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Mandyland

80 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratings

an insight into the wonderful people, conversations, and topics that are present in my life. In any given week I end up talking about neuroscience, motherhood, education, feminist and a variety of other social justice issues, gender and LGTBQ2S+, mental health and wellness, community, and yoga and mindfulness.

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Episodes

Dopamine Hits and Reward (S5E1)

May 02, 2023 17:17 - 15.4 MB Video

In this educational monologue Mandy talks about what is actually going on with the dopamine hits everyone talks about these days and then ends with some practical ways to control our behaviour for better mental health and wellbeing through harnessing the power of the reward system. See also: Berridge KC, Kringelbach ML. Pleasure systems in the brain. Neuron. 2015 May 6;86(3):646-64. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.018. PMID: 25950633; PMCID: PMC4425246. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/art...

Pandemic Take Aways with Mike (S3E13)

April 26, 2020 18:41 - 38 minutes - 21.7 MB

Reflecting on what part of this experience we want to take forward...

Can a 4-year-old Tell A Story Without Poop?

March 18, 2020 22:18 - 6 minutes

This is a recording of my 4-year-old back in the summer when he was extra obsessed with poop and with porcupines, warthogs, and raccoons. He told us 3 stories. Please note: the stories are interactive and you will have to stand with the rest of the audience at the time. He’s a very insistent little 4-year-old who doesn’t take no for an answer.

Talking with the Hosts of the Uncoverup Conspiracy Podcast (S3E11)

March 10, 2020 17:16 - 15 minutes - 27.6 MB

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-psychology-of-conspiracy-thinking/id1316684637?i=1000467017701 Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nathan-radke-671614139/the-psychology-of-conspiracy-thinking https://www.instagram.com/theuncoverup/?hl=en https://twitter.com/TheUncoverUp

Mandyland Rant: Christmas (S3E10)

December 17, 2019 02:20 - 25 minutes - 46 MB

It’s December. Christmas season is well among us. It’s a crazy time of year for many people. Not me. But for many others. Here in this rant I talk about my process of degifting my holidays, the terribleness of commercialized Christmas, the egocentrism of Christmas, the stress and money issues around Christmas, and where is religion in all of this? I end with some thoughts on Santa.

Mandyland Rant: Gender (S3E9)

December 09, 2019 22:17 - 39 minutes - 73.1 MB

Me… ranting about gender, gender issues, gender reveal parties, gendered clothing, gender segregation, gender neutral, gender expansion, gendered opportunities, gendered washrooms… It didn’t start out as a rant. It was going to be an introduction to two other conversations about gender I’ve had specifically around gender-expansive parenting. But 17 minutes in, I realized it was a rant. Oops. One thing I should add, that I didn’t add during the audio is that despite hating segregation, I do ...

Mandyland Rant: University Education (S3E8)

November 12, 2019 18:02 - 14 minutes - 28.1 MB

Me ranting about accessibility issues and the university system. No, I’m not actually lacking compassion for people’s needs. What I’m annoyed with is why we aren’t individualizing education more. I have lots of issues with the university system and you can read about some of them in the MicroDegree Manifesto too.

Lindsay and her NXIVM Cult Experience: Getting and Being In (S3E7)

October 12, 2019 01:35 - 37 minutes - 42.5 MB

EPISODE 2: Today, I share parts of my conversation with Lindsay about what compelled into this world. I love how she starts with it’s not like they say “hey wanna join this cult and we’re gonna have this sex group?”. The recruiting process is very deliberate and calculated.

Lindsay and her NXIVM Cult Experience: PTSD and Life After Leaving (S3E6)

October 12, 2019 01:34 - 29 minutes - 33.5 MB

I am talking with my very dear friend, Lindsay. About 8 years ago, Lindsay got involved in the now famous cult, NXIVM, lead by Keith Raniere. In June of this year (2019) Keith was convicted of federal crimes including sex trafficking, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. His sentencing is at the end of October, 2019. I have been talking with Lindsay about her involvement since she started, back in 2011. Then this past summer, 2 years after she left the cult, we decided to make ...

