Mind & Matter

Send us Fan MailNick talks with Nick Mosley, who is CEO of a cannabis testing lab called Confidence Analytics, which conducts analytical testing for legal cannabis products in Washington & California. They discuss: how analytical testing for cannabis products works; THC, CBD, and cannabinoid content; terpenes; pesticides, heavy metals, and microbial contaminants; the phenomenon of THC inflation & lab shopping in the legal marijuana industry; how consumers can discern whether cannabis products are safe & consistent.*Not medical advice.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailWhat is Mind & Matter?Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers about alive today about how your body & mind react to what they’re fed.The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.Learning philosophyAt M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or pushing my own viewpoint.My beliefs:Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:“Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)“Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)“Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailNick talks to psychiatrist & neuroscientist Devanand Manoli, MD, PhD, whose lab at UCSF studies the neural basis of social behavior & attachment in prairie voles. As a psychiatrist, he also treats patients with childhood psychosis. They discuss: the neural basis of pair bonding, monogamy, and parental & sexual behavior; oxytocin, vasopressin, testosterone & estrogen; evolution of behavior; menopause & multigenerational parental care; childhood psychosis; and more.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailNick talks to Dr. Paul Cisek, a neuroscientist at the University of Montreal who studies sensorimotor control & decision making in primates. They discuss: the evolution of the brain from the earliest nervous systems to humans; metabolism & state control; the evolution of behavior; sensation, perception, cognition, decision making & consciousness; language & representation; why neuroscience needs evolutionary thinking; and more.*Not medical advice.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailNick talks to Dr. Stephen Simpson & Dr. David Raubenheimer, both professors at the University of Sydney who have been research collaborators for many years. Their research focuses on understanding animal feeding behavior, especially how & why different animals use their sensory systems in order to consume foods so that their diets contain the right balance of nutrients. Understanding animals in the evolutionary & ecological contexts they evolved to survive in enables us to build a holistic picture of the general principles underlying feeding behavior. Topics discussed include: Macronutrients (protein, fats & carbohydrates) and micronutrients (sodium, calcium); the 'protein leverage hypothesis' & how this explains the modern obesity epidemic; how different diets can promote fat weight, longevity, or reproductive success; the optimal macronutrient composition for weight loss; the comparative biology of feeding behavior across animals like humans, gorillas, spiders, wolves, etc.More content about diet & nutrition.*Not medical advice.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailNick talks to Dr. Christoffer Clemmensen, who runs the Metabolism & Molecular Pharmacology group at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. His lab studies the biological basis of obesity & other metabolic disorders. They discuss: the causes of obesity; environmental and biological factors influencing predisposition to obesity; novel anti-obesity drugs; gut hormones & peptides regulating food intake; whether psychedelics like psilocybin may be useful for treating obesity and other metabolic disorders.*Not medical advice.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailNick talks to academic dermatologist Dr. Richard Weller about: skin health; benefits & risks of sunlight & UV radiation exposure; nitric oxide, blood pressure & cardiovascular health; vitamin D; sunscreen & tanning; the evolution of skin color & skin physiology; and more.*Not medical advice.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailNick talks to biologist Dr. Christoph Thaiss, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His lab studies how the body detects & responds to environmental stimuli, with a focus on interactions between the gut microbiome, immune & nervous systems. They discuss: sensory systems of the body & basic principles of how they work; gut microbiome & the consequences of depleting it with antibiotics; endocannabinoids & exercise; how microbiome composition influences the brain & motivation to engage in exercise; prebiotics & probiotics; circadian rhythms & eating patterns.*Not medical advice.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailNick talks to biochemist & biophysicist Dr Ryan Gumpper, a postdoc in Dr. Bryan Roth's lab at the University of North Carolina. They discuss the biochemistry, molecular biology & biophysics of serotonin receptors, including the molecular details for what happens when serotonin and tryptamines psychedelics (e.g. LSD) bind to 5HT2A receptors in the brain. They also discuss how understand these details relates to the quest to discover novel psychedelic-derived compounds with therapeutic benefits, as well as the inspiration Ryan received from reading Alexander Shulgin's famous book, PIHKAL.*Not medical advice.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts

Send us Fan MailNick talks to anesthesiologist & neuroscientist Dr. Alex Proekt, who runs a lab at the University of Pennsylvania, about altered states of consciousness. They discuss: NREM & REM sleep, anesthesia & anesthetic drugs like propofol; coma & vegetative states; sleeping pills like Ambien; the relationship between consciousness & the underlying brain dynamics; how ketamine differs from other anesthetics & what it does to brain activity; AI & ChatGPT.*Not medical advice.Support the showHealth Products by M&M Partners:AquaTru: Water filtration devices that remove microplastics, metals, bacteria, and more from your drinking water. Through link, $100 off AquaTru Carafe, Classic & Under Sink Units; $300 off Freestanding models.KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime)Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.SporesMD: Premium mushrooms products (gourmet mushrooms, nootropics, research). Use code 'nickjikomes' for 20% off.Lumen device: Optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. MINDMATTER gets you 15% off.For all the ways you can support my efforts