Stuff To Blow Your Mind
Episodes
Is social media driving us insane?
22 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
If our collective social, cultural and political angst may be compared to a fire, then social media often seems the kiln that contains it. But are res...
I Was Eaten by a Giant Spider
18 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The spiders that occur in nature are not a creeping menace -- rather, they are a true invisible ally of humankind. But if one were to grow to 1950s sc...
A World Before Fire: The Human Flame
17 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Humans existed before their mastery of fire, albeit in a rather primitive state -- and yes, even Earth itself knew an age when fire itself was not onl...
A World Before Fire: The Terrestrial Anomaly
15 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Humans existed before their mastery of fire, albeit in a rather primitive state -- and yes, even Earth itself knew an age when fire itself was not onl...
Combat Stims: Better Warriors Through Chemistry
10 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Combat stims and pharmacological power-ups are a staple of our gun-blazing video games, enabling players to rack up atrocious body counts. But what’...
Only Child Syndrome: Brats, Myths and Little Emperors
08 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What sort of behavior, personality and life can we expect from an only child? A lot of cultural expectations persist about the singleton, from the spo...
Incu-succubi: Demon in the Halls of Sleep
01 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Incubi and succubi emerge from Western demonology as supernatural seducers who prey on human passion. But of course seductive demons and sexual ghosts...
Frankenstein: 200 Years of Scientific Dread
27 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” has terrified the world for nearly two centuries, thanks to countless adaptations and the timeless nature of the 18...
Creepypasta 3: The SCP Foundation
25 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Is there science behind the creepypasta? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian return to the realm of online folklore and c...
Now I am Become Death: Cotard's Delusion
20 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Consider Cotard’s Delusion, also known as Cotard’s Syndrome, that rare mental illness in which the patient comes to believe themselves a corpse. I...
Death Roots: Dreams and Science of Carnivorous Plants
18 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Are humans truly safe from the hunger of mean-eating plants? Can we trust the trees that loom over us? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Rob...
Will-o'-the-Wisp: A Light in the Swamp
13 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
There was a time when strange lights appeared in the marshlands. Commoners might have known the eerie luminescence as “Will-o’-the-Wisp” or “H...
The Creepypasta Experiments
11 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Surf the Internet long enough and you’ll happen upon creepypasta: little cut-and-paste snippets of horror that blur the lines between reality and th...
The 2016 Ig Nobels: Pale Horses, Dead Flies and Quantified Bullroar
06 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Each year, a magazine called The Annals of Improbable Research awards the Ig Nobel prizes to honor the weirdest and funniest scientific projects ever ...
The 2016 Ig Nobels: Rat Pants, Mooning and the Sincerity of Rocks
04 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Each year, a magazine called The Annals of Improbable Research awards the Ig Nobel prizes to honor the weirdest and funniest scientific projects ever ...
Conjoined Dreamers
29 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Is the dream world a solitary creation of the sleeping mind, or can we share these spaces of fear, wonder and desire with other dreamers? In this epis...
The Nine Dream Worlds of Frederik van Eeden
27 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever desired a map of the dream world? Look no further than the ideas and practices of Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden. Influenced by H...
Undead Genes: Genetic Activation After Death
22 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
While more elaborate visions of the afterlife view mortal existence as a sort of larval stage in a grander human timeline, science tells us that death...
Weird Mushrooms!
20 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Join Robert and Christian as they crack open the sacred book of the shroom and examine a half-dozen examples of magnificently weird mushrooms. Learn ...
Beyond this Vale of Testing: Post-Empirical Science
15 Sep 2016
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...
Scalp Hunters and the Cobra Effect
13 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the perverse world of unintended consequences and the cobra effect. Learn more abo...
STBYM Live: Prime Directives & Planetary Contamination
08 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Prime Directive serves as the Federation’s philosophical backbone, no matter how often our favorite Trek heroes bend and break its values in ord...
Chinese Ghost Marriage: The Rite of Mínghūn
06 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, join Robert and Christian for an investigation into the practice, history and exploitation of ghost marria...
The Substance of Silence
31 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We all have a pretty good notion of noise, but what exactly is silence? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee o...
