Happy Friday! This week we chat about random topics that have caught my attention recently, from space and aliens to time loops and the ocean. Let me know if there are topics that you'd like me to deep dive by emailing me at [email protected]!

Sources:

StarTalk podcast with Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Pagan Coffee Talk with Life Temple and Seminary

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

Happy Friday! This week we're diving into where hamburgers came from and why fast food creates such strong cravings.

Sources:

Barksdale, Nate. “Where Hamburgers Began—and How They Became and Iconic American Food.” History, 29 Aug. 2014, https://www.history.com/articles/hamburger-helpers-the-history-of-americas-favorite-sandwich. Accessed 20 April 2025.

“Fast Food Consumption in the United States.” Gerd Help, https://www.gerdhelp.com/blog/fast-food-consumption-in-the-united-states/. Accessed 20 April 2025.

Mineo, Liz. “Soda is bad for you yet your body wants it. Why?” The Harvard Gazette, 10 Sept. 2024, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2024/09/why-do-we-crave-junk-food-diet-psychology/. Accessed 20 April 2025.

“Why Are Certain Foods so Addictive?” Cleveland Clinic, 4 March 2021, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-are-certain-foods-so-addictive. Accessed 20 April 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

Happy Friday! This week we're taking a deep dive (no pun intended) into Lake Michigan and some of it's spookiest stories.

Sources:

“About Great Lakes Waves and Currents” National Weather Service, https://www.weather.gov/iwx/beachhazards_waves_currents. Accessed 12 April 2025.

“Dangerous Currents.” Sea Grant Michigan, https://www.michiganseagrant.org/topics/coastal-hazards-and-safety/dangerous-currents/. Accessed 12 April 2025.

“Great Lakes ecoregion.” NOAA, 25 Feb. 2025, https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/great-lakes-ecoregion. Accessed 12 April 2025.

Guzman, Alyssa. “Mystery of the Lake Michigan triangle with strange disappearances, sinkings and weather that defies nature.” Daily Mail, 5 April 2025, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14564615/lake-michigan-triangle-disappearances-sinkings-weather.html. Accessed 12 April 2025.

“How They Were Made.” Sea Grant Wisconsin, https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/resources/the-formation-of-the-great-lakes/how-they-were-made/. Accessed 12 April 2025.

“The UnBelievable: Lake Michigan Triangle’s Mysterious Phenomena (Season 1).” YouTube, uploaded by History, 4 Dec. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP4nZapWEU4.

Twardy, Amber. “Lake Michigan is considered the deadliest Great Lake – here’s why.” ABC57, 24 Aug. 2022, www.abc57.com/news/lake-michigan-is-considered-the-deadliest-great-lake-heres-why. Accessed 12 April 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

Happy Friday! This week we're taking a deep dive into the notorious bank robber AND prison escape artist, Willie Sutton...his story is wild!

Sources:

Canavan, Kathryn. “75 years later: A look back at Willie Sutton’s infamous prison escape.” Metro Philadelphia, 9 Feb. 2022, metrophiladelphia.com/75-years-later-a-look-back-at-willie-suttons-infamous-prison-escape/. Accessed 6 April 2025.

Kiernan, Joseph and Desmond, James. “Willie Sutton Captured; He Never Left Brooklyn.” New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 1952, www.nydailynews.com/2016/02/18/the-day-willie-the-actor-sutton-prolific-bank-robber-was-arrested-in-brooklyn-in-1952/. Accessed 6 April 2025.

Mongelli, Lorena. “Former cop recalls NYPD arrest of Willie Sutton 60 yrs. Later.” New York Post, 18 Feb. 2012, nypost.com/2012/02/18/former-cop-recalls-nypd-arrest-of-willie-sutton-60-yrs-later/. Accessed 6 April 2025.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Willie Sutton.” Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Willie-Sutton. Accessed 6 April 2025.

“Willie Sutton.” FBI History, www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/willie-sutton. Accessed 6 April 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

Happy Friday! This week we're taking a deep dive into the controversial Milgram Shock Experiments from the early 1960s. Would you obey? How far do YOU think is too far in the pursuit of knowledge?

