Why We Do What We Do
Episodes
AAVE pt. 1
17 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
AAVE is a dialect of English that is often derided by racists. However, linguists have shown that this is a fully realized dialect like any dialect of...
Mini: Feedback for Grant Reform
15 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we released an episode dsicussing the rise of authoritarian takeover of science by controlling what science can be conducted and how it can...
How to Kill Science
10 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How to kill science is also how to kill humans. The incompetent "leadership" in the United States is racing toward dictatorship in their desire to kil...
Mini: Mosh Pits
08 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Mosh pits are the rough-house style dancing/bopping that people do at music concerts. But where and why did this start? And why are they called mosh p...
Faith Healing
03 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Professional magicians tell you that they are tricking you for entertainment. Charlatan, con artist magicians tell you that they are performing real m...
Mini: Three-Card Monte
01 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This old sleight of hand card trick is designed to steal your money. Be warned, you cannot win this game. It is rigged and 100% unwinable. We explain ...
Nostalgia: Speed Reading
27 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Years ago, we looked into the research on speed reading. What we found raised difficult questions about how viable this strategy really is. As we revi...
Mini: Car-Sick
25 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes we get nauseaus when riding around in or on vehicles. What is going on with this? We explore motion sickness and what you can do about it......
Antimetabole and Chiasmus
20 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There is a form of rhetoric that is suprrisingly effective at persuading people to adopt beliefs regardless of their accuracy. These are called "antim...
Mini: Evidence of Bigfoot?
18 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In several interviews, Jane Goodall explained why she believed there was evidence of Bigfoot. While she was a wonderful natural scientist, a good scie...
English Accents
13 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Why do American and UK Accents sound so dissimilar? Could a couple hundred years of infrequent communciation result in that much drift? Did the Americ...
Mini: Designer Genes
11 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There are pros and cons to the trajectory of genetic engineering research. Eventually, we will be confronted by a systemic drive to apply these interv...
Billboard Hot 100
06 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This fascinating and yet entirely expected piece of Americana has shaped the music industry for better or worse (probably worse). But, why does it exi...
Mini: Suicide Hotline (988)
04 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research has evaluated the effect of changes made to the national suicide hotline in 2022 in the US. Scientists analyzed the success of this pr...
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy pt. 2
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the last discussion, we covered the history of CBT and the cognitive aspects of the intervention. In this segment, we'll review the behavioral comp...
Mini: Stroop Test
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In 1935 John Ridley Stroop published an article with a new experiment showing that people struggle to name things when there is a conflicting word cor...
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy pt. 1
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The most well-recognized psychotherapy in the world is also the most widely researched. You've likely heard that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is...
Mini: My, What Big Holes You Have
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This ambiguously titled discussion is about the practice of stretching piercings to become large holes. We talk about the history of this practice, ho...
Dr. Kevorkian
15 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Kevorkian was a controversial figure in the 1990s when he began providing unsanctioned assisted suicide service to terminally-ill patients. Kevork...
Mini: Repeatedly Incorrect
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever noticed that you always make the same typo when writing? Or, that you repeatedly misspeak some phrase or mispronounce some word when tal...
Interbehaviorism
08 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly a century ago, a groundbreaking philosopher of psychology was way ahead of his time. J.R. Kantor developed a theory of psychology that finally ...
Mini: Arrows Point the Way
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Symbols are weird. Actually, there are fairly intuitive in many cases, but many are surprisingly new. We explore the recent history of the arrow symbo...
Scared Straight
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps this would have made a good Halloween episode? Probably not. Anyway, this episode honors April Fool's day by examining a foolish endeavor: Sca...
Mini: Magestic Manatees
30 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Manatees are remarkable and gentle creatures. Possibly the source of mermaid stories of old, these strange aquatic mammals live life on the slow side....
First Episode Psychosis
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psychosis is an experience that some people have in which they struggle with the ability to discern their experience from the current ongoing reality....
Mini: Name Traditions
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Does your name mean anything? Many cultures around the world choose names because they have some explicit, intended meaning, while others assign names...
Nostalgia: Mithridatism
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This is another nostalgia, re-release of a previous episide with a brief update at the end. This is a discussion of the idea to ingest poison to build...
Mini: Computer Music
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
AI music is not only here to stay, it is rapidly gaining in mainstream popularity. We briefly discuss the history of computer music, the changes it ha...
Nostalgia: 10 Ways to Ruin Your Sleep
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This is a re-run (nostalgia) of our fun-spirited discussion about how to ruin your sleep. We play the entire episode, plus some added research from th...
Mini: Top 100
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This is our 100th mini! So, we spend the mini talking about the number 100! Things that humans, make, some facts about non-human animals... and human ...
Inside Out 2: A Commentary
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Why We Do What We Do goes back to the movies! Last week, we reviewed Disney + Pixar's Inside Out, so we are taking on the sequel. In many ways, this ...
Mini: LARP
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Humans love to play. Some of us are willing to be more immersed in that play than others. Those who live for the immersion will often dress up for the...
