Smart People Podcast

Alex Korb - The most common psychological disorder in America. It affects more than 1 in 10 Americans and is the cause of more than half of the suicides committed each year. More people suffer from this disorder than coronary heart disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS...combined. It strains our healthcare system as we seek out treatments and cures. It affects every aspect of life and can leave sufferers feeling alone, isolated, misunderstood, and helpless. It is depression. Depression is the most common mental disorder in the United States. Its prevalence is often masked by the fact that sufferers don't always talk about it with family and friends. Further, there is prejudice against depression as a disorder, with some people even feeling that it isn't a real condition. Depression can feel like a downward spiral, pulling you into a vortex of sadness, fatigue, and apathy. But there are ways to cope and recover. Depression is one of the most treatable of psychiatric illnesses. In our episode this week we speak with Neuroscientist Alex Korb, PhD. Alex is the author of the book The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time. Alex Korb, PhD, is a neuroscientist who has studied the brain for over fifteen years, starting with an undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Brown University. He received his PhD in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he wrote his dissertation and numerous scientific articles on depression. He is currently a postdoctoral neuroscience researcher at UCLA in the department of psychiatry. Outside of the lab, he is a scientific consultant for the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, and is head coach of the UCLA Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. He has a wealth of experience in yoga and mindfulness, physical fitness, and even stand-up comedy. "The emotions that we experience are all in contrast to each other. The more capable you are of experiencing despair, the more you can experience joy." - Alex Korb Quotes from Alex:  What we learn in this episode: What are some of the proven methods of improving depression? Why does anxiety and depression still exist? How have we not "evolved past" these types of destructive tendencies, behaviors, and characteristics? Does "shock therapy" work as an effective treatment for depression? What exactly is the nervous system? And is it possible to strengthen the nervous system? Resources: The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time facebook.com/prefrontalblog http://alexkorbphd.com/ Twitter: @prefrontalblog -- This episode is brought to you by: Future Advisor: Let new technology give you complete clarity on all of your investments and a plan to meet your goals sooner - Go to www.futureadvisor.com/smartpeople for your 3 month free premium portfolio management service. WealthFront: The automated investment service that makes it easy to invest your money the right way. Visit wealthfront.com/smartpeople to to get your first $10,000 managed for free. Davinci Virtual: Davinci Virtual offers friendly live receptionist services, killer business addresses and fully loaded meeting spaces – anywhere you need themGet a risk-free trial right now at davincivirtual.com/SMART and make it happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clay Clark - Entrepreneur of the Year. For many of us, starting a business is the only thing that feels right. The idea of a cubicle, a demanding boss, and a 9-5 schedule is downright depressing. We feel as though we were born to do things our way, to make our own path, and to build our own future. If this sounds like you, you don't want to miss this episode! This week we speak with Clay Clark, Founder of Thrive15.com. Thrive15 is the world’s premier online education platform that helps entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and “in-trepreneurs” (entrepreneurial-minded people who work within an organization) learn how to start or grow a successful business. Thrivers have unlimited access to the ever-growing, entertaining, and gamified library of 15-minute training courses taught by millionaires and everyday entrepreneurial success stories. Clay is also an author, consultant, speaker, and disc jockey... yeah, that's right. Clay Clark is the former "U.S. SBA Entrepreneur of the Year" who has been described by the folks at Yahoo as the "Jim Carey of Entrepreneurship." He was "Metro Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year" at the age of 20 and the "U.S. Chamber National Blue Ribbon Quality Award Winner" at the age of 27. As the result of his tireless tenacity and honey badger work ethic, he's been able to found or co-found several successful companies including: DJ Connection, Elephant in the Room Men's Grooming Lounge, Thrive15.com, etc. while finding the time to co-produce five children. Clay once ran for mayor and lost.  "No matter what job you have right now, you need to do the following three things: over deliver, build your network, and learn." - Clay Clark Quotes from Clay:  What we learn in this episode: What does Clay mean when he says we all hit 'jack-assery' at approximately 21 years old? Who should consider being an entrepreneur? What are Clay's keys to success? Resources: www.thrive15.com http://www.makeyourlifeepic.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Michael Gazzaniga - Left Brain vs. Right Brain. We often hear that if we're creative we must be "right-brained" but if we're logical we must be "left-brained". Science tells us that each hemisphere controls certain cognitive functions, so it only makes sense that there is a dominant side that gives us our tendencies - but is it true? Are we either "left-brained" or "right brained"? Or better yet, what happens when you disconnect the two regions from each other entirely? For over 40 years, our guest this week has been studying patients who have had their left and right brain disconnected via surgery, and he is here to set the record straight.  