Episode 1: The Human Face

The human face is more than anatomy. It is identity. It is communication. It is culture.

As a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, I have spent my career studying how the face develops, ages, heals, and expresses who we are. But the face extends far beyond medicine. It is studied by actors, sculptors, archaeologists, artificial intelligence engineers, and even intelligence officers. Courtroom outcomes can hinge on it. Multi billion dollar industries are built around it, from skincare to facial recognition technology.

Within milliseconds of seeing a face, we form judgments about health, mood, personality, dominance, ethnicity, and background. We are not always correct, but the brain extracts remarkable amounts of information almost instantly. The face is not like the liver or the foot. It is the primary interface between the inner self and the outer world.

In this first episode, I introduce the larger vision for this show. I will sit down with experts from different disciplines whose work revolves around the face. Together, we will explore what motivates them, what they see when they study the face, and how the face shapes human behavior and culture.

This is an exploration of humanity through the lens of the face.

What is The Face with Masoud Saman?

The Face with Masoud Saman is a podcast about beauty, identity, and the human face. Hosted by facial plastic surgeon Dr. Masoud Saman, each episode explores the depths beyond what social media and the beauty industry show us. From filtered selfies to cultural ideals, we unravel how faces are judged, altered, and celebrated. It's not about chasing perfection. It's about understanding what we value, and why.

Speaker 1: 00:05

The human face is a powerful thing. And as a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, I am fascinated by it every day. I have dedicated my entire career to the study of the face. How it develops, how it ages, how it heals, how to reconstruct it, how it allows us to communicate. But the face goes far beyond just the discipline of medicine.

Speaker 1: 00:27

The face is studied by actors, by sculptors. It helps determine courtroom outcomes. Multibillion dollar industries are built around it, like skincare, facial recognition technology, AI, and so much more. Now, of course, all of us deal with the face every day. And within ten milliseconds of looking at a face, we can glean so much information, it allows us to draw some basic judgments about the individual we just saw, whether in the flesh or on a photograph.

Speaker 1: 00:54

We can make decisions about whether we think they're male or female. We can decide whether we think they're healthy or unhealthy. Now, we're not always right, but we have a ton of information even about their mood, their personality type, are they dominant, aggressive, or relaxed? We can make decisions and judgments about their ethnicity and background, etc. Beyond that, there are disciplines that study the face and they are all different.

Speaker 1: 01:18

For example, an archaeologist's interest in the face is not the same as the AI engineer or the actor's interest in the study of the face or the intelligence officer's study of the face. And with so much study and expertise surrounding the face, it becomes obvious that the face isn't just biology. It's not like your foot or your liver. It's identity. It's who we are.

Speaker 1: 01:38

It's how we face the world. And on this show, I sit down with experts whose work revolves around the face. I want to dig deep and understand what got them motivated, what is the interest in the face, what information they glean when they study the face, and how that helps drive human behavior and culture. In short, I want to study humanity through the lens of the face. And if that sounds interesting, join me.

Speaker 1: 02:04

This is gonna be a lot of fun. This See you next time.