Why Sharks Matter with Dr. David Shiffman

It is Shark Week and we had to get Dr. David Shiffman on the podcast to explain why sharks matter. Today’s episode is chalk full of information on sharks like: What makes a shark different than other fish? What are the largest living shark? How do marine biologists catch sharks and study them ethically? Does a marine biologist think a Mega Shark or a Giant Octopus would win in a fight? Additionally, Drake and David talk about the issues with Shark Week and the myths/misinformation associated with the most talked about fish in the sea.

Shownotes:

Follow Dr. David Shiffman on Twitter @whysharksmatter and check out his “Save our seas” project here: https://saveourseas.com/project-leader/david-shiffman/.

For David’s open access research on marine conservation and other topics: davidshiffmancv.com

Accessing mental health care with Sir Graham Thornicroft

Sir Graham Thornicroft joins Brain Buzz to talk about accessing mental health care. If you are wanting to hear an expert on mental health care discuss: how to assess mental health disorders; how access has changed over the COVID-19 pandemic; barriers associated with living with a mental health diagnosis in the workforce and in your social life; and the appropriate steps to getting diagnosed with a mental health disorder. If you enjoy this content on mental health care please let us know as we have plans for doing more episodes in this area!

For more information Sir Graham Thornicoft’s research: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/graham-thornicroft

Make sure to follow us on Twitter and instagram @brainbuzzpod and to follow us on Spotify/Apple podcast to get updates when new episodes are published! Cheers :)

Believing Conspiracy Theories with Mikey Biddlestone and Ricky Green

Do you or one of your good friends strongly believe the earth is flat? Do you believe the COVID-19 vaccines are tracking us? Are all politicians really lizard people?

Our guests: Ricky Green and Mikey Biddlestone (two PhD students from the University of Kent) are researchers that investigate why people are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. We discuss how attachment theory can predict the likelihood of you believing in conspiracy theories. We explain what collective narcissism is and why it is seen more often among conspiracy believers. Are there any benefits to believing in conspiracy theories? What are some of the sneaky ways that conspiracy theories can convince us they are true? All this and more in this weeks episode!

Make sure to follow us on Twitter and instagram @brainbuzzpod and to follow us on Spotify/Apple podcast to get updates when new episodes are published! Cheers :)

Sexual Exploitation and human trafficking with Tiana Sharifi

Tiana Sharifi is the founder and owner of Sexual Exploitation Education, a British Columbia based organization dedicated to raising awareness and addressing service gaps around sexual exploitation in Canada. Tiana joins Kyle and Drake to discuss the prevalence and severity of sexual exploitation and human trafficking in Canada today. What constitutes sexual exploitation and human trafficking? Where is human trafficking most likely to occur and is it a problem in Canada that is worth addressing? What resources/strategies are there to combat or respond to human trafficking and sexual exploitation? Make sure to check out this episode to learn all this and more!

Lootboxes and gambling with Gabe Brooks

In Episode 66, Gabe Brooks, a returning guest from the University of British Columbia joins us to talk about the phenomenon of online gaming “Lootboxes” and the possible implications they have on imbuing problematic gambling behaviours in children and adult gamers! Why do people spend money on online lootboxes and what populations are at risk? We also discuss the future of gaming and microtransactions. If you are interested in how gambling may be related to online gaming for you, your friends, or children… check out this episode now!

Implicit Attitudes and Biases with Tessa Charlesworth

In Episode 65 we are joined by Tessa Charlesworth, researcher at Harvard University, to talk about implicit attitudes and biases over time. Tessa shares with us how people change their minds in response to new experiences across the lifespan and how social attitudes and stereotypes shift over time in response to societal events. How do you measure implicit attitudes in historical records? Can we predict future levels of implicit biases? Are all biases harmful? All this and much more in Implicit Attitudes and Biases with Tessa Charlesworth!