Episode 300: Harnessing the healing power of music, with Renée Fleming and Aniruddh Patel, PhD
September 11, 2024
Today, music therapies are being used to help treat mental and physical health conditions as diverse as chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, and stroke. Renowned soprano Renée Fleming, editor of a new book on music, the arts, and health, joins music cognition researcher Aniruddh Patel, PhD, to talk about the connections between music, mind, and body; whether humans evolved to be an inherently musical species; the science behind some of the most effective music therapies; and promising directions for future research.
Is your commute the most stressful part of your day? Traffic psychologist Dwight Hennessy, PhD, talks about what’s going on when we get behind the wheel—including what causes road rage, why some people find driving more stressful than others and how our personality affects our driving, what’s going on with the zipper merge, and how driving may change with more automated and self-driving cars.
For those with health anxiety, worrying about sickness can be a constant struggle that can harm their mental health, relationships and even physical health. Karen Lynn Cassiday, PhD, author of the book
Freedom from Health Anxiety
, talks about how to recognize health anxiety (once known as hypochondria), why the internet and “Dr. Google” can make health anxiety worse, and what to do if you or someone you love struggles with health anxiety.
Are you and your job just not clicking anymore? New York University psychology professor Tessa West, PhD, talks about the most common sources of job dissatisfaction, how you can figure out why you’re unhappy at work and find a job that’s a better fit, how to handle—or avoid—toxic coworkers, and the importance of good communication at work. She is the author of
Job Therapy: Finding Work that Works for You
and
Jerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and What to Do About Them
.
Speaking of Psychology
is taking a summer break, so we’re rerunning some of our favorite episodes from the past. In November, I talked to psychologist Michael Yeomans and journalist Charles Duhigg about what makes for great conversations and how anyone can learn to communicate better. We hope you enjoy this episode from the archives.
Speaking of Psychology
will be back with new episodes in late August. Thank you for listening.
Speaking of Psychology
is taking a summer break, so we’re rerunning some of our favorite episodes from the past. Last summer, I talked to psychologists Sarah Pressman and Jessica de Bloom about why you should take vacations and how to make the most of your vacation time. We hope you enjoy this episode from the archives.
Speaking of Psychology
will be back with new episodes in late August. Thank you for listening.
Speaking of Psychology
is taking a summer break, so we’re rerunning some of our favorite episodes from the past. Back in 2021, I talked to psychologist Joe DeGutis and journalist Sadie Dingfelder, author of a new book about what it’s like to be face blind, about what scientists are learning about prosopagnosia, or faceblindness. We hope you enjoy this episode from the archives.
Speaking of Psychology
will be back with new episodes in late August. Thank you for listening.
Octopuses haven’t shared a common ancestor with humans in at least 600 million years. But somehow, separately, these invertebrates evolved remarkable problem-solving abilities, curiosity and intelligence. Octopus researcher Jennifer Mather, PhD, talks about what we know about octopus behavior and cognition, how they evolved to be so smart, how the octopus brain is structured, and what can we learn about thinking and intelligence in general from studying how it evolved in a species so far removed from us.
APA’s 2024 Work in America survey found that younger workers are more likely than older workers to feel stressed, lonely, and undervalued at work. Dennis Stolle, PhD, senior director of APA’s office of applied psychology, talks about why that might be and how employers can create workplaces where all ages can thrive; as well as other key findings from the survey including the state of remote work, hybrid work, and 4-day work weeks.
