Hard Knox with Amanda Knox

As a young teen, Maya Shankar was on a path to becoming a professional, world-class violinist, until an accident changed the course of her life, leading her to become a behavioral scientist. Amanda, Chris, and Maya nerd out about cognitive biases and how they affected Amanda's wrongful conviction, what shapes our behaviors and identities, and why it's so hard to change minds. Check out Maya Shanka...

In the final installment of our miniseries, Chris takes an ego-obliterating dose of mushrooms, and Amanda pokes her head through the looking glass for the first time. But first, we get advice from Michael Pollan, Robin Carhart-Harris, Paul Stamets, and Sam Harris. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.kno...

Psilocybin isn't just a psychedelic compound, it's the product of a mushroom. In Part 6 of our miniseries, renowned mycologist Paul Stamets takes us through the wide world of fungi, our mutual evolution, the latest research on microdosing, and gives us a mycelium’s eye view of our place in the universe. (Photo credit @brokenbanjotrav) Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more b...

What is the self? How can we find tranquility without reaching past the present moment? And what does all this have to do with psychedelics? Sam Harris--philosopher, neuroscientist, author, host of the Making Sense podcast, and creator of the Waking Up meditation app--helps us see the landscapes of mind that psychedelics reveal, and how mindfulness and ethics are crucial to achieving the furthest...

In 1955, a Mazatec shaman introduced a westerner to sacred mushrooms. That event has had tremendous ripple effects. In part 4 of our miniseries, we speak with Dr. Bia Labate about the deep indigenous roots of the psychedelic renaissance and what is missing from the western biomedical narrative around these powerful substances. (Artwork by Karina Muscarina for Chacruna Institute). Get early access...

In 2020, Oregon didn't just decriminalize drugs, it legalized a framework for safe and equitable psilocybin therapy. In part three of our miniseries, we look at the politics of psychedelics and the activists who, in the midst of celebrating this unexpected political triumph, were met with personal tragedy. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on pa...

There's growing evidence that psychedelics can be useful tools for mental health and wellbeing. In part 2 of our miniseries, neuroscientist Robin Carhart-Harris takes us on a tour of the pioneering research into how psychedelics affect the brain, and what it may mean for society if more of us are able to shake up our snow globes. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by sup...

The psychedelic renaissance is here, but will it last? In this 7-part series, Amanda and Chris deep dive into the history, neuroscience, politics, and power of psilocybin mushrooms, along with their relationship with mindfulness and the fabric of life on earth. Michael Pollan, author of How to Change Your Mind, and This is Your Mind on Plants, gives us the lay of the land, from the dangers of ther...

Every other week, Amanda and Chris debate an ethical question, from suicide and abortion to whether it's okay to trap your cat in the laundry hamper! These Who's Right? debates are usually only available to Patreon subscribers but this episode is free for all Labyrinths listeners! Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/kno...

Hang onto your hats! Third trimester is a wild ride with an early rush to the hospital and fears of dying in childbirth. Emily Oster, author of the Family Firm, helps Amanda and Chris through their anxieties about the physical trauma of birth and its mental aftermath. If you haven't been in a delivery room since the day you were born, you're in a for an intimate experience. This is part 3 of 3. Ge...

As Amanda and Chris enter their second trimester, they face anxieties about the genetic testing of their fetus, and Amanda is feeling less like a Goddess and more like "The Incubator." As before, Dr. Emily Oster, author of Crib Sheet, helps them sift through these worries and emotions. This is Part 2 of 3. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on pa...

After an early miscarriage, Amanda and Chris began their journey into parenthood anxious to understand the data about their actual risks so they could make informed choices. Dr. Emily Oster, author of Expecting Better, helps them sift through all the conflicting pregnancy advice, while Amanda and Chris offer an intimate view into their unexpected emotional reality. This is Part 1 of 3. Get early a...

Brent Spiner is not the android Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but so many seem to want him to be that fictional character. Contending with a doppelganger version of yourself is something Amanda knows well, and if you have any online existence, you too will be implicated by the questions Brent Spiner explores in his new book, Fan Fiction, a mem-noir thriller about the nature of identity...

What role does beauty play in criminal justice? Why was everyone so fixated on Amanda's eyes while she was on trial for murder? Can beauty be a privilege and a curse? Amanda and Chris unpack these questions with Zara Stone, author of Killer Looks, a book that reveals the forgotten history of plastic surgery in prisons. Find Killer Looks at: https://bookshop.org/books/killer-looks-the-forgotten-his...

Amanda was accused of orchestrating a sex-game gone wrong that ended in murder. But what does a sex-game gone right look like? To find out, Amanda and Chris connect with Mistress Cyan and Goddess Genesis and enter the world of BDSM. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandakn...

Sperm counts are dropping; miscarriage rates are rising. Renowned environmental and reproductive epidemiologist Dr. Shanna Swan alerts us to the global infertility crisis, while Amanda and Chris find something to hope for. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandaknox | @manu...

The labyrinth of infertility has many dead ends. The miracles of science are not a guarantee, and even adoption can be an insurmountable challenge. At what point does a couple give up and accept that they will never have children? Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandaknox...

Nearly half a million babies are born each year thanks to assisted reproductive technologies like in-vitro fertilization. But modern science is a double-edged sword, providing hope to the hopeless, but at the cost of financial peril, physical pain, and sometimes, endless frustration. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/...

It's a club nobody wants to join, and one few people talk about. These brave women are helping destigmatize pregnancy loss, and searching for hope after their bodies have betrayed them. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandaknox | @manunderbridge IG: @amamaknox | @emceecar...

Amanda and Chris thought it was a straight-line from unprotected sex to baby. They were painfully wrong. They relive their miscarriage and step into the labyrinthine world of infertility. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandaknox | @manunderbridge IG: @amamaknox | @emceec...

The pandemic is ending; the world is reopening. What should we leave behind, and what should we resurrect? And what about raging parties? Amanda and Chris jump into the deep end of social life and meet some strangers in this brave new world. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter:...

Mark Olshaker is a writer masquerading as a detective, tracking down serial killers with John Douglas (Mindhunter), and tracking down infectious diseases with Dr. Michael Osterholm (Deadliest Enemy). Those worlds have more in common than you'd think! Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com...

Obie Anthony served 17 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. On Oct 4th, 2011, he was released, the very same day as Amanda, his exoneree twin. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandaknox | @manunderbridge IG: @amamaknox | @emceecarbon Learn more about your ad choi...

Long before Curb Your Enthusiasm, Cheryl Hines was thirty, waitressing, and stuck in a rut, her biggest acting credit, a small role on Swamp Thing. Would she ever be successful, or happy? Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandaknox | @manunderbridge IG: @amamaknox | @emceec...

Jack was a rising stand-up comic and single dad, but then he started crumbling, piece by piece, due to an unknown illness. Amanda and Chris learn how he lost himself, and how he found himself again as the world fell to pieces. Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandaknox | @...