The CRAM Podcast ~ Extraordinary Ideas Unleashed

REPEAT from 2023: Y ou probably know people who you think are irrational (and you’re certainly NOT one of them!).   They have views you don’t agree with and make decisions that make no sense. And maybe you even feel irrational people are on the rise.  And that makes you nervous.   But just who is a rational person?  What constitutes rational thinking?  And can we use this form of thinking to make...

When we think of bad behaviour, we often think of men and the dirty deeds they’ve done.  But what about women?   Women, like men, are also capable of bad behaviour. Very bad behaviour.    Just look back at the Roman Empire. Women were expected to be good girls, wives and mothers.  But there were notable bad-ass women who stopped at nothing to gain power. Their stories are shocking and gruesome.  T...

*Special Edition* Do you have a feeling that all is not right with the world?  There’s war, racial conflict, huge economic disparity, political extremism, growing societal discord.  And of course climate change.   You wonder – are we on a path to complete self-destruction?  It’s the ultimate question that researcher Luke Kemp has been studying.   He’s an expert on global catastrophic risk.  He’s l...

Remember when you used to see your doctor every year for  a “physical?”  He looked at you from top to toe, did a full blood workup and maybe sent you for other tests as well.  But a number of years ago, the annual physical was replaced with the periodic health exam.  Based on the evidence, the medical profession said an annual checkup wasn’t necessary for everyone and might even be detrimental.  B...

It’s a hot topic lately.  Narcissism. You’ll find it everywhere – on social media, online articles, talk shows, documentaries. And it seems everyone knows someone who has Narcissistic Personality Disorder – or they think they have it themselves! Even if you know someone who genuinely has NPD.. well then what? Can you have a successful relationship with them and if not, what are the signs to leave?...

It’s a once in a lifetime event:  a mesmerizing, soul-stirring experience. At any given point on earth, the ability to see a total solar eclipse happens only once every three to four hundred years.   And on April 8, 2024, at least 30 million people will be able to experience it.  They’ll be plunged into darkness as the moon completely blocks the sun.  Even if you’re not going to experience the ecl...

We’ve all had nightmares.  Some are worse than others and can haunt us for days. Whether it’s a nightmare, a night terror or sleep paralysis, they all happen while we sleep. But they can feel very real. Why do we have nightmares, and what does it mean when they recur over and over again?   Did you know there’s a difference between nightmares and night terrors and when they occur?  Should you awake...

Have you heard of “The Dark Triad?”  It sounds like a mysterious crime syndicate in a James Bond movie.   But it’s real. The Dark Triad refers to the worst personality traits a person can have.  Narcissism.  Machiavellianism.  Psychopathy. Think of former U.S. President Donald Trump.  NY financier Bernie Madoff.   Serial killer Paul Bernardo.   Each of them has at least one of these traits accordi...

Humans are complex beings. And one of the most perplexing puzzles that John McPhee is trying to figure out –  is how we move.   It’s a question that’s fascinated him for most of his life. And during his 30+ years as a systems design engineer, he’s come up with remarkable achievements: everything from improving electric and autonomous vehicles,  developing exoskeletons for stroke patients,  and inc...

Are there some things about you - habits or behaviours you’d really like to change? Maybe you’re dealing with anxiety?  Or depression? Or you’ve been in one bad relationship after another and you want this pattern to stop. You’ve wondered about going for counselling.  But you’re skeptical.  Maybe even scared. Can psychotherapy, or as some people call it – talk therapy - REALLY help?? Who needs it?...

I bet if you took a random poll, many would say people’s general behaviour has  deteriorated. - a lot.  And you can witness this just about anywhere.  On the street with strangers, shopping in a store, when you’re driving – all kinds of rude behaviour.  And you see it with politicians, corporate leaders, celebrities.  And let’s not even get into social media.   The world seems less welcoming. .. e...

It occupies a significant chunk of our life. But we pay little or no attention to it at all. Dreaming.   There are scary dreams, happy dreams, erotic dreams.. and everyday, run-of-the-mill dreams.  But what do they mean?   How do we remember them, analyse them, even CONTROL them?  (yes it’s possible) By studying how we sleep and dream we can better understand ourselves and our lives.  Listen to co...

