Rebecca McInroy

Why We Crave Sugar

Why is it hard to have just one of those delicious slices of pound cake over the holidays? Well, it turns out it has less to do with the creamy butter and more to do with the way our brains react to those sweet white grains of sugar.

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss the ways our brains respond to sugar by releasing dopamine. While we may think this dopamine is supposed to make us feel good, what the chemicals in our brains are trying to do is to teach us that this sugar is a good thing and that we want more of it for our survival. This might have been beneficial to us 150,000 years ago, but with sweets in every candy dish, gas station, and coffee shop, craving sugar has its consequences.

How To Make Effective Changes in The New Year

It’s that time of the year when we resolve to drink less, exercise more, save money, etc. It may feel really good to intend to do “better” in the new year, but as Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke explain in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, real change takes planning and hard work. Why is that? It turns out we have no idea why we do most of the things we do on a daily basis. And as long as our behaviors are driven by factors that operate below our conscious awareness, we may not know how to change. As the Two Guys point out, effective change can happen when we start from the outside in. When we look at our environments first we can make space and cultivate relationships that help us become best selves.

Why Attractive People Get More Opportunities

When it comes to what humans find attractive, many factors play a role. Evolutionarily speaking, we tend to be attracted to symmetry and markers that indicate health and wellness. In social terms it has more to do with what’s in fashion at a given moment. But it’s when we begin to react to attractiveness that things get tricky.

Why Creative Minds Think Alike

The part of our brains that is responsible for generating creativity evolved throughout human existence to serve a problem-solving function. If you lived in the great, wild, open world as a primitive human, and your problems were things like predators, or food security sources, or a need for shelter, what would your brain do? Your brain would concoct creative strategies to solve those problems, and that’s what our minds have built a capacity to do as we’ve evolved – create solutions. Drs. Art Markman and Bob Duke give you more of the details.

V&B: Jazz Legend Leonard Bernstein

The life, legend and music of the great Leonard Bernstein. Rabbi, jazz historian and musician Neil Blumofe joins KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with a live jazz ensemble to talk about his legacy.

Leonard Bernstein said, “The key to the mystery of a great artist is that for reasons unknown, he will give away his energies and his life just to make sure that one note follows another… and leaves us with the feeling that something is right in the world.” So who is this great artist? What does his life and legacy continue to teach us? And what is his legacy in jazz history?

Protecting Your Brain as You Age

Whether we like it or not, time marches on. And as it does, we age. One of the most challenging realities for everyone to face in life is that we are all, inevitably, destined to grow old (if we’re lucky, that is). Aging correlates to a steady decline of functional abilities, both physical and mental. Memory and cognition peak in our early twenties, and we begin a very slow, steady decline of those functions as we near our senior years. After age 80, many bodily functions – including brain function – seem to have reached the average limit of their operation. So what can we do to preserve our brains for as long as possible?

V&B: Re-imagining Tradition

The Nutcracker ballerinas dancing at the Long Center wore new costumes on a whole new stage in 2013, and with this Views and Brews we talked about what it means to re-imagine tradition. KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, Designer Emily Cawood and Richard Fatheree of Ballet Austin, and Anthropologist Dr. Richard Flores. They explore the role tradition plays in shaping our identities and building community and what goes into revamping an iconic institution like the nutcracker ballet.

We Can Choose Our Delusions

Merriam-Webster defines delusion as “a belief that is not true; a false idea.” But who’s to decide what is true? Being tagged as delusional carries a negative, unpleasant connotation – calling to mind straight jackets, or maybe some scenes from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” But thanks to our powers of perception – and Drs. Bob Duke and Art Markman – you can choose to change your definition of delusion. When you get down to it, much of human existence is delusional. We use our imaginations to fill in meaning, value, expectations and definitions around a small sliver of what we can actually observe in our surroundings. Our mental state – essentially our level of happiness or unhappiness – is based on how we choose to define and perceive our circumstances.

The Psychological Dynamics of Thanksgiving Dinner

For many of us, Thanksgiving means spending time with our families, carrying out traditions that we’ve practiced for years. While it can be very stressful, messy, and challenging to spend time with family members you don’t see very often, it can also be a beautiful time of recentering. Traditions serve a psychological function. By repeating the same traditional activity with the same group of people over the years, we construct a chronological record of who we’ve been before – and who we are now. It’s a hidden way of staying in touch with the consistent elements of our identities, and it allows us to track ourselves as we develop and change.

