After the fall of Saddam Hussein’s brutal dictatorship in Iraq, American forces requisitioned a number of prisons he had once used to house prisoners suspected of terrorism against American soldiers. A series of leaked photographs of American soldiers and prisoners would bring US forces into the world spotlight for their own human rights abuses. How responsible are soldiers for their actions in the chaos of war? Can our environment explain extreme acts of brutality? Join us this week as Drs. Mic...
Mar 16, 2020•49 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast While there will always be a legitimate form, an official version, or an orthodoxy, sometimes it seems the “unofficial,” the “illegitimate,” or the “unorthodox,” can be just as powerful, and representative of an even more potent truth. The case of Santa Muerte, the Mexican folk-saint of death, is one such enigmatic example. She is a creation of the street people, the lower class, the poor and the suffering, in one of the largest cities in the world. She often attracts the worst: drug dealers, mu...
Mar 02, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast In the violent history of serial killers, one name seems to stand out among the others. Ed Gein, known as a shut-in by the townsfolk of Plainfield, Wisconsin, was found to have murdered a local woman named Bernice Worden. What followed were some of the most gruesome and shocking discoveries in American serial killer history, as a collection of body parts, some used to make a “woman suit,” were found by local police. The nature of Ed Gein’s crimes would go on to inspire other horrific fictional c...
Feb 17, 2020•46 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast In 1973 psychologist Dr. Cornelia Wilber was suddenly thrust into the spotlight for groundbreaking work she had done with Shirley Mason, known to the world as Sybil Dorsett. This work, published in a book by Flora Schreiber, documented the years of treatment Dr. Wilber had done with Mason for Multiple Personality Disorder, known today as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). This event brought the concept of multiple personalities into popular culture and kicked off an intense debate in contempo...
Nov 18, 2019•54 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast On the evening of May 30th, 2014, three adolescent friends, Anissa Weier, Morgan Geyser, and Payton Leutner whose friends called, “Bella,” all spent the night playing games and celebrating Morgan’s 12th birthday. The next morning, Anissa and Morgan tried to stab Bella to death in a nearby forest to appease a dark figure known only as Slender Man. What is the nature of insanity? How is the magical thinking of children often influenced by mass media? How did a random creation by a 29-year-old for ...
Nov 04, 2019•46 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Between 1692 and 1693, Puritans in the British colony in Salem, Massachusetts, became hysterical believing that they were under attack by people in league with the devil practicing the sinister magic of witchcraft. What began with the strange physical ailments of three young girls quickly grew into a panic amongst the settlers. What kind of irrational fear would condemn 19 people, overwhelmingly women, to be hanged, and one man crushed to death, without the slightest bit of empirical evidence?
Oct 21, 2019•38 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Where is the line between a strange belief and a true delusion? This week, Drs. Micono and Morelos use the Unabomber's "manifesto" to begin a discussion on his motives toward violence and the forces that, according to him, will eventually lead to our own destruction. Follow them on an exploration of one of the most fascinating cases of true crime in recent history.
Oct 07, 2019•52 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast September is National Suicide Prevention Month so Drs. Micono and Morelos wanted to take a few minutes to discuss this important topic. Please take care of yourselves out there!
Sep 28, 2019•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1996 the FBI, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, caught one of the most elusive and terrifyingly effective domestic terrorists in history. It was then that America got its first look at Theodore Kaczynski, otherwise known as the Unabomber. With an IQ well above genius level and a chance at a brilliant career, Kaczynski chose instead a life of virtual isolation where he toiled at writing his own philosophy and building implements of destruction. Was this a case of a legitimate...
Sep 23, 2019•44 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Millions of people throughout history and across cultures have described the sensation of leaving their material body behind. Is the out of body experience a profound characterization of disembodied consciousness, or the result of our brain responding to ordinary stimuli? This week, Drs. Micono and Morelos use the famous experience of Ernest Hemmingway, described in his most famous book, as a starting point to discuss examples of OBEs, or out of body experiences.
Sep 09, 2019•40 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Prisons have become an ubiquitous part of our collective culture, with the United States, for better or worse, being a leader in the number of people we incarcerate. What is the nature of the relationship between the captured and the captors? Can there be a spirit of cooperation between corrections officers and the incarcerated, or is it always bound to be tortured? This week, Drs. Micono and Morelos use the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment to start a conversation about American prisons in po...
Aug 26, 2019•43 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast On June 7, 1998, a 49 year-old African-American man was brutally killed in one of the most horrific hate crimes the country has ever seen. His death brought to the surface racial and cultural tensions that had been simmering just under the nation’s collective consciousness. What makes people intolerant of people from different, ethnic, racial, or cultural backgrounds? Why do we tend to focus on what makes of different instead of what binds us together? This week Drs. Micono and Morelos use the m...
Aug 12, 2019•52 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast They went into the jungle looking for paradise. They found hell. What draws people into cults? What is it about our psychology that yearns for something a cult promises to fulfill? This week, Drs. Micono and Morelos use the Jonestown massacre as a starting point to look at why people fall into cults, and why so many cults eventually turn dark.
Jul 29, 2019•44 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast On the night of September 19, 1961, while driving home from a brief holiday, Betty and Barney Hill claimed to be abducted by beings from another planet. As pieces of their story emerged, what became even more clear is our collective fascination with the idea that we are not alone in our vast universe. Millions of people believe in the existence of extraterrestrial beings, with fewer claiming to have witnessed UFOs, and fewer still claiming to have been abducted. What is the psychological nature,...
Jul 15, 2019•47 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast On April 19, 1989, 28-year-old Tricia Meili, was brutally beaten, raped, and left for dead in Central Park. Five boys, each between the ages of 14 and 16, were quickly identified as suspects. Initially coerced into confessions, each boy later recanted and proclaimed his innocence. In 2002, an individual confessed to this crime, with his DNA matching that found at the crime scene. What followed sparked a national conversation on race, police methodology, and the rights of the accused. When does t...
Jul 01, 2019•59 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast In 2016 my father and I travelled to Mexico to see the impressive pyramids of Teotihuacan. An intriguing invitation from an old friend and fellow scholar led to something much darker and yet somehow perfectly representative of the contradictions that dance together to create one of world's most spectacular, and terrifying, cities. This episode is a narrative of our trip to Mexico City and our encounter with Santa Muerte, the Mexican folk saint of death. Along the way we'll eat tacos, drink some ...
Jun 17, 2019•37 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast On June 14th, 2015, the body of 48 year-old Dee Dee Blancard was found in her home just outside of Springfield, Missouri. She had been stabbed repeatedly in the back as she slept. Police originally suspected that her murder was linked to the abduction of her disabled daughter, Gypsy Rose. As the case unraveled, a lifetime of deceit on the part of Gypsy Rose and her mother, Dee Dee, was uncovered. Drs. Jessica Micono and David Morelos discuss child medical abuse, otherwise known as Munchausen by ...
Jun 03, 2019•57 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Millions of people suffer from physical illnesses that they cannot explain. There are often no clear answers on what causes these illnesses, leaving many people desperate for any kind of relief. Using recent stories from the lives of some of these people, Drs. Micono and Morelos discuss the link between the mind and the body and the stigma that continues to surround mental health.
May 16, 2019•38 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast On April 3, 2014, serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells was executed for the murder of 13-year-old Kaylene Harris. It is believed, however, that Sells was responsible for up to as many as 70 murders across the country. What is the nature of psychopathy? Why do these people walk among us? Drs. Jessica Micono and David Morelos use the case of Tommy Lynn Sells to begin a discussion on the psychopaths that both fascinate and frighten us.
May 16, 2019•43 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast In 2007, Janet Moses was a 22-year-old Maori mother who died after being subjected to an exorcism by her family who believed she was possessed by a demon. Was this a case of a malevolent presence exacting revenge over the theft of a statue. or a mental illness masquerading as something more sinister? Drs. Jessica Micono and David Morelos use this as a starting point to discuss the wider topic of demonic possession.
May 15, 2019•38 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast 
