Tired of constantly craving what you don't have instead of being satisfied with what you do ? Scarcity Brain author Michael Easter is here to help! What We Discuss with Michael Easter: What is the scarcity brain that helped humans evolve to run the planet, and how does it work against us in the context of the modern world? How the scarcity loop operates like a "serial killer" of motivation to push us into repeat behaviors that can be fun in the short term, but have the potential to harm us in th...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep 902•Transcript available on Metacast Your lawn may be your pride and joy, but is there an environmentally friendly alternative? Join us in the weeds with Michael Regilio on Skeptical Sunday! On This Week's Skeptical Sunday: Lawns are a symbol of American culture, but they have significant environmental drawbacks — including water wastage, pesticide use, and habitat destruction. The origins of lawns can be traced back to British aristocracy , who sought to emulate Italian landscape paintings with vast, manicured lawns around their m...
Sep 24, 2023•40 min•Ep 901•Transcript available on Metacast Your openly swinging friends brought a third into their relationship, and you worry about how it's affecting their kids. Welcome to another Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger ( @JordanHarbinger ) and Gabriel Mizrahi ( @GabeMizrahi ) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, dr...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep 900•Transcript available on Metacast Bigger, Better, Bolder author Jennifer Cohen helps us develop the confidence to pursue the life we want instead of settling for the life we get. What We Discuss with Jennifer Cohen: Even the innately shy and introverted can develop a skill set of boldness to fearlessly pursue relationships, careers, and whatever bounties life has to offer. Why boldness is more important than intelligence when it comes to taking advantage of opportunities that come your way. How you can craft personal and profess...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep 899•Transcript available on Metacast Wildlife biologist Forrest Galante rejoins us to discuss rediscovering "lost" species and why we should resurrect the dodo, thylacine, and woolly mammoth. What We Discuss with Forrest Galante: What's Forrest been up to since his last visit to this show? Just milking venomous sea snakes and trying to find out why orcas are slaughtering great white sharks en masse. Where are the world's biggest snakes found, and do they ever eat people? What did Forrest find inside the world's largest cave — besid...
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Ep 898•Transcript available on Metacast Should you throw in the friendship towel after a feckless frottage foul with someone's significant other? Can you make it right? Welcome to Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger ( @JordanHarbinger ) and Gabriel Mizrahi ( @GabeMizrahi ) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, dr...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep 897•Transcript available on Metacast Recovering stolen ships from pirates in the world's most troubled waters is big business, and Captain Max Hardberger is here to steer us through it. What We Learn in Conversation with Captain Max Hardberger: Not all pirates are impoverished desperados with nothing to lose — the most vicious ones wear suits and hobnob with royalty. The surprising places where ships are illegitimately seized by the rich and powerful who know how to play the game. When ship owners can't recover their seized p...
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep 896•Transcript available on Metacast What can an 85-year study tell us about the science of happiness, and how can we leverage this knowledge to live the good life? Robert Waldinger explains! What We Discuss with Robert Waldinger: How does the ongoing Harvard Study of Adult Development, initiated in 1938 , shed light on the key elements of leading a happy and fulfilling life? Relationships are the most important component of happiness — the good news is it's never too late to make new friends. The touch of a good friend or a ...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep 895•Transcript available on Metacast Even if psychics and tarot cards can't give you reliable advice from the great beyond, what's the harm? Join us for Skeptical Sunday with David C. Smalley ! On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss: Why aren't psychics and tarot card readers prosecuted for fraud when they can't genuinely provide supernatural information to paying clients? Furthermore, why do they charge for their services if they could simply use their powers to win the lottery? If psychics can't really tap into the other sid...
Sep 10, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep 894•Transcript available on Metacast Can you balance support for an unlucky but amicable ex with personal boundaries that keep you tethered to your own improvement? Welcome to Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger ( @JordanHarbinger ) and Gabriel Mizrahi ( @GabeMizrahi ) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, dro...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 893•Transcript available on Metacast Wait But Why 's Tim Urban helps us find ways to cope with the chaos of current events in his new book, What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies . What We Discuss with Tim Urban: Why we're so polarized and partisan in our political beliefs — seemingly more than ever before. How low-rung thinking prevails on both sides of the political aisle (and what we can do to ascend to higher-rung thinking). The perspective we can gain if we imagine the history of humanity as a 1,000-page boo...
