The British sin and tonic
Stuff the British stole includes more than artifacts, skipping Flowers of the Killer Moon, an MLM death, and more podcasts and links to make you think.
Welcome to Hurt Your Brain #193, the place to get podcasts and links that will make you think.
Cool thing I learned from a podcast: There are like 280 different viruses that cause the common cold! That’s why the immunity you get after you recover doesn’t mean a whole lot and you can get the cold several times a year. Learned via Incubation: The Common Cold — A Viral Mystery.
I hope you find something that equally tickles your brain in the recommendations below.
PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS
Stuff the British Stole: The Fever Tree Hunt
The Big Idea: British imperialism, gin and tonics, malaria. Three things that will never be the same for you after listening to this episode. Particularly the gin and tonic.
Cautionary Tales: Oil and Blood — The Osage Murders
The Big Idea: If you are interested in “Flowers of the Killer Moon” but don’t want to sit through a 3.5 hour movie in the theaters, try giving this a listen instead. It’s a devastating history of how the wealth of the Osage people was taken through murder and subterfuge, and this episode details the big picture from the book that the movie is based on. Plus, it’s always good to have an excuse to listen to Cautionary Tales.
The Dream: S3 E10: We Die The Way We Lived
The Big Idea: I’ve seen mixed reviews on season 3 of The Dream, but I thought this “bonus” episode discussing the death of Jessie Lee Ward was excellent (Jessie Lee Ward was a popular MLM coach and the subject of several episodes this season — she died of cancer after all the season was recorded and released). This last episode tackles the difficult subject of the health misinformation that Jessie Lee Ward passed on to her followers during her battle with cancer and what to make of it now that she is gone. There is also a really interesting conversation with a death coach.
Unexplainable: The data vigilantes
The Big Idea: Science is an endeavor full of passionate, honest scientists, but when millions of people are involved in anything with skewed incentives, there will inevitably be bad behavior and even outright fraud. This is a great story on how folks are increasingly volunteering their data sleuthing skills to sniff out and expose this bad behavior.
FROM THE ARCHIVES (All the way back from newsletter #2!)
Invisibilia: The Personality Myth. [57 min] Learn about: how your idea of how stable your personality is and where it even comes from is probably way off. Hear from inmates, leading psychologists and other smart people who will make you question everything about yourself.
PODCAST LINKS
Friends Don’t Let Friends Listen to Podcast Apps on Default Settings. Even though two years old, this article consistently shows up as my most read article week to week these days. If you are thinking of changing apps (like I am in the process of doing) or upping your listening game, it might be helpful!
OTHER LINKS TO MAKE YOU THINK
I watched the Maestro trailer (knowing nothing about any of it except it was a Bradley Cooper project) and in the comments people mentioned that this performance by Leonard Bernstein was one of the best ever. It was quite mesmerizing, particularly the last 15 minutes. It also led me down a rabbit hole of what a conductor actually does. My biggest take away is that 90% of the work of the conductor is done before the performance starts, and that they have tremendous influence on how to interpret what is on the page. Think of conductors more like a director in a play, where their work is largely done ahead of time. This article is also an interesting read about Bernstein.
FOR FUN
Every Owen Wilson “Wow” In Chronological Order. Doesn’t even include the last few years and it all gets to the point of absurdity towards the end.
The Shining as a romantic comedy
Larry David introducing Ariana Grande (like a five second video and the most Larry David thing ever).
Best climber in the world legit climbs the outside corner of a smooth cement wall.
Let’s end again with a quote from a podcast I liked (taken from Invisibilia episode above).
"You know, the cells in your body are turning over quite often. So your red blood cells only last 120 days. Your hair gets turned over every few years. Your skin cells only last two or three weeks. The colon and the stomach - it's only four or five days before all those cells get replaced. Now, neurons, the cells in your brain, those don't die and get replaced. But the atoms that make them up are constantly turning over. So when you look at your friends and loved ones, atomically, they've completely turned over from when you last saw them, let's say, five years ago."
Alright that’s all for today. Please like or comment (or reply) if you want to share any comments. See you next time.