Brain Shaman

Simon Rowbottom is a musician and psychotherapist, and a member of the English alternative rock band The Boo Radleys, best known for their hit Wake Up Boo!. We talk about his early life with music, the rise of the band, and what it feels like when success looks great from the outside but feels very different on the inside. Simon describes the difference between process and outcome, how pressure can drain the creative spark, and what it was like to walk away when the band split.We explore how he found his way into therapy, how years of touring and chronic stress shape the brain and nervous system, and the psychological challenges that musicians often face. And we talk about The Boo Radleys reuniting more than two decades later with a different mindset. No expectations. No pressure. Just the simple joy of making music again and expressing what is happening inside through sound.Connect and Learn MoreThe Boo Radleys: thebooradleys.comMusic Industry Therapist Collective: musicindustrytherapists.comSimon’s novel: ThimbleriggerRESOURCESAlbums: C'mon Kids, Kingsize, The WallBands: Bon Jovi, Eggman, Happy Mondays, My Bloody Valentine, Oasis, Paperlung, Pink Floyd, Primal Scream, Ride, Simon & Garfunkel, The Boo Radleys, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The Wedding PresentPeople: Alan McGee, Daniel Day-Lewis, Dick Green, Elvis Costello, Martin Carr, Timothy Brown,Songs: Wake Up Boo!, When I'm Sixty-FourTV shows: Boys from the Blackstuff, Top of the Pops

Bernd Haber is the author of Fritz Häber, The Complete Diary: 16 Months in an American POW Camp, drawn from his grandfather’s journal and interview. We discuss German history, communism and capitalism, East Germany, Berlin, ideology, freedom and control, family memory, generational change, communication, war, sudden shifts, personal turning points, and how an ordinary life can be shaped by circumstance, intertwined with other people, history, and forces that push us in new directions. Bernd’s own story mirrors these themes. He grew up in East Berlin, watched the wall fall, stepped into the West, and eventually built a new life in America. His path is shaped by history, serendipity, opportunity, unexpected conversations, and small moments that opened new possibilities. This episode looks at how history, choice, external forces, and timing collide to redirect a life, and why talking with parents and grandparents, and understanding their experiences, can transform how we understand ourselves.Connect and Learn MoreBook: Fritz Häber, The Complete Diary: 16 Months in an American POW CampWebsite: 16monthsaspow.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/berndhaberRESOURCESBands: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, SteppenwolfBooks: Blitzed by Norman Ohler, Life of Service, Man of Purpose by Jim Waite, Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse,People: Albert Einstein, Barbara Minton, Bob Dylan, Herbert Haber, Hermann Hesse, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, John Kay, Joseph Goebbels, Tom Gundelfinger O'Neal, Wilhelm I, Wilhelm II, Winston ChurchillTV Series: Babylon Berlin, Titans: The Rise of Hollywood

Barbara Minton is a psychologist and musician who creates neuroscience-informed music designed to support and heal the brain. In this episode, we explore the relationship between music and the brain, and how we can use it to guide or change our mental and emotional states.We talk about how music affects the brain, the difference between making it and listening to it, and why different genres influence us in different ways. We get into transcendent and altered states, how music can support grief, loss, pain, insomnia, and emotional processing, and how individual differences like ADHD or PTSD shape the nervous system’s response. We also look at music as a tool for social connection and the unique experience of creating and playing music with others.We discuss how different instruments feel to play, what makes the guitar and pipe organ special, and how music ties into memory. We explore how to use it deliberately to enhance learning and recall, why our emotional reactions to songs change over time, and how lyrics shape the way we see the world. We also explore why certain genres explode at particular moments in history, why pop music remains so consistently popular, which musical elements most strongly affect the brain, what it feels like to make and play music, how live music differs from recorded music, and the overall healing power of music.Connect and Learn MoreWebsite: musicandhealing.netAlbum: Calm the Storm LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/barbara-minton-057957164RESOURCES People: Ana Lapwood, Aretha Franklin, Calum Graham, Freddie Mercury, Hans Berger, Peppino D’Agostino, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartSongs: Amazing Grace, Pavane for a Dead PrincessStudies: Contrasting effects of music on reading comprehension in preadolescents with and without ADHD  (Madjar et al., 2020), Human song: Separate neural pathways for melody and speech ( Hamilton, 2022)

Adrian Cois is an emergency physician trained in Australia and working in the U.S. In this episode, we discuss the problems of the U.S. healthcare system and how to fix it.Connect & Learn More Instagram: @dr_coisLinkedIn: Adrian Cois

Keith Kurlander is a psychotherapist, co-founder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, and host of The Higher Practice podcast. The discussion covers psychedelics, trauma, nervous system regulation, and mental health. Topics include the therapeutic and disruptive effects of psychedelics, trauma as a physiological state, the importance of listening to one’s inner purpose or "North Star,"  rising mental health challenges, and the impact of technology and AI on psychological well-being. Connect & Learn More 🎙️ Podcast: The Higher Practice for Optimal Mental Health🌐 Website: psychiatryinstitute.com📘 Book (coming March 2026): Psychedelic TherapyResources 👥 People: Amrit Desai, John Demartini, Ken Wilber, Stanislav Grof, Will Van Derveer

