Right Now in Stuff to Blow Your Mind
Space Music: 'Patashnik' and Other Biosphere Gems
Robert Lamb considers Biosphere's recently reissued 1994 album 'Patashnik,' an ambient house classic that still resonates with soothing weirdness. See more »
The spiders that occur in nature are not a creeping menace -- rather, they are a true invisible ally of humankind. But if one were to grow to 1950s sci-fi proportions, even the arachnophiliacs among us would have to admit we had a problem on our hands. How do spiders eat their prey, and what would it be like if a human being were consumed by an impossibly large spider? Robert and Joe explore in this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. See more »
A World Before Fire: The Human Flame
Humans existed before their mastery of fire, albeit in a rather primitive state -- and yes, even Earth itself knew an age when fire itself was not only scarce, but chemically impossible. In this two-part episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe venture back to a time before the flame and consider the curious, interconnected ascension of man and fire. In part two, consider how fire enabled the evolutionary and technological ascent of humanity. See more »
Robert Lamb shares his recent HowStuffWorks NOW feature ' Ambient Music Can Calm the Psychic Maelstrom. Here's How.' along with some embedded versions of the recommendations. See more »
A World Before Fire: The Terrestrial Anomaly
Humans existed before their mastery of fire, albeit in a rather primitive state -- and yes, even Earth itself knew an age when fire itself was not only scarce, but chemically impossible. In this two-part episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe venture back to a time before the flame and consider the curious, interconnected ascension of man and fire. In part one, explore the chemistry of a flameless Earth and the possibility of alien technology without fire. See more »
Combat Stims: Better Warriors Through Chemistry
Combat stims and pharmacological power-ups are a staple of our gun-blazing video games, enabling players to rack up atrocious body counts. But what’s the reality of combat drugs? How do we separate legends from reality and just what our soldiers currently taking to enable, survive and live with the violence of their profession? Robert and Christian explore in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. See more »
Only Child Syndrome: Brats, Myths and Little Emperors
What sort of behavior, personality and life can we expect from an only child? A lot of cultural expectations persist about the singleton, from the spoiled Veruca Salt of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” to the “little emperors” who rose up in the wake of China’s One Child Policy. But what’s the truth of the matter? Robert and Christian explore in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. See more »
Space Music: Gaslamp Killer's 'Instrumentalepathy'
Robert Lamb explores the dark, dreamy psychedelic sounds of Gaslamp Killer's latest album 'Instrumentalepathy.' See more »
Incu-succubi: Demon in the Halls of Sleep
Incubi and succubi emerge from Western demonology as supernatural seducers who prey on human passion. But of course seductive demons and sexual ghosts can be found in traditions around the world. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the basics of incubus and succubus myths, a few international variants and the possible biological, psychological and neurological explanations for these paranormal encounters. See more »
Monster Science with Dr. Anton Jessup: Series IV
Another series of Monster Science lectures are committed to the vault. Experience them all right here. See more »
Monster Science: The Fire Ecology of Dragons
Dragon fire is a terrible thing, but how might an organism generate it -- and how would this affect its environment? In this episode of Monster Science, Dr. Anton Jessup discusses theories of dragon fire, the bombardier beetle and fire ecology. See more »
Frankenstein: 200 Years of Scientific Dread
Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” has terrified the world for nearly two centuries, thanks to countless adaptations and the timeless nature of the 1816 text. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian discuss the modern world that this science-fiction horror classic emerged from and the dark shadow it continues to cast over scientific endeavor. See more »
Monster Science: Pod People, the Thing and Other Imposters
From "The Thing" to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," sci-fi aliens often try to infiltrate human society through biological mimicry - but to what end? See more »
Creepypasta 3: The SCP Foundation
Is there science behind the creepypasta? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, explore a few specimens from the SCP Foundation. See more »
Monster of the Week: Acidic Alien Blood
The 'Alien' xenomorph and the mythic Grendel both seem to have acidic blood. Robert Lamb explores the possible science behind such an adaptation. See more »
Monster Science: Godzilla, CHUDs and Radioactive Fungi
From the lowly CHUD to the mighty Godzilla, fictional monsters raise some startling ideas about the effects of radiation on terrestrial organisms. Dr. Anton Jessup discusses the reality of radiotrophic fungi and the limits of radioactive mutation. See more »
Monster Science: Monstrous Sex Ed: Seductive Vamp Vixens
What do seductive female vampires have in common with real-life organisms? Join Dr. Anton Jessup as he explains the parallels between fanged vixens and a particular species of "feme fatal" lightning bug. See more »
Monster Science: Monstrous Sex Ed: The Alien Facehugger
In this special "Sex Ed" episode of Monster Science, Dr. Anton Jessup considers the creature's facehugger stage, the questions it raises about reproduction and a possible real-world counterpart in the aquatic ragworm. See more »
Monster Science: Monstrous Sex Ed: Alien Husbands
If science fiction has taught us anything, it's that all-male alien species often develop an insatiable lust for Earth women. As Dr. Anton Jessup explains in this special "Sex Ed" episode of Monster Science, it’s a similar tactic to the one employed See more »
Now I am Become Death: Cotard's Delusion
Delusions often drive home the ephemeral nature of perceived reality, even blurring the lines between life, death and imagined states of un-death. Such is the case with Cotard’s Delusion, also known as Cotard’s Syndrome, that rare mental illness in which the patient comes to believe themselves a corpse. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe investigate tales of the deathly deluded. See more »
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