We Have Concerns

A new study places the US at the top of the list of most fatal countries to be a pedestrian. Anthony and Jeff take a look at all the reasons it is so dangerous to walk in America, and what can be done to make foot traffic safer and more practical.

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2025

Scientists have developed a device, called “e-Taste”, capable of recreating complex flavours of food and drink from five basic building blocks, and plan to use it to enhance virtual reality and augmented reality systems, boosting immersive experiences. Anthony and Jeff debate whether adding taste to VR will made the world a better place.

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2025

Researchers have discovered that dense crowds can spontaneously synchronize into collective oscillations, with hundreds of people moving in coordinated, swirling patterns. How did they do it? By studying the Spanish tradition of running with the bulls. Jeff and Anthony discuss getting lost in a crowd, and how science can make these large events safer for everyone.

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

People with aphantasia lack the ability to summon images in their "mind's eye." But a new study suggests that the blueprints for those imaginary images might still be nestled in their brains. As someone with aphantasia himself, Anthony tries to explain to Jeff how his inner life works.

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have uncovered new insights into the dual nature of scratching an itch, indicating that while it can worsen skin inflammation, it can also boost immune defenses against bacterial infections at the injury site. How did they do it? By torturing mice, of course. Jeff and Anthony dig into the science of itchiness to learn more.

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

The rise of AI has directly resulted in diminishing levels of critical thinking, epseically among young people, a new study shows. Anthony and Jeff discuss how relying on technology must be paired with new ways of thinking, and the dire consequences that may result from algorithmic learning.

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that one generation in particular has higher exposure to unsafe levels of lead than all others. It just happens to be Jeff and Anthony's generation: Gen X. They take a loook at the impacts, and the long history of cover-up that led to lead staying in gasoline far longer than it should have.

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2025

Much has been made about taking a cold shower in the morning vs a hot one. A new study aims to measure the health benefit of these different temperature extremes for daily washing. Anthony and Jeff get into a lather about it, and the results may surprise you!

Transcribed - Published: 24 February 2025

A study of 26 years' worth of wolf behavioral data, and an analysis of the blood of 229 wolves, has shown that infection with a parasite that can only reproduce in cats makes wolves 46 times more likely to become a pack leader. How can this be? Jeff and Anthony dive into the data, and come away thinking it has far-reaching ramification for how we all behave, every day.

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2025

A new study finds that the human body does not age at a constant rate throughout adulthood. Instead, it accelerates dramatically around ages 44 and 60. Jeff and Anthony discuss the findings while trying not to admit how old they feel.

Transcribed - Published: 31 January 2025

More and more research points to the fact that the microbiome in our gut contributes sigificantly to both our phsyical and mental health. But what defines this microbiome? New analysis of nearly 2,000 people living in remote villages in Honduras has shown that friend groups have nearly as much impact as spouses or co-habitators. Jeff and Anthony discuss sharing gut health with their friends, and what this research might mean for cocktail parties in the future.

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2025

Contrary to previous assumption, a new study shows that bat-like echolocation is a skill that can be learned by both blind and sighted practitioners in as little as 10 weeks. Anthony and Jeff discuss the ramifications of this discovery, and what it means about practice and neural plasticity.

Transcribed - Published: 10 January 2025

A new study used varying levels of hot sauce to test whether the expectation of spice and discomfort impacted the actual experience. Jeff and Anthony discuss how our brains deal with expectation - and also the way this study was conducted. With, um, squirt tubes.

Transcribed - Published: 1 January 2025

In the 19th century, Scottish scammer Gregor MacGregor made a fortune selling land in Poyais. The only problem? Poyais never existed. Jeff and Anthony step through the history of this nortious fraudster, and try to resist parallels to modern American liars.

Transcribed - Published: 13 December 2024

The sport of Slap Fighting has taken the Internet by storm over the last year. But would you believe: it is stupid and dangerous? I KNOW. Jeff and Anthony discuss a new study that says the very good and smart sport is causing intense and permanent damage to its participants.

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2024

When you see food that is colored blue, what flavor do you expect it to be? As the rarest color in plants and animals, blue might be the strangest color to eat. Jeff and Anthony dig into the unusual history of blue food to uncover the allure of azure.

Transcribed - Published: 21 October 2024

Among rural communities in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was taken as fact that a thunderstorm would turn milk sour. Jeff and Anthony look at the journey of scientific discovery around such a strange myth, and what it tell us about how long it takes to dispel misinformation, even in the modern age.

