Stuff To Blow Your Mind
Episodes
Cluttered Desks, Cluttered Minds & Toddler Hands
02 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Cluttered Desks, Cluttered Minds and Toddler Hands: Toddlers might not seem like scientists when they mash up a banana or throws noodles at the wall, ...
Normalcy Bias and Psychogenic Death
31 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Normalcy Bias and Psychogenic Death: Why do some people continue on with their normal lives when reality comes crashing down on them? Why don't they r...
Comedic Impressions of the Wild
26 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Comedic Impressions of the Wild: Why do birds and other animals imitate other animals? Why would an elephant learn to speak Korean? All of this and mo...
Snowflake Doppelganger
24 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Snowflake Doppelganger: Are snowflakes really one of a kind? How do they form and what do they have to do with grade school art projects, personal ide...
Thanatosis: Playing Dead to Survive
19 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Thanatosis: Playing Dead to Survive: There's more to playing dead that meets the eye. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie exp...
Carrot and Stick: A Genetic Santa Story
17 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Santa or Krampus? Gifts or a stocking full of coal? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie look at negative and positive reinfor...
Fist Bumps vs. Bacteria
12 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Fist Bumps vs. Bacteria: Can a simple fist bump help us out in a war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria? And what strange corners of the Earth migh...
Urine for a Treat
10 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Urine For a Treat: A urine sample reveals a great deal about the person from whence it trickled, but can we drink it? Can it cure what ales us? Does i...
Welcome to the Panopticon
05 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the panopticon, both a prison of design and a prison of the mind, where everyone is susceptible to surveillance and no one knows who's bein...
The Science of Smiles
03 Dec 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Science of Smiles: Just try to resist the power of the human smile. We dare you! In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie expl...
Gluttony Revisited
28 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Gluttony Revisited: When does mere appetite transform into disorder? And what are we to make of the monstrous "sport" of competitive eating? Join Robe...
Into the Mouth of Thanksgiving
26 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
While your stomach may rumble at the thought of Thanksgiving's bounty, your mouth is trembling in fear. Join Robert and Julie as they discuss the oral...
Skeptics and Sasquatches
21 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Skeptics and Sasquatches: What are we to make of the Sasquatch, bigfoot, skunk ape and yeti? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Ju...
Before Science
19 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Before Science: When did the word "scientist" enter our vocabulary? How did science take off as the driving force of modern culture and what of the na...
The Dexter of Parasites
14 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Dexter of Parasites: Yes, in the same way Dexter preyed on other serial killers, parasitic organisms are targeted by parasites as well. Join Rober...
The Science of Cute
12 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Why do kitten faces and cartoon cuties hold such power over us? Why does the sight of a puppy tug our heart strings? Find out in this Stuff to Blow Yo...
Autotomy: Nature's Dismemberment Plan
07 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Autotomy: Nature's Dismemberment Plan: When threatened, some species of lizards simply jettison their own twitching tails form their bodies. It's gris...
Into the Hologenome
05 Nov 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Into the Hologenome... How can the bacterial fauna thriving inside our bodies influence evolution? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind...
Monster Mash: Mummies and Trolls
31 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Monster Mash: Mummies and Trolls: Could real science possible explain a horror movie mummy's murderous escape from a museum or a troll's transformatio...
Wendigo...
29 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Wendigo: What are we to make of this evil spirit of Algonquin folklore, said to transform unfortunate travelers into cannibalistic monsters? Have true...
Tainted Love Hormone
24 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Tainted Love Hormone: There's a dark side to oxytocin. Tune into this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind for the latest research on the dark side of t...
Naked Terror
22 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Is there a link between nudity and fear? Does naked combat make us more powerful or more vulnerable? Nudists and never-nudes alike can find out in thi...
Listener Mail Roundup
17 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Listener Mail Roundup: The Stuff to Blow Your Mind mailbag grows and the mail-bot grows increasingly insane in its boredom. To remedy the situation, R...
Ig Nobel Science of 2013
15 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ig Nobel Science of 2013: The IgNobel Prizes never fail to highlight the absurdity of scientific research. In this episode, Robert and Julie look at f...
STBYM: Three Years of Word Salad
10 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
STBYM: Three Years of Word Salad: Robert and Julie celebrate 3 years of cranium-popping episodes and discuss how Stuff to Blow Your Mind has changed t...
