This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
Episodes
Why Wisdom is Necessary
20 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Although memories fade, hearing declines and our bodies suffer aches and pains, there is one benefit to aging that we can actually gain with each pass...
Coming Next Friday - Why Wisdom is Necessary
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Although memories fade, hearing declines and our bodies suffer aches and pains, there is one benefit to aging that we can actually gain with each pass...
Tell-Tale Signs That You Are in a Cult
06 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Cults and high-control groups influence beliefs and fundamentally reshape identity, decision-making, and autonomy. In this episode, Dr. Phil Stieg s...
Coming Next Friday - Tell-Tale Signs That You Are in a Cult
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From Jim Jones, David Koresh, and the Branch Davidians, to online conspiracy theory groups, cults and coercive systems of control can shape how peopl...
How to Deal with a Narcissist
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Narcissism is a term that gets used constantly - but what does it actually mean in psychological terms, and how is it shaping our society? In this ...
Coming Next Friday: How to Deal with a Narcissist
13 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Narcissism is a term that gets thrown around often. But what does it really mean in psychological terms and how is it shaping our society? Next week...
Can Music Heal Your Brain?
06 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it's rock and roll, classical, hip hop, or rap, most people enjoy music in one form or another. (Even newborn babies respond to it.) But wh...
Coming Next Friday - Can Music Heal Your Brain?
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Whether we play music to relax, to dance, to recharge, or perhaps to evoke happy memories, it's clear that music affects our mood -- or more specific...
What Makes Us Vulnerable to Artificial Intelligence?
23 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we think, live, and make choices, but are our brains ready for it? Award-winning tech journalist Jacob War...
Coming Next Friday - What Makes Us Vulnerable to Artificial Intelligence?
16 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial intelligence is transforming every part of our lives, from how we work and communicate to how we make decisions. But as we hand over more ...
Is Retirement Bad For You?
09 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If someone asks you what you are doing to prepare for your retirement, you might mention a 401K or an IRA, but what you might not realize is that you ...
Coming Next Friday - Is Retirement Bad For You?
02 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Ross Andel, a gerontologist, who has been studying what happens to our brains when we retire, reveals how it can have serious consequences for o...
Why Brains Need Friends
26 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all know the importance of a good diet, sufficient exercise and a good night's sleep, but there's one more essential thing we all need to be healt...
Coming Next Friday - Why Brains Need Friends
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Loneliness has become a serious epidemic with nearly 60% of American adults saying they were lonely. We know that this can lead to depression, anxiety...
The Power Of Touch
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Touch is the first sense we develop, and one of the most powerful tools we have for connection, healing, and communication. In this episode, social ...
Coming Next Friday: "The Power of Touch"
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Reach out and touch someone" isn't just a slogan from a long distance phone ad. It's also a powerful statement about human connection. Dr. Michael ...
Can Big Tech Read My Mind?
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it's our shopping habits, Google searches, or Facebook friends, we are all aware that our personal information is being collected and often so...
Coming Next Friday: "Can Big Tech Read My Mind?"
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our personal data is online and it's for sale. But what about the information from our brains, in our thoughts? With the exponential increase in neu...
The Neuroscience of Your Workout
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do you exercise? It might be to lose weight, maintain or improve your health, reduce stress, or perhaps a combination of all of these. But wh...
The Neuroscience of Your Workout
08 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all know that exercise is good for our bodies, but do our brains benefit as well? In our next episode Dr. Gary Wenk of the Ohio State Universit...
Is Ketamine a Miracle Drug?
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Until the death of actor Matthew Perry many people had never even heard of Ketamine. As a recreational drug, known as "Special K", it can be extrem...
When The Surgeon Becomes The Patient - Henry Marsh
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At age 70, after a long career as a neurosurgeon and best-selling author, the tables were turned on Dr. Henry Marsh. Diagnosed with cancer, and facing...
Grief Is Not Just Sadness - Mary-Frances O'Connor
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever felt the type of grief where it seemed like you would never recover, like your heart was actually broken? Whether it's a member of your ...
Why Play Is Not Just Kid's Stuff
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When was the last time you actually took time to play, to simply have fun? For most adults, the answer is usually not often enough. The benefit...