Transcribed - Published: 14 October 2024

It's time to celebrate the strangest, silliest, and most weirdly useful science of the last year! The Ig Nobel Prizes are back, and we're going to cover this year's winners.

Transcribed - Published: 23 September 2024

Thomas Midgley Jr. may not be a household name, but the inventor is responsible for some of the most world-changing breakthroughs in history. And not in a good way. Anthony and Jeff take a look at the life of man who was part visionary, part carnival barker, and all bad for humanity.

Transcribed - Published: 2 September 2024

Researchers in the Arctic are experimenting with drastic plans to geoengineer away the damaging effects of climate change. Jeff and Anthony look at one method, inspired by Dutch Ice Masters. Then, they discuss efforts from the Alameda city council to shut down geoengineering off the coast of California. Which is the best way forward?

Transcribed - Published: 26 August 2024

When birds collide with airplanes, their remains are sent to a special lab in Washington, DC. There, an elite team of avian detectives works to identify the exact type of bird to help prevent future catastrophes. Jeff and Anthony discuss the science behind the role of forensic ornithologist.

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2024

A new study shows that some insomniacs who claim to have been up through the night have actually been sleeping. What is going on in their brains? Anthony and Jeff take a look at the data and discuss how even our perception of our own sleep my be warped.

Transcribed - Published: 9 July 2024

New research suggests that the farther back you are in a progression, the worse you are perceived. In effect, we judge those later in line to be of lower value. Anthony and Jeff discuss this finding, and try to figure out why being earlier might actually be beneficial.

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2024

By analyzing the brain waves of improvising jazz musicians, researchers now understand how the brain achieves a creative flow state. The findings have practical implications for anyone wanting to get ‘in the zone’ to generate creative ideas. Jeff and Anthony go with the flow and discuss how and when they are able to achieve this state of heightened performance.

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2024

Two stories this week, both involving kids who get more than they bargained for. In the first, a toddler is certain she hears a monster in the walls of her family's 100 year old North Carolina farmhouse. In a way, she was right. And in the second, a 9 year old boy pines for a pet he shouldn't, and his parents find out the hard way why they shouldn't have given in.

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2024

No two human fingerprints are alike. Even different fingers from the same person are unique. But new research from Columbia University using an applied neural network suggests there may be a new way to link intra-person fingerprints with a high degree of accuracy. Jeff and Anthony take a look at fingerprinting analysis and discuss the use of machine learning to innovate in ways humans cannot.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2024

At the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte’s final battle, more than 10,000 men and as many horses were killed in a single day. Yet, archaeologists have found the physical remains of only 2 soldiers. How did so many bones up and vanish? In a new book, an international team of historians and archaeologists argues the bones were depleted by industrial-scale grave robbing. Why? Well, for sugar, of course. Jeff and Anthony dig into this mystery and learn a lot about how sugar get from farm to table, by way of bone char.

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2024

Consumer Reports released a new report on Lunchables in which it found lead and cadmium, and also observed the presence of phthalates, which can impact reproductive health and the human hormonal system. Anthony and Jeff discuss the findings, and how to face the challenge of eating food that isn't actively trying to kill you.

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2024

If humanity is to successfully colonize the lunar surface, we will have to bring other animals with us. Which species are essential to create a thriving ecosystem? Which should arrive first? Anthony and Jeff discuss the factors involved in deciding which kinds of creatures will join us on the moon.

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2024

It is the 200th anniversary of the first dinosaur discovery, so Jeff and Anthony dig into the story of finding fossils and naming them. It leads them to the wild story of William Buckland, the man who coined the term Megalosaurus, in 1824. If you think you know dinosaurs, you may be shocked by how they entered popular culture.

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2024

A pair of recent studies suggest that the act of putting pen or pencil to paper increases brain activity and retention when compared to typing words into a computer. Anthony and Jeff discuss living a papered life, and whether taking physical notes is worth the increase in learning.

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2024

Statistics are amazing things. This week, Anthony and Jeff dig into the data around death to determine the most likely month and day that people all around the world will meet their end.

Transcribed - Published: 18 March 2024

In 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services—now the CIA—published the "Simple Sabotage Field Manual," a top secret guide teaching the average citizen how to cause problems to any organization. Jeff and Anthony step through the instructions and marvel at how a by-gone era's tactics for creating chaos sound all-too similar to the everyday experience of daily life today.

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2024

In a new study by Harvard scientists, researchers have found that healing happens faster when the person involved thinks that time is progressing more quickly than it actually is. Jeff and Anthony discuss Mind/Body Unity, and what to do with all of the evidence that suggests we can control our physiology if we just believe.

