In the United States, the airline industry loses an estimated 2 million bags annually. Now you might be wondering, where do all those lost bags end up? Well Jason and Peter were able to get a definitive answer to that question. The majority end up in Alabama! Really, no Really!

Our guest Bryan Owens discusses his unique family business…which has been dealing with lost and unclaimed luggage for over 50 years. Their enormous store, in Scottsboro, Alabama - which covers more than a city block - sells tens of thousands of unclaimed baggage items every year.

And with five decades of experience processing enormous volumes of lost items, Bryan reveals some of the one-of-a-kind pieces found in unclaimed luggage… including a 3,000-year-old Egyptian burial mask, a live rattlesnake, and even a shrunken human head which you can see in the store’s recently opened museum.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Unclaimed Baggage origin story and how they stock 7,000 new items every day.
• Airlines responsibility regarding lost luggage, settling claims and when Bryan’s team can take over.
• Who gets first dibs on valuable or in-demand items when lost luggage is recovered?
• A highly secret F14 guidance system, live venomous snakes and suits of armor are just a few of the bizarre things Bryan must deal with.
• How you can save up to 80% by purchasing someone else’s lost items!
• How Bryan Owen’s business employs dozens of pricing experts, authenticators and even GIA certified appraisers so he can issue certificates of authenticity.
• The psychology behind why most people don’t attempt to reclaim their stuff!
• Jason’s secret to finding lost items…look in the pickle barrel!
• Googleheim: Jason’s spring-loaded blackjack and a list of obvious and not so obvious items you can’t bring on an airplane.

***

FOLLOW BRYAN:

Website: UnclaimedBaggage.com

Instagram: @UnclaimBag

X: @UnclaimedBag

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can now rent a professional bridesmaid for your wedding! Really, no really!

Before you ask the inevitable and logical question…why anyone would need to rent somebody to be their bridesmaid, consider this: twenty two percent of Americans say that it has been at least five years since they’ve made a new friend and nearly one-third say they have three or fewer close friends. With friendship in decline no wonder one woman, today’s guest has acted as a bridesmaid in hundreds of weddings for brides she didn’t know.

Jen Glantz is the world’s first professional bridesmaid and founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, she’s also a best-selling author, a blogger, she writes several newsletters, and she hosts the wildly popular podcast, You’re Not Getting Any Younger.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How Jen stumbled into the professional bridesmaid business.
• Wedding disasters! Arguments, mistresses, fistfights, inappropriate speeches, and dog bites!
• Which couples won’t last…can Jen tell the difference?
• The surprising origin of many of your wedding traditions
• Anybody interested in attending a vow renewal? They have a registry!
• Destination weddings & why we hate them.
• Has Jen ever been busted as a pseudo friend?
• If you’re asked to be a bridesmaid…answer these questions BEFORE saying yes.
• The inherent sadness of needing a paid bridesmaid.
• The wedding Hokey Pokey incident Jason will never forget.
• Google-heim: Hokey Pokey controversies and producer Lorre’s dubious wedding!

***

FOLLOW JEN GLANTZ:

Website: BridesmaidForHire.com

Blog: The Things I Learned From

Podcast: You're Not Getting Any Younger

Instagram: @jenglantz

TikTok: @BridesmaidForHire

X: @jenglantz

Facebook: Jen Glantz

YouTube: @jenglantz

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A man attempted suicide by overdosing on a drug he was given in a clinical trial. He was rushed to a hospital in bad shape…shaking, breathing rapidly with a dangerously low pulse, and blood pressure that had bottomed out. He was eventually stabilized, but not by anything the staff at the hospital did. The treatment and cure?  He was informed that the overdose he had taken was a placebo. He had downed 29 capsules that were effectively sugar pills and the cause of his medical emergency… was all in his mind…Really, no really!

Jason and Peter were fascinated by the seemingly lethal effects of an inert substance. And while they had heard about the placebo effect, they were amazed that it could be this powerful. To find out more, they sought out the world’s foremost expert and researcher on the subject. Dr. Luana Colloca is a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland and the Director of the Placebo Beyond Opinions Center.

