Ilya Monosov invites us to rethink our understanding of the brain -- and to wrestle with the implications of how we define "curiosity".

Ilya studies neuronal circuits of motivation, emotion, and learning at the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. But this conversation about how one neuroscientist explores the world -- and why -- is much more nuanced and thoughtful than his position description suggests.

I didn't anticipate our conversation would take us to the importance of neuroscience and information seeking for the fate of humanity, or to how achieving an "engineer's understanding" of the brain could be helpful for those living with mental health challenges like OCD.

Learn more about Ilya Monosov's work here: https://neuroscience.wustl.edu/people/ilya-monosov-phd/

Theme music by Sean Balick; “Lacquer Groove" by Tiny Tiny Trio, via Blue Dot Sessions.