selectivity and Neural Networks17:58 Dynamic Stability in Neural Systems20:55 The Role of Oscillations in Brain Function23:39 Analog Computation in the Cortex34:54 Understanding Brain Waves and Analog Computation38:41 The Efficiency of Analog vs. Digital Computing40:31 Biology's Energy Efficiency in Computation41:58 Emerging Paradigms in Neuroscience46:25 Consciousness and Brain States53:58 Analog Computation and the Nature of Consciousness59:57 The Nature of Consciousness01:02:24 Comparative Consciousness: Humans and Other Species01:05:10 Integration and Complexity in Consciousness01:10:41 The Role of Information Integration in Consciousness01:14:12 Agency and Consciousness in Biological Systems01:17:43 AI and the Question of Consciousness01:24:02 The Future of AI and Human Intelligence...

Download my FREE EBook 26 Neuroscience Books for 2026 HERE: https://thegiantsshoulder.com/Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr. Stephen Grossberg is the founder of computational neuroscience and creator of Adaptive Resonance Theory, one of the most important and misunderstood breakthroughs in brain science. Often called the Einstein of the Mind, he wrote the first neural network equations at just 17 years old, laying the mathematical foundations for modern AI decades before computers could even measure the brain.Grossberg’s ideas have powered technologies at DARPA, Boeing, and even the NSA, yet he claims to be the victim of one of the largest plagiarism scandals in scientific history, involving several Nobel Prize winners who, he says, built their reputations on his work. Now in his eighties, he’s breaking his silence on the real story behind the algorithms that shaped both human and machine intelligence.

Expect to learn how Adaptive Resonance Theory explains how we learn new things without forgetting the old, why Grossberg believes modern AI and large language models like ChatGPT are fundamentally broken, the neuroscience of consciousness and the six resonances that give rise to awareness, why attention and emotion are inseparable, how perception is shaped by feedback rather than feedforward processing, what “surface shroud resonance” reveals about the feeling of seeing, and why the true brain-inspired future of AI might depend on ideas the world ignored for half a century.

Timestamps:

00:00 The Forgotten Father of Artificial Intelligence

03:15 Writing the First Neural Network Equations at 17

08:10 Modeling the Mind Before Brain Scanners Existed

13:24 How Adaptive Resonance Theory Changed Everything

18:37 The Biggest Plagiarism Scandal in Science?

24:58 How His Equations Were Used by DARPA, Boeing, and the NSA

31:20 Why Modern AI Still Gets the Brain Wrong

38:16 The Fatal Flaw Inside Deep Learning and ChatGPT

45:42 How the Brain Learns Without Forgetting

52:49 Consciousness as Resonance — The Feedback Loop That Feels

59:33 The Six Resonances That Create Awareness

01:06:57 The Thanksgiving Turkey Experiment Explained

01:14:40 The Emotional Side of Intelligence and Consciousness

01:22:19 Building a Brain from Silicon — Vision, Emotion, and Meaning

01:30:44 The Mind–Body Problem and the Limits of Equations

01:38:12 What Science Still Can’t Explain About Experience

01:45:26 Can Machines Ever Truly Be Conscious?

01:52:48 The Legacy of the Real Father of AI

...

Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)

Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084

Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )

Brain.FM](http://brain.fm/): Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)

Consensus.AI (http://consensus.ai/): https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqe

Follow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr. Grace Blest-Hopley is a neuroscientist and psychedelics researcher whose work is transforming how we understand trauma, addiction, and mental health. From cannabis and psychosis to MDMA and ibogaine, she sits at the frontier of how brain science meets healing.Grace has led research with the Heroic Hearts Project, helping veterans recover from PTSD through psychedelic therapy, and founded Hystelica, the world’s first research initiative focused on women’s health in psychedelic science. Her studies on cannabis, brain development, and the endocannabinoid system have influenced how clinicians, policymakers, and scientists think about drugs and the mind.Expect to learn how cannabis actually affects the developing brain, what the data really says about psychosis and THC, why CBD might protect against those effects, how psychedelics like MDMA and ibogaine are being used to treat trauma and addiction, the biological differences that make women’s brains respond differently to psychedelics, what the FDA’s recent MDMA rejection means for the future of mental health, why psychedelic therapy works on both the mind and the brain, and how this new neuroscience could redefine healing itself — and possibly the future of psychiatry.Subscribe to discover why your brain on drugs might not be what you think — and why the future of mental health may depend on rethinking everything we were told about them.Timestamps:00:00 Cannabis vs Alcohol: Which Is More Dangerous for the Brain?04:15 How Cannabis Affects the Teenage Brain and Memory08:10 Can Cannabis Trigger Psychosis? The Real Science Explained12:00 The Right Age and Safe Use for Cannabis16:25 Why Lifestyle and Genetics Matter More Than You Think21:50 The Forgotten Endocannabinoid System and Medical Cannabis27:00 The Politics of Drugs: How Science Lost to Bureaucracy33:05 The MDMA Ruling That Shook Psychedelic Science38:10 How Psychedelics Are Healing Veterans with PTSD49:40 Ibogaine: The Psychedelic That Can Reset Addiction55:20 How Hormones and Gender Shape Psychedelic Experiences01:03:30 Why Ceremony and Ritual Amplify Psychedelic Healing01:10:55 Can Psychedelics and Cannabis Improve Aging and Mental Health?01:12:35 The Future of Psychedelic Neuroscience and Mental Health...Check out Hystelica (Grace's Non-Profit, that provides education, research and advocacy around women and psychedelics) Check out Heroic Hearts: A Veterans charity that uses psychedelics, that Grace is the research director of.Check out Drug Science (Website - https://www.drugscience.org.uk/Prof Nutt Twitter (X) - @ProfDavidNuttDrug Science SocialsFacebook - @DrugScienceISCDTwitter (x) - @drug_scienceInstagram - @drugscienceinfoLinkedIn - @drugscience-ltdBlueSky - @drugscience.bsky.socialYouTube - @DrugScienceMore Resources on Drug SafetyMedical Cannabis: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/medical-cannabis-working-groupMedical Psychedelics: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/medical-psychedelics-working-groupHarm Reduction: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/enhanced-harm-reduction-working-groupAcademic Research: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/researchNeuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqe

Dr. Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist, author, and science communicator whose work is redefining what we know about women’s brains — from hormones and birth control to motherhood and mental health. She’s the author of The Women’s Brain Book, Baby Brain, and Brain Health for Dummies, and host of ABC’s Catalyst, where she brings neuroscience to life on screen.Check Out Sarahs Books The Women's Brain Book: The neuroscience of health, hormones and happiness: https://amzn.to/3LiixYNBaby Brain: The surprising neuroscience of how pregnancy and motherhood sculpt our brains and change our minds: https://amzn.to/47SIG9fBrain Health For Dummies: https://amzn.to/47C70uCSarah has spent her career debunking the myths that hormones “run the show,” revealing instead how the female brain is adaptable, resilient, and constantly changing through puberty, pregnancy, and menopause.Expect to learn how the pill reshapes the brain and influences attraction, why mood changes during the menstrual cycle are far more complex than we think, how pregnancy and motherhood physically rewire neural circuits for empathy and care, why “baby brain” might actually be a superpower, how men’s hormones change after fatherhood, how AI is helping scientists uncover hidden “pregnancy signatures” in the brain, and what neuroscience gets wrong — and right — about women.Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction – What Men Don’t Know About Women’s Brains03:14 Myths About Hormones and Emotion08:29 How Scientists Actually Measure Emotion12:26 The Constructed Nature of Feelings17:05 PMS, Expectation, and the Power of Belief20:18 How the Pill Changes the Brain26:20 The Pill, Mood, and Depression Risk33:35 Attraction, Personality, and the Hormone Myth39:04 Are We Rewiring Evolution Through the Pill?44:02 Maternal Instinct and the Neuroscience of Motherhood52:16 How Pregnancy Rewires the Brain57:26 AI, Plasticity, and the “Pregnancy Signature”01:03:26 What Happens to the Father’s Brain01:08:03 The Future of Women’s Brain Health...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Michael Cohen is a neurofeedback pioneer and director of the Center for Brain Training, where he’s spent over two decades helping people rewire their brains — not with medication, but with real-time feedback from their own brainwaves.