The Science of Uncanny Music
08 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Science of Uncanny Music: Why is scary music so scary? Why does an uncanny tune creep us out so? Is it all context and culture or is there somethi...
Dread Anxiety
03 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
What is dread and how are we supposed to cope with it? Why do we let it control our lives so much? Find out in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind...
Teaching Robots to Love
01 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Will our robots ever love us? And what does that question reveal about the true nature of this much-touted human emotion? Find out in this episode of ...
Tyrannosaurus Sex
26 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Climb into the dinosaur hot tub machine with us on this classic STBYM episode featuring the concept of the cloacal kiss and the very direct question: ...
Ouroboros: The Tail-Eating Serpent
24 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a mythical serpent or dragon that bites its own tail. It has come to represent, rebirth, infinity and the contin...
Nostalgia: The Kryptonite of Existential Angst?
19 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Nostalgia: The Kryptonite of Existential Angst? Nostalgia is a bittersweet emotion that evokes a pleasurable memory tinged with the knowledge that yo...
Word Aversion: The Story of Moist
17 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Word Aversion: The Story of Moist: Put your favorite pair of slacks on and join guest host Allison Loudermilk as she and Julie get to the bottom of w...
Fire Tornado vs Sharknado
12 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Fire Tornado vs Sharknado: What would win in a fight, a swirling column of fire or a vortex full of killer sharks? It's not a question to dismiss sli...
Human Paper Dolls: Enclothed Cognition
10 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Human Paper Dolls:Enclothed Cognition: Can a doctor's lab coat make you feel smarter and more confident? Does a police uniform give the wearer a sens...
Microchimerism: The Mother Inside You
05 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Microchimerism: The Mother Inside You: Does a mother retain cells from her child? Does the child retain cells form the mother? In this episode of Stu...
Here There Be Sea Monsters
03 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Medieval and renaissance maps are resplendent with sea monsters, but what were these fanciful beasts all about? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your ...
Fine Young (Animal) Cannibals
29 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Fine Young (Animal) Cannibals: Cannibalism is a bit yucky in the human world, but for animals it's just a matter of economics. In this episode of Stuf...
The Left-Handed Scissors
27 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Left-Handed Scissors: Lefties make up 10 percent of the population, but what are we to make of their curious inversion? Why do they exist? Why do ...
Symbols on the Brain
22 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Symbols on the Brain:A symbol can instantly convey an abstract idea that would require paragraphs of traditional language to relate. So what are they ...
Walls
20 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Walls:Civilizations surround themselves in walls. They raise walls against enemies, against the environment and against the spirit world. In this clas...
The Science of Staring
15 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Science of Staring: Your mother always told you it's not polite to stare - and yet we do. Why is starring a part of who we are? Why do subway star...
Satellite Junkies and the Day of the Fall
08 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Satellite Junkies and the Day of the Fall: Humanity has become addicted to satellite technology. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert an...
Sideshow Secrets Revealed
06 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
What's the real science behind beds of nails, sword swallowing and headless women? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie strip ...
The Science of Hell
01 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Science of Hell: Artists aren't alone in their fascination with Hell. Scientists two have long sought to breach the fiery gates and figure out jus...
The Problem of Hell
30 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Belief in Hell is problematic at best. How do we relate to our fellow human beings while sorting them into an imagined afterlife of torment? How do we...
Roller Derby Microbiome
25 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Roller Derby Microbiome: Once upon a time, the word "outdoors" wasn't a thing. But then humans invented "indoors," and with it an artificial environme...
Cubicle Doom
23 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Cubicle Doom: Can your office cubical kill you? Might an open-floor office plan save your life or drive you to madness? In this episode of Stuff to Bl...
The Mystery of Human Consciousness
18 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
What is consciousness? Can we test for it? And how to we rectify the seemingly disparate realities of physical brain and immaterial mind? In this epis...
Insect Love Song
16 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Insect Love Song: The night is alive with insects. To our human ears their song is mere cacophony, but it's actually a vast web of communication signa...
Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands
11 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands:Resist the urge to clap at the next concert or play you attend - IF YOU DARE! Because as Robert and Julie explain in this ...
