Learn about how quadruple-helix DNA could help us fight cancer; how diversity improves technology, with materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez; and how cats domesticated themselves.

Quadruple-helix DNA exists - and it might be useful for fighting cancers by Cameron Duke

• Rare quadruple-helix DNA found in living human cells with glowing probes. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-01/icl-rqd011321.php
• Researchers Observe Formation of Four-Stranded DNA in Living Human Cells | Biology, Genetics | Sci-News.com. (2020). Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. http://www.sci-news.com/biology/dna-g-quadruplexes-human-cells-08693.html
• Scientists Discover Quadruple Helix DNA in Human Cells | Genetics | Sci-News.com. (2013). Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. http://www.sci-news.com/genetics/article00835.html
• Summers, P. A., Lewis, B. W., Gonzalez-Garcia, J., Porreca, R. M., Lim, A. H. M., Cadinu, P., Martin-Pintado, N., Mann, D. J., Edel, J. B., Vannier, J. B., Kuimova, M. K., & Vilar, R. (2021). Visualising G-quadruplex DNA dynamics in live cells by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. Nature Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20414-7

Additional resources from Ainissa Ramirez:

• Pick up "The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MyB4l8
• Ainissa's website: https://www.ainissaramirez.com/
• Ainissa Ramirez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ainissaramirez

In True Feline Fashion, Cats Domesticated Themselves by Anna Todd

• Ottoni, C., et. al. (2017). The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1(7). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0139
• Smith, C. (2017, June 19). Cats Domesticated Themselves, Ancient DNA Shows. National Geographic News. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/06/domesticated-cats-dna-genetics-pets-science/

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/quadruple-helix-dna-is-a-thing

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Learn about why we still don’t know how eels reproduce and how scientists solved a 150-year-old question about how sandcastles hold together.

We still don't know how eels reproduce by Grant Currin

• TED-Ed. (2020). No one can figure out how eels have sex - Lucy Cooke [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFi6ISTjkR4
• Epic Eel Migration Mapped for the First Time. (2015, October 27). National Geographic News. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/10/151027-american-eel-migration-animal-behavior-oceans-science/
• 100-year-old mystery solved: Adult eel observed for the first time in the Sargasso Sea. (2015). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151027132839.htm

Scientists have solved a 150-year-old equation that governs how sandcastles hold together by Grant Currin

• Ouellette, J. (2020, December 9). Physicists solve 150-year-old mystery of equation governing sandcastle physics. Ars Technica; Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/12/physicists-solve-150-year-old-mystery-of-equation-governing-sandcastle-physics/
• Pakpour, M., Habibi, M., Møller, P., & Bonn, D. (2012). How to construct the perfect sandcastle. Scientific Reports, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00549
• Yang, Q., Sun, P. Z., Fumagalli, L., Stebunov, Y. V., Haigh, S. J., Zhou, Z. W., Grigorieva, I. V., Wang, F. C., & Geim, A. K. (2020). Capillary condensation under atomic-scale confinement. Nature, 588(7837), 250–253. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2978-1

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/scientists-finally-know-how-sandcastles-work

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn about how to tell when your body is running low on key vitamins; how Neanderthals mourned their dead; and why you should NOT pre-rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

Ways Your Body Tells You You're Running Low on Key Vitamins by Stephanie Bucklin

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, & Division of Laboratory Sciences. (2012). CDC’s Second Nutrition Report: A comprehensive biochemical assessment of the nutrition status of the U.S. population Report measures 58 indicators of diet and nutrition New report uses NHANES results. https://www.cdc.gov/nutritionreport/pdf/4page_%202nd%20nutrition%20report_508_032912.pdf
• Migala, J. (2018, October 9). 10 Ways Your Body Is Telling You You’re Running Low on Key Vitamins. The Healthy; The Healthy. https://www.thehealthy.com/nutrition/signs-of-vitamin-deficiencies/
• Elizabeth Shimer Bowers. (2017, October 13). 7 Common Nutrient Deficiencies | Everyday Health. EverydayHealth.com. https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/guide-to-essential-nutrients/common-nutrient-deficiencies/
• Vitamins for a Dry Scalp | Livestrong.com. (2010, December 2). LIVESTRONG.COM. https://www.livestrong.com/article/323187-vitamins-for-a-dry-scalp/
• CDC. (2020, December 3). Micronutrient Facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/micronutrient-malnutrition/micronutrients/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fimmpact%2Fmicronutrients%2Findex.html

