Stuff To Blow Your Mind

Gáe Bulg: The Spear of Death

21 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Irish myth tells of a spear so deadly, that its deployment is certain death. Forged from the bones of sea monsters, the Gáe Bulg would send barbs thr...

Ideophones: How does this word feel?

19 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What’s an ideophone? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore t...

From the Vault: The Winter People, Part 1

16 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Do you feel like a different person during the winter? In this two-part Stuff to Blow Your Mind exploration, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick examine the...

Cupid’s Leaden Arrow

14 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It’s Valentine’s Day again, which summons images of mythic Cupid and his bow. But we often forget that Cupid has TWO arrows in his quiver: the gol...

Listener Mail: Crab Sabbath

12 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's listener mail time again and Karnie the mailbot seems rather grumpy about a particular holiday. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as they read a...

From the Vault: Minds of Musical Emptiness

09 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We're all wired to enjoy different forms of music, but for some of us the wiring is missing entirely. Join Robert Lamb and Christian Sager as they exp...

Marah Hardt talks Snails, Sex and the Sea

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's almost Valentine's Day, so it's time to invite marine biologist and "Sex in the Sea" author Dr. Marah Hardt back on the show again! Join Robert L...

Demon Eaters and Possessed Tools

05 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As we slide into the Year of the Earth Pig, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick turn to the legend of the demon slayer Zhōng Kuí and follow a procession o...

From the Vault: Aquatic Humanoids, Part 2

02 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

From the sirens of 'The Odyssey' to 'The Creature From the Black Lagoon' and beyond, humans have always imagined their underwater doubles. In this two...

Ships of Life: Shipwrecks

31 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Water vessels serve the humans who made them, but that doesn’t mean other lifeforms don’t benefit as well. In this pair of Stuff to Blow Your Mind...

Ships of Life: Stowaways

29 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Water vessels serve the humans who made them, but that doesn’t mean other lifeforms don’t benefit as well. In this pair of Stuff to Blow Your Mind...

From the Vault: Aquatic Humanoids, Part 1

26 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

From the sirens of “The Odyssey” to “The Creature From the Black Lagoon” and beyond, humans have always imagined their underwater doubles. In ...

Invasion of the Globsters, Part 2

24 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When mysterious globs of meat wash up on the shores of human civilization, we have a tendency to see beasts in the blobs and have always tried to imag...

Invasion of the Globsters, Part 1

22 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When mysterious globs of meat wash up on the shores of human civilization, we have a tendency to see beasts in the blobs and have always tried to imag...

From the Vault: Bathysphere, Part 2

19 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 1930, American naturalist William Beebe began his descent in a spherical, unpowered submarine known as a Bathysphere -- and in doing so visited a w...

Split Brain, Part 2

17 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our brains are composed of two hemispheres, but in what ways are they truly separate? In which ways are they one? In this bisected Stuff to Blow Your ...

Split Brain, Part 1

15 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our brains are composed of two hemispheres, but in what ways are they truly separate? In which ways are they one? In this bisected Stuff to Blow Your ...

From the Vault: Bathysphere, Part 1

12 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 1930, American naturalist William Beebe began his descent in a spherical, unpowered submarine known as a Bathysphere -- and in doing so visited a w...

The Alien Biped

10 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As humans, we’re quite accustomed to our weird vertical spines and precarious two-legged gait. But habitual bipedalism is far from the norm. When di...

The Room of Infinite Unpleasantness

08 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you were to create the most unpleasant room humanly possible, what sort of design choices would you employ? What would the space look like and, mor...

From the Vault: Biophilia

05 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Why are humans so drawn to the natural world of biodiverse organisms? Is this longing merely part of our culture or do we possess an innate and even g...

Thought Experiments

03 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Stuff to Blow Your Mind frequently discusses thought experiments on the show, from Schrödinger's Cat to the Infinity Hotel. But what constitutes a th...

Listener Mail: The Fires of Orc

01 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's a new year full of new topics, but first comes a final bag of listener mail from 2018. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb an...

From the Vault: Artificial Gravity

29 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Humans are creatures of gravity. We’re born into it. Life as we know it evolved to thrive in it. So what’s a gravitational organism to do in the l...

Christmas Island, Part 2: Deca Deca Pod Y’all

27 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Christmas Island, a place where it’s still only Christmas once a year… but where red crabs swarm across the land and enormous coconut c...

Christmas Island, Part 1: Crabs Rule Everything Around Me

25 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Christmas Island, a place where it’s still only Christmas once a year… but where red crabs swarm across the land and enormous coconut c...

From the Vault: Tree of Life

22 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sacred trees. World trees. Holy trees of wisdom, immortality and the soul. They seem to grow from every culture on Earth and their roots dig deep into...

Virgin Birth

20 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For Christians, the Christmas centers around a miraculous virgin birth. But don’t worry, secular holiday revelers, because nature has its own virgin...

Invention: The Guillotine

19 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Stuff to Blow Your Mind hosts Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick have a brand new show -- and they're dropping a full episode of it into the STBYM feed. Th...

Ritual of Oak and Mistletoe

18 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Twas the night before Christmas and deep in the woods, a sacrifice was planned by the Gauls and their Druids… Yes, in this holiday episode of Stuff ...

From the Vault: Baby Jesus and the Homunculus

15 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve all marveled at the grotesque, oddly-proportioned old man babies in medieval art -- but why did artists of the period pain such creatures? In ...

Strange Milk

13 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Mammals are the true milk-bearers of nature, but there are a host of non-mammals that secrete various strange and wonderful milk-analogues. From avian...

Katie Goldin talks 'Creature Feature'

11 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, guest Katie Goldin from the podcast 'Creature Feature' drops in to chat with Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick...

From the Vault: Greek Fire

08 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

To engage the ships of Byzantine Empire was to risk the horrors of Greek fire, a medieval weapons system that empowered ships to spew forth flaming li...

The Electric Ark

06 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What if the Ark of the Covenant was actually a bronze-age machine capable of storing an electrostatic charge? It almost certainly wasn't, but the idea...

The Ark of the Covenant

04 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What was the Ark of the Covenant? A mere ceremonial vessel for sacred items? A radio for speaking to God? The golden chest of the ancient Hebrews has ...

From the Vault: Satanic Panic

01 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What are we to make of alleged ritual satanic abuse and the moral panic that spread in the 1980s and 90s? Robert Lamb and Christian Sager enter a worl...

‘Oumuamua II: Revenge of the First Messenger

29 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone’s favorite interstellar travel has been back in the news, thanks to curious speed increases and an intriguing paper on the possibility of a...

Halloween Hangover Listener Mail, Part 2

27 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 ...

From the Vault: Dangerous Foods III

24 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Thanksgiving is a time of feasting and the wages of feasting, and so Robert and Joe are here to dish up a third installment of 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 ...