Stuff To Blow Your Mind

Could fretting over insignificant choices decrease your decision making effectiveness later in the day? Join Robert and Julie as they look at the causes -- and effects -- of decision fatigue. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do we procrastinate? Why do we put off dreaded tasks and long-held ambitions for short-term pleasures? In this episode, Robert and Julie break down procrastination. Listen in and learn more about what you can do to cut down on procrastination. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're the recorded information of all the experiences that came before the present moment. So how do we deal with the knowledge that some of the memories that compose us are fraudulent? Join Robert and Julie as they examine the world of false memories. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans have a complex relationship with other animals. Some are friends, and some are delicious. So why do we feel closer to some animals, while others are lunch? In this episode, Robert and Julie take a look at the world of eating and loving animals. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bees and wasps share a long history, and they've evolved into distinct forms. One hunts while the other farms. But which group would win in a war? Join Robert and Julie as they chronicle the battle between the honey masters and the sultans of sting. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can nightmares scare us to death? Join Robert and Julie as they discuss the CDC's investigation of sleep deaths - deaths that inspired Wes Craven to create the "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. Tune in to learn more about Brugada syndrome. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine if you could choose to erase a particularly agonizing or embarrassing memory with a quick injection or a handy pill. Sounds nifty, but could this ever happen in real life? Join Robert and Julie as they explore brain wiping techniques. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might sound like the title of a horror movie, but make no mistake: Brood 13 is real. In this episode, Robert and Julie explore the bizarre life of the periodical cicada, insects that emerge from the ground every 13 or 17 years. Tune in to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parasomnia: Most of us take sleep for granted, but there's a world of bizarre slumbers out there that only parasomniacs understand. Enter the world of sleep walking, eating, paralysis, violence and snoregasms. Join Robert and Julie to learn more about extreme sleep. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is a lie mere deception, an occasional un-truth or something deeper? Join Robert and Julie as they plunge into the cognitive depths of lies to examine our abilities to linguistically warp perception. Tune in to learn more about lying. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it's not showing up in episodes of "Star Trek" or imprisoning Necron Star Gods, Dyson spheres are the brainchild of physicist Freeman Dyson. But what exactly are they are? Join Robert and Julie as they break down the nature of Dyson spheres. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Priests in horror flicks drive demons out of innocent victims. But what's really happening in these apparent showdowns between good and evil? Join Robert and Julie as they look at this exorcism through the lens of cognitive dissonance and personification. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although there's no such thing as a shark in space (yet), sharks have provided invaluable information to NASA. In this episode, Robert and Julie take you from the ocean to outer space as they examine the relationship between NASA, science and sharks. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You are what you eat, which poses an interesting conundrum for omnivores. In this episode, Robert and Julie take a fascinating look at humanity's earliest meals. How did we learn which berries could kill us? When did fire enter the picture? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacques de Vaucanson's fabulous digesting duck was a clockwork miracle capable of reproducing the processes of ingestion, digestion and defecation. Join Robert and Julie to learn more about robotic digestion from the pooping duck to the modern day. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you hear Walt Disney's name, chances are you think of cartoons and theme parks. But do you know about Walt Disney the futurist? Join Robert and Julie as they examine Disney's dreams for the future and his "conditional optimism" for the human race. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's that buzzing around the room? A bird? A plane? Nope, it's just a robotic insect sent by some shadow government. Join Robert and Julie as they check in on drone technology, the rise of biomimetic bird-bots and just how the future may shake out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know "funny" when we encounter it, but what's going on inside the human mind when we feel amused? Join Robert and Julie as they discuss long-standing -- and more recent -- theories about humor's evolutionary purpose. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Space Religion: Will humans leave religion behind when they become an interplanetary species? Not hardly. Join Robert and Julie as they discuss how belief systems may change as a result of space exploration, on off-world colonization or extraterrestrial contact. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether it's Art Garfunkel's mathematics degree or the structure of the chromatic scale, it's easy to correlate music and math. But why are so many musical minds also well suited for number crunching? Tune in to learn more about music and math. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.