History Repeating Itself

In this episode, I talk about what football meant to me, and how I feel about it today. 

This week Ben and Michelle discuss the changing shape of the work week over the past ten thousand years, and they find some interesting statistics about ancient rest periods that put our current models to shame. 

In this episode, I interview Dr. Will Oliver, who recently wrote a book on lawman August Vollmer. Vollmer held contrary views on most issues of his time, but his ability to apply logic to every situation made him a legendary figure in the world of law enforcement and criminal justice. 

Internet trolls did not invent the act of anonymous harassment. So who did? In this episode we track the progress of troublemakers hiding in the shadows. 

In this episode we explore some strange words and explain why maybe all children should have the right to vote. 

In this episode we explore the roots of our scavenging past, and we talk about our current role in the food chain. 

Certain gestures, like saying "Happy Birthday," used to relate much more to our ability to remember. But now as we rely more on technology to remember for us, how are the effects of these gestures changing? 

How can images replace text in our writing? We look to the past, and to China, for the answer to this question. Also, many schools in the U.S. and around the world are no longer teaching cursive, or even print writing. What does this mean for our brains? 

Learning how to read and write rewired our brains in fascinating ways. But where did writing come from, and for that matter, where did language originate? 

Airplanes in department stores? There was a time in U.S. History when people experienced this reality. But are we any closer today to realizing the dream of the personal airplane? 

In this episode we break down the factors that will influence the fate of football in the United States. Is it doomed or is it immune to the newly-exposed horrors of the game?

Weddings today do not mean what they used to, and for this very reason, people do their best to ressurect that lost meaning. In this episode we trace the evolution of the modern wedding and discuss how and why the focus has shifted from quality to quantity, from inward to outward. 

Sex with machines is here, and it's only going to become more common. In this episode we discuss the benefits and consequences of relationships with synthetic beings. 

Steam-powered vibrators the size of kitchen tables, the importance of dildos in Ancient Greece, and the future of sex machines in this second installment of our series on synthetic relationships. 

A man discusses the pros and cons of being married to a doll. And what does this mean for human relationships?

Concepts like extreme choice and mobility are two modern realities leading us toward depression and suicide. In this episode, we look at four ways our hunter gatherer ancestors may have been better off. 

What if hunter-gatherers employ most or all of the strategies for leading a depression-free life? In this episode we compare modern life to pre-civilized life and examine four hunter-gatherer behaviors we might want to copy. 

From bridges to guns to coal gas ovens, we explore the link between accessibility and suicide.

With a simple blood test, scientists can now determine our likelihood of suicidal behavior. But what are the implications of this discovery?