William Person is a former Olympic bobsledder for Team USA. He talks about what it was like flying 90 mph down the ice, taking up to 80 Gs, and what happened after the cheering stopped: brain fog, headaches, memory and focus loss, sensitivity to sound and light, disorientation, depression, and suicidal thoughts.We talk about the hidden suffering in sports, how CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) might relate to ADHD and other mental health struggles, why so many athletes and veterans go untreated, and the deadly consequences that follow. William shares his lowest moments, his fight to stay alive, and how hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) helped him when nothing else could.Connect & Learn More 🍭TikTok: @hyperbarichealing📘 Facebook: One Man With a Chamber | William Person💼 LinkedIn: William Person📸 Instagram: @willp1234567▶️ YouTube: @braininjurysurvival💰 GoFundMe: CTE Recovery for Athletes and MilitaryResources 🎢 Six Flags Magic Mountain — Goliath 📰 Sledding Athletes Are Taking Their Lives. Did Brain Injuries Play a Role? – The New York Times⚖️The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) 👥People: Cuba Gooding Jr., Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z, Joe Namath, Kanye West, Lance Armstrong, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Jackson, Russell Crowe 🎬 Films: A Beautiful Mind, In Whose Name?, Jerry Maguire, One Battle After Another💥Incidents: 2025 Anaconda Shooting, 2025 Grand Blanc Township church attack, 2025 Midtown Manhattan Shooting, Washington Navy Yard shooting 

Ewelina Kurtys is a neuroscientist and Strategic Advisor at FinalSpark, a Swiss company building computers from living brain cells. We talk about how neurons differ from silicon chips, why they’re more energy-efficient, how they’re grown and programmed in the lab, and how biocomputing could shape the future of AI. Connect and Learn More:🌐Website: finalspark.com💼LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ewelinakurtysResources:🏢Companies: AlpVision, Amazon, Cortical Labs, Ekai.io, Google, Microsoft, Neuralink👤People: Elon Musk, Fred Jordan, Martin Kutter

Mary Petto is a Rapid Turmoil Resolution specialist and the author of The Family Guide to the Law of Attraction. We talk about trauma, how it gets stuck in your subconscious, hijacks your nervous system, and keeps you in mental loops. She explains why talking or reliving it doesn’t work, how metaphors and stories communicate with your inner mind, and how Rapid Turmoil Resolution can help you get calm, neutral, and open to new possibilities. Connect and Learn More🌐Website: portablevisions.com📖Book: The Family Guide to the Law of Attraction🎁The Loop Locator: portablevisions.com/gift📸Instagram: @Livinginthevortex💼LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marypetto🍭TikTok: @marypetto

In this episode, I talk with Jeff Sorensen, founder of breathARMY. He shares how the breath became the central tool in his recovery from trauma, addiction, and mental illness. We explore how his years of substance use, time in a Mexican prison, near-death experiences, and struggles with identity led him to discover how breathing habits influence and reflect the nervous system, emotions, and perception of reality.Jeff explains the power of returning to a natural, effortless breath and how awareness of the breath can help release fear, old patterns, and habitual ways of being. We also discuss how meditation, plant medicine, yoga, pets, and time in nature supported his journey, and how he learned to channel his energy and emotion into practices that foster healing, presence, freedom, and personal growth.Connect and Learn More:Website: breatharmy.comFacebook: @breathARMYInstagram: @breatharmyResources:BooksA World Made New by Paul SeligThe Quantum Revelation by Paul LevyWetiko by Paul LevyPeoplePaul LevyPaul Selig

In this episode, I talk with Steven Puri, co-founder of the focus app Sukha and former Hollywood executive, about focus and flow — what it feels like, why it matters, and how to increase it. We cover a range of tools and techniques, including: sound, physical space, to-do lists, community, solitude, time of day, and simple items like a pencil, paper, and a timer, along with lessons from Hollywood on creating great work and fulfilling your dreams.Connect and Learn More: Website: thesukha.coEmail: Shared in the episodeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/steven-puriResources Mentioned:Apps: Brain.fm, Endel, Forest, TodoistBooks: Deep Work by Cal Newport, Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Indistractable by Nir Eyal, The Net and the Butterfly by Olivia Fox Cabane & Judah PollackCompanies: Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Disney, Dreamworks Animation, Fox Corporation, Hilton, LucasFilm, Marvel, Meta, M. Fredric, News Corp, Nike, Oura Health, Pixar, Spiegel, TikTok, Twitter, Universal Studios, Vine, YouTubeMovies: A Good Day to Die Hard, Alien vs. Predator, Ant-Man, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Independence Day: Resurgence, Live Free or Die Hard, Mission: Impossible III, My Best Friend's Wedding, Rain Man, Stargate, Star Trek, The Island, The Mask of Zorro, The Wolverine, Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the FallenPeople: Alex Kurtzman, Bob Iger, Bob Orci, Chase Carey, Dean Devlin, Elon Musk, Evan Spiegel, Francesco Cirillo, George Lucas, Hephaestus (character), Jake Paul, James Clear, James Dean, John Diemer, Judah Pollack, Logan Paul, Mark Zuckerberg, Marie Curie, Michael Jordan, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Nir Eyal, Olivia Fox Cabane, Pablo Picasso, Prometheus (character), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Ronald Bass, Ronald Emmerich, Rupert Murdoch, Spike Jonze, Steve Jobs, Tony MauroPlaces: Austin, Bali, Chiang Mai, Cyprus, Kathmandu, Puerta Vallarta, San Francisco, ViennaPodcasts: Deep Questions with Cal Newport