The Reveal. Find out how this Mediclub experience ends.The Assholes push the outer limits of the ASS scale. (What geminis!)They stumble on unexpected terrain, questioning the very nature of reality.This is Part 3 of 3.--Credits:Written and produced by Gabriel Berezin.Original music by Santiago Arias-Rozo.Opening and closing music by Monuments (featuring Grant Zubritsky (bass), Robby Sinclair (drums) and Bryan Murray (saxophone), Gabriel Berezin (guitar)) Script editing and voiceover by Melissa "Monty" Montan Logo design by Justin MontanFollow Fugues on Twitter and Instagram.References:Does the Multiverse Exist?4-7-8 Breathing TechniqueStudy about why certain people are gullibleEnglish to Ned Flanders translatorJesse IsrealMediclubThe Big Quiet

In part 2 of Assholes, the immersive story of the Mediclub experience continues with three more fugues.The Asshole co-hosts review the similarities between meditation, marijuana and the right hemisphere of your brain.Then you'll see if 12-step programs fit or (don't fit) into the event.Most importantly you'll find out what Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” has to do with the most under-appreciated part of your brain.All culminating in a new and surprising ASS score.See how deep these assholes go!This is part 2 of 3.--Credits:Written and produced by Gabriel BerezinOriginal music by Santiago Arias-RozoOpening and closing music by Monuments (featuring Grant Zubritsky (bass), Robby Sinclair (drums) and Bryan Murray (saxophone), Gabriel Berezin (guitar)) Script editing by Melissa "Monty" Montan Logo design by Justin MontanFollow Fugues on Twitter and InstagramReferences:Jill Bolte Taylor TED talk - “My Stroke of Insight”Weed and mindfulness, being presentCarl Sagan on THC and brain hemispheresThe history of 12 step programsSynchrony creates social bonds (Scientific American)Your (Tiny Dancer) CerebellumMore on cerebellum anatomy and functionPrivate Dancer (Tina Turner)Tiny Dancer (Elton John)Audience choir from Jacob Collier

Ever been to a group meditation? How did you feel? Third eye open and a blissful permagrin? Or awkward and self conscious?Fugues is back with a new talk show that measures gullibility and skepticism using a powerful scale. This new spectrum is defined by Larry David, Woody Harrelson, Betty White, Bill Murray and cats (not the musical).Gabe and his Inner voice co-host discuss the neurological and psychological mental phenomena activated during a Brooklyn meditation retreat.Find out what a Burger King Whopper has to do with our experience of time, and why getting picked last on the dodgeball court explains our cultural divide.This is Part 1 of a 3-part series.--Written and produced by Gabriel BerezinOriginal music by Santiago Arias-RozoOpening and closing music by Monuments (featuring Grant Zubritsky (bass), Robby Sinclair (drums) and Bryan Murray (saxophone), Gabriel Berezin (guitar)) Script editing by Melissa "Monty" Montan Logo design by Justin MontanFollow Fugues on Twitter and InstagramReferences:Thinking about the Future (aka prospection)We aren’t meant to live in the moment (NYT)Guru podcastJames Arthur Ray back at itOprah doesn’t have a great track record on picking gurus (just saying)Physical pain and social rejection studyMediclub

How does increased power impact human minds? It’s almost not someone’s fault if empathy wanes while power accumulates. In fact, it’s basically inevitable.  Joe Smarro, one of the subjects of the HBO documentary, "Crisis Cops: Ernie and Joe," is an exception to the rule. Joe is a police officer and trainer who gives a Master Class in how to sidestep fate when encountering people in crisis. We hear a few fugues from Joe illustrating what it's like to be a cop in these situations. And we give it the post-fugue treatment with inner voice, helping us to understand the cognitive effects of power and how to avoid unnecessary conflict.Join us for the third and final part of this series on fate and biology. --Credits:Written and produced by Gabriel Berezin.Original music and sound design by Grant Zubritsky. Additional music courtesy of Sami Jano.Opening and closing music by Monuments (featuring Grant Zubritsky (bass), Robby Sinclair (drums) and Bryan Murray (saxophone), Gabriel Berezin (guitar)) Editorial insight by Melissa "Monty" Montan Logo design by Justin MontanFollow Fugues on Twitter and Instagram.--Relevant Fugues episodes:The Brain's Molotov Cocktail | Fate & Biology | 1Bonding, for Better or Worse | Fate & Biology | 2Why So IrrationalReferences:HBO’s Crisis Cops, Ernie & JoeJoe Smarro’s TEDx talkSolution Point + (Joe & Jesse’s first responder training organization)Follow Joe on TwitterWaco Drama Series PreviewWaco Siege HistoryGary NoesnerDigby, The De-escalating Dog (that prevented a suicide)Jamil Zaki on police empathy and powerCognitive effects of power (Adam Galinksy, Deborah H Gruenfeld, and Joe C. Magee)Power drains empathy (Adam Galinksy)

