144 - From Doughbirds to Donuts - America's Struggle with Easy Mode Eating (ft Amanda Sick)
How has subsisting on “easy meat” influenced America’s collective gut bacteria? And how do we break away from generations of bad eating habits?
Episode 7: Prison Letters & Hybristophilia
Has someone ever addressed a letter to you by accident? Todd experienced this when he opened a mysterious letter and found himself reading a heartfelt plea from a prisoner, asking his lady to forgive his long silence, and to take him back when he gets released. This letter spawned our topic today, about prison letters, forbidden love, and the disorder known as Hybristophilia.
143 - Why High-Profile Geniuses Can’t Solve Our Problems
There is no Wizard of Oz we can petition to solve our woes. So why do we keep asking genius entrepreneurs to jury-rig our economy, healthcare, and travel?
Mark Driscoll & Ego
Ego can look like the solution to low self-esteem, but it’s a slippery slope that will leave you vulnerable in the long term. In this episode, science is providing us the climbing shoes to come back from the ego trap, and we’ll look at how the disgraced leader of a mega-church might have escaped his downward slide.
Episode 142 - Immigrant Businesses & The Clean Slate Advantage
Why do immigrants start businesses at twice the rate of everyone else? What’s holding US-born citizens back? Well, a lot of things, it turns out…
Abe Lincoln & Vulnerable Leaders
Vulnerability, anxiety, and depression. They can feel like flaws in your character, but they might secretly be your greatest evolutionary gift. And, if you’re Lincoln, they’re the master key for unlocking life’s problems.
Episode 141 - 5 Ways Brilliant Connectors Create Life Options
Crossing off goals and leaving old crappy jobs in the dust is so satisfying. So why do brilliant Connectors avoid that kind of reductive thinking?
Franklin Roosevelt and stress
Join us in this episode as we explore the fundamental connection between stress management, leadership, and the most chill president who ever opened a day-spa...when he wasn’t winning wars or dodging torpedoes; Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Episode 140 - The Secret Link Between Humility and Mastery Behavior
In an era of shameless self-promoting, how can practicing humility put us ahead of the narcissists at work?
Hitler Youth & Approval
We’re born seeking approval from our parents. We go through elementary school trying to get approval from our peers. And as teens we play stupid, dangerous games to win our friend’s approval.
Why do we need it? Where does the drive for approval come from? Are we hard-wired by evolution to impress our friends when we’re teenagers? On today’s episode we’ll answer these questions by exploring the behavioral science of approval, and we’ll talk about how far some people will go to get that all-important ‘upvote’ or ‘like’.
We’ll also look at the indoctrination system of a youth organization that weaponized peer approval; The Hitler Youth. And we’ll ask ourselves; how could anyone join an obviously evil organization?
MLK & Procrastination
In this episode we expose the fundamental truth behind procrastination, and we explain how your brain goes to war with itself whenever you’re faced with a boring task. We also dig into Martin Luther King Jr’s speech to discuss the potential benefits of procrastination. And we offer you scientifically proven techniques to beat procrastination, fool your brain into enjoying tedious tasks, or even turn procrastination into a secret weapon.
139 - 3 Ways The Cult Of “Reality Shifting” On TikTok Is Grounded In Science
Are ‘Reality Shifters’ secretly tapping into meditation? Lucid Dreaming? Physics? Or is this just a way for young girls to legitimize their sexy daydreams?
Byron & Toxic Relationships
How much criticism should we accept from our partner? When do we really know the relationship is unsalvageable? And what gross stalker momento did Lady Caroline mail to Lord Byron?
Episode 139 - Did A German Shepherd Really Inherit $500 Million?
Why do humans toss money at pets? Cavemen fed bones to wolf pups in exchange for protection. Whereas Gunther the dog was given Madonna’s mansion
Episode 138 - Debunking Fear and Hype Over ChatGPT (and Other Job-Stealing AI)
The promise of artificial intelligence that can do all our menial paperwork has finally arrived. Is it worth the hype?
Episode 137 - Bad Boys and Good Boys - Why Prisoners Train Service Dogs
Criminals raising service dogs for war veterans - it’s a story of redemption on all sides. But is it a moral story?
Episode 136 - The Mirror Test and Self Awareness
New studies show that meditation doesn’t always lead to self awareness. So what does?
Episode 135 - The Hidden Dark Side of Helper's High
What is Helper’s High? And how did Goodwill use “Helper’s High” to get away with paying disabled workers 22 cents an hour in 2011?
Episode 134 - International Sports Scandals Part 2 - Redux
Between human rights violations, economic damage, and displacement…is it worth it for any city to host a major event like the Olympics of FIFA?
133 - Qatar Migrant Deaths and International Sports Scandals - Redux
The World Cup chief Hassan Al-Thawadi admitted to hundreds of migrant deaths, building the Qatar Fifa stadiums. Is the thrill of a game worth their sacrifice?