Unexplainable

The FDA is about to announce whether it’s going to approve MDMA as a treatment for PTSD. Our friends at Today, Explained explore what this kind of therapy looks like, and why it’s so controversial.

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They probably didn’t roar like lions. Their real voices were likely much, much weirder. We asked scientists to help us re-create these strange, extinct sounds. (First published in 2022)

Guests: Michael Habib, professor at UCLA, Julia Clarke, professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and Jonny Crew, sound designer at Wounded Buffalo

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It’s possible that the entire observable universe is inside a black hole. All we need to do to find out is … build a gigantic particle collider around the moon.

Guest: James Beacham, particle physicist at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN

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Send this episode to the person who constantly hounds you not to slouch.

Guest: Beth Linker, author of “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America”

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People yawn when they’re bored, right? So then why do athletes yawn before races? And why do so many animals yawn? … And why does reading this paragraph make you more likely to yawn? (Updated from 2022)

Guest: Dr. Andrew Gallup

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Can a physicist predict our messy economy by building an enormous simulation of the entire world?

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Inflation is one of the most significant issues shaping the 2024 election. But how much can we actually do to control it?

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

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It’s hard to figure out the economic value of a wild bat or any other part of the natural world, but some scientists argue that this kind of calculation could help protect our environment.

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Seventy-five percent of the seafloor remains unmapped and unexplored, but the first few glimpses scientists have gotten of the ocean’s depths have completely revolutionized our understanding of the planet.

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

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If you just stood up and shouted, “It’s Mount Everest, duh!” then take a seat. Not only is Everest’s official height constantly changing, but three other mountains might actually be king of the hill.

For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts

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