Compulsory, ritualistic pledging an oath of fealty to a leader or government's flag sounds like something you might see in an oppressive tyranical government. Indeed, there are a few countries that currently require school children and government officials to recite a daily pledge of loyalty to their government. Are you in one of them? In this discussion we explore the history of the ritual pledge of allegiance in the United States, the purpose of this practice, and what other countries do it.

Recommendations

• Abraham: Murder Mystery 2 (https://www.netflix.com/title/81212842)
• Shane: Renfield (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11358390/)

Links and References:

1. https://www.upcounsel.com/lectl-the-strange-origin-of-the-pledge-of-allegiance
2. https://csglobalpartners.com/resources/what-is-an-oath-of-allegiance/
3. https://theweek.com/articles/852114/pledge-allegiance-not-normal
4. https://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm
5. https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/06/i-cant-believe-they-still-make-students-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance
6. https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/19/us/pledge-of-allegiance-explainer-trnd/index.html
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf6D2MSAqoc
8. https://thehill.com/homenews/3256719-47-states-require-the-pledge-of-allegiance-be-recited-in-schools-here-is-a-breakdown-of-each-states-laws/
9. https://reason.com/2023/02/23/arizona-house-passes-a-bill-that-would-force-children-to-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance/
10. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/us/pledge-of-allegiance-francis-bellamy.html

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

Is exercise good for your mental health? A lot of people certain think so. We dig into the research and philosophy about if exercise is mentally healthy and if so, how?

Recommendations:

Abraham: Space Force Season 2 (https://www.netflix.com/title/81021929)

Shane: Integrity - Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume (https://integrity.bandcamp.com/)

The majority of people who buy into conspiracy theories are victims of fraud. Unfortunately, they can become zealous, proselytizing mouthpieces for those conspiracies, which makes them unsympathetic to many. Conspiracies primarily work by exploiting human biases and insecurities. Listen in to find out more about why your weird friend is dedicated to their crystals and mythological beliefs.

Recommendations:

- Abraham: Spreaker.com

- Shane: The Book of Boba Fett (https://disneyplusoriginals.disney.com/show/the-book-of-boba-fett)(https://www.netflix.com/title/81305952)

Doulas and midwives aren't necessarily the crunchy granola hippies you might think they are. They also don't need to be female. We invited expert and certified doula Dr. Ashley Greenwald to talk to us about what doulas are and why every person preparing to a birth should have a doula around.

Recommendations:

Salena: "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander (https://newjimcrow.com/) and "Even the Rat Was White."

Abraham: "The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window" (https://www.netflix.com/title/81305952)

William James, or Billy Jilly as we called him in this discussion, is often referred to as the father of modern psychology. Indeed, his writings and philosophy were instrumental in the orientation to psychology that made it a science. If you didn't know or didn't remember much about him, this is a great revisit of who he was. Also, it is likely that his accomplishments overshadow those of other because he was a white man born into wealth and privilege, and we go after a college for their history of racism and sexism.

First aired in November 2017, what has happened in the world of consciousness since this episode? Both a lot and somehow very little. As always, the definition is very important, and as always, a few "new" ideas of what that definition should be have been proposed. What do you think about it? Did this discussion influence you?

Recommendations
Abraham: Love, Death, and Robots (Netflix; https://www.netflix.com/title/80174608)
Shane: John Wick

Links and References:

• https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230109/Study-opens-a-new-view-about-the-science-of-consciousness.aspx#:~:text=Recent%20research%20suggests%20that%20there's,and%20wakefulness%20has%20been%20elusive.

• https://consciousness.med.umich.edu/
• https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-have-developed-a-new-explanation-for-consciousness/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIn%20a%20nutshell%2C%20our%20theory,%2C%20MD%2C%20professor%20of%20neurology.
• “Consciousness as a Memory System” by Andrew E. Budson, MD, Kenneth A. Richman, Ph.D., Elizabeth A. Kensinger, Ph.D., 3 October 2022, Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology. DOI: 10.1097/WNN.0000000000000319

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

We are joined by special guests Dr. Andre Bulla and Oscar Turcios who share their continued adventure training wolves on a reserve. We invited them on after a conference presentation in which they described their experiences testing for concept learning in wolves, learning about wolves, and traveling during pandemic. It all started with a bottle of bourbon. Listen in to hear their story about training wolves.

