The Backward Step

health, fitness, mental · EN-US

The Backward Step is a podcast that sits at the intersection of neuroscience, contemplative practice, and the therapeutic mind. Each episode takes a single piece of cutting-edge research, from predictive processing to consciousness science, from the neurobiology of trauma to the psychology of self and follows it all the way down. Not just what the science says, but what it means: for how we suffer, how we heal, and how we might actually live differently. The name comes from Dogen Zenji's instruction in the Fukanzazengi: "Take the backward step that turns the light and shines it inward." That move away from the surface, toward what's underneath is the spirit of this show. Hosted by Anuj Ansal, a practicing psychotherapist in Chicago, IL, The Backward Step is for anyone drawn to the deep questions: meditators and clinicians, neuroscience enthusiasts and contemplatives, and anyone who has ever lain awake wondering what is ac