As an NIH-funded, internationally recognized expert, Dr. Colloca and her team research human pain modulation in patients suffering from chronic pain hoping to deepen understanding of placebo and nocebo effects.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The reason for the placebo’s creation in 1799.
• Why the placebo effect is more powerful than you think.
• The lesser-known nocebo effect and how it works.
• How do placebos mimic active treatments?
• Is it ethical to prescribe placebos without informing patients?
• Why patients who KNEW they were getting placebos improved!
• The placebo effect on positive vs negative-minded people.
• Acupuncture, reiki, other alternative treatments - placebos?
• Jason’s trick for alleviating pain using the power of his mind.
• A placebo to replace erectile dysfunction medications?
• Pondering non-medical uses for placebos - placebo vacations?
• Google-:heim: Placebo “isn’t” but “is.” Here are other things we think “are” that “aren’t.”

FOLLOW LUANA:

The Colloca Lab

Placebo Beyond Opinions (PBO) Center

Instagram: @CollocaLab

Facebook: @LuanaColloca

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you heard about Wally the 5-foot-long, 60-pound emotional support alligator? Wally’s owner sleeps with him, walks him on a leash, and even hosts children’s pool parties featuring the supposedly docile reptile. With their inhuman eyes, prehistoric looks, razor sharp teeth, and propensity to eat small dogs (and sometimes their owners), most of us have concluded that alligators are mindless, aggressive killing machines. Today’s guest says…we’re wrong. Really, no really!

We wanted to know if Wally’s antics represented the tip of the iceberg when it came to alligators demonstrating intelligence, receptiveness to petting and scratching, and if gators could express affection towards their human companions. Thousands of videos on Instagram and Tik Tok show people interacting lovingly with alligators so to understand the dichotomy of a predator with feelings we sought out Paul Bedard, one of the most knowledgeable people on the planet when it comes to understanding the psyche of wild alligators and how humans can interact with them in a safe and…get this… fun way.

Paul was featured on Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys” for 6 seasons where viewers saw him catch and rescue alligators that were deemed a threat to people, pets, or livestock. Outside of the reality show, Paul leads The Gator Boys Alligator Rescue Sanctuary housed in the Everglades Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

ON THIS EPISODE:

• The improbable altruistic inclination that led Paul to become a savior to alligators.
• Why some gators can be successfully trained!
• Are gators capable of feeling affection, frustration, pleasure, anxiety, distress and able to plot and plan?
• The unusual way Paul catches wild alligators, while swimming in canals…Really!
• Paul reveals what went through his mind when an alligator clamped down on his skull!!!
• Do alligators sense your fear?
• Do humans care more about the welfare of cute animals?

 

• Google-heim: Play along with the game, “Can you do THIS in Florida?”

***

FOLLOW PAUL:

Everglades Holiday Park: EvergladesHolidayPark.com

Instagram: @gatorboysalligatorrescue

YouTube: @gatorboysoutdoors

Facebook: @GatorBoysPaul

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s episode is all about our frustration with customer service… which by anyone’s standards is getting worse and worse! You experience it every time you encounter a phone tree, interact with a chatbot, or deal with increasingly longer hold times. The truly shocking fact, the apparent ineptitude of most customer service departments is by design. Really, no Really!

Jason and Peter had to find out the reason a company would intentionally offer unsatisfactory customer service and became even more bemused when they realized that A.I. is going to impact the entire sector. That’s why they sought out Amas Tenumah, a customer service expert and technologist who has advised DirecTV, Fastly, Wendy's, Teleflora, and Coca-Cola. His work has been featured on NPR, Forbes, The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and other business journals.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Poor customer care is part of the design!
• Amas’ secret trick to navigating customer service.
• How companies treat customer service employees: bathroom time tabulated, tethered to headsets, ridiculous scripts, terrible pay, and worse!
• Part of the customer service problem… YOU, the consumer!
• Every Call Center has one: the profanity policy.
• Correlating CEO tenure and inferior customer service.
• Can AI and technology improve people’s customer service experience?
• Peter’s “million-dollar idea” to revolutionize customer care.
• The growing number of companies that have terminated ALL phone interaction with customers.
• When chatbots go rogue!
• Why Amas almost got his hand cut off. Really!
• Google-heim: The Oldest continuously operating company in the world must have the best customer service, right? You will be shocked to learn how long these folks have been in business.