Sources:

Cherry, Kendra. “Understanding the Milgram Experiment in Psychology.” Very Well Mind, 13 Aug 2024, www.verywellmind.com/the-milgram-obedience-experiment-2795243. Accessed 30 Mar 2025.

McLeod, Saul. “Stanley Milgram Shock Experiment.” Simply Psychology, 14 Mar 2025, www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html. Accessed 30 Mar 2025.

Russell, Nestar. “Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Studies: An Ethical and Methodological Assessment.” Philosophia Scientia, vol. 28, no. 2, 2024, pp. 107-129, journals.openedition.org/philosophiascientiae/4370?lang=en#tocto2n1. Accessed 30 Mar 2025.

Seltzer, Leon F. “Why We Laugh When We’re Nervous.” Psychology Today, 4 Aug 2021, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolution-the-self/202108/why-we-laugh-when-were-nervous. Accessed 30 Mar 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

Happy Friday! Ever wonder where language comes from? Well, this week we're diving into where scientists believe human language began as well as how babies learn to speak.

Sources:

“Birth of a Language.” PBS, www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/07/2/l_072_04.html. Accessed 25 Mar 2025.

Futrell, Richard. “When was talking invented? A language scientist explains how this unique feature of human beings may have evolved.” UC Irvine, 8 Aug 2022, www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news/2022/2022-08-08-futrell-when-was-talking-invented.php. Accessed 25 Mar 2025.

“How do infants translate sounds to language?” Zero to Three, 5 Sept 2024, www.zerotothree.org/resource/how-do-infants-translate-sounds-to-language. Accessed 25 Mar 2025.

Kenneally, Christine. “The Cultural Origins of Language.” Scientific American, 1 Sept 2018, www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-cultural-origins-of-language. Accessed 25 Mar 2025.

Kuhl, Patricia K. “How Babies Learn Language.” Scientific American, 1 Nov 2015, www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-babies-learn-language. Accessed 25 Mar 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

This week we take a deep dive into where hair dye originated and how the beauty standards around hair dye have changed through history. Sit back, relax, and you might learn something new!

Sources:

Campus Staff. “History of Hair Coloring.” Campus, 31 Dec 2024, campus.edu/blog/cosmetology/history-of-hair-coloring. Accessed 18 Mar 2025.

Cerini, Marianna. “From rainbow to gray: The evolution of hair dye.” CNN Style, 25 Mar 2020, www.cnn.com/style/article/hair-dye-evolution/index.html. Accessed 18 Mar 2025.

Hopp, Devin. “The Extraordinary History of Hair Color.” Byrdie, 24 Sept 2024, www.byrdie.com/hair-color-history. Accessed 18 Mar 2025.

Murtaugh, Taysha. “The Tragic Life and Death of Jean Harlow, Hollywood’s Original Blonde Bombshell.” Country Living, 19 Sept 2017, www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a44839/jean-harlow-death/. Accessed 18 Mar 2025.

“When Was Hair Dye Invented? A Fascinating Journey Through the History of Hair Colouring.” Margaux, 4 May 2023, www.margauxsalon.co.uk/post/when-was-hair-dye-invented-a-fascinating-journey-through-the-history-of-hair-colouring. Accessed 18 Mar 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

Happy Friday! This week we take a deep dive that starts with the Mandela Effect and ends with a discussion about aphantasia, a condition where people cannot form pictures in their minds. We'll talk about conspiracies and I'll share a thought experiment so you can figure out how you see things (or don't) in your mind.

