Explain This

How can I use a mirror to make a death ray? What is the colour of a mirror? Why do mirrors flip left and right, but not top and bottom? Let's step in through the looking-glass to learn about the simple yet amazing invention that is the mirror!  Diagram showing light's angle of incidence and angle of reflection - MinutePhysics Enantiomers - John Wiley and Sons Inc Hand with Reflecting Spher...

How can I level up my gaming with mental shortcuts? Why do smart people make stupid mistakes and believe outrageous things? What the hell ARE vibes? Come learn about our amazing yet very imperfect brains, and how to know when to think fast and when to think slow. Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthiscast Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplainThisCast Instagr...

What ARE electrolytes? Why do we need them, and do sports drinks give us enough of it? How do nerve cells conduct electricity? What do plants crave? Come get roasted as Jin calls you a meatbag full of salty water! And learn about how cells can waterbend. Sodium/Potassium pump in action - Crash Course Idiocracy - Electrolytes, it's what plants crave scene Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebo...

What does science have to say about the possibility of aliens existing? Why haven't we come across any aliens yet? What if we're truly alone? How significant are we in the grand scheme of things? All of these existential questions and more in today's episode about the strange paradox of how aliens SHOULD exist! Yearly Theme (Episode 4 - New Year's Resolution) Email: explainthiscast...

Why is everything getting pricier? Why did German bread cost billions of marks in the 1920's? What do interest rates have to do with inflation? How has COVID-19 affected the economy? It's time to learn some Economics 101 to understand all of the news posts about inflation and interest rates, and why everything seems to get more expensive each year! Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook...

What are the vital signs? Why is the nurse checking out my pecs, while choking my biceps with a very tight band? What can go wrong when your blood pressure is too low? All this and more as we learn about how physiological monitoring helps healthcare workers look out for dangerous, life-threatening events while caring for you! Lynn, L.A., Curry, J.P. Patterns of unexpected in-hospital deaths: a roo...

What is happening in the brain when someone is depressed? How can an electric shock to the brain treat depression? Why is ECT still used in medicine, when movies such as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest show how horrible it is? Today we talk about a controversial medical treatment with a rather terrible public image. We'll discuss how it works, how effective and safe it is, and try debunk s...

How do magnets stick to metals? Why isn't the Iron Throne magnetic? How can we use magnets to record and play sound, or levitate a frog? Let's learn about one of the fundamental physical forces that glues the world together, by learning about how magnets work! Bar magnet field lines Iron filing experiment Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthiscast T...

What is DNA and how does it work? How can scientists tweak DNA with molecular scissors, and why would they want to? How could genetic engineering create an unfair society? All this and more on this episode of Explain This, where we learn about how this cool new technology has completely revolutionised the world of genetics! Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explai...

Why does steak taste so much better grilled or seared, compared to boiled? What does the colour brown have to do with the taste of food? How can I up my cooking game to impress my date? Let's learn about the science of what makes cooked food delicious! Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthiscast Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExplainThisCast Instagram: htt...

What happens to us after we die? What is the weirdest, sex-related death in history? How is Death personified in different parts of the world? Explain This is back from Jin's long exam study hiatus and we're coming strong out of the gates with the deep, fascinating topic of how we die! Come learn about all of the fascinating things that happen in your body as death overcomes you, and how d...

Can people change? What can I do to improve my school grades, job performance and relationship? How does mindset affect success, learning, growth and happiness? For our last episode of the year, we explore a powerful mental tool that will change how you approach learning new skills, overcoming challenges, and becoming a happier, better you!  Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.f...

How does breathing and thinking work? What magic makes my body tick and keep me alive? Where in the Sistine Chapel can I find an anatomical painting of the human brain? Today's episode is a five-part rapid fire episode, covering the five "most important" organs in your body (the bias will be explained in the episode). Come learn about how YOU work! Heart anatomy Lung anatomy Kidney a...

What is the scientific method? What do you mean that Power Pose is pseudoscience? How is the Replication Crisis invalidating my pop psychology knowledge base? We're back from our break to bring you more simplified explanations of complex concepts, like the Replication Crisis - one of the biggest crises to shake the academic world in modern times! Come learn how we (should) learn new things! Re...

NB: This episode was reuploaded as the original upload had a corrupted audio file. Please enjoy and sorry for the interruption! Why does coffee make me feel so good and let me work harder, faster and longer? Why do I need to poop every time I drink coffee? How did caffeine start the greatest scientific revolution in European history? Let's learn about the world's most popular and most used...

How can I use perspective to draw physical space more accurately? What was the Renaissance? How can learning about art history improve my Instagram influencer status? We're learning all about art today, by talking about how the technique of linear perspective completely revolutionised how we capture 3D space on 2D paper! Join us on a journey to 15th century Florence to see human ingenuity in a...

Why am I so exhausted all the time? How can I be more resilient against work-related stress? What can I do to feel less burnt out? In this episode, we talk about a special topic that I'm particularly interested in learning and teaching about, because it's such a common source of stress and misery, yet many people don't know enough about it to fight against it. Hope this episode adds so...

Why is the sky blue and not yellow or tan? Did ancient Greek people see the same blue skies we do now? Why do Koreans call a green light on a traffic signal "blue"? How can language affect the colours that our brains see? Today we take a deep dive into the colour BLUE, along with all the fascinating history and science behind the colour! You'll be surprised that you can learn so much...

Are prime numbers sponsored by Amazon Prime? What do maths have to do with secure online messages and cicadas? How can I win $250,000 using maths? It's time to go back to elementary maths class and study the fundamental building blocks of numbers, while learning about how the weird and cool properties of prime numbers can be super useful! Turns out, maths CAN be fun. Numberphile - Lucas-Lehmer...

How do pain relief medications like paracetamol and morphine work? What should I take when I have a headache? Why do we curse when we hurt ourselves? Why is life pain? We go for a deep dive into Jin's specialty world that is medicine and learn all about pain and how we treat pain in the hospital! Learn how to manage your own pain at home with the right kind of medication. Pain scale from Allie...

What is game theory? What's the best strategy when you don't know if someone is a friend or foe? How can maths minimise the number of years I'll go to jail for? All this and more in today's episode about the infamous Prisoner's Dilemma - where two prisoners have to make a choice, while trying to figure out if they trust the other prisoner or not! It's about to get mathemati...

How can I turn lead into gold? Why did Lord Voldemort and the Elric brothers seek the Philosopher's Stone? How can I use alchemy to make my own Philosopher's Stone? In this episode, we explore the magical world of alchemy, while learning about the power of allegories and science! The Squared Circle Rebis Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthiscast Tw...

How do the new COVID-19 vaccines work? What happened to smallpox? What is the anti-vaccination movement about it? Why should my children and I be vaccinated? We learn all about the history and science behind vaccines and immmunisation, the scientific evidence supporting the safety of them, and the harrowing stories of how misinformation can literally kill people. John Green's The Anthropocene...

Who was Sigmund Freud and why is he a big deal? What are ego and id, repression and Freduian slips? Why do I have deep, secret urges to sleep with my mother? Today, we go deep into the murky waters of the unconscious mind through the lens of one of the earliest theories on how our unconscious mind work. Along the way, we'll learn about the beginnings of psychotherapy, crazy theories on what dr...

How does Bitcoin work? What is a blockchain? How can I make insane amounts of money through memes? We return from our hiatus with an exciting episode on the weird world of cryptocurrency - a type of money that only exists virtually! A small PSA: we're publishing every two weeks from now, but in exchange, each episode should be longer and more detailed than the first season of episodes. Hope yo...