Here We Are

Today I'm at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville speaking with Kimberly Sheldon all about dung beetles!

Kim studies the patterns and processes that determine the distribution of species and use this information to predict impacts of anthropogenic change on species and ecological communities. 

Learn more about Kim's work: http://www.biogeographyresearch.org/
https://eeb.utk.edu/people/kimberly-sheldon/

To find out how you can learn more, be involved, and maybe even help, head to http://www.nimbios.org/

Today I'm learning about virtual education and how technology is helping teach students about otherwise complex topics.
Shalaunda Reeves holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction and her research interests focus on how people learn in virtual environments.

Learn more: https://tpte.utk.edu/people/shalaunda-reeves-phd/

https://www.shanemauss.com/

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Henry Gee is the author of ‘A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth’ - winner Royal Society Science Book Award 2022 and more notably, one of Shane's favorite books :)

Henry is a paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and editor at Nature.  He is also a hilarious, charming, wonderful guy who articulates the story of our existence in a poetic and accessible way.

Learn more about him, his books, and his other writings here https://occamstypewriter.org/cromercrox/about-henry-gee/ 

The paperback version of this book is available for preorder now

Listen to Henry's first appearance on the show here: https://www.herewearepodcast.com/episodes/episode-360-46-billion-years-in-2-hours-henry-gee 

Today I'm at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville speaking with Dr. Paul Armsworth. 

Paul examines how conservation investment strategies and natural resource management policies can be made more effective by integrating ecological and socioeconomic models and data.

Learn more about Paul's lab: https://www.armsworthlab.com/
Learn more about Paul's research: https://eeb.utk.edu/people/paul-armsworth/

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with David and Douglas Kenrick about their new book "Solving Modern Problems With a Stone-Age Brain: Human Evolution and the Seven Fundamental Motives".

Douglas Kenrick is a professor of psychology at Arizona State University. His research and writing integrate three scientific syntheses of the last few decades: evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, and dynamical systems theory. He is the author of over 170 scientific articles, books, and book chapters, the majority applying evolutionary ideas to human cognition and behavior.

David Lundberg-Kenrick is the Media Outreach Program Manager at Arizona State University. He creates multimedia supplements for psychology textbooks, produced and edited videos for use in psychology experiments, and worked on documentaries about evolutionary psychology, including the BBC’s “The Science of Seduction” and his current project “The Caveman Goes to Hollywood.”

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville speaking with Dr. Derrick Stowell, who is the Education and Horticultural Therapy Program Administrator for the UT Gardens. Derrick is responsible for directing education programs and horticultural therapy programs for the UT Gardens, Knoxville location. 

https://onehealth.tennessee.edu/

https://utgardens.tennessee.edu/

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Nina Fefferman is back! Today, I'm at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. We talk about beauty and utility of math and how to get young learners excited about mathematic reasoning. We also discuss the incredible collaborative work being done at NIMBioS, which is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Synthesis Center supported through NSF's Biological Sciences Directorate via a Cooperative Agreement with the University of Tennessee.

Learn more: http://www.nimbios.org/

Dr. Fefferman is a professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Tennessee. Her research focuses on the mathematics of epidemiology, evolutionary and behavioral ecology, and  self-organizing behaviors, especially of systems described by networks.

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with evolutionary behavioural scientist, Tamas David Barrett. His work focuses on how the structure of social networks change during falling fertility, urbanisation, and migration; as well as, how social networks vary over the human life-course. Tamás’s current projects include the origins of inequality regulation; why the behavioural rules between women and men vary so much across cultures; and the evolutionary foundations of sharing behaviour. 

Tamás teaches Trinity College, University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and is affiliated with the Population Studies Research Institute in Helsinki, Finland. He is a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

This week I went Arizona State University to talk with Athena Aktipis about the potential of apocalyptic events, both natural and human-caused, and how we can prepare, respond, and prevent the end of the world.

Athena is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University and co-Director of The Cooperation Science Network and The Human Generosity Project.

This episode is a part of a new series we're working on where we present ideas from scientists in a more structured format. We're still fine-tuning the way this will work, so make sure and join the brainstorm over on my Discord. 