Neanderthals buried their dead by Grant Currin

• New evidence: Neandertals buried their dead. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/c-nen120920.php
• Balzeau, A., Turq, A., Talamo, S., Daujeard, C., Guérin, G., Welker, F., Crevecoeur, I., Fewlass, H., Hublin, J.-J., Lahaye, C., Maureille, B., Meyer, M., Schwab, C., & Gómez-Olivencia, A. (2020). Pluridisciplinary evidence for burial for the La Ferrassie 8 Neandertal child. Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77611-z

You Shouldn't Rinse Your Dishes Before Putting Them in the Dishwasher by Ashley Hamer first aired June 3, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/how-to-wash-your-dishes-british-vs-american-englis

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/how-to-know-youre-running-low-on-vitamins

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Learn about a surprising benefit of adding humor to the news; what getting chills from music says about your brain; and how Volta’s electric eels that hunt in packs.

Young adults are more likely to remember and share news delivered with humor by Kelsey Donk

• New Study Finds that Delivering the News with Humor Makes Young Adults More Likely to Remember and Share | Annenberg School for Communication. (2021). Upenn.edu. https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/new-study-finds-delivering-news-humor-makes-young-adults-more-likely-remember-and
• Coronel, J. C., O’Donnell, M. B., Pandey, P., Delli Carpini, M. X., & Falk, E. B. (2020). Political Humor, Sharing, and Remembering: Insights from Neuroimaging. Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaa041

What Getting Chills from Music Says About Your Brain by Reuben Westmaas

• Sachs, M. E., Ellis, R. J., Schlaug, G., & Loui, P. (2016). Brain connectivity reflects human aesthetic responses to music. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(6), 884–891. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw009
• Colver, M. (2016, May 25). If You Get Chills While Listening to Music, You Might Be a More Open and Emotional Person. Slate Magazine; Slate. https://slate.com/technology/2016/05/getting-chills-when-listening-to-music-might-mean-youre-a-more-emotional-person.html
• McCrae, R. R. (2007). Aesthetic Chills as a Universal Marker of Openness to Experience. Motivation and Emotion, 31(1), 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-007-9053-1

Electric eels hunt in packs, and scientists are shocked by Steffie Drucker

• Roth, A. (2021). Electric Eels Hunt in Packs, Shocking Prey and Scientists. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/science/electric-eels-hunting-pack.html
• Moutinho, S. (2021, January 14). Shocking discovery: Electric eels hunt in packs in Amazon rivers. Science | AAAS. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/shocking-discovery-electric-eels-hunt-packs-amazon-rivers
• Bastos, D. A., Zuanon, J., Rapp Py‐Daniel, L., & Santana, C. D. (2021). Social predation in electric eels. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7121

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/what-getting-chills-from-music-says-about-your-brain

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Learn about an artificial sun from KSTAR that’s hotter than our actual sun; whether math really is a universal language; and what words like “fresh” really tell you about how fancy your food is.

South Korean researchers created an artificial sun that's hotter than our actual sun by Grant Currin

• Korean artificial sun sets the new world record of 20-sec-long operation at 100 million degrees. (2020, December 24). Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2020-12-korean-artificial-sun-world-sec-long.html
• Nield, D. (2020). South Korea’s “Artificial Sun” Just Set a New World Record For High-Temperature Plasma. ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/south-korea-s-artificial-sun-just-set-a-new-world-record-for-high-temperature-plasma
• Tala, T., & Garbet, X. (2006). Physics of Internal Transport Barriers. Comptes Rendus Physique, 7(6), 622–633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crhy.2006.06.005
• Delbert, C. (2020, December 28). Korea’s Artificial Sun Just Ran for 20 Astonishing Seconds. Popular Mechanics; Popular Mechanics. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a35084113/korea-artificial-sun-fusion-reactor-runs-for-20-seconds/
• Tokamak. (2015). ITER. https://www.iter.org/mach/Tokamak
• Home: 28th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference (FEC 2020) | IAEA. (2019, December 6). Iaea.org. https://www.iaea.org/events/fec-2020

Is math really a universal language? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from John)

