Stuff To Blow Your Mind
2,469 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★ - 5.5K ratingsDeep in the back of your mind, you’ve always had the feeling that there’s something strange about reality. There is. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as they examine neurological quandaries, cosmic mysteries, evolutionary marvels and our transhuman future.
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Episodes
Earwax: Portable Time Capsules
July 15, 2014 15:39 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBWhy do we have ear wax? Why does it build up and what can it tell us about ourselves? Enter the mysterious ear canal in this sticky new episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ballad of the Electric Fish
July 10, 2014 17:15 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBHow does the electric eel generate its juice and how did six different lineages of bioelectric fish evolve on this planet of ours? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Junk Food Junkies
July 08, 2014 19:32 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBWhy does junk food hold such power over us? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie get to the bottom of modern humanity's favorite supernormal stimuli. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Designer Genes
July 03, 2014 17:32 - 27 minutes - 25.7 MBGene therapy, DNA analysis and genetically modified organisms are increasingly part of our everyday reality. But where is this road taking us and how will it change us on the way? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summer Reading 2014
July 01, 2014 16:40 - 38 minutes - 35 MBLooking for a good, intelligent beach read? Join Robert and Julie for their annual Summer Reading episode, loaded with fiction and non-fiction reading recommendations for the curious mind: zombies, animals, Marilyn Monroe, torture, monsters, Muppets, Guillermo del Toro, skeptic science for kids and more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Perfect Circle
June 26, 2014 20:27 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBWhat is a mathematically perfect circle and why doesn't it exist in our universe? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind as Robert and Julie look high and low in a universe of imperfection. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Neural Pixie Dust
June 24, 2014 18:06 - 30 minutes - 28 MBThe future of brain-machine interaction will expand human intelligence and forever alter our experience of reality, but where are we now and how long till neurotechnology elevates us to higher human form? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Science of H.P. Lovecraft
June 19, 2014 20:38 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBLegendary weird fiction author H.P. Lovecraft revolutionized our understanding of supernatural horror in the early 20th century, but he was also a science writer and lived in a time of tremendous scientific advancement and global war. Join Robert and Julie as they chat with S.T. Joshi about the science of H.P. Lovecraft's fiction and how it influenced popular culture. Plus, hear from a few HowStuffWorks podcast personalities on their own favorite Lovecraft tales. Learn more about your ad-c...
Listener Mail: The Power of Names
June 17, 2014 18:41 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBAs a follow-up to their podcast episode on the nominative determinism, Robert and Julie share YOUR thoughts on names and the power of names in this special listener mail episode. Plus, who knows what else they'll chat about? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Future of Addiction
June 12, 2014 17:18 - 33 minutesHighly addictive substances like meth and heroine 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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers
The Science of Addiction
June 10, 2014 21:01 - 40 minutesWhat is addiction? Why are some people predisposed to it and what happens in the brain when addiction takes hold? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie break it all down for you and ponder the addiction-shattered brain. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers
The Status of Flatus
June 05, 2014 15:16 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBThe Status of Flatus: What is a fart? What's the science behind passing gas and why does volume, frequency and stench very so much from person to person? Answers await, gentle listener, as Robert and Julie discuss the biology behind breaking wind in this classic STBYM podcast episode Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Troglofauna of Fraggle Rock
June 03, 2014 19:28 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBThe 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Supernormal Stimuli
May 29, 2014 16:18 - 35 minutesNo 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 ...
Heartbeat in the Brain, Hole in the Skull
May 27, 2014 18:49 - 32 minutesTrepanation 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://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers
You Are Here: Proprioception
May 22, 2014 17:02 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBHow 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Boy Named Sue
May 20, 2014 19:20 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBA 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Science of Beards
May 15, 2014 20:02 - 40 minutes - 37 MBYou'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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Over the Moon
May 13, 2014 19:53 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBOver 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Future Shock: Part II
May 08, 2014 19:34 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBFuture 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.com See omnystud...
Future Shock: Part I
May 06, 2014 16:53 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBFuture 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.com See omnystud...
Rethinking Genitalia
May 01, 2014 18:08 - 35 minutesRethinking Genitalia: We're a culture obsessed with human bodies, gender and the morphological differences between male and female. But what happens when we consider gender reversal in nature, as well as the amazing sex-reversed cave insects of the Neotrogla genus? The females of these species boast a penis-like, sperm-collecting "gynosome," which fits perfectly inside the male's sperm-offering "phallosome." Listen to this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind and turn everything you know about ...
The Cuckoo Mafia
April 29, 2014 17:16 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBThe 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Habitable Epoch
April 24, 2014 18:44 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBThe 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rise of the Vampire Bat
April 22, 2014 20:51 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBRise 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Shadow People
April 17, 2014 14:04 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MBDo 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rites of Spring
April 10, 2014 15:53 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBThe 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Through the Looking Glass
April 08, 2014 18:23 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBWhat 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Extreme Survivors of the Animal World
April 03, 2014 16:06 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBExtreme 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Outsourcing Memory
April 01, 2014 16:20 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBOutsourcing 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Labyrinths
March 27, 2014 15:40 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBLabyrinths: 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mazes
March 25, 2014 18:12 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MBMazes: 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Acid Flashbacks
March 20, 2014 20:33 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBAcid 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.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Musical Time Machine for the Brain
March 18, 2014 17:28 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBA Musical Time Machine for the Brain: What is music doing to our perception of time? It seems to transport us to the past. It speeds things up and slows things down. And just how do others exploit these qualities to manipulate us? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind with Robert and Julie. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Your Body Odor,Your Destiny
March 13, 2014 18:06 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBYour Body Odor,Your Destiny: Can body odor be destiny? Can it portend health or illness, who we're attracted to and repulsed by? Find out in this pungently scientific episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Image: © H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Corbis Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Maneater
March 11, 2014 18:34 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBManeater: What happens when an animal turns maneater? Is it the irresistible taste of human flesh? Is it the ease of a human kill? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie look to the environmental, biological and bad-luck causes that land humans on a predator's dinner menu. About the Art: "Two Followers of Cadmus devoured by a Dragon," by Cornelis van Haarlem. Read more about it here in the Art Spotlight post. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodc...
