Minds Matter

About Minds Matter

Learn from cutting edge researchers in neuroscience and psychology with PhD students Beth Fisher and Ava Ma de Sousa. On Minds Matter, we explore a range of subjects, from conspiracy theories to falling in love, to nostalgia. We discuss the neuroscientific and psychological research behind these issues while talking through our own personal experiences.

Publisher

Beth Fisher and Ava Ma de Sousa

Category

science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 May 2022

Latest episode

26 May 2026

Latest episodes

70 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   26 May 2026

   S5 E04: Critical Race Psychology (Live!)

   What does psychology miss when it treats racism as only an individual bias? In this special live episode, Dr. Phia Salter and Dr. Glenn Adams join us to discuss critical race psychology, and how psychological science can better account for systems of power while still asking psychological questions. This live episode was recorded at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology's Critical Perspectives in Psychology Preconference; thanks to organizers Drs. Jada Copeland, Keturah Ragland, Phia Salter, and Mikaela Spruill.

2. 

   22 Mar 2026

   S5 E03: Your Mind on the Multi-Scale Brain with Dr. Giulia Baracchini

   How can we better understand the brain as a dynamic, multi-scale system? Dr. Giulia Baracchini shares her work using fMRI to study the brain’s fluctuations, and what measures of variability can reveal about how the brain functions. We discuss how ideas from complex systems science help make sense of brain activity across multiple scales, and why moving beyond single-level explanations is key to understanding how different levels of the brain interact. Dr. Baracchini also shares the unexpected places she draws inspiration from to study complex systems, including architecture!

3. 

   21 Feb 2026

   S5 E02: Your Mind on Origins of Social Bias

   How do babies learn to navigate diversity in their social worlds? Dr. Hyesung Grace Hwang shares her infant neuroscience (EEG) work showing that early “bias” might be less about emotions (like fear or disklike) and more about attention and information processing. We discuss how the environment, specifically neighborhood diversity shapes infants’ brain responses, and the changing cues kids use as they get older to reason about nationality.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,371

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

64 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 52 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

47

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

77

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.