Sep 07, 2023•2 hr 34 min•Ep 892•Transcript available on Metacast Women Are The Fiercest Creatures author and Nobody Should Believe Me podcast host Andrea Dunlop joins us to discuss the prevalence of medical child abuse. What We Discuss with Andrea Dunlop: Munchausen syndrome by proxy (aka factitious disorder imposed on another) : a form of medical child abuse where parents or caregivers fake or exaggerate their child's health problems for personal gain. How the widespread availability of medical information online, social media platforms, and crowdfunding has...
Sep 05, 2023•2 hr•Ep 891•Transcript available on Metacast On this Skeptical Sunday, comedian Michael Regilio joins us to discuss the pros and cons of bioplastics and the importance of responsible plastic use. On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss: Plastic pollution, especially single-use plastic, is a significant environmental issue , with 40 percent of all plastic produced being single-use plastic packaging. Bioplastics, made from renewable sources like plants and algae, are seen as a potential solution to the plastic problem, but come with thei...
Sep 03, 2023•47 min•Ep 890•Transcript available on Metacast Guilt over stealing from your dad under the thrall of addiction also makes you ponder how his actions influenced your addiction. Welcome to Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger ( @JordanHarbinger ) and Gabriel Mizrahi ( @GabeMizrahi ) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, dr...
Sep 01, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep 889•Transcript available on Metacast AI advocate Marc Andreessen joins us to clear up misconceptions about AI and discuss its potential impact on job creation, creativity, and moral reasoning. What We Discuss with Marc Andreessen: Will AI create new jobs , take our old ones outright, or amplify our ability to perform them better? What role will AI play in current and future US-China relations ? How might AI be used to shape (or manipulate) public opinion and the economy ? Does AI belong in creative industries , or does it challenge...
Aug 31, 2023•2 hr 36 min•Ep 888•Transcript available on Metacast University of Sussex cognitive philosophy professor Andy Clark joins us to discuss how our brains experience and manipulate the reality that surrounds us. What We Discuss with Andy Clark: How your brain operates as a prediction machine that constructs an estimation of reality based on available data rather than relaying an entirely precise narrative of the outside world. The problems that arise when the senses through which your brain gathers data don't always convey an accurate picture of reali...
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep 887•Transcript available on Metacast Why do some insist Earth is flat despite thousands of years of evidence to the contrary? Dave Farina joins us for Skeptical Sunday to round up some answers! On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss: Belief in a flat Earth rejects historical knowledge , distorts observations, denies gravity, and originates from a mix of misguided ideas and online interactions. Flat Earth proponents misrepresent scale and ignore basic principles of grade school science in their arguments against a spherical Ear...
Aug 27, 2023•53 min•Ep 886•Transcript available on Metacast Are you right to cut ties with your grandpa now that his sociopathic, incestuous, and pedophilic history has come to light? Welcome to Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger ( @JordanHarbinger ) and Gabriel Mizrahi ( @GabeMizrahi ) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep 885•Transcript available on Metacast Join Jordan and Gabe for this deep dive into the lessons we can learn when we enlist envy as a teacher rather than a bitter reminder of what we don't have. What We Discuss: Merriam-Webster defines envy as "painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage." Envy is rooted in evolutionary psychology as an aid to our survival , but modern life amplifies and distorts it into an overwhelming compulsion that can hurt more than help. W...
Aug 24, 2023•56 min•Ep 884•Transcript available on Metacast Video editor Annie Ikpa explains how she galvanized a movement to ban child sacrifice in Uganda, and what's in store for the fight ahead. What We Discuss with Annie Ikpa: Why child sacrifice is so common in Uganda that Annie Ikpa had to spend seven years campaigning for a law against it. Who hires the exploitative witch doctors who perform these sacrifices in the name of fortune or other earthly delights? How children are selected for sacrifice because they're relatively easy to abduct, less lik...