Why do we help strangers? And why do we love revenge stories so much?  The same thing that connects those questions connects us all - bonding.There’s an invisible line between groups of people - it can be a thin dotted line between acquaintances, a steel girder between mother and child, or a series of chain links between millions of people in the same country.In Part 2 of this series on fate and biology, we identify the brain chemical that plays a central role in how we bond, and explore why certain group behaviors are inevitable. --Credits:Written and produced by Gabriel Berezin.Original music and sound design by Kirk Schoenherr and additional music by Grant Zubritsky.Opening and closing music by Monuments - featuring Grant Zubritsky (bass), Robby Sinclair (drums) and Bryan Murray (saxophone), Gabriel Berezin (guitar).Editorial assistance by Melissa "Monty" Montan.Logo design by Justin Montan.Follow Fugues on Twitter and Instagram.Help us out - rate and comment on iTunes!Further reading:Part 1 of Fate and Biology: The Brain’s Molotov CocktailCounting to Twelve (the ultimate funk on Sesame Street)Won’t You Be My Neighbor (Mr. Rogers Documentary)Philadelphia greases light posts before 2018 Superbowl“Are we the baddies?” Aka, an existential crisis for nazis (mentioned by Inner Voice)The Science of Kindness (and oxytocin)The Neurobiology of friendshipNasal spray and oxytocin increased male cooperationThe above study debunked (in Vox)Book: Sapiens (by Yuval Noah Harari)Book: The Power of Us (by Jan Van Bavel and Dominic Packer)Paying Mentorship Forward (podcast episode for the NeuroLeadership Institute featuring Josh and Kendrick)Panel in the Vatican celebrating the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

You ever get in a fight?  I did. Once. Wearing my Red Sox hat at Yankee Stadium. Me (and two Yankees fans) were basically high on an aggressive cocktail of brain chemicals that forced our collective hand. Stupid, pointless violence with strangers that almost cost me an eye.  This episode’s fugue will describe the experience, followed by Inner Voice and I doing a post-fugue analysis. Together we’ll review the ingredients of a lethal cocktail that drove me into a dangerous, seemingly unavoidable situation.  This is Part 1 of a three-part series about fate and biology, sharing the experience of situations that find us “stuck in time,” unable to avoid fate.--Credits:Written and produced by Gabriel Berezin.Original music and sound design by Grant ZubritskyOpening and closing music by Monuments (featuring Grant Zubritsky (bass), Robby Sinclair (drums) and Bryan Murray (saxophone), Gabriel Berezin (guitar)) Editorial insight by Melissa "Monty" Montan Logo design by Justin MontanFollow Fugues on Twitter and Instagram.References:Study on GABA, serotonin and dopamine and its relation to aggressive behavior(And another study)Pic of my eye post-fightSlaughterhouse Five (the novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.)Sneaky Spirits Social Club (website) (instagram)

Why are we so prone to bad logic? We’re going to hear two everyday fugues in this episode: the search for a lost spatula and a spilled beer. The real story here is how easy it is to be irrational. Who is “we” in this episode? It’s me and my inner voice obviously. Inner Voice and I will do some post-fugue analysis to find out what mental phenomena are at play while I make really bad assumptions about events in my surroundings. By the end of the episode maybe you’ll appreciate why we’re actually doing a lot better than we think we are as a society given how mistake-prone our brains are.--Credits: Written and produced by Gabriel BerezinOriginal music and sound design - Grant ZubritskyOpening and closing music: Monuments (featuring Grant Zubritsky (bass), Robby Sinclair (drums) and Bryan Murray (saxophone), Gabriel Berezin (guitar)) Editorial insight - Melissa "Monty" Montan Logo design - Justin MontanFind Fugues on Twitter and Instagram.References:Apophenia in the Queen’s GambitApophenia in Stranger ThingsWacky Conspiracy Theory showing Back to the Future predicted 9/11 How Netflix uses big data to inform its contentThe Brain’s Autopilot (Scientific American)Daniel Kahneman’s System 1 vs 2 Thinking (article)Thinking Fast and Slow (book)Anil Seth’s TED talkHow Much of What You See is Hallucination (TED Ex)Abracadabra! A Classic Magic Trick Fools Expectations, Not EyesMy Special Egg SpatulaEpisode Song Playlist:Delirious - PrinceMemories Can’t Wait - Talking HeadsNot My Own - MonumentsWhere is My Mind  - The PixiesCrazy - Gnarls BarkleyThere There - Radiohead

What's a fugue? In this podcast it's a story - a story that sheds light on how our conscious experience of any given moment operates. Find out what each fugue tell us about the basic ingredients of mind. --Credits:Written, produced and hosted by Gabriel Berezin.Music and sound design by Grant Zubritsky and Monuments.Logo and art design by Justin Montan.Follow Fugues on Twitter and Instagram.