185 - Out of Autopilot

A conversation with Samuel Holston and Kirun Goy of BrainTools Lab and Podcast on simple brain tools for focus, learning, and better decisions at school and at work. About Kirun Goy Kirun works at the intersection of leadership, cognitive science, and intentional living. He helps people think more clearly, lead more effectively, and move out of autopilot. Over the past 14 years, Kirun has delivered more than 1,600 workshops and keynotes for leaders around the world. His work focuses on practical leadership skills such as staying clear under pressure, building emotional intelligence, and learning how to learn. He is the host of the BrainTools Podcast, which has reached more than 62,000 people in 100 countries. He is also a Senior Leadership Facilitator for Harvard Business Impact, where he supports leaders in large organisations to navigate change with more clarity and intention. He’s also the author of “The Imperfect Learner”. Whether speaking to a large audience or leading a smaller workshop, Kirun’s style is practical, relatable, and focused on giving people tools they can use straight away. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirungoy/ Website: https://www.kirungoy.com/  About Samuel Holston Samuel Holston works at the intersection of education, technology, and learning. Sam has worked at the intersection of technology, AI, cognitive science, education and learning for the last decade. He’s run SEL camps reaching thousands of students, delivered cognitive-science based workshops to schools and built learning products used by over 100,000 students and teachers.  He’s co-host of the BrainTools podcast, where he shares practical neuroscience and helps people understand how their brain works. He is also the co-founder of BrainTools Labs, who created science-backed resources, products and tools to help schools teach the human skill skills AI can’t replace.  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-holston/?skipRedirect=true About BrainTools Lab BrainTools Lab is a science-backed educational tools company founded by Kirun Goy and Samuel Holston. Its flagship product, ATL Lab, is designed for IB (International Baccalaureate) schools and helps students develop the Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills - thinking, communication, research, self-management, and social skills - that underpin deep, transferable learning. What We Do ATL Skills Lab — A curriculum-aligned programme for MYP schools that teaches, tracks, and develops ATL skills using neuroscience-informed tools and workshops. Designed to give MYP coordinators and teachers a structured, evidence-based way to embed skill development across subjects. BrainTools at School Podcast — Hosted by Samuel, the podcast explores how cognitive science, AI, and practical pedagogy intersect, with a focus on what this means for teachers, coordinators, and school leaders. Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Key Numbers

• 80,000+ students reached
• 5,000+ teachers trained
• 300+ schools served
• 1,600+ workshops and keynotes delivered (Kirun)
• 62,000+ podcast listeners in 100 countries

Links

• BrainTools Lab: https://www.braintoolslab.com
• Kirun Goy: https://www.kirungoy.com
• BrainTools at School Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/braintools-at-schools/id1815817672
• Samuel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-holston/
• Kirun on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirungoy/
• BrainTools Lab on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/braintools-lab/posts/?feedView=all

John Mikton on Social Media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton Web: beyonddigital.org Dan Taylor on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appsevents  Twitter: https://twitter.com/appdkt  Web: www.appsedu.com  Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube Do a full security audit of your Workspace for free at https://workspaceaudit.com Would you like to have a free 1 month trial of the new Google Workspace Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education)? Just fill out this form and we’ll get you set up bit.ly/GSEFE-Trial