Grunting the Conqueror Worm
09 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Grunting the Conqueror Worm: Behold the conqueror earthworm, a creature introduced to North America mere centuries ago and now virtually unstoppable. ...
A Cuppa Joe
04 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
A Cuppa Joe:Just what's in a cup of coffee? Why does it make us feel so invincible and why does it make us poop so much? Find out in this episode of S...
How to Beat the Thought Police
02 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
How to Beat the Thought Police: Want to know how to beat a polygraph test? How about current and near-future fMRI lie detection tests? In this episode...
Isolation Chambers: Float Follow-Up
27 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Isolation Chambers: Float Follow-Up: In a previous episode, Robert and Julie discussed the science of sensory deprivation chambers and now they're bac...
Clocking In: The Nature of Time
25 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Clocking in: What is time? What's the best way to measure it? And is it all an illusion anyway? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and...
Summer Reading: Guest Picks
20 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie invite six guests to share their recommendations for summer reading. You'll hear ...
Summer Reading: Robert and Julie's Picks
18 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Summer Reading: Robert and Julie's Picks: Once again, your Robert and Julie are here to share some summer reading recommendations with their curious l...
The Quietest Room in the World
12 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Quietest Room in the World: In Minneapolis, MN there's a room that blocks 99.99 percent of all sound. It's a place of intense silence, intense cal...
Sensory Deprivation Chambers
11 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Sensory Deprivation Chambers:Fancy a return to the womb? Ready to shut off the world of senses and dive into the inner you? Well, the sensory deprivat...
Finnish Ed
05 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Finnish Ed: STEM education in the US has been on educators and policymakers' minds. One of the reasons is that the US has become far less competitive ...
Invisible World of the No. 7
04 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Invisible World of the No. 7:The 7 deadly sins, the 7 continents, the 7 seas: The no. 7 is everywhere. But is its prevalence simply a byproduct of th...
Ventriloquism: The Science of Dummies
30 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ventriloquism: The Science of Dummies: It's time to rediscover ventriloquism, the surprisingly deft art of illusion that relies on a keen sense of com...
Extreme Mammals Part II
28 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Extreme Mammals Part II: In this two-part Stuff to Blow Your Mind series, Robert and Julie discuss the amazing world of prehistoric mammals and count ...
Extreme Mammals Part I
23 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Extreme Mammals Part I: In this two-part Stuff to Blow Your Mind series, Robert and Julie discuss the amazing world of prehistoric mammals and count d...
The Science of Beards
21 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Science of Beards: Why do human males have beards? Do they protect us? Do they make us more fearsome? Better looking? More trustworthy? Find out i...
The Status of Flatus
16 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
The Status of Flatus: What is a fart? What's the science behind passing gas and why does volume, frequency and stench very so much from person to pers...
Zombie Apocalypse PSA
14 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Atlanta is in shambles. Parasite-infected humans wander the streets, stinking of death and attacking everyone in sight. Meanwhile Robert and Julie hol...
From Nose to Tail: The Colon
09 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
From Nose to Tail: The Colon: Finally, everything comes out in the end - which is to say it comes out of the end. Robert and Julie finish up their dig...
From Nose to Tail: Into the Intestines
07 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
From Nose to Tail: Into the Intestines: In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie continue to follow the journey of a haggis throug...
Nude Space Walk
02 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Nude Space Walk: In order to travel in space, humans have to bring a fragment of their native environment with them in the form of a compressed capsul...
Emotions in Outer Space
30 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Emotions in Outer Space: Space madness. Freezing tears. Delirious astronauts tranquilized, duct taped to the wall and forced to listen to Phillip Glas...
Eaten Alive!
25 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Ah, to be swallowed whole and hugged within the stomach of a colossal beast. To some this idea is bliss; to most it's the stuff of nightmares. But can...
From Nose to Tail: Can You Stomach It?
23 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Can You Stomach It?: Why doesn't the stomach digest itself? What sorts of chemical wonders go on inside the human gut and what strange language is it ...
Talking 'Gulp' With Mary Roach
18 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Roach Interview: We all love Mary Roach, so in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind Robert and Julie invite the "Stiff" author on the show to ...
From Nose to Tail: Mysteries of the Mouth
16 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
From Nose to Tail: Mysteries of the Mouth: Food goes on quite a fantastic journey through the human body and Stuff to Blow Your Mind is here to guide ...
