Stuff To Blow Your Mind

Undercover Actors and the Shadow Self: In this episode, we discuss the place where cover and identity collide in the human mind. It's a topic we first raised in our "Wrestling With Kayfabe" episode - so if you skipped that one because of the wrestling content, I urge you to give it a second chance. In this episode, we keep coming back to the idea of an avatar in the traditional sense: one of many physical forms that a formless deity may take in order to engage with a physical world. Your mind is that formless god, and all the versions of you are its avatars. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wrestling with Kayfabe: Professional wrestling is somewhat of a cultural oddity, as it blurs the lines between reality, fiction, sport and theater. Join Robert, Julie and "Art of Wrestling" podcaster Colt Cabana as they lock up with wrestling's mind-twisting layers of fiction. Enjoy part II of this podcast, Undercover Actors and the Shadow Self. Image: French pro-wrestler L'Ange Blanc in Paris, 1959. (Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty ) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A lot of cool science went down in 2012, but it's possible you missed some of these smaller stories amid all the Mars landing and Higgs searching. In this episode, Julie and Robert take you on a journey full of immortal jelly fish and solar tornados. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As you leave 2012 in the dust, join Julie and Robert as they take one last look in the rearview mirror at some of the truly mind blowing science that went down in the past year. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Temptation is all around us and as humans we only have so much willpower in the tank to fight it. In this episode, Robert and Julie discuss the science behind willpower, how we deplete this exhaustible resource and what you can do to boost your resolve. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? Join Robert and Julie as they discuss the calming effects that labyrinths have on the mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Join Robert and Julie as they 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.

The teenage brain is a wonderful thing, full of intense rewiring and rapid shifts in priority. In this episode, Robert and Julie reminisce about the teenagers they were and just what was going on in their brains to fuel all that odd, erratic behavior. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Year's Life Hacks: Want improved focus this year? A better creative flow or stronger decision-making skills? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie run through some simple, scientifically-backed ways to maximize your new year. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Shaman and the Scientist: Hallucination: Join Robert and Julie as they continue their discussion of the overlap between shamanism and cognitive neuroscience. What sort of experiences do substances like DMT, psilocybin and salvia grant users? Why do human bodies have trace elements of DMT? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Shaman and the Scientist: My Egoic Mind: A shaman consumes a psychedelic mushroom and visits the spirit world. Meanwhile, a scientist studies the effects of psilocybin on depression and conceptions of self. In this episode, Robert and Julie discuss the common ground shared by these disciplines. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sure, you sprinkle nutmeg indifferently on your eggnog, but do you know its bloody history and psychotropic properties? In this episode, Julie and Robert discuss the weird side of an everyday spice and why you should use it sparingly but often. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Creative minds make our favorite art and develop unique solutions to real-world problems. But is there a dark side? Are creative minds more prone to madness and deception? In this episode, Julie and Robert turn the tables on innovation. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Organisms do what they can to get ahead and sometimes that means crawling inside a fish head and chewing out a niche. In this episode, Robert and Julie get to know Cymothoa exigua, the horrifying and ingenious parasite that replaces a fish's tongue. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Modern minds likely turn to Monty Python when the notion of lethal comedy arises, but accounts of death by laughter date back to ancient times. Can a joke really kill a person? In this episode, Robert and Julie explore the dark side of laughter. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say laughter is the best medicine, but is there any science to back that up? In this episode, Julie and Robert discuss what laughter does to us physically and neurologically. And maybe, just maybe, Julie will grow to love laughter yoga. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do we have fingerprints? Why are the human versions generally more complex than those of other animals? Join Robert and Julie as they delve into whorls and swirls, exploring the theories behind why we have these strange patterns on our fingertips. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jive Turkey: As another Turkey Day dawns on the United States, Julie and Robert stop to consider the great bird itself. Join them as they dive into the ancient history of this North American avian native, discuss the origins of its name and how humans continues to bend the creature to their Thanksgiving desires. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does comfort mean to you? Thanksgiving dinner? A cup of tomato soup and a warm blanket? In this episode, Julie and Robert examine the particulars of comfort, why we crave it and what happens when we have too much of a good thing. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While it might not feel like it, humans were born to crunch numbers, engineer solutions and scientifically evaluate the world. Join Robert and Julie as they discuss the research on our inborn abilities and how science is ultimately a part of who we are. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.