Christy Wilson-Mendenhall – Emotions in the World

In this episode, Wendy speaks with cognitive and affective scientist Christy Wilson-Mendenhall. Christy has a long history studying emotions, and her work integrates psychological science and contemplative philosophy to explore well-being and resilience. This conversation covers many topics, including:

• integrating basic science and philosophy with on-the-ground research;

• viewing emotions as malleable, situated, and learned;

• working with emotions to enhance well-being;

• intersections of cognitive science and Buddhist philosophy;

• the critical role of community and relationships;

• understanding deep resilience;

• a free online course to help build resilience and emotional well-being;

• making worldview explicit;

• foregrounding interconnectedness when teaching;

• the power of emotional granularity;

• eco-anxiety, eco-grief, and solastalgia;

• the role of imagination and visioning;

• priming ourselves for a better future;

• taking seriously and learning from the perspective of marginalized folks;

• and making small personal changes to effect systems change.

Full show notes and resources (podcast.mindandlife.org/christy-wilson-mendenh…)