MSG: Umami and Chinese Restaurant Syndrome
30 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the history and science of MSG and explore just why we demonized it for so long. L...
The Great Transhumanist Rapture War: Part 2
25 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Join Robert and Joe as they explore the space for common ground — and conflict — between genetically modified cyborgs and heaven-teleported believ...
The Great Transhumanist Rapture War: Part 1
23 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What do the transhumanist visions and singularitarians have in common with Christian rapture doctrine, apocalyptic prophesies and far-future saviors? ...
Curious Incident of the Guinea Worm in the Dog
18 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have waged a decade-spanning war of extinction against the parasitic Guinea worm. With cases down roughly 99.99 percent from 1986, it would see...
OSIRIS-REx: NASA's Journey to the Netherworld
16 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In the year 2018, NASA's OSIRIS-REx will rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu, a 1,614-foot near Earth object that might just collide with our world at ...
Listener Mail VI: The Listener Mailbox of Babel
11 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Yet again, the mailbot brings forth the responses and queries of many loyal Stuff to Blow Your Mind listeners. Join Robert, Christian and Joe on a sac...
Welcome to the Mosquito Factory
09 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In humanity's ongoing war against mosquito borne illness, some of the most innovative offense comes in the form mosquito breeding programs. Yes, these...
Saturn's Brood: Beyond the Outer Ring
04 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The planet Saturn offers far more than rings to those who venture within its gravitational influence. This wind-swept gas giant also holds sway over n...
O Time Thy Pyramids: The Library of Babel
02 Aug 2016
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...
Minds of Musical Emptiness
28 Jul 2016
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 and Christian as they explore the cu...
The Great Flood
26 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From tales of Utnapishtim and Noah to Yü and Manu, everyone loves a good mythical deluge. But why are flood myths so important? What sort of natural ...
The Failings of Forensic Science, Part II
21 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What if bad science put you in prison for a crime you didn't commit? How many guilty offenders are still out there because of pseudoscience, fraud or ...
The Failings of Forensic Science, Part I
19 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What if bad science put you in prison for a crime you didn't commit? How many guilty offenders are still out there because of pseudoscience, fraud or ...
Leaping Mullets! Flying Fish! Breaching Sharks!
14 Jul 2016
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...
Coral Sex in the Sea (With Guest Marah J. Hardt)
12 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Sure coral reefs are rich, vibrant ecosystems, but did you know they also have a kinky side? In this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast, "...
Summer Reading 2016: Time Enough at Last
07 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It's a summer tradition, so once more the hosts of Stuff to Blow Your Mind share their fiction and nonfiction reading recommendations with listeners. ...
Biohacking and the Road to Transhumanism
05 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Humanity is on the road to transhumanism, but some individuals are a little farther down the technologically-evolved highway than the rest of us. In t...
Incomplete/Unfinished
30 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
How are we to process an incomplete or unfinished work? Art, literature and film all present us with partial works, yet our reaction varies. Some work...
Mystery of the Myth-Fleshed Fossil
28 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Are the fossilized monsters of paleontology and the fantastic monsters of myth one and the same? Join Robert and Joe as they discuss the realm of of g...
Pieces of a Human: The Science of Artificial Organs
23 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine a future in which much-needed transplant organs are printed on demand, grown within the bodies of humanized animals or plucked fresh and dripp...
A New Kingdom of Life: Synthetic Biology
21 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Genomic maps unfurl before us and edited genetic codes alter the expression of life. The past few decades have seen tremendous advancements in genetic...
The Forbidden Void: Cases Against Space
16 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
For most of us, space exploration seems like a no-brainer. By venturing out into the cosmic ocean, we advance our technology, unravel the secrets of o...
Colossal: The Science of Human Height
14 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From fictional obsessions with impossible giants to questions to height psychology and the upper and lower limits of human size, join Robert and Joe f...
Wicker Men, Mock Kings and Ritualized Regicide
09 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
When you think about human sacrifice, you probably envision blood-soaked altars where the weak and defeated are massacred to a divine force. But what ...