Human Lightning Rods
11 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Human Lightning Rods: Some folk claim to attract undue attention from electrical storms. Some even insist it's hereditary. But what does science have ...
Watch Stoppers
09 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Watch Stoppers: We've all heard tales of individuals who simply cannot wear wrist watches. The time pieces simply stop working, time and time again. S...
3D Printer of the Gods II
04 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
3D Printer of the Gods II: Oh, you're into 3D printing? How 20 years ago. It's one thing to print in the three spatial dimensions, quite another to fa...
STBYM Listener Mail Extravaganza
01 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Stuff to Blow Your Mind listeners regularly send in imaginative and jaw-dropping correspondence. Sadly, Julie and Robert rarely have time to read it a...
3D Printer of the Gods, Part 1
29 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Sure 3D printers are cool, but where will they ultimately take us? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Julie discuss some of the am...
Slay Your Paper Tigers
28 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Slay Your Paper Tigers: Sure, we all know a pile of paperwork or a job interview is nothing like a bloody battle to the death with a saber toothed tig...
Objects of Love
26 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Objects of Love: We live in a world of objects to which we assign varying degrees of worth, from old newspapers to treasured action figures, family he...
Talking 'Space Chronicles' with Neil DeGrasse Tyson
22 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson chats with Robert and Julie about his new book "Space Chronicles" as we...
SETI: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Part 2
21 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Is there life out there in the cosmos and if so how do we find it? How might it find us? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and Robert ...
SETI: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Part 1
19 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Is there life out there in the cosmos and if so how do we find it? How might it find us? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and Robert ...
Wind Beneath My Surgical Wings, Part 2
18 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Can science give us the wings we've always envied in birds? Can plastic surgery elevate us to a higher human form? In this second part of this series,...
Wind Beneath My Surgical Wings, Part 1
14 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Can science give us the wings we've always envied in birds? Can plastic surgery elevate us to a higher human form? In this episode, Robert and Julie d...
Leprechaun Hallucinations
12 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Leprechaun Hallucinations: As Saint Patrick's Day nears, our minds inevitably turn to the little people of Irish folklore. But diminutive fairy folk p...
Pica: Dirt for Dinner
07 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Chances are you didn't pack mud pies or clay bricks for lunch, but humans - like many animals - are not above pica in their diet. In this episode, Rob...
Elevators and the Humans who Use Them
05 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Like most ubiquitous technology, elevators are often ignored. But there would be no skyscrapers without them. There would be no tightly-packed awkward...
Regurgitation Celebration
28 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
While humans generally try to avoid puking, an upchuck is just another biological function for other creatures. In this episode, Robert and Julie pres...
Ghost in the Genetic Machine: Humans
26 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
To what extent are we shackled to genes? How does our upbringing, environment and our grandfather's life choices affect the expression of our genome? ...
Ghost in the Genetic Machine: Animals
21 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Between the code and the creature lies the epigenome, where environmental impulses alter genetic expression. Join Robert and Julie as they introduce e...
The Memory of Slime
19 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
So you're telling me slime molds can solve mazes and recreate trade routes? Yes, indeed we are. In this episode, Julie and Robert explore the "intelli...
My Slimey Valentine: The Slug Life
14 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
My Slimey Valentine: Whether you're a hopeless romantic or a Valentine's hater, Robert and Julie have quite the episode for you. Prepare to have your ...
Trilogy of Slime: Tales of Slimedom in the Animal Kingdom
12 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We all love slime, but do we really respect it in all its glory? Join Julie and Robert for a mucus-coated journey through the slime of slugs, sea hags...
Multitasking Maniacs and the One Track Mind
07 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Is multitasking a female super power, a learnable skill or pure myth? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and Robert consider our multit...
Interrupting Cow: Multitasking, Interruptions and Distractions
05 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
All joking aside, the Interrupting Cow takes a real toll on your brain and your work life. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Juli...
Pineal Optics: My Third Eye
31 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Pineal Optics: Prepare to open that third eye, listeners, because Robert and Julie are taking you on a journey from philosophical ponderings about hum...
Undercover Actors and the Shadow Self
29 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Undercover Actors and the Shadow Self: In this episode, we discuss the place where cover and identity collide in the human mind. It's a topic we first...