Incredible Mind

Avsnitt

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  The Invisible Art: Product Design with Cathy Bergstrom 10.09.2026 35min

  You interact with the human-made world every day, from apps and login accounts to furniture and supermarket checkouts. Behind all these things is a designer, crafting the product with your experience in mind. In this episode we hear from Cathy Bergstrom, a Director of Product Design with deep knowledge of the process. If you want to learn how products are born, this episode is for you!Episode Guide00:00 Intro02:18 What is product design?06:55 Product design vs. UX design07:50 Elements of good design: Apple Notes11:00 Cathy’s journey to product design12:50 The product design process17:38 How new products are born: Amazon Prime22:51 Defining the problem27:52 Great design: familiarity or novelty?30:40 Alternate use: Segway32:23 Cathy’s final thoughts on product design34:36 Conclusion
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  Leap of Faith: Second Chance Dance with Alyssa Bowser 03.09.2026 35min

  Alyssa Bowser’s Second Chance Dance offers true dance education to adults, providing both novices and experienced dancers the opportunity to learn and move in community with others. In this episode, Alyssa shares the unexpected way Second Chance Dance (SCD) came to be, why dance matters, and how people travel across state lines to fulfill their heart’s desire to practice ballet, modern, tap and other genres. You’ll leave this conversation inspired! Episode Guide0:00 Intro 01:34 Meet Second Chance Dance (SCD)03:11 The origins of SCD07:06 Recitals and their Impact at SCD10:49 Michelle’s transcendent recital experience13:27 Learning dance- emotional, mental, and physical work16:55 Choreography22:56 Experience of dancer versus audience24:53 SCD as its own living entity and how to maintain its heart30:01 Juggling community mission with dance education32:01 Alyssa says: answer the call34:50 Credits
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  You Can Create: Zorana Ivcevic Pringle 27.08.2026 46min

  What would you like to create? Creative ideas come in many forms, from a screenplay to a new cookie recipe. While emotions can keep us from getting started or completing our work, we can harness our emotions to overcome a variety of creative challenges. In this episode, we hear from Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, author and Senior Research Scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Zorana’s book, The Creativity Choice is an insightful and inspirational guide to getting us through the emotional and cognitive hurdles we face as creative beings.Episode Guide0:00 Introduction02:15 Why Zorana wrote The Creativity Choice04:39 Uncertainty is part of creativity05:26 Defining creativity07:56 Big C, little C and pro C creativity11:37 Creativity in unexpected places14:57 Making your creative idea happen18:43 Exploration of the idea and willingness to change21:04 Expanding or refining your idea26:26 Challenges of the creative process32:36 Dealing with blocks34:22 Harnessing our emotions38:41 The Power of frustration42:30 Creativity is social- strong and weak ties45:24 Conclusion
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  The Neuroscience of Musical Narratives: Itamar Jalon 20.08.2026 34min

  How are music and imagination linked? Is it possible to transmit images and even stories using music? In this episode, post-doc researcher Itamar Jalon shares the mind-expanding research happening at the Music Cognition Lab, part of Princeton University’s Neuroscience Institute. Whether you like neuroscience, music, or simply letting your mind wander, you’re going to love this conversation.Link to the research article: https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10690083 Episode Guide0:00  Intro1:53 Itamar describes the research project7:05 Why the comparison data of spoken story is important09:21 Defining Neural Patterns16:32 Extramusical Thoughts 17:56 Areas of the brain activated by imagining musical narratives19:29 Default Mode Network20:06 Association cortices22:22 How do we apply this information in our daily lives?23:45 Attention harvesting24:45 Boredom 27:27 Other ways to experience music28:31 Controlled vs naturalistic studies29:49 Shared meaning-making and conversations33:22 Closing Remarks
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  Meet a Neurologist: Johnathan Reiner 13.08.2026 32min

  Today’s episode explores neurology, Parkinsons’s Disease, brain science and creativity with Dr. Jonathan Reiner,  a neurologist who is also an artist. Johnathan specializes in Parkinson’s Disease, so our conversation explores neurology and brain science through the Parkinson’s lens, while also delving into movement and creativity as critical to brain health. Episode Guide0:00  Intro1:42 What is a Neurologist?4:39 Defining Parkinson’s Disease 8:17 Dopamine deep dive11:04 Is Parkinson’s a male disease?11:40 Deep Brain Stimulation DBS origins, how it works16:57 Brain anatomy in context23:45 Maintaining quality of life w/Parkinson’s28:04 Creative Urges with Parkinsons29:22 Johnathan’s Creative life31:08 Conclusion
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  You Need to Act, Now: Thalia Goldstein 06.08.2026 44min

