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A scientist asked people to sit in a silent room for 15 minutes. Almost half of them decided to give themselves a painful electric shock instead. What is it about our brains that makes our relationship with silence so strange? And should we learn how to listen to it?
This is the third episode of our new four-part series, The Sound Barrier.
Guests: Erin Westgate, assistant professor at the University of Florida; Rui Zhe Goh, doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University; Melody Baglione, professor at Cooper Union
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable
And please email us! [email protected]
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members
Thank you!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
By Vox4.6
21852,185 ratings
A scientist asked people to sit in a silent room for 15 minutes. Almost half of them decided to give themselves a painful electric shock instead. What is it about our brains that makes our relationship with silence so strange? And should we learn how to listen to it?
This is the third episode of our new four-part series, The Sound Barrier.
Guests: Erin Westgate, assistant professor at the University of Florida; Rui Zhe Goh, doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University; Melody Baglione, professor at Cooper Union
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable
And please email us! [email protected]
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members
Thank you!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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