Michael Gazzaniga, is one of the leading researchers in cognitive neuroscience and is the worlds top expert on split-brain research. Michael is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience. He received a Ph.D. in psychobiology from the California Institute of Technology, where he worked under the guidance of Roger Sperry, with primary responsibility for initiating human split-brain research. In his subsequent work he has made important advances in our understanding of functional lateralization in the brain and how the cerebral hemispheres communicate with one another. Gazzaniga founded the Centers for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis and at Dartmouth College, the Neuroscience Institute, and the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, of which he is the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. Gazzaniga was a member of U.S. President George W. Bush's Council on Bioethics. He was also the Director of the Law and Neuroscience Project, a project to study the intersection of law and neuroscience. "The brain is built for us all to make decisions to achieve goals." - Michael Gazzaniga Quotes from Michael:  What we learn in this episode: Is there such things as left brain and right brain people? Why can our brain function fairly normally when it is essentially cut in half? What is split brain research? What happens when our brain is split in the middle (split brain surgery), disconnecting the left and right hemisphere? Resources: Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Gazzaniga -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Future Advisor: Let new technology give you complete clarity on all of your investments and a plan to meet your goals sooner - Go to www.futureadvisor.com/smartpeople for your 3 month free premium portfolio management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laura Roeder - Social media is for real. To be honest, I wasn't a believer. I think social media often times just adds to the noise. But after speaking with our guest this week, I realized that what I think doesn't really matter. Social media is here and it's a necessity for any business these days. Even more importantly is the specific way you interact on social media, what you share, how you share it, and what your strategy is. Love it or hate it, it's time to step up your social media game. This week we interview entrepreneur and social media expert, Laura Roeder.  Laura is a social media marketing expert who teaches small businesses how to become well-known and claim their brands online. She is the creator of LKR Social Media Marketer and Creating Fame, and is also the author ofFacebook Fame: The Facebook Marketing Bible For The Small Business. In 2011, Laura Roeder was honored at The White House as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs under the age of 30. "You're probably not going to have new information tomorrow that you don't have today - so just get started. You don't have any assurances it's going to turn out well, but you have to keep moving forward." - Laura Roeder Quotes from Laura:  What we learn in this episode: Laura makes Chris a believer in social media - why? How to get over the fear of being "too young" in business and entrepreneurship. Some great tidbits on social media Resources: Edgar Social Media Tool lkrsocialmedia.com Facebook Fame: The Facebook Marketing Bible For The Small Business @LKR -- This episode is brought to you by: SmartThings: Go to http://www.smartthings.com/smartpeople to get 10% off a Home Security Kit or Solution Kit with promo code: SMARTPEOPLE Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Edward Humes - Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash. Have you ever thought about how much trash you create? Honestly, have you ever stopped to consider how many trash bags you go through, how many trips to the curb you take, or how much food you throw out? Probably not...most of us don't. But the sad truth is the average American produces 102 tons of garbage across a lifetime and $50 billion in squandered riches are rolled to the curb each year! Although we have become extremely efficient with keeping trash out of site, unfortunately that has kept it out of mind, and it's creating a massive problem. This week we speak with Pulitzer Prize-Winning author, Edward Humes about trash - what's in it, how much we pay for it, how we create so much, what's wrong with it all and how we fix it. Edward's amazing book, Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash, is raising awareness of trash consumption and is sparking nationwide action. Edward Humes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and non-fiction writer. He received the Pulitzer Prize for specialized reporting for investingative stories he wrote about the US military for the Orange County Register. He is the author of 13 nonfiction books, and a contributing writer for Sierra Magazine, California Lawyer and Los Angeles magazine, among other publications. He is married to journalist and author Donna Wares and lives in Southern California. "There is a reason we call it waste - you are throwing stuff away that has value. You are wasting it." - Edward Humes Quotes from Edward:  What we learn in this episode: Why did Walmart choose to make reducing waste a top priority throughout the company and what were the effects? Germany and Austria send only 1% of the their trash to landfills, while America sends nearly 70%! What happened when MIT students place tracking devices in random articles of trash throughout Seattle? The results are shocking. What is the story of our garbage? Where does it come from and where does it go? Resources: Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash http://www.edwardhumes.