Trent Erikson

Usefulish Podcast

History EN ↓ 2 episodes

With 30+ years in radio and digital media, host Trent Erikson decodes the psychology behind humanity’s strangest behaviors. Each episode takes a bizarre historical custom and reveals the social intelligence you can use today. Part history lesson, part tactical guide for reading people and navigating power dynamics in every interaction. Because understanding why humans do weird things? That’s always useful...ish.

Author

Trent Erikson

Episodes

Why Did People Used to Faint All the Time? 26.08.2025 13:19

From Victorian corsets that crushed organs to Elvis fans dropping like flies, fainting used to be everywhere. But why don't we spontaneously collapse anymore? This week, we'll look at how fainting evolved from physical necessity to something psychological to something spiritual, and why we swapped swooning for something a lot more pathetic. Uncover the power moves behind some pretty dramatic colla...

Why Was the Old West So Overdressed? 19.08.2025 11:18

Think you stress about what to wear? In 1875, wearing the wrong shirt could literally get you killed. Why did people in the Old West suffer and sweat through wool suits in 110° heat? And what does this tell us about what we still do today? The psychology behind getting dressed and why your profile photo is based on a frontier survival strategy. Next week, why were people always fainting? It's a lo...