Something You Should Know
Why Do We Exist? & More Than Friends: The Rise of Platonic Partners
01 May 2025
Want to get someone to like you – or like you more? If so, there is a simple thing you can do that can work wonders to improve your likeability. This episode begins with this simple technique. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201608/people-will-you-if-you-make-them-laugh Why are we here? You must have thought about this question. I mean, here we are, intelligent creatures hurtling through the universe on this tiny little planet. Why? What’s the point of it all? What had to happen for us to be here? These are questions that science has struggled with but is now finding more and more insight into the real reasons we exist. Here to reveal what we do know is Tim Coulson, a professor of zoology at Oxford University whose teaching and research have earned him multiple awards. He is author of the book The Science of Why We Exist: A History of the Universe from the Big Bang to Consciousness (https://amzn.to/4jLgb0n). There is a growing type of relationship that doesn’t even have a proper name. It’s 2 people in a partnership and they are not romantically connected but they are more than friends. They are more than best friends. They often live together, are in each other’s wills, travel together and essentially live as partners. How do these partnerships begin? Who are the people in them? Why is this a growing arrangement? The first person to really look at this is my guest, Rhaina Cohen. She is an award-winning producer and editor for NPR’s documentary podcast, Embedded and her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New Republic and elsewhere. She is author of the book The Other Significant Other (https://amzn.to/42unjsn). You probably have no idea what all is involved when you sneeze. It’s really quite something! And it involves a lot of different muscles to make it happen. Listen and you will learn things about why and how you sneeze and when you can and cannot sneeze. https://www.medicinenet.com/11_facts_about_sneezes_and_sneezing/article.htm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
I'm Anne Foster, host of the feminist women's history comedy podcast, Vulgar History. And every week I share the saga of a woman from history whose story you probably didn't already know and you will never forget after you hear it. Sometimes we reexamine well-known people like Cleopatra or Pocahontas, sharing the truth behind their legends.
Sometimes we look at the scandalous women you'll never find in a history textbook. If you can hear my cat purring, she is often on the podcast as well. Listen to Vulgar History wherever you get your podcasts.
Today on Something You Should Know, one thing you can do instantly to get someone to like you more. Ben, have you ever wondered why we exist, why we are here on this planet?
Science has made astonishing progress in working out why it is we exist. With each passing year, we have a better understanding of all the remarkable things that had to happen from the beginning of the universe 13.8 billion years ago until now.
Also, what you may not know about what happens when you sneeze. And a new kind of relationship. It's not romantic partners. It's a platonic partnership with a commitment.
When I have talked to people about platonic partnerships, people who have a friendship that goes well beyond even what a best friend is, I have been kind of shocked to find out how often people say, I have that, or I know someone who has it.
All this today on Something You Should Know. We talk a lot about health on Something You Should Know, and I guess it motivates me. I mean, I'm not a nut about it, but I try to take care of my health. I want to preserve my mobility and strength as I get older. And I recently started taking this supplement. Maybe you've heard about it. It's called MitoPure.
MitoPure is a precise dose of something called Urolithin A that supports your health by encouraging cellular renewal. Since I started taking it... I can tell I have more energy and I notice I recover faster after I exercise. I did some research on this too. There's some real science here that supports what I'm saying. And so does my experience.
MitoPure is the only urolithin A supplement on the market that is clinically proven to target the effects of age-related cellular decline. And Mito Pure is shown to deliver double-digit increases in muscle strength and endurance without a change in exercise. From my own experience, I have more energy and strength and just overall feel better every day. And who doesn't want that?
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