V&B: The Legacy of Doug Sahm

Nov. 18 marked the 14th anniversary of Doug Sahm’s passing. And KUT marked the day with a special look back on the life and legacy of Doug Sahm at a Views and Brews. Listen back as KUTX’s Jody Denberg hosts, author and historian Joe Nick Patoski and musical guests Marcia Ball, Speedy Sparks and Ernie Durawa for a night of stories and music from the life of Doug Sahm.

V&B: Chet Baker, His Life and Music

Jazz historian and musician Rabbi Neil Blumofe joins KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with a live jazz ensemble to talk about the haunting music and life of trumpeter Chet Baker.

V&B: The Psychology of Fear

Franz Kafka said, “My ‘fear’ is my substance, and probably the best part of me.” Where as Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” People relate differently to fear across the board. As much as fear can be paralyzing it can also be motivating and mobilizing. So what is fear and what is going on in our brains when we experience fear? Join us as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy hosts Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke to discuss fear and the brain.

V&B: The Ins and Outs of ObamaCare

Healthcare reform has been signed into law and will soon affect millions of Americans. But how? What will the new system mean for you? How do you sign up? What will happen if you don’t? How does it work in Texas. Join KUT’s Veronica Zaragovia and Ben Philpott along with a panel of experts to explore the ins and outs of Obama Care.

V&B: Frank Sinatra and The Art of Image

Frank Sinatra said, “I would like to be remembered as a man who had a wonderful time living life, a man who had good friends, fine family – and I don’t think I could ask for anything more than that.” Did he get his wish? Who was Frank Sinatra? What can his legacy teach us? Listen back to KUT’s Rebecca McInroy in conversation with Rabbi, Jazz Historian, Musician Neil Blumofe, and a live jazz ensemble as they present, Views and Brews: Frank Sinatra and The Art of Image.

V&B: Spaces, Stuff and Ourselves

We take a look at our spaces, our stuff and ourselves with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, UT Professor Sam Gosling Author of “Snoop: What your stuff says about you”, and architect Christopher Travis. What is the psychological functions our homes can serve? How do people shape the spaces around them? And what we can learn about behavior from things?

V&B: The Business of Getting Married

Getting married is quite the business these days, but that doesn’t mean the love is gone. Listen back to this Views and Brews as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy hosts: writer, meditator, and wedding officiant Spike Gillespie; wedding photographer Cory Ryan; couples therapist Steve Milau; and wedding DJ Anthony Confordy, as they talk about some of the most beautiful moments, lucrative gigs and crazy brides they’ve ever encountered while working in the field of matrimony.

V&B: A Band Called Death

Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in 1971 by three teenage brothers in Detroit, Michigan, the African-American group is widely acknowledged as being one of the first punk bands. After years of struggling with canceled contracts, increasing debts, inner family tragedy, and a controversial name that barred them from future success, Death sold off their instruments and disbanded; their recordings lying dormant in an attic for decades.

After years of silence, Death’s moment finally arrived following unexpected demand from rabid internet fans and record collectors, which ushered renowned appreciation and a swarm of national media attention that has now secured their place in the annals of rock history. A captivating documentary in the vein of Searching For Sugar Man, A Band Called Death is equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family chronicle.
Listen back as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy hosts the musicians from the band, for an evening of vibrant conversation and great live music with Death!

V&B: Down and Dirty with the Hammond B-3 Organ

Don’t miss a chance to get down and dirty with the Hammond B-3 organ as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy hosts Dr. James Polk, Red Young, Ian McLagan, Raphael Wressning, Dane Farnsworth and Brannen Temple to discuss what makes the Hammond so unique and significant, and hear some of Austin’s greatest B-3 players tickle the keys!!

V&B: Creativity and Depression

Depression and creativity, how to look at both concepts from various perspectives. KUT’s Rebecca McInroy hosts musician, artist and author of An Ocean of Despair, Thor Harris; Professor of English, and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Depression: A Public Feeling-Dr. Ann Cvetkovich; Psychology Teacher, Kay Lynn Fenn; and psychoanalyst and author of The Creativity Cure: A Do-It-Yourself Prescription for Happiness, Dr. Carrie Barron.

V&B: The Life and Legacy of Edith Piaf

Poet and historian Bette Oliver discusses Piaf’s life; from her impoverished childhood raised in a Paris brothel by her grandmother, to her turbulent career as a street singer and her ultimate legacy as the voice which embodied the idea of French resilience and passion in the wake of the destruction caused by WWII. Also enjoy the music of Piaf with Swiss singer Silvie Rider Young, pianist Red Young and bassist Daniel Durham.