Stuff To Blow Your Mind

Halloween Hangover Listener Mail, Part 1

22 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean all the ghosts and ghouls are banished to the cellar. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, join ...

Animals That Eat Poop

20 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Thanksgiving is a time during which many Americans eat things they shouldn’t -- so it’s a perfect time to discuss coprophagia in the animal kingdo...

From the Vault: Dangerous Foods II

17 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Can your heart stand the shocking facts about toxic potatoes, mad honey and the mysteries of the dead man’s fingers? In this classic episode, Robert...

Motivated Numeracy and the Politics-ridden Brain

15 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If science were a candle in the dark, we’d need only spread its light to combat climate change denial and vaccine conspiracy theories. But what if t...

Stone Age Technology with Dietrich Stout

13 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Paleolithic tools inform not just our understanding of prehistoric lives, but also the evolution and nature of the human mind. In this episode of Stuf...

From the Vault: The Gordian Knot of Race

10 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How deep-seated are today's racial issues? In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Julie Douglas explore how something so ...

Ig Nobel Prizes 2018: Part 2

08 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Each year, the Ig Nobel prizes honor the weirdest and wackiest contributions to humanity’s scientific understanding of the natural world. In this pa...

Ig Nobel Prizes 2018: Part 1

06 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Each year, the Ig Nobel prizes honor the weirdest and wackiest contributions to humanity’s scientific understanding of the natural world. In this pa...

From the Vault: Cambrian Monster Mash

03 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the ocean of monsters. In this classic episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick travel back 500 millio...

Listener Mail: The Squirrel Is Not Enough

01 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

To follow up our two-part look at the secret, bloody life of the common squirrel, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick present an entire listener mail episod...

Anthology of Horror, Volume 1

30 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

From “Night Gallery” to “Tales From the Crypt,” everyone loves a great horror anthology show. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick for a new gho...

Bret Wood on 'The Control Group'

29 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bonus episode! Join Stuff to Blow Your Mind hosts Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as they chat with Bret Wood, writer and director of "The Control Group...

From the Vault: The First Monster

27 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Humans love monsters, but when did we first dare to dream up bestial hybrids and chimerical horrors? In this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind po...

The Slayer

25 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Myth and folklore are full of monsters and the heroes who slay them. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick meet so...

Quetzalcoatl: The Winged Serpent

23 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

From the Aztec temples of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica to the 1980s monster film “Q: The Winged Serpent,” the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl soar...

From the Vault: The Halloween Costume Made Me Do It

20 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when we slip into a costume? Be it a monster pelt, a sexy witch or a simple children's ghost mask, a psychological transformation takes p...

Vampire Clinic, Part 2

18 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Vampire legends are a global phenomenon, and the trope of the blood-sucking humanoid shows no signs of vanishing from human traditions. But can we tra...

Vampire Clinic, Part 1

16 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Vampire legends are a global phenomenon, and the trope of the blood-sucking humanoid shows no signs of vanishing from human traditions. But can we tra...

From the Vault: Ghoul

13 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If your fictional diet contains significant quantities of horror or dark fantasy, then you've likely encountered the ghoul: a scavenging, grave-robbin...

The Curse

11 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean when a beggar, wizard or witch spits a curse at another human being? Why does this particular work of magic weigh so heavily in huma...

The Great Basilisk

09 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Behold the Great Basilisk, the crowned monster whose mere glance can kill a mortal and reduce wilderness to desert ash. Medieval bestiaries attest to ...

From the Vault: Carnivorous Plants

06 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Are humans truly safe from the hunger of meat-eating plants? Can we trust the trees that loom over us? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Rob...

The Killer's Mask

04 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The masked psychopathic killer is a staple of horror fiction, and yet almost no real-life serial killers employed masks in the commission of their cri...

Jenny Greenteeth: Horror at the Water’s Edge

02 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

According to certain English folktales, a vile creature lurks in the slime-caked dark of local ponds. When little ones wander too close to shore, she ...

