Content Warning: This episode discusses suicide, schizophrenia, grief, and depression.
James Longman is a television news reporter who has reported from war zones like Ukraine and the Middle East for many years. You may have seen him on ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, or Nightline. But it took a special, much more personal investigation to get some answers for his father’s suicide and the schizophrenia and depression that preceded it. Drawing from his own experiences with depression, James also wanted to know how much of mental health is shaped by life experiences and how much is genetics. That effort led to James Longman’s book, The Inherited Mind: A Story of Family, Hope, and the Genetics of Mental Illness. James offers the insight he’s gained on his own family as well as what he’s learned about what science says about the human brain’s role in mental health. It’s a moving conversation with a great deal of hope if you’re trying to figure out yourself or your family.