Co-Living and Community (S3E5)

October 02, 2019 15:43 - 33 minutes - 37.8 MB

Alia and I speak for the first time during this conversation. We were introduced through email by a mutual friend, Paul, who we both know from CSI (Centre for Social Innovation). Paul connected us because Alia is interested in co-living and because my partner and I bought a house in Toronto with our friends and are in a co-living situation. We talk here about what makes for a good human experience and community in a good co-living situation. Resources: Centre for Social Innovation https://...

Bisexuality bi Vanessa, prefaced bi Mandy (S3E4)

September 25, 2019 20:10 - 46 minutes - 53.5 MB

If you want to sit in on a class presentation on the research related to bisexuality please listen to this podcast! Vanessa is a MicroMasters student (part of the Centre for Applied Neuroscience MicroDegree in Psychological Neuroscience) supervised by me, Mandy Wintink. This week’s seminar class was on Sex and Gender and Vanessa’s topic was “Bisexuality” and she presents on the topic according to the guiding questions that provoked the research (see below). The other voices you can hear are ...

Nailing the Ask... i.e., asking for money with Mandy (S3E3)

September 04, 2019 20:10 - 11 minutes - 6.78 MB

I reflect on two examples of people asking for money, one good, one not-so good.

Coaching Dawn Around Her Acute Stress Reactions (S3E2)

August 30, 2019 15:21 - 1 hour - 82.7 MB

Dawn has spoken before about her sever mental health issues (e.g., Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder). She works with a psychiatrist, is on medication, and is on permanent disability and unable to work. Today, she shares with an acute stress reaction she recently had and aims to get some perspective on it. She had approached me to do a live coaching session. The video associated with this session will also be released soon. If you have bene...

Candid Conversation Refining A Mission Statement (S3E1)

August 22, 2019 14:39 - 12 minutes - 14.6 MB

Truth be told, Mandyland is not my main gig. I actually run a company on the side. ;) The Centre for Applied Neuroscience is where I do most of my work as a life coach, life coach trainer, and a neuroscience workshop leader in organizations. I founded the company in 2010 and now have 7-8 people working for me part-time. During this team meeting, we brainstormed our mission and corporate philosophy and present it to our clients, potential clients, and friends of Mandyland as part of our “open...

Season 2 Recap and Season 3 Forecast (S2E35)

August 20, 2019 16:34 - 17 minutes - 20 MB

Just a little recap of my experience with season two and forecasting what to expect for season 3. In case it interests you, look into the MicroDegree mentioned in this episode: http://www.knowyourbrain.ca/microdegree

Mike's Cancer Patient Experience (S2E34)

August 05, 2019 11:06 - 1 hour - 85.1 MB

A year ago Mike was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a cancer of the kidneys. He had surgery 6 months later. His experience was, on paper, great because everything went medically well. But his patient experience made him think very deeply about how to improve the cancer patient experience. Mike is the Design Director at Healthcare Human Factors, a consultancy through University Health Network in Toronto. He is fortunate to be in a position to rethink and design cancer care and he’s doing...

Conversation with Vanessa: The Concept of Sexual Orientation is Not Enough To Capture Modern Relationships (S2E33)

July 18, 2019 17:14 - 40 minutes - 46.1 MB

Vanessa, who recently came out as Polyamorous, is questioning whether identifying a sexual orientation is enough to really capture all the nuances of romantic relationships. So we discuss… and that obviously brings up a discussion about gay versus bisexual and gender and labels in general. Resources: Living Apart Together: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/child-poverty-john-cleese-mail-paid-sick-leave-revolution-baby-living-arrangements-episode-3-1.2905289/living-apart-together-1....

Saying Goodbye to Jett, My Amazing Dog (S2E32)

July 06, 2019 03:18 - 15 minutes - 9.05 MB

Pets: We love them dearly, oftentimes more than the humans in our life. When they leave us it is one of the hardest things to experience. It’s been 2 days since we said goodbye to our amazing dog Jett. It hurts like hell. I miss her dearly. I will love her forever. I want her to come back.

Sarah Reacts to News That Her Liver Tumour Shrank (S2E31)

June 18, 2019 16:18 - 31 minutes - 18.1 MB

Sarah just got news that one of her tumours (a liver tumour) shrunk! Yay! It appears to be from the radiation she had back in March, which is welcomed news after being a bit confused as to what the initial report meant. She shares this with us today in context with the past 5 days of the perpetual roller coaster she is on. We end with a little life coachey-rest officer discussion about how she is planning to manage her energy for an upcoming trip to Australia.

