Replacement theory is essentially a propaganda campaign engineered to scare gullible people into giving power to autocrats. Versions of this have been around for a long time. We review the history of replacement theory, explain how it works to trick people into voting against their interests (and the interests of everyone else), and what we can do about it. 

Recommendations

• Abraham: Wool (https://hughhowey.com/books/wool/)
• Shane: Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH (https://open.spotify.com/album/52yD51X7yDinwlg6tbCtpP?si=LoE11WYfRfygXQaUwd2Ceg)

Holidays (06/18/25):

• Autistic Pride Day
• Go Fishing Day
• International Panic Day
• International Picnic Day
• International Sushi Day
• National Cheesemaker’s Day
• National Cherry Tart Day
• National Splurge Day
• Animal Rights Awareness Week
• Carpenter Ant Awareness Week
• Learning Disabilities Week
• National Roller Coaster Week
• Take Your Dog to Work Week
• Wobbly Week

Links and References: 

1. https://immigrationforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Replacement-Theory-Explainer-1122.pdf
2. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-is-great-replacement-theory-and-how-does-it-fuel-racist-violence
3. https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-great-replacement-theory-a-scholar-of-race-relations-explains-224835
4. https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/racist-great-replacement-conspiracy-theory-explained/
5. https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/great-replacement 
6. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/great-replacement-explainer 
7. https://hias.org/news/deep-dive-great-replacement-theory/
8. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/08/a-deadly-ideology-how-the-great-replacement-theory-went-mainstream

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One of the most common strategies of current right-wing propaganda is to say something that sounds like reasonable words, but when you break it down it is misleading, misinformed, outright wrong, or even dangerous. One example of this is a recent suggestion that we start using placebo-controlled experimental arrangements for established vaccines. This is fairly simple to dismantle, so buckle in for a quick and dirty takedown of the placebo-controlled vaccine studies stupid nonsense. 

Support us on patreon: patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

Links and References: 

1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4157320/
2. https://www.statnews.com/2025/05/22/vaccines-placebo-controlled-trials-hhs-clinical-research-ethics/
3. https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2025/05/placebo-testing-vaccines-is-unethical-a-waste-of-time-and-money-expert-says/?fj=1

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

Science is not perfect, because it is human. But it is strives for correction, unlike almost any other human institution or endeavor. Much of what science does at the basic level can feel absurd, esoteric, and pointless. Sometimes, it is. But funding basic scientific research is the reason we have made more progress in the last 150 years than the previous 3,000 years combined. Let's continue making strides forward with our values in mind: fund basic science research!

Recommendations

• Abraham: The Stormlight Archive: Wind and Truth (https://www.brandonsanderson.com/pages/the-stormlight-archive-series)
• Shane: Y: The Last Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y:_The_Last_Man)

Holidays (6/11/2025):

• Corn on the Cob Day
• Cousteau Day
• Dirty Book Day
• International Yarn Bombing
• Kamehameha Day
• National Cotton Candy Day
• National German Chocolate Cake Day
• National Making Life Beautiful Day
• California State Parks Week
• Community Health Improvement Week (CHI)
• Meet a Mate Week
• National Clay Week
• National Little League Baseball Week
• National Pet Wedding Week
• Shampoo Week

Links and References: 

1. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senator_William_Proxmire.htm 
2. https://www.aei.org/economics/in-praise-of-science-investment-especially-basic-research/
3. https://www.goldengooseaward.org/our-gaggle
4. https://www.goldengooseaward.org/01awardees/nanopores
5. https://www.aau.edu/newsroom/leading-research-universities-report/new-research-suggests-returns-federal-investments-rd 
6. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-high-return-on-investment-for-publicly-funded-research/
7. https://www.goldengooseaward.org/01awardees/the-maser
8. https://www.goldengooseaward.org/01awardees/frog-skin-cholera 

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The Scoville scale is a method for measuring the heat of capsaicin-laden food. This is the amount of sugar water needed to entirely dilute the spice. But, we say it more elegantly than that. Let the spice flow!

Join our supporter's club: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

Links and References: 

1. https://www.nist.gov/how-do-you-measure-it/how-do-you-measure-heat-pepper 
2. https://pepperscale.com/what-is-the-scoville-scale/ 
3. https://pepperpalace.com/blogs/expert-tips/everything-youve-ever-wanted-to-know-about-the-scoville-scale?srsltid=AfmBOoojcmyRiT5Yv_4RSa631H588xTp2lgzgEorf5Cxbb0eYMXuLBam 

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Lots of people smear colored dyes into the skin of their face almost every day. It's so commonplace, we hardly give it a second thought. We explore the history of makeup, and the psychology of this cultural practice. There are different motives for wearing makeup. We enumerate some of them here. It's not so simple as a lot of peope might try to make it out to be. 