We hope you're enjoying the holiday season with family and friends. It is a time meant for peace and goodwill and yet, for many, this has been a time of conflict, violence and war. How can we better understand the world during troubled times and even come away with hope? We thought hard about this and we wanted to end 2023 with our interview with Dr. James Orbinski-- first aired in June of th...

It’s the holiday season – a time for family, friends and happy times together. But then the season’s over and we’re back to the worries and grind of everyday life.  Happiness can seem fleeting, so difficult to hold on to.   But there’s actually a science around happiness and some answers as to what makes us happy. Some of the findings seem obvious.  But others may be surprising including the fact...

Are you stressed?  Who isn’t! We seem to be faced with constant demands at work and at home.   Obligations to family, responsibilities at work, commitments to friends and so on.    And it’s all a race against the clock.   As a society,  we seem to be stressed out.   And what makes this dilemma even more problematic is that stress is contagious!  That’s right.  The research on this is fascinating. ...

There are all kinds of delusions. Here’s one: You believe you’re the star of a movie and that your life is being watched and recorded.  Every second of it.  And everyone around you – your family, friends, even strangers – they’re in on it.  This is your life and it’s hell. This unusual mental disorder, dubbed The Truman Show syndrome (after the movie starring Jim Carrey), was observed by psychiatr...

What is the meaning of memory? Imagine waking up one day with no memory from the time you were 15. That’s what happened to a woman in the Maritimes. She went into cardiac arrest and was in a coma for three weeks. She was 29 at the time but when she awoke, she was a child again. It’s such an incredible story that I reached out to Dr. Howard Chertkow, a cognitive neurologist. I wanted to find out ho...

It’s almost Hallowe’en.  Sure it can be a scary time of year with ghosts and goblins, witches and warlocks, not to mention the living dead. (yuck) But what is truly frightening in our lives?  Perhaps it’s something far deeper and darker.  A haunting that you can’t run away from in the light of day or even while you sleep. Suzette Mayr has thought a lot about what haunts us as a writer and teacher...

Tyrant.  A word that can instill fear in millions of people. A monster capable of mass murder to achieve his own ends.  But could one person’s tyrant actually be another person’s hero, even saviour? Who really is a tyrant?  Why do they become one?  And who are the worst tyrants in the world? If there’s anyone who’s thought deeply about this topic, it’s Waller Newell, a professor of political scien...

Here’s a startling fact. Lifestyle factors such as what you eat and whether you exercise can affect your risk of cancer by as much as 50%!! But there’s so much confusing info when it comes to food.  And we all want that magic bullet. One week it’s tofu.  Then it’s acai.  Then it’s goji berries.    We try the latest dieting craze hoping it’ll make us healthier and give us a longer life. But it’s ti...

Do you feel there’s a general anxiety that’s been on the rise in our society – especially among young people?  Many seem worried, unsettled, fearful.   And their worries seem all encompassing:  school, relationships, jobs, money, their health, the economy, the environment, global instability. They worry about their future and the future of the planet.  I’m sure my friends and I had similar worries...

As more and more of our lives become increasingly online, what happens to those chance encounters, moments of discovery, and unexpected but meaningful interactions with others – the serendipity of life? You might think working remotely is easier and more productive.  And maybe it is. You have control over your day.   And as far as relationships go, let’s just text or maybe zoom. Less complicated. ...

How do you define a generation?  Think about it. What do you think of when you hear the term baby boomers, millennials or any other generation?  They bring to mind a specific group of people who share a common set of characteristics. Competitive, selfish, innovative?  Oh those are Baby Boomers, Lazy, self-entitled, environmentally conscious?  Got to be Millennials. Anxious, unfocussed and multi-ta...

Me against you.  Us against them. As humans, we form tribes or groups we belong to.  And they can be divisive and lead to rejection, isolation, and violence to those on the “outside.”    But tribalism can also mean family, community, solidarity.  David Samson is an evolutionary anthropologist who studies our “tribe drive.”  How does it work and what do we gain or lose from it?  How can it explain...

* A SPECIAL EDITION OF THE CRAM PODCAST Very few people have led the life that Thupten Jinpa Langri has experienced.  At 11 years of age, he entered a Buddhist monastery after his parents fled Tibet and became refugees in southern India.   Soon after he met the Dalai Lama who noticed the brilliance and curiosity of this young student.  It was the start of a life-long relationship.  He’s been the D...