The Science of Love and the Brain (S2E30)

May 17, 2019 01:58 - 55 minutes - 63.4 MB

Tackling the science of [heterosexual] love is an interesting endeavour indeed. Lauren starts us off with the idea of three phases of love (lust, attraction, and attachment), the hormones and neurotransmitters associated with some of these phases, differences between men and women* and an evolutionary perspective on love. We then spend a good deal of time talking about attachment and what that kind of love means in parenting and with pet animals. We even talk about how the brain is affected ...

Vanessa comes out as Poly (S2E29)

May 10, 2019 02:02 - 31 minutes - 18.2 MB

My friend and colleague, Vanessa, recently came out as polyamorous. She’s been living this philosophy for a long time but I was not privy to it, mostly because she had been keeping her professional life separate from her polyamorous life. But she’s been provoked (by our Cosmic Consultant, Cylla — see Cosmic Consultation episode) to let these two worlds collide. So over breakfast in Costa Rica (we were there for work actually!) I open up my phone to record and solicit her into a conversation,...

Mourning Sounds of Costa Rica (S2E28)

May 03, 2019 18:30 - 15 minutes - 17.9 MB

The morning sounds of Costa Rica is such a great example of the diversity of their ecosystem. It makes me laugh thinking back to when I posted a Birds Chirping Meditation from a park in Toronto. This recording was done while I did a morning yoga practice in the open yoga studio. Now, I do my practice to it while back in Toronto, keeping my eyes closed and feeling like I'm back there. It's a good interim until we return next April again!

Marijuana and the Brain (S2E27)

April 11, 2019 14:47 - 1 hour - 137 MB

In a (school) year when marijuana became legal, how could we resist the temptation to discuss the neuroscience side of this popular drug. With this change in legislation here in Canada, it granted us the ability to have an open conversation about it, including some of our own personal experiences along with research related to two psychoactive ingredients: CBD (cannabidiol) and and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). We covered both sides of this in terms the benefits and the negative side effects. ...

Update from Sarah Monologue Style (S2E26)

April 10, 2019 14:24 - 35 minutes - 20.1 MB

Sarah provides a spring update on where she's at with cancer. It’s been a year since her metastatic cancer diagnosis. More scans, treatment protocols, surgeries, emotions, and science.

Impermanence and Expectations Talk and Meditation (S2E25)

April 02, 2019 16:25 - 17 minutes - 9.96 MB

Join me for a sitting meditation. Find your comfortable sitting position, close your eyes, focus on your breath, listen to me talk about impermanence and expectations in the context of anxiety. Then stay for silence together.

Memory and the Brain (S2E24)

March 28, 2019 17:33 - 1 hour - 130 MB

In this week’s episode, we explore one of the most crucial aspects of the human experience; memory. We start off with a phenomenon Lauren finds particularly interesting: Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, in which individuals can recall specific, extremely detailed aspects of their daily lives spanning years and even decades in the past. From there we discuss How do we store memories? What different facets and types of memory are there? What is going on with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. W...

Vision and the Brain (S2E23)

March 14, 2019 17:41 - 1 hour - 123 MB

Summary: Humans experience and observe some of the most extravagant wonders and marvelous sights the world has to offer using the sense many of us sometimes take for granted ; Vision! How do eyes work? What role does the brain play in all of it ? Can we trust what we see ? Find out in this week’s episode of the neuroscience podcast. Quite literally, there is more than meets the eye! References: Bokkon, I. (2009). Visual perception and imagery: A new molecular hypothesis. Biosystems, 96(2)...

Nutrition and the Brain (S2E22)

February 27, 2019 15:13 - 58 minutes - 107 MB

For the second week of our Conversations with Neuroscience Students series, we discuss Nutrition and the Brain, which is a nice extension from what we talked about last week regarding Exercise and the Brain. There were many places we could have gone with this. What we did get into included the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (referred to as simply ‘BDNF' in the episode… and in neuroscience). We talked about toxins and diets and inflammation and even meandered into a discussion abou...

More Breath Awareness Meditation (S2E21)

February 22, 2019 18:30 - 13 minutes - 7.82 MB

This is a guided meditation practice with a focus on breath awareness. It's one of several basic introductory meditations to help build concentration skills with a focus on the breath.