***

FOLLOW AMAS:

Website: AmasTenumah.com

Instagram: @AmasTenumah

YouTube: @AmasTenumah

Facebook: Amas Tenumah

X: @AmasTenumah

LinkedIn: Amas Tenumah

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Robert Sapolsky a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant winner and professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University has rankled the scientific and philosophic communities by arguing one simple point: There is no free will! We only THINK we’re making our own decisions. Really, no really!

When Jason and Peter heard this, they realized that they had absolutely no choice but to contact Dr. Sapolsky so they could get him to explain his thesis…in a simplistic way…that even they could understand. And he did!

Dr. Robert Sapolsky is a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research at the National Museum of Kenya, and the author of: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, A Primate's Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, Monkeyluv, and his latest is Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will. He is a regular contributor to Discover.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why a 14-year-old Robert Sapolsky concluded there is no free will.
• Misunderstanding what free will is; Dr. Sapolsky provides his definition.
• Determinism verses anti-determinism.
• How our sense of smell can affect our beliefs and choices.
• Thanks mom! How your pregnant mother’s elevated stress levels gave you a 20-fold likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder.
• Minority Report’s “pre-crime” idea is real and being implemented.
• Professor Sapolsky realizes that most philosophers and scientists reject his conclusions.
• Sapolsky says the world becomes more humane when we accept his hypothesis.
• Right, wrong, ethics, morality, compassion – What do we do with those concepts in a world without free will?
• Google-heim: No free will BUT the best things in life are free! (Sort of.)

***

FOLLOW ROBERT:

His latest book: “Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will”

TikTok: @ aprimatestiktok

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The cannabis available today is much, much stronger than the weed grandma was smoking back in her day and the effects on our brains are much more significant than previously thought. Really, no really! 

Jason and Peter sought out Dr. Ryan Sultan an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University to understand the underlying reasons for our growing inability to get along but when we had him in studio we also picked his brain relating to his expertise in cannabis. He's also an expert in the areas of anxiety, mood disorders, depression, ADHD, and substance abuse. Ryan graciously agreed to help us understand why Peter has been so edgy lately since he's gone cold turkey off marijuana.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Peter isn't alone in having a hard time coming off pot.
• Lung cancer, stroke, anxiety, a shrinking brain? The new huge study on long-term cannabis use.
• The effects of long term cannabis consumption.
• What happens to your brain when you stop regular use of pot.
• Cannabis, rebound anxiety + ADHD.
• The reason kids should stay away from pot until at least age 25.

***

FOLLOW DR. SULTAN

He is the director of Integrative Psych, as well as being director of Sultan Lab at Columbia University.

Instagram @rsultanmd

X @DrRyanSultan

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s becoming impossible to ignore the epidemic of public incivility. Tirades in supermarkets, performers pelted with projectiles, drunken movie goers brawling, tantrums on airplanes, and of course, the Oscar slap seen around the world! This can’t all just be coincidence. Social media constantly churns out evidence of this growing trend which begs the question: Which came first, the incivility or the smartphone cameras capturing it all? Really, no really?

Jason and Peter sought out an expert in human behavior to help discover the underlying reasons for our growing inability to get along. And Dr. Ryan Sultan an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University graciously agreed to help us understand society’s current decline in decency.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• What is “Main Character Syndrome” and is it real?
• Performers who’ve spectacularly called out disrespectful audience members.
• How COVID affected people’s temperament and children’s ability to mature and develop.
• How our reality has been impacted by smart phones, social media, and curated feeds.
• Anger, happiness and the algorithms that feed us.
• The restorative power of interpersonal relationships - can they be replicated online?
• Airplane tantrums, toxic Yelp reviews, prolific road rage, are there common threads instigating these behaviors?
• Is the “Karen phenomenon” new or are we just catching it on camera more?
• Broadway memories – How Jason dealt with onstage outbursts.
• Google-heim: Stemming the tide of incivility using the 4 Agreements.

***

FOLLOW DR. SULTAN

He is the director of Integrative Psych, as well as being director of Sultan Lab at Columbia University.

Instagram @rsultanmd

X @DrRyanSultan

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harvard is teaching a course on…Taylor Swift? Yes! Harvard University, the one in Cambridge, Massachusetts has a new course about T-Swizzle whose Eras Tour has earned over 1 billion dollars so far. And whose latest album just broke multiple streaming records within hours of its release. Really, no Really!

Our initial reaction was to poo-poo the Harvard course because we happen to be congenital born poo-poo-ers. But when we investigated the course syllabus, we found it fascinating, and an easy A it’s not.

Jason and Peter have enlisted the talents of Professor Stephanie Burt -who teaches the Taylor Swift course at Harvard - to not only discuss her class, but to also take a closer look at the woman, her music, the music industry she has upended and her rabid fan base, the Swifties.

Professor Stephanie Burt is the Donald and Catherine Loker Professor of English at Harvard University and has published various collections of poetry and a large amount of literary criticism and research. The New York Times has called Professor Burt "one of the most influential poetry critics of her generation".

You’ll also hear how Jason and Peter gave Taylor a job, way back in the day. Really, no Really!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How Prof. Burt sold Harvard’s Administration on doing a Taylor Swift course.
• Is Taylor Swift just about skewering her x-boyfriends?
• Do you have a Hermeneutic Friendship with Taylor? And what does that even mean?
• Does Taylor use “lects”? And what does that even mean?
• How Swift’s social media consciously builds and deepens community with her fans.
• Taylor Swift’s success: amazing business acumen or smart consultants?
• The songs a Swift novice should listen to first.
• GoogleHEIM: Quiz: Who sung it - Taylor Swift or the Sex Pistols?

***

FOLLOW PROFESSOR BURT:
X: @accommodatingly

BlueSky Social: @notquitehydepark.bsky.social

Podcast: teamupmoves.com

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode attempts to answer the question… “Are airlines putting dangerous planes into the sky?” Recently, a Boeing 737 Max 9 had a door plug blow out at 16,000 feet, creating a gaping hole that sucked out, among other things…the shirt off the back of a startled teenager. Really, no Really!

That incident (along with a few others) reminded us of that Netflix documentary exposing the egregious decline of Boeing, a once great American manufacturer. 2023 was considered a travel nightmare for many and 2024 looks to be no better with shortages of air traffic controllers, pilots, and planes.

To enlighten us about the current state of air travel, Jason and Peter invited CNN’s, always entertaining - aviation expert and correspondent- Richard Quest. Richard has interviewed every major airline executive and covered the crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, and the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Aviation’s surprising “Do Not Pair” list!
• Safest seat on the aircraft is…?
• Ailine pilot statistics you hope aren’t true.
• Richard breaks down why Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 & Lion Air Flight 610 went down and what’s changed.
• Why airlines outsource critical maintenance overseas.
• What happens when a plane depressurizes at 35,000 ft?
• Are pilots being pushed to the breaking point?
• True/False: Water and ice on an airplane are safe to drink?
• Is it possible to be sucked out a broken window?
• “Sully” Sullenberger’s genius!
• Jason’s favorite Seinfeld plane episode.
• GoogleHEIM: How far can a commercial airline glide without engines?

***

FOLLOW RICHARD QUEST:

X @RichardQuest

Quest Means Business, airs weekdays at 3pm ET / 12pm PT on CNN International

Pick up Richard’s book: 'The Vanishing of Flight MH370: The True Story of the Hunt for the Missing Malaysian Plane'

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.