Something You Should Know

Gasoline is expensive and we all need to make sure we are squeezing every mile out of every gallon. You have probably heard a lot of suggestions on how to conserve gas. This episode begins with a few effective methods you may not have heard of before from Popular Mechanics. https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a39504408/how-to-improve-your-vehicles-gas-mileage/ 

Do you believe in luck? That is likely going to depend on how you define it. Some people believe luck is a magical force in the universe while others think of luck as something you calculate with probabilities and statistics while others believe you can create your own luck. To get a better understanding of how luck works, I invite you to listen to my conversation with Jeffrey Rosenthal, professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Statistics and author of several books including Knock On Wood: Luck Chance and the Meaning of Everything (https://amzn.to/3uccXfh).

You don’t have to go too far before you begin to realize that life can be cruel and unfair and that bad things happen to everyone. What is most important is how you deal with and accept and ultimately make peace with the difficult things. Clinical psychologist Janina Scarlet works with people who must accept and come to terms with events that are unfair and often devastating. Janina is author of the book, It Shouldn’t Be This Way: Learning to Accept the Things You Just Can’t Change (https://amzn.to/4bHImcX). If you’ve ever had trouble making peace with something bad that has happened to you, you should listen to what she has to say. 

People want to look their best. As we age, it seems natural for people to want to look youthful. However, there is a limit to it. Listen as I explain the negative consequences of trying to appear too young and what to do instead if you really want to appear younger than your actual age. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/obsonline/act-your-age.html

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

We really like The Jordan Harbinger Show! Check out https://jordanharbinger.com/start OR search for it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing Love Is Blind, and Allegedly Toxic from The New Yorker Radio Hour.

Follow the show: The New Yorker Radio Hour

On the reality-TV dating show  “Love Is Blind,” the most watched original series in Netflix history, contestants are alone in windowless, octagonal pods with no access to their phones or the Internet. They talk to each other through the walls. There’s intrigue, romance, heartbreak, and, in some cases, sight-unseen engagements. According to several lawsuits, there’s also lack of sleep, lack of food and water, twenty-hour work days, and alleged physical and emotional abuse. New Yorker staff writer Emily Nussbaum has been reporting on what these lawsuits reveal about the culture on the set of “Love Is Blind,” and a push for a new union to give reality-TV stars employee protections and rights. “The people who are on reality shows are a vulnerable class of people who are mistreated by the industry in ways that are made invisible to people, including to fans who love the shows,” Nussbaum tells David Remnick. Nussbaum’s forthcoming book is “Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV.”

DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to [email protected].

Ever try to get your dog or cat to recognize themselves in the mirror? This episode begins with an explanation as to why the result is almost always disappointing. https://www.livescience.com/4272-elephant-awareness-mirrors-humans.html

You hear a lot of concerns expressed about people's cellphone use. Are we spending too much time on our phones? What are people doing on their phones? Is it causing harm? Here to discuss some of the research about cellphone use and what it does to people is Faye Begheti. She is a practicing neurology doctor and neuroscientist at Oxford University Hospitals and author of the book The Phone Fix: The Brain-Focused Guide to Building Healthy Digital Habits and Breaking Bad Ones (https://amzn.to/3yJUhIM). Listen as she explains that it is not so much about simply being on your phone – it’s more about what you are doing while you are on it.

Paradoxes are those quirky little things that often seem to make no sense but actually help us think differently and problem solve better. For example, if I tell you I always tell lies – is that a lie? How can it be the truth if I always tell lies? Here to help you better understand paradoxes and why we have them is George Szpiro. He is a journalist with a PhD in mathematical economics and author of the book Perplexing Paradoxes: Unraveling Enigmas in the World Around Us (https://amzn.to/4aEASGo).

