Learning English with Human Beans
Episodes
#74 – The Psychology Years
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Marc's story ...
#73 — Selfish or Altruistic. What is our true nature?
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Are we secretly wired to think only of ourselves, or is the drive to help others hardwired into our DNA?In this episode of Learning English with Huma...
#72 – Is Utopia the Narcissus of politics?
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this new episode of Learning English with Human Beans, Marc and Alice shift into high gear! After deconstructing the illusion of the “perfect sel...
#71 – What Does It Mean to Live in De-Hope?
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Explore why the "self" is a dream and how "de-hope" leads to radical freedom. This episode dives into André Comte-Sponville’s p...
#70 – Mikasa Ackerman's Psychological Journey
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Mikasa Ackerman is Attack on Titan's most lethal warrior—rated 10/10 in combat, capable of decimating titans and humans alike with surgical prec...
#69 – Music! Music!! Music!!!
14 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever felt a shiver run down your spine while listening to a violin tune, or a knot in your stomach when faced with a melancholic melody? Why ...
#68 – Understanding Narcissism Through Barney Stinson.
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
"Suit up!" Everyone knows Barney Stinson—the legendary, high-fiving, magic-trick-performing playboy of How I Met Your Mother. But what if...
#67 – Do We Really Want What We Desire?
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever worked yourself to the bone to achieve a goal, only to feel completely empty when you finally reached it?In this deep dive into Jack Lon...
#66 – The End of Reading? (Pt. 3 – Reader, Come Home)
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We diagnosed the illness (Episode 64) and we saw the terrifying prognosis for democracy (Episode 65). Now, it is time for the cure.In this explosive f...
#65 – The End of Reading (Pt. 2 – Why Deep Reading Saves Democracy?)
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the previous episode, we discovered that we have lost our “cognitive patience.” But is it really that bad if we can no longer read complex nove...
#64 – The End of Reading? (Pt. 1 – The Hemorrhage of Patience)
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever opened a book you used to love, only to find that you can no longer focus on the page? Do you feel an urgent, twitchy need to check your...
#63 - When Paradise Becomes Prison (Pluribus - Review)
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the end of the world wasn't a hell of dust and violence, but a paradise of comfort and harmony?In this episode, Alice and Marc dissect the...
#62 – Born to Kill? (The Science of Evil)
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Are "monsters" made, or are they born?In this chilling episode, Alice and Marc venture into the dark side of the brain to explore the biological roots...
#61 – Why Do Smart People Hate Small Talk? (Need for Cognition and Intellectual Stimulation)
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Why does a polite conversation about the weather sometimes feel like a physical assault on your energy? Why do you feel like a wilting plant when stuc...
#60 – Why Your Intelligent Brain Exhausts You Chasing the "Best" ?
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever spent three hours comparing toasters at midnight, paralyzed by the fear of making the "wrong" choice?In this episode, Alice an...
#59 – Does Concrete Have a Soul? (The Brutalist - Review).
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is "Brutalism" just about ugly grey buildings, or is it a philosophy of truth?In this episode, Alice and Marc decode Brady Corbet’s monume...
#58 – Why Does Your Libido Ghost You When You’re Naked?
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
You've got everything planned: the hotel, the champagne, the mood... but when the moment arrives, your body displays an “Error 404: Desire not f...
#57 – Is Your Identity Just Another Fiction? (The Don Quixote Syndrome)
09 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the "Real You" didn't actually exist? In this grand finale of our trilogy "The Self is a Fiction," Alice and Marc tac...
#56 – Can You Heal Your Brain With Stories? (Bibliotherapy & The Proteus Effect)
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If reading can change us for 20 minutes, can it transform us forever?In this episode, Alice and Marc move from simulation to therapy. Discover the sci...
#55 – Do you become someone else when you read? (The Experience Taking)
04 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wanted to run a marathon right after finishing a novel... even though you hate sports?In this first installment of the “The Self is a ...
#54 – Why Are Dragons More Reassuring Than Humans?
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do some people feel more "at home" in Middle-earth or aboard a starship than in their own neighborhood? Why is a dragon’s fire sometim...
#53 – Is Your Best Friend Imaginary?
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why does the finale of Friends feel like a real-life breakup? Why do we feel a deep void when characters who don't know we exist disappear from ...
#52 – Why Do You Pay to Have Nightmares?
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You know it’s just a movie. You know the characters are just pixels. So why are you sobbing on your couch like you’ve lost a best friend?In this e...
#51 – Does Culture Control Your Emotions? (The Engineering of Surprise – Part 3/3)
21 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the "Three-Act Structure" universal, or just a Western obsession?For the grand finale of the trilogy, we travel East to explore the Kish...
#50 – Why Do You Love Spoilers? (The Engineering of Surprise – Part 2/3)
21 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you the type of person who reads the last page of a book first?In this second installment, we investigate the Paradox of Suspense. If the brain l...
#49 – Why Does Your Brain Love Being Tricked? (The Engineering of Surprise - Part 1/3)
20 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we pay to be lied to?In this first episode of our trilogy on the neuroscience of storytelling, Alice and Marc crack open the black box of the ...
#48 – What If You Were Already Dead and No One Told You?
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine looking in the mirror and knowing—with absolute mathematical certainty—that you no longer exist.In this episode, Alice and Marc explore th...
#47 – Why Do You Suddenly Want to Throw Your Baby Out the Window?
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever stood on a cliff edge and felt a sudden urge to jump? Or held a newborn and visualized dropping them?In this episode, Alice and Marc tac...
#46 – Post-Orgasmic Shame: Why Do You Become a Puritan Philosopher in 3 Seconds?
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do you suddenly want to delete your browser history and join a monastery the second the "fun" is over?In this episode, Alice and Marc de...
#45 – Who Is Driving the Bus When You Scroll?
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you control your thumb, or is an algorithm holding the steering wheel?In this episode, Alice and Marc dive into the terrifying mechanics of the At...
#44 – What Happens When You Do Nothing?
13 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why does a simple 6-minute wait at a bus stop feel like torture without your phone?In this episode, Alice and Marc explore the "Crisis of Emptine...
#43 – Is Your Gut Smarter Than Your Brain?
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Should you trust that knot in your stomach when making a big decision?In this episode, Alice and Marc reveal that intuition isn't magic—it’s h...
#42 – Do the words you use change how you feel?
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Does your morning “meh” hide a much more specific emotion?In this episode, Alice and Marc explore Emotional Granularity and discover why the preci...
#41 – Why you are an entire universe that is dying out, and why that's okay.
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the apocalypse wasn't the end of the Earth, but simply the end of your world?Alice and Marc revisit the film The Life of Chuck from a new ...
#40 – Why is it physically impossible to admit that you're wrong?
06 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why can a simple political debate trigger real physical pain in your stomach?In this episode, Alice and Marc dive into the neuroscience of bad faith. ...
#39 – Does it hurt, or do you think it hurts?
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can you feel excruciating pain without having a single scratch?In this episode, Alice (and her sore little toe) and Marc delve into the mechanics of s...
#38 - Are you sure you're awake?
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Look at your hands. Are you absolutely sure you're not dreaming?In this episode, Alice and Marc explore the most fascinating flaw in our brains: l...
#37 - Why are incompetent people so confident? (And why you doubt yourself)
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why does Uncle Gerard, who has only read one article, think he understands geopolitics better than an expert? And why do the most brilliant people liv...
#36 - Why do you think everyone is looking at you? (Escaping Social Paranoia)
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever felt like a tiny coffee stain on your shirt was a neon sign screaming for attention?In this episode, Alice and Marc dive into the Spotlight Effe...
#35 - Why do you treat your future self like a stranger? (The science of procrastination)
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is it so difficult to go to bed early, even when we know full well that we'll regret it the next morning?In this episode, Alice and Marc debunk th...
#34 - Does analysis paralyze genius? (Or why overthinking kills art)
30 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why does a champion miss an easy shot under pressure? Why does a centipede stumble when asked how it walks? In this episode, Alice and Marc delve int...
#33 - Understanding Metacognition Through Mindfulness
29 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if meditation wasn’t what you think it is? Forget the cliché of the monk sitting in silence trying to think about "nothing."In this episode of...
#31 - Deconstructing "It Was Better Before" - Pt. 4
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After three episodes dismantling the "good old days" myth, Alice and Marc ask a crucial question: In our justified rejection of golden age n...
#31 - Deconstructing "It Was Better Before" - Pt. 3
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why does nostalgia seem to be everywhere? In this eye-opening episode, Alice and Marc pull back the curtain on the multi-billion-dollar nostalgia econ...
#30 - Deconstructing "It Was Better Before" - Pt. 2
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Memories lie, but statistics don't." In this data-driven episode, Alice and Marc set aside emotions and personal anecdotes to examine t...
#29 - Deconstructing "It Was Better Before" - Pt. 1
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you ever think music was better in the past, or that people were more polite when you were younger? You're not alone. Today, we're explorin...
#28 - Walter White - Anatomy of a Tragic Overcompensation
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do a mild-mannered chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin and a pioneering psychologist from Vienna have in common? In this episode, we dive into ...
