Alle afleveringen
3.237 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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One-Armed Bandits: The Science of Slot Machines
22 september 2015 · 59 min
You may call it a slot machine, a fruit machine or a one-armed bandit, but the reality is the same: an algorithmically precise machine designed to drain the human gambler of all his or her earnings. Where did these insidious machines come from? How do they ensorcell us? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the science and psychology of slot machine gambling behavior. Lees meer
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The Unlanguaged Mind: A World Built With Words
17 september 2015 · 35 min
How can we even imagine a life without language when language itself plays such a crucial role in human cognition? Can you even imagine a world in which nothing has a name? Join Robert and Christian as they continue their exploration of the brain's linguistic operating system. Lees meer
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The Unlanguaged Mind: Feral Children
15 september 2015 · 45 min
The feral child occupies two worlds: that of lighthearted myth and depressing reality. We entertain ourselves with fantasies about wolf-reared infants, but most studies of feral children stem from cases of extreme child abuse and neglect. Join Robert and Christian as they explore human language acquisition and childhood without words. Lees meer
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Palimpsests: Reading History's Blank Pages
10 september 2015 · 50 min
Historians learn a great deal from historical texts -- and not only that which was written, but that which was unwritten. Join Robert and Christian as they explore the world of palimpsests, the erased books just under the surface of ancient tomes. Modern technology allows us to uncover more and more of their secrets, while the idea of the palimpsest itself serves as a powerful metaphor for media, the mind and maybe life itself. Lees meer
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Wes Craven Tribute: Serpents, Rainbows & Zombies
8 september 2015 · 49 min
With the recent passing of horror director Wes Craven, it seems appropriate to cover the science behind his 1988 film "The Serpent and the Rainbow." Join Robert and Christian for a discussion of Haitian folklore, zombie powder and the challenges of filmmaking. Lees meer
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Tail as Old as Time: Part 2
3 september 2015 · 49 min
Where is the human tail? Our embryos lose them in the womb and our great ape kin lost them in the shadows of evolutionary history. Join Robert and Joe as they continue to explore the worlds of human tails and even a Utopian dream of tailed transhumans. Lees meer
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Tail as Old as Time: Part 1
1 september 2015 · 45 min
Tails are a common feature in the animal kingdom, fulfilling just about every role from comfy blanket to instrument of venomous death. Join Robert and Joe as they explore some of the more outstanding uses, including your dog's caudal language and the scorpion that sheds its own tail and anus. Lees meer
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The Science of Necrophilia
27 augustus 2015 · 1 uur 1 min
Don't run away! True enough, this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind considers a most repellent sexual atrocity, but there's more to necrophilia than the sexual abuse of human corpses. Join Robert and Christian as they discuss necrophilia in the animal kingdom, including one rare case of "functional necrophilia" that actually produces offspring. Stay for the later half of the episode and you'll also plunge the psychological depths of human necrophilia in all its varied forms. Lees meer
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V2K: The Microwave Auditory Effect
26 augustus 2015 · 45 min
Voice-to-skull or V2K technology is generally the stuff of paranoid government conspiracies, and yet the microwave auditory effect is very real. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe consider the military and commercial applications for what some people call microwave telepathy. Lees meer
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Born Under the Caul
20 augustus 2015 · 39 min
While all humans develop inside an amniotic sac, only a rare few are born with part of it enveloping their face. These membranous veils protect us in utero, but what does it mean when a newborn is covered in one at birth? In this episode of Stuff To Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian explore what a birth caul is and the many superstitions and omens attached to their presence. Lees meer
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Your Health as a Mars Colonist
18 augustus 2015 · 59 min
Sure, you need to get your butt to Mars, but what are the long-term health ramifications of life on the Red Planet? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore reduced gravity, radiation, toxic dust and a microbiotic desert. Lees meer
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The Strain: Dissecting del Toro's Vampires
13 augustus 2015 · 1 uur 2 min
Guillermo del Toro's "The Strain" continues to enthrall readers and viewers -- and, love it or hate it, there's no denying the complexity and creativity that del Toro and co-author Chuck Hogan poured into the series' vampires. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian explore some real-world organisms that line up nicely with the science of "The Strain." Lees meer
