The Thankful Boys of Comedy™ devote an episode to appreciating gratitude. In the first half, we talk generally about gratitude. We touch on some science of gratitude and positive psychology. We explore using gratitude journals and accomplishment lists to alter our conscious experience. Perhaps most importantly, we take time to appreciate the insane odds that any of us even find ourselves existing let alone having the great privilege of butchering some poorly remembered science abstracts for a fu...
Nov 15, 2021•2 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 33
The Universal Boys of Comedy™ explore consciousness. In this episode, Shane and Ramin debate the idea of universal consciousness. Is consciousness a product of the brain, a fundamental aspect of the universe, both, or somewhere in-between? Every month we let Patreon suggest the subject for one of our public episodes. This month Patron Stuart Brazewell’s suggested we get down to the bottom of one of the biggest philosophical questions in human history. Challenge accepted! The UBC™ explore how som...
Nov 09, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Season 1Ep. 32
The Cordial Discourse Boys of Comedy™ continue the third part of the Political Compass survey. What if instead of thinking about politics as two-sided, we considered where we might fall within four quadrants of a political compass? Sometimes we might be surprised where we fall on a given issue when we actually talk through each one. Even when people always vote one way, it is often the case that their views on a specific issue are less one-sided than we assume. Although The CDBC™ generally avoid...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 31
The Slightly Morbid and Extremely Curious Boys of Comedy™ new costumes for a second Halloween episode. This week, we talk about the psychology of horror. Most life on earth tends to avoid scary situations. So why are so many humans drawn toward horror movies, haunted houses, and other situations where we intentionally confront fear, violence, death and disgust for recreation? To find out, The SMECBC™ take horror researcher, Coltan Scrivner’s, ‘Morbid Curiosity Scale’. Would you like to see a hea...
Oct 25, 2021•2 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 30
The Spooky Voids and Visionaries of Comedy™ release the first of two Halloween episodes. This week Shane and Ramin get dressed up in their finest morph suits to discuss the origins and evolution of Halloween. How did seasonal change influence the morbid themes of this centuries-old tradition? How did the ancient practices of witchcraft go from being the respected, genderneutral medical care of the time to the demonization of women? How much was the black plague a catalyst for the unimaginably ho...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Season 1Ep. 29
The Mindful Boys of Comedy™ meditate on meditation. Shane recently had a wonderful mushroom trip that he was trying to use as a reset before Sober October. In the process he started getting back into meditation, so we thought it was the perfect time to explore the topic. We discuss what meditation and mindfulness mean to us. Hear how we got into mediation, what different apps and practices have we tried, what we have learned, and how often we practice. Much like meditation, The MBC™ go off on pl...
Oct 11, 2021•2 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 28
The Mindful Boys of Comedy™ meditate on meditation. Shane recently had a wonderful mushroom trip that he was trying to use as a reset before Sober October. In the process he started getting back into meditation, so we thought it was the perfect time to explore the topic. We discuss what meditation and mindfulness mean to us. Hear how we got into mediation, what different apps and practices have we tried, what we have learned, and how often we practice. Much like meditation, The MBC™ go off on pl...
Oct 04, 2021•2 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 27
The Self-Described Objective Boys of Comedy™ take a political attitudes test to see if they are truly as impartial as we like to think of ourselves as. You can take the study yourself here to see where you fall on the scale. https://politicalcompass.org The Mind Under Matter Podcast typically isn’t overly interested in current events and therefore doesn’t devote much time to the usual political discussions. Too many political conversations run in circles around the latest trending news stories t...
Sep 27, 2021•2 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 26
The Scatterbrained Boys of Comedy™ attempt to focus on an ADHD test. In a heroic display of attention, Shane and Ramin somehow made it through an extremely short survey with only going off on 14,000 tangents. Tune in to find out a little history of when schools started focusing more on our lack of focus and started prescribing speed to children who (for some bizarre reason) weren’t interested in homework. What is attention? What is so great about it? How do you make the most of your attention an...
Sep 20, 2021•2 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 25
The Broken Boys of Comedy™ compare non-war wounds. Years ago Shane broke both of his feet while hiking. He made an entire comedy album about it called ‘My Big Break’. At the time Shane went on a bunch of podcasts to tell the story, but it’s been years since the incident and many new fans probably don’t know the full story. These salient moments can sometimes change our life trajectory. Upon reflection sometimes it can feel like something that helped one grow and learn, other times it’s just a pa...
