In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist, psychologist, and director of the Center for Healthy Minds, Richard (Richie) Davidson. Richie is one of the founders of contemplative science, and shares his perspective on the past, present, and future of the field. Their conversation covers many topics, including:
his early interest in the mind and experiences with meditation;
the beginnings of meditation research, and a challenge from the Dalai Lama;
what we know (and don't know) about how meditation changes the brain;
how investigating the self can lead to resilience;
current challenges to the field of contemplative science;
the need for research on analytic meditation;
negative findings and publication bias;
promises and pitfalls of research on psychedelics;
the value of training well-being, and other topics.

Full show notes and resources