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Echoborg: The Computer Controls You
11 augustus 2015 · 46 min
Imagine a future in which powerful AIs use human surrogates or "echoborgs" to speak their words and socialize with humans. The living, breathing avatar simply recites the computer's words at the conference table, serving as a humanizing conduit for an inhuman will. It may sound like the stuff of science fiction and TV's "Black Mirror," but such experiments are a reality in artificial intelligence research. Join Robert and Joe as they get to know the echoborgs and cyranoids among us. Lees meer
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Summer Reading 2015: Books to Blow Your Mind
6 augustus 2015 · 1 uur 8 min
It's a summer tradition, so once more the hosts of Stuff to Blow Your Mind share their fiction and nonfiction reading recommendations with listeners. That means science, science fiction, horror and more -- all with a distinct STBYM flavor. Lees meer
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From Hell's Heart: The Science of Spite
4 augustus 2015 · 45 min
What are we to make of spite? As humans, we lash out to hurt our neighbor due to petty grudges and prejudices all the time. Yet we're also capable of such altruistic grace. How are these two opposites linked in the human condition and just how important is spite in the framework of civilization? Robert and Christian explore in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Lees meer
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Listener Mail: The Mailbot Reboots
30 juli 2015 · 49 min
We've entered a new era of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, so it's time for Robert, Joe and Christian to reboot the mailbot with updated user data. As the former "Arnie" comes back online, your three hosts will answer some recent e-mail and social media missives from you the listener. Lees meer
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The Dreams of R. Buckminster Fuller
28 juli 2015 · 55 min
Imagine a world where cities fly, we all drive three-wheeled cars and mainly eat Jell-O. This is where the dreams of architect and engineer Richard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller would have taken us. At his height, Bucky was influential between the 1930s and 1950s. But his legacy today is largely that of a designer and a counterculture symbol, not as an inventor. In this episode of Stuff To Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian examine the life of Fuller, as well as the success of his dymaxion inventions and geodesic domes. Lees meer
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Something for Everybody: The Forer Effect
23 juli 2015 · 47 min
From palm-reading fortune tellers to professionally-administered Myers Briggs test, everyone's a sucker for a an ego-stroking personality assessment. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the subtle forces of the Forer effect. Lees meer
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My Body is Made of Glass
21 juli 2015 · 45 min
Imagine waking to a new, terrifying sensation: Your seemingly organic body is actually made of glass. While doctors and loved ones insist otherwise, you know in your heart that the slightest bump or fall will shatter you into a million shards. While cases of glass delusion largely vanished in the early 19th century, a few cases persist to this day. What underlies this bizarre psychiatric disorder? Robert and Joe explore in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Lees meer
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Stigmata: Madness or Miracle?
16 juli 2015 · 35 min
In the previous episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian explored the Christian tradition of the stigmata and its 13th century originator, Saint Francis of Assisi. But what are we to make of of all the stigmatics to follow in the saint's footsteps? Are these holy wounds the work of deceptive self-harm, masochistic devotion or psychosomatic anomaly? Lees meer
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Stigmata: Patient Zero
14 juli 2015 · 49 min
According to Christian tradition, a stigmatic prays to God so zealously, so faithfully that Christ's crucifixion wounds of manifest in the form of bleeding sores and gorey holes. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian explore stigmata patient zero in the form of Saint Francis of Assisi. What real-life illness might underlie this 13th century mystic's legendary condition? Lees meer
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Grizzly Bears from Outer Space
9 juli 2015 · 1 uur
A region of space barely a thousandth of a square degree on the sky contains a whopping 5,500 galaxies. Making the probability that there exists at least one planet that could support life pretty tantalizing. What might that life form look like? Robert and Joe discuss cosmologist Fergus Simpson's statistical argument that an extraterrestrial could weigh in at 660 pounds. My friend, can your heart stand the shocking facts of grizzly bears from outer space? Lees meer
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The Psychedelic Nightmare of Ergotism
7 juli 2015 · 44 min
Imagine an entire 15th-century town overcome by a collective waking nightmare. The afflicted walk the streets with blackened limbs and seeping sores, all while psychotic hallucinations assault their fragile hold on sanity. Join Robert and Joe as they explore the world of Ergotism and discuss how a toxic fungus terrorized and inspired generations of Medieval Europeans. Lees meer
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The Future of Addiction
2 juli 2015 · 30 min
