This week, we bounce between sex, psychedelics, and infectious disease, and somehow it all hangs together by the end. We unpack research on porn use that suggests the real issue is not how often people watch it, but why they are watching in the first place, with motivation shaping the impact on emotional and sexual wellbeing.

Then we head into the world of magic mushrooms, where psilocybin is being studied for potential health effects that go beyond the trip. From possible links to ageing markers like telomeres, to broader associations with physical health, the science is early but intriguing. We also explore research suggesting psychedelics may influence sexual arousal and satisfaction, including for people dealing with depression and antidepressant side effects.

Finally, we tackle an influenza study with a bizarre result: healthy volunteers spent time around flu sufferers and nobody caught it. Was it luck, immunity, or a sign we still do not fully understand how flu spreads in real world settings.

CHAPTERS:

 

00:00 Introduction to Pornography Concerns

00:40 Science Steps In: Quality Over Quantity

03:52 Exploring the Concept of Gooning

06:55 Research on Pornography Usage

12:44 Human Anatomy Compared to Great Apes

19:39 Life Hacks and Psychedelic Drugs

19:46 Health Benefits of Psychedelics

21:26 Anti-Aging Properties of Psilocybin

23:36 Survival Skills and Psychedelics

27:27 Flu Transmission Study

33:57 Sexual Benefits of Magic Mushrooms

37:49 Listener Contributions

 

 

SOURCES:

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003595

https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1013153

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone wants to live forever, dogs are out here doing actual jobs, and someone has tried to work out where heaven might be using astronomy. We dig into the strange science of longevity, including research suggesting reproduction and lifespan might be linked in uncomfortable ways. Then they meet the working dogs sniffing out invasive species, guarding airport runways, and generally making the rest of us look lazy.

From there, things get cosmic. An opinion piece argues heaven could sit beyond our cosmic horizon, which is a great way to accidentally spend your afternoon thinking about infinity. There is also a quick detour into gelatin-based culinary chaos, featuring the kind of vintage recipes that should come with a warning label.

We wrap up with listener stories, including a cow named Veronica who can use a broom as a tool, because of course she can.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction 

00:19 Exploring the Science of Longevity

01:00 Psychology and Climate Action

01:09 Mailbag and Birthday Surprise

01:27 Lifestyle Changes for Longevity

02:47 Reproduction and Longevity

12:58 Dogs with Jobs

21:07 Science Finds Heaven

27:51 Cosmic Horizon and Hubble's Law

29:39 Einstein's Relativity and Speed of Light

31:18 The Mysteries Beyond the Cosmic Horizon

40:49 Veronica the Tool-Using Cow

48:03 Gelatin: A Culinary and Industrial Marvel

54:58 Komodo Dragons and Asexual Reproduction

56:25 Listener Mailbag and Fun Facts

 

 

 

SOURCES:

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656622000423

https://futurism.com/health-medicine/conspiracy-theories-psychology

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656622000423

https://futurism.com/health-medicine/men-lifespan-castration

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1109009

https://www.aol.com/articles/heaven-real-science-may-reveal-130016778.html

https://michaelguillen.com

https://www.iflscience.com/we-didnt-even-think-about-looking-broom-wielding-veronika-shows-tool-use-in-cows-isnt-so-absurd-after-all-82260

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9963746/

https://www.nature.com/news/2006/061218/full/news061218-7.html

https://www.rspcaqld.org.au/blog/trending-now/dogs-with-unusual-jobs

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/04/05/schizophrenia-hallucinationspsychiatric-assistance-dog/73171229007/

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/01/people-like-the-idea-of-being-green-but-they-hate-being-told-what-to-do-even-more/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The FBI’s search for Bigfoot shows that even serious agencies can get swept up in a good mystery. Their investigation ended with a misidentified animal instead of a legendary creature, but the files are still a treasure for anyone fascinated by conspiracies and the unknown. Sometimes, the search is more interesting than the answer.

Meanwhile, scientists in Queensland have been busy breaking down the secrets of your favourite brew. By analysing the proteins in dozens of beers, they found that craft brews really do stand apart from the mass-produced stuff. If your IPA tastes special, it is not just in your head. Science backs you up.

