logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2022
8m 56s

34: How Long Can Humans Live Without The...

The Why Files: Operation Podcast
About this episode

HOW LONG DO ANIMALS (and people) SURVIVE WITHOUT THEIR HEADS?  

Does a human head remain conscious after being separated from its body?  

It sure does. But just how long do you actually survive? Not that long.  But, if we look at other animals, some of them can survive for longer than you think.  

Let's find out why.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support
Up next
Mar 27
638: The Science of Death | The Living Feel It Too
A doctor walks into a trauma room and sees a dead woman floating above a dying man. He isn't the patient's physician. He just felt the pull to go in.That's how this story starts — and it gets stranger from there.Hundreds of nurses, doctors, and everyday people have reported witne ... Show More
32m 25s
Mar 23
637: Basement #008: Avi Loeb | 3I Atlas, Alien Craft, and Suppressed Research
Avi Loeb is the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University, a internationally bestselling author, and one of the most decorated astronomers alive. He earned his PhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at 24, led the first international project su ... Show More
3h 14m
Mar 20
636: Vanished: Three Disappearances Nobody Can Explain
Gather round for three missing persons cases that investigators, search teams, and forensic experts have never been able to explain.A medical student disappeared from a packed bar in Columbus, Ohio — a building covered in cameras, with one way in and one way out. Police confirmed ... Show More
42m 45s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2025
BrainStuff Classics: How Long Can Animals Hold Their Breath?
Humans tend to max out at a couple minutes of breath holding, but some air-breathing reptiles and even mammals have evolved to spend extreme lengths of time underwater. Learn how long (and how they manage it) in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://a ... Show More
4m 14s
Aug 2025
#116 Peter Godfrey Smith - Animal Consciousness: What Can We Know?
Peter Godfrey-Smith is an Australian philosopher of science and writer, who is currently Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. Buy his books here. Timestamps: 0:00 How Many Times Has the Brain Independently Evolved? 4:36 What is a Nervous Sys ... Show More
1h 56m
Nov 2024
Combien de temps peut-on survivre enterré vivant ?
<p>La survie lorsqu'une personne est enterrée vivante dépend de plusieurs facteurs cruciaux : la quantité d'oxygène disponible, l'espace dans lequel elle est enfermée, le niveau de stress, ainsi que l'état physique de la personne. Les études scientifiques sur ce sujet sont limité ... Show More
2m 36s
Feb 2019
Biogerontology (AGING) with Caleb Finch
<p>How long can we live? How much of aging is genetics vs. environment? What does oral hygiene have to do with brain health? What causes Alzheimer’s? How do turtles and naked mole rats live so long? Are there any proven strategies for living a longer life? What's up with whiskey ... Show More
51m 49s
Sep 2025
Can We Talk With Animals? Chapter One: Your Pets Know Way More Than You
Do you have a bond with a household pet? Do they understand what you say to them -- and, if so, how much? In the first part of this two-part series, Ben, Matt and Noel dive deep into a question that's mystified humanity since the dawn of history: Can we really talk to non-human a ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 2025
What Comes After Humans? Chapter One: A Brief, Brightly Burning Light
Humans! Seems like they're everywhere these days. They've also been great for our show, so thanks! Anyhow, the Age of the Anthropocene has fundamentally altered the natural world -- and, no matter what happens, the legacy of the human will remain long after the actual species is ... Show More
49m 37s
Jun 2025
Anacondas: Not Like in the Movie
Are anacondas big? For sure. Are they able to crush and consume a human? Maybe, but thankfully they don't really do that. Don't believe everything you see in the movies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
42m 22s
Nov 2024
Why can't my dog live as long as me?
As we enter our teenage years, many of us feel like life is just getting started. But for dogs, celebrating a ‘teen’ birthday is a sign of old age, entering a phase when things start slowing down. Listener Susan was besotted with her beloved corgi Copper John and wants to know wh ... Show More
28m 44s
Sep 2024
Introducing Eons: Surviving Deep Time
Introducing Eons: Surviving Deep Time! Season 2 of the Eons podcast is a longform exploration of a question we’re often asked: how long could a human survive if they were dropped into a particular period of the geologic past? --Eons is a production of Complexly for PBS Digital St ... Show More
1m 30s
Sep 2025
#434 — Can We Survive AI?
Sam Harris speaks with Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares about their new book, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: The Case Against Superintelligent AI. They discuss the alignment problem, ChatGPT and recent advances in AI, the Turing Test, the possibility of AI developing surviv ... Show More
36m 26s