Episodes

  • Why are there lefties and righties?

    Why are there lefties and righties?
    Nov 13 2024
    This week on Unexplainable or Not, we’ve got three scientific mysteries all about left and right. Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox’s new podcast Explain It to Me, is going to guess which of them has been solved and which ones are still unexplainable. Guest: S. Furkan Ozturk, researcher at Harvard University For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    30 mins
  • Placebos work. Why?

    Placebos work. Why?
    Nov 6 2024
    For decades, scientists thought that placebos only worked if patients didn’t know they were taking them. Not anymore: You can give patients placebos, tell them they’re on sugar pills, and they still might feel better. No one is sure how this works, but it raises a question: Should doctors embrace placebos in mainstream medicine? (First published in 2021.) Guests: Ted Kaptchuk, professor at Harvard Medical School; Darwin Guevarra, professor of psychology at Miami University; Luana Colloca, professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • Why is horror so fun?

    Why is horror so fun?
    Oct 30 2024
    It makes sense that we run away from scary things. That’s a good way to stay alive. But why do some people also love scary things? Why do people gravitate toward horror? Guests: Mathias Clasen and Marc Andersen, co-directors of the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    22 mins
  • Are psychedelics breaking science?

    Are psychedelics breaking science?
    Oct 23 2024
    Drugs like ecstasy and mushrooms have shown promise as mental health treatments, but they’re also exposing some major cracks in how scientists study the brain. Guests: Jonathan Lambert, science journalist; Boris Heifets, professor at Stanford University of Medicine; Amy Mcguire, professor at Baylor College of Medicine For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    27 mins
  • Your gut’s feelings

    Your gut’s feelings
    Oct 16 2024
    How we feel emotionally may be influenced by unseen troves of microbial life that live inside us. Is it possible to harness this gut power? (First published in 2022) Guests: Michael Gershon, professor of pathology at Columbia University; and Katerina Johnson, microbiome researcher at Oxford University For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    30 mins
  • Is insurance doomed?

    Is insurance doomed?
    Oct 9 2024
    As the world gets warmer and storms get worse, insurance companies are jacking up rates — or refusing to cover homeowners altogether. Is the future uninsurable? Guests: Umair Irfan, correspondent at Vox; Karen Clark, co-founder and CEO of Karen Clark & Company; Joe Skuba, VP at The Gray Insurance Company; and Carolyn Kousky, Associate VP at Environmental Defense Fund For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • My animal heart

    My animal heart
    Oct 2 2024
    Doctors have started transplanting animal organs into people, hoping this experimental procedure could one day solve an organ shortage crisis that kills 17 Americans every day. Is this really the solution? Guests: Muhammad Mohiuddin, professor of surgery at University of Maryland School of Medicine; L. Syd Johnson, professor of clinical bioethics at SUNY Upstate Medical University For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    27 mins
  • How hot could the world get?

    How hot could the world get?
    Sep 25 2024
    Scientists have lots of ways to try to answer that question, and lots of different predictions. So how do they figure out one set of numbers we can all work with? Guests: Umair Irfan, correspondent at Vox; Zeke Hausfather, climate scientist at The Breakthrough Institute; Neil Swart, research scientist at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 mins