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2024

Your average indoor/outdoor domestic cat is responsible for the destruction of other animal species on a scale that boggles the mind. Anthony and Jeff take a look at the data, and discuss why one cute, cudly pet might just be more than the planet can handle.

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2024

A new study breaks down comedy into specific types, and correlates those types of humor with mood and personality. Anthony and Jeff take a look at what their jokes might be saying about them.

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2024

New research has found that while people are often concerned that turning down an invitation will upset the inviter, and lead to fewer invitations in the future, their fears tend to be exaggerated. Jeff and Anthony dig into the five=part hard-hitting study of party invites!

Transcribed - Published: 15 January 2024

When did ancient humans start wearing clothes? It is a trickier question than you might think, and one that researchers have used some very interesting ways to try to answer. Jeff and Anthony discuss clothing, it's origins and evolution.

Transcribed - Published: 9 January 2024

We've heard processed foods are bad for us. But what does that mean exactly? And are they actually more desirable than whole foods? Anthony and Jeff take a look at a new study that claims to answer that question, but raises questions of its own.

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2023

Ancient legends, comic book sagas and blockbuster movies alike share a storytelling blueprint called “the hero’s journey.” This timeless narrative structure was first described by mythologist Joseph Campbell in 1949, but could it help you, today? Jeff and Anthony discuss new research that suggests simply "restorying" your own life into a hero's journey could have profound effects.

Transcribed - Published: 4 December 2023

The Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University, Denmark studies the effects - good and bad - of fear on the human psyche. In a recent experiment, two volunteers in Sweden shared their worst fears to the scientists, who then recreated them in an amusement park in Sweden. Anthony and Jeff discuss The Peak Fear Experiment, and whether this type of research is worthwhile or just good branding.

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2023

Lunar colonization faces many potential problems, not the least of which is the fact that landing and moving around on the moon kicks up lots of dust and dirt that can wreak havoc on equipment. One solution is to pave roads and landing pads on the surface before settling begins, and the European Space Agency has a plan to do just that. Jeff and Anthony discuss the ingenious method devised to make the process efficient and effective.

Transcribed - Published: 13 November 2023

A common trope in evolutionary anthropology is the notion of the male as hunter and the female as gatherer. But was this binary division of labor actually in place among developing cultures? New research challenges this all too accepted belief, and forces Anthony and Jeff to reexamine one of science's most common misconceptions.

Transcribed - Published: 6 November 2023

Newly published research represents “a fantastic step forward” for understanding the neural basis of play and laughter in mammals. That research involves tickling rats and playing games with them, and may reveal where in the brain play is localized. Jeff and Anthony are tickled to see it, and discuss their own thoughts on rodent play.

Transcribed - Published: 27 October 2023

Researchers at CU Boulder analyzed more than 130 traits, including millions of couples over more than a century, to determine whether opposite kinds of people are actually attracted to one another. Anthony and Jeff delve into the data and compare it to their own experience as an odd couple themselves.

Transcribed - Published: 16 October 2023

Exactly how our taste buds sense saltiness is a mystery, and researchers haven’t deciphered all of the details yet. In fact, the more they look at salt sensation, the weirder it gets. Jeff and Anthony get their licks in, working through everything that is known - and unknown - about tasting salt.

Transcribed - Published: 29 September 2023

With calorie limiting diet fads like intermittent fasting spreading in popularity on the Internet, researchers have started looking into the effects that not eating has, not just on the body, but on the mood. Anthony and Jeff take a look at the data to determine whether skipping meals is really worth it.

Transcribed - Published: 22 September 2023

Climate change is having all sorts of unexpected side-effects. One of which has been recorded over the last 14 years by Pesky Pete of Pesky Pete's Poison Ivy Removal. It turns out, poison Ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac love warmer climates and higher carbon dioxide, and have been growing bigger, faster and itchier than ever before. Jeff and Anthony pull out the calamine lotion to discuss this disturbing phenomenon.

Transcribed - Published: 12 September 2023

Gallup Polls, famous for its political odds-making every election cycle, has released a new poll that attempts to draw correlation between general happiness and certain everyday activities - like saying hello to your neighbors. As Anthony and Jeff dig into the data, however, it reveals the way polling can seemingly justify misleading conclusions.

Transcribed - Published: 1 September 2023

An enormous new publicly available dataset containing over 1,300 studies of millions of people from across the world, establishes reliable relationships between personality traits and cognitive abilities. Jeff and Anthony dig into this vast amount of information to see if our assumptions about the relationship between intelligence and personality are true.

Transcribed - Published: 25 August 2023