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Garbology -- This episode is brought to you by: Igloo: Go to igloosoftware.com/smartpeople to use Igloo for free with up to 10 of your favorite coworkers or customers! Future Advisor: Let new technology give you complete clarity on all of your investments and a plan to meet your goals sooner - Go to www.futureadvisor.com/smartpeople for your 3 month free premium portfolio management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology is revolutionizing the way we work and live, and we can accomplish more in an hour than previous generations could in a week - but it comes at a price. Many of us are overwhelmed and exhausted, stressed out by the numerous demands on our time. We work 12 hour days, eat food on the run, get less sleep, and yet somehow we often don't feel like we got anything accomplished. And for these reasons, the subject of productivity has developed a cult-like following. People want to hack this and quick-fix that. But how do we achieve truly extraordinary productivity?  Join us this week as we tackle the topic of productivity with Kory Kogon. Kory is FranklinCovey’s Global Practice Leader for Productivity focusing her research and content development around time management, project management, and communication skills. She is one of the authors of the Wall Street Journal bestseller The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity. Kory has been featured on Inc.com and on its “Productivity Playbook” online series, Fast Company.com, Forbes.com, and in Investor’s Business Daily. She has also appeared on NBC’s TODAY with Hoda Kotb and Billy Bush. Utah Magazine honored Kory as one of the “Top 30 Business Women to Watch” in Utah. In 2012 Kory earned a Certificate of NeuroLeadership Foundations from the NeuroLeadership Institute, of which she is an ongoing member. "Time management, project management, and communication skills are the three core competencies in the 21st century for knowledge workers." - Kory Kogon Quotes from Kory:  What we learn in this episode: How to tackle your overloaded email inbox How does the modern employee disengage from work when they are always accessible? How to be more productive The thinking brain vs. the reactive brain Resources: The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity www.thefivechoicesbook.com www.thefivechoices.com http://franklincoveyspeakersbureau.com/speakers/kory-kogon.php -- This episode is brought to you by: SmartThings: Go to http://www.smartthings.com/smartpeople to get 10% off a Home Security Kit or Solution Kit with promo code: SMARTPEOPLE Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Markus Kramer - What's in a luxury brand? In this episode we are uncovering the secrets of the world of luxury. For example, how did Apple become the most recognized brand in the world? Why were high heels originally designed for men? And why would anyone EVER pay $5,000,000 for a watch? Learn how luxury brands are able to charge such a premium, and how you can use these same principals to build your business or your own personal brand. Our guest this week is luxury brand expert, Markus Kramer. Markus specializes in helping brands and businesses grow stronger. He advises Boards, Executives and Operational Teams as well as Private Equity and Growth Funds on all aspects of strategic positioning, growth through active brand management, marketing, communication and retail development. Among other things, Markus is known for helping Aston Martin (Global Marketing Director) and Harley-Davidson (Marketing Director EMEA) build, scale and deliver their fascinating brands to more people in more places around the world. Markus is Swiss at heart, an architect by training and holds degrees in Marketing & Brand Management, International Project Management from the University of California in Berkeley (USA) and an MBA from the SAID Business School at the University of Oxford (UK). Markus is fluent in five languages and lives with his wife and three young children on the shores of lake Zurich in Switzerland. "Luxury is a demonstration of social power." - Markus Kramer Quotes from Markus:  What we learn in this episode: What does it mean to be a brand? What defines a luxury brand? Why men invented and wore high heels. How do you improve your brand or the brand of your business? Resources: http://www.markuskramer.net/ http://brandaffairs.com/ -- This episode is brought to you by: SmartThings: Go to http://www.smartthings.com/smartpeople to get 10% off a Home Security Kit or Solution Kit with promo code: SMARTPEOPLE Future Advisor: Let new technology give you complete clarity on all of your investments and a plan to meet your goals sooner - Go to www.futureadvisor.com/smartpeople for your 3 month free premium portfolio management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few people have had a better perspective on the rise of the "technology revolution" than our guest this week, Kevin Kelly. As a young hippie backpacking his way around the world, Kevin aspired to make art and to learn about the world. By his own admission, he disliked most technologies, especially the computer - which was a large, clunky, useless machine. However, when he snuck his way into one of the earliest groups to try out the internet, he realized that the world was about to change in a big way and he wanted a front row ticket. Soon after, in 1993 Kevin co-founded Wired Magazine and they have been predicting the future ever since. Kevin is the author of the new book, Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities.  Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993, and served as its Executive Editor from its inception until 1999. He has just completed a book for Viking/Penguin publishers called "What Technology Wants," due out in the Fall 2010. He is also editor and publisher of the Cool Tools website, which gets half a million unique visitors per month. From 1984-1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a journal of unorthodox technical news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers' Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. He authored the best-selling New Rules for the New Economy and the classic book on decentralized emergent systems, Out of Control. "I remember saying to myself that I'll just pretend that I'm a millionaire. I'll just pretend that I have the money that I need and I'll act as if money is not the constraint, but other things are." - Kevin Kelly Quotes from Kevin:  What we learn in this episode: How to live like a creative. How did Wired magazine get started? How does mastery play a role in passion? What does the future of information look like? Resources: Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities www.kk.org Twitter: @kevin2kelly -- This episode is brought to you by: SmartThings: Go to http://www.smartthings.com/smartpeople to get 10% off a Home Security Kit or Solution Kit with promo code: SMARTPEOPLE Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tiffani Lennon - Are women better? Although we like to think that we are an equal opportunity economy, the glass ceiling still very much exists.  As a matter of fact, in 2011, women ran only 12 of the Fortune 500 companies. So how does this impact our ability to compete in a global environment? If women aren't given an equal chance to succeed, aren't we missing out on half of the talented people in the country? As a matter of fact, it's worse than that. According to our guest this week, the data shows that women are outperforming men across the board - and it's time we recognize them for it. This week we speak with Tiffani Lennon, author of the new book, Recognizing Women's Leadership: Strategies and Best Practices for Employing Excellence. Recently named a finalist for the Denver Business Journal Power Book's Power List Award, Tiffani Lennon has shown leadership, program innovation, subject matter expertise, and an entrepreneurial spirit that drives her involvement in academia and business. During the past 10 years, Tiffani has engaged in roles focused in the areas of business and economic development, strategic planning, outreach and engagement, acquisition, policy and legislative analysis and continuous performance improvement. Tiffani attended the University of London’s Birkbeck College of Law and completed an LL.M. degree in International Economic Law and Development. Complementing her already-impressive academic credentials, her strengths as a consultant sit on a solid foundation of education including a Master’s degree, a Juris Doctor, and now, an LL.M. degree. s. "In most of our modern history we have valued and favored that which is masculine." - Tiffani Lennon Quotes from Tiffani:  What we learn in this episode: What does the "glass ceiling" look like today? What is the talent gap? How do we hire talent, regardless of the sex? Resources: Recognizing Women's Leadership: Strategies and Best Practices for Employing Excellence https://portfolio.du.edu/TLENNON -- This episode is brought to you by: Shari's Berries: Go to Shari's Berries Get an amazing Valentine’s Day deal: Giant, juicy, freshly dipped strawberries – starting at $19.99! Or double the berries for $10 more! Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just as polio loomed over the 1950s, and AIDS stalked the 1980s and ’90s, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) haunts us in the early years of the twenty-first century. Over a decade into the United States’ “global war on terror,” PTSD afflicts as many as 30 percent of the conflict’s veterans. But the disorder’s reach extends far beyond the armed forces. In total, some twenty-seven million Americans are believed to be PTSD survivors. Yet to many of us, the disorder remains shrouded in mystery, secrecy, and shame. This week we speak with David Morris, former Marine turned war correspondent. While on assignment, David's humvee was hit by an IED (improvised explosive device) and his life was forever changed.  In this episode we discuss America's hunger for violence, the effect of war movies on our nation (specifically we discuss the newest blockbuster - American Sniper), the truth about PTSD, and much more.  David is the author of the brand new best-selling book, The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  David Morris is a former Marine infantry officer. He worked in Iraq from 2004 to 2007 as a reporter for Salon and the Virginia Quarterly Review. His story “The Big Suck: Notes from the Jarhead Underground” was originally published in VQR and was included in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Slate, The Daily Beast, The Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. In 2008 Morris was awarded a creative nonfiction fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as residencies at The MacDowell Colony and the Norman Mailer Writers Colony in Provincetown, Massachusetts.  "The only people who don't think that America has an empire are Americans." - David Morris Quotes from David:  What we learn in this episode: What is the mental and physical toll that war takes on a soldier? How are war movies distorting our feelings towards war and violence? What should the average person understand about post-traumatic stress disorder? Resources: The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder www.theevilhours.com New York Times Article by David Morris -- This episode is brought to you by: Shari's Berries: Go to Shari's Berries Get an amazing Valentine’s Day deal: Giant, juicy, freshly dipped strawberries – starting at $19.99! Or double the berries for $10 more! Lynda.com: Do something good for yourself in 2015 and sign up for a FREE 10-day trial to Lynda.com by visiting Lynda.com/smartpeople. Need suggestions? Try these:  Getting things done - Lynda.com Breaking out of a rut - Lynda.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices