This episode explores the web’s effects on our brains and how narrative, repetition, and even a focus on replaying memories can muddy our ability to separate fact from fiction.
How do we come to believe the things we do? Why do conspiracy theories flourish? And how can we train our brains to recognize misinformation online?
Lisa Fazio, an associate psychol ... Show More
Jun 2024
How to Know What's Real: How to Keep Watch
With smartphones in our pockets and doorbell cameras cheaply available, our relationship with video as a form of proof is evolving. We often say “pics or it didn’t happen!”—but meanwhile, there’s been a rise in problematic imaging including deepfakes and surveillance systems, whi ... Show More
28m 7s
Jun 2024
How to Know What's Real: How to Win at Real Life
Games can serve as an escape from reality—but they can also shape our understanding of trust, collaboration, and what might be possible IRL. Megan Garber talks with C. Thi Nguyen, an associate philosophy professor at the University of Utah, to better understand how games can help ... Show More
32m 18s
Jun 2024
How to Know What's Real: How to be Immortal Online
With digital spaces regularly evolving and updating, and the infinite scroll beckoning to us at all times, this episode questions if we have, as a culture, fully embraced the end of endings. Hanna Reichel, an associate professor of reformed theology at Princeton Theological Semin ... Show More
37m 23s
Aug 2024
The Science of Handling Uncertainty | Maya Shankar
<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p>Cognitive scientist Maya Shankar talks about how to get comfortable with uncertainty in an ever-changing world. </p> <p>It seems li ... Show More
59m 47s
Oct 2024
Climate Crisis: We're Solving It?!
The climate is a mess. It's hot. There's fires, floods, hurricanes — and we may have even crossed some rather scary climate tipping points. But there is hope. So today, we’re answering your questions about solving the climate crisis. We find out how you can help in the fight agai ... Show More
38m 30s
May 2021
The Climate Crystal Ball feat. Zeke Hausfather
<p>Humanity has emitted over 1 trillion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, raising atmospheric concentrations of CO2 from 280 to 417ppm. Every year, we add another 50 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, meaning that in 20 years we will double our tot ... Show More
1h 2m
Dec 2024
Donald R. Prothero, "The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries: How Scientists Found the Connections Between Climate and Life" (Columbia UP, 2024)
Over 4.5 billion years, Earth's climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another--from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a "snowball earth" in which glaciers reached the eq ... Show More
39m 15s
Oct 2024
How to gain perspective in a climate crisis (w/ David Finnigan)
<p>When it comes to a controversial topic like climate change represented in art, is the conversation its sparks more significant than the art itself? In this episode, Chris talks with David Finnigan, a playwright and climate activist who knew what he was doing when he titled his ... Show More
37m 1s
Sep 2021
10. The Psychology of Climate Anxiety with Tenaya
Today we are discussing the psychology of climate anxiety especially in light of recent announcements of a code red for humanity due to climate change. I’m joined by Tenaya, our in house expert on all things sustainability, to discuss how climate anxiety manifests, the psychology ... Show More
58m 4s
Sep 2024
Anna Korre on capturing carbon dioxide and defying expectations
As the famous frog once said, it's not easy being green. And when it comes to decarbonising industry, indeed, reducing emissions of all sorts, the task is a complex one. Fossil fuels are used to manufacture some of mankind’s most ubiquitous products, from plastics to cement to st ... Show More
28m 28s