Sources:

Aphantasia Network. “The Ball on a Table: How to Tell the Difference Between Visualizers and Conceptualizers.” Aphantasia Network, 8 Oct 2023, aphantasia.com/article/strategies/ball-on-the-table. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

Capital One Brandvoice. “The Mandela Effect—Bad Memories Or An Alternate Universe?” Forbes, 31 Oct 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/capitalone/2017/10/31/the-mandela-effect-bad-memories-or-an-alternate-universe. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

Chan, Katharine. “Eidetic Memory: The Reality Behind the ‘Photographic’ Mind.” Verywell Mind, 8 Jan 2024, www.verywellmind.com/eidetic-memory-7692728. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

Eske, Jamie. “Examples and explanation of the Mandela Effect.” Medical News Today, 20 May 2024, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mandela-effect. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

McDonough, Michael. “Mandela Effect.” Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/Mandela-effect. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

Richardson, Diane Currie. “Memories Without Imagery—Remembering Outside the Lines.” Aphantasia Network, 18 Mar 2024, aphantasia.com/article/stories/memories-without-imagery/?srsltid=AfmBOoqVBQnovi7-s4EkkEpHEXVZvSL57krz9BqwFi_stMNKZ5MHDPf9. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

Squire, Larry. “Is photographic memory real? If so, how does it work?” Brain Facts, 17 Apr 2016, www.brainfacts.org/ask-an-expert/is-photographic-memory-real. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

Vath, Inka. “Aphantasia Impacts Autobiographical Memory Recall.” Neuroscience News, 27 Feb 2024, neurosciencenews.com/aphantasia-memory-25667. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

“What is Aphantasia?” Aphantasia Network, aphantasia.com/what-is-aphantasia. Accessed 9 Mar 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

On today's episode we dive into the topic of butterflies and why they are so important to our current ecosystems. Plus I go over tips to keep their populations strong...with some side track stories along the way.

Sources:

Helliwell, Leslie, “Top Ten Ways to Help Butterflies.” ENC, 22 Feb 2015, encenter.org/top-ten-ways-to-help-butterflies/. Accessed 28 Nov 2024.

Kawahara, A.Y., Storer, C., Carvalho, A.P.S. et al. “A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins.” Nat Ecol Evol 7, 903–913 (2023). doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02041-9. Accessed 28 Nov 2024.

Marcum, Diana. The Fallen Stones. Little A, 2022.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “K-T Extinction.” Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/K-T-extinction. Accessed 28 Nov 2024.

“Why butterflies matter.” Butterfly Conservation, butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/why-butterflies-matter. Accessed 28 Nov 2024.

“Why is Pollination Important?” US Forest Service, www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/wildflowers/pollinators/importance. Accessed 4 Mar 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/

It's almost Mardi Gras! Explore the history of this tradition with me as we take a deep dive into what the festival is all about!

Sources:

Barclay, Eliza. “Is That A Plastic Baby Jesus In My Cake?” NPR, 17 Feb 2012, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/02/17/147039138/is-that-a-plastic-baby-jesus-in-my-cake. Accessed 22 Feb 2025.

Betit, Jessica. “What is Mardi Gras?” Gardiner Public Library, 1 March 2022, gardinerpubliclibrary.org/what-is-mardi-gras/. Accessed 22 Feb 2025.

Greenspan, Jesse. “9 Things You May Not Know About Mardi Gras.” History, 28 Sept 2023, www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-mardi-gras. Accessed 22 Feb 2025.

History.com Editors. “Mardi Gras 2025.” History, 18 Feb 2025, www.history.com/topics/holidays/mardi-gras. Accessed 22 Feb 2025.

Killgrove, Kristina. “An Archaeologist’s ‘Bead Lust’ For Modern Mardi Gras And Ancient Rituals.” Forbes, 8 Feb 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2016/02/08/an-archaeologists-bead-lust-for-modern-mardi-gras-and-ancient-rituals/?sh=600dc72077cb. Accessed 22 Feb 2025.

Pruitt, Sarah. “6 Mardi Gras Traditions and Their Origins.” History, 6 Feb 2024, www.history.com/news/from-king-cake-to-zulu-coconuts-the-history-of-6-mardi-gras-traditions. Accessed 22 Feb 2025.

“6 Pagan Celebrations To Welcome Spring.” History, www.history.co.uk/articles/pagan-spring-celebrations. Accessed 22 Feb 2025.

Music: https://pixabay.com/users/lsmusic-46357977/