The Brain Candy Podcast

Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day approaches, but while Sarah and Amy are navigating a new romantic milestone, Susie is mostly just finding the whole shift deeply annoying. The duo dives into the social dynamics of the season by dissecting the functional differences between friendship and community, exploring why we need both even if they serve wildly different purposes in our lives. The conversation takes a sharp turn...

On this episode of The Brain Candy Podcast, Sarah Rice and Susie Meister discuss the viral scientific study regarding LEGO digestion. We explore the pediatric research that determined exactly how long it takes for a swallowed LEGO brick to pass through the digestive system and the hilarious acronym scientists created for the process. The conversation then shifts to the rise and fall of 90s fitness icon Susan Powter. We dis...

Is Alex Honnold a "bad dad" for scaling the Taipei skyscraper? Susie and Sarah react to his latest feat and debate where the line is between bravery and recklessness.

In this episode, Sarah also reveals her secrets to becoming an all-time Yogurtland champion, including how to maximize toppings to get the absolute most bang for your buck. We also dive into some wild science news: what scurvy actually is (and why you definite...

We discuss the Elizabeth Smart documentary about her kidnapping and miraculous rescue, and the complicated nature of healing from that trauma. We learn about a graduate student who was offended when people in the department asked him to stop microwaving his "pungent" food, so he sued the school claiming he was discriminated against. We talk about the people who created a secret apartment in the mall and lived there for a l...

Sarah is all hot and bothered for the "gay hockey show," Heated Rivalry, and she explains why lesbians would enjoy male on male heat. Susie is all wound up about something totally different: umbrellas. To each their own. We learn about a practice that was created in the 1980s where people dying of AIDS would sell their life insurance policies to investors, and we debate the ethics of betting on someone's death. We discuss ...

Sarah and Susie are reuniting in Denver again, and they are psyched. Sarah is talking about life hack's she's trying in the new year. So what, who cares. Sarah claims there are five "approved" lesbian haircuts and we learn what they are. There is some special nail polish that is going viral that is supposed to allow you to color coordinate by changing the color magically, but it ends up looking insane, and Sarah is mad abo...

Sarah's outdoor adventures never stop, and this time she ended up in a ski parade! While Susie has resorted to wearing heated apparel inside. Susie shares the story of Andrea Yates, the woman who killed her five children, and the religious beliefs that made her think she should. Susie is worked up about how grandparents now insist on being called all kinds of weird names and Sarah's got a theory about why they don't want t...

Sarah has a new guilty pleasure called Members Only, but she says it's more like Real Housewives of Mar-a-Lago. We hear why she is fascinated by these ladies (and their clothing). We debate the virtues of changing your last name when you get married, and how certificates and diplomas should be amendable if you change your name. We learn the benefits of pet ownership according to science, and whether it is better or worse f...

We're already getting all emotional about coming up on our 1000th episode, and enjoying the fact that all the naysayers were wrong about us being a "showmance." Susie watched the Chevy Chase documentary, and was hoping to find out if he is in fact the a-hole he is often accused of being. Spoiler: he kind of is. We discuss some big news in psychology research, and it turns out maybe everything we thought we knew is wrong? (...

We are pretty psyched about our New Year's resolution, and we highly recommend not giving a f*ck to everyone. We learn why Denmark has suspended mail delivery, and we consider whether this is news of progress or a dystopian future. Sarah is extolling the virtues of an "analog bag," and we discuss what we would keep in our bags. Sarah got tricked by AI and we're mad about it. We learn about a man who was fined in England fo...

Sarah has a PSA for ladies thanks to Trivia Pursuit and her aging feet. Hear why you're probably wearing the wrong shoe size. We learn why we were wrong about Octomom, how she is a victim of an unethical system and why she should get more credit. Susie is worked up about the P Diddy documentary, how messed up he seems, and how the documentary made us love Fifty Cent even more. A woman whose hobby it is to throw messages in...

We landed on our theme for 2026, and it feels so right. It encapsulates our attitude for the year. Sarah got a good news/bad news situation about her lady parts, and she wants the world to know about it. We learn about a man who has been walking the globe for over 25 years and he is on our main nerve. Sarah watched the Murder in Monaco documentary, and it made her wonder whether you can lie to yourself if you do it long en...

Sarah is back from Mexico, and she has tales to tell! It was a White Lotus scenario with a little jellyfish run-in on the side. Susie watched The Stringer documentary about the Napalm Girl Pulitzer Prize winning photograph, and the recent controversy about who took the picture. We learn about a 30 year study on the language used in obituaries, and what it can teach us about societal values, what matters to us, and what inf...

We're discussing the feedback from Sooz Review of Jaws, and why people are real worked up about it. We learn about a woman who changed her gender on LinkedIn only to get a 400% increase in page views, so obviously we're mad about it. Sarah explains why drones are being used in warfare and it feels more dangerous than you'd think. Susie describes a study that had a man dressed as Batman entering a subway car, and the surpri...

We learn about the Selena documentary, and the life, career, and death of the Tejano singer, who was killed by a disgruntled employee. We find out the evolutionary advantage of kissing, which animals do it, how scientists define "kissing," and why it actually could protect us from harm. Susie explains why raccoons might become the next domesticated animals, why they seem to be ushering in their pet era, and why experts are...

Sarah was car shopping, and you'll never guess what kind of car she and her girlfriend got... We learn how doctors who perform surgery on babies were inspired to improve their care after seeing the efficiency of Formula 1 pit crews. We talk about a little girl who donated a simple rock to a museum, but it is now the most popular exhibit at the museum. Sarah explains the impact having daughters has on male CEOs. Susie gives...

We got an update about "aphantasia," the condition where you cannot see mental images, and now we're wondering if we're the weird ones because the way we see the images is apparently strange??? We think we are on the precipice of a scientific discovery that will be named after us. Susie talks about a man who had his wife cryogenically frozen, but now it's awkward because he got a new girlfriend, so hopefully they don't bri...

Have you ever wanted a bed for your phone? Do you live in the United Arab Emirates? Well, you're in luck. Ikea has the perfect thing for you. We discuss Nike's latest product that makes it easier to walk for people who were not having trouble walking (??). We created the perfect foot race, and it involves flip-flops, margaritas, and fun for the whole family. This might be our best idea yet. We learn why horses got domestic...

Sarah is suddenly a new woman who hates when it gets dark early, is not really into Halloween, and is crying over Christmas songs. Sounds like someone is happy and in love. So much so that we get an impromptu, spoken word version of Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses. We hear about an inicident in the 1980s when two boys were supposedly influenced by the music of Judas Priest and persuaded to die by suicide. We hear how ...