Your Nose Has Secrets
How One Sniff Changes Everything

Have you ever smelled something and suddenly felt like you were six years old again?

In this episode of Brains Gone Bold, Maria and Jeanine talk with scent scientist Dr. Rachel Herz to explore something we all have… but rarely think about - our sense of smell.

They dive into why the smell of popcorn can take you straight back to a childhood movie, why your high school boyfriend’s cologne can mean three totally different things over time, and why losing your sense of smell can deeply impact your mental health.

Dr. Herz explains something that might blow your mind: “Taste is only sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Everything else is smell.” Yes - bacon and potato chips both “taste” salty. Your nose is mainly responsible for telling you which is which.

They also unpack:

• Why lavender isn’t magically calming for everyone
• How those with depression often have a diminished sense of smell
• Why two people can hate and love the same scent
• How to build your own “personal apothecary”
• And why actively sniffing each day is actually brain healthy

One big takeaway?
We don’t realize how much smell shapes our emotions, memories, relationships, and even our sense of self - until it’s gone.

By the end, you’ll want to stop and smell the roses a lot more.

Tune in. You’ll never experience scent the same way again!

About the Guest

Dr. Rachel Herz is a neuroscientist and world-renowned expert on the science of smell. She studies the powerful (and often surprising) connection between scent, memory, emotion, and human behavior. She has shared her work on multiple TED or TEDx stages, as well as in her books entitled Why You Eat What You Eat, That’s Disgusting, and The Scent of Desire. She is a valued consultant to international corporations, an entrepreneur, and serves on the faculty at Brown University. Most recently, she is the newly-elected President of the International Society of Neurogastronomy.

Learn more about her fascinating work here: https://rachelherz.com/

Be sure to check out her book: Why You Eat What You Eat on Amazon

Do people really change?

And if they do… do they deserve another chance?

In part two of this Brains Gone Bold conversation, Maria and Jeanine continue their honest discussion on change, second chances, trust, and forgiveness, joined again by Jeanine’s mom, Cathy. This episode goes deeper, and gets more complicated (in the best way).

They talk about the difference between people changing and wanting someone else to change. Cathy shares a powerful insight early on: people can change, but only if they want to. You can’t force it.

From there, the conversation opens up.
Second chances in marriages.
Second chances in families.
Second chances at work.

And the moment when trust breaks, and you have to decide if it can ever be rebuilt.

They wrestle with tough questions:

• Where’s the line between a mistake and a character flaw?
• Is love a choice, or something you can’t turn off?
• Can you still love someone and decide they don’t get access to you anymore?

One moment lands especially hard: “Some change is growth. Some change just shows you who someone really is.” And maybe the most honest takeaway of all: sometimes the only real answer is… it depends.

If you’ve ever struggled with forgiveness, boundaries, or letting someone back in (or letting them go) this conversation will stick with you.

Listen in, reflect, and decide where you land.

Change is supposed to be normal.
So why does it feel so heavy?

In this special episode of Brains Gone Bold, Maria and Jeanine welcome their first-ever guest: Cathy (Jeanine’s mom) for an honest, multi-generational conversation about change, control, and what it means to grow through life’s biggest transitions.

Maria opens up about recent changes that hit deeper than expected like selling her childhood home, watching her son grow more independent, and grieving chapters of life that quietly close. What looks “normal” on the outside often comes with real loss on the inside.

Cathy shares her story of change across decades in leaving home at 18, moving across the country, raising a family, and navigating life with a deep need for control as a way to feel safe. As she puts it, holding emotions in was about not losing control, even when everything else felt uncertain.

Jeanine adds perspective on how control and freedom are often connected, especially for people who’ve lived in environments where decisions weren’t always theirs to make. The conversation moves through parenting, family traditions, technology, and the question of whether change makes us stronger… or just different.

One powerful insight lands clearly: Some change is chosen. Some is forced. And how we experience it depends on who we are and where we are in life.

This is part one of a two-part conversation that ends with a big question:
What happens after the change... and do we believe in second chances?

Come for the reflection. Stay for the honesty. Tune in and come back for part two.

This episode starts with leadership… and somehow ends up in online dating.
So yes - it’s another Brains Gone Bold ride.

On this episode, Maria and Jeanine talk about expectations and how they sneak into everything: work, relationships, leadership, even what we think people “should” do or say.