Wokeism has a much longer history than you might think and its original meaning has been appropriated and obfuscated beyond recognition. We break down the defintiion, the current application, and level a critical lens at "woke" culture. Warning: We discuss a few awful people doing awful things.
Vocab: Pejorative.

Recommendations:

• Abraham: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (https://therokuchannel.roku.com/lp/weird)
• Shane: Samiam - Stowaway (https://open.spotify.com/album/5EZd3zQ30PFR9Xtbcbp0EU?si=o-wT0RWXQOWCcog4WL0EtQ)

Links and References:

1. https://www.vox.com/culture/21437879/stay-woke-wokeness-history-origin-evolution-controversy
2. https://www.nationalworld.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/what-does-woke-mean-definition-woke-culture-2023-3215758
3. https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/2167/stop-w-o-k-e-act
4. https://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/dsjel/vol2/iss3/1/
5. https://shareok.org/handle/11244/326817
6. https://formationreimagined.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Church-membership-has-fallen-below-the-majority-for-the-first-time-The-Washington-Post.pdf
7. https://diversity.social/wokeism-woke-culture/

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

Swearing involves the use of taboo words considered coarse, blasphemous, or otherwise unacceptable in polite or formal speech to accentuate a statement. Contrary to the myth that frequent swearing reflects a poverty of vocabulary, research shows that people who use taboo words tend to have larger vocabularies and higher verbal fluency. Swearing serves different functions like expressing emotions, creating humor, and constructing identity. Additionally, some researchers believe swearing can provide stress relief in upsetting situations, like when one stubs their toe.

Recommendations

• Abraham: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (https://www.dungeonsanddragons.movie/)
• Shane: Baseball: A History of America’s Favorite Game by Greg Vecsey (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/90596)

Links and References:

1. https://people.howstuffworks.com/backward-evolution-swear-words.htm
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2015/06/26/2ba794c6-1abc-11e5-ab92-c75ae6ab94b5_story.html
3. https://www.proquest.com/openview/c9bc23a0134b3d738b563383c931be06/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=31040
4. https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/files/86158666/Swearing_and_perceptions_of_the_speaker.pdf
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd-Sa_3iBVA
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAkPudcbNz0
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1F90W40t6g
8. https://list.co.uk/news/9980/interview-jim-jefferies-im-the-rosa-parks-of-cnt
9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/01/20/station-fined-for-playing-the-whole-slim-shady/6bf0d192-4e57-4341-96cd-ae4c5534f86c/
10. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S038800011400151X
11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00723/full
12. https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-022-02202-0
13. https://word.tips/us-states-curse-words-map/

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

Factitious disorder by proxy (FDbP) is a mental illness where a caregiver, often a parent, exaggerates, fabricates, or induces illness in someone they care for, such as a child or elderly person. The motive for FDbP is usually to gain attention or sympathy for themselves by appearing to be a devoted caregiver. FDbP can cause serious harm to the victim and often involves a long and complex pattern of deception. Treatment typically involves therapy for both the caregiver and the victim.

Recommendations

Abraham: Ozark Season 4 Part 1 (https://www.netflix.com/title/80117552)

Shane: Pinegrove - 11:11 (https://store.pinegroveband.com/products/713782-11-11-album)

Sources and additional content

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malingering

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatization_disorder

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factitious_disorder_imposed_on_self

4. https://www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr/ishm/vesalius/VESx2002x08x01.pdf

5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673651923136

6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1028417/

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folie_%C3%A0_deux

8. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1078.8665&rep=rep1&type=pdf

9. http://web.tiscali.it/humanrights/articles/meadow77.html

10. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9834-factitious-disorder-imposed-on-another-fdia

11. Schreier, HA (2004). "Munchausen by Proxy". Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 34 (3): 126–143. doi:10.1016/j.cppeds.2003.09.003. PMID 15039661.

12. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/factitious-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20356034

13. R v LM [2004] QCA 192 at para. 67 (4 June 2004)

14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer

15. Associated Press (April 8, 2016). "Mommy blogger gets 20 years to life for salt-poisoning son". NY Post.

16. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24563814

17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fPZ2trpbMs

18. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/factitious-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20356028#:~:text=Factitious%20disorder%20imposed%20on%20another,the%20intention%20of%20deceiving%20others.

19. https://youtu.be/eNDDyC25QgA

20. https://denvergazette.com/news/courts/kelly-turner-pleads-guilty-in-connection-with-death-of-7-year-old-daughter/article_8967b4c2-6ce7-11ec-ae8b-fb2d364f66d4.html