Be More Specific

What makes bears so cool? Well, time to go camping and think about what makes bears so unbelievably perfect! These fluffy beasts are the best, so prepare to be swooned by their little ears.  Sources: https://bear.org/bears-as-imaginary-dragons/ https://northamericannature.com/how-did-bears-evolve/ https://www.nature.com/articles/srep46487 https://www.bearsinmind.org/Page/The-evolution-of-bear-spec...

Why be smelly? How long have humans applied smelly water to themselves? What's the weirdest scent? How can you buy the best perfume for you? Teagan and Bekah answer all these questions and MORE in this particularly fragrant episode!  Sources https://www.fragrancex.com/blog/strangest-perfume-ingredients/ https://qbi.uq.edu.au/blog/2018/11/how-do-we-smell-things https://www.shayandblue.com/blog...

What are tongues? How did we get them? How do animals use them? How much does Bekah hate them? (A lot). Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue https://www.thecut.com/2016/05/the-complicated-reasons-why-you-like-some-foods-and-hate-others.html https://www.livescience.com/photos-weird-animal-tongues.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa_exigua https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditi...

The movie is over, but the fun has just begun! Join Bekah and Teagan as we learn about movie credits: their origins, their idiosyncrasies, and why they’re so important! Sources: https://www.peerspace.com/resources/movie-credits/ https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/21443/15-film-production-credits-explained https://www.nfi.edu/film-credits/ https://www.ranker.com/list/jokes-hidden-in-movie-credits/...

Come with Teagan and Bekah as they discuss the history and deliciousness of various winter treats! Gingerbread, Fruitcake, and much more!  Spoiler alert: These treats are OLD OLD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cookie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingerbread https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumpia https://thetakeout.com/asian-egg-rolls-cha-gio-spring-rolls-lumpia-1826717513 https://en....

It turns out that mimes are pretty cool! Join Teagan and Bekah as Teagan learns about mimes (for the second time) and as they both fall in love with one Marcel Marceau!  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mime_artist https://members.tripod.com/~kiko_mime/history.html https://www.worldmime.org/en/about-mime/mime-and-pantomime/104-mime-and-pantomime/290-the-evolution-of-mime.html https://www.theatre...

What makes us hiccup? Why does Anna hiccup so much? Will you review us on iTunes?  Follow us on Instagram!! @bemorespecificpod  Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AdQLkUkui8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0oELHA6EvM https://www.farmersalmanac.com/could-these-remedies-really-stop-the-hiccups-2886 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/health_guinness_medical_record_brea...

Why do we mourn? Why does death matter? What children’s TV Show will make Teagan cry this episode? All of this and more, answered in this week’s episode! Follow us on instagram! @bemorespecificpod Sources https://www.funeralwise.com/digital-dying/the-spectacular-death-rituals-of-the-philippines/ https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/25/death-beads-south-koreas-new-way-to-honor-the-deceased/ https://ww...

What makes a show a "Reality" TV Show? Why do we love them? How did they come to be? Sources: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/reality-tv.htm https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-reality-tv-fans-real_b_7803534 https://www.businessinsider.com/behind-the-scenes-secrets-reality-tv-producers-wont-tell-you-2018-2 https://www.quora.com/How-is-reality-TV-filmed https://www.washingtonpost.com/outloo...

Old Wives Tales and some common misconceptions! This has been a rough start to a semester, so we're going low-effort today. Enjoy! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-health/old-wives-tales-and-truths https://www.geekwrapped.com/myth-infographic

Who rates movies? Who decides what children should and shouldn't watch? Is Be More Specific Rated G?  Sources: R. Leone, 2002 , Contemplating Ratings: An Examination of What the MPAA Considers “Too Far for R” and Why https://www.filmratings.com/History https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1247/motion-picture-ratings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_film_rating_...

What are dreams? Why do we dream? Do they mean anything? Teagan and Bekah talk dreams (and LaCroix and English Miners and Tuna Chips and a lot of other chaos) in this episode! Also, in this episode we use the terms “Deaf” and “blind” as opposed to “hard of hearing” or “vision impaired”, here is why! It is important to remember no group is a monolith and different people desire different things, bu...