From the Vault: John C. Lilly

29 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The figure of John C. Lilly as psychedelic dolphin communicator burns in the collective memory as a counterculture avatar, yet his legacy embodies far...

Listener Mail: Robots of Theseus

27 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's listener mail time again and the plan to gradually replace every part of our mailbot Karnie is complete. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as th...

Salamander Talk with Mark Mandica

25 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Wade into the amazing and weird world of salamanders and other notable amphibians as Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick chat with Mark Mandica, executive d...

From the Vault: Mixologia

22 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

While the cocktail is an inherently American invention, the history of combining alcohols with other substances to create potent, drinkable concoction...

Age of the Earth, Part 2

20 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Scientific consensus currently holds that the Earth is a 4.5 billion-year-old planet in a 13.8 billion-year-old universe. But how do we know? Why do r...

Age of the Earth, Part 1

18 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Scientific consensus currently holds that the Earth is a 4.5 billion-year-old planet in a 13.8 billion-year-old universe. But how do we know? Why do r...

From the Vault: Syphilis

15 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors have called it the great imitator because this destructive venereal disease can manifest almost any symptom. Initially spreading through sexua...

The Obvious: Invisible Gorillas of the Mind

13 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What is truly obvious in life? What does the word even mean? Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick for a look at how we engage with the natural world -- ...

On Teasing

11 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We all know teasing when we see it or experience it, but what role does it play in human interactions? Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick in this epis...

From the Vault: Black Stone of Mecca

08 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Kaaba marks the geographic center of the Islamic world, and here one finds Al-Hadjar Al-Aswad, the Holy Black Stone of Mecca. Islamic traditions h...

Kirk Allen and Maladaptive Daydreaming

06 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We all daydream and many of us funnel our imagination into creative acts. But what happens when these exercises overpower us? In this two-part Stuff t...

Kirk Allen and the Cooperative Illusion

04 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We all daydream and many of us funnel our imagination into creative acts. But what happens when these exercises overpower us? In this two-part Stuff t...

From the Vault: Jump Into The Void

01 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wrestle with the illogical quasi-compulsion to throw yourself off a cliff or building? Don’t worry! You’re probably not suicidal, but merely ...

Squirrels, Part 2: A Skugg Mystery

30 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

You might think you know squirrels, but what do you REALLY know about these woodland tree rodents? In this special two-part episode of Stuff to Blow Y...

Squirrels, Part 1: The Bloody Beast

28 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

You might think you know squirrels, but what do you REALLY know about these woodland tree rodents? In this special two-part episode of Stuff to Blow Y...

From the Vault: A Taste of MSG

25 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore the history and science of MSG and explore just why we demonized it ...

World Without Predators

23 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What would the world be like without predators? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore the essential role o...

The Ship of Theseus

21 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

An ancient ship rots in the harbor and so we restore it piece by piece until nothing of the original ship remains. Is it still the same ship? Join Rob...

From the Vault: The Cobra Effect

18 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore the perverse world of unintended consequences and the cobra effect. ...

Listener Mail: Tridents, Aliens, Microgravity

16 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for another dose of listener mail. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as they read YOUR feedback on recent episodes related to coffee in spa...

2001: A Space Odyssey

14 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

No discussion of great sci-fi cinema is complete without mention of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The 1968 classic is 50 years old this year, so Robert...

From the Vault: Post-Empirical Science

11 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Most scientists declare empirical falsifiability -- the notion that a theory may be proven right or wrong via scientific investigation -- to be the co...

Fear and the Autonomous Cyber Weapon

09 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We often focus our fear in the wrong direction -- developing flying anxieties when we should be more concerned about that ride to the airport. We also...

Divine Weapon: The Trident

07 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What are we to make of the trident? The three-toothed spear has seen service as the divine weapon of mythic deities, the fishing implement of common m...

From the Vault: To The Escape Pod!

04 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wanted to climb into the safe, metal womb of an escape pod and blast yourself free of this doomed vessel called life? Sure you have, but in the m...

The Gods Must Be Counterintuitive

02 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What’s the key to a lasting myth, a captivating religion or a sensational film pitch? Some cognitive scientists and anthropologists argue that the k...