Penile Transplants (With Special Guest Mary Roach)
07 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The year is 2016 and we officially live in the age of the penis transplant -- and while the notion may stir giggles from some, there's nothing humorou...
The Science of Necrophilia
01 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Don't run away! True enough, this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind considers a most repellent sexual atrocity, but there's more to necrophil...
The Science of Coincidence
31 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What are we to make of coincidence? From the numerological cats cradles we weave around famous events to the curious ways human lives converge through...
Unraveling the Mythic
26 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Mythology is a powerful force, but what exactly IS myth? How does it differ from legend and folklore? How do we study it?Join Robert and Christian as ...
Your Experiences With Aphantasia
24 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Following the recent episode "Aphantasia: Blindness of the Mind's Eye," a number of Stuff to Blow Your Mind listeners wrote in about their own inabili...
Akademgorodok: Siberia's Super Science Town
19 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Hidden away in the cold of Siberia's forest is an alternative to Silicon Valley, what some refer to as Russia's Silicon Forest. You can think of it as...
Organic Panic: A Dietary Dilemma
17 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We all build our new bodies out of the foods we eat, so why not obtain the best building materials we can afford? It's a reasonable thought, but the c...
The Quest for Hollywood Acid
12 May 2016
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 ...
Aphantasia: Blindness of the Mind's Eye
10 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Mental images play an important role in our daily experience of reality, from thoughts of the past to daydreams, fantasies and entire worlds of the im...
Cannabis Files: Medical Marijuana
05 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to misjudge "medical marijuana" as an attempt by cannabis advocates to legitimize their favorite herb, but medicinal use of cannabis dates b...
Cannabis Files: Humanity's THC Odyssey
03 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have known about cannabis for thousands of years, crafting hemp textiles and consuming its psychoactive THC. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Y...
Listener Mail V: Computing the Hyper-Real
28 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Once more, the mailbot delivers the spoils of listener feedback and your loyal Stuff to Blow Your Mind hosts read and respond to them. Join Robert, Ch...
Jupiter's Children: A Voyage to the Galilean Moons
26 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Of all the moons of Jupiter, Callisto, Ganymede, Europa and Io tantalize us the most. These alien worlds of ice, fire, desolation and hidden oceans ta...
Tree Man Disease
21 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine a disease that warps and petrifies the flesh, transforming normal skin into bark-like growths that slowly consume the hands and feet. Commonly...
When We Think About Cyborgs
19 Apr 2016
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...
Tip of the Tongue
14 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Your know the feeling. You're trying to recall the name of a time-keeping musical device or the the actor who played Fredo in "The Godfather" and all ...
Algorithms In The Blood: The P vs. NP Problem
12 Apr 2016
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...
Vampire Physics, Mathematics & Evolution
07 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The human obsession with vampires runs deep, so deep that it survives our consistent attempts to squeeze all the mystery and fun out of the topic. Inj...
Cargoism: Science, Desire and the Cargo Cults
05 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
During the Second World War, Melanesian islanders encountered the vast, commercial systems of Allied and Japanese forces. Cargo Cults sprang up in the...
The Unsettling Depths of Bird Intelligence
31 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Just what are the upper limits of avian cognitive ability? Various studies reveal how certain bird species engage in mental time travel, tool use, sel...
Hyper-Real Religion: Pastafarianism and Beyond
29 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
When does a protest religion become an actual faith? What happens when purely fictional modes of belief leak off the page or screen? Join Robert and J...
Wound Mouth of the Undying Hydra
24 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Behold a tentacled, immortal predator with a wound for a mouth. No, this isn't the product of a horror writer's fever dream, but rather a denizen of t...
Wicked Problems
22 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
How do you solve a problem like crime, poverty or climate change? The answer, like the problem itself, is elusive and amorphous. These are not "tame p...
Beekeeping, Ancient Egypt and the Tears of Re
17 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, enter a kingdom within a kingdom: the remarkable honey-and-wax monarchy within a beehive and the organizat...
Creepypasta 2: Disturbing Smiles & Lidless Eyes
16 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
You asked for it, you got it. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian return to the Creepypasta files and discuss some actual...
Sex Cannibals of the Animal Kingdom
10 Mar 2016
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...