• PBS Idea Channel. (2013). Is Math a Feature of the Universe or a Feature of Human Creation? | Idea Channel | PBS [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbNymweHW4E
• Baidou, Alain. (2006). Briefings on Existence. State University of New York Press. https://s3.amazonaws.com/arena-attachments/769564/8b787039810debb75794401980b224d6.pdf
• Madden, J. J., Lakoff, G., & Núñez, R. E. (2002, August). Where Mathematics Comes From: How the Embodied Mind Brings Mathematics Into Being. ResearchGate; Mathematical Association of America. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239547225_Where_Mathematics_Comes_From_How_the_Embodied_Mind_Brings_Mathematics_Into_Being
• Thaller, M. (2019, March 7). The evolution of mathematics, from agriculture to quantum mechanics. Big Think; Big Think. https://bigthink.com/videos/mathematics-universal-language

What Words Like "Fresh" Really Tell You About How Fancy Your Food Is by Arika Okrent

• Jurafsky, D. (2014). The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu. W. W. Norton & Company. https://amzn.to/3rgRJbY

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/the-sun-2-0-fresh-food-fallacies-and-is-math-universal

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Learn about how clocks and lightbulbs changed human health, with author and materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez. Plus: learn about that time a bunch of birds became milk bottle thieves and whether you should put one or two spaces after a period.

The time a bunch of birds became milk bottle thieves by Cameron Duke

• Aplin, L. M., Farine, D. R., Morand-Ferron, J., Cockburn, A., Thornton, A., & Sheldon, B. C. (2014). Experimentally induced innovations lead to persistent culture via conformity in wild birds. Nature, 518(7540), 538–541. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13998
• Aplin, L. M., Sheldon, B. C., & Morand-Ferron, J. (2013). Milk bottles revisited: social learning and individual variation in the blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus. Animal Behaviour, 85(6), 1225–1232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.03.009
• Boogert, N. (2014, December 4). Milk bottle-raiding birds pass on thieving ways to their flock. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/milk-bottle-raiding-birds-pass-on-thieving-ways-to-their-flock-34784

Should You Put One or Two Spaces After a Period? by Cody Gough

• Hamblin, J. (2018, May 11). The Atlantic. The Atlantic; theatlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/two-spaces-after-a-period/559304/
• Johnson, R. L., Bui, B., & Schmitt, L. L. (2018). Are two spaces better than one? The effect of spacing following periods and commas during reading. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 80(6), 1504–1511. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-018-1527-6
• Douglas, N. (2018, May). No, You Still Shouldn’t Put Two Spaces After a Period. Lifehacker; Lifehacker. https://lifehacker.com/no-you-still-shouldnt-put-two-spaces-after-a-period-1825662114

More from Ainissa Ramirez:

• Pick up "The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MyB4l8
• Ainissa's website: https://www.ainissaramirez.com/
• Ainissa Ramirez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ainissaramirez

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/what-science-says-about-putting-2-spaces-after-a-period

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn about how sleep may have evolved before the brain; why airports keep birds of prey on staff; and what would happen if you stopped time.

Sleep might have evolved before the brain by Cameron Duke

• Kanaya, H. J., Park, S., Kim, J., Kusumi, J., Krenenou, S., Sawatari, E., Sato, A., Lee, J., Bang, H., Kobayakawa, Y., Lim, C., & Itoh, T. Q. (2020). A sleep-like state in Hydra unravels conserved sleep mechanisms during the evolutionary development of the central nervous system. Science Advances, 6(41), eabb9415. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abb9415
• Pappas, S. (2017, July 18). Why Do We Sleep? Livescience.com; Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/32469-why-do-we-sleep.html
• staff, S. X. (2021, January 8). Which came first, sleep or the brain? Medicalxpress.com; Medical Xpress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-brain-1.html

Airports Keep Birds of Prey on Staff to Protect Planes by Ashley Hamer

• FAA Wildlife Strike Database. (2021). Faa.gov. https://wildlife.faa.gov/home
• Frequently Asked Questions and Answers. (2020, August 28). Faa.gov. https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/wildlife/faq/
• Bliss, L. (2016, May 26). Meet the Falcons Keeping North American Runways Safe. Bloomberg.com; Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-26/great-big-story-video-shows-how-falcons-work-as-airplane-bird-strike-mitigation
• Haje Jan Kamps. (2017, January 7). This flappy bird-drone keeps airports safe. TechCrunch; TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/07/is-it-a-bird-is-it-a-plane-well-it-is-a-drone-actually/

What Would Happen If You Stopped Time? by Ashley Hamer originally aired September 7, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/what-would-happen-if-you-stopped-time-secret-room

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/what-would-happen-if-you-stopped-time

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Learn about what's going on with the new COVID-19 variants — and whether you should worry about them — with Dr. Syra Madad, nationally recognized epidemiologist and the senior director of the pathogens program at NYC Health and Hospitals. Then, learn about a new theory on how our planets formed.

