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
Yesterday
Explosive diarrhea, ‘protein maxxing’ and the science of burnout
In this episode of Science Quickly, we unpack a major outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to contaminated produce, explore new research that suggests that “protein maxxing” may do more harm than good and examine mental exhaustion’s effects on the decisions we make. Plus, Eur ... Show More
12m 48s
Jul 31
Lewis, Clark and America’s first great science mission
In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s books and culture lead Bri Kane talks with historian Craig Fehrman about This Vast Enterprise, his fresh take on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Rather than focusing solely on the famous explorers, Fehrman highlights the o ... Show More
26m 19s
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