Help support this show and everything I do: https://www.patreon.com/shanemauss

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm hanging out with Dr. Keith Markman! Keith was one of the scientists that gave a talk at this year's Mind Under Matter Campout Festival. Keith's research focuses on “counterfactual thinking”, or how people imagine alternative realities, develop conspiracy theories, and connect coincidental dots dreamt up by the hyper-active human brain.

Learn more about Dr. Markman's work: https://www.ohio.edu/cas/markman

Today I'm speaking with Daniele Cybulskie, who is a historian, writer, and podcaster. Daniele has written several books about medieval history, which you can find here: http://www.danielecybulskie.com/books

She is also the host of The Medieval Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-medieval-podcast/id1448142533

DISCLAIMER: We are not responsible for any potential trebuchet-related incidents this episode may inspire.

ZAMM2022: http://www.zombiemed.org/

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

This week I'm talking with Athena Aktipis about the gradients of apocalyptic events and how humans cope with the end times.

Athena is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University and co-Director of The Cooperation Science Network and The Human Generosity Project.

This episode is a part of a new series we're working on where we present ideas from scientists in a more structured format. We're still fine-tuning the way this will work, so make sure and join the brainstorm over on my Discord. 

Athena's Twitter: https://twitter.com/athenaaktipis

Athena's podcast :https://www.zombified.org/

Athena's website: http://www.athenaaktipis.org/

Help support this show and everything I do: https://www.patreon.com/shanemauss

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with Daryl R. Van Tongeren, who is an associate professor of psychology at Hope College. We discuss some of the topics he writes about in his new book, "Humble: Free Yourself From the Traps of a Narcissistic World." 

Learn more about Daryl's work here: https://www.darylvantongeren.com/

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with Tara Behrend, who is an Assoc of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Purdue University. We discuss productivity and efficiency in the work place, our cultural perception of time, the surprising and counterintuitive findings about employee privacy research, and online education and more!
https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/psy/directory/faculty/Behrend,%20Tara.html

Come meet Tara at the Mind Under Matter Campout Festival at Lakeside Retreats in Raleigh Sep 9-11!

https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout

Today I'm speaking with Cassie Holmes, professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. We talk about her new book "Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most" How can we use our time more wisely and accomplish the tasks we care about most? What's the difference between pickleball and tennis? Why is it easier to brainstorm in the shower or while driving across the country? Is multitasking a myth?

Check out Cassie's book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Happier-Hour/Cassie-Holmes/9781982148805

Today I am speaking with Anne McLaughlin, who is a psychology professor at North Carolina State University. We discuss her book "All Too Human", which takes a look at applied Human Factors. Human Factors may be a lesser known field within psychology but its implications become obvious once realized. 

Huge thanks to Chris of Hygge Production House for filming this episode.
Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with Hillary Anger Elfenbein, who is a professor at the Olin School of Washington University. We discuss the parallels between stand up comedy and teaching at a university, cross cultural analysis of emotional intelligence, being overly self-aware, and much more!

Come and see the physical manifestation of Mind Under Matter and hang out with The WBBC™, the team, and all the other MUMies September 9 thru 11: https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout

Today I'm hanging out with my good friend, Cole Marta. Cole is the Co-founder, Medical Director, and Clinician at California Center for Psychedelic Therapy. We do a little catching up and discuss Cole's personal journey into psychedelic research and therapy as well as touch on ways you can get involved yourself.

Visit California Center for Psychedelic Therapy: https://psychedelictherapyca.com/

https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

In this episode, I catch up with my good friend, Michael Garfield. Michael is the host of the Future Fossils podcast and the Complexity podcast. In his 4th appearance on Here We Are, we discuss topics like fatherhood, lifestyle changes, and the ever-changing world we live in.

Today I'm speaking with one of my very first guests on the Here We Are podcast, Marlene Zuk. Marlene is a Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. We talk about common misconceptions about evolution and comparing humans to other animals. 

Check out Marlene's upcoming book, "Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters" here:
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324007227

And check out some of her other books here:
https://cbs.umn.edu/zuk-lab/books

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm speaking with Martie Haselton and Jaimie Krems. Martie is the world's leading researcher on how ovulatory cycles influence women's sexuality. She is a professor of psychology at UCLA and the Institute for Society and Genetics, and a really great friend of mine.