Recommendations

• Abraham: Love, Death, and Robots (Season 4; https://www.netflix.com/title/80174608)
• Shane: Alien: Romulus (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18412256/)

Holidays (6/4/2025)

• Chimborazo Day
• Impersonate Authority Day
• Love Conquers All Day
• National Chocolate Macaroon Day
• National Egg Day
• National Itch Day
• Repeat Day (I said “Repeat Day”)
• World Bicycle Day
• World Clubfoot Day
• Bedbug Awareness Week
• Black Single Parents Week
• Canadian Environment Week
• End Mountain Top Removal Week
• National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month
• National Portuguese Heritage Month
• National Pollinators Month
• National Soul Food Month
• National Candy Month

Links and References: 

1. https://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/history-of-cosmetics/
2. https://www.si.edu/spotlight/health-hygiene-and-beauty/make-up
3. https://lmi.edu/blog/4000-yrs-of-makeup-the-evolution-of-makeup/
4. https://www.lebube.com/post/psychology-behind-makeup
5. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-truth-about-exercise-addiction/201606/the-surprising-psychology-behind-makeup
6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8956164/
7. https://people.howstuffworks.com/about-makeup.htm
8. https://www.iceman.it/en/the-mummy/ 
9. https://cosmeticsbusiness.com/the-story-of-war-paint-206037 
10. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/no-makeup-week-chicago-wr_n_735467 

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

A trending strategy to bolster the interpretation of scientific results is to "pre-register" a study. This is publicly declaring your methods and data analysis procedures prior to beginning the research. Another advantage is that this means null results are more likely to be published. However, it may also inhibit attention to unexpected discovery. We'll briefly describe what pre-registering is, the pros and the cons. 

Join our membership group! www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

Links and References: 

1. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/preregistration
2. https://help.osf.io/article/145-preregistration
3. https://www.cos.io/initiatives/prereg
4. https://acf.gov/opre/blog/2022/08/pre-registering-studies-what-it-how-do-you-do-it-and-why
5. https://help.osf.io/article/603-benefits-of-registration
6. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2833373X.2024.2376046

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

We are all gonna die! Some day :) Top 10, or 12 or something times that humans incorrectly predicted the end of the world! People have been doing this for a long, LONG time. Why do we love predicting the end of times? Is it money? Fame? Power? Mental Illness? A little of column A, a little of column B? We'll do our best to list some major would-be world-ending events that didn't end the world and why humans predicted them in the first place. 

Recommendations

• Abraham: Sound of Metal (movie https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Sound-of-Metal/0U8IBE45LTNO63PAZ9B9ZA81RN) 
• Shane: Book tours on trips 

Holidays (5/28/2025):

• End of the world
• Amnesty International Day
• International Hamburger Day
• Menstrual Hygiene Day
• National Senior Health and Fitness Day
• Slugs Return from Capistrano Day
• Whooping Crane Day
• World Otter Day
• National African Violet Week
• National Frozen Yogurt Week
• Older Americans Mental Health Week
• Prepare Tomorrow’s Parents Month
• Scripps National Spelling Bee
• Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non Self-Governing Territories

Links and References: 

1. https://www.ripleys.com/stories/doomsday-scenarios
2. https://www.britannica.com/list/10-failed-doomsday-predictions 
3. https://georgianera.wordpress.com/2021/06/23/joanna-southcott-1750-1814-religious-prophetess/ 

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Music is an important part of many people's childhood. Early, we start soaking up everything we hear and give equal opportunity to select the things we'll like. Later, we can't seem to move on from those early experiences. Why do we get stuck in a music rut and lose motivation to find new music... or do we?

Support us on patreon! (www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast)

Links and References: 

1. https://neurosciencenews.com/music-aging-22716/?fbclid=IwAR2DlzUFA-zCgaDd3QXs9JQ2m4JFe4fd-rkmGEWlX7wtBZKgZxiqgkBM3DU 
2. https://academic.oup.com/book/2888/chapter-abstract/143505209?redirectedFrom=fulltext
3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253337104_Music_Through_the_Ages_Trends_in_Musical_Engagement_and_Preferences_From_Adolescence_Through_Middle_Adulthood

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

Years ago we talked about the science of masturbation (yes, ther's a science). Amazingly, there are some updates in the research on masturbation, so we decided it was time for an update. Fair WARNING: Episode contains expllcit, sexual descriptions. Listen in!

support us: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast

Recommendations

• Abraham: Tokaido (https://stonemaiergames.com/games/tokaido/)
• Shane: Pet Symmetry - Big Symmetry (https://open.spotify.com/album/4Qt9subXSihAzylWq7dI8q?si=t5hlGJS2ScaCwE7tZGaakA)

Holidays (5/21/2025):

• American Red Cross Founder’s Day
• End of the World or Rapture Party Day
• I need a Patch for That Day
• International Tea Day (but NOT in Boston)
• National Juice Slush Day
• National Memo Day
• National Strawberries and Cream Day
• Turn Beauty Inside Out Day
• World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
• World Orienteering Day
• Emergency Medical Services Week (EMS)
• Healthy and Safe Swimming Week
• National Foul Ball Week
• National New Friends, Old Friends
• National Vegetarian Awareness Week

Links and References:

1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9794105/
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7145784/
3. https://www.psypost.org/large-study-unpacks-the-complicated-nature-of-problematic-masturbation/
4. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-023-02641-3
5.  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-022-02305-8
6.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11323945/
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37414871/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) used to be escalating toward crisis. However, a public health campaign was able to effectively influence behaviors and significantly reduced instances of SIDS. So, what is going on with SIDS? Why does it happen? What can do to prevent it? We'll quickly explain what is known about this frightening condition. 

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.