Several years ago I spent a weekend teaching myself to juggle. It wasn’t easy but with a little persistence (about a weekend’s worth for me), the basics can be mastered. And it turns out that knowing how to juggle is good for you in a lot of ways. Listen and I will tell you how. https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2009-10-12-juggling-enhances-connections-brain

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

We really like The Jordan Harbinger Show! Check out https://jordanharbinger.com/start OR search for it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many of us fantasize about being rich. Wouldn’t it be great to win the lottery or inherit a ton of money or be born into a wealthy family? Well it isn’t always as wonderful as you might imagine. Listen as I begin by explaining what being rich does to some people – especially young people. Source: Dr. Stephen Berglas author of Reclaiming the Fire (https://amzn.to/3VjeRIS)

Almost no one dreams about math. Almost everyone dreams about falling or being chased. These are just some of the fascinating things I discuss about dreams with Dr. Rahul Jandial. He is a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist who has been studying why people dream and what happens in the brain when dreams occur. If you have wondered about your dreams and how they affect you, you need to hear this conversation. Dr. Jandial is the author of several books, his latest is called, This Is Why You Dream: What Your Sleeping Brain Reveals About Your Waking Life (https://amzn.to/3KmOE5N).

Do you like solitude? We all like it somewhat – and some of us like a lot of solitude. Is that a problem? After all, humans are social creatures. We like to be with others. Still there are many people who cherish “alone time.” To understand why solitude is so important, listen to my guest Netta Weinstein. She is a psychologist and director of the European Research Council's 'Solitude: Alone but Resilient (SOAR)' project. She is also professor of psychology at the University of Reading and an associate researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford. Netta is author of the book Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone (https://amzn.to/3wVA7eb).

Every once in a while, you will see something on a menu labeled “organic seafood.” What does that mean? How can seafood be organic? Listen and I will explain why it is probably not as organic as you would like it to be. https://www.foodrepublic.com/1413904/why-organic-seafood-myth/

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

We really like The Jordan Harbinger Show! Check out https://jordanharbinger.com/start OR search for it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do they call it PLASTIC surgery? It seems like a weird word to use. What’s even weirder is that the term goes back a couple of centuries, even before we had plastic as we know it today. This episode begins with an explanation and once you hear it, it’ll all make sense. Source: Lindsey Fitzharris author of The Face Maker (https://amzn.to/3x3IP69).

What does the word “evil” mean when you hear it? What is evil? Is it some sinister force in the universe? Is it even possible to explain what it is? What makes someone do cruel and evil things? Perhaps evil isn’t something itself but the result of something else. Listen to my conversation with Simon Baron Cohen, a professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge and author of four books including The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty (https://amzn.to/3tf4ffC).

Most people in the world know how to ride a bike. It is the most popular means of transportation on earth. And it makes you wonder how that happened so fast. The modern bicycle was invented not all that long ago – yet there are now twice as many bicycles as cars in existence. You are about to discover that the history of the bicycle is more interesting than you ever knew. Listen as I discuss this with Jody Rosen, a writer for The New York Times magazine and author of the book Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle (https://amzn.to/3NuAoaU).  

If you live in or visit a place that has fireflies (or lightning bugs), you know they are fascinating to watch. However, the population of fireflies is diminishing. Listen as I explain why this is happening. http://www.firefly.org/how-you-can-help.html

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

NerdWallet lets you compare top travel credit cards side-by-side to maximize your spending! Compare & find smarter credit cards, savings accounts, & more https://NerdWallet.com

TurboTax Experts make all your moves count — filing with 100% accuracy and getting your max refund, guaranteed! See guarantee details at https://TurboTax.com/Guarantees

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sound of crickets on a summer night can be quite pleasing. And the little critters making that sound have some interesting characteristics and abilities I bet you never knew. Listen to my explanation and you’ll have renewed respect for the crickets of summer. Source: Hugh Raffels author of Insectopedia (https://amzn.to/4bOcK51)

Friendships are at an all-time low. People have fewer friends than ever before and the number of people who feel lonely is at record high levels. Why is friendship so hard? Well, it’s not really, according to Anna Goldfarb. She makes friends quite easily and she says you can too if you are willing to try. Want to know how? Then you need to listen to Anna. She is a friendship journalist who has reported for The New York Times, Time magazine, and the Washington Post and she is author of the book, Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valued Connections (https://amzn.to/3K9Fqdb).

