All In The Mind Podcast: Does Our Brain Fart?

 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. 

I think one reason I found psychology podcasts so fascinating is that mental illness -- recognition, diagnosis, treatment -- still suffers from a 19th Century mindset and 20th Century treatment options.  

Have you ever had a brain fart? Or, if you prefer, a brain cramp? If so, why does that happen? If any psychology podcast has any chance of answering that age-old question, it's The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) podcast All In The Mind.

It is one of the best such podcasts I've encountered.

 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, consider the recent episodes "What influences your inner voice?" Controlling chatter part two continues a fascinating discussion on that voice inside your head - where does it come from? What does it sound like? (Strangely, my inner voice sounds like that of actor James Earl Jones.)

The late February episode about Supercommunicators is like a training camp for becoming better at what most humans lack -- the ability to receive and send messages to other humans. The episode asks: What do working for the CIA, navigating hot-button topics and talking to teenagers all have in common? The answer: They're situations that supercommunicators excel at. In the episode, host Qadar interviews Charles Duhigg, Reporter for New Yorker Magazine and author of the new book, Supercommunicators

 

 The show's host is Sana Qadar, whose resonant voice is soaked with empathy and a desire to inform in 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.

  In an interview I did with Qadar two years ago, she said: "I’ve done radio reporting in the past, but I got my start in podcasting with a show called SBS Eyes on Gilead: A Handmaid’s Tale Podcast. It’s all about, as you might have guessed, The Handmaid’s Tale TV series. That got me interested in exploring other styles of podcasting (EoG is very much a chatty, conversational pod). At a certain point, I pitched a series idea to the ABC, which didn’t get commissioned in the end, but that put me on the radar of some key people. A few years later, they approached me and asked me to pitch for All in the Mind. The rest is history"

 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.

One of the most powerful recent episodes is one titled "Nine big myths about depression — busted." In the show, Qadar interviews Professor Ian Hickie Psychiatrist Co-Director, Health and Policy, Brain and Mind Centre at The University of Sydney. He's also the author of the book The Devil You Knew. 

In the episode, Qadar and Hickey discuss whether depression is REALLY a chemical imbalance in the brain, the difference between being depressed and distressed, and psychedelics as a viable treatment solution. It's a powerful show. Professor Hickey pulls no punches in destroying the pernicious myths that still afflict understanding depression and treating it.

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.