Astronauts in Spaceships Getting Coffee

31 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How can humanity ever hope to thrive without Earth if it can’t even function without its morning cup of coffee? Fortunately, engineers have devised ...

From the Vault: When We Think About Cyborgs

28 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What began as a 1960s term for a retrofitted human space explorer has become a focal point for considerations of human and machine interaction, techno...

Summer Reading 2018, Part 2

26 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's a summer tradition! Once more, Stuff to Blow Your Mind devotes a summer episode to the discussion of fiction, non-fiction and children's books th...

Summer Reading 2018, Part 1

24 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's a summer tradition! Once more, Stuff to Blow Your Mind devotes a summer episode to the discussion of fiction, non-fiction and children's books th...

From the Vault: Transhumanist Rapture War, Part 2

21 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What do the transhumanist visions and singularitarians have in common with Christian rapture doctrine, apocalyptic prophesies and far-future saviors? ...

The Ashen Light

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Does the dark side of Venus occasionally glow with a dim, haunting phosphorescence? It’s one of astronomy’s oldest and most enduring mysteries. Jo...

Galactic Civilization’s End

17 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If a technological civilization manages to survive itself, how will it fare against the larger challenges of a changing and hostile universe? If human...

From the Vault: Transhumanist Rapture War, Part 1

14 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What do the transhumanist visions and singularitarians have in common with Christian rapture doctrine, apocalyptic prophesies and far-future saviors? ...

Illusory Truth Effect, Part 2: Fight the Lies

12 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If a lie is repeated often enough, are we more likely to believe it? Sadly, the answer is yes. Psychologists call it the illusory truth effect and it ...

Illusory Truth Effect, Part 1: The Big Lie

10 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If a lie is repeated often enough, are we more likely to believe it? Sadly, the answer is yes. Psychologists call it the illusory truth effect and it ...

From the Vault: Sexbots

07 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sex between humans and machines is nothing new in the world of science fiction. Their forms range from angelic mechanoids to victimized humanoids, but...

The Dark Side of Neuroplasticity

05 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When you hear the word “neuroplasticity,” you probably think of it in terms of a young brain’s ability to learn or an older brain’s struggles ...

Listener Mail: Dreams, Subs and Goddesses

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Once more, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick turn to Karnie the Mailbot for listener reactions and commentaries on recent episodes. Strap in for discussio...

From the Vault: The Inca Kingdom of Fibers

30 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the Kingdom of the Inca, where hundreds of rope bridges connect an imperial highway system and fiber-armored soldiers wield woven slings ag...

Chariots of the Gods

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Chances are, you’re already quite familiar with the notion the ancient astronauts visited the earth and gave humans the tech support they needed to ...

Black Holes, Part 3: The Future

26 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nothing can escape the pull of a black hole, not even Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick for a three-part exploration of thes...

From the Vault: Humanzee

23 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Chimpanzees are humanity's closest living relative, but there's both wonder and existential horror in that closeness. A species barrier separates us f...

Black Holes, Part 2: Detection

21 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nothing can escape the pull of a black hole, not even Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick for a three-part exploration of thes...

Black Holes, Part 1: Phantom

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nothing can escape the pull of a black hole, not even Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick for a three-part exploration of thes...

From the Vault: The Substance of Silence

16 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We all have a pretty good notion of noise, but what exactly is silence? Is it a substance or an absence? Between the mindflaying quiet of soundless ro...

Interview: Carl Zimmer on Heredity's Power

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Why does heredity hold such power over us? How did the ancients contemplate it and how is genetic technology changing the shape of future heredity? Ro...

World Science Festival 2018 Field Report

12 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Lamb attended the 2018 World Science festival in New York City and had the chance to chat with its founder, physicist Brian Greene -- as well a...

From the Vault: P vs. NP

09 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to solve a problem in our universe? That's a trickier question than you might think, with some fairly high-stakes ramifications in t...

Sleep and Creativity

07 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What roles does sleep play in human creativity? Can we learn in our dreams? Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick for a look at famous accounts of dream ...