On a darker note, the world of fame is not all it is cracked up to be. Research shows that musicians in the spotlight face far greater risks than the rest of us, with fame itself becoming the real danger. The pressure and constant scrutiny can take a heavy toll. Sometimes, chasing the dream comes with a price nobody wants to pay.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

01:13 The FBI's Bigfoot Files

01:46 Exploring the Freedom of Information Vault

03:37 The FBI's Investigation into Bigfoot

07:08 Mass Spectrometry and Beer Proteins

10:12 Craft Beer vs. Mass-Produced Beer

13:01 The Dream of Being a Rockstar

13:58 The Risks of Fame in the Music Industry

18:09 Concluding Thoughts and Listener Engagement

 

SOURCES:

The FBI Released Bigfoot’s Official File

Beer snobs, rejoice: Craft beer really is different

The price of fame? Mortality risk among famous singers

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI is giving people a confidence boost they might not deserve, especially among those who consider themselves tech-savvy. Studies show that using AI for problem-solving leads many to overestimate their own abilities, with higher AI literacy actually making users more likely to trust the machine and question themselves less. The smarter we think we are with technology, the more likely we are to fall for its digital flattery.

Meanwhile, ancient Australia was home to predators that make today’s wildlife look tame. Fossil evidence suggests that five-metre crocodiles once hunted by dropping out of trees onto unsuspecting prey. This twist on the classic crocodile encounter adds a new layer of terror to Australia’s already legendary roster of dangerous animals. Forget snakes in the grass. Sometimes the real threat was lurking above.

On the cultural front, Gen Z is challenging old standards and rewriting the rules on everything from ironing to mental health. Some in this generation long for a less digital era, question the value of traditional skills, and proudly reject the notion that neat clothes equal good character. They also claim credit for baggy jeans and even admit to being the most annoying generation to work with.

From digital delusions to tree-dwelling crocs and Gen Z’s new priorities, the only thing we can count on is that the world refuses to stay boring.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction 

00:48 AI and the Dunning-Kruger Effect

02:11 AI Literacy and Overconfidence

02:51 AI's Impact on Self-Assessment

06:59 Australian Wildlife and Myths

07:35 Legend of the Drop Croc

08:57 Generational Differences

10:10 Gen Z's Perspective

11:03 Skills and Inventions

12:52 Annoying Generations at Work

13:40 Conclusion and Call to Action

 

SOURCES:

AI Is Causing a Grim New Twist on the Dunning-Kruger Effect

Generation Conflicted: How Do Gen Zers Compare Themselves to Past Generations?

Evidence of ancient tree-climbing 'drop crocs' found in Australia

Australia’s oldest crocodylian eggshell: insights into the reproductive paleoecology of mekosuchines

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s pretty natural for humans to gravitate towards the most attractive person in the room. But do animals do it too? At Stockholm University, researchers decided to see if chickens could spot a hottie. They trained these birds to peck at faces on a screen and found that chickens prefer the same facial features that humans rate as attractive. Apparently, hotness isn’t just a matter of human opinion. Even a chicken can pick out a looker. Does that make us RSPCA approved?

Accidentally Breaking a Video Game World Record

In 2007, Billy Baker started writing a book about jugglers. At the time,  there was a controversial movement to turn the performance art of juggling into a competitive sport but this story isn’t about juggling. It’s about video games. During his research, Baker’s curiosity led him from online juggling forums down the rabbit hole of video games where he learned the world record of Tetris stood at 327 lines. Here’s the twist…his own wife easily scored up to 500 or 600 lines on her old Game Boy at home. She was just casually breaking a video game world record without even knowing.

Jackalopes: When Myth Meets Mutation

You’ve heard of the jackalope, right? That legendary rabbit with antelope horns. Turns out, they might just be real. Back in 1933, virologist Richard Shope discovered a virus that causes rabbits to grow cancerous horn-like growths all over their face. Suddenly, the jackalope isn’t just a campfire story. What if the tales we’ve written off to be myths were actually sightings of cancerous rabbits? 

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Theories of Physical Attractiveness

02:29 Chickens and Human Hotness

06:27 Juggling and Competitive Sports

07:46 Speedrunning Super Mario Brothers

10:37 Cryptozoology and Mythical Creatures

11:47 The Jackalope: America's Mythical Creature

12:15 Historical References to Horned Rabbits

14:38 The Shope Papilloma Virus Discovery

17:08 Modern Day Jackalope Sightings

 

SOURCES:

'Bizarro World’: That's what my wife and I entered when we drove up to an arcade in Weirs Beach, New Hampshire, where she would attempt to break an official world record in the classic video game Tetris.

Ghirlanda S, Jansson L, Enquist M. Chickens prefer beautiful humans. Hum Nat. 2002 Sep;13(3):383-9. doi: 10.1007/s12110-002-1021-6. PMID: 26192929.

INFECTIOUS PAPILLOMATOSIS OF RABBITS

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A ventriloquist once ruled the radio waves, captivating millions with stage tricks that made no visual sense but somehow worked perfectly through a speaker. The world’s love for a good illusion runs deep, stretching from ancient oracles channeling voices through their bellies to audiences mesmerised by dummies with invisible lips. Humans have always been drawn to spectacle, even when it requires a leap of imagination.

