A violent undiagnosed aneurysm should have killed Sebastian Junger, a war reporter, a best-selling author, and an Academy Award winning documentarian. Junger came as close as anyone we know to dying, but he returned from the abyss and reveals what it was like.

For years Jason and Peter have heard about so-called NDE’s – near-death experiences where the clinically dead - miraculously resuscitated - come back to life with eerily familiar stories. Whether it’s long-dead relatives speaking to them from the afterlife, or encountering an enormous tunnel, illuminated by a brilliant, welcoming light…. are these stories evidence of a “Great Beyond”, or simply wild spasms of a dying brain? After Junger’s NDE, he launched an investigation and uncovered a possible third answer that may expand our understanding of the universe itself. Really, no really.

***

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The visions he saw that changed his conception of the universe.
• Who encouraged him toward the void?
• What causes similar near-death experiences… God or spasms of a dying brain?
• Panpsychism: A scientific explanation of a possible and universal post-life existence.
• Anxiety, derealization & depression, why Sebastian Junger doubted he was alive.
• He was an atheist…now?
• Jason and Peter share their out of body experiences.
• Googleheim: Other things we just can’t know.

*** 

FOLLOW SEBASTIAN:

His latest book: In My Time of Dying: How I came face to face with the idea of an afterlife

Website: SebastianJunger.com

Instagram: @SebastianJungerOfficial

X: @sebastianjunger

Facebook: @SebastianJunger

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There is a growing phenomenon in the world of extreme fighting you might not be aware of. Of course there’s boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts… but for people who want something more dangerous, more brutal…a sport that affords an opportunity to hit…or be hit with a sword, a mace, or even a battle axe - there’s now…Medieval Fighting! Really, no really!

Jason and Peter wondered why seemingly average Joes would spend thousands of dollars on armor and 14th century weaponry and travel the globe for an opportunity to fight in this brutal way. So, they turned to Simon Rohrich, a multiple world champion and expert in Medieval Fighting.

By day, Simon is an Arizona based inventor and technology consultant… but his other persona is, Baron Josef Donnerbauch, who is proficient in staff, axe and longsword armored combat, close quarters fighting, and grappling. He discusses the growing appeal of Medieval Fighting, how it may help war veterans suffering from PTSD, and what it felt like to have a large axe imbedded in his skull!

***

IN THIS EPISODE:

• What exactly is Medieval Fighting and what are the rules?
• Rumors of infiltration by the Russian mob.
• Prize money?
• How protective is the hardened steel armor?
• That time an axe ended up lodged in Simon’s skull.
• What draws someone to this sport? Spoiler Alert: Trauma awaits ye!
• How this sport may help war veterans dealing with PTSD.
• Who’s tougher… Jason or Peter (The analysis might surprise you)
• GoogleHEIM: Medieval myths debunked!

***

FOLLOW SIMON:

Website: simonrohrich.com

Instagram: @SimonRohrich

YouTube: @axemaster

X: @SimonRinventor

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In 2020 "keto" was the most Googled food-related topic in the world. More than 23 million Americans have been on the ketogenic diet, yet many of the foods on the keto diet have been linked to heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses. So…is the ketogenic diet harming us or leading us to a healthy, buttery, red meat “promised land”? In this episode we attempt to get the answer. Really, no really!

Jason and to a lesser extent Peter have struggled with weight their entire lives. Jason can personally attest to his individual success/fail ratio on a multitude of diets AND his previous flirtation with the keto diet… which left him weighing less but with kidney stones and gout!

Dr. Ken Berry, a board-certified family physician, speaker and author based near Nashville, Tennessee whose focus is on the chronic diseases caused by the Standard American Diet and Lifestyle joins Jason and Peter to explain the benefits and to discuss the potential issues with the keto diet and its relationship to type 2 Diabetes, chronic inflammation, dementia and …keto crotch!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why keto may be the diet for almost everybody.
• Can the Keto diet help: obesity – hypertension - metabolic syndrome - fatty liver - heart disease – hypertension - type 1 or 2 diabetes - pre-diabetes?
• Bad breath? Keto flu? Odorless flatulence?
• Who shouldn’t try the keto diet.
• Eggs every day?
• Is veganism unhealthy?
• What happens when a carnivore dieter eats cake?
• Calories don’t matter. Really?
• Ozempic, Wegovy – enemies or part of the healing process?
• Keto cookies, keto supplements, keto bread, keto shakes – STAY AWAY!!!!
• Google-heim: Is Keto Crotch real…we investigate!

