State of the European Union, Mysteries of the Human Brain

State of the European Union, Mysteries of the Human Brain

Top of Mind with Julie Rose

  • Jul 28, 2017 11:00 pm
  • 1:43:22 mins

Past, Present and Future of the EU Guests: Wade Jacoby, PhD, Professor of Political Science, BYU; Gregory Jackson, PhD, Professor of Integrated Studies, UVU The European Union is Top of Mind this hour. Britain wants out. Poland could lose some of its privileges for violating the EU’s common values. There’s been a fair amount of concern over the last year about whether the EU can hold together in the face of challenges such as the global recession and the refugee crisis.   But let’s pause for a moment and step back. Do you know when and why the European Union was formed? Most of us are probably a little fuzzy, to be honest. From this side of the Atlantic, it seemed like we woke up one day and the EU was just there. That may be why it’s hard for Americans to understand what all the fuss is about. We’re going to get some answers from two experts of European politics. Into the Grey Zone Guest: Adrian Owen, PhD, Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging at the Brain and Mind Institute of Western University, Ontario, Canada. Author of “Into the Grey Zone: A Neuroscientist Explores the Border Between Life and Death” Anyone who’s held the hand of a loved one who’s lying unconscious and unresponsive in a hospital bed has agonized over questions like: Do they know what’s happening? Do they know I’m here with them? Can they hear my voice? Are they maybe even trying to respond and just can’t get their body to cooperate?  The idea that someone could be fully-conscious but unable to let the world know is terrifying. And it’s a heart-wrenching thing for that person’s family to be faced with decisions about medical treatment not knowing if their loved one is in there, or not.    Renowned neuroscientist Adrian Owen believes that using brain scans, he can answer that question. In some cases he can even communicate with, and get a response back, from someone in a vegetative state. It’s amazing stuff, which he details in his new book, “Into the Grey Zone.”   The Fearless Brain of Alex Honnold Guest: Jane Joseph, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina Continuing our exploration of the brain’s mysteries, let’s go inside the gray matter of the world’s best rock climber. Alex Honnold does free solo climbing, meaning no net, no safety gear. In June, he climbed the face of Yosemite’s El Capitan in less than four hours, with nothing but his fingers, his toes and a bag of chalk clipped to his belt. Many, many people have wondered over the years if Alex Honnold is even capable of feeling fear. Is there something wrong with his brain that makes it so he can do these insanely risky things? Neuroscientist Jane Joseph of the Medical University of South Carolina had these same questions, so she put Alex Honnold into an fMRI machine and took a close look at his brain.

Episode Segments

Past, Present and Future of the EU

50m

Guests: Wade Jacoby, PhD, Professor of Political Science, BYU; Gregory Jackson, PhD, Professor of Integrated Studies, UVU The European Union is Top of Mind this hour. Britain wants out. Poland could lose some of its privileges for violating the EU’s common values. There’s been a fair amount of concern over the last year about whether the EU can hold together in the face of challenges such as the global recession and the refugee crisis.   But let’s pause for a moment and step back. Do you know when and why the European Union was formed? Most of us are probably a little fuzzy, to be honest. From this side of the Atlantic, it seemed like we woke up one day and the EU was just there. That may be why it’s hard for Americans to understand what all the fuss is about. We’re going to get some answers from two experts of European politics.

Guests: Wade Jacoby, PhD, Professor of Political Science, BYU; Gregory Jackson, PhD, Professor of Integrated Studies, UVU The European Union is Top of Mind this hour. Britain wants out. Poland could lose some of its privileges for violating the EU’s common values. There’s been a fair amount of concern over the last year about whether the EU can hold together in the face of challenges such as the global recession and the refugee crisis.   But let’s pause for a moment and step back. Do you know when and why the European Union was formed? Most of us are probably a little fuzzy, to be honest. From this side of the Atlantic, it seemed like we woke up one day and the EU was just there. That may be why it’s hard for Americans to understand what all the fuss is about. We’re going to get some answers from two experts of European politics.

The Fearless Brain of Alex Honnold

27m

Guest: Jane Joseph, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina Continuing our exploration of the brain’s mysteries, let’s go inside the gray matter of the world’s best rock climber. Alex Honnold does free solo climbing, meaning no net, no safety gear. In June, he climbed the face of Yosemite’s El Capitan in less than four hours, with nothing but his fingers, his toes and a bag of chalk clipped to his belt. Many, many people have wondered over the years if Alex Honnold is even capable of feeling fear. Is there something wrong with his brain that makes it so he can do these insanely risky things? Neuroscientist Jane Joseph of the Medical University of South Carolina had these same questions, so she put Alex Honnold into an fMRI machine and took a close look at his brain.

Guest: Jane Joseph, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina Continuing our exploration of the brain’s mysteries, let’s go inside the gray matter of the world’s best rock climber. Alex Honnold does free solo climbing, meaning no net, no safety gear. In June, he climbed the face of Yosemite’s El Capitan in less than four hours, with nothing but his fingers, his toes and a bag of chalk clipped to his belt. Many, many people have wondered over the years if Alex Honnold is even capable of feeling fear. Is there something wrong with his brain that makes it so he can do these insanely risky things? Neuroscientist Jane Joseph of the Medical University of South Carolina had these same questions, so she put Alex Honnold into an fMRI machine and took a close look at his brain.