Big Brain Channel

In this episode of Around the School Table, host Steve Davis speaks with Nikki Bonus, founder of Life Skills Group and the digital platform Life Skills Go. The conversation dives deep into the intersection of emotional intelligence, student well-being, and readiness to learn—arguing that emotional regulation is foundational to academic success. Bonus explains how Life Skills Go serves as a “student-facing technology for...

In this episode of Around the School Table, host Steve Davis visits Leigh Johnson, principal of Harkaway Primary School—a small, 150-year-old school nestled in Victoria’s scenic hills. Despite its modest size and absence from the national spotlight, Harkaway has gained international recognition for its innovative, student-centred approach to education, especially around resilience and disaster preparedness. Johnson desc...

Strategikon is back in 2023 and we are kicking off the year with Round 5 of the Hyper Realist Bombs series. Our good friend Rhoderick Miller returns to the podcast to discuss the latest developments from the Russia / Ukraine conflict, from his hyper realist perspective.

John, David and Rhoderick discuss the present state of the Russian military, including whether it’s military production is struggling to keep up with the demands of...

This week I talk about a feasibility cohort study which sought to determine whether a larger cohort study addressing this question would be feasible. Listen to hear some interesting preliminary findings. 

Merza, E.Y., Pearson, S.J., Mallows, A.J. and Malliaras, P., 2023. The relationship between psychological, cognitive, and contextual factors and rehabilitation outcomes in Achilles tendinopathy: A prospective feasibility cohor...

We have known for a while that type of exercise intervention (e.g. intensity, frequency, etc) does not seem to influence self-reported outcomes such as pain. Maybe all the benefits from exercise are explained by non-specific effects, or maybe exercise has benefits that do not depend on the type of exercise.

In this episode, I discuss 3 studies that look into (at least partly) other benefits that we may see at the level of the muscl...

This week, I had an engaging conversation with Anthony Nasser, an up-and-coming researcher on tendinopathy who recently completed his PhD on proximal hamstring tendinopathy. Our discussion covered the reasons for the lack of research attention towards this condition, the current state of evidence, and insights from his doctoral studies. You can find the full conversation here.

Here are Anthony's related publications:

Nasser,...

Palpation can be useful for the diagnosis and assessment of tendinopathy, but there are limits. This is because non-painful tendons can be tender, and tenderness in painful tendons seems to be very slow to get better. 

Link to Evidence for Improvement in Local but not Diffuse Pressure Pain Thresholds Following Physical Therapist Interventions for Tendinopathy: A Systematic Review

Link to  Reproducibility and clinical utility of ten...

Watching David's career change over the course of this podcast can be a little perplexing. It might seem that a philosophy-trained academic wouldn't be that interested in marketing and communications, but these areas aren't as disjointed as they may seem. Tim and David discuss their love for communicating and how their academic interests have led to their professional pathways.

If you have any thoughts or questions on how to flouri...

At the end of 2022, David Finished his master's thesis with a High Distinction. David wrote a relatively comprehensive analysis of Inbound Marketing for his Master of Strategic Communications and pitched his writing for a professional audience while still achieving academic success. Tim and David discuss David's findings where he blended academic evidence with the professional application. This is an easy-to-understand but comprehe...

Ever wonder what makes a mind? Philosophers have asked this question for millennia and don't have much concrete evidence to show for it. Tim asks David for his current thoughts and it turns out we now know a lot more about our brains. David can paint an interesting picture of what our conscious thoughts consist of, and why we have them.

If you have any thoughts or questions on how to flourish and contribute to your community, conta...

David has been getting asked a lot about the plans to merge the University of Adelaide with the University of South Australia. This podcast discusses the possible negatives and the likely positives of the merger, giving a perspective the staff and university management will never admit or fail to see. There's a lot to look forward to if this merger succeeds and it's looking more likely than ever before.

If you have any thoughts or ...

Friend of the podcast Rhoderick Miller is back on Strategikon and we find out what Rhoderick’s Hyper – Realist perspective has to say about the Russia / Ukraine conflict, 10 months after it began.

John and David also offer their predictions on whether Putin or Zelenskyy will come out of the war in a better position, before discussing the chances of Germany being able to right it’s economy despite it’s energy dependency on Russia.

F...

In this episode, I talk about load test pain assessment and how this can also be used to assess kinesiophobia and movement apprehension. 

References

1) Physiotherapy management of Achilles tendinopathy: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36274038/

2) Kinesiophobia Severity Categories and Clinically Meaningful Symptom Change in Persons With Achilles Tendinopathy in a Cross-Sectional Study: Implications for Assessment and Willingness to...

Rutger Bregman says you are a decent kind human being. We agree.
Humankind deserves more credit, and in this episode Luke helps us reflect on the many reasons why and what that looks like in practice. If you want to harness more positivity and more connection to others, things that are essential to flourishing, we have some insight into starting.

While individuals and organisations are paralysed by the fear of things going wrong...

In this episode of Strategikon, John speaks with intelligence analyst and former British Royal Navy Officer CDRE Patrick J. Tyrrell OBE RN (RET’D), about the recent political and monarchical changes occurring within the UK.

Patrick discusses how King Charles III has been settling in and whether the monarch should have skipped a generation, as well as the functional role which the Royal Family plays within UK and Commonwealth civics...

While individuals and organisations are paralysed by the fear of things going wrong, what can be done to reduce collateral when problems inevitably arise? As Tim and David recommend books from time to time, when a new Stan McChrystal book comes out, we have to review it, and returning guest Luke brings lived experience to the discussion.

If you have any thoughts, questions, or want to how to best manifest destiny and contribute to ...