***

FOLLOW DR. BERRY:

Instagram: @KenDBerry.md

YouTube: @KenDBerrymd

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***

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Many industries, including toy and game makers, are increasingly depending on crowdsourcing for fresh ideas and to help decide what products to make. Outsourcing creativity to the masses can offer valuable feedback… but that data can also be misinterpreted, misunderstood or provide just-plain-bogus ideas.

The annual toy business in the United States is a $100 billion-dollar industry. It’s by far the biggest toy market in the world, but apparently the “titans of toys” are out of ideas. So now, their attitude about creating new “stuff” has shifted to an attitude of – you know what - you do it!  Really, no really!

To breakdown the inner workings of today’s toy and game world, Jason and Peter turned to an old friend, David Fuhrer who has created and licensed more than 300 toys, games, and household products, generating retail sales of over $1 billion dollars. These include iconic products such as Nerf Vortex Football, Aqua Doodle, Twisty Petz, Guitar Hero Air Guitar, Bounce Around Tigger, Hershey’s S’mores Maker, and more. AND…he’s also the Guinness World Record holder for being the fastest backwards talker. Really, no Really.

***

IN THIS EPISODE:

• 24 toy companies rejected one of the best-selling toys!
• How does an idea become a product, solve an everyday problem or innovate a classic?
• In 2024 is it possible to successfully pitch a Beanie Baby-like idea?
• The billion-dollar idea for a Tailor Swift product.
• The surprising new trends in toys and games.
• Why physical games and puzzles have made a comeback.
• How do crowd sourced ideas pay off for the idea creators?
• How David’s “backward talking” launched a career.
• We challenged David to translate classic Seinfeld lines…backwards.
• The deadliest toys ever put on the market!
• Googleheim: Test your toy knowledge!

***

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X: @funanuf123

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We now know that microplastics are literally everywhere! In our water, in our food, even in the organs of wild animals - found in the most remote places on Earth! But wait! Now scientists are discovering that there are even smaller fragments, called nanoplastic…so small… we consume them, potentially, with every breath we take. Really, no really!

These tiny particles and the chemicals that make plastics have been found in our brains, our lungs, kidneys, liver…even in men’s penises.  Obviously, Jason and Peter had questions; so, they turned to the man who tests the levels of microplastics in the foods we buy and eat, Dr. James Rogers. He is the Director of Food Safety Research and Testing at Consumer Reports. He is responsible for leading the food safety and sustainability operations of the organization, including food testing, data analysis, and risk and safety assessments. As acting head of Product Safety Testing, he also oversees the team that assesses safe operation and use of consumer products.

***

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Don’t wash your chicken! (Unless you own a hazmat suit.)
• Blowing things up, dropping them, smashing them! What’s it really like in the Consumer Reports testing lab?
• Ingesting microplastics, what are the effects on the body?
• Why you should rethink microwaving your food in plastic containers.
• Hidden issues that complicate ending our dependence on plastics.
• What CR found when they tested 85 commonly purchased foods for plastic contamination.
• Cut these foods from your diet to reduce phthalate consumption.
• Why are brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, red die number 3, titanium dioxide – all legal if known to be detrimental to our health?
• What must consumers do to demand safer food?
• Google-heim: How much do you know about recycling? Take our quiz to find out!

***

FOLLOW JAMES:

Consumer Reports website - www.consumerreports.org

LinkedIN – James E. Rogers, Ph.D.

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We’re in the golden age of finding and recovering trillion-dollar shipwrecks. These high-stakes, highly dangerous expeditions have been supercharged thanks to revolutionary deep ocean technologies. But… it’s not just the good guys searching through sunken Spanish galleons for gold doubloons; the rush to be first can sometimes get you killed. Really, no really!