Highly addictive substances like meth and heroin are formidable enemies for the recovering addict, but what does the future hold for their treatment? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie explore the use of electromagnetic stimulation, vaccines and other treatments to help win the battle. Lees meer
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The Science of Addiction
30 juni 2015 · 36 min
What is addiction? Why are some people predisposed to it and what happens in the brain when addiction takes hold? In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie break it all down for you and ponder the addiction-shattered brain. Lees meer
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The Memory Palace Revisited (with Nelson Dellis)
25 juni 2015 · 36 min
Stroll into the memory palace, an imagined location that just might expand your brain power. In this classic episode you'll learn all about the Method of Loci, a mnemonic device that allows mental athletes to perform astounding acts of recall. Plus, in this updated publication of the episode, learn the secrets firsthand from 4-time USA memory champion Nelson Dellis. Lees meer
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Escape from Universe 25
23 juni 2015 · 35 min
Explore Universe 25, a 101-square-inch tank designed as a utopia for mice and a mirror of human behavior. Every detail of the structure was crafted with comfort in mind: a never-ending supply of food; a constant 68 degree F temperature; a self-cleaning environment and spacious apartments for its inhabitants. So what contributed to Universe 25's spiral into degradation and violence? And why were a subset of mice dubbed "The Beautiful Ones?" Lees meer
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Detective Story
19 juni 2015 · 1 uur 3 min
Everyone loves a good whodunit, but why does the figure of the fictional detective tower so staggeringly over the modern world? He or she is a seeker of truth, a resolver of conflict, a subcultural liaison and perhaps even a shaman for an increasingly secular world. Join Robert and Christian for dive through the history, science and cultural resonance of the detective story. Lees meer
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Supernormal Stimuli
16 juni 2015 · 34 min
No longer limited by the constrains of their environment or biology, humans have remade their world. Why walk when you can soar? Why shout when you can whisper in the ear of a listener halfway round the world? And why limit yourself to normal stimuli when you can condense the sensory world into nuggets of superstimuli. Join Robert and Julie in this classic episode as they discuss junk food, gaming, pornography, the Internet and beauty itself all in the framework of natural biology. Lees meer
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Techno-Religion for the Masses: Part 2
11 juni 2015 · 53 min
We often think of technology and religion as distinct and separate worlds, but what happens when they converge? Join Robert and Joe in this two-part episode as they examine religious world views shaped by technology, such as John Murray Spear's electrical messiah, the simple prayer wheel and the psycho-spiritual technologies of Scientology.v Lees meer
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Techno-Religion for the Masses: Part 1
9 juni 2015 · 43 min
We often think of technology and religion as distinct and separate worlds, but what happens when they converge? Join Robert and Joe in this two-part episode as they examine religious world views shaped by technology, such as John Murray Spear's electrical messiah, the simple prayer wheel and the psycho-spiritual technologies of Scientology. Lees meer
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Mass Extinction: Earth's Cycle of Annihilation
4 juni 2015 · 59 min
Five mass extinction events have ravaged the species of Earth, and we just might be living in the sixth. How can humanity survive the threat of cosmic calamity and its own tireless work to unbalance the world? Robert and Christian discuss in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Lees meer
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Heartbeat in the Brain, Hole in the Skull
2 juni 2015 · 32 min
Trepanation is an ancient surgical procedure and we've found the millennia-aged skulls to prove it - each punctured and gouged to relieve inner-pressure and inner-madness. But is such cranial perforation truly a relic of a primitive age or do modern trepanation advocates have a point in their quest to free the brain's heartbeat from its prison of bone? Tune in to this classic STBYM episode of to find out. Lees meer
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Silk of the Spider, Thread of the Future
28 mei 2015 · 35 min
Spider silk is nothing short of an engineering marvel. Weight for weight, it's stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar. But spiders are disagreeable creatures. Unlike the silkworms, they've proven unwilling to bow to humanity's domestication, but that hasn't stopped scientists from stealing the secrets. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, enter a world of spider silk medicine, nanomaterials, optics, music and of course transgenic goats. Lees meer
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Scientifically Sound Weather Superstitions
26 mei 2015 · 28 min
At one time in human history superstitions were the guiding force in a person's life -- rules of thumb to live by. Find out which pieces of lore and superstition are actually spot-on and why in this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Lees meer
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The Science of Coincidence
21 mei 2015 · 50 min
What are we to make of coincidence? From the numerological cats cradles we weave around famous events to the curious ways human lives converge through time, coincidence seems to fly in the face of reason and even suggest the supernatural. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the synchronicity, statistics and psychology of coincidence. Lees meer
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Gazing into the Eclipse
19 mei 2015 · 54 min
Amid the regular cycle of sun and moon stalks a darkness -- a darkness that ancient humans perceived as cosmic abandonment, portent and demonic disruption. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the celestial mechanics, mythology and terrestrial ramifications of solar and lunar eclipses. Lees meer
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Vacation Tribulation
14 mei 2015 · 35 min
Why do some people take vacations and others fret to take off time? We'll find out which nations go on holiday the most and least, the benefits of downtime, and we'll discuss how time off messes with the mind (in a good way). Lees meer
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There's a Problem with Your Study
12 mei 2015 · 28 min
Science has advanced human civilization to an astounding degree, but what happens when science gets it wrong? What does it mean that a good half of published biomedical research cannot be replicated? From the publish-or-perish world of modern science careerism to the pitfalls of WEIRD populations, Stuff to Blow Your Mind explores. Lees meer
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Power of the Nap
7 mei 2015 · 37 min
Why do we feel so refreshed after a power nap and so sapped after a mega nap? Do coffee naps work and just what sort of benefits can we get out of an extra 20 minutes in the hammock? Explore the answers in this episode of the STBYM podcast. Lees meer
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Animal Sexual Fluidity
5 mei 2015 · 30 min
Why do some species change sex and how to they carry out this remarkable transformation? This episode of the STBYM podcast takes you into a world of hermaphrodites, clownfish and the high-stakes game of reproduction in the animal kingdom. Lees meer
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The Ring of Gyges
30 april 2015 · 30 min
Before H.G. Wells' Invisible Man and J.R.R. Tolkien's One Ring, there was the Ring of Gyges: a mythical artifact that turned the wearer invisible. Would such anonymity turn you into a law-breaking monster, or does morality extend beyond the fear of judgement and punishment? From Plato to modern psychology, Stuff to Blow Your Mind explores... Lees meer
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Road Warriors
28 april 2015 · 36 min
Perhaps you've witnessed something you'd call "road rage" out there on Earth's highways. Perhaps you've even engaged in it yourself. But where does mere aggressive driving end and true violence begin? Where does the notion of "road rage" come from and to what extent does it match up with humanity's peculiar love of the automobile? Find out in this episode of the STBYM podcast. Lees meer
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Space Roar
23 april 2015 · 22 min
In 2006, NASA discovered "space roar" -a sound that's six times louder than what they expected to hear when they eavesdropped on space. Inexplicably weird, right? Stuff to Blow Your Mind explores. Lees meer
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The Power of Polite
21 april 2015 · 41 min
Kindly step this way to the politeness theory where you'll discover the power of good manners. We'll also discuss which countries are the most polite and discreetly mention the ones that are the least polite. Thank you for your time and attention. Lees meer
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Satanic Panic
16 april 2015 · 57 min
What are we to make of alleged ritual satanic abuse and the moral panic that spread in the 1980s and 90s? Christian Sager joins Robert for an exploration of religion, fear and demons of the mind. Lees meer
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Grimoire: Occult Books and the Magic of Writing
14 april 2015 · 56 min
We're all familiar with such fictional grimoires as "The Necronomicon," but what about the rich legacy of occult books and cryptic tomes that preceded its invention? Robert and guest host Christian Sager investigate and maybe summon a demon or two. Lees meer
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Mean World Syndrome
9 april 2015 · 36 min
Is there more violence in the world today, or have we just been watching too many CSI shows? In this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast, Julie and Robert explore cultivation theory and the idea that we live in a mean, mean world. Lees meer
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What's the largest snake that has ever existed?
7 april 2015 · 34 min
Everyone loves a giant snake tale, but what's really the largest serpent on the planet? Hunt for the answer across space and time in this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Lees meer
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The Power of Shame
2 april 2015 · 30 min
Shame is a powerful emotion that, depending on the way you frame it, can be a force for either good or evil. Find out what the difference is between embarrassment, guilt and shame. Do dogs feel shame? And have you ever suffered from second-hand embarrassment? Lees meer
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