Untangle

What would you do if you had a 50 percent chance of developing a devastating genetic form of dementia—and you could take a test to find out whether you carried the mutation?In this episode, Journalist and Bestselling Author Robert Kolker joins me to talk about his newest book The Vanishing Family, Love, Fate and the Quest to End Dementia and the extraordinary family at the center of his story.The family lives with an inherited form of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a disease that can dramatically alter personality and behavior while leaving memory relatively intact in the early stages. Their experience raises enormous questions—not only about dementia and medical research, but about identity, family, parenting, caregiving, and how we choose to live when we cannot know what the future holds.In this conversation, we explore:Why Bob Kolker became fascinated with this family's storyThe family's rare genetic form of frontotemporal dementiaWhat it means to face a 50 percent chance of inheriting a disease-causing mutationThe agonizing decision of whether—or whether not—to undergo genetic testingWhy some family members chose to know their genetic status while others chose not toHow the younger generation faces questions about marriage, children, IVF, and genetic riskWhy frontotemporal dementia can look so different from the dementia most people associate with Alzheimer’sHow personality, behavior, and social awareness can change while memory remains intactThe question of whether a person with advanced dementia has truly “vanished”What Bob learned about the personalities and skills that can make someone an effective caregiverWhy caregiving can become isolating—and why caregivers may need far more supportThe challenge of developing treatments for rare diseases when there aren't enough patients to make traditional drug development financially attractiveWhy rare genetic diseases may offer important clues for understanding more common neurological diseasesThe emerging scientific interest in tau and its potential connection to future dementia treatmentsThe complicated question of whether having more genetic information actually gives us more controlAnd what Bob learned from this family about living in the present and spending our energy on what really mattersOne of the most powerful ideas in our conversation is that dementia isn't necessarily an on/off switch—and that a person doesn't simply “vanish” when their memory or personality changes. Bob talks about the possibility of recognizing the person who remains, even amid profound neurological change.He also reflects on how the experience changed his own life: he plans less, lives more in the present, and tries not to waste energy on things that ultimately don't matter.About Bob KolkerBob Kolker is an award-winning journalist and author whose work often explores families confronting extraordinary circumstances. In this conversation, he brings together deeply reported family stories with questions about genetics, neuroscience, dementia, caregiving, and the future of medical research.Resource: Robertkolker.comGratitude to our amazing sponsors: Quince, Berkeley Life, Vinted, Jones Road Beauty, Warby ParkerAs Always, Untangle is the podcast from Muse, the brain sensing headband. Go to choosemuse.com/untangle and use code untangle15 for your discount. NEW: NEW: You can pre-order the book The Questions That Make A Life, featuring the best of our Untangle guests, by Patricia Karpas.Now on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Questions-That-Make-Life-Required/dp/B0HHMFBGBM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2F9Y0J4VRF3U8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2qyZZW4cR-h-puqXomsUaTW5uA5Zm9ujmTixdiGDQuUewL7FvO1YV046kntTG8CgUkaF43gkXOvS4-krFOirLok0pi5a3z5P0V-X_uY2OnkLyt6bk_NGiQVR5qUoXApJOTU9tmkfbuIJyxnjCibfA5TH7ALhs-oglpLW4ImtIFQp8OGDDRDFW1jgzuaHFbs7nWtY-i3qUihonew6L-3Kw6SqwpJpRN9XNxB7jUKsoFk.V7f6pO_BsTLEu8mBvm482Oak1nryHBXbj8ZYXBQe_Y4&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+questions+that+make+a+life&qid=1790960931&sprefix=the+questions+that+make+a+lif%2Caps%2C192&sr=8-1See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A wonderful encore episode. I loved talking to today’s guest, Kieran Setiya, an Author and Professor of philosophy at MIT. I’ve always loved philosophy, but I was especially taken with the way Kieran applies it to our most challenging events, as well as to our day to day lives. In his book Life Is Hard, How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way — he offers us a roadmap for navigating rough terrain, from personal trauma to loneliness to grief to failure and the myth of the ideal life to injustice and even the absurdity of the world. It’s hard to summarize this discussion because there’s so much here, but his wisdom is rich with guidance on how we can face suffering and life’s inevitable hardships. He’s so eloquent in how he shares his insights on life >> from his rich archive of philosophy to his own personal journey. Life is a collection of small successes and small failures. And A good life, he says, is a way of living every day, DESPITE the hard stuff. He inspired me to reflect on quite a bit here. How do I live well, what makes a life meaningful, how do I face regret, aging, uncertainty…even what should I hope for given where I am in my own life. He was originally inspired to philosophy by his own sense of wonder and undertow of worry at 7 yrs old. I love that…a blend of worry and wonder, anxiety and awe. How perfectly true!!Kieran is also the author of Midlife: A Philosophical Guide. His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The New