"Dad Brain"
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Women obviously go through many changes to their bodies and their minds when they become mothers. But what about fathers? Although moms have been ...
Forgive and Flourish: The Healing Power of Letting Go
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Fred Luskin, director of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects, explains how releasing resentment can transform both mind and body. Drawing on decade...
Why We Dream
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What are your dreams really telling you? Renowned sleep researcher Dr. Robert Stickgold joins Dr. Stieg to unravel the mysteries of dreaming. From the...
Taming The Tremor
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when your hands refuse to listen to your brain? For Alexandra Lebenthal, essential tremor was more than a neurological disorder, it was ...
Stories Make Us Human
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone loves a good story. And so do our brains. Whether its books, movies, fairy tales, or even office gossip, stories are much more than just ...
Why We Procrastinate
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all do it - put things off, tell ourselves we'll start tomorrow, and somehow still miss the deadline. But chronic procrastination isn't just a bad ...
Join Us For Season Six, Coming Spring 2025
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For five seasons now, I've been delighted to explore the wonders of the brain with my guests as well as with you, my listeners. Podcasting is fun and ...
How Love Helps Kids Learn
27 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are born with billions of neurons that need connecting – and how those synapses develop helps determine how our brains will work. There is am...
Will Loneliness Be the Death of Us?
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's no surprise that feeling lonely is associated with depression, but did you know that loneliness may also lead to chronic inflammation, changes in...
Calm Yourself!
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pain and fear are inevitable, especially these days, but we can retrain our brains to reduce suffering. Dr. Sara Lazar, Assistant Professor in Psychol...
Demystifying Suicide
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Humans are so powerfully wired for survival that it can be hard to understand suicide - especially in adolescents. What happens in the brain that can ...
Obesity Is Not Your Fault
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The past 30 years have produced an epidemic of obesity -- mostly because evolution did not prepare us for so many calories and so little physical act...
Immerse Yourself in Happiness
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What makes us happy? The warm feelings of closeness that we have with family and friends are rooted in the neurochemical oxytocin – the love hormone...
Things Don't Have To Fall Apart
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Levitin says we can all age successfully if we take our choices more seriously now. The neuroscientist and author reveals the keys to reaching ...
Art Makes Us Human
20 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We are the only species that creates and experiences art – not just visual art but music, poetry, dance, theater, and even architecture. The impact ...
Transcendental Meditation
06 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Tony Nader, an academic, author, and the leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement, knows how you can find inner peace. TM is like a deep d...
Making Sense of Creativity
23 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why are some people capable of creating music, art, books, or new technologies, seemingly out of thin air? Where do imagination and creativity live in...
Talking With Dolphins
09 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dolphins have large, complex brains that are a lot like the human model -- what if we could get inside their heads and communicate with them? Meet cog...
The Mercurial Genius of Candace Pert
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Candace Pert discovered the opioid receptor, created a drug to stop AIDS in the brain, and identified stress as a cause of disease. She also inadverte...
Whispers & Tingles – ASMR with Craig Richard
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
ASMR, or the autonomous sensory meridian response, is a state of deep calm accompanied by a sense of "brain tingles." Not everyone experiences it, but...
AI: Reverse Engineering the Brain
28 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We will never create true artificial intelligence (if we really want that) until we know more about how the human brain works. Tech entrepreneur and a...
Decoding Brainwaves Into Language
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Language originates as brain signals -- mysterious lines of squiggles -- that somehow turn into speech. Meet the neuroscientist who is turning those s...
Outsmarting Anxiety
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We are programmed by evolution to be anxious - fear was a lifesaver for early humans! So are why are some 21st-century humans crippled by it? Catherin...
Exploring The Magic Mushroom
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's effective against depression, can help you stop smoking, even ease end-of-life distress. It's non-addictive, naturally occurring, and has been us...
A Memory Workout
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can't remember the fourth item on your grocery list? Nelson Dellis, a professional "memory athlete," can remember 100 things or more (though he still ...
Do You Hear What I See?
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Synesthesia is the mysterious mingling of the senses that creates the experience of "seeing" sounds or "hearing" colors. Neurologist Richard E. Cytowi...