If any podcast can make the topic of housework exciting – it is this podcast. What’s so interesting is a lot of what we learned about how to do housework is ineffective, outdated and sometimes just plain wrong. The result is that you may be wasting time and money and not doing a particularly great job at keeping your house and clothes clean. To rescue is Melissa Pateras. She creates very popular TikTok videos about house cleaning tips and tricks (https://www.tiktok.com/@melissadilkespateras?lang=en) and she is author of the book, A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home: Housekeeping Hacks You Can't Live Without (https://amzn.to/3VbJ0ts)

There are a lot of reasons to get your kids to play outside in the sunshine. One of the important reasons has to do with their eye health. Listen as I explain the connection between playing outside and vision in children. https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/outdoor-activity-and-myopia-in-children

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

NerdWallet lets you compare top travel credit cards side-by-side to maximize your spending! Compare & find smarter credit cards, savings accounts, & more https://NerdWallet.com

TurboTax Experts make all your moves count — filing with 100% accuracy and getting your max refund, guaranteed! See guarantee details at https://TurboTax.com/Guarantees

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here is a problem about spaghetti that has stumped some of the brightest minds in science, including Nobel prize winning physicist Richard Feynman: Hold one strand of spaghetti at each end and try to break it into two pieces. You will find that it is impossible. There now appears to be an explanation thanks to some very high-speed cameras. Listen and I will tell you what it is. https://www.thenakedscientists.com/get-naked/experiments/snapping-spaghetti

You want things. I want things. We all want things. That is what human desire is all about. Have you ever stopped to wonder why you desire those particular things? For an explanation of human desire, we turn to Luke Burgis. He is an entrepreneur and a philosopher and he has written a book about desire titled, Wanting (https://amzn.to/3fPJyR9). Listen as he offers insight into what triggers all of our desires – big and small.

If we evolved from apes, why are there still apes? That’s one of many questions people ponder about evolution. Perhaps you’ve also wondered if humans are still evolving, or have we stopped? Can we predict how evolution will change the world? These are just some of the questions I tackle with Marlene Zuk. She is an evolutionary biologist and author of the book Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live (https://amzn.to/3uUyd6H). Listen and you will have a better understanding of how we evolved to be who we are.

When a child gets hurt, what you do and say in response is critical. And it isn’t only because the correct response can soothe the child and alleviate their stress, it can also affect the way the child recovers from an injury. Listen to hear the science of this important phenomenon. Source: Judith Acosta author of Verbal First Aid (https://amzn.to/3fScUhV)

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

NerdWallet lets you compare top travel credit cards side-by-side to maximize your spending! Compare & find smarter credit cards, savings accounts, & more https://NerdWallet.com

TurboTax Experts make all your moves count — filing with 100% accuracy and getting your max refund, guaranteed! See guarantee details at https://TurboTax.com/Guarantees

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though we have celebrated Memorial Day for a long time, it wasn’t made an official national Holiday until 1971. And it wasn’t always called Memorial Day either. We start this episode with a few fascinating facts about this interesting American holiday and day of remembrance. https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/memorial-day-2022-facts-american-holiday

Why is your personality the way it is? Why are you the way you are? Why is it that you are different than everybody else? There is some fascinating new research about how personalities come to be. And here to discuss it is Brian Little one of the leading researchers in the subject of human personality. Brian is the author of the book, Me, Myself and Us: The Science of Personality and the Art of Well-Being. (https://amzn.to/3LN32mi).

Doesn’t it seem that people argue more now than they used to – and often about the most ridiculous things? People argue about politics and social issues and just about everything else. It makes you wonder if arguments actually accomplish anything or are they more destructive than constructive. Joining me to discuss why we seem to like to argue is Lee Siegel. Lee is the author of seven books as well as a writer and cultural critic who has written for Harper’s, The New Republic, The Nation, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, The New York Times. His latest book is Why Argument Matters. (https://amzn.to/3ao7Zox).