  From improv classes and stage acting to cosplay conventions, renaissance fairs, and sharing skits on social media, many of us love to act. In Episode 4 of Incredible Mind, Thalia Goldstein shares fascinating and widely applicable insights from her work on the 8 Acting Habits of Mind. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in psychology and its application in the real world. To check out Thalia’s book and get a printable copy of her Acting Habits of Mind, visithttps://www.thaliagoldstein.com/why-theatre-ed-matters Episode Guide0:00  Intro1:48 Thalia’s Journey 4:17  Defining Habits of Mind8:02  Acting Habits of Mind Origins12:17  Body Awareness and Control (interoception, emotion)13:38  Release Inhibitions and be playful (creativity, divergent thinking)15:28  Commit to Choices17:05  Reflect and Think Metacognitively (providing feedback)22:32  Consider Others (empathy, theory of mind, default social network)26:37  Collaborate, the 21st century skill29:07  Collaboration in the digital space31:57  Emotion contagion and embodies awareness33:37  Imagine and Envision36:32  Bringing Acting Habits of Mind into our lives39:51  Releasing our inhibitions to play as adults43:57  Conclusion
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  Neuroaesthetics: Soma Chaudhuri & Vasiliki Meletaki 30.07.2026 36min

  What is neuroaesthetics? Is it simply the study of aesthetic beauty, or can neuroaesthetics help shape a more positive experience of the world around us? This special episode takes place at the Neuroaesthetics Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, where researchers Soma Chaudhuri and Vasiliki Meletaki share their knowledge and work on this intriguing topic. Due to some technical issues, the audio quality on this episode is lower than usual. For closed captioning to support your listening, you can find this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/94TqfUKc4F4?si=3Sbcps7LdupOn1XfEpisode Guide:0:00 Intro1:32 Defining Neuroaesthetics5:18 How the brain processes aesthetics12:22 How expertise impacts aesthetic experiences15:00 Vasiliki’s journey to neuroaesthetics16:23 Impact of the immediate environment on our well-being20:34 Soma’s journey to neuroaesthetics22:31 Impressions, beauty and facial anomalies24:57 Social categorization and the possibility of change28:03 Human definitions of beauty29:13 Study on art therapy projects32:03 A word of caution on “neuro” marketing and bold research headlines35:24 Conclusion
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  Experiencing Art: Katherine Cotter 23.07.2026 32min

  Art is a widely accessible mood-booster, if we take the time to really look and reflect on an artist’s work. In this episode of Incredible Mind, Katherine Cotter, Associate Director of Research at the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project at U Penn’s Positive Psychology Center, explains what happens in our brains when we look at art, what is meant by everyday creativity, and how experiencing art contributes to our sense of well being.Episode Guide:0:00 Intro1:22  Defining Positive Psychology3:03 Katherine’s Journey to Research4:14 Democratization of creativity6:45  Art and the Brain9:24 The ways people experience art today11:19  Making a case for museums15:39 What is flourishing?18:03 Public Art and well-being22:55 Social prescriptions for art (loneliness, dementia and more)26:34-29:11 Everyday Creativity and aesthetics29:12 Creativity is for everyone30:24 Getting kids to enjoy museums31:55 Conclusion
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  Your Brain on Music: Anna Palumbo 13.07.2026 35min

  What's happening in your brain when you listen to music? How about when you play music? Can music heal? In this inaugural episode of Incredible Mind, host Michelle Cross Smith gets you answers from Anna Palumbo, Research Manager at NYU's Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy.Episode Guide0:00 Podcast Intro and Episode Intro1:38 Anna introduces Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy3:54 Playing and experiencing music during music therapy6:05 Motivation for work and how Anna got into music therapy9:33  Power of music + what happens in our brains when we listen to music12:33 What's happening cognitively when we play music14:24 About strokes and how music helps the brain heal20:29 What's so special about improv?25:06 Intrinsic Motivation26:18 Tips for improv anxiety29:41 Music, dancing and Groove31:40 Advice from Anna34:40 Conclusion and credits