History Repeating Itself

Will suicide be more or less acceptable in the future? We try to answer this question by speaking with expert thinkers about the logic or lack of logic behind our perceptions of suicide.

A new study connects football in younger players to possible behavioral changes. And one high school cancels the rest of the football season becuase of the threat of injury.

More little-known parellels between football and gladiatorial combat.

Most people don't question the act of having a child, but what seems like the natural thing to do might be more of a trend than a law of nature. In this episode, we speak to various scholars and scientists to get to the bottom of our true motivations for wanting or not wanting children.

Solitary Confinement used to be a good thing. And what does the size of a community have to do with crime prevention? How was Charles Dickens one hundred years ahead of his time in understanding the power of solitary confinement?

We have proven programs to decrease crime rates, yet we don't follow them. We spend so much on the criminal justice system, yet we're only making things worse. And a man named August Vollmer, who lived a hundred years ago, knew how to fix most of our current crime-related problems.

The U.S. is one of only 6 countries that embraces embalming. Why? And why do we spend thousands on funerals when we can achieve the same goals for almost zero dollars? What does the Civil War have to do with buying a casket at Costco, and how can talking about death save us a lot of money in the long run?

Since the advent of photography, high heels have been integrally linked with pornography. In this episode we'll trace the ebb and flow of heels over the last 150 years. We'll look at why people wear heels and why high heels might be on the way out in America. By following the trends of shoes in pornography, we may be able to predict the future of high heels.

High Heels came to the west via the Persian Army in the 17th century. Also, women originally adopted high heels from men becuase women wanted to appear more masculine. This and more in Part 3 of our series on the past, present, and future culture of high heels.

Does foot binding lead to increased sexual stimulation? And how did the thousand-year tradition of foot binding disappear in a generation, a country with expansive borders and a population of over 400,000 people? We'll talk to experts and tackle these questions to provide a new perspective on high heels.