Sep 13, 2021•2 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 24
The Nonspecific Amplifiers Of Comedy™ do their second psychedelic episode. The first time Shane and Ramin did an episode about everyone’s favorite subject, they went off on so many tangents and down so many rabbit holes that they had to do a second episode with digression-filled entheogen conversation. This time The NAC™ discuss tripping in groups vs alone, synchronicities going too far, social media as a drug, and the kind of DMs one gets when they are known for psychedelic use. Mushrooms, DMT,...
Sep 06, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Season 1Ep. 23
The High Culture Aficionados of Comedy™ share the movies they have enjoyed from childhood to present. This was originally recorded as a monthly bonus episode where we could take a break from the regular philosophical topics to have a light fun episode about the movies we are into. We ended up having so much fun that we decided to make this a public episode and make a part two for a Patreon bonus. We chatted about some of the first movies that grabbed us in the 1980s. From cartoons, to dinosaurs,...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 53 min•Season 1Ep. 22
The Lushes of Comedy™ have some drinks while talking about drinking for the 21st episode. Is there any scientific validity to the health benefits of having one glass of wine per day? Shane’s never tried it, but he will try to recall some of the science, history, and evolution of alcohol. How does state-dependent memory influence tolerance? Do other primates enjoy getting drunk as much as we do? Why is alcohol such a popular and inhibiting mind-altering substance? The LC™ also share some stories ...
Aug 23, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 21
One episode per month The Mixed Bags Of Comedy™ take suggestions from Patreon fans for the subjects of a public episode. In the past we have taken one suggestion for a theme and made a full episode about it… but we are not living in the past! This month we take multiple suggestions as a jumping-off point for even more tangents. We talk about porn, The Book of Mormon, burning bridges, the effects of screens, Covid, UBI, alphas, the subconscious, live shows, science communication, and more! Thanks...
Aug 16, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The Battling The Gradually Declining Into Disorder Boys of Comedy™ have their first episode discussing psychedelics. Psychedelics are sometimes referred to as nonspecific amplifiers because of the random ways certain parts of the psyche are experienced. This conversation is no different as this topic leads to lots of unexpected conversations. We talk about mushrooms, ketamine, and DMT, but maybe more importantly about how life itself is just as often as bizarre as the most intense hallucinations...
Aug 09, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Season 1Ep. 19
The Adult Men of Comedy™ continue the conversation of development across lifespans by discussing becoming an adult not just in humans but other species as well. For humans in modern societies, turning 18 is a strange and abrupt change. One day you are a dependent with limited freedoms and rights, the next day you are legally considered an adult who can vote, gamble, watch porn, move away from your parents, have sex, smoke cigarettes, join the military, get credit cards, get married, and dependin...
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Season 1Ep. 18
The Reluctant Astronauts Of Comedy™ celebrate Ramin’s birthday! This is the first podcast we recorded with no plan in mind, so we decided to keep things light by talking about uploading our consciousness into computers and life after death. Is space exploration all it’s cracked up to be? Should we celebrate billionaires achieving space travel, or would that money be better spent on helping the planet we live on? What would be your ideal amount of time to spend in space? Listen to The RAC™ each w...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 17
The Coming of Age Boys Of Comedy™ celebrate their Sweet 16th episode. Our Mind Under Matter baby is growing up so fast! To celebrate, we talk about juvenile development across the animal kingdom. Difficulty self-regulating, rebellion, awkward courtship, risk-taking, and popularity contests… sound familiar? What can humans learn about our own teen years from looking across species? The COABOC™ share stories of their own from that period of time and reflect on the way older adults tend to be judgm...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Season 1Ep. 16
The Deterministic Choosers of Comedy™ contemplate free will. Have we been stuck in an infinite loop since the beginning of time? If we restarted the big bang would we still be here, in this very moment, questioning what would happen if we restarted the big bang? What can identical twins tell us about genetic predispositions? What aspects of your grandma’s prenatal environment might have influenced who you are today? Why do humans even care so much about the idea of free will in the first place? ...
Jul 12, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 15
The State-Dependent Boys of Comedy™ talk about the impermanence of emotions. Emotions often prime us toward action. Sometimes they are an imperfect best guess with utility and other times they're completely random. Regardless we usually find ourselves justifying them to ourselves anyway. Our emotions have been shaped by our past, but we also use our past as evidence for our current emotional state. This feedback loop can make a fluid state feel like it is a stable part of our identity that has a...
