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Bald Eagles can be the worst
Welcome to the Hurt Your Brain internet playlist from February 12, 2017. It's a collection of podcasts, videos, and other links for people who love to learn online and are fascinated by the world. Click here to get playlists emailed to you as they come out.
From my quote hoard: Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence - Abigail Adams
PODCASTS
Planet Money: Eagles Vs Chickens A farmer tries to do the right thing and embraces a more organic approach to farming. He changes how he does everything, including adding free range chickens to help naturally fertilize the grass instead of relying on the synthetic stuff. Unfortunately, Bald Eagles live in the area and they really really like to eat chickens.
Econ Talk: Gary Taubes on the Case Against Sugar An interview with the author of Why We Get Fat and The Case Against Sugar. Taubes is a journalist who has been entrenched in nutrition research for over a decade and host Russ Roberts probes him on why he is so convinced that our poor health has more to do with hormones than it does with calories in/calories out.
Reply All: Second Language Part one- how the Toronto mayor (who replaced the infamous Rob Ford) got involved in a rap feud. Part two- a follow up to The Reversal about ALS disease. A fascinating interview with someone who communicates entirely with their eyes and still manages to be hugely productive.
+ On a recent Skeptics Guide to the Universe, at the 33 minute mark you can listen to a neurologist (Dr Novella, the host) discuss his experience with treating ALS and the current state of brain/computer interfaces for people who are "locked in".
No Dumb Questions: How Do High Speed Camera's Work? Just a casual glance through my Youtube recommendations over the past 6 months will tell you I'm a huge fan of the channel Smarter Every Day (example: see below). Destin, the creator behind Smarter Every Day has a brand new podcast, with three episodes available at launch. If you like the channel, you'll like the podcast!
Quick facts from other shows
Our 9th president, William Henry Harrison, died after only one month in office. The Memory Palace's Back in the Saddle
For almost all of 19th century, the US had completely open borders for immigration. Planet Money's If Economists Controlled the Borders
VIDEOS
Veritasium: Electromagnetic Levitation Quadcopter Learn a lot about how magnets work from this drone looking device that levitates simply by what I assume is magic.
+ Veritasium has a new channel, Sciencium, and it's first video busts the myth that warm water counter-intuitively freezes faster than cold water.
Smarter Every Day: How Engines Work (SEE THROUGH ENGINE in SLOW MOTION) The title says it all. Slow-mo + see through motor = awesome. Even if you know less than nothing about engines (me).
Today I Found Out: Why is the Toilet Commonly Known as the Crapper (or John) Last week I mentioned 99pi's episode on eponym's, or words that share a person's name. Roman Mars criminally left this one out of the episode.
ARTICLES AND OTHER LINKS
Observer: I Helped Create the Milo Trolling Playbook. You Should Stop Playing Right Into It. Regardless of where you fall politically, this is eye opening for how media works.
What keeps antarctic penguins from having frostbitten feet?
Medium: 39 Book Recommendations From Billionaire Charlie Munger that Will Make you Smarter
That's all for this week!
Connect with me @erikthejones on twitter and if you've learned anything interesting, please forward this link to any curious natured friends or family so they can subscribe. Many thanks!