#200: The Cognito Awards

Has it been 200 episodes already?

One episode is a fluke. Two episodes is a coincidence. But 200 episodes is a pattern. 😉

It was almost five years ago when Smart Drug Smarts published its first innocuous little episode. Podcasts were less than a prime-time medium, and it took more than a little coaxing to convince our first few interviewees to jump on a phone call for an interview. A few of them hadn’t heard of podcasts at all yet — but luckily, all who said yes were eager to share what they knew about the human brain.

Now, 200 episodes (and a handful of Overdose Editions) later, it’s time to a look back over the growing catalog, cherry-picking some particularly memorable moments to revisit…and put into an audio cage match against each other.

The Cognito Awards

We thought about doing a Top 10 sort of list, but that seemed too easy. Plus, we couldn’t narrow it down to just one favorite. Instead, we noticed some categories in the type of topics we’ve covered — and that list grew into the “Cognito Awards.”

Cognito = a bastardization of cognition and the opposite of “incognito”

Over the course of Episodes 200, 201 and 202, we’ll be presenting 11 awards to over 40 nominee episodes. To kick things off, we make our first four awards to the following nominees:

Want to know who wins? You’ll need to listen to the episode.

Awards still to come…

Best Dietary Hack
Best Physical Vitality Hack
Best Endogenous Cognitive Performance Hack
Best Performance by Technological Gear
Best Performance by an Illegal Compound
Best Performance by a Natural Compound
Best Performance by a Synthetic Compound

Show Notes

00:00:23

Episode introduction: The Cognito Awards.
00:02:50

This Week In Neuroscience: Marshmallow Experiments - Past and Present.
00:05:44

5-Star review shout-outs.
00:06:15

SDS news and updates.
00:07:37

Presentation and commencement of the Cognito Awards!
00:09:27

Nominees for the Best Public Health Warning Cognito Award.
00:09:31

Nominee #1: Alcohol Use Disorder with George Koob.
00:10:56

Nominee #2: Lead Toxicity with Dr. David Bellinger.
00:12:05

Nominee #3: The Opiate Crisis with Dr. Eike Blohm.
00:13:02

Nominee #4: Maternal Nutrition and Fetal Intelligence with Dr. Kavitha Menon.
00:14:20

Nominee #5: Traumatic Brain Injury with Dr. Kathleen Bell.
00:15:46

Winner of the Best Public Health Warning Cognitio Award is announced.
00:16:00

Nominees for the Best Use of Apes, Mice, or Fruit Flies in a Supporting Role Cognito Award.
00:16:25

Nominee #1: Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Psychedelics with Dr. Charles Nichols.
00:17:54

Nominee #2: Place Cells and Virtual Environments with Dr. Mayank Metha.
00:19:04

Nominee #3: Methylene-Blue, Memory and Zebrafish with Dr. Francisco Gonzalez-Lima.
00:20:20

Nominee #4: "Dognition" with Clive Wynne and Monique Udell.
00:21:34

Winner of the Best Use of Apes, Mice, or Fruit Flies in a Supporting Role Cognito Award is announced.
00:21:49

Nominees for the Stephen J. Gould Scientific Literacy Award Cognito Award.
00:22:23

Nominee #1: Consciousness and the Social Brain with Dr. Michael Graziano.
00:24:09

Nominee #2: The Driving Force: Food, Evolution, and the Future with Dr. Michael A. Crawford.
00:25:58

Nominee #3: A New Way of Understanding Addiction with Dr. Maia Szalavitz.
00:28:05

Nominee #4: Your Brain on Food with Dr. Gary Wenk.
00:29:35

Nominee #5: Stealing Fire with Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal.
00:31:30

Winner of the Stephen J. Gould Scientific Literacy Cognito Award is announced.
00:31:46

Nominees for the Best Overturning of the Conventional Apple Cart Cognito Award.
00:32:25

Nominee #1: Fatigue + Creativity with Dr. Mareike Wieth.
00:33:42

Nominee #2: The Psychological Effects of Semen Exposure with Dr. Gordon Gallup.
00:35:10

Nominee #3: The Replication Crisis with Dr. Rolf Zwaan.
00:36:30

Nominee #4: The Perceptual Pleasure of Novelty with Dr. Irving Biederman.
00:38:04

Winner of the Best Overturning of the Conventional Apple Cart Cognito Award is announced.
00:38:20

Episode wrap-up.