Past Programs
Health - 2006
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Brain Surgery - Live on the Wireless!
23/12/2006
Don your gown and mask, and prepare yourself. Natasha Mitchell takes you into the operating theatre of leading neurosurgeon Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld at the Alfred Hospital, and inside the head of Kia, his patient, as she has an arteriovenous malformation extracted from her frontal lobes. Don't miss this rare audiophonic insight into a craft of impressive dexterity, patience and courage.
Journeys to Recovery: Accepting the Reality of Unreality
16/12/2006
People who hear voices or have delusions often don't believe they're sick with a psychotic illness. It's their harsh and frightening reality. Coming to terms with the need for treatment can be a mighty battle, for both themselves and their families. Lynne Malcolm speaks with two men who've found their own unexpected routes towards acceptance and recovery. And, psychologist Xavier Amador - a forensic expert in high profile cases such as the Unabomber and the 20th 9/11 highjacker - challenges the denial in unique ways.
The Brain Computer Interface
02/12/2006
Artist Pro Hart died of it, so did actor David Niven - the nightmarish legacy of Motor Neurone disease which paralyses the body as the disease progresses. Communication can become restricted to an eye-blink, with the mind remaining intact and active in a frozen body. But the technological cutting edge of the brain-computer interface could make a difference, and help people communicate with the outside world using the only thing they have left...their mind. Turn on the TV, switch off the lights and even send emails, just by thinking about it? No, it's not hocus-pocus.
Moral Minds: The Evolution of Human Morality
25/11/2006
Incest, infanticide, honour killings - different cultures have different rules of justice. But are we all born with a moral instinct - an innate ability to judge what is right and wrong? Could morality be like language - a universal, unconscious grammar common to all human cultures? Eminent evolutionary biologist Marc Hauser and philosopher Richard Joyce take on these controversial questions in impressive new tomes, and to critical acclaim. But could their evolutionary arguments undermine the social authority of morality? Is biology the new 'religion'?
Imps of the Mind Gone Awry: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
18/11/2006
Rituals, checking the stove, repetitive thoughts. Everyday patterns for all of us, but when they go awry, the impact of these imps of the mind is devastating and life-consuming. This week, a provocative theory with new, convincing science - could Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in some children be triggered by a common bout of strep throat? And, nipping the obsessions and compulsions in the bud - one parent's story, and a pilot project already changing the lives of young people plagued by OCD.
Tobacco and Culture: First Nation Peoples face the Challenge
11/11/2006
Sucking on cigarettes. It's a public health nightmare for the world's indigenous peoples. Maori women have the word's highest rates of lung cancer. Smoking rates haven't dropped in 15 years amongst Aboriginal Australians. But, for Native Americans native tobacco still has sacred, ceremonial value. Three First Nation leaders discuss the complex past and present of tobacco use and abuse in their cultures. And, they're making their presence felt - from the first smoke free Native American community, to a public apology by the world's biggest cigarette manufacturer to Maoris.
The Private Life of a Brain Surgeon
04/11/2006
Katrina Firlik's business is brains. Carving into the 'flesh of the soul' is her day job. The first woman admitted into one of the most prestigious neurosurgery programs, she's just penned an insider's account of her world. Part mechanic - part scientist, her intimate encounters of diseased and damaged brains offer a unique, and grisly, lens onto our most mysterious and wondrous organ.
In the Family - A Journey through Madness
16/09/2006
This week, a candid family story of life inside. Inside psychiatric hospitals, inside schizophrenia, and inside a remarkable journey towards compassion, activism and understanding. Penelope and Lloyd met and married after years of cycling in and out of Perth's psychiatric institutions. Penelope's 19-year-old daughter, Tynx, reveals a wisdom beyond her years about the impact of growing up with a parent with mental illness. They join Natasha Mitchell in conversation with a story that is sure to move you.
Part 2 of 2: Dream a Little Dream
09/09/2006
What adventures does your sleeping brain take you on at night? Wild rides into vivid landscapes with a strange cast of characters from your past? Or, mundane replays of the day's events? The purpose of dreams remains the focus of heated scientific conjecture. Do they serve to consolidate our memories and experiences, or is their meaning more complex? The second episode in this BBC series leaves the waking world to uncover a phenomenon that some argue offers a window onto our soul. NOTE: The transcript or audio won't be available because of copyright reasons. Instead you'll be able to enjoy a popular show from our archives, Attachment Therapy and Pseudoscience in Psychology, as this week's podcast edition, here...
Part 1 of 2: A Night of Slumber Revealed
02/09/2006
Prick up your ears and eyelids and listen in. Despite over 100 years of theory and research, no-one knows exactly why we need to sleep and dream yet we know we can't survive without precious slumber. Why? Join BBC radio broadcaster Claudia Hammond as she's wired up in a sleep clinic to reveal the inner workings of her own sleepy brain, and yours too. NOTE: The transcript or podcast won't be available because of copyright reasons. Instead enjoy The Dancing Mind as this week's podcast, from our archives. Click here...
Jerome Kagan - The Father of Temperament
26/08/2006
Why can two children born into the same household be like two different peas in a pod? Harvard's Jerome Kagan trailblazed the controversial science of temperament to investigate why. In a career that spans more than half a century, now he's going into battle for our minds, with a compelling retrospective, An Argument for Mind. To some an iconoclast - one of the biggest names in psychology of our time joins Natasha Mitchell in conversation...and reflection.
Do You See What I See? Delusions
07/01/2006
Cotard's syndrome is the belief that you have died, and for sufferers it is a terrifying state. Delusions can take many forms, from widespread paranoia to a specific and singular delusion - you might think an impostor has replaced your spouse. These misbeliefs are commonly associated with schizophrenia, but they can also occur in people with brain injuries, Huntington's and Parkinson's disease and dementia. The Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science is seeking to explain delusions by developing a model of how we all come to accept or reject beliefs. We see how this research is progressing.
This program was first broadcast on 24/9/2005
