Stuff To Blow Your Mind
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Deep in the back of your mind, you’ve always had the feeling that there’s something strange about reality. There is. Join Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick as they examine neurological quandaries, cosmic mysteries, evolutionary marvels and our transhuman future.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 20, 2020 • 1h 11min
Listener Mail: In Your Face!
It’s time for another hefty dose of Stuff to Blow Your Mind listener mail. Join Robert and Joe as they read and answer your emails on facial recognition, gods, volcanoes the future and more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 18, 2020 • 54min
The Fly: Into the Plasma Pool
It’s time for another movie episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, and this time Robert and Joe consider David Cronenberg’s 1986 sci-fi remake “The Fly.” It’s time to drink deep, or taste not, the plasma spring! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 15, 2020 • 1h 8min
From the Vault: Snail Sex in the Sea
In the aftermath of Valentine's Day, join Robert and Joe as they revisit last year's interview with marine biologist and "Sex in the Sea" author Dr. Marah Hardt. It's a chat with STBYM's only four-time guest about all manner of marine invertebrate reproduction. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 13, 2020 • 1h 7min
Occam's Razor
It’s a standard tool of skeptical thinking: When presented with two hypotheses that explain the data equally well, choose the simpler of the two. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the history, nature and complexities of Occam’s Razor. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 11, 2020 • 60min
Lessons of Vesuvius, Part 2
In the year 79 CE, the Italian volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted with with the thermal energy of 100,000 atomic bombs. Ashen destruction rained down on Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae. In this Stuff to Blow Your Mind two-parter, Robert and Joe explore this terrifying episode in history and what we can learn from it. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 8, 2020 • 49min
From the Vault: Cupid's Leaden Arrow
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 golden arrow of desire and the leaden arrow of aversion. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick discuss the mythic lead-slinger and the nature of his gray metal. (originally published 2/14/2019) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 6, 2020 • 46min
Lessons of Vesuvius, Part 1
In the year 79 CE, the Italian volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted with with the thermal energy of 100,000 atomic bombs. Ashen destruction rained down on Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae. In this Stuff to Blow Your Mind two-parter, Robert and Joe explore this terrifying episode in history and what we can learn from it. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 4, 2020 • 1h 11min
Facial Recognition Machinery, Part 3
Chances are, your face is already part of the database -- and AI is getting better and better at reading one face and finding it in the vast sea of digital images. What does this mean for the future of privacy? How did we get to this point in techno-history and where do we go from here? In this multi-episode look from Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore facial recognition technology. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 1, 2020 • 1h 6min
From the Vault: Motivated Numeracy and the Politics-ridden Brain
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 the problem is more complex than that? What if a quirk of human cognition enables us to remain willingly in the dark, even as we hold the very candle? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the concept of motivated numeracy. (originally published 11/15/2018) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 31, 2020 • 1h 6min
Invention: The Turnspit Dog
In this episode of Invention, Robert and Joe continue the month’s journey through human CULINARY techno-history -- this time with the story of the turnspit dog. This now-extinct breed of dog turned the meat in many a European kitchen, before it was replaced by machines. (originally published 11/11/2019) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
