Why We Do What We Do

This second part completes the story of the tragedy of the murders at Jonestown. In addition, we expand on this conversation by unpacking the mentality of the participants, and dig a little bit into how charismatic leaders can develop a following that seems baffling from the outside. It is an analysis on where we were as a country, and as a species, as well as where we are now and where we are goi...

We all hate it. Yet, some of us do it. We talk about why people do it, how recipients perceive it, and how passenger commentary/critique/analysis affects driving behavior and safety. Join our member club for ad-free content and other bonus content: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast Links and References:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201005/field-guide-the-backseat-driver-pedal-the-meddl...

One of the largest mass murders of American citizens in history took place in 1978 in Guyana at the hands of cult leader, Jim Jones. This discussion delves into the circumstances that gave rise to Jones' power and influence of hundreds of people that lead to a tragic mass death of hundreds of people young and old. This first episode chronicles Jones' life as he rose to prominence and eventually mo...

Do you bite your fingernails or know someone who does? Why do we do this weird, self-destructive thing? What can we do to stop it? We quickly explore the conditions under which we bite our fingernails and some strategies for reducing the frequency of this habit. Tell us your experiences with nail biting (info@wwdwwdpodcast.com; ‪@wwdwwdpodcast.bsky.social‬) Join our supporter's club : patreon.com/...

Tipping is another oddly American tradition that we all pretty universally hate. Perhaps you did not know that the modern conception of tipping arose during reconstruction as a means to not have to pay black people for their labor. We explore the origins of this strange, uniquely American tradition, why it persists, and what is probably going to make this problem much, much worse.  Recommendations...

Some people use this term incorretly, some don't know it at all. To help get everyone on the same page, we are going to review the history of research that first described this phenomenon. Then, we will give examples of what this might look like in real-life scenarios.  Get ad-free and bonus content: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast Links and References:  Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W....

Special guests Jennifer Farris, Meg Solomon, and Dr. Mari Cerda join us to talk about their new book about developing a compassionate care model. They outline the critical elemtents of their discussion, and share personal stories to help illustrate their recommendations. At the end, they join us in giving their own recommendations for things that bring them joy. We could all use a little more joy....

Can you walk around being skeptical all day long? At what point do you need to let your guard down? We suggest that not only can you go about your day being skeptical, it is better if you do. We'll explain. Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast Links:  https://www.theskepticsguide.org/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/sup...

There is a unique type of brain trauma that destroys lives and cuts them short and we can't even tell that it has happened until after your death. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy occurs when there is repeated head trauma, even if it is mild. The result can manifest as forgetfulness, impulsivity, violence, and an early death. Mercifully, it is relatively preventable. Unfortunately, few people care...

Sometimes we have some random twitches that develop out of nowhere. What is going on with these? Why do they happen? And, what can we do about it? We explore the uncomfortable world of twitches. Fun fact, these are technically different from spasms.  Become a member: Patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast Links and References:  https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/symptoms/muscle-twitching#:~:text=Muscle%...

Replacement theory is essentially a propaganda campaign engineered to scare gullible people into giving power to autocrats. Versions of this have been around for a long time. We review the history of replacement theory, explain how it works to trick people into voting against their interests (and the interests of everyone else), and what we can do about it.  Recommendations Abraham: Wool (https://...

One of the most common strategies of current right-wing propaganda is to say something that sounds like reasonable words, but when you break it down it is misleading, misinformed, outright wrong, or even dangerous. One example of this is a recent suggestion that we start using placebo-controlled experimental arrangements for established vaccines. This is fairly simple to dismantle, so buckle in fo...

Science is not perfect, because it is human. But it is strives for correction, unlike almost any other human institution or endeavor. Much of what science does at the basic level can feel absurd, esoteric, and pointless. Sometimes, it is. But funding basic scientific research is the reason we have made more progress in the last 150 years than the previous 3,000 years combined. Let's continue makin...

The Scoville scale is a method for measuring the heat of capsaicin-laden food. This is the amount of sugar water needed to entirely dilute the spice. But, we say it more elegantly than that. Let the spice flow! Join our supporter's club: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast Links and References:  https://www.nist.gov/how-do-you-measure-it/how-do-you-measure-heat-pepper   https://pepperscale.com/what-is-t...

Lots of people smear colored dyes into the skin of their face almost every day. It's so commonplace, we hardly give it a second thought. We explore the history of makeup, and the psychology of this cultural practice. There are different motives for wearing makeup. We enumerate some of them here. It's not so simple as a lot of peope might try to make it out to be.  Recommendations Abraham: Love, De...

A trending strategy to bolster the interpretation of scientific results is to "pre-register" a study. This is publicly declaring your methods and data analysis procedures prior to beginning the research. Another advantage is that this means null results are more likely to be published. However, it may also inhibit attention to unexpected discovery. We'll briefly describe what pre-registering is, t...

We are all gonna die! Some day :) Top 10, or 12 or something times that humans incorrectly predicted the end of the world! People have been doing this for a long, LONG time. Why do we love predicting the end of times? Is it money? Fame? Power? Mental Illness? A little of column A, a little of column B? We'll do our best to list some major would-be world-ending events that didn't end the world and...

Music is an important part of many people's childhood. Early, we start soaking up everything we hear and give equal opportunity to select the things we'll like. Later, we can't seem to move on from those early experiences. Why do we get stuck in a music rut and lose motivation to find new music... or do we? Support us on patreon! (www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast) Links and References:  https://neuro...

Years ago we talked about the science of masturbation (yes, ther's a science). Amazingly, there are some updates in the research on masturbation, so we decided it was time for an update. Fair WARNING: Episode contains expllcit, sexual descriptions. Listen in! support us: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast Recommendations Abraham: Tokaido (https://stonemaiergames.com/games/tokaido/) Shane: Pet Symmetry...

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) used to be escalating toward crisis. However, a public health campaign was able to effectively influence behaviors and significantly reduced instances of SIDS. So, what is going on with SIDS? Why does it happen? What can do to prevent it? We'll quickly explain what is known about this frightening condition.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreak...

There have been some wildly inaccurate claims in the news lately about autism and autistic people. There is a specific political agenda making the case that rates of autism are rising. Further, recent comments from RFK jr. have motivated us to respond and critique his asinine behavior. Autism is part of the human condition. Vaccines don't cause autism. We make an empassioned case against the misin...

Facilitating prosocial behavior is something humans have struggled with for a long time. We unfortunately discovered that coercion was effective at directing some behaviors to some degree. This lead to a pervasive tendency to focus on punishment to try to influence behavior, as opposed to reinforcement and encouragement. This is a guide for shifting emphasis back toward acknowledging what's workin...

A lot of engenuity has come out of various human endeavors over time. One system by which invention is motivated is the competition of capitalism. Thus, many people laud capitalism and private enterprise as the solution to most or all problems. We wanted to explore the motivations and science behind the management of a system that is government operated compared to a system that is privately opera...

Airlines have tried various methods to herd people onto a plane efficiently. Governing a lot of moving people is tricky. Which methods work to get people boarded? Did you know there is no standard way to do this? We'll break down the issues with boarding.  Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast Links and References : https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbers https://www.scientif...

Last episode we spent a lot of time discussing some history about text-based communication in general, so we barely touched on the concepts you would need to get started teaching reading. This episode, we describe most of the remaining phonetic rules to teach reading in the bizare code that is the English language.  Recommendations:  Abraham: Sinners ( https://slate.com/culture/2025/04/sinners-mov...