The Brain Candy Podcast
Laugh and learn with Susie Meister PhD & Sarah Rice MFT from MTV's The Challenge as they cover psychology, pop culture, human interest, and science, and make everything from The Kardashians to quantum physics accessible to all.
Episodes
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 ...
Sarah is trying to talk Susie into loving winter sports, and it ain't working. In fact, she's decided Shaun White is on our list of people we have bad vibes about. We hear why Sarah thinks she'd be great at ice skating. We learn why breakfast foods are becoming more expensive, Florida is out of the orange juice biz, and Susie doesn't know what she's going to eat now. We find out why China is causing a bizarre boom in saxop...
Susie has a theory about a scubadiving accident Sarah had ten years ago. We wonder why anyone wears a visor. We discuss the 30 for 30 short film about Black "hand clap" games that girls play, how they originated, and why we don't continue them into adulthood. We debate the virtues of locker room nudity, why it's becoming antiquated, and why some people (including Sarah want to bring it back). Susie had an accident in an Ub...
Sarah saw an old clip from the Ruins season of the Challenge with Susie and Sarah together, and we discuss why the boys bullied Sarah. We learn why time seems to be speeding up for everyone, and what you can do to slow it down. Sarah explains the strange nature of the Kardashians editing and why she enjoys vacuous movies and tv while Susie, who is a big fan of superficiality normally is a documentary junkie. We discuss why...
Sarah learned a fun (??) fact about persimmon seeds, and now we have to talk about it. Susie is less impressed, and skeptical about its implications. We hear the history of, wait for it, the Thong Song, and are delighted by the vocal stylings, song construction, and cultural impact of this one-hit-wonder. We learn about an imprint in a piece of cement in Chicago that has become an unlikely tourist attraction, and despite i...
Susie is in the throes of Beatlemania, and she found out who Sarah's favorite Beatle is, and it's hilar (especially the reasoning). We learn about people who cannot see visual images or pictures in their mind, what conditions often correlate with the condition, and the pros and cons to having it. We hear why Susie thinks she has an auditory version of it and we discuss people who have something called "blindsight," where t...
Susie and Sarah are psyched about the Louvre heist especially because there was a woman involved, but Sarah's mom is not so pleased. We hear why one UFC fighter is being challenged about his use of a diabolical tactