Stuff To Blow Your Mind

The Troglofauna of Fraggle Rock: What do the fun-loving denizens of Jim Henson's "Fraggle Rock" have in common with real-life cave animals? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind as Robert and Julie discuss the ecology of Fraggle Rock and the show's ecological message. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 as they discuss junk food, gaming, pornography, the Internet and beauty itself all in the framework of natural biology. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind to find out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we know who and where we are in this ocean of chaos? It's easy to take this question for granted, but the answer goes beyond our five senses and into the realm of body schema, golgi tendon organs and out-of-body experiences. Close your eyes and reach out for... your self. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Boy Named Sue: What's in a name? Does a parentally-bestowed "Fred" force one fate on a hapless child and "Moon Unit" or "Brock" quite another? Join Robert and Julie for a discussion on the power of names and nominative determinism in this Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've probably been wondering, "Is there any data about facial hair, particularly gloriously groomed beards?" Why, yes, there is. Find out how facial hair transforms perception and whether or not it could help blunt a few blows in a bar fight, all in this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the Moon: What if we, over at the mother company Earth, Inc., looked at "assets" in our solar system like a corporation looks at its assets? What if we set our sights on that ne'er-do-well moon? Find out how we could harness the moon's resources to do more of Earth's bidding. Mahahahahawaha. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Future Shock: Back in 1970, Alvin Toffler's book "Future Shock" envisioned a future human civilization outpaced, overstimulated and mentally stunned by relentless technological and social change. Today, we live in the very future Toffler warned everyone about. How did his predictions hold up and how can we stave off the terrors of future shock? Find out in this two-part episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Future Shock: Back in 1970, Alvin Toffler's book "Future Shock" envisioned a future human civilization outpaced, overstimulated and mentally stunned by relentless technological and social change. Today, we live in the very future Toffler warned everyone about. How did his predictions hold up and how can we stave off the terrors of future shock? Find out in this two-part episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cuckoo Mafia: Sure, humans have their organized crime, but what about the Earth's other residents? Are their animal mafias? How does "crime" even work outside the confines of human culture? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Habitable Epoch: What if we're wrong. What if life isn't a rarity in a dead cosmos, but rather a common occurrence in the habitable epoch 10 to 20 million years after the Big Bang? Explore the mind-blowing possibility with Robert and Julie. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rise of the Vampire Bat: It's a hard-knock life for an exclusive blood drinker, yet somehow three species of vampire bat take full honors as the only obligate sanguivores. How did they evolve? How does vampire physiology work? Tune into this bloodthirsty episode of Stuff to Blow your Mind to find out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do strange shadow people haunt the corners of our existence, or is there a scientific answer within the human brain? Join Robert and guests Ben and Matt of Stuff They Don't Want You To Know as they discuss the answers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The season of rebirth may be one of the most uplifting seasons humans experience, with a sense of renewal and meaning materializing before their eyes in nature. But could it change our perception and behavior. And is there a dark side to spring? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are we to make of the mirror world? We surround ourselves with looking glasses, yet rarely understand exactly what we're observing. Our reflected doubles gaze back at us, affecting the way we carry ourselves and the way we experience our own bodies. Travel through the looking glass in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Extreme Survivors of the Animal World: Think you've got what it takes to hack it in an unforgiving world? You may have the brains, human, but creatures such as the Saharan silver ant, the Pompeii worm and the tardigrade have the brawn. Learn all about them in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Image: © Science Picture Co./Corbis Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Outsourcing Memory: From digital photography to Internet spellcheckers, we allocate more and more of our cognitive processes to the cloud. But what do we ultimately gain from all of this - and what do we lose? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labyrinths: Join Robert and Julie once more for their classic series on mazes and labyrinths. Having escaped from the confusion of the Minoan maze, it's time to walk the serene, calming paths of the Chartres Labyrinth. Why is this experience so different? Learn all about the calming effects of labyrinths on the mind. Image: © Sylvain Sonnet/Corbis Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mazes: Join Robert and Julie once more for their classic series on mazes and labyrinths. In this episode, enter the Minoan maze and wander its endless halls. Feel your heart race. Feel your limbs quiver as the minotaur's roar echoes through the walls. Explore the world of mazes and how they affect the brains of humans and rats. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acid Flashbacks: Are acid flashbacks real or are they merely a ghost story of psychedelic culture or anti-drug messaging? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie discuss the misconceptions as well as the real science of Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder or HPPD. Image credit: David Crausby/Flick/Getty Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.