Podcast Review: All In The Mind Is Brain Food That Can Fill You Up

 I have to admit this. I'm crazy for psychology podcasts. Sure, I know that's an oxymoron, but I find any podcast where you can learn more about how the mind works, is fascinating and worthwhile. Have you ever met a fitness enthusiast with six percent body fat who can explain in excruciating detail about micro nutrients and muscle growth? Yet, this same person is clueless about how their brain functions and about mental illness. Have a sprained ankle? This person can offer multiple treatments. Suffer from depression? They have nothing to offer except, "do more squats."

The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) podcast All In The Mind is one of the best such podcasts I've encountered. 

The show's host is Sana Qadar, who was born to host a podcast. It has to be genetic. She's just too good to have learned the skills intrinsic to podcast hosting -- a resonant voice soaked with empathy and a desire to inform, and a cadence that sounds like each spoken word is carefully curated before being uttered.

Qadar is an award-winning podcaster and journalist whose work has featured on the ABC, BBC, SBS, Al Jazeera, and NPR to name a few. Most recently she was acting Deputy Editor, Multicultural at ABC Life, and co-hosts the SBS podcast Eyes on Gilead, which won a 2019 Australian Podcast Award for Best Fancast.

All In The Mind doesn't have a novel structure or memorable narrative flow. But it's so good at delivering fresh insights into each episode topic. In addition, Qadar acts as the narrative glue here, giving voice to well-chosen guests and then summarizing their conclusions. It also helps that the production quality and sound design on the podcast are exemplary. Kudos to the people behind the microphone.

All In The Mind does possess a wandering eye that focuses on a wide range of topics that loosely fit under the typical "psychology" umbrella.

For example, the episode 'I'm going to cook my baby' from May 1looked at dolls and how they can tell us a lot about how kids see the world – especially when it comes to race. In the episode, one American researcher spent months watching pre-schoolers play with dolls, and what she observed shocked her.

The episode also answers this question. Did you know the very first study of children and their thoughts about dolls actually changed the course of American history?

Can you change your personality? looks at a wish many people make. I wish I could change my personality? Many people do, according to studies cited in the episode, and we would like to  - become more extroverted, more agreeable and more conscientious.

The episode poses two critical questions. What does the evidence say about whether people do change? And can you tweak your personality deliberately?

You've got the music in you is the most recent episode at the time of this review. In this episode, All In The Mind explores how music affects us from the womb through the rest of our lives - and what new research tells us about its measurable impact on our mental health.

Plus, the 'plink' test - how our musical memories can identify a track from just a sliver of song, and the power of music to shape our emotions.

If Americans think podcasts are popular in the states, they should check out Australia. Podcast downloads have grown by 54 percent from 2021. According to the Infinite Dial 2021 Report, 86 per cent of Australians now listen to live radio or catch-up radio podcasts each month. Online audio reached nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of Australians each month, up from 67 per cent last year. 

Weekly podcast listeners tune into an average of five podcasts per week. Moreover, Gimlet / Spotify's top-rated science podcast, Science Vs, began in Australia on ABC before moving to the United States. There are several popular Australian podcasts that receive a healthy number of downloads from the United States. 

Here are two random reviews of All In The Mind: 

 "I found this by accident, and I’ve been binging it for the past weeks. Great, important topics, not heard anywhere else. Bold show about psychology!"

"There's so many pods on health and many are a real bore, especially mental health ones. This is anything but; how refreshing! Each episode has held my rapt attention. This is my new favorite health pod."

From dolls to personality to music, All In The Mind is a podcast that launches its mind missiles on a wide variety of topics. To this podcast, psychology isn't just an academic study, but a search for truth in all our experiences.

Too often, we read an article or listen to a short podcast about "life hacks," as if success in life can be distilled into "Marie Kondo-like" rules. The ABC All In The Mind podcast is not about giving us the right answer, but helping us to ask the right questions.