Maria shares a moment from a leadership talk that hit her hard: we’re always teaching managers how to support their teams, but we rarely ask the obvious question: who’s supporting the managers? She opens up about how heavy leadership can feel, especially when you’re carrying everyone else and still expected to look “fine.”

Jeanine jumps in with the truth: leadership can be lonely, draining, and unrealistic, especially when people get promoted with no training and are told to manage a team on top of doing their old job.

And then… the detour.

Jeanine shares some very real online dating stories, including a guy who went from “promise you won’t stalk me” to “do you want to measure me?” real fast. It turns into a surprisingly deep moment about perception, self-blame, and the pressure women feel to manage other people’s behavior.

By the end, the big takeaway lands clearly: expectations can set us up, but curiosity helps us stay human in leadership, in life, and yes… in dating.

Come join us for another fun ride. Tune in.

The holidays are supposed to feel magical… so why do they sometimes feel like pure chaos?

In this Brains Gone Bold: Holiday Edition, Maria and Jeanine keep it real about what the season actually looks like as adults. You know - the stress, the money, the “what do I buy my teenager?” spiral, and the pressure to have a picture-perfect holiday that doesn’t exist.

They talk about what does bring joy, though:
✨ experience gifts instead of “stuff”
✨ Christmas lights and nostalgia
✨ baking cookies (and freezing them… even if you can taste it)
✨ gingerbread house competitions with secret weapons
✨ and the core memories we all wish we could bottle up and keep forever

Jeanine shares a hilarious (and very real) take on why there’s “no such thing as a Hallmark Christmas” and how the smell of fish can totally hijack Christmas. Maria admits she sometimes wants to strip away gift-giving entirely, just to get back to the actual spirit of the season.

They also end with a warm call to action:
What holiday traditions still work when kids are older and how do you create new core memories? Jeanine says she’s “chasing” that feeling, and they want your ideas.

If you’re looking for a holiday episode that’s funny, honest, and comforting - this one’s for you.

👉 Drop your favorite holiday tradition in the comments.
👍 Like, subscribe, and share with someone who needs a holiday laugh

If you think your workplace is wild… just wait.
In this episode of Brains Gone Bold, Maria and Jeanine discuss real HR stories and workplace nightmares that prove leading people is never boring. From an employee clipping her toenails at the office to a memorable (and very awkward) bathroom incident caught on a work call, these HR tales are equal parts hilarious, shocking, and painfully relatable.

Whether you're in HR, a manager, or just someone who loves unbelievable workplace stories, this episode delivers.

Maria and Jeanine break down why people do bizarre things at work, how leaders can stay calm in chaos, and why empathy and clear expectations matter even when the situation is… gross.

This is your very real reminder that leading humans is never boring.

Tune in - you’ll laugh, cringe, and feel way less alone.

Ever felt like your brain hijacked your day? You’re calm one minute, spiraling the next, and suddenly your heart’s racing over something that didn’t even happen? Yeah, us too.

In this episode of Brains Gone Bold, Maria shares something that’s been genuinely life-changing: what she learned from Dr. Bill Crawford’s Life from the Top of the Mind. It’s neuroscience meets real life and it might explain why stress, fear, and anxiety sometimes take the wheel before logic even buckles in.

Join Maria and Jeanine as they unpack:

• Why your brain can’t tell the difference between real and imagined stress.
• What happens when we “downshift” into survival mode (and how to shift back up).
• How a simple lemon exercise can prove your thoughts change your body.
• Why we lose access to creativity, calm, and connection when we live from the “lower brain.”

Maria opens up about her own creative blocks and anxiety, while Jeanine brings humor and heart, especially when “Brian” accidentally makes an appearance. (Don’t worry, it’s just the brain… maybe.)

It’s science, self-awareness, and laughter all in one conversation and it's an episode that will make you rethink what’s happening inside your head and how much power you actually have to change it.

🎧 Press play to learn how to rewire your reactions, one thought at a time.

Why is friendship so hard as an adult?

In this episode, Maria and Jeanine open up about the messy truth behind connection - from work besties who disappear to the quiet ache of realizing your circle’s gotten smaller.

They share real stories, laugh at their own contradictions (“I want to be invited… but I don’t want to go”), and remind us that everyone’s craving community, even if we’re bad at admitting it.

It’s funny, heartfelt, and all too real.

🎧 Press play. You’ll feel seen.