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Something You Should Know

Why It's Good to Feel Guilty & How Plagiarism Really Works

Something You Should Know

Mike Carruthers | OmniCastMedia

Science, Social Sciences, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Education

4.64K Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There’s a reason hearing your mother’s voice can feel different from hearing anyone else’s — even when it’s just a phone call. This episode opens with the surprising effects researchers have discovered. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-psychology-of-relationships/202104/two-key-reasons-why-you-should-call-your-mom Guilt feels terrible — and that’s exactly what makes it so effective. While we tend to see guilt as something to avoid, it may actually play an essential role in helping us learn, repair relationships, and behave more ethically. Christopher Moore explains why guilt exists, how it evolved, and why feeling guilty can sometimes be a very good thing. Christopher is a professor of psychology and former dean of science at Dalhousie University, whose work has been cited in Psychology Today, Today’s Parent, and The New York Times. He is author of The Power of Guilt: Why We Feel It and Its Surprising Ability to Heal (https://amzn.to/3Nrt051). Plagiarism seems like a clear-cut wrongdoing — but the reality is far more complicated. People plagiarize more often than you might think, sometimes without even realizing it. And in some cases, you can be accused of plagiarism even if you’ve never seen the original work. With only so many ways to tell a story or write a song, where does coincidence end and plagiarism begin? Roger Kreuz joins me to explore this fascinating gray area. He is Associate Dean and professor of psychology at the University of Memphis, a columnist for Psychology Today, and author of Strikingly Similar: Plagiarism and Appropriation from Chaucer to Chatbots. (https://amzn.to/4soVFaS). And finally, there’s a widespread belief that dark roast coffee has more caffeine than light roast — or that espresso packs far more caffeine than a regular cup of coffee. Both ideas sound logical, but they’re not quite right. We wrap up by explaining what actually determines caffeine content and why these myths persist. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/light-vs-dark-roast-coffee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi, just leave from work now. Sorry, it's a bit loud.

0:03.3

Um, basically, so I was thinking we could get Macies tonight.

0:05.7

Had a big Mac on my mind all day, and delivery fee on the app is now from 99P.

0:09.8

So you win? Of course you are.

0:11.5

Love you. Bye!

0:13.1

Exclusively on the McDonald's app.

0:16.0

18 plus, service fee and small order fee may apply.

0:18.1

Participating restaurants. Serving times and teas and seas apply.

0:22.3

Today on something you should know, why the next time you're stressed out, you might want to call your mom.

0:29.6

Then it feels terrible to feel guilty, but there are some real benefits to it.

0:35.5

And the point about guilt is that it serves to manage our relationships and help to heal

0:41.0

our relationships when they've been damaged.

0:43.4

And really, guilt is the emotion that motivates us to do something about healing our relationships

0:49.2

when we've done something to harm them.

0:51.9

Also, which has more caffeine, light roast or dark roast coffee?

0:56.7

And plagiarism.

0:58.0

It's a complicated and fascinating topic.

1:01.5

There are people who claim that plagiarists want to get caught.

1:04.8

That's like kleptomania.

1:06.0

There's a certain kind of compulsion for taking the work of others.

1:09.7

I'm not really convinced by that argument, but at the same time, I don't really have a better explanation.

1:15.6

All this today on Something You Should Know.

...

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