YOUR FANTASTIC MIND

#601 Heart and Mind
Short description:
Researchers study how heart health may shape Alzheimer’s risk.

Long description:
Emory University researchers travel to India to expand on the long-running CARRS study, which has tracked the health of thousands of participants for 15 years. They are investigating how diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol may influence Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, searching for clues that could help prevent dementia earlier in life.


#602 Phone-Free School
Short description:
A Georgia school studies life, learning and mental health without phones.

Long description:
In Marietta, Georgia, students lock away their phones for the entire school day. Researchers are now studying whether a phone-free policy can improve attention, learning, mental health and social connection, while exploring what school might look like without the constant distraction and pressure of smartphones.


#603 Hope Against ALS
Short description:
Patients and researchers face ALS with new treatments and compassionate care.

Long description:
This episode follows patients and families living with ALS and highlights the importance of coordinated care from a team of specialists. It also explores emerging gene-targeting therapies for rare forms of ALS and a pilot study of mindfulness-based compassion training designed to support patients and care partners facing the emotional toll of the disease.


#604 Courage and Care
Short description:
Stories of brain surgery and rural outreach reveal life-saving care in action.

Long description:
This episode follows a teenager living with a rare brain condition and the doctors working to better understand and treat it. It also travels to rural South Georgia, where a longstanding outreach effort brings medical care directly to migrant farmworkers. Together, the stories show how advanced intervention and compassionate community care can transform lives.


#605 Building the Brain
Short description:
Early brain-building strategies shape learning, literacy and child development.

Long description:
This episode explores how brain development can be shaped from pregnancy through the school years. One story follows a program encouraging early language exposure to strengthen infants’ developing brains. Another examines structured literacy and the science of how the brain learns to read, showing how early strategies can support learning and long-term development.


#606 Hope and Healing
Short description:
New approaches for PTSD, suicide prevention and childhood anxiety offer hope.

Long description:
Three stories reveal how mental health care is evolving. Researchers are testing brain stimulation treatment for PTSD, communities are learning life-saving suicide prevention skills and children with anxiety are making rapid progress through a therapeutic summer camp. Together, the stories highlight new possibilities for healing and resilience.