The Done Thing

LANGUAGE WARNINGGGG - this episode is full of things your grandma would dissaprove of. Elsa dives into the evolution of the swear word, why we use it, and its relationship to social power and pain.

Big thanks to linguist Daniel Midgley for his time and profanity - you can find more from him and all things language on the podcast Because Language.

WELL IT'S BEEN A MINUTE! This episode looks at something we all do. It's the reason I haven't made an episode in weeks. It's the reason your laundry isn't done yet. It's the reason you haven't had that difficult conversation with your mate about that thing you really should talk about. Procrastination. So here's 10 minutes of some silly chatter before you get on with that urgent email. 

Thanks to psychologist Sabina Read for her time and expertise! She has a new podcast called Human Cogs. Thanks also to Cam Williamson for his voice acting, and everyone I bug and will continue to bug who helps explore these topics with me.

So...women have armpit hair. And...they've had it for ages. So why do we find it so intolerable? And when did we start chopping it off?

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Featuring Prof. Breanne Fahs, who just wrote a new book called Burn It Down!

Three women share their unconventional but totally romantic love story. An evolutionary biologist drops in to talk about why we started being monogamous in the first place. Spoiler alert: we were never very good at it.

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This episode was originally created with my charming friend and thinker Elise O'Sullivan.

HEY I HAVE A QUESTION.

Why do we fake tan? Where did the trend come from?

This ep goes into the history of this cultural norm, the crazy lengths we go to to get a tan and the people who are spraying themselves silly.

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Featuring:

Laura Chawke from makeupscholar.com

Rupert Williamson from Runaway Balloon

Are you missing cuddles in iso? Well snuggle up to me dear listener, this episode dives into the cuddling phenomenon, the reasons us humans take part in this most wholesome activity. Elsa talks to experts about the science behind the cuddle and your cuddling game gets put to the test when you hear from a professional cuddler. YEP, THAT'S A THING.

You wanna get married? You put a ring on it. That's the done thing right? This episode explores what the hell thats about. What the engagement ring means to people, the crazy story of the diamond industry and how it made its way into our culture.