Jul 05, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Season 1Ep. 14
The Guinea Pigs of Comedy™ take a personality test! Shane and Ramin go through the Big 5 Personality Indicator questionnaire so you can hear how we rate on various traits. Along the way, we explore why the 'Big 5' uses extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism as the umbrella terms that all other traits fall under. We chat about why most modern personality researchers abandoned the Myers-Briggs Test long ago. We also talk about the role of both evolution and envir...
Jun 28, 2021•2 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 13
This week The Semi-Semiliterate Boys of Comedy™ riff on some of their favorite books! Think book clubs are boring? Have you ever been to a book club where the ghost of Terrance McKenna makes a cameo for a good ole’ bro hang with mushrooms, kratom, DMT, crying, grunts, and The World’s Greatest Fake Dad?? New Ramin impression alert! Find out how realistic different aspects of science fiction are from the ideas popularized by theoretical physicist and futurist Machio Kaku! We’ll finally answer some...
Jun 21, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 12
The Fictitious Fictional Fictions of Funny™ explore the way that imagination and storytelling have shaped human evolution. This week Ramin reveals his latest impression as we pay tribute to author, historian, and YouTube neighbor Yuval Noah Harari. We tend to think the objective realities such as accumulating resources and the use of tools have put humans at the top of the food chain, but those abilities aren’t exactly novel in the animal kingdom. Perhaps what sets humans apart is our ability to...
Jun 14, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Season 1Ep. 11
This week The Space Cadets of Comedy™ try to recall what they know about memory. You can’t remember EVERYTHING, but would you really want to even if you could? How about some appreciation for forgetting? Without that unsung hero of memory, consciousness would have a lot harder time knowing what is worth holding on to. What makes the cut in each of our autobiographical memories? How is the brain deciding what makes the highlight reel? Memory might seem like a recorder, but it’s also the editor an...
Jun 07, 2021•1 hr 56 min•Season 1Ep. 10
The Reminiscing Boys of Comedy™ share stories of the teachers who inspired them as well as what prompted them to start comedy about 15 years ago. Why did it take going to jail to follow a dream? What is it about hitting rock bottom that can prompt one to shoot for the stars? What’s scarier: Your first open mic or getting mugged? And what happens when The RBC™ finds out that following dreams can also become its own prison? GETTING to do something vs HAVING to do something can completely change th...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 47 min•Season 1Ep. 9
The Middle-Aged Super Mature Grown-Up Men of Comedy™ celebrate Shane’s 41st birthday the only way they know how… by dissecting it tirelessly! Shane metaphorically jumps out of his own birthday cake to share some birthday memories. Pro-tip: If you want to make a birthday memorable, get the police involved. Being over the hill might remind some of mortality, but knowing you probably have to grind out another 40+ years of existence can drive a person insane. Sometimes it feels like you’re aging lik...
May 24, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This week The Existential Boys of Comedy™ will be your Sherpas as we descend into the abyss. What happens when you just don’t want to exist anymore? Is that even an option? Can anything ever stop existing? Does life die or does it just eat itself? Is this even our body that we are in or are we just renting it? There are no vacancies in nothingness, so have a seat at the something table as the EBC™ stick their necks out to consider the timeless philosophical puzzle: What happens if tomorrow you a...
May 17, 2021•2 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 7
The week is all about the stress response, confirmation bias, and the theatrics of consciousness The Chronically Stressed Boys of Comedy™ discuss why hippos don’t get mortgages, how nuanced hormonal interactions can say the darndest things, and why evolution hasn’t equipped life to relax at the drop of a hat. You’ve been called for jury duty in the courtroom of the mind. The CSBC™ contemplate how the lawyers in our minds will keep searching for evidence even after the case has closed. All reason...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Storytime! How hard is it to smuggle psychedelics through an airport while on 2CB for your first time? Apparently, it’s somehow less complicated than beard maintenance. During a manic episode, Shane was once banned from looking at Ramin’s art and/or anything related to time travel. After storytelling hour, we dive into the subconscious mind and consider what selection criteria the brain is using when deciding which ideas are worth putting in the big game of consciousness and which should stay in...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Season 1Ep. 5
This week we start out with what our minds have led us to believe is a 120% accurate exploration of the evolution of self-deception. Your MUMsters of Ceremony™ consider how the ability to deceive and detect deception in others has shaped how we systematically deceive ourselves in testable ways. They laugh about how new insights can unlock an embarrassing cascade of memories that lead to beautifully cringey epiphanies. Crying can feel like a drug, but don't get hooked... forcing that much-needed ...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 4