According to Michael, Neurofeedback could one of the most powerful — and misunderstood — tools in mental health. It uses EEG signals to teach your brain how to regulate itself, improving mood, sleep, focus, trauma recovery and more. And the results can be shockingly fast.

Expect to learn how brainwaves like alpha, beta, and theta shape your mental state, what happens when your brain becomes dysregulated, why left-frontal brain activity is key to mood, how elite athletes use neurofeedback to gain a competitive edge, how trauma and anxiety show up in EEG patterns, the difference between neurofeedback and traditional therapy, what a brain map actually reveals, why your brain is programmable, and how you can begin training yours to heal, adapt and thrive — in just minutes.

Timestamps:

02:15 Introduction to Neurofeedback Training

06:57 Personal Journey and Motivation Behind Neurofeedback

11:34 Understanding Neurofeedback and Brain Function

18:52 Neurofeedback in the Context of Depression

26:08 How Neurofeedback Sessions Work

33:46 Variability in Brain Maps and Attention Circuits

37:55 Understanding Neurofeedback and Its Efficacy

41:35 Research Insights on Neurofeedback for ADHD and Seizures

45:39 Barriers to Acceptance in the Medical Community

47:31 Neurofeedback in Professional Sports

54:03 Transformative Case Studies in Neurofeedback 01:01:40 Sustaining Benefits of Neurofeedback Over Time 01:10:42 The Future of Neurofeedback and AI Integration

...

Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)

Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084

Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )

Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)

Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqe

Follow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr. Nikolay Kukushkin is a neuroscientist, molecular biologist, and author of One Hand Clapping: A Natural History of the Mind — a groundbreaking exploration of how consciousness, memory, and intelligence evolved from the simplest forms of life.

In this episode, Nikolay reveals the extraordinary idea that memory isn’t just in your brain — it’s a universal feature of life itself. Every cell in your body can “remember” patterns of experience, learn from them, and change its behavior — using the same molecular logic that neurons use to form thoughts. This ancient cellular intelligence may even hold the key to understanding consciousness, emotion, and the mind-body connection.

Expect to learn why the difference between mind and body is an illusion, how single cells can distinguish patterns in time, why the same molecules that encode your memories also regulate your organs, how consciousness emerges gradually through information integration, why information might be more fundamental than matter, how AI and synthetic biology could help us rebuild the mind from first principles, the mystery of “obelisks” — unknown structures hidden inside your cells — and what all this means for trauma, emotion, free will, and the future of neuroscience.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

03:15 Understanding Cellular Memory

06:20 Emergence of Memory: Human vs. Cellular

09:03 Defining Memory: Perspectives and Critiques

12:21 Research on Non-Neural Memory

15:20 The Spacing Effect in Cellular Memory

18:24 Mechanisms of Memory Encoding in Cells

21:04 Cellular Memory and Emotion

24:22 Consciousness in Cells: A Philosophical Inquiry

27:08 Implications of Cellular Memory for Biology and Medicine

30:10 The Future of Understanding Consciousness

39:57 The Nature of Consciousness

43:10 Reframing Our Understanding of Consciousness

45:53 Tracing the Origins of Consciousness

48:46 Information vs. Matter: The Fundamental Debate

52:24 Artificial Consciousness: A New Frontier

55:35 The Ethics of AI and Consciousness

57:46 Defining Consciousness: A Democratic Process?

01:00:51 The Expansive Potential of Biological Understanding

01:03:02 The Future of AI and Consciousness

01:09:26 The Mystery of Obelisks and Genetic Composition

01:13:57 Synthetic Biology: The Future of Creation

01:18:01 Exploring Cellular Memory and Its Implications

01:22:00 The Gut-Brain Connection and Memory

01:26:51 Trauma and the Body: A New Perspective

01:29:52 Shifting Perspectives on Dopamine and Language

...

Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)

Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084

Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )

Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)

Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqe

Follow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Get Professional High Quality Talk Therapy at BetterHelp. 10% off your first month of therapy with this link - https://betterhelp.com/giantsshoulder (Paid Partnership by BetterHelp)Dr. Camilla Nord is a neuroscientist at Cambridge University and author of The Balanced Brain, a groundbreaking book reframing how we understand mental illness — not as something “in the mind,” but as something deeply rooted in the body.Buy the Balanced Brain: https://amzn.to/4nkWSfRIn this episode, we dive into how emotions, trauma, and even depression are embodied experiences — and why our brains’ predictions about the body may lie at the heart of mental health. Expect to learn how interoception connects gut feelings to mood, why inflammation and immune responses can trigger depression-like symptoms, how predictive processing reshapes therapy and recovery, what brain stimulation treatments like TMS and ultrasound are really doing, and why no single cure for mental illness will ever exist — but personalized, body-brain approaches could change everything.We also explore antidepressants, psychedelics, gut bacteria, and the future of “hybrid” treatments that blend biology with talk therapy. This is a conversation that could completely rewire how you think about your emotions, your body, and your mind.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:22 The Mind-Body Connection05:35 Interoception and Its Impact on Behavior08:12 The Predictive Brain: Understanding Our Bodily Signals11:09 Embodiment and Mental Health14:31 The Variability of Mental Health Conditions17:12 The Role of Treatment in Mental Health20:22 The Future of Mental Health Treatment35:13 The Role of Treatment in Mental Health35:24 Exploring the Microbiome's Impact on Mental Health38:43 Gut Health and Mental Health Connections40:36 Augmentative Treatments for Mental Health43:06 Understanding Brain Stimulation for Mental Health45:24 The Science Behind Targeted Brain Stimulation50:29 The Future of Brain Stimulation and Personalization54:46 SSRIs: Efficacy and Controversies01:03:53 The Future of Mental Health Treatments...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr. Amy Williams is a NASA geobiologist and astrobiologist searching for one of the biggest answers in human history — are we alone in the universe?As part of the Curiosity and Perseverance rover teams, Amy helped uncover the largest organic molecules ever found on Mars — long-chain alkanes up to 12 carbons long, potentially fragments of ancient fatty acids, the same molecular building blocks that make up living cells on Earth.Her work on NASA’s Sample Analysis at Mars instrument and upcoming Mars Sample Return mission could soon bring those ancient Martian molecules back to Earth — offering humanity its first real chance to detect extraterrestrial life.Expect to learn how scientists distinguish living from non-living chemistry on other planets, what these discoveries mean for the origin of life on Earth, why Mars may once have been a twin of our planet, how life might survive deep underground today, and how finding life beyond Earth could transform our understanding of who we are.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:20 Exploring Life on Mars: Recent Discoveries05:18 Understanding Organic Carbon: A Clue to Life?08:20 The Significance of Long-Chain Alkanes11:12 Potential Biosignatures: Evidence from Perseverance14:06 Dating Potential Life: Challenges and Methods17:28 Mars Sample Return: The Future of Martian Exploration20:20 Panspermia vs. Independent Life: The Debate23:14 The Quest for Life: Optimism and Evidence26:13 The Importance of Earth: Stewardship and Survival33:48 The Challenges of Human Mars Exploration38:12 Funding and Research in Space Science39:49 The Search for Life on Mars45:11 Implications of Discovering Life Beyond Earth56:11 Future of Space Exploration and Responsible Research...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr Kent Kiehl is a neuroscientist and clinical psychologist whose groundbreaking work has transformed how we understand psychopathy, morality, and the criminal mind.He’s the man who put an MRI scanner inside a truck and drove it into prisons across America — scanning over 5,000 inmates to uncover what makes a psychopath’s brain different. His discoveries reveal what happens when empathy, fear, and conscience fail to activate, and how these neural differences shape crime, punishment, and free will itself.Expect to learn how psychopathy develops in the brain, why psychopaths can understand right from wrong but don’t feel it, what brain areas govern impulse control and empathy, how neuroscience is being used to predict reoffending, and what treatments are showing promise — from cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness to emerging ideas like psychedelic-assisted therapy and neuromodulation.We also explore the ethics of brain-based sentencing, whether “evil” is a medical condition, how early interventions could prevent psychopathy before it forms, and what Kent’s research means for the future of law, morality, and the human condition.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro — Meet the Psychopath Whisperer04:35 What It’s Like to Sit Across from a Killer09:20 How Psychopathy Is Measured (The PCL-R Explained)14:15 Inside the Criminal Mind: Empathy, Fear & Free Will19:40 Building a Mobile MRI Lab to Study 5,000 Inmates25:30 What Brain Scans Reveal About Conscience and Control31:25 Predicting Crime: The Neuroscience of Recidivism37:50 Brain Circuits of Morality and the “Oh Damn” Signal44:10 Can Psychopaths Change? Punishment vs Treatment50:55 The Prison Programs That Actually Work57:30 Mendota: The Model That Cut Youth Homicides to Zero01:03:45 Neuroplasticity, Mindfulness & the Science of Change01:10:05 tDCS, Psychedelics & Future Prison Therapies01:16:40 Trauma, Brain Injury & The Two Types of Psychopaths01:23:25 Ethics of Neuroscience Behind Bars01:29:55 Retribution vs Rehabilitation: Rethinking Justice01:36:50 AI, Brain Data & The Future of Neurolaw01:43:30 Can Neuroscience Rewrite the Legal System?01:50:20 Dream Study: Scanning Death Row01:56:30 What Psychopathy Teaches Us About Being Human01:59:15 Outro...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Jonny Miller is the creator of Nervous System Mastery, a transformative training program that teaches thousands of people how to regulate stress, unlock emotional resilience, and reconnect with their bodies. He’s also the host of The Inner Frontier podcast and a TEDx speaker whose work bridges neuroscience, trauma, and the physiology of calm.