The world of competitive chestnut-smashing, known in England as Conkers, has moved far beyond childhood nostalgia. Now it is a battleground for grown-up pride, world championships and the occasional controversy. When the stakes are glory and bragging rights, even a simple game can become the centre of suspicion and scandal.

Even stone skimming is not immune to drama. The World Stone Skimming Championships recently faced its own rule-bending episode, with contestants trying to perfect their throws in shady ways that organisers had to address. Whether it’s radio dummies, nut-bashing or stone skipping, humans will always find a way to turn even the silliest competition into a drama.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction 

02:27 The Curious Case of Radio Ventriloquism

05:18 King of Conkers Controversy 

08:53 Stone Skimming Championships and Cheating Scandals

12:18 Conclusion and Listener Engagement

SOURCES:

Cheating scandal rocks world stone skimming championships

‘King Conker’ cleared of cheating at World Conker Championships

The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Academics are now seriously debating the ethics of sex with aliens, with questions swirling around intergalactic consent, the boundaries of romance and whether Captain Kirk’s escapades would pass the cosmic sniff test. Some call it unnatural, others say it’s all about happiness and agreement, and a few even claim to have had their own close encounters. Until E.T. shows up with a clear answer, the verdict is equal parts fascinating and unresolved.

Back on Earth, dogs have been quietly evolving to manipulate us with their eyes. Thanks to unique facial muscles and lightning-fast eyebrow moves, modern pups can pull off that “feed me” look better than any wolf ever could. We bred dogs to be emotionally expressive, and now they’re experts at tugging our heartstrings, turning the human-canine relationship into a masterclass in mutual manipulation.

Meanwhile, StaffCop is turning offices into digital panopticons, logging every keystroke and screenshot in the name of productivity. While management loves the promise of accountability, for employees it means more paranoia, less privacy and a creativity drought. With science and technology serving up weirder dilemmas than ever, it’s safe to say the workplace is starting to look a little too much like 1984.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

00:47 Ethical Dilemma: Sex with Aliens

03:27 Exploring Alien Reproduction

07:53 Human-Alien Sexual Encounters

13:46 Ethics and Consent in Alien Relationships

19:07 Dogs Using Their Eyebrows to Manipulate Humans

23:01 Employee Monitoring Software

27:16 Ethical Concerns and Privacy

31:47 Conclusion and Listener Engagement

SOURCES:

This Guy Paints the Sex He Allegedly Has with Aliens

Would you have sex with an alien?

How many men here would be willing to have sex with a legitimate alien from another planet?

Alien Attraction

What is StaffCop?

The science behind puppy-dog eyes, and other ways our canines communicate with us

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Rome-based research team discovered poetry can jailbreak AI systems by bypassing safety filters that normal prompts can't crack, making verse a genuine cybersecurity vulnerability. Medieval physicians believed flatulent foods like beans and onions were aphrodisiacs because intestinal gas supposedly enhanced sexual performance, Palmer Luckey, the tech billionaire behind Oculus, now advocates for submarines that tunnel through Earth's crust for national defense, while a Dublin man contracted penile tuberculosis from working with deer in a rarely documented case of genital TB.

Poetry defeats AI security by exploiting how language models process poetic structure, proving Aristotle's warnings about poets in governance were surprisingly futuristic. Medieval fart-based aphrodisiacs never worked but show humanity's eternal optimism for simple bedroom solutions, while Luckey's crust-submarine idea sounds insane until you remember he actually made VR mainstream. The Dublin TB case demonstrates that tuberculosis can infect any body part and that working with animals carries risks nobody considers - including your genitals contracting lung diseases.

The biggest threats to AI are poets, the worst aphrodisiacs involved intestinal wind, crust submarines might actually happen, and deer can give you dick tuberculosis. Science is weird, history is weirder, and Palmer Luckey wants to make it weirder still.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

02:07 Plato's Republic and AI Poetry

03:54 The Power of Poetry in AI

07:59 Historical Aphrodisiacs and Fertility

19:01 Simultaneous Orgasms and Farting

19:36 Windy Meats and Fertility Myths

24:19 Palmer Luckey and Virtual Reality

31:00 Penile Tuberculosis: A Rare Case

36:50 Smart Toilets and Privacy Concerns

SOURCES:

‘End-to-end encrypted’ smart toilet camera is not actually end-to-end encrypted

Scientists Discover “Universal” Jailbreak for Nearly Every AI, and the Way It Works Will Hurt Your Brain

Adversarial Poetry as a Universal Single-Turn Jailbreak Mechanism in Large Language Models

Palmer Luckey on the Future of Warfare

Beans, ale & 'windy meats': surprising 17th-century aphrodisiac

When Beans were the Food of Lust

Why you don’t want to get tuberculosis on your penis

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sika deer on Japan's Yakushima Island let macaque monkeys groom them in exchange for food scraps and sexual mounting, creating what scientists awkwardly call "interspecies sexual behaviour with mutual benefits."

