GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have transformed conversations around weight loss and metabolic health — but are we witnessing a medical breakthrough or participating in a massive social experiment?

In this episode, we explore how these FDA-approved drugs moved from diabetes treatment to mainstream use for weight management, reshaping medicine, ethics, and culture along the way. We discuss how science identifies new uses for existing drugs, what we’ve learned from past off-label revolutions, and why GLP-1s may be testing not just our metabolism, but our trust in modern medicine itself.

Topics include:

• How GLP-1 receptor agonists work in the brain and body
• Why appetite, reward, and dopamine matter
• The balance between scientific discovery and real-world experimentation
• What this moment reveals about how we use (and market) medicine today

Available on all streaming platforms — just search “Gopu & Zane” or visit lybrandlab.org/jospod

In this episode, Zane and Gopu unpack the fascinating overlap—and key differences—between neural engineering and neuroengineering.

They explore how neural engineering focuses on decoding and interfacing with the nervous system through technologies like brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), which are helping restore movement and communication for people with paralysis. The discussion highlights recent progress in BCIs, how close we are to seamless brain-controlled devices, and what the next decade of innovation might look like.

Then the conversation shifts toward neuroengineering, a subfield of tissue engineering aimed at creating engineered brain tissue in the lab. The hosts discuss how this research is advancing our understanding of brain repair, regeneration, and neurodegenerative diseases—and the ethical questions that come with growing functional brain-like tissues outside the body.

Together, they ask: Where do biology and technology meet—and where should we draw the line?

🎧 Listen to “The Journey of Science with Gopu & Zane” on all streaming platforms or visit lybrandlab.org/jospod for show notes and references.

Substance abuse and addiction affect everything from how we live to how we think about choice. But what is addiction, and how do scientists study it? In this episode, Gopu shares what he’s been learning as he steps into the field of addiction neuroscience. Together, we explore the prevalence of substance use, why research often focuses on drugs like MDMA, THC, amphetamines, and opioids, and why everyday behaviors like eating sugar or scrolling social media are harder to study.

We also touch on the opioid crisis, naloxone as an antidote for fentanyl, and the role astrocytes and dopamine may play in addiction pathways.

A casual between friends about the science of substance use, the questions researchers ask, and the early steps of a journey into addiction neurobiology.

New episodes on all platforms—just search “Gopu & Zane” or visit lybrandlab.org/jospod