Why do so many of us love a good scare? Whether it’s horror movies, haunted houses or creepy podcasts, there’s something thrilling about feeling spooked—especially around Halloween. In this episode, host Rachel Feltman dives into our fascination with fear and morbid curiosity with Coltan Scrivner, a behavioral scientist at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus ... Show More
Today
Navigating Science and Health Misinformation [Sponsored]
As health misinformation surges online, Morgan McSweeney—known online as Dr. Noc, a science communicator and immunology expert whose videos reach millions each month across TikTok, Instagram, and X—explores why facts alone might not be enough to earn public trust, and what scienc ... Show More
20m 18s
Yesterday
Fire amoebas, fossilized vomit and AI energy demands
In this episode of Science Quickly, we cover discoveries both big and small, from the supersized particle collider needed to find the next subatomic specimen to tropical sea turtles that found new nesting grounds to a recently discovered eukaryote surprising scientists by survivi ... Show More
10m 52s
Oct 2015
Episode 6: The Science of Fear
<p>This week, for Halloween, the Hidden Brain podcast gets spooky. We explore the science of fear — traveling to a haunted house curated by a scientist to investigate what scares us, and why some people enjoy this sensation more than others.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an A ... Show More
20m 27s
Oct 2025
Like Being Scared? Here’s Why
Like haunted houses? Scientists do! That’s because they’re an excellent place to study how humans respond to – and even actively seek out – fear. In an immersive threat setting, as opposed to a carefully controlled lab, researchers can learn a lot about what scares people, why an ... Show More
14m 15s
Oct 2023
Ep 35: Why do we enjoy playing with fear?
This is Episode 35 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. From haunted houses to scary movies, many of us find a thrill in a good scare. But… isn't that a bit counter-intuitive? In this episode, we as ... Show More
19m 40s
Oct 2021
BOO! The Science of Scary with Mathias Clasen & Heather Berlin
<p>Why do we like being scared? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the haunting effects of horror and recreational fear with horror scholar and author, Mathias Clasen, and neuroscientist, Heather Berlin, PhD. </p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons c ... Show More
55m 30s
Oct 2023
Why do we love scary movies? with Coltan Scrivner, PhD
October may be the month that our fascination with all things ghoulish and grisly reaches its peak, but for many people, a fascination with the darker side of life isn’t limited to Halloween. Coltan Scrivner, PhD, talks about why people are drawn to horror, true crime and other s ... Show More
33m 3s