We Have Concerns

The sport of Slap Fighting has taken the Internet by storm over the last year. But would you believe: it is stupid and dangerous? I KNOW. Jeff and Anthony discuss a new study that says the very good and smart sport is causing intense and permanent damage to its participants. Video Analysis of Concussion Among Slap Fighting Athletes: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/282...

When you see food that is colored blue, what flavor do you expect it to be? As the rarest color in plants and animals, blue might be the strangest color to eat. Jeff and Anthony dig into the unusual history of blue food to  uncover the allure of azure. Support the show and get bonus episodes, videos, Discord community access and more! http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitt...

Among rural communities in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was taken as fact that a thunderstorm would turn milk sour. Jeff and Anthony look at the journey of scientific discovery around such a strange myth, and what it tell us about how long it takes to dispel misinformation, even in the modern age. For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the s...

It's time to celebrate the strangest, silliest, and most weirdly useful science of the last year! The Ig Nobel Prizes are back, and we're going to cover this year's winners. Support the show and get bonus episodes, videos, Discord community access and more! http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni If you’ve se...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/world/thomas-midgley-jr-leaded-gas-freon-scn/index.html Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcher...

Researchers in the Arctic are experimenting with drastic plans to geoengineer away the damaging effects of climate change. Jeff and Anthony look at one method, inspired by Dutch Ice Masters. Then, they discuss efforts from the Alameda city council to shut down geoengineering off the coast of California. Which is the best way forward? For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconc...

When birds collide with airplanes, their remains are sent to a special lab in Washington, DC. There, an elite team of avian detectives works to identify the exact type of bird to help prevent future catastrophes. Jeff and Anthony discuss the science behind the role of forensic ornithologist. For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, plea...

A new study shows that some insomniacs who claim to have been up through the night have actually been sleeping. What is going on in their brains? Anthony and Jeff take a look at the data and discuss how even our perception of our own sleep my be warped. For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on w...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story:   Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http:/...

By analyzing the brain waves of improvising jazz musicians, researchers now understand how the brain achieves a creative flow state. The findings have practical implications for anyone wanting to get ‘in the zone’ to generate creative ideas. Jeff and Anthony go with the flow and discuss how and when they are able to achieve this state of heightened performance. For bonus content, check out our Pat...

Two stories this week, both involving kids who get more than they bargained for. In the first, a toddler is certain she hears a monster in the walls of her family's 100 year old North Carolina farmhouse. In a way, she was right. And in the second, a 9 year old boy pines for a pet he shouldn't, and his parents find out the hard way why they shouldn't have given in. For bonus content, check out our...

No two human fingerprints are alike. Even different fingers from the same person are unique. But new research from Columbia University using an applied neural network suggests there may be a new way to link intra-person fingerprints with a high degree of accuracy. Jeff and Anthony take a look at fingerprinting analysis and discuss the use of machine learning to innovate in ways humans cannot. For...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story: https://www.npr.org/2024/04/10/1243939166/lunchables-consumer-reports-school-lunch Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhco...

Consumer Reports released a new report on Lunchables in which it found lead and cadmium, and also observed the presence of phthalates, which can impact reproductive health and the human hormonal system. Anthony and Jeff discuss the findings, and how to face the challenge of eating food that isn't actively trying to kill you. For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey!...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story: Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://t...

It is the 200th anniversary of the first dinosaur discovery, so Jeff and Anthony dig into the story of finding fossils and naming them. It leads them to the wild story of William Buckland, the man who coined the term Megalosaurus, in 1824. If you think you know dinosaurs, you may be shocked by how they entered popular culture.  For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns H...

A pair of recent studies suggest that the act of putting pen or pencil to paper increases brain activity and retention when compared to typing words into a computer. Anthony and Jeff discuss living a papered life, and whether taking physical notes is worth the increase in learning. For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a...

Statistics are amazing things. This week, Anthony and Jeff dig into the data around death to determine the most likely month and day that people all around the world will meet their end. For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story: https...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story:   https://boingboing.net/2024/02/12/how-to-disrupt-meetings-the-cia-way.html Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story:   https://www.sciencealert.com/our-perception-of-time-can-actually-speed-up-wound-healing Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitc...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story:   Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http:/...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story:  Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story:   https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/dec/11/want-to-skip-that-christmas-party-the-host-probably-wont-mind-study-shows Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story:   https://nowarchaeology.com/when-and-how-did-people-start-wearing-clothes/ Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns...

For bonus content, check out our Patreon! patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Link to this week's story: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/27/ultra-processed-foods-are-not-more-appealing-study-finds Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http...