Skip to content
ASCEND Brain Bites podcast artwork

PODCAST · science

ASCEND Brain Bites

by Ascend Program

Brain Bites is the bite-size neuroscience podcast of the ASCEND program (Advancing STEM Community Engagement through Neuroscience) where we explore the depths of your brain in a fun, digestible format. Brain Bites is written and produced by Dan Nemeth and Christian Holt. Theme Music by Max HentoshFind us on Facebook and Instagram at ascendneuroscience and on twitter @ascendneuroscience. Feel free to send us questions and comments on social media or email us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Mar 30, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. Your mood and microbes: An interview with Dr. John Cryan, PhD

    Dr. John Cryan is a world leader in researching how your all of the microbes in your gut can influence your thoughts and feelings! Dr. Dan Nemeth and Christian Holt chat with Dr. Cryan about the science of all of this GUT-BRAIN connection!

  2. How immune cells can cause brain disease - Multiple Sclerosis w/ Mireia Guerau-de-Arellano, PhD

    Dr. Dan Nemeth sits down with Mireia Guerau-de-Arellano, PhD to talk about how intricate your immune system is and how, when it goes wrong, can lead to a serious disease called Multiple Sclerosis. Host/Producer: Dan Nemeth, PhD Cohost/Editor: Christian Holt

  3. Why Crows are SUPER SMART!! w/ Dr. John Marzluff

    Dr. Nemeth and Sam McGovern chat with crow behavior expert, Dr. John Marzluff, about why and how our neighborhood crow friends are so gosh darn smart! We discuss the neuroscience behind crow behavior!

  4. Neuroscience of Addiction with Dr. Judith Grisel

    Parental Warning: This episode contains themes and discussions of drug use, addiction, and its concequences. Dr. Dan and Dr. Lorena talk with NYT-bestselling author and world leading addiciton neuroscientist, Judith Grisel, about the neuroscience of addiction. If you want to learn more about...

  5. Neuroscience of Illusions with Dr. Stephen Macknik- Full Interview

    You may have gotten a taste of how your brain can trick you in our Illusions episode! Here is a full-feature release of the entire interview we had with Dr. Macknik! Hope you enjoy!

  6. Episode 9 - Music and Memory

    Our special guest, Mia Amato, tells Dan and Dr. Lorena Areal all about how our brains perceive music and how music is connected to our memory!!

  7. Neuroscience of Illusions!

    Danny and new co-host, Dr. Lorena Areal, dive into the wild world of illusions and how your brain processes sensory information! We interview a world expert neuroscientist specialized in visual illusions, Dr. Stephen Macknik!

  8. Episode 7 - Memory and ....Flies?

    Melissa and Danny delve into how memory is formed and how neuroscientists can study memory formation. How did scientists find this out and how are flies involved?

  9. Episode 6: Happy BRAINSgiving!

    Melissa and Danny wish you a Happy Thanksgiving by deciphering the age old myth about Thanksgiving: Does the tryptophan in turkey really make you sleepy? We also talk about how gratitude and Black Friday shopping affect your brain!

  10. Episode 5: Fear, BRAINS! and Zombies!

    Melissa and Danny discuss the neuroscience of Halloween! Such as how you get scared, if Zombies are plausible, and why eating human brains is bad!

  11. The Senses, Pt. 2

    This time we talk about the senses of hearing, sight, and touch. Our hearing changes over our lives, as evidenced by the high-pitched sounds that adults can't hear. We also talk about how our eyes see color and why some people are color blind. Have you ever felt your phone vibrate, but when you...

  12. The Senses pt. 1

    Join us as we explore the senses of taste and smell! How do our chemical senses work? Can our senses change or trick us? We interview Dr. Tricia Meredith from Florida Atlantic University about her research on the sense of smell of sharks! So, can a shark really smell a drop of blood a mile away?

  13. Brain Power

    Our brain cells, called neurons, communicate with other neurons and cells in the body by sending electrical signals. Today we talk about how that electrical communication works and how it differs from the electricity we use to power our homes. We also speak to Dr. Michael Yetman about his…

    more
  14. Comparing Brain Sizes

    When it comes to brains, is bigger always better? In this episode, we discuss the differences between brains across the animal kingdom. In general, bigger brains mean smarter animals. However, we talk about new research that shows that densely packed brains can also lend smarts to animals with...

Type above to search every episode's transcript for a word or phrase. Matches are scoped to this podcast.

Searching…

We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.

No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.

Showing of matches

No topics indexed yet for this podcast.

Loading reviews...

ABOUT THIS SHOW

Brain Bites is the bite-size neuroscience podcast of the ASCEND program (Advancing STEM Community Engagement through Neuroscience) where we explore the depths of your brain in a fun, digestible format. Brain Bites is written and produced by Dan Nemeth and Christian Holt. Theme Music by Max HentoshFind us on Facebook and Instagram at ascendneuroscience and on twitter @ascendneuroscience. Feel free to send us questions and comments on social media or email us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

HOSTED BY

Ascend Program

Produced by Daniel Nemeth

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does ASCEND Brain Bites have?

ASCEND Brain Bites currently has 14 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is ASCEND Brain Bites about?

Brain Bites is the bite-size neuroscience podcast of the ASCEND program (Advancing STEM Community Engagement through Neuroscience) where we explore the depths of your brain in a fun, digestible format. Brain Bites is written and produced by Dan Nemeth and Christian Holt. Theme Music by Max...

How often does ASCEND Brain Bites release new episodes?

ASCEND Brain Bites has 14 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to ASCEND Brain Bites?

You can listen to ASCEND Brain Bites on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts ASCEND Brain Bites?

ASCEND Brain Bites is created and hosted by Ascend Program.
URL copied to clipboard!