Exercise and the Brain (S2E20)

February 21, 2019 15:48 - 29 minutes - 78 MB

In this episode, we dive into the world of health and wellness and how exercise affects the brain. We explore concepts such as CBR (cerebral blood flow) and BDNF (brain derived neurotropic factor) to see how these are affected by exercise. We also talk about how exercise can affect different demographics and what significance it holds for illnesses like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. We also share some of personal experiences with exercise and how it affects us and our studies.

Intelligence Project Announcement (S2E19)

February 14, 2019 18:12 - 42 minutes - 78.5 MB

I’m going to invite people into the process of my next project related to human intelligence and the need to rethink the way we see intelligence. In this first episode about it, I talk about Multiple Intelligence according to Howard Gardner and also about VIA Character Strengths. At the end, I invite people to take my in-progress screening survey on multiple intelligence and the VIA survey. The link for those are both listed below. Take the VIA survey first so you can tell me what your top...

Conversations with 3 Neuroscience Students: Introduction (S2E18)

February 12, 2019 20:00 - 14 minutes - 26.3 MB

After a few years of students from the second-year neuroscience class I teach at the University of Guelph-Humber asking for how they can learn more neuroscience, I decided to take some of them on as part of their placement requirements. Here we will be exploring various topics in neuroscience. This is our first formal audio meeting where we hear from them, what they are interested in and give us some idea of how to proceed for the next couple of months working together.

When new symptoms pop up with Sarah (S2E17)

January 21, 2019 15:02 - 37 minutes - 21.6 MB

Sarah JohnsonSat, Jan 19, 1:18 PM (2 days ago)to me In this episode, originally sent as a voice memo to Mandy and Mike, Sarah recounts the immediate aftermath of being kept up overnight by side effects of one of her treatments. This was back in September 2018, before recording the first podcast we published with Sarah on Mandyland. But she wants to share this note as it captures feelings of vulnerability, frustration, confusion, and exasperation that arise in dealing with cancer treatment....

What's your new normal Sarah? (S2E16)

January 21, 2019 14:37 - 28 minutes - 52.2 MB

I’m with Sarah in San Diego, at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, a place we have been together many times. We had many slow(er than normal) days and quiet nights in our hotel room. And then we got a chance to really dive into what her new normal is. The conference was a perfect place to compare what use to be, with what is now.

Feeling our inner sense with Mike (S2E15)

January 10, 2019 15:17 - 21 minutes - 39.3 MB

Mike and I got into a conversation about The Interoceptive Mind, a way of feeling our inner body provoked partially by a book that I picked up at the Society for Neuroscience back in November. According to the authors Interoception is “the body-to-brain axis of signals originating from the internal body and visceral organs (such as gastrointestinal, respiratory, hormonal, and circulatory systems). [It] is the sensing of the state of the inner body and its homeostatic needs, to the ever-fluct...

Sorry it's been awhile... here's what I've been up to. (S2E14)

December 10, 2018 17:24 - 3 minutes - 1.93 MB

Clearly, I have more important things to do with my time than creating episodes. Here’s a little snapshot into that. Note, this was recorded by Mike at the end of our date night, on Dec 1st. I only found out about it yesterday (Dec 9th). Apparently he sent it to me but I didn’t even see it or listen to it. Enjoy. ;P

Meditation: Introduction to Breath Awareness (S2E13)

November 03, 2018 16:27 - 13 minutes - 7.98 MB

An introduction to focusing on the breath, a basic concentration practice that sets a foundation for meditating and for deepening your practice. Mostly instruction and practice, with a little bit of commentary on why we are meditating. 

Thinking like a scientist with Jon (S2E12)

October 29, 2018 15:38 - 41 minutes - 75.1 MB

I reconnected with one of my favorite students from Ryerson. He was that super engaged student who asked good critical-thinking questions and really took things to another level. So when he contacted me to say he developed a game on scientific thinking, I was super excited to meet up and learn more about his game. And what he showed met my expectations. Jon is reflective, intelligent, a deep critical thinker, and a social justice advocate. All of these elements came out clearly in our conver...