What Are Your Hands Saying?
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us talk with our hands, some more than others, but what are we really saying? Susan Goldin-Meadow, PhD, professor of psychology and comparativ...
"The Change Is Gonna Come" - Menopause and the Brain
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Menopause can wreak havoc on mood and body temperature as it signals the end of fertility, but some of the biggest changes it causes are in the brain....
The Incredible Shrinking Attention Span
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is the deluge of digital media killing our ability to focus? Psychologist Gloria Mark, a professor in the Department of Informatics at University of C...
Near Death Experiences (reprise)
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Near-death experiences may seem like the stuff of supermarket tabloids, but there are real patterns to what people report after coming close to depart...
Game Changer - A Concussion Revolution (reprise)
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The impact of mild traumatic brain injury extends far beyond the gridiron – concussions can happen anywhere, including playing fields, bike paths, a...
Do Our Dogs Really Love Us ?
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dogs and the humans who cherish them have a unique bond unlike any other. We wonder all too often, do our dogs love us as much as we love them? What a...
Music's Powerful Impact on the Brain
12 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this classic episode recorded live at the Juilliard School in the fall of 2019 Dr. Stieg visits with world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming - a lea...
Controlled Hallucination
29 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What world do you live in? You may think your experience of life comes from the outside, with your brain processing sensory information as it's receiv...
Connecting the Heart and Brain
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The brain and the heart are in constant communication, sending signals that control and respond to each other, so it's no surprise that what's good fo...
Using All 5 of Your Minds
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Forget the standard IQ test - that only measures a very narrow definition of intelligence. Meet psychologist Howard Gardner, professor of cognition an...
More Than a Feeling - Your Pain Is Made in Your Brain
17 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pain can be felt anywhere in the body, but it all originates in the same place: the brain. Lorimer Moseley, a professor of clinical neurosciences at ...
Is Your Baby Smarter Than a Robot?
03 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Babies and toddlers have truly outstanding brains - they absorb information broadly, quickly, and indiscriminately as they learn about the world, wit...
Training To Be Yourself
20 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Your early experiences literally change the way you think and feel about the world -- they even shape what you see and hear. Dr. Chantel Prat, a cog...
Drowning In Distraction
06 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our brains evolved for a simpler life, and today they struggle to cope with a deluge of distraction from technology. Dr. Adam Gazzaley, professor of n...
Music As Medicine
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Speech therapists have long used music to help patients regain their voices after stroke or brain injury. Today's music therapists are going even furt...
Tales of a Hijacked Brain
08 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike a broken bone or clogged artery, a brain that goes awry due to disease or injury—or even an errant molecule—causes weird and unpredictable ...
Game Changer: A Concussion Revolution
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The impact of mild traumatic brain injury extends far beyond the gridiron – concussions can happen anywhere, including playing fields, bike paths, a...
Thinking In Pictures
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Temple Grandin, PhD, wants kids -- especially those on the autism spectrum -- to start using their hands again. The woman Oliver Sacks called "the ant...
Taking Laughter Seriously
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Giggles, guffaws, or belly laughs -- whenever we crack up, we're communicating more than we realize. Laughter, says Dr. Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist...
Finding Your Soul In Ice (reprise)
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Extreme athlete Wim Hof has set records for immersion in icy water, and he recommends it for physical and mental health. Find out why his wife's suici...
Marketing to Your Primal Brain
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With each of us receiving more than 30,000 messages a day - everything from news headlines to print, TV, radio, and online advertising - how do today'...
I've Got (Circadian) Rhythm!
16 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Your brain, your heart -- in fact, every cell in your body -- has its own clock telling you when to be alert and when to pack it in. You probably know...
Mesmerized By Magic
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Magicians and illusionists rely on our brains' tendency to predict what comes next—and the surprise we feel when we're wrong. Dr. Luis Martinez, a n...
The "Reading Brain" In A Digital World
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The human brain did not evolve to read -- but reading makes us more fully human as it opens up new worlds of understanding and empathy. Today, as we ...