Emotions aren’t what you think they are — they don’t live in your “mind,” but in the dynamic language of your body. Jonny’s journey from burnout and grief to embodied mastery reveals that the key to peace, creativity, and connection lies not in suppressing emotion, but in learning to listen to it.

Expect to learn why emotions are predictions from the body, not reactions from the brain, how interoception and the vagus nerve shape your inner world, what really causes anxiety and how to retrain your nervous system to feel safe again, why emotional suppression creates “debt” in the body, the hidden physiology of flow states, how blood flow and micro-constriction may encode our sense of control, why co-regulation with others is the most powerful stress medicine, how to build real resilience instead of numbness — and much more…

Timestamps:

03:00 Mastering the Nervous System

05:53 The Impact of a Chaotic Nervous System

08:51 Agency and Nervous System Regulation

11:33 Personal Journey and Life Events

14:48 Grief and Emotional Mastery

17:45 Introspection and Self-Regulation

20:44 Emotional Fluidity and Processing

23:48 Navigating Rejection and Fear

26:41 The Role of Relationships in Regulation

37:47 Understanding Loneliness and Connection

39:09 Nervous System Mastery Practices

42:03 The Relational Dojo: Practicing Connection

42:51 Descriptive Experience Sampling: Inner Awareness

44:27 Interoception and Self-Understanding

47:04 Emotions, Sensations, and Decision Making

48:58 Flow States and Central Nervous System Optimization

54:47 The Body's Predictive Processing

59:08 Connection Between Body and Mind

01:04:19 Meditation Practices and Overcoming Box-Ticking

01:09:34 Exploring Meditative Practices

01:10:34 The Role of Psychedelics in Personal Growth

01:12:36 Therapeutic Benefits of MDMA and Ketamine

01:15:01 Navigating Risks and Benefits of Psychedelics

01:17:49 Psychedelics and Personal Pathways

01:20:15 The Intersection of Psychedelics and Meaning

01:23:28 Legislating Psychedelics: A New Approach

01:26:39 The Future of Psychedelics and AI

01:29:15 Exciting Frontiers in Neuroscience and Parenting

...

Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)

Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084

Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )

Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)

Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqe

Follow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Get Professional High Quality Talk Therapy at BetterHelp. 10% off your first month of therapy with this link - https://betterhelp.com/giantsshoulder (Paid Partnership by BetterHelp)Terrence Deacon is a neuro-anthropologist at UC Berkeley and author of The Symbolic Species and Incomplete Nature, two landmark works exploring how life and mind emerge from the physical world.Deacon’s work connects thermodynamics, evolution, and neuroscience to tackle one of science’s biggest questions — how matter can give rise to purpose, meaning, and consciousness. From the physics of snowflakes to the biology of living cells to the mystery of human thought, he shows how energy flow and self-organization can create the building blocks of life and mind.Expect to learn why the brain is not a computer, how information becomes meaning, what it takes for life to maintain order in a universe that tends toward chaos, the difference between homeodynamic, morphodynamic, and teleodynamic processes, how the first cells may have formed, why “absence” can have causal power, why AI systems don’t yet have true “aboutness,” and how understanding these principles could reshape how we think about life, consciousness, and artificial intelligence.Timestamps00:00 Intro & The Origins of Brains02:35 How Many Times Did the Brain Evolve?07:10 Could Life Have Evolved with Different Chemistry?11:40 Before DNA: The Mystery of LUCA17:20 How One Genetic Code Took Over the Planet23:45 Proto-Life and the First Self-Making Systems30:15 Why Evolution “Falls Up”: Creativity Through Redundancy38:10 From Thermodynamics to Life: The Physics of Purpose45:50 Snowflakes Remember the Sky: How Order Emerges from Chaos52:40 Homeodynamic, Morphodynamic, and Teleodynamic Life59:20 When Chemistry Starts to Care: The Birth of Normativity01:05:30 From Matter to Mind: The First Steps of Sentience01:13:00 Why Movement Creates Mind01:20:45 Language, Symbols, and the Explosion of Human Consciousness01:28:20 Can AI Ever Be Truly Sentient?01:36:00 Why the Brain Is Not a Computer01:42:30 Meaning, Mind, and the Future of Consciousness...Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )[Brain.FM](http://brain.fm/): Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)[Consensus.AI](http://consensus.ai/): https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqeFollow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants ShoulderSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249

Dr. William B. Miller Jr. is a physician, evolutionary biologist, and author of The Microcosm Within, Bioverse, and The Sentient Cell — books redefining how we understand life, evolution, and consciousness itself.He believes every cell is intelligent — sensing, deciding, and creating information from within. His groundbreaking theory of Cognition-Based Evolution reframes evolution not as a blind process of random mutations, but as a self-organizing, information-driven system guided by cellular minds.Expect to learn why cells—not genes—are the true engines of evolution, how microbes shaped the origins of consciousness, why cancer is a breakdown of cellular cooperation, how bioelectric communication could unlock regeneration, what makes Michael Levin’s living “Xenobots” so revolutionary, why AI can’t be conscious without boundaries or self-made information, and how this new understanding of life may reveal genuine purpose in the universe.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:20 Exploring Life's Biggest Questions

04:55 The Consciousness of Cells

07:39 Understanding Consciousness and Doubt

10:30 Cells and Their Preferences

13:21 The Self-Generated Nature of Information

16:11 The Continuum of Consciousness

19:13 Collaboration and Competition Among Cells

22:01 Cancer: A Disease of the Self

24:58 Understanding Cancer Through Niche Construction

27:39 Therapeutic Avenues in Cancer Research

30:23 The Role of the Brain in Consciousness

33:20 Conscious Cells and Space Exploration

36:05 The Implications of Sending Life into Space

47:35 Understanding Consciousness and Its Boundaries

52:28 Cells as Problem Solving Entities

55:27 The Variance of Human Experience

59:14 The Senome and Sensory Capacity

01:05:13 Cognition-Based Evolution Explained

01:10:45 The Role of Cognition in Evolution

01:16:31 Cognition Before Cells: A Debate

01:19:11 AI and Consciousness: A Distinction

01:26:19 The Future of Consciousness and AI

...

Buy His Great Books

The Sentient Cell: The Cellular Foundations of Consciousness: https://amzn.to/431VoQf

Neuroscience Products I Swear By (Supports the Channel)

Sentia Spirits: https://sentiaspirits.com/mcgloughlin4209355084

Manta Sleep Mask: Get the Comfiest Sleep Mask on the Planet (Use Code GIANTSMANTA10 https://bit.ly/4ilzfBL )

Brain.FM: Music Entrainment for Focused Deep Work (30 Day Free Trial: https://www.brain.fm/giantsshoulder)

Consensus.AI: https://get.consensus.app/we00d2cmjpqe

Follow My Neuroscience Podcast - The Giants Shoulder Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5m3Gta5MtIYdk59pb2GJ7M?si=b33232eae67b4126Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/brief-enquiry-to-the-brain/id1752486249