Why We Do What We Do

This time of year it is fun to explore the origins of our most rock-solid traditions. In this discussion we learn about our favorite god-like mutant: Santa Claus! This is one of the few beings with a pretty clear starting point in American (yes, mostly North American) history. We had a lot of fun unpacking the science of what it would mean for Santa to visit every house in the world, which involve...

"Pretend reasons" for being hesitant about the vaccine are the conspiracy theories and nonsense. Motivated reasons are the biases and excuses that sound legitimate, but really have no actual merit. The strategies to help someone become better educated include listening to them, asking them questions that demonstrate the flaws in their logic, being honest, and sharing data and information non-judgm...

We may disagree with them, strongly, but those of us who are hesitant about getting the vaccine, are not stupid. And treating them as such will only cause them to dig their heels in more strongly. To begin, it is helpful to understand the virus and about the plan to develop a vaccine. We also suggest that there are three ways to think about the reasons for hesitancy: general reasons, pretend reaso...

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop brand markets itself as an “alternative wellness” brand that encompasses a variety of products, tips, and information geared toward improving the wellbeing of most anyone. There are suggestions for everything from food, sexual health, clothing, and more. But the promises of improvement may be based on loose information, lack of science, of falsehoods. Still, the brand has be...

Bounty hunting has evolved from several centuries ago from a more renegade and vigilante practice and into a formal, licensed, and routine job. Those who enter the business are often ex-law enforcement looking for private work and potential for big payouts. They are given license to use certain tactics that police are not allowed to, which makes the job potentially more exciting in some surveillan...

This ideological and foolish program was not only ineffective but in some instances lead to increases in the likelihood that children would use drugs. Jeff Sessions supports it though. The D.A.R.E. program and the war on drugs was a rallying cry for the righteously anti-science and both caused more harm than good. D.A.R.E. to resist failed interventions. Links and Resources: DARE website: https://...

Only a small percentage of people who have attempted to be astronauts have succeeded. The training and physical requirements are extremely stringent. This is because billions of dollars and many lives are at stake for the smallest mistake. Another component is what motivates someone to put themselves at risk. Particularly considering how little compensation is actually available. Links: https://ww...

Poisoning yourself can save your life! Although this statement makes it seem like we are some alternative medicine podcast or Goop shill, we are neither! The practice of taking small amounts of poison is called "Mithridatism" after the legendary King of Pontus who feared assassination by poison. In so doing, he became of the earliest and most expert chemists of his time. Why would people do this t...

Did you ever think about that "burying" means when it comes to the dead? Although many creatures might end up in the dirt, humans seem to be the only ones who do it intentionally. The first evidence of "burials" took place in a cave. You might not also think about how much is wasted in modern funeral practices. Caskets, tombstones, cremation, burial plots, and formaldehyde are horrific for the env...

There are feelings that we call "the creeps:" Heightened awareness, the chills, dilated pupils. There are things that are creepy: things in contextually inappropriate places, things that imply a history of violence. And there are characteristics of creepy: greasy and poor hygiene, jobs having to do with death or exploitation, and suggesting predatory sexual behavior. I got creeped out just writing...

There are legitimate medical conditions that may have given rise to the myth of vampires. We discuss the history of vampire lore, vampirism in other cultures, and the diseases that may have inspired the concept of vampires. Links:  https://medium.com/@TheJessicaBugg/common-types-of-vampires-fd3bcaec070f https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA248333953&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&is...

Halloween is a timeless tradition that offers innocent and sometimes mischievous fun for people of all ages. It’s at time where anyone can mask their identity in place of a playful one, dive into buckets of candy, and wake up the next day with a hell of a hangover or stomachache. However, the commercialized Halloween we know and love today began during the Middle Ages as a pagan festival for the h...

This rare disease has been described as "the one you would want to get if you had to have a disorder." Nevertheless, the long-term effects are deleterious. One of the hosts disclosed having this diagnosis. Hypomania is somewhat convoluted and highly associated with more familiar disorders such as bipolar. Find out more in this episode! Links: 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519704/table/c...

Did you know the first attempt to catalog mental health diversity occurred as part of the US Census? Although people had been imprisoning people for "mental health" issues for a century beforehand, the first attempts to categorize neuro-diverse individuals did not begin until the mid 1800s. Once the DSM was established it went through several iterations and conceptual and technological shifts. Lea...

Conservatorship didn't begin with Britney Spears. Shane and Abraham discuss her case and the general principle behind conservatorship. This is meant to be a good thing, and often is a good thing, but there is the potential for abuse. We discuss some considerations for this. Links for Today: https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-conservatorship.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en#link=%7B%22role%22:%22standard%22,%2...

The ability to travel far enough fast enough to feel the effects of a dramatically different day/night cycle is very new to the human experience. Only in the last century or century and a half has the concept of time zones even come to exist, let alone the idea that crossing them could mess with our biology. Now we are in the thick of it and the "treatments" are mostly bunk. Jet Lag is one of thos...

There are different types of insomnia characterized by the causes and nature of the issue. For instance, insomnia caused by external factors such as drugs or kids, is not the primary kind of insomnia. To treat insomnia, one of the most powerful interventions is simply modifying sleep hygiene routines. Links for Today:https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355...

It is not hard to find websites and gurus offering the promise of reading at extreme speeds while maintaining high comprehension. So, what doesn't everyone do this? Because there are physical limits to what humans can do. Speed reading is an empty promise without evidence. Links for Today: https://qz.com/597995/there-really-is-no-such-thing-as-speed-reading/ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featu...

From “Thriller” to “Gangnam Style,” and everything in between, music videos have captured our hearts for several decades. This episode explores the early iterations that existed before the advent of MTV brought music videos into the mainstream and revolutionized it as an art form. With a unique combination of audio and visual stimuli, music videos continue to challenge the norm and launch new perf...

Kleptomania is an accepted mental condition listed under a category of disorders related to impulse control. It involves an individual’s ability to resist “urges” that arise under unique circumstance that vary across each person, and often involve stealing small meaningless items from stores, loved ones, etc. While it’s more common in younger women, it exists across many types of people and often...