My Facebook Sabbatical Has Begun (S2E11)

October 25, 2018 14:25 - 22 minutes - 13.1 MB

I’m taking a Facebook Sabbatical… and this is why. Resources CBC episode with Jeron Lanier (the internet guy who talks about getting off social media): https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/the-current/segment/15610520. Also see: Talk also by Lanier: https://www.ted.com/.../jaron_lanier_how_we_need_to... ZigZag is a podcast about changing the course of capitalism, journalism, and women’s lives. For real. https://zigzagpod.com/about/ Me and Mike talking about Blockchain... http://www.mandyland....

Introduction to Meditation (S2E10)

October 23, 2018 04:28 - 23 minutes - 13.2 MB

An introduction to meditation with some pretty basic instructions with a bit of commentary.

The slowness of cancer with Sarah (S2E9)

October 19, 2018 14:06 - 40 minutes - 73.5 MB

In this monologue, Sarah recounts her feelings over the past 3 years of dealing with cancer both how it looked from the outside and how it felt from the inside. At the beginning, she wondered "how am I going to come out the other side?” It felt like she was walking through a doorway in Alice in Wonderland and then suddenly stumbled upon the strange universe. She realized that the way that you look at the world shifts. And a big theme for her, is that cancer is slow. 

A really shitty Monday and existential depression (S2E8)

October 15, 2018 20:15 - 18 minutes - 10.6 MB

Today... I felt my existential depression... and am so glad I happened upon that term recently. For reference, I was reading from the book A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children, by James Webb, Janet Gore, Edward Amend, and Arlene DeVries.

What is the internet? And Blockchain... with Mike (S2E7)

October 04, 2018 00:25 - 13 minutes - 33.7 MB

Ok so Mike learned a whole bunch about the blockchain a while ago when we bought some bitcoin and ethereum and all that fun cryptocurrency stuff. I didn’t. But then I started listening to the Zig Zag podcast and wanted to learn more about it. So… on our next date we find ourselves going down the rabbit hole of trying to figure it out. It got fun for me when we realized that I was part of the internet era before the world wide web and he was not. Mike’s 5.5 years younger than I am, which equa...

Talking with Sarah about her Cancer (S2E6)

September 27, 2018 19:44 - 43 minutes - 78.8 MB

Sarah and I have been talking for a long time about her cancer but this conversation was planned as a way of starting her series of episodes for Mandyland. We had a bunch of ideas planned but realized early that it was hard to figure out where to start. So we started with why she has been hesitant to share this, despite her desire to. That got us talking about her career and the impact cancer has had on her career. From there we talk about where she is now and a brief introduction to her can...

Sarah's Trailer (S2E5)

September 25, 2018 17:10 - 4 minutes - 9.12 MB

At the end of Season One, I put out a call to listeners to send in voice-memo reactions to anything from Season One. Sarah replied and is now a regular guest on Mandyland for Season two! This is her reply.

The Biological and Neurological Basis of Mental Health (S2E4)

September 18, 2018 23:30 - 24 minutes - 13.8 MB

I love Paul’s curiosity about mental health, psychology, and neuroscience. We sat down at the Centre for Social Innovation, which is where we met, on the upstairs patio of the Regent Park location. He is prepping for his new book to be released, which will be a very interactive journey populating the content around the book in curious ways, through public story telling events and conversations with others (like me) about mental other. It was a privilege for me to have this conversation with ...

After 3 Years... I'm Done Breastfeeding! (S2E3)

September 07, 2018 13:39 - 12 minutes - 7.26 MB

August 2018 might just be the last of me breastfeeding! This is a big one for me. I’ve been breastfeeding for 3 years and 2 months and I think…. I think… we’re done. Breastfeeding has been amazing and so hard in many ways, as it typically the case for many women. Sometimes it’s the act of doing it that’s hard… sometimes it’s the emotions around it. For me, it came naturally from a very physical sense but it’s been an emotional rollercoaster from then on. I’ve felt trapped and like my body i...

Mike has cancer (S2E2)

August 29, 2018 19:37 - 32 minutes - 63.3 MB

So we’re starting off with a doozy… me and Mike talk about his recent diagnosis of Renal Cell Carcinoma. Yup, that’s what’s been happening over the summer. It started with a few scans for an unrelated reason and a tumour in his left kidney was detected incidentally. Surgery is planned and there is a good prognosis for it being curable. Here we discuss our feelings about it… sort of.

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