Jason and Peter became aware of this phenomenon when they read about an elderly Florida couple arrested after appearing on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow. Appraisers were stunned to see gold ingots recovered “by a friend” from a shipwreck. Seeing the artifacts, French authorities claimed the couple were trafficking national treasures belonging to France.

The old adage “finders’ keepers” seemingly doesn’t apply - EVEN after spending years researching where the ships might be, then spending millions on expeditions HOPEFULLY finding the ship... hopefully. It seems like a lot of trouble when the country that lost and forgot about the treasure - hundreds of years ago can suddenly demand it back!

To help us salvage what’s actually going on… we turned to the “Indiana Jones” of underwater archeology -- Marine Scientist and Oceanographer, David L. Mearns – who is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club – he’s located 29 major shipwrecks and holds five Guinness World Records - including the deepest shipwreck ever found.

***

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How does one find a shipwreck that sank hundreds of years ago?
• Why are the deep ocean recovery missions so extraordinarily expensive?
• Guys with eye-patches? Treasure Hunters? Actual pirates! Who’s doing this work?
• Material value (gold) VS. archeological value (historical record)
• The law under the sea! The complicated legalese of sunken treasure.
• Can you sell Spanish doubloons on eBay? Tales of stolen booty!
• Black markets, personal bodyguards, razor-wire covered ships – the life of a shipwreck hunter!
• Riding on Paul Allen’s $200 million superyacht treasure hunting ship, Octopus.
• The tragedy of the Titan submersible – What really happened?
• David shares his ‘great white whale’ shipwreck he’d still like to find.
• The impact of shipwrecks is way more emotional than we previously thought.
• Google-HEIM: Why are ship's toilets called “the head”?

***

FOLLOW DAVID MEARNS:

Website: Blue Water Recoveries

X: @davidlmearns

***

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Dungeons & Dragons, the legendary tabletop role-playing game featuring elves, dwarves, wizards, fighters, and legions of nerds is currently observing… its 50th anniversary! Really, no Really!

Over the five decades, the game has had its fair share of infamy with stories of “Satanic panic” and more recently, a resurgence after being featured on Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” But what is this game really about? And how can it be more popular than ever after 5 decades?

Jason and Peter, after much needling from the self -identified nerds on their production staff (and Jason’s son who is a proud Dungeon Master) bravely walked into the never-known realms of D&D with one of the game’s quintessential experts... Jon Peterson, who studies the history of games, especially tabletop role-playing games and wargames. His first book has just been re-released as “Playing at the World, 2E, Volume 1: The Invention of Dungeons & Dragons” which has been called "the first serious history of the development of Dungeons & Dragons" by the Village Voice.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• A painless and fun history of Role-Playing Games.
• D&D is an improvisational-collaborative- storytelling experience.
• What’s a Dungeon Master and does it involve black latex, mouth gags and whips?
• What’s the point of a game with no “winning”?
• Breaking down D&D to understand its appeal.
• Wait… watching other people livestream D&D is a multimillion-dollar thing?
• Why D&D has become popular in prisons, on death row and in solitary confinement?
• Is D&D a game or a lifestyle choice?
• D&D’s ongoing controversies.
• How should a novice approach starting to play D&D?
• How A.I. and other technology will affect the future of D&D.

FOLLOW JON:

X: @docetist

Facebook: PlayingAtTheWorld

***

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We’ve all seen videos of stage-hypnosis shows where seemingly random audience members are put to sleep, hypnotized and then… in no time, they’re clucking like chickens, dancing like ballerinas, or swatting away imaginary pests.  Jason and Peter had to find out if this was something staged or “real” hypnosis.

Today’s guest, Dr. David Spiegel had the answer and reveals whether hypnotism can make people do things against their will, increase their physical strength and he even hypnotizes both Jason and Peter. Really, no really!

Dr. Spiegel has more than 40 years of clinical and research experience studying differing psychological disciplines, including hypnosis. He has used hypnosis since 1967, achieving and publishing results in more than 404 scientific journal articles, and 170 book chapters.

