Host, Cameron Kash, and special guest host, Lawrence Wong, interview the controversial and popular Communications Professor at UCLA, Francis Steen. He is most known for teaching classes, such as “Entertainment as Implicit Pedagogy”, “The Gaming Mind”, “Decoding Media Strategies”, and more. Many of his classes go deeper than just what Hollywood and the media world are merely about, and more into the functioning of our own minds, dreams, reality, and how they all work together. He is also one of the co-founders of the “Human Complex Systems” program at the university. Some may question his credibility, as his Ph.D. is in English, but his research cited with rich sources, and popular classes have garnered hundreds of students every year.
During the interview, the hosts begin asking Steen about one of his favorite fields of study and subject in his classes: the psychology of the mind and how it relates to dreams and reality. It soon begins to spiral into asking Steen’s own thoughts on Marijuana and Alcohol usage and how it affects the human mind. It’s one interview that most professors would never participate in. Watch it below!
Part 1: Dreams vs. Reality, & The Human Brain
Part 2: Alcohol, Marijuana, Anti-Depressants
Sources used in Part 2 by Professor Francis Steen –>
Anti-Depressant (SSRI) Studies:
a) http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13375-prozac-does-not-work-in-majority-of-depressed-patients.html
b) http://www.newsweek.com/2010/01/28/the-depressing-news-about-antidepressants.html
Marijuana Study:
c) http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20110301/marijuana-use-linked-to-risk-of-psychotic-symptoms