#27 - Wolf Children
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dive into the poetic world of Mamoru Hosoda's Wolf Children. George and Alice explore how this modern fable questions our identity choices: shoul...
#26 - Sentimental Value
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can art truly heal family wounds, or does it sometimes make them worse? In this deep dive into Joachim Trier's acclaimed film Sentimental Value, ...
#25 - The Genius Illusion - Pt. 3
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the biggest obstacle to recognizing genius today... is our own brain?In the final installment of our "The Genius Illusion" trilogy, ...
#24 - The Genius Illusion - Pt. 2
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is a genius born... or made? In this second installment of our "The Genius Illusion" trilogy, the debate intensifies.After questioning the v...
#23 - The Genius Illusion - Pt. 1
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Before we can ask where all the geniuses have gone, we must first ask: what is a genius?In the first of a three-part series on "The Genius Illusion,...
#22 - ADHD: A Journey into the Distracted Mind
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the biggest symptom of ADHD wasn't just distraction, but a silent, relentless internal monologue?In this episode, George and Alice move be...
#21 - The Universe Inside - "The Life of Chuck"
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if a Stephen King story wasn't designed to scare you, but to make you cry with joy? That's the bold premise of The Life of Chuck, a f...
#20 - The Age of Possibilities - Young Adulthood
14 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if your twenties aren't just a prolonged adolescence, but a distinct and crucial new stage of life? Join George and Alice as they explore "Emergi...
#19 - Understanding Grief
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join George and Alice for an intimate and intellectual exploration of the phenomenon of grief. In this episode, discover why grieving is a true form o...
#18 - Spinoza's Philosophy
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if a 400-year-old philosophy held the key to modern wellbeing? Join George and Alice as they explore the revolutionary ideas of Baruch Spinoza. D...
#17 - The Male Identity Crisis in the 21st Century
08 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for another thought-provoking episode of "Learning English with Human Beans" as we examine the modern masculinity crisis and the myt...
#16 - Minds in Motion: Recovery, Creativity, and Growth
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Explore how we tell stories about our minds in this episode of "Learning English with Human Beans." George and Alice unpack the evolving cla...
#15 - The Quest for Meaning
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Explore the fundamental human search for meaning in this episode of "Learning English with Human Beans." Join George and Alice as they unpac...
#14 - The Feeling Brain: How Emotions Drive Our Decisions
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Discover why emotions aren’t obstacles to clear thinking but essential guides in this episode of “Learning English with Human Beans.” George exp...
#13 - The Science of Sleep
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Discover the vital science behind your nightly rest in this episode of “Learning English with Human Beans: The Science of Sleep.” Explore how slee...
#12 - The Authority Paradox
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do humans both seek out authority figures and resist them? Discover the fascinating psychology behind our complex relationship with authority in t...
#11 - What If...? - Exploring Counterfactual Thinking
16 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Discover how our minds play “what if” games to learn from the past and manage emotions in this episode of Learning English with Human Beans: “Wh...
#4 - In the Age of Fake News: Developing Critical Thinking
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Learn English while discovering how to spot fake news! In this episode, we explore why false information spreads so quickly and how our minds can be t...
#10 - The Mind-Body Connection
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In our latest “Learning English with Human Beans” episode, discover the fascinating science of mind-body connections. Learn how thoughts and emoti...
#9 - The Einstein Enigma - Review
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as we explore José Rodrigues dos Santos' international bestseller "The God Formula" (or "The Einstein Enigma"). This ...
#8 - Meaningless on the Clock: The Bullshit Jobs Theory
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Discover the hidden epidemic of pointless work in this episode of “Learning English with Human Beans.” We unpack David Graeber’s theory of “bu...
#7 - 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman - Review
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join us today for "Learning English with Human Beans" as we analyze Stefan Zweig's powerful novella "24 Hours in the Life of a Woma...
#6 - Why Do We Spend So Much Time on Our Smartphones?
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wondered why you just can’t put your smartphone down, even when you know you should? In this episode of "Learning English with Human Beans...
#5 - Past Lives - Review
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "Learning English with Human Beans"! In today's special episode, we'll be exploring Celine Song's beautiful film "Past Lives" - a thoughtfu...
#3 - Failing Forward: How Grit Shapes Success
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What makes some people bounce back from failure while others give up? In this episode of "Learning English with Human Beans," we explore the...
#2 - The Sibling Survival Guide
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever fought over the TV remote with your sibling or felt that twinge of jealousy when mom praised your brother instead of you? You're not alone! J...
#1 - Territories AI Cannot Conquer
19 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can machines think? Create? Feel? As artificial intelligence challenges what makes us uniquely human, we face what philosophers call our "fourth ...