Aug 22, 2023•58 min•Ep 883•Transcript available on Metacast Is homeopathy an effective alternative medicine or an unproven, unscientific sham? Comedian Michael Regilio joins us for Skeptical Sunday to find out! On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss: Homeopathy is an alternative medicine with a long history , relying on the principle of "like cures like" and the idea that water has memory. Despite lacking scientific proof, homeopathic products are widely marketed and sold , even though they're required to carry warnings of unproven efficacy. Homeopa...
Aug 20, 2023•48 min•Ep 882•Transcript available on Metacast When the circle of trust between you, your best friend, and his girlfriend accidentally turns into a covert love triangle, it might be Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger ( @JordanHarbinger ) and Gabriel Mizrahi ( @GabeMizrahi ) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us...
Aug 18, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep 881•Transcript available on Metacast The Power of Crisis author Ian Bremmer rejoins us to assess the top threats facing our world today and the difficult choices they may force us to make. What We Discuss with Ian Bremmer: The effective unified Western response to Ukrainian invasion has transformed Russia from a would-be China into a massive Iran. China's Xi Jinping has been concentrating his power — which will allow him to make bigger mistakes that affect billions of people even more quickly. The unchecked proliferation of A...
Aug 17, 2023•2 hr 34 min•Ep 881•Transcript available on Metacast The Wisdom of Psychopaths author Kevin Dutton rejoins us to discuss how we can tell if we're psychopaths and why it might not be such a bad thing. What We Discuss with Kevin Dutton: What's the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath ? Society focuses on the negative qualities of psychopathy. But what are the upsides ? What career niches do psychopaths tend toward (and which ones should they avoid)? Can children be psychopaths? How can you tell if you're a psychopath? (Take the two-minute...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep 879•Transcript available on Metacast Can we accurately read someone's body language to gain access to their innermost thoughts? Andrew Gold joins us on this Skeptical Sunday to find out! On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss: Body language research has found that indicators of deception may include eye movements, blinking, posture shifts, and word choice , but these cues can vary widely and require careful consideration. Body language can be influenced by various factors , making it challenging to precisely interpret. The use...
Aug 13, 2023•57 min•Ep 878•Transcript available on Metacast Can a happy life with your BPD-addled wife ever be possible if she won't take responsibility for the chaos she causes? Welcome to Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger ( @JordanHarbinger ) and Gabriel Mizrahi ( @GabeMizrahi ) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a li...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep 877•Transcript available on Metacast Fool Me Once author Kelly Richmond Pope explains how fraud became a trillion-dollar industry and helps us avoid becoming its latest victims. What We Discuss with Kelly Richmond Pope: What types of people commit fraud , and what — beyond simple greed — tends to motivate them? What is the fraud triangle , and how does it explain the factors that contribute to the occurrence of occupational fraud or white-collar crime? Why fraud seems more common and more severe these days than ev...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep 876•Transcript available on Metacast Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues author Jonathan Kennedy joins us to discuss how microscopic pathogens have shaped our world. What We Discuss with Jonathan Kennedy: If we were to weigh all the bacteria on Earth, their mass would be about 1,000 times more than all humans. If all of the viruses on the planet were laid end to end, they would stretch for 100 million light years. About eight percent of the human genome's DNA comes from retroviral infections we've endured over our...
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep 875•Transcript available on Metacast Is there scientific legitimacy to the ancient Indian medicinal practice of Ayurveda? Dave Farina joins us on this Skeptical Sunday to find out! On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss: Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medicinal practice based on balancing doshas (life forces) and natural therapies like diet, yoga, and meditation. The belief in ancient wisdom's superiority to modern medicine and the allure of nature attract some people — especially those with anti-pharmaceutical sentiments...
Aug 06, 2023•46 min•Ep 874•Transcript available on Metacast Co-parenting with your stepson's chaotic mom is challenging when she invents reasons she should have custody. Welcome to Feedback Friday! And in case you didn't already know it, Jordan Harbinger ( @JordanHarbinger ) and Gabriel Mizrahi ( @GabeMizrahi ) banter and take your comments and questions for Feedback Friday right here every week! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming weekly Feedback Friday episodes, drop us a line at fri...
Aug 04, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep 873•Transcript available on Metacast 
