Where Can We Find Genius? with Eric Weiner

Our guest today is Eric Weiner. He is a former correspondent for NPR and the bestselling author of Geography of Bliss. We talk with him about his second book, Geography of Genius. This is where I could write about his great travel writing, philosophical thoughts, and humor, but I prefer to equate reading one of his book to an experience. Imagine you see a large painting that is askew. You walk by this painting everyday, but upon noticing that it is out of kilter you also notice that you’ve never seen the painting. And the painting is in your house. It’s not that it wasn’t there before, you just never stopped to see it. Weiner’s writing is fun and thought provoking. To learn more about him, you can visit ericweinerbooks.com.

Weiner also hosts writing workshops which you can view here.

Listen to this episode in Apple Podcasts. And don't forget to subscribe :)

Interview with Award-Winning Author David Leite

You can make a convincing case that food defines who we are, and often who we are not. We talk about this and much more with food writer and memoirist David Leite about his most recent book, Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love and Manic Depression. He’s the founder of Leite’s Culinaria, which was the first website to win a James Beard Award in 2006 and again in 2007. David Leite was also awarded the Julia Child first book award for his cookbook The New Portuguese Table. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, and the Los Angeles Times, among many others.

Join us next week on The Gluten Free Baking Show podcast (GFbakingshow.com) to learn more about Leite’s recipes — both the gluten versions and the gluten free adapted versions.

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Resilience Is a Muscle with Rick Hanson

EPISODE Summary

We’re talking today with bestselling author Rick Hanson about his book Resilient. Dr. Hanson is a therapist. He has a PhD in clinical psychology and a lot of his writing is at the intersection of psychological science, neuroscience, and mindfulness. He shares insights with us about how to manage stress, as well as the origins of it, and what it really takes for most of us to reduce it. Toward the end of the interview we talk about motivation: how it works and how we can refuel.

What Are Our Limits? with Alex Hutchinson

EPISODE #17

There is something magical about the way some people can push their physical limits. Think about Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile in 1954, or Diana Nyad’s 103 mile swim from Cuba to Florida, or the countless people who have climbed Mt. Everest. Their physical limits impress us but we also know it’s not all about the body. So much is influenced by the mind, their motivation, and their shear ability to put themselves on the line. Today we talk about the role the brain plays when it comes to pushing the limits of endurance. Alex Hutchinson is an award-winning journalist and the author of Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. 

A Genetic Superpower? with Rachel Yehuda

EPISODE #16

Dr. Rachel Yehuda’s is a pioneer in the study of stress, trauma, and epigenetics. She has discovered that trauma survivors can leave biological markers in their offspring’s genes. These markers appear to be associated with parents' experience of extreme stress. But this field is relatively new, with more research needing to be done, so today we talk about stress and then delve into the possible theories behind the science, what these theories might mean, and why this kind of biological effect could be a strength. Rachel Yehuda is the Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.