He is also the founder of Reveri, a self-hypnosis app.

So, sit back, get comfortable, and be prepared for a very, hypnotic episode…Really, no Really!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Stage hypnosis… is it real? (You might be surprised!)
• The therapeutic aspect of making a football coach dance like a ballerina.
• What happens inside the hypnotized brain
• Can hypnosis retrieve long lost memories… induce false memories?
• Therapeutic problems hypnosis can help.
• Is self-hypnosis a thing?
• How hypnosis can help alleviate self-destructive thinking.
• Jason and Peter get hypnotized by Dr. Spiegel – Really, no Really?
• Jason reveals his never before discussed personal encounters with hypnosis.
• Googleheim: Famous people who famously used hypnosis.

FOLLOW DR. SPIEGEL:

Website: reveri.com

Instagram: @Reveri

X: @reveri_health

***

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We’ve all heard of The Nobel Peace prize and the Nobel Literature prize, Science, and Medicine prizes. Well, this episode has absolutely nothing to do with any of that!

But! If you come up with an idea that is an unusual or trivial or a bizarre achievement in scientific research, well then…we have an award for you. It’s called the Ig Nobel Prize, and anyone can win it, if their idea makes you laugh…and then… makes you think! Really, no really!

The Prize was created by today’s guest, Marc Abrahams who has awarded it annually since 1991. And the awards are handed out annually by genuine Nobel laureates, as they honor and celebrate the unusual, the creative and the imaginative… while also spurring people’s interest in science, medicine, and technology.

So be prepared to learn about woodpeckers and concussions, an unusual childbirth device and the importance of fish farts. That’s right… fish farts!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The unbelievable way Marc first became editor of a scientific magazine.
• Amusing inventors & scientists doing obscure, yet noble things should be honored. Right?
• The scientists who defied a Prime Minister and proved the impending submarine invasion was not happening.
• Meet the guy who studied whether gonorrhea could be transmitted by sex dolls.
• Colonoscopy researchers won the Ig Nobel twice and performed a live on-stage demonstration you won’t believe.
• The Blonsky centrifugal birthing device will defy your understanding of natural childbirth.
• Why don’t woodpeckers get concussions and how that applies to football.
• Your foot size to genitalia size ratio is… real?
• Jason has some “genius ideas” he thinks should win an Ig Nobel.
• The small but notable list of inventors who were killed by their inventions.
• GOOGLEHEIM: Have any nobility won the Nobel Prize? Yep!

***

FOLLOW MARC:

Website – Improbable.com

Ig Nobel Prize 2024

Mastodon - @MarcAbrams

Facebook - Marc Abrahams

Podcast – Improbable Research

***

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Does your dog truly love you or are they faking it? A recent Newsweek cover story posed that very question and revealed that scientific research provides an answer! Really, no Really!

But can science really prove how your dog feels about you? Or for that matter, can it prove TRUE love, between animals or people? Fascinated by the scientific inquiry, Jason and Peter turned to Dr. Gregory Berns…the Distinguished Professor of Neuroeconomics at Emory University, and the scientist who conducted the actual “Love Research”, even going so far as using MRIs to discover what’s really going on in a dog’s brain!

Pet parents…prepare yourself for the truth!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• So…do our dogs actually love us?
• How the dog, hunting Osama bin Laden led to the first canine MRI.
• Utilizing MRIs to determine dog’s true emotions.
• Food and praise light up a dog’s brain reward center but is that love?
• Dog racism? Alligator companionship? Cow love? Re-examining animal psychology.
• Jason’s movie, Hachi: A Dog's Tale - a story of true dog love or just love for snacks?
• Does our increasing understanding of animal capabilities impact how we treat them?
• Eating or not eating the animals that have the capacity to love us.
• What’s too cute to eat and our definitive take on cannibalism.
• GoogleHEIM: The 3-year time window for certain types of dog lovers.

***

FOLLOW DR. BERNS:

Website - GregoryBerns.com

X - @gberns

Newly released book: “Cowpuppy: An Unexpected Friendship and a Scientist’s Journey into the Secret World of Cows”

***

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