Talking Knots in the Inca Kingdom of Fibers
08 Mar 2016
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...
Osedax: Sex Life of an Ocean Bone Worm
03 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Enter the world of the osedax worm, where mouthless female scavengers liquefy the bones of dead whales with acid-drenched roots -- and where each fema...
The Medusa Nebula: A Monstrous Beauty of Space
01 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Join Robert and Christian as they consider the beauty and composition of the Medusa nebula in this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Le...
Listener Mail IV: The Listening
25 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It's that time again. Join Robert, Joe and Christian for another round of robot-delivered listener mail. They're read your missives concerning everyth...
John C. Lilly: Province of the Mind
23 Feb 2016
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...
Dreams of Orgonon: Sex, Storms & Death
18 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Do you believe there's a natural energy that permeates the universe? Wilhelm Reich did, calling it "orgone." He also thought it was generated by orgas...
Echoborg: The Computer Controls You
16 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine a future in which powerful AIs use human surrogates or "echoborgs" to speak their words and socialize with humans. The living, breathing avata...
Tractable Thunder: Early Days of Electricity, Part 2
11 Feb 2016
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 Holy Amber: Early Days of Electricity, Part 1
09 Feb 2016
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...
Weaponized Animals: From Fire Pigs to Bomb Bats
04 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Warfare has always played a central role in human civilization, but we've always invited to share the rest of the animal kingdom to share in the viole...
Tooth, Mind and Soul: Dental Modification
02 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
When you think of body modification, you probably don't think about your teeth. Yet dental modification takes place throughout the world, from ancient...
A Six Course Feast of Dangerous Foods
28 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Join Robert and Joe for a six-course meal of culinary danger! In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, discover six foods that deliver a lethal tas...
Chinese Zodiac: Superstition, Economics & Destiny
26 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
As we celebrate Chinese New Year and enter the year of the fire monkey, join Robert and Joe for a Stuff to Blow Your Mind exploration of the Chinese z...
Humanzee: Breaking the Species Barrier
21 Jan 2016
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...
Space Mirrors: Weapons, Energy & Propulsion
19 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What can you accomplish with a space mirror? Quite a lot, actually. You can use them to gaze far into the cosmos, to propel exploration craft and even...
X-Files Science Part II: Bugs, Hybrids and Hypnosis
14 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We want to believe. With the return of The X-Files to television Joe and Christian go digging through Scully's reports for scientific answers to the b...
X-Files Science Part I: Mutants & Parasites
12 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
With the return of television's The X-Files, it's never been a better time to look at the science behind the show. Join Joe and Christian as they exam...
The Stone of Madness
07 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Madness has always intrigued artists, and medieval paintings sometimes presented this malady's treatment via the surgical removal of cranial stone. Wh...
New Year's Resolutions: Science and Moral Behavior
05 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
So many of our most common resolutions for personal improvement are inherently narcissistic: Quit smoking, lose weight, get in shape. We want to look ...
Pink Snow, Black Snow, Space Snow, Weird Snow
31 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, snow is one of those amazing natural wonders that we so often take for granted, but this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind is more concerned wi...
The Science of 'Ant-Man'
29 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The 2015 movie "Ant-Man" continues a long Hollywood tradition of miniaturization sci-fi, but how much real science is there in this tale of tiny super...
Holiday Monsters & Listener Mail
24 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Christmas is here again, so join Robert, Joe and Christian as they discuss a few holiday monsters and tend to your listener mail. Learn more about yo...
Brain-to-Brain: The Science of Techno-Telepathy
22 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
You've always wanted to meet a sensitive alien telepath who could understand you like no one else, but SETI is really dropping the ball on your galact...
Grand Theft Genome: Genestealers in the Wild
17 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to gene transfer, most organisms -- yourself included -- play by the rules and stick to sexual and/or asexual reproduction. But then the...
Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Child
15 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Due to a strange combination of nature and nurture, some children unfortunately develop into murderers. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Ro...
MDMA: Pharmacological Healer
10 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In the form of recreational ecstasy, the psychoactive drug MDMA carries with it a stigma of wide-eyed ravers, free love and counterculture pharmacolog...