What makes us sleepy? What happens when you don't sleep? How do you sleep better? Avoid sleep anxiety and listen to Teagan and Bekah explain the intricacies of sleep.  https://www.sleepfoundation.org/ an evidence based website I recommend for the layperson. https://www.thensf.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mufsteNrTI https://lionhabitatranch.org/about/lion-facts/#:~:text=They%20spend%2...

What's in a signature? Turns out: A lot of history!  Everything from identity verification to slaps are what makes signatures so valuable.  https://legalesign.com/blog/history-of-signatures/?amp=1 https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2011/03/when-did-we-start-signing-our-names-to-authenticate-documents.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature https://www.etymonline.com/word/signatur...

Getting crispy is most people's least favorite part of the summer. But why does it happen? Why is skin so gross? Why does Teagan insist on choosing topics that make most people nauseated?  https://medlineplus.gov/sunexposure.html https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a30691658/sun-poisoning-pictures/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-happens-when-you-get/ https://www.youtube.co...

Bekah is a milk fiend and Teagan is lactose intolerant, but both were pressured into consuming lots of the stuff in elementary school. What gives? Why is there so much milk? Why is it so yummy? Got Milk? https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/whole-vs-skim-milk#TOC_TITLE_HDR_4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20071648/ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/sugar-in-milk https://www.bbc.com/future...

Teagan forces Bekah to watch Foodfight. Bekah will never trust Teagan's recommendations EVER again.https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/movies/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-computer-animated-foodfight.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_Entertainmenthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249516/https://lostmediawiki.com/Foodfight!_(partially_found_early_version_of_CGI_animated_film;_2002)#cite_note-2https...

What's a meme? Ooga chaka baby. Bekah explains the ancient history of memes, and they discuss the intricacies of internet culture today! https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/from-kilroy-to-pepe-a-brief-history-of-memes/https://www.howtogeek.com/356232/what-is-a-meme/https://www.britannica.com/topic/memehttps://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/140427-best-stupidest-and-most-famous-internet-memes-a...

What is the Cloud? Where is all that data being kept? Why keep it not on a USB in a box under your mattress?? Teagan explains the intricacies of the Cloud, while Bekah ponders the singularity. https://digital.hbs.edu/platform-rctom/submission/cloud-based-rendering-for-the-animation-industry/ https://www.keepitsafe.com/blog/post/how-data-backup-saved-the-toy-story-franchise/ https://www.fasthosts.c...

Teagan and Bekah climb Mount Everest! Just Kidding! Turns out that Everest is scary! Sources:https://www.liveabout.com/geology-of-mount-everest-755308#:~:text=The%20peak%20of%20Mount%20Everest,over%20400%20million%20years%20ago.&text=Possibly%20as%20much%20as%20twenty,remains%20had%20turned%20into%20rock.https://www.himalayaguide.com/blog/26/everest-base-camp-height-everest-base-camp-altitude-moun...

Teagan launches a passionate defense for her mosquito friends. Bekah is forced to listen and engage with Teagan's BugTalk. Sources:https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malariahttps://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/defense-mosquitoeshttps://connecticutgreen.com/in-defense-of-the-mosquito/https://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.htmlhttps://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih...

Teagan and Bekah talk Cult Classics! What gives some movies a second wind? Why are most cult classics so...weird?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_filmhttps://www.liveabout.com/what-is-a-cult-film-4156574https://www.filmsite.org/cultfilms.htmlhttps://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/04/cult-movies-time-warp-documentaryhttps://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-does-a-film-become-a-cult-classic-2/

Oh Barbie, that plastic representation of a lot of challenging ideas? How did Barbie come to be? Why is she so popular?

What makes a sequel? Why are there so many? Why did Teagan have an enchilada mistake? Podcast Sequel Sources: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-hollywood-makes-more-sequels-every-year-even-though-shane-snow https://www.fastcompany.com/3038692/why-sequels-succeed-or-fail-as-explained-by-22-jump-street-and-sin-city-2?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_675670&cid=rp012ze...

Why do we laugh? Teagan and Bekah are going to find out! Ignore the karaoke noises and focus on our sweet, educational tones. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-we-laugh/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughter_in_animalshttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/202008/why-we-laughhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whats-so-funny-the-science-of-why-we-laugh/https:/...