Emotion: Podcast Playlist

This listening list on EMOTION was curated by Julie Magruder, a member of the New York City chapter of Podcast Brunch Club.

Emotions are an essential part of being human. The science behind emotions offers fascinating insight into what’s going on inside our own heads, minds and bodies. Despite the abundance of information that exists, I had little education on the subject; so when it came time to deal with emotions, I wasn’t prepared. These podcasts just scratch the surface in terms of the available perspectives and research. There are so many more angles from which to look at emotion–its history, importance, impact, etc–and they will sometimes contradict each other. However, the beauty of considering many perspectives is that it will help shape your own understanding of emotion. As the episodes in this listening list suggest…it’s not what is, it’s what you think/feel/believe/____ (fill in the blank) is.

Podcast Playlist on Emotion

TEDTalks Society and Culture – The History of Human Emotion
(Apple Podcasts // 14 minutes, December 2017)
The words we use to describe our emotions affect how we feel, says historian Tiffany Watt Smith, and they’ve often changed (sometimes very dramatically) in response to new cultural expectations and ideas. Take nostalgia, for instance: first defined in 1688 as an illness and considered deadly, today it’s seen as a much less serious affliction. In this fascinating talk about the history of emotions, learn more about how the language we use to describe how we feel continues to evolve — and pick up some new words used in different cultures to capture those fleeting feelings in words.

Science of Success – How To Master Emotional Intelligence & Why Your IQ Won’t Make You Successful with Dr. Daniel Goleman
(Apple Podcasts | Google Play // 52 minutes, March 2017)
This episode covers Emotional Intelligence. What is emotional intelligence and why does it matter so much? How the science demonstrates that emotional intelligence matters far more than IQ, how you can develop and improve your “EQ”, how to build the muscle of focus, and much more with Dr. Daniel Goleman. Dr. Goleman is a co-founder of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. He currently co-directs the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations at Rutgers University.

Parenting Teens: The Biggest Job We’ll Ever Have Podcast – 37: Hilary Jacobs Hendel – It’s Not Always Depression
(Apple Podcasts // 30 minutes, February 2018)
How do you respond to your child when they get angry at you? Is your answer or reaction also one of anger? Wouldn’t it be great if we understood what emotions get triggered in us that make us respond the way we do? This podcast with Hilary Jacobs Hendel will help you answer these questions. Hilary has written a book called “It’s Not Always Depression: Working the Change Triangle to Listen to the Body, Discover Core Emotions, and Connect to Your Authentic Self.” While the title might lead you to think this book is about therapy or psychoanalysis, there is a lot in it to help parents understand where our emotions come from and how we can respond differently to our kids when they are upset; we can also teach them how to deal with their emotions, rather than throwing up defenses to avoid them.

Invisibilia – Emotions
(Apple Podcasts | Google Play // 55 minutes, June 2017
A thief knocks down your door and you are flooded with fear. Your baby smiles up at you and you are filled with love. It feels like this is how emotions work: something happens, and we instinctively respond. How could it be any other way? Well, the latest research in psychology and neuroscience shows that’s not in fact how emotions work. We offer you a truly mind-blowing alternative explanation for how an emotion gets made. And we do it through a bizarre lawsuit, in which a child dies in a car accident, and the child’s parents get sued by the man driving the other car.

[BONUS] By The Book – What To Say When You Talk To Yourself
(Apple Podcasts | Google Play // 42 minutes, January 2018
For a little comic relief, check out the By The Book podcast from Panoply, a PBC partner. This podcast features two funny ladies, Jolenta and Kristen, as they live by the rules of a different self-help book each episode to figure out which ones might actually be life changing. In this episode, Jolenta and Kristen examine their own self talk – and try to improve it, of course – with the help of the classic bestseller What To Say When You Talk To Yourself, by Shad Helmstetter.

[BONUS] Meditation Minis Podcast – 117 Present Moment Practice
(Apple Podcasts // 11 minutes, April 2018
A present moment practice focused on paying attention to specific parts of your body. This meditation is also good for general de-stressing, as well as for quickly getting “re-grounded” into the present moment any time you choose.

PBC Podcast – Interview with Matt Bodnar, creator of Science of Success
(Apple Podcasts // Google Play | 31 minutes, June 2018)
Adela interviews Matt Bodnar, host of the Science of Success podcast. His episode entitled, “How To Master Emotional Intelligence & Why Your IQ Won’t Make You Successful with Dr. Daniel Goleman” was featured on this month’s podcast playlist.

PBC Podcast – Interview with Hilary Jacobs Hendel, author of It’s Not Always Depression
(Apple Podcasts // Google Play | 47 minutes, June 2018)
Sara DaSilva, of Audible Feast, interviews Hilary Jacobs Hendel, who was the guest on one of the podcasts we listened to as part of the June podcast playlist on Emotions. The episode that Hilary was a guest on was the Parenting Teens podcast episode entitled “37: Hilary Jacobs Hendel – It’s Not Always Depression.”

PBC Podcast – Emotion Playlist Roundup
(Apple Podcasts // Google Play | 35 minutes, June 2018)
Adela, Sara, and Julie (of the PBC-NYC chapter) provide their feedback on the episodes from the podcast playlist on Emotion. Then, in the “What We’re Listening To” segment, Sara and Adela each offer two podcast recommendations each: one independent podcast and one from a network.

Conversation Starters on Emotion Podcast Playlist

1. How do you feel these podcasts worked together and/or worked against each other?
2. Do we live in an emotion-phobic culture? If yes, do you see that changing? Or needing to change? If no, what makes your culture emotion-welcoming?
   Sub-question: What, if any, aspects of the community/society you live in do you see as contributing to depression, anxiety, and addiction?
3. Do you think emotions (core or otherwise) are universal or culturally specific? Automatic reflexes or created responses?
4. How do you feel emotions were seen growing up in your households, cultures and/or countries?
5. How do you define healthy vs. unhealthy anger? How was anger viewed in your home/families/communities?
6. Did you find your perspective on your own emotions and/or those of others changed after listening to any of these podcasts?
7. Can you recall a time that you “blocked” a core emotion (joy, sadness, anger, excitement, etc) with an “inhibitory” emotion (shame, guilt, anxiety, etc)? When you blocked that core emotion, what happened?

DJ RuggedAngel’s Music Playlist

DJ RuggedAngel, a member of our Pittsburgh chapter, has put together this musical playlist for us around the theme of Emotion. Enjoy!