Troubled Sleep in the Arks of Doom

05 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It’s hard enough to sleep just knowing that dozens of nuclear ballistic missile submarines haunt the oceans, each containing the means to rain nucle...

From the Vault: Early Days Electric, Part 2

02 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Electricity lost its magic over the course the 18th and 19th centuries. The "invisible fire" steadily transitioned from a mysterious force of wonder t...

Finite and Infinite Games

31 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How do you play the game of life? Do you play it as a finite game or an infinite one? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe ...

Quantum Immortality

29 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What is quantum immortality? How do we get from quantum physics to thought experiment suicide machines and what does it all say about the nature of ou...

From the Vault: Early Days Electric, Part 1

26 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Electricity lost its magic over the course the 18th and 19th centuries. The "invisible fire" steadily transitioned from a mysterious force of wonder t...

The Alphabet and the Goddess, Part 2

24 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What happened to the worship of goddesses? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore Leonard Shlain’s hypoth...

The Alphabet and the Goddess, Part 1

22 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What happened to the worship of goddesses? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore Leonard Shlain’s hypoth...

From the Vault: Techno-Religion, Part 2

19 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We often think of technology and religion as distinct and separate worlds, but what happens when they converge? Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick in ...

Life on Venus

17 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The planet Venus might seem a hellish destination and an unlikely place to find extraterrestrial life. And yet, many experts agree that life may have ...

Crazy Ants and Electricity

15 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Do crazy ants crave electronics? Do they feast on that sweet, sweet juice? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick d...

From the Vault: Techno-Religion, Part 1

12 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We often think of technology and religion as distinct and separate worlds, but what happens when they converge? Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick in ...

Listener Mail: Of AI Minds and Human Farts

10 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Once more, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick consult recent offerings of listener mail for your thoughts on artificial intelligence, demonic flatulence an...

Boltzmann Brains Revisited

08 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Space brains. Religious models of infinity. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as they revisit the topic of Boltzmann brains and discuss the general h...

From the Vault: Animal Sex Cannibals

05 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sexual cannibalism is a rarity in the natural world, and scientists are still attempting to understand the act as practiced by mostly arachnids and in...

Unicorns of the Natural World

03 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

While the unicorn itself is a creature of fantasy and legend, one-horned and one-tusked animals do reside in the natural world. Join Robert Lamb and J...

Unicorns of the Mythic World

01 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Jorge Luis Borges tells us that the oldest unicorn legends are nearly identical to the most recent ficitonal treatments -- but why is that? Why is the...

From the Vault: Jumping Fish

28 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Fish belong in the water, right? What business do they have leaping out of their world and into ours? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robe...

Evolution and the City: The Birds

26 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How have birds adapted to the artificial environments of human cities? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick sit d...

Evolution and the City: The Beasts

24 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Human cities are the ultimate artificial environments -- and we're not the only organisms to call them home. In this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your...

From the Vault: Library of Babel

21 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In Jorge Luis Borges' masterful short story "The Library of Babel," librarians and cultists wander a vast honeycomb library of hexagonal rooms -- room...

Listener Mail: Kingdom of the Face Blind

19 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What's it like to live with prosopagnosia or face blindness? Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as they devote an entire Stuff to Blow Your Mind episo...

The Fartonomicon

17 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What is a fart? From what foul bodily depths does it arise? Join Stuff to Blow Your Mind hosts Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as the crack open the Far...

From the Vault: Hollywood Acid

14 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

From the corrosive blood of the "Alien" xenomorph to the various Bond and Batman villains' use of the iconic acid vat, popular media presents us with ...

Machine Consciousness and P-Zombies

12 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If a machine told you it was conscious, how could you tell if it was lying? Indeed, how can you tell that any random human in your life is lying when ...

The Singing Colossus of Memnon

10 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The twin Egyptian statues erected by Amenophis III were already ancient relics when Roman travelers visited them in the first century CE. One stood ta...

From the Vault: Myth-Fleshed Fossil

07 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Are the fossilized monsters of paleontology and the fantastic monsters of myth one and the same? Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as they discuss th...