Mike Carruthers

It can even reduce pain levels, they say, and some say going barefoot even has mental health benefits.

On the other hand, research shows that people have been wearing shoes of some sort for more than 40,000 years, and there's a pretty good reason for that.

Footwear provides important structural support, comfort, and protection from a wide variety of threats.

including sharp objects, pests, heat and invisible germs.

You can't see them, but bacteria, fungi and viruses are common in showers, locker rooms, pools and anywhere else with a lot of water or moisture.

These microorganisms can lead to infection and change your foot's appearance.

The fact is that when you go out in public, you're walking on surfaces that hundreds, if not thousands of people have walked on before, and you have no idea what you're coming in contact with.

So should you go barefoot?

Well, it kind of depends on where you go barefoot and how important it is to go barefoot.

And that is something you should know.

If you follow this podcast, we pop up on your phone or other device three times a week, three episodes a week.

We hope you'll listen.

And also remember, we have a huge back catalog of shows that you may have missed.

I'm Mike Kerr Brothers.

Thanks for listening today to Something You Should Know.

It feels like we're making more decisions than ever before.

Every day it's a constant stream of choices.

So let me ask you, how long did you spend deciding on what to wear today, or which email to answer first, or what to order the last time you were at a restaurant?

We agonize over these choices like they're life-altering.

But what if many of the decisions that stress us out don't really matter much?