Listener Mail: Strange Sleep and Past Lives
March 06, 2014 21:47 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBStrange Sleep and Past Lives: In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie once again call forth the robot and take care of some accumulated listener mail on strange sleep, lucid dreaming, reincarnation and other topics. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Barry White Effect
March 04, 2014 18:05 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBThe Barry White Effect: What does voice quality tell us about sexual fitness in a potential mate? Do the deep, velvet tones of Barry White have a scientifically-proven effect on our libido? What about Marilyn Monroe's high, breathy voice? All shall be revealed in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Be sure to watch Julie's video on the topic as well. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Empathic Elephants
February 27, 2014 19:16 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBEmpathic Elephants: The elephant is Earth's largest surviving land creature and an example of nature at its most majestic. But these amazing creatures also boast self awareness, a high intelligence and a startling capacity for empathy. Join Robert and Julie as they discuss humanity's troubled relationship with elephant kind. Image source: Neil Emmerson/Robert Harding World Imagery/Getty Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for...
The Illusion of Continuity
February 25, 2014 18:42 - 25 minutes - 23 MBThe Illusion of Continuity: What is perceptual constancy and how does the illusion of continuity pull a fast one over our brains? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind as Robert and Julie discuss the science behind Dancing Spider-Man, the whole Pink Floyd/Wizard of Oz thing and the roots of magical thinking. About the Image: Man doing back flip on a trampoline by Eadweard Muybridge, 1881, in his Attitudes of Animals in Motion P&P Case © CORBIS Learn more about your ad-choices...
Reincarnation Blues
February 20, 2014 20:51 - 35 minutes - 33 MBThe metaphysics of reincarnation are nothing short of enthralling, from the notion of an immortal soul drifting through myriad life forms to the intimidating Wheel of Samsara with its heavenly and hellish realms. Why does this version of immortality appeal to us? And what, if anything, can science tell us about the survival of the soul? Join Robert and Julie for a rich discussion on the reincarnation. Image source: Godong/Universal Images Group/Getty Learn more about your ad-choices at htt...
Night Janitors of the Brain
February 18, 2014 17:15 - 16 minutes - 14.8 MBThe Night Janitors of the Brain: Do you think other species ever look at humans and raise an eyebrow at the amount of sleep we need? Do cockroaches and eyelash mites leave messages on our foreheads in microscopic Sharpies? Perhaps "I just popped on an apex predator's head." We may be the most successful species in existence, but that doesn't mean sleep is just another one of our "choices" as a human being. It is a necessity for survival, even though it requires immobility and vulnerability. ...
My Slimey Valentine: Slug Sex Revisited
February 13, 2014 16:35 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBSlug Sex: Whether you're a hopeless romantic or a Valentine's hater, Robert and Julie have quite the episode for you. Prepare to have your mind blown as they expose the daring, disgusting, weaponized, cannibalistic and marathon lovemaking ways of slugs and snails. Originally published in 2013, the episode is now updated with a new page from the slug Kama Sutra that will leave you squirming. Be sure to explore this accompanying mini-gallery for maximum terror. Image Credit: "Slug Sex" by Eric...
The Problem of Immortality: Terror Management Theory
February 11, 2014 17:09 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBHumans are haunted by death. It awaits us all with open arms and all we can do is dream of its blissful antithesis: immortality. And so we've constructed a fortress of ideas to protect us against the terror of impermanence: astral bodies, bodily resurrection, reincarnation and the immaterial soul. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie discuss the Terror Management Theory, which holds that fear of death and the quest for immortality command every facet of our lives. Dis...
Leechpunk: The Power of Leeches
February 06, 2014 20:11 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MBThe Power of Leeches: Are leeches mere bloodsucking parasites or do these creatures have a place in modern medicine? Plus learn about the very real 19th century invention that incorporated bottled leeches. Tune into this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind for all sorts of vein-tapping goodness. Image credit: Garry DeLong/Oxford Scientific/Getty Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Meaning of Stonehenge
February 04, 2014 17:41 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBThe Meaning of Stonehenge: Stonehenge remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the ancient world. Was it a burial ground for aristocratic families, a Druid temple or pilgrimage for those observing the seasons? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Building of Stonehenge
January 30, 2014 22:31 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBThe Building of Stonehenge: Rising up from the plains of Salisbury, England is a mammoth structure that has existed for 5,000 years. How was it constructed and what can it tell us about the Neolithic and Bronze Age people who built it? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It's a Trap!
January 28, 2014 16:53 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBIt's a Trap: Humans aren't alone in their ability to craft a clever trap out of their surroundings. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie look to the insect and arachnid world for deadly examples. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Memory/Story Editing
January 23, 2014 16:52 - 36 minutes - 33 MBEver wish you could take a troubling event from your past and dial down the memory without subjecting yourself to total recall erasure? Explore the science of memory/story editing in this Stuff to Blow Your Mind episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Werewolf Principle: Adapting Humans for Space
January 21, 2014 16:29 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MBThe Werewolf Principle: Will astronauts of the future be able to adapt their physiology for long-term space travel and life on other planets? In this classic STBYM episode, Robert and Julie explore the ideal physical modifications that could theoretically create the world's best astronaut. 'The Werewolf Principle' cover image by artist Ian Miller Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.