The Connection with Marty Moss-Coane

What can octopuses on MDMA teach us about sociability? That’s what neuroscientist and psychedelics researcher Gül Dölen wanted to find out. The creatures are antisocial with a brain structure very different from humans, but on the drug ecstasy, octopuses wanted to hang out with each other – and were even “touchy-feely.” Dölen has been doing groundbreaking work with MDMA and other hallucinogens to learn how they affect brains and unlock their therapeutic potential. She has a particular interest in critical periods in brain development, when humans are open to learning something new and meaningful from the environment. It’s a fascinating time to be researching MDMA, psilocybin, LSD and other psychedelics as they show increasing potential to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction…but they are no magic pill.

Philosopher Stephen Cave says that we humans struggle with something he calls “The Mortality Paradox.” We know that death is inevitable, and yet we cannot conceive of not existing. Instead, we make up stories that help us live with this existential conundrum. These narratives include the search for the Fountain of Youth, ideas about resurrection, rebirth, the immortality of the soul, and the value of what we leave behind—like children. While our life spans have increased dramatically over the last century thanks to science and medicine, the longevity industry now promises to defy aging—and even death itself. How would living to 150 and beyond change what it means to be alive? Does our mortality make life more precious and meaningful? Is aging an illness to be cured? How can we deal with our fear of death? Our guest, Stephen Cave, is a professor at Cambridge University and director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. He’s the author of Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization, and co-author of Should You Choose to Live Forever?

I’m old enough to remember what life was like before the establishment of the EPA in 1970 and the passage of The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts a few years later. Smog and toxic waste sites were a public health threat. Pollution from industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust was common. Rivers and lakes were filled with untreated waste causing some to catch fire. While environmental hazards remain, policies and public awareness went a long way to fixing the problem. Now we face another crisis: floods, droughts and intense storms caused by climate change and climate change denial. Instead of reducing CO2 emissions, the Trump administration is in the process of dismantling environmental regulations, undermining renewable energy programs and investing in fossil fuels. Climate scientist Kate Marvel is our guest on The Connection this week and says it’s only human to feel angry and afraid when faced with unchecked global warming. She says there are also reasons to feel hopeful about the future. Her new book is Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About the Changing Planet.

In her new book “Spellbound,” historian Molly Worthen explains how charisma is more about storytelling than charm.

Edward Hirsch is one of the country’s most celebrated poets, which would have been a big surprise to his mother. She warned him growing up, “Poetry is fine so long as it sells products. Otherwise it’s just a hobby, and no one gets paid for a hobby.” That’s from Hirsch’s new book, My Childhood in Pieces, which he describes as an elegy and a stand-up comedy. He grew up in Chicago and Skokie, IL with a complicated and colorful family. His dad was a gambler, his mom had boundary issues and his stepdad had a temper. Hirsch writes that comedy was a competitive sport in the family and one could easily get hurt. The book is filled with jokes, puns and one-liners. Edward Hirsch joins us to talk about how he navigated the emotional landmines of his childhood and how poetry has helped him manage big feelings. He wrote recently that he is losing his eyesight which, rather than being tragic, has made him “more mindful and alert, more fully present.”

Ethan Mollick’s guidelines of using AI: “always invite AI to the table, be the human in the loop, treat AI like a person and assume this is the worst AI you will ever use.”

In May 2022 when John Fetterman was campaigning to be Pennsylvania’s Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, noticed a slight droop in his mouth and sensed that something was terribly wrong. She demanded they go to the hospital over her husband’s objections and it’s lucky they did. He was having a stroke. After he won the seat, she noticed how sad he was. He was later hospitalized for depression. This week, our guest is Gisele Barreto Fetterman, who was once an undocumented immigrant and is now an activist, philanthropist and author. Her new book is titled Radical Tenderness. We’ll talk about why vulnerability is a source of strength, why crying doesn’t make you weak, and her transition from invisibility to the public eye.

Author Oliver Burkeman on why it’s time to settle for your imperfections and ditch the relentless self-help messaging of productivity and control.

Psychologist John Kounios on our creative brain and those “eureka moments.” Plus, how composer Jennifer Higdon channels her creativity into her music.

Is caregiving a public or private responsibility?