Episode 45: What Are The Odds?

When tragedy strikes, it’s natural to be devastated. But psychologist George Bonanno finds that many of us recover from life’s blows more quickly than we might expect. This week, we talk with Bonanno about his research and why it has changed how many scientists think about trauma ... Show More

Have you ever fallen asleep in school or during a work meeting? Maybe you felt your eyes glaze over as your boss or a teacher droned on and on about a topic that had no relevance to you. What's missing from these classrooms and conference rooms is engagement: A state of being abs ... Show More

Aging isn’t just a biological process. Our outlooks and emotions also change as we age, often in ways that boost our well-being. This week, we revisit a favorite conversation with psychologist Laura Carstensen, who helps us unpack the science behind this surprising finding, and s ... Show More

Are some people just lucky? Is there any scientific formula behind coincidences? Is randomness the norm? Brian and Robin team up with comedian Sophie Duker, mathematician Marcus Du Sautoy and statistician David Spiegelhalter to uncover the reality and the maths behind seemingly i ... Show More

What are we to make of coincidence? From the numerological cats cradles we weave around famous events to the curious ways human lives converge through time, coincidence seems to fly in the face of reason and even suggest the supernatural. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Min ... Show More

Scientists don’t know what 95% of the universe is made of. They don’t know how a bike stays up. They don’t even really know how the nose works. Join us every Wednesday on Unexplainable for deep dives into the unknown, because what we don’t know is awesome. New episodes March 10th ... Show More

Ventriloquism: The Science of Dummies: It's time to rediscover ventriloquism, the surprisingly deft art of illusion that relies on a keen sense of comic timing and obsessive technique from the performer, as well as a buy-in into the illusion from the audience member. Why do we fa ... Show More

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss headless beings in myth, legend and the bestiaries of antiquity. What is it about a headless being that captivates us so and why were such beings once thought to exist? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info ... Show More

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss headless beings in myth, legend and the bestiaries of antiquity. What is it about a headless being that captivates us so and why were such beings once thought to exist? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info ... Show More

A whirlwind of questions brings us to an odd conclusion: could reality be an illusion created by a quantum fluctuation of a brain? This is a rebroadcast of a past favorite.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuni ... Show More

What are psychedelics? How have these substances influenced human minds and culture? What exactly do they invoke in the brain and how could a renaissance of scientific study into their properties improve our lives? In this series of Stuff to Blow Your Mind episodes, Robert and Jo ... Show More