York Times,the Boston Review,the London Review of Books, The Atlantic, and The Yale Review.As always, we’re Untangle, the podcast from Muse, the brain sensing headband dedicated to unlocking your brains potential. Check out choosemuse.com and use code untangle15 for your discount. Resource: ksetiya.netSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, we’re exploring this question…What does it mean to feel truly worthy? Our guest is Psychologist, relationship expert and best selling author Dr. Marisa G. Franco. You may know her from her previous book, Platonic, which completely transformed how we think about friendship. In this discussion, We explore her groundbreaking new book, Worth, The New Science of Self Esteem and Secure Attachment. She begins by sharing her own vulnerable personal story of how her relationship's collapse revealed what she calls a "secure facade"—a protective play-acting of security that masked deep unworthiness and self-abandonment.She unpacks why our culture’s obsession with secure attachment has turned it into an exhausting status symbol. Marisa explains why the path to genuine healing isn't pretending we are perfectly secure, but embracing a "secure-ish" life where we acknowledge our anxieties and avoidances instead of shaming them. From the neuroscience of repressed emotions to practical exercises like memory reconsolidation, tapping, and present-moment reparenting, this conversation offers a powerful, science-backed roadmap to restoring your attachment to yourself. This is an episode about, letting go of the need to prove ourselves, and finding the freedom to to be exactly who you need to be. Resources: drmarisagfranco.comThanks to our Great Sponsors: Quince, Jones Road Beauty (try the miracle balm), Berkeley Life, Vinted. Use code UNTANGLE at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a Free Gift with your first purchase! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we have the absolute joy of welcoming back a very dear friend and brilliant author, Anese Cavanaugh.We all experience endings—relationships, jobs, friendships, identities, and chapters of life we never expected to leave behind. But what if the way we navigate an ending can truly shape the quality of what comes next? Can help us become more of who we were always meant to be. Today we discuss her newest book, Excellent Endings. Anese shares how her own divorce—an experience she describes as the “completion” of a chapter—inspired a guide to moving through life’s hardest transitions with greater intention, self-compassion, and care.We talk about her Intentional Energetic Presence methodology which you may recall from her previous interview, why confidence is an inside job, and how to stay aligned with yourself when emotions are running high. Anese also explains why gratitude isn’t about pretending everything is fine, how to recognize when you’re holding on too tightly, and why moving from grief to curiosity can open the door to learning and renewal.This is a compassionate, honest conversation about giving yourself permission to pause, honor what hurts, and become more fully yourself through every ending and new beginning.Resource: Anesecavanaugh.comMany thanks to our amazing sponsors: Quince, Jones Road Beauty, Berkeley Life, Vinted.Use code UNTANGLE at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a Free Gift with your first purchase! Check out the Muse brain sensing headband at choosemuse.com and use code Untangle15 for your discount.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Encoring one of my personal favorite meditations. Welcome to a special weekly edition of Untangle, Meditation Monday. We’re taking this time to share meditations from our sister app, Meditation Studio. We know that life gets messy and, when it does, Meditation is here to help us find a sense of calm and inner peace. Whether you’re facing daily work or relationships stress, unexpected challenges, or just want to improve focus, we hope meditation Mondays will be your go to for a weekly guided meditation treat. And if you’re craving more…which I always do…the Meditation Studio app offers over 800 expert-guided meditations from over 70 of the world’s top meditation experts.And best of all, you can now unlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s encore episode is with the always popular Dr. Rick Hanson — a Psychologist and NY Times Best Selling author of several books, including the book we discuss in this interview “Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence." He shares how we can hardwire our brains for happiness using practices that help us cultivate and experience the good in our lives while reducing our natural negativity biases. He shares why is it easier to ruminate over hurt feelings, negative feelings rather than to bask in the warmth of being appreciated or positive feelings. The negative stuff is like velcro…it sticks to us. But it doesn’t have to. He says we can build our inner strengths and capacity to override the brains habit of defaulting to pessimism. He suggests a simple method that uses the hidden power of everyday experiences to build new neural structures full of happiness, love, confidence, and peace. As always, we’re Untangle, the podcast from Muse, the brain sensing headband dedicated to unlocking your brains potential AND Meditation Studio the five star app. Unlock 30 days of Meditation Studio for free at choosemuse.com/meditationstudio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's meditation is by Jesse Israel on finding positive energy. It can also be found in the Muse and Meditation Studio apps.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.