Welcome to We Interrupt, a podcast that explores the ins and outs of interruptions.  In this episode, we talk with professor and clinical psychologist Michael Karson (michaelkarson.com) about personality and societal rules for what is deemed “acceptable” behavior – and how these are normalized, tested, and evolved over time.  We discuss the use of performance as a means of exploring – and challenging-  roles and rules, as well as the use of interruption in therapy and teaching contexts, as a means to create safe spaces that engender trust and caring.

We Interrupt This Podcast

Episode 11: Michael Karson on Creating Conversation Spaces that Foster Curiosity and Participation

Oh, you are in for a treat!   In this episode I go back to my neuroscience roots with Earl K. Miller, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Earl studies the neural basis of executive brain functions, the ability to carry out goal-directed behavior using complex mental processes. We talk about learning, memory, and cognitive capacity.  How wisdom is our brain encoding our experiences into principles, categories, and concepts using data compression.  How sleep and anesthesia are similar and so very different, both invoking full-brain oscillations but one producing memories and the other amnesia.  We dig into executive function, multitasking, switching costs, and sensory overload, and how these are manifested in autism, attention deficit disorder, and depression.  What is interruption in this milieu?  Listen in to find out! For more about We Interrupt, please see our website at www.weinterruptthis.com for show notes, links, and other episodes.

Episode 12: Earl K Miller on Cognitive Capacity, Multitasking, and Wisdom

Meetings are a microcosm of organizational culture where all social dynamics are in play.  Join us as we talk to Tabea Soriano, Partner at The Ready, for an exploration of organization design.  We talk about the past, present and future of work, and how process, practice, and principles are the core of creating the meaning of work.  How, by making the implicit explicit – like who talks when, how agendas are assembled, and what meetings are actually about – we can experiment with small changes and create trusting workspaces where people can participate, contribute, and make more time for the craft of their work, ultimately reshaping how organizations work.  For more about We Interrupt, please see our website at www.weinterruptthis.com for show notes, links, credits, and other episodes.  Contact me on Twitter @HaakYak to recommend topics or speakers for the series.

We Interrupt - a podcast