The CRAM Podcast ~ Extraordinary Ideas Unleashed

Mary Ito

The CRAM Podcast features engaging and thought-provoking interviews that explore innovative ideas and exciting new research that’s shaping our lives - whether it's the evolution of the work world, the transformative ways we connect, the re-imagining of home and place, or the dramatic changes in our identity and community. We interview leading researchers and big thinkers about the human condition and the possibilities of tomorrow. read less
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Episodes

What do our nightmares tell us?  Exploring the dark side of sleep
1w ago
What do our nightmares tell us? Exploring the dark side of sleep
We’ve all had nightmares.  Some are worse than others and can haunt us for days.Whether it’s a nightmare, a night terror or sleep paralysis, they all happen while we sleep.But they can feel very real.Why do we have nightmares, and what does it mean when they recur over and over again?  Did you know there’s a difference between nightmares and night terrors and when they occur?  Should you awaken a sleepwalker?  And what is sexsomnia?  So many mystifying questions about what happens while we sleep!Elizaveta Solomonova has been studying sleep and dreams for many years and sheds light on this puzzling phenomenon we all experience.  Welcome to your dream world.Info on Guest:Elizaveta Solomonova is a cognitive scientist who teaches a course called The Science of Dreams at Concordia University in Montreal.  She’s also a researcher with the Neurophilosophy Lab at McGill University.  For more info:   https://sociabilityofsleep.ca/elizaveta-solomonova/Cross-cultural sleep & dreams study: https://www.neurophilosophylab.org/s-projects-basic-2Psychology Today:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/contributors/elizaveta-solomonova-phdAdd’l Info: We’d really appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.  Thanks for listening!  We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas. Thanks for listening!
What are the most dangerous personality traits?
07-03-2024
What are the most dangerous personality traits?
Have you heard of “The Dark Triad?”  It sounds like a mysterious crime syndicate in a James Bond movie.   But it’s real. The Dark Triad refers to the worst personality traits a person can have.  Narcissism.  Machiavellianism.  Psychopathy.Think of former U.S. President Donald Trump.  NY financier Bernie Madoff.   Serial killer Paul Bernardo.  Each of them has at least one of these traits according to a researcher who studies personality disorders.     And there’s even a fourth dark trait – sadism.  Put them all together and they form a tetrad of the most dangerous qualities a human can possess.Renowned personality researcher Delroy Paulhus gives a compelling overview of why we have these human traits, how they’re exhibited, and even more shocking - why no one is exempt from any of these behaviours.  Info on Guest:Delroy Paulhus is a personality researcher and professor emeritus of the Dept. of Psychology at the University of British Columbia.   For more info:  https://psych.ubc.ca/profile/del-paulhus/An article on the four “dark personalities”:  https://paulhuslab.psych.ubc.ca/research/dark-personalities/Add’l Info: We’d really appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.  Thanks for listening!  We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas. Thanks for listening!
Faster, higher, stronger:  Improving how we move whether we’re disabled or Olympic athletes
22-02-2024
Faster, higher, stronger: Improving how we move whether we’re disabled or Olympic athletes
Humans are complex beings.And one of the most perplexing puzzles that John McPhee is trying to figure out –  is how we move.  It’s a question that’s fascinated him for most of his life.And during his 30+ years as a systems design engineer, he’s come up with remarkable achievements:everything from improving electric and autonomous vehicles,  developing exoskeletons for stroke patients,  and increasing the performance of Olympic  and pro athletes. His lab even developed a hockey blade that allows hockey players to skate faster.As well as a baseball pitching machine that can replicate every baseball pitch ever produced in the last ten years.  Even Garrit Cole’s. Canada's leading expert in systems dynamics John McPhee shares his amazing inventions and how he’s advancing the way we move. Info on Guest:John McPhee is the Canada Research Chair in Biomechatronic System Dynamics and Professor in Systems Design Engineering at the U of Waterloo.   In 2021, Stanford University named him among the top 2% of scientists in the world.  For more on his research and inventions:  https://uwaterloo.ca/systems-design-engineering/profile/mcpheeTo watch a video on his work:  https://uwaterloo.ca/systems-design-engineering/contacts/john-mcpheeAdd’l Info: We’d really appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.  Thanks for listening!  We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas. Thanks for listening!
Does psychotherapy REALLY work?  What you should know
08-02-2024
Does psychotherapy REALLY work? What you should know
Are there some things about you - habits or behaviours you’d really like to change? Maybe you’re dealing with anxiety?  Or depression?Or you’ve been in one bad relationship after another and you want this pattern to stop. You’ve wondered about going for counselling.  But you’re skeptical.  Maybe even scared. Can psychotherapy, or as some people call it – talk therapy - REALLY help??Who needs it?  What are the different approaches?  And how often do you need to go to benefit? We cover that and a lot more with clinical psychologist Martin Drapeau.  He’s knowledgeable, thoughtful, and open to discussing some of the troubling issues he’s seeing.  I learned a lot!Info on Guest:Dr. Martin Drapeau is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Counselling Psychology and Psychiatry at McGill University.  For more information on his research and work, please check out these links:https://www.mcgill.ca/edu-ecp/martin-drapeauhttps://www.drmartindrapeau.ca/  Dr. Drapeau also has some helpful videos on his website that cover different aspects of psychotherapy and mental health incl. this one on how to choose a psychotherapist:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCQNtQA9Lg0Add’l Info: We’d really appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.  Thanks for listening!  We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas. Thanks for listening!
