Coming Next Friday - “Not Just Another Victim” – Nancy Jarecki’s recovery from a stroke
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
Nancy Jarecki’s stroke could have reduced her to a statistic. But her determination, humor and style paved a different path to recovery... For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit
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“I Think I Look Ugly” – Body Dysmorphia
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
Most of us have a bad hair day or we're not happy if we have a little pimple on our face. But that's quite different from the experience of people with body dysmorphic disorder. (BDD) More than simple insecurity about one’s appearance, BDD is a disorder in which a person’s perception of their appearance becomes all-consuming and deeply distressing. Perfectly normal looking people can see themselves as horribly ugly. Or one minor detail becomes an enormous fixation, like the patient who said they felt they were just one giant pimple with hands and feet. In this...
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I Never Forget a Face
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
Imagine a world where everyone looks the same and you can’t recognize one person from another – even you own child! It sounds like a frightening episode from the “Twilight Zone”, but it’s just every day life for people with prosopagnosia, better known as “Face Blindness”. We humans use parts of our brains to see, process and recognize faces that are different from recognizing anything else in our lives, which is not surprising when you consider how important faces are to understanding the situations we are in and the emotions of the people closest to us. In this episode, ...
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Why We Drink Too Much
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
Why do we sometimes drink too much, even when we know the risks? In this episode, surgeon, author, and recovering alcoholic Dr. Charles Knowles joins us to explore the neuroscience of alcohol use and addiction. Drawing from his book and his own lived experience, Dr. Knowles describes how alcohol alters the brain’s reward pathways, and how drinking problems exist on a spectrum. Through neuroscience and deeply personal insight, he speaks to alcohol’s impact on mental and physical health and gives inspiration to others through sharing his own journey to recovery. For more...
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Why Wisdom is Necessary
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
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 passing year. It’s called wisdom. But just because someone is older, it doesn't mean they are wiser. It takes a certain type of person to learn important lessons from their life experiences. reveals what he has discovered after studying wisdom for decades, including the neuroscience of the wise brain, emphasizing how cultivating wisdom enhances brain health as well as offering some insights on how to develop and...
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Tell-Tale Signs That You Are in a Cult
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
Cults and high-control groups influence beliefs and fundamentally reshape identity, decision-making, and autonomy. In this episode, Dr. Phil Stieg sits down with sociologist and cult expert Dr. Professor and author of Take Back Your Life, to explore the psychology behind cults. Drawing from decades of research as well as her own personal experience of spending a decade in a political cult, she discusses how indoctrination alters a person’s sense of self, why anyone can become vulnerable under the right circumstances, and the road to recovery after leaving. For more...
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How to Deal with a Narcissist
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
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 episode, Dr. Phil Stieg speaks with leading expert Dr. Keith Campbell to separate myth from science. Drawing from his book , Dr. Campbell explains the difference between everyday self-focused traits and the far rarer personality disorder, unpacks the two distinct expressions of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, and explores how these patterns influence our relationships, leadership, parenting, and culture. ...
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Can Music Heal Your Brain?
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
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 why? What is going on in our brains when we hear our favorite tunes? a psychotherapist and neuroscientist, studies exactly how our brains react to various types of music, to provide targeted music therapy. And she goes one step further. As a musician herself, she is also creating the music, specifically designed for our brains, blending art and science to better harness its power to heal. For more...
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What Makes Us Vulnerable to Artificial Intelligence?
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we think, live, and make choices, but are our brains ready for it? Award-winning tech journalist joins Dr. Phil Stieg to discuss how AI exploits our ancient decision-making systems, why we’re so easily manipulated, and what it means for our future. Drawing from behavioral science and decades of reporting, Ward explains just how predictable we are, the pitfalls of falling into “the loop”, and how to stay human in an AI-driven world. For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit For more about Weill Cornell...
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Is Retirement Bad For You?
This Is Your Brain With Dr. Phil Stieg
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 also need to prepare your mind for this major change in your life as well. 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 our mental health, including cognitive decline and depression. But he will also offer some easy steps and tips to avoid this “retirement trap” and keep our brains active and healthy so that we can fully...
info_outlineWhen 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 benefits of play for adults, like children, has been shown to have many benefits to both physical and mental health. In fact, it can play a vital role in whether someone is happy or depressed, fulfilled or empty. In this podcast we will hear from a Play Expert whose career actually began by studying a mass murderer. He will help you discover what type of play personality you have as well as how important and easy it is to add play to your life.
To hear special bonus content from this episode, please go to our website:
https://thisisyourbrain.com/2025/09/bonus-segment-play-is-not-just-kids-stuff/
For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit
https://thisisyourbrain.com
For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit
https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org