Welcome to Hurt Your Brain #214, the place to get podcasts and links that will make you think, sent every so often.
In the epic battle for my ears between audiobooks and podcasts, audiobooks recently won out. Listening to three lengthy books in a trilogy (more on that at the bottom) will certainly lead to an impatient and cranky podcast queue.
Well, I’ve finally kind of caught up and I once again have a head full of podcasts.
Below are the best of the lot that will make you think.
PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS
The Big Idea: Phenomenal and one of the best Radiolab episodes in recent memory. This story from astrophysicist Charity Woodrum lives at the intersection of vast, awe-inspiring science, and intense emotional impact. If you have trust in me, simply listen.
Fans of Beautiful/Anonymous will recognize the voice here from The Whirlpool Galaxy.
Radiolab website with transcript (and great episode art).
Art of the Score: Interstellar
The Big Idea: My two rules of watching Interstellar: 1) Biggest screen possible 2) Best sound system possible with the sound turned up. If you particularly agree with me on that second part, this episode is for you. This is an excellent dissection of the phenomenal film score by Hans Zimmer. The technical bits of the music as well as the creative process.
Philosophize This!: Episode #219…Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment
The Big Idea: Take this as your sign to look through the feed of Philosophize This! Stephen West does an amazing job breaking down different people and concepts in philosophy. I was intrigued to see recent discussions on several books. I read Crime and Punishment a few years ago and this was an excellent and non-pretentious breakdown. You can still very much enjoy this even if you haven’t read the book (if you don’t mind spoilers of course).
I was looking through their merch store, and damn what a freaking awesome design on this one.
Full transcript from website.
The Daily: Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral
The Big Idea: I’ve seen many articles about people getting trapped in delusional thinking while having extended chats with ChatGPT, but this serves as a single encapsulation on how this actually works and how it happens.
Link with transcript.
Imaginary Worlds: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Douglas Adams
The Big Idea: Just a perfect little episode for fans of Douglas Adams or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I somehow had no idea the radio play Adams wrote for the Hitchhiker’s Guide came out and was wildly successful before the book.
Website with transcript.
A Question of Science: Can We Live Forever?
The Big Idea: A new show about big science topics from Brian Cox (the scientist, not Succession patriarch). Yes, please.
Shout out to Podcast Delivery where I discovered this show.
Search Engine: Is my favorite new tv show this year a ripoff?
The Big Idea: I haven’t seen The Pitt (but I plan to) and I had no idea the main guy in it was also one of the main guys from ER. I also had no idea the estate of Michael Crichton is suing the folks behind The Pitt. I found the details of all this to be fascinating and this is a great discussion on all the drama.
Short Wave: Tylenol and Autism — What’s True and What Isn’t
The Big Idea: Listen if you want a reminder of what competent and measured discussions on scientific topics sound like. This is a very good and succinct explanation of the Tylenol and Autism announcement.
OTHER LINKS TO MAKE YOU THINK
A 1959 Essay by Isaac Isamov on Creativity. “The presence of others can only inhibit this process, since creation is embarrassing.”
Moon flowers. I had NO IDEA that certain flowers bloom only at night and there is a whole world of night time pollinators (moths, bats, and such) for these flowers.
Why Melted Bugs Coat Your Favorite Candy. Another thing I HAD NO IDEA. Shellac is used for all sorts of things, including making candy like jelly beans have a shiny appearance. Wait until you see what shellac is. An honestly great video from Business Insider.
How smooth is a neutron star? Very, very smooth. Like very.
FOR FUN
When two ragebaiters meet online.
p.s. The books a reread as audiobooks were The Three Body Problem trilogy. I really liked them a few years ago (see what I said at the bottom of this newsletter all the way back in 2020). Knowing the full story, the first book felt more slow and a bit of a drag (but still very much recommend for first time readers), and same for parts of second book. But on reread, the third book still stands as top tier science fiction in my mind, and I cannot wait to see how the hell any of it is put to screen for the third season of the Netflix show.
Also, quickly obsessed with Hades 2 on the Switch.