Additional resources from Dr. Syra Madad and #ConqueringCOVID:

• Official website https://scty.org/syra
• Follow @SyraMadad on Twitter https://twitter.com/syramadad
• The Vaccine: Conquering COVID https://press.discovery.com/us/sci/programs/vaccine-conquering-covid/
• Start your 7-day free trial of discovery+ https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity

New theory on how our planets formed by Grant Currin

• How our planets were formed. (2021). Ethz.ch. https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2021/01/how-our-planets-were-formed.html
• Lichtenberg, T., Dra̧żkowskaJ., Schönbächler, M., Golabek, G. J., & Hands, T. O. (2021). Bifurcation of planetary building blocks during Solar System formation. Science, 371(6527), 365–370. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb3091

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/when-to-worry-about-covid-19-variants

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What gets you curious? Virtual experiences, celestial bodies, water worlds or maybe just the tiniest mysteries inside your brain? The endlessly curious and curiously funny, Gillian Jacobs (Community, Netflix's LOVE) and Diona Reasonover (NCIS), step off set to go on tangents with real-life astronauts, astrophysicists, science artists, mathematician-types and other really smart people that investigate what seems impossible. 


If/Then is OUT NOW. Subscribe in Stitcher, Pandora, the SiriusXM app or wherever you find podcasts.

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/introducing-if-then

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Learn about why popular opinion might not be as popular as you thought; a new analysis that’s debunked the blood type diet; and a pool of water in Kidd Creek Mine in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, that’s 2 billion years old.

One person repeating an opinion makes people think it's a popular opinion by Kelsey Donk

• People Often Think An Opinion Heard Repeatedly From The Same Person Is Actually A Popular Opinion. (2020). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070520183447.htm
• Weaver, K., Garcia, S. M., Schwarz, N., & Miller, D. T. (2007). Inferring the popularity of an opinion from its familiarity: A repetitive voice can sound like a chorus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(5), 821–833. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.92.5.821

A new analysis has debunked the blood type diet by Grant Currin

• New study debunks blood type diet. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/pcfr-nsd120420.php
• Kahleova, H., Petersen, K. F., Shulman, G. I., Alwarith, J., Rembert, E., Tura, A., Hill, M., Holubkov, R., & Barnard, N. D. (2020). Effect of a Low-Fat Vegan Diet on Body Weight, Insulin Sensitivity, Postprandial Metabolism, and Intramyocellular and Hepatocellular Lipid Levels in Overweight Adults. JAMA Network Open, 3(11), e2025454. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.25454
• Barnard, N. D., Rembert, E., Freeman, A., Bradshaw, M., Holubkov, R., & Kahleova, H. (2020). Blood Type Is Not Associated with Changes in Cardiometabolic Outcomes in Response to a Plant-Based Dietary Intervention. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2020.08.079
• Shmerling, R. H. (2017, May 12). Diet not working? Maybe it’s not your type - Harvard Health Blog. Harvard Health Blog. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/diet-not-working-maybe-its-not-your-type-2017051211678

The World's Oldest Known Pool of Water Is a Staggering 2 Billion Years Old by Joanie Faletto

• Kidd Creek Mine | AMNH. (2021). American Museum of Natural History. https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/planet-earth/why-is-the-earth-habitable/where-do-the-earth-s-riches-come-from/kidd-creek-mine
• Gilllis, L. (2019, June 17). Is there new life for Kidd Mine? Northern Ontario Business; Northern Ontario Business. https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/regional-news/timmins/is-there-new-life-for-kidd-mine-1510179
• McGill University. (2016, November 3). Channels. https://www.mcgill.ca/channels/news/it%E2%80%99s-whats-underneath-counts-263769
• Holland, G., Lollar, B. S., Li, L., Lacrampe-Couloume, G., Slater, G. F., & Ballentine, C. J. (2013). Deep fracture fluids isolated in the crust since the Precambrian era. Nature, 497(7449), 357–360. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12127
• Li, L., Wing, B. A., Bui, T. H., McDermott, J. M., Slater, G. F., Wei, S., Lacrampe-Couloume, G., & Lollar, B. S. (2016). Sulfur mass-independent fractionation in subsurface fracture waters indicates a long-standing sulfur cycle in Precambrian rocks. Nature Communications, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13252

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/popular-opinion-isnt-what-you-think

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