In this conversation, I speak with Indre Viskontas, a professor of psychology and a bridge between the worlds of art and neuroscience. We discuss the importance of creativity, the role of improvisation in opera, the impact of generative AI on creativity, and the connection between music and emotions. We also touch on the challenges of podcasting and the need for society to address climate change and prioritize mental health.

Indre is an opera singer-turned-director who came of age during the decade of the brain. She’s always been pulled both by art and by science and has found ways to integrate the two in my work. She finished a Masters of Music degree in Voice Performance and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience and currently is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of San Francisco, with a cross-appointment at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Indre is passionate about communicating ideas to the public, by directing operas that illustrate the richness of the human experience, creating compelling lectures and podcasts about the brain, and conducting research on the neuroscience of creativity.