Inside Out: A Commentary
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Why We Do What We Do goes to the movies! A couple of movies have directly taken on representing the inner world of our behavior, and we finally decide...
Mini: Rock, Paper, Scissors
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot! This 5-second two-player game to settle disputes began in ancient China and quickly spread throughout the world. Some re...
N-Rays
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Not to be confused with Neutron Imaging, which is also sometimes called N Rays, N-Rays were a scientific discovery at the turn of the 1900s that promi...
Mini: Red Light Therapy
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Shining red lights on our bodies is all the rage in the "wellness" space. Red lights are purported to do a hole host of incredible things, which raise...
Guess Who..?
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In a departure from our standard episode format, Abraham will profile three people and see if Shane can guess who they are. You can play along! Send u...
Mini: The Cat's Meow
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Do cat's only meow at humans? What does their meowing mean? We once again spend a mini reviewing the interesting feline behavior of meowing. Yes, they...
Nostalgia: How to Protest Safely
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Once again, we find ourselves in distressing and troubled times. Those of us inspired to action have taken to the streets in peaceful demonstrations a...
Mini: The Sweetness
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to say something is sweeter than something else? What does 200 times sweeter even taste like? We explain the method scientists use t...
Burning Man pt. 2
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In part 2, we continue through the history of the Burning Man event. Then, we get into what to expect what how to prepare if you plan to attend Burnin...
Mini: Teeth Grinding
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most spine-tingling, misophonia-inducing sounds (for some) is the sound of teeth grinding together. Bruxism, teeth-grinding, is a habit tha...
Burning Man pt. 1
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There is a unique annual art event that is hours from civilization in the blistering hot sun that culminates the incineration of humungous humanoid ef...
Mini: Hard Conversations
19 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Many people avoid or even advocate against having conversations about confrontational topics. We disagree. We explain how it is important to have thes...
Abstinence Only Education
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Democratized education lead by trained professionals and experts has resulted in unprecidented growth in progress and improvements in quality of life....
Mini: Mind Reading
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Psychic, telepathic mind-reading is complete nonsense logistically, philosophically, practically... all of the "ally's." We will explain why in some d...
My Cross to Bear
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of personal responsibility will seem like common sense to some. Scientifically, however, it is an interesting concept to understand. How does...
Mini: Charcuterie Boards
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We are taking a side journey into the delectable topic of charcuterie boards. We briefly describe what they are and then how to put one together. Do y...
2025 Wrap-Up
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Another year on the books. We reflect on what we discussed this year, our listener stats, and personal experiences with movies, books, and TV shows. I...
Mini: Choral Responding
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Choral or Unison responding is a classroom participation strategy in which all students answer together when given an opportunity to do so. This allow...
Culture and Disability
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Different cultures around the world have unique perspectives on disability. We survey several different cultural values and approaches to thinking abo...
Mini: Circular Breathing
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever heard of circular breathing? For musicians who play instruments that require blown air, circular breathing is a technique to produce con...
Disability and Ability
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Conditions that differ from "normal," sometimes called disability, don't preclude people with those conditions from being able to do regular vocation...
Mini: 6-7
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Because this was selected the "word of the year," we decided we may as well discuss it. If you've been lucky enough to miss this trend, sorry to end y...
Private Equity in Disability
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes investment groups will purchase and then unify individually-owned, small businesses that provide care for people with disabilities. Once the...
Mini: Perfect Pitch Perfect
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is not about the movie(s). Amazingly, that didn't even occur to us before, during, or even immediately after recording this... This is about the ...
Sexuality in Disabilities
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A touchy topic that some people don't want to touch is sexuality as it relates to disability. There is some "moral" prudishness that borders on (if no...
Mini: Adaptive Sex Industry
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The industry around sex equipment has been leading the charge in the development of equipment for different bodies and impairments. This mini describe...
Terms in Disibility
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The vernacular treadmill is ever running and we often find we are behind on the currently accepted terms. While some struggle to accept change, many o...
Mini: No Nut November
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you believe in the magic of sperm? The longer you hold onto it, the mightier you become. Except, not. The idea of sperm retention does almost nothi...
Accessibility for All
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Brilliant people have worked to create accessibility so comprehensively baked into our lives that we often don't even recognize that it is there. Howe...
Mini: Making Things More Accessible
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a quick tutorial for making things more accessible and checking for accessibility when creating documents mostly in MS Office and Adobe. So, t...
Autism Subtypes
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on with our suite on disability and accessibility, this episode explores new research exploring autism subtypes and their links to genetic ...
Mini: Signs That Don't Mean You Have ADHD
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you wake up after sleeping? Do you eat food when you are hungry? You might have ADHD! Not because of those things... those just mean you are human ...
Models of Disability
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do we start talking about disabiliity? First, we need to understand how people thinking about and appraoch disability. This episode kicks off a su...
Mini: Thin Blue Line
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The "Thin Blue Line" has a probable origin in military history. It has been employed as a symbol of law enforcement, but commoly applied in contrast t...
Ritual Sacrifice
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our final Halloween episode tackles a grizzly topic: Ritual Sacrifices. We explore some of the practices and reasons for sacfrifice throughout history...