Nederland, Colorado hosts annual "Frozen Dead Guy Day" festivals celebrating Bredo Morstoel, whose body has been preserved in a shed on dry ice for decades after his grandson's cryogenic dreams failed.

Brazilian Butt Lifts cause "BBL smell" - a rancid odour from fat necrosis when transferred fat cells die and rot inside the body, which surgeons rarely mention before surgery.

Milan researchers found commuters offered seats to pregnant women more often when Batman was on the train, proving superhero costumes trigger prosocial behaviour because nobody wants to look bad in front of Batman.

AI-generated recipes tell people to bake cakes for days and combine impossible ingredients, confidently presenting unworkable instructions that ruin dinner.

Chinese researchers discovered rock, paper, scissors players stick with winning choices or switch after losses, revealing predictable patterns that can be exploited.

From deer trading sex for grooming to frozen dead guy festivals and butt lifts that smell like death - nature is uncomfortable, humans are weird and technology can't cook. Maybe stick to human recipes, don’t try to freeze Grandpa and think twice before committing to a bouncy-butt medical procedure. 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

00:35 Interspecies Sexual Mutualism

01:24 Unexpected Observations: Monkeys and Deer

06:15 Frozen Dead Guy: A Bizarre Tale of Cryogenics

14:03 Batman and Prosocial Behavior

20:20 Hilarious AI-Generated Food Recipes

30:39 The Ultimate Rock, Paper, Scissors Strategy

33:54 The Dark Side of Plastic Surgery

39:59 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

 

SOURCES:

Rock, Paper Scissors Study 

Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/thanksgiving-dinner-ai-recipes-slop

https://www.aiweirdness.com/ai-recipes-are-bad-and-a-proposal-20-01-31/

https://www.aiweirdness.com/the-neural-network-has-weird-ideas-16-03-05/?ref=aiweirdness.com

https://aiweirdness.tumblr.com/post/190721709472/ai-vintage-american-cooking-a-combination-that?ref=aiweirdness.com

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/macaque-monkey-deer-mate-sex-ride

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a60887514/diy-cryonics-frozen-dead-guy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_Dead_Guy_Days

https://www.vice.com/en/article/bbl-smell-is-real-and-just-as-gross-as-it-sounds/

https://plasticsurgery.org.au/procedures/surgical-procedures/buttocks-lift/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Horseshoe theory proposes that political extremes loop back around until far-left and far-right ideologies find disturbing common ground, sharing authoritarian tactics, propaganda methods, and contempt for democratic norms despite claiming opposite values. 

Scientists are using AI to decode brain activity and caption your thoughts, raising serious questions about privacy and future thought-policing. The technology has remarkable potential for medical applications like helping locked-in patients communicate, but it's also concerning for policing applications where authorities might claim to know what you're thinking even when the AI is wildly guessing. Despite frankly not-so-great accuracy, it sets us on a path toward the dystopian surveillance that sci-fi has warned about for decades.

Your fingers and toes developed from genetic blueprints originally designed for a fish's cloaca, meaning your hands evolved from ancient fish butt architecture through evolution's tendency to repurpose existing solutions. Your ability to type, paint, play piano or give someone the finger exists because millions of years ago evolution looked at fish butt genes and decided to work with them.

 Harry Whitaker's attempt to collect every element from the periodic table ended with police at his door after he stockpiled explosives and radioactive materials, proving that even well-intentioned scientific curiosity needs tempering before it crosses into illegal weapons manufacturing.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction 

01:40 Exploring Horseshoe Theory in Politics

03:33 The Impact of Trump on Science and Health Policy

04:38 Pandemic Preparedness and Public Health

09:33 AI Mind Captioning: Decoding Brain Activity

14:13 Evolution of Tetrapod Digits

14:55 Genetic Regulatory Landscapes

15:33 Research on Fish and Mice Genes

16:18 The Role of Hox Genes

19:54 Harry Whitaker's Science Obsession

25:19 Conclusion and Call to Action

 

SOURCES:

NIH Directors: The World Needs a New Pandemic Playbook

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-decodes-visual-brain-activity-and-writes-captions-for-it/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1j8we4e52lo

https://futurism.com/science-energy/police-uk-chemistry-explosives?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=futurism-newsletter&_bhlid=4a7d20a111b1d23ddf489d65fbd96596ee739749

https://www.sciencealert.com/fish-buttholes-may-be-the-reason-we-now-have-fingers-study-finds

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.