Hope for the new year: A repeat of our interview with Dr. James Orbinski
28-12-2023
Hope for the new year: A repeat of our interview with Dr. James Orbinski
We hope you're enjoying the holiday season with family and friends. It is a time meant for peace and goodwill and yet, for many, this has been a time of conflict, violence and war. How can we better understand the world during troubled times and even come away with hope? We thought hard about this and we wanted to end 2023 with our interview with Dr. James Orbinski-- first aired in June of this year. It's difficult to listen to. This interview can be disturbing, but it is also incredibly powerful and moving, bringing an understanding of the common humanity we all share. There are very few people who’ve experienced life like James Orbinski - doctor, humanitarian, activist .  He’s had unforgettable experiences on the front lines of aid:  Somalia during its civil war and famine, Afghanistan as the Taliban came to power, and Rwanda during its horrific genocide.  And though he’s witnessed the very worst of human behaviour, he has also witnessed the best.  People willing to sacrifice the greatest gift of all – their life – to help those in need.  James spent years with the int’l aid organization Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) that received the Nobel Peace Prize under his leadership in 1999.  Today he’s director of the Dadaleh Institute for Global Health Research at York University.He continues to work for a better tomorrow – for everyone.Info on Guest:Dr. James Orbinski is a medical doctor, humanitarian, activist, and currently the Director of the Dadaleh Inst. for Global Health Research and York University in Toronto.  Dr. Orbinski received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins sans Frontières in 1999 when he was President.  For more on his background:  https://www.yorku.ca/dighr/person/james-orbinski/He is also the author of the bestseller “An Imperfect Offering:  Humanitarian Action in the Twenty-First Century.”  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/124758/an-imperfect-offering-by-james-orbinski/9780385660709  A must read book!  We’d really appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.   We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas. Thanks for listening!
Delusions: Why do people believe almost anything?
16-11-2023
Delusions: Why do people believe almost anything?
There are all kinds of delusions.Here’s one: You believe you’re the star of a movie and that your life is being watched and recorded.  Every second of it.  And everyone around you – your family, friends, even strangers – they’re in on it.  This is your life and it’s hell.This unusual mental disorder, dubbed The Truman Show syndrome (after the movie starring Jim Carrey), was observed by psychiatrist Joel Gold in a number of patients.  He along with his brother, neurophilosopher Ian Gold wrote about it.  On this podcast, Ian Gold explores this disorder and other kinds of delusions. The Truman Show syndrome is a serious condition.  But what about delusions a lot of people seem to have –  who aren’t necessarily mentally ill?  How and why does this happen?Is this someone you know?  Could it be you?Info on Guest:Ian Gold is a neurophilosopher.  He’s a Professor of philosophy and psychiatry,  and Chair of the Dept. of Philosophy at McGill University.  For more info about his work and research, check out these links:  https://www.mcgill.ca/tcpsych/faculty/iangoldIan Gold’s lab:   https://www.neurophilosophylab.org/Add’l Info:We’d really appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.  Thanks for listening!  And if you’d like to check out our website:  https://cramideas.com/We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas. Thanks for listening!
Lessons for Living… and Dying
13-07-2023
Lessons for Living… and Dying
*A SPECIAL EDITION OF THE CRAM PODCASTVery few people have led the life that Thupten Jinpa Langri has experienced. At 11 years of age, he entered a Buddhist monastery after his parents fled Tibet and became refugees in southern India.  Soon after he met the Dalai Lama who noticed the brilliance and curiosity of this young student.  It was the start of a life-long relationship.  He’s been the Dalai Lama’s interpreter for almost forty years and translator of many of his books.  Jinpa eventually left monastic life and has become a world renowned scholar, researcher, speaker and writer on Tibetan Buddhism and the vital role of empathy and compassion in our lives.   I recently had a chance to interview this remarkable man at the 2023 Roots of Empathy Symposium in Toronto.  Here’s my conversation with him on what it means to live a meaningful life… and death. Info on Guest:Thupten Jinpa Langri is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, researcher and interpreter for the Dalai Lama.  He is the Founder and President of The Compassion Institute,  an adjunct professor at the School of Religious Studies at McGill University, and visiting research scholar at the Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences.  He’s the author of several books incl. “A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to be Compassionate can Transform Our lives.”For more info on his work:    https://www.mcgill.ca/religiousstudies/people/emeritus-and-affiliated-faculty/thupten-jinpa-0Add’l Info:We’d really appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.  A special thank you to Roots of Empathy and Thupten Jinpa Langri for permission to use this broadcast.  To view the full broadcast of the 2023 ROE symposium, go to:   https://youtu.be/SfaEeVSMSVsWe’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas. Thanks for listening!