Mini: Houska Castle
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There is a mysterious castle in Czechia with defensive structures pointed inward toward the caste. There are also stories of a hole in the ground of u...
How Do Halloween Masks Affect Our Behavior?
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wearing a mask changes the way our social word interacts with us. This might mean access to rewards that we might not otherwise try to access, but the...
Mini: Creepy Pasta
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Creepy pasta is/was a democratized way ot telling scary stories that are just on the edge of believability. They seem to have dissipated into various ...
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most iconic and well-established horror stories in the world, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a masterpiece of literature. The talented dire...
Mini: 666
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have a fascination with assigning meaning to various numbers. Actually, many cultures enjoy assigning meaning to numbers as well. In western tradit...
I Want To Take You To The Bermuda Triangle
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some spooky topics are geographically creepy. Arguably, the most famous scary geography is lovingly called The Bermuda Triangle. This portion of the w...
Mini: R.I.P.
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is our first Halloween mini of 2025! RIP is a well-wishing, a command, and an indication of your relationship to person or idea being bid farewel...
Variants of Hell
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to our annual month of creepy topics! We are kicking off this year's selection with an overview of various conceptuatlizations of Hell from th...
Mini: Colored Noise
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You have probably heard of white noise, but there are a variety of noise patterns that have been assigned a color. Some have proposed hypothetical ben...
Propaganda: How You Are Being Tricked pt. 2
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the last episode, we outlined several specific propaganda strategies. We conclude this discussion by explaining some ways we can attempt to combat ...
Mini: Kintsugi
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kintsugi is a Japanese tradition of repairing broken things rather than retiring them, and in doing so making them stronger. It has a nice metaphor fo...
Propaganda: How You are Being Tricked pt. 1
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Propaganda is remarkably effective at influencing your behavior, even if you don't recognize that it is happening. Being aware of its strategies can h...
Mini: How Many Faces Can You Remember?
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A lot. Unless you have face blindness, you can remember a lot of faces. Is this all in the brian? We do our best to explain the research behind our ab...
Understanding Chiropractic
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Once again, we have an idea that has mostly been bogged down in the septic tank of pseudoscience. There seems to be some therapeutic benefit to chirop...
Mini: That Time Humans Loved Radiation
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is another exploration of bad idea history. At one point, humans got really into consuming and surrounding themselves with irradiated materials. ...
Fast Fashion
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fast fashion is a business model that emphasizes extremely high volume, cheap clothing designed to only last a short amount of time. This strategy pro...
Mini: Do Our Pets Understand Us?
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have very special relationships with our pets. We usually try to talk to them. Do they understand what we are saying? Do they know their names? We ...
The Importance of Peer Review
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One could argue there are two ways of aggregating knowledge: by guessing or by verifying information. The current system for verifying is by checking ...
Mini: Victim vs. Warrior
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There is a proposal that there is a dichotomy in human activities (specifically the cognitive ones) that can be characterized as a "warrior" mentality...
The Psychology of Pain
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pain can be conceptualized physiologically, neurologically, and behaviorally. We review the physiological and neurological components of pain, and the...
Mini: Magic Eye
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Autostereograms, better known as "Magic Eye" puzzles, are a unique 2D art in which repeated images create a 3D image, but you have to focus your eyes ...
Punk Rock Legacy
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Large musical movements are large cultural movements. Rap, rock, country, and other genres often galvanized or reflected social changes and values. Pu...
Mini: What is a Repertoire?
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We often talk about what students can do by referring to their repertoire. But what does it mean to refer to their repertoire? A lot of philosohpy in ...
Nostalgia: Board Games
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Has it been so long? Abraham discusses his favorite discussion topic: Board games! Also ,there's been new research since that that further supports th...
Mini: Restless Leg Syndrome
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you ever feel an nearly uncontrollable urge to move your legs? If you do, you probably still don't have RLS, but it may be worth getting tested for...
The Paraphilia Episode
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
SEX! Now that we have your attention, this episode reviews some of the paraphilias that exist. More importantly, we try to understand with a compassio...
Mini: What is "Learning?"
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You would think we would want a full length for this topic. Maybe we still will do one! But for now, we figured we can at least help clear up some mis...
Jonestown pt. 2
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This second part completes the story of the tragedy of the murders at Jonestown. In addition, we expand on this conversation by unpacking the mentalit...
Mini: Backseat Driving
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all hate it. Yet, some of us do it. We talk about why people do it, how recipients perceive it, and how passenger commentary/critique/analysis affe...
Jonestown pt. 1
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the largest mass murders of American citizens in history took place in 1978 in Guyana at the hands of cult leader, Jim Jones. This discussion d...
Mini: Nail Biting
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you bite your fingernails or know someone who does? Why do we do this weird, self-destructive thing? What can we do to stop it? We quickly explore ...
Tipping Point
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tipping is another oddly American tradition that we all pretty universally hate. Perhaps you did not know that the modern conception of tipping arose ...
Mini: Learned Helplessness
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some people use this term incorretly, some don't know it at all. To help get everyone on the same page, we are going to review the history of research...