The Mother of All Brain Changes
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
New parents - especially moms - experience profound changes in the brain when they are expecting and welcoming a new baby. Health journalist Chelsea C...
Unlearning Addiction
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Teen brains are uniquely primed for addiction -- that age is all about novelty seeking, risk taking, and impulsivity, a developmental stage with stron...
Engaging Your Spiritual Core
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You know what you have to do to tighten your abs (whether or not you actually do it), but do you know how to awaken your brain? Lisa Miller, profess...
Presence: Hallucination or Visitation?
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever felt a "presence" - someone next to you, even speaking to you, when no one is there? Dr. Ben Alderson-Day, a psychologist at Durham Univ...
Thinking in Pictures
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Temple Grandin, PhD, wants kids -- especially those on the autism spectrum -- to start using their hands again. The woman Oliver Sacks called "the a...
Speaking Truth to Trauma
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Some 6 million Americans suffer from active PTSD at any given moment, and nearly half of us will be exposed to major trauma at some point in our lives...
Magic, Myths, and the Unconscious Mind
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Superstitions, fairy tales, and talismans are more than silly remnants of our early human history -- they are bridges to the unconscious mind. Psychia...
The Other Side of A Stroke
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With the left hemisphere of her brain ravaged by a hemorrhage, neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor made a surprising discovery. The brain bleed had not o...
Secrets of the Sleeping Brain
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We all work on important tasks while we sleep – consolidating memories, building immunity, and managing weight, just for starters – but some of us...
Cultivating Confidence (repeat)
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Where in the brain is that little something that makes top performers feel so confident in their ability? Can that confidence be developed in someone ...
The Neuroscience of "Movie Night"
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Did you ever notice when you see a close up of Julia Roberts smiling on the big screen, you have an urge to smile back? That's an effect of your bra...
Natural Born Killer Cells
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Placental stem cells have the potential to stop cancer and autoimmune disorders in their tracks, slow or even halt the aging process, and perhaps even...
Obesity Is Not Your Fault
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The past 30 years have produced an epidemic of obesity -- mostly because evolution did not prepare us for so many calories and so little physical acti...
Got Rhythm?
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All of life is set to music -- or at least to a rhythm. From the graceful undulation of a jellyfish to the irresistible urge to bop along to our favor...
The Importance of Forgetting
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us worry about memory loss, but it's surprisingly important to forget. Scott Small, MD, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at...
Left Brain, Right Brain - or BOTH?
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The hemispheres of the brain are responsible for different views of the world - one literal, narrow-beam, and maybe a little angry, and the other broa...
Finding Your Soul in Ice
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Extreme athlete Wim Hof has set records for immersion in icy water, and he recommends it for physical and mental health. Find out why his wife's suici...
Everybody Dance Now!
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dancer and neuroscientist Julia Basso, PhD, wants us all to dance -- together or separately, it's all good. Dancing with a partner creates a synchrony...
Making Sense of Music (reprise)
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, a reprise of one of our most popular episodes from Season 2 - Sound may be the least understood of the five senses, with music the most mys...
The Healing Power of Grief
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our brain pathways are designed to get us through life's traumas, as painful and debilitating as they are. Neurologist Lisa Shulman, MD, joins us this...
The Scent of a Memory
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Smell is our most evocative sense, with instant associations with emotions and memories. Cognitive neuroscientist Rachel Herz, PhD, explains why she l...
The Nine Triggers of Rage
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The human brain is designed to "snap" under threat, but 100,000 years of evolution did not prepare us for the the world we live in today. R. Douglas F...
Decoding Brainwaves Into Language
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Language originates as brain signals — mysterious lines of squiggles — that somehow turn into speech. Meet the neuroscientist who is turning those...
The Power at the End of Your Fork
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Depression, anxiety, low libido… your mood is directly related to what you eat. Nutritional psychiatrist (and chef) Uma Naidoo, MD, examines the "gu...
Maps in Your Head
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From the outside, a human brain appears fairly uniform – but what's inside is very different depending on where you look. Your brain has complex map...
While You Were Sleeping
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can you communicate with someone who's sound asleep, and is it possible to influence their dreams? Ken Paller, professor of psychology at Northwest...