Broken
No matter where you fall on the political spectrum we can all agree that more than ever, the world feels broken. In this episode, we take a trip to Washington D.C., on the day of the inauguration and...
View ArticleThe Big Hurt: Hate & Anger
In this episode we look at how anger can be clarifying, even helpful, and we find out how it can morph into its more dangerous and corrupting form, hate.
View ArticleThe Great Escape
We all want to hit the eject button on reality and look for a different way to live our lives at one point or another. In this episode we explore ways of plotting that great escape.
View ArticleThe Empathy Wall
The antidote to being a jerk is empathy. And thankfully it appears to be hard-wired in the human brain. And yet … we’re increasingly casting off the ability to walk a mile in another person's shoes.
View ArticleMen Dancing
Some men dance, many don’t. What are the unspoken rules that govern the ways we move our body, and what does it say about our society and how we treat each other?
View ArticleSpecial Announcement: It's All Odin's Fault
The Stuff of Life is packing up its bags and moving to Fridays. Find out why.
View ArticleThe Nostalgia Factory
Ah, the “good ol days.” If America had its own brochure it would depict rocking chairs on front porches, pristine farms and tidy downtowns. But did this America ever exist?
View ArticleStudies in Desperation
1963 was a year of chaos and social upheaval. Sound familiar? Time, it would seem, is circular, something the American Survey of Fears proves out.
View ArticleHaunted
In this episode we look at how we manufacture fear in the mind with a trip back in history to a psyops mission, a visit to to a haunted attraction, and a peek into the political house of horror,...
View ArticleWired: As Above, So Below
America, the home of rugged individualist. Or not. Each of us is connected to each other, relies on one another, gives and takes, consciously or unconsciously weaving the web of support that it takes...
View ArticleThe Stuff of Life: Trailer
The Stuff of Life, a podcast produced by HowStuffWorks, teases apart the tales we tell, because when we crack open a story and look inside we see the seeds of what make our world so maddening, so...
View ArticleThe Stuff of Life: Episode Zero
Eavesdrop on experts and researchers as they ponder what makes our world so maddening, so strange and so achingly beautiful. Not to mention ridiculous. Join Julie Douglas for The Stuff of Life, a new...
View ArticleThe Power of Fear
Cat’s out the bag: We’re not making it out alive. So how do we deal with the ultimate fear – that death is right around the corner? And when the survival chips are down, how can we increase our...
View ArticleGlossophobia: The Fear of Public Speaking
One of the top American fears, alongside walking alone at night and personal injury, is public speaking. Find out why it can be so terrifying to step into the spotlight.
View ArticleBuilding Eternity
In one way or another we’re all trying to transcend death, whether it’s through an “I was here” graffiti scrawl or an e-epic-length autobiography. In this episode we look at our attempts to achieve...
View ArticleAn Object Lesson
In some ways our stuff is ourselves – it tells a story about who we are. But why do some of us develop pathological attachments to objects?
View ArticleLife at the Death Café
In this episode we put out a pot of tea, a plate of cucumber sandwiches, and we take a seat with death. What is a “good death,” how do we achieve it and how might our dreams help?
View ArticleMourner for Hire
In this episode we’ll look at how, as the bereaved, we find solace in ritual – everything from providing comfort food to hiring professional mourners.
View ArticleMap of Self
Finding our way in the world is one of the most fundamental things we humans do, and maps map it possible. But on some level, these maps are a thing of fiction.
View ArticleUnder the Weather
The Earth is wrapped in an atmosphere that weighs 5.5 quadrillion tons. And inside this atmosphere the weather creates a crazy quilt of conditions. To say that the weather is unpredictable is to sum up...
View ArticleThe First Songs
Nature gave us the first songs -- the patterns and melodies that we replicate in instruments, and our own voices. We take a visit to the exhibit, "Wild Music," to look at our deep connection to nature...
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