Jaimie is a professor of Social psychology focusing on female friendship, conflict, stereotypes, and prejudice. 

We discuss the influence large social institutions, like religion, has on one's perspective of the sanctity of life, in and out group bias, the scientific reaction to the recent Supreme Court ruling, and much more!

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Today I'm talking with my very close friend, Peter McGraw. We talk about the pros and cons of being single vs being in a relationship, traveling as a single person, living with another person, and the strange, negative view society has on singlehood.

Get tickets to the Mind Under Matter Campout Festival here: https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout

Check out Peter's podcast "Solo: The Single Person’s Guide To A Remarkable Life" here: https://petermcgraw.org/podcasts/solo/

Check out Peter's books on his site here: https://petermcgraw.org/books/

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

I have a couple special announcements and updates to share with you in this short solo episode. 

Check out the latest Mind Under Matter episode to hear Ramin and I share all the details about our campout/festival: https://youtu.be/z1gkwbUX2rg

Get tickets before they run out: https://mindunderpod.com/pages/campout

Stay tuned!

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:50 Campout Festival
05:19 Campout Location
06:37 Campout Events
21:36 Check out the latest MUM episode to learn more
24:01 Here We Are updates and improvements!

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

Helena Miton is a cognitive anthropologist and complexity postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute. She investigates how culture is maintained through time and what determines the shapes traditions take. She holds her Ph.D. in cognitive science from Central European University and previously was a member of the Minds & Traditions research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. Follow her on Twitter @HelenaMiton.

Helena and I discuss cultural evolution, the balance between biological and societal influences on culture, and how history and ideas embellish across time, similar to a game of telephone. 

Enroll in Helena's Introductory course to Open Science here: https://www.complexityexplorer.org/courses/125-open-science-tutorial

Today I'm speaking with Dr. Christopher Kavanagh, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology. Chris is also the cohost of the Decoding the Gurus Podcast. We talk about the effect that internet gurus and thought leaders have on public perception of science and politics. 

Chris’ research focuses broadly on collective rituals and their impact on social identity and group orientated behaviors, using a combination of field and lab based experiments, online surveys, and traditional ethnographic methods.

Check out the Decoding the Gurus podcast: https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/
Follow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/c_kavanagh
Learn more about Chris' work: https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-chris-kavanagh

Today I am speaking with Cecilea Mun, who is a Visiting Assistant Professor of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program, with the Department of Philosophy, at the University of Louisville, KY, and the founding director of the Society for Philosophy of Emotion, and the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Philosophy of Emotion. We talk about how money shifts the way we think about our ethical principles, Realism emotional theory and Instrumentalism emotional theory, how people on the autism spectrum process emotions, and much more!

Check out Ceclia's book "Interdisciplinary Foundations for the Science of Emotion" here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-71194-8

Also check out her website here: https://sites.google.com/site/muncecilea

Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

This week I’m talking with Dave Ader, an interdisciplinary scholar in the fields of sustainable agriculture and rural development. He currently works as the Assistant Director and Research Assistant Professor in the Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Tennessee.  

Joining me as a part of the One Health Initiative, we discuss how agricultural issues in one area can end up affecting communities on the other side of the globe and how very niche scientific research can be used to solve much larger issues.

https://onehealth.tennessee.edu/

This week I am talking with Itai Yanai, Director of the Institute for Computational Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at NYU. 

We discuss Richard Dawkin’s book: The Selfish Gene, Darwin’s work with Evolution and Itai’s Podcast: The Night Science Podcast.

Throughout the conversation we dive into extended phenotypes, spandrels in genetics, and evolution of things like facial hair and tails.  Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.

https://night-science.org/
https://mindunderpod.com/pages/festival 

This week I’m talking all about science communication with Susanna L Harris. Susanna earned her PhD in microbiology at UNC-Chapel Hill and is now working to build better communication in Biotech.  We chat about how to more effectively communicate scientific information by guiding conversations, getting other people’s individual contexts, and the best way to present new information.  We also explore ideas like celebrating being wrong, enjoying boredom and how covid has affected scientific thinking. Thank you for watching and being an inquisitive being.