If you or someone around you gets stung by a bee, do you know what to do? You should because it can be serious or even life-threatening for some people. Listen as I explain what the American Academy of Dermatology recommends you do and NOT do. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/injured-skin/bites/treat-bee-sting

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

NerdWallet lets you compare top travel credit cards side-by-side to maximize your spending! Compare & find smarter credit cards, savings accounts, & more https://NerdWallet.com

TurboTax Experts make all your moves count — filing with 100% accuracy and getting your max refund, guaranteed! See guarantee details at https://TurboTax.com/Guarantees

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Look at any can of cooking spray and it will say on the label that it has zero calories. How can that be? It can’t be. Listen as I explain how they get away with saying that when it isn’t really true and I’ll reveal how many calories there actually are. https://cheatdaydesign.com/how-many-calories-does-cooking-spray-really-have/

No doubt you have heard of Ozempic. It is a drug that allows a lot of people to lose weight. While it is extremely effective, there are risks and concerns. But what is the bigger risk – the risks of taking the drug or the risks of remaining overweight? That’s the question I explore with Johann Hari. He is a writer and journalist who has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, and other newspapers. His TED Talks have been viewed over 70 million times, he is the author of some bestselling books and he has taken Ozempic and lost weight. He has also thoroughly researched all sides of the debate on these drugs and the results of his work are in his book Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs (https://amzn.to/3WMpdC7).

All the conveniences of living in a digital world are hard to argue with. Still, all these digital gadgets have made many cherished analog things obsolete. Think about how your smartphone has replaced the need for a watch, or camera or a bookstore or record store – even a map. Everything is digital now. This segment isn’t about longing for “the good old days” of analog but rather looking at how important our analog world was a few decades ago and how some analog things still persist because they are still the better way (think of a pencil and a piece of paper). Joining me to talk about all things analog is Deyan Sudjic, Director Emeritus of the Design Museum in London, professor of Design Studies at the University of Lancaster in the UK and author of the book, The World of Analog: A Visual Guide (https://amzn.to/4dMnXEW).

No matter what language people speak, when they get hurt they say “OUCH!” or something very close to it. Listen as I explain the reason and purpose of OWWW or OUCH! Source: Jonathan Goldman author of The 7 Secrets to Sound Healing (https://amzn.to/3V6vVR9).

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

NerdWallet lets you compare top travel credit cards side-by-side to maximize your spending! Compare & find smarter credit cards, savings accounts, & more https://NerdWallet.com

TurboTax Experts make all your moves count — filing with 100% accuracy and getting your max refund, guaranteed! See guarantee details at https://TurboTax.com/Guarantees

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whenever I fly, I see people on the plane who look like they are doing important work on their laptops. That may actually be a really bad idea because it is hard to do high quality work at 30,000 feet. Listen as I explain why. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22357419

We have become a pretty wasteful world. We waste a lot of food, we create a lot of packaging that goes to waste and despite our best efforts we only recycle a fraction of all the things we could. There is likely no one big solution to any of this but there are some interesting things being done you should hear about that are making a difference. Here to explain these solutions and reveal the magnitude of the waste problem is Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Edward Humes. He is author of over two dozen books. His latest is Total Garbage: How We Can Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World (https://amzn.to/3K3tXvx).

Creativity sounds so magical – like it is some mystical gift some people were given that allows them to create the most wonderful things. However, creativity has been studied and the science of it is less magical and more practical. Being more creative and accomplished at anything is a skill we can all develop. We may not become the greatest or most creative at a chosen skill, but we can all become better at anything we put our mind to if we understand how. Here to explain is Anna Abraham. She is a professor and the Director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia and author of the book, The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths (https://amzn.to/3QReQcn)

When it comes to family dinner, many parents serve different food to their children – like mac and cheese or chicken nuggets because kids seem to prefer it. Is that a good idea? Listen as I reveal the dangers of dumbing down your kids’ meals. https://www.npr.org/2006/11/02/6418289/break-your-childs-mac-n-cheese-diet

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Indeed is offering SYSK listeners a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to get your jobs more visibility at https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING

NerdWallet lets you compare top travel credit cards side-by-side to maximize your spending! Compare & find smarter credit cards, savings accounts, & more https://NerdWallet.com

TurboTax Experts make all your moves count — filing with 100% accuracy and getting your max refund, guaranteed! See guarantee details at https://TurboTax.com/Guarantees

Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can Live Claritin Clear with Claritin-D!

eBay Motors has 122 million parts for your #1 ride-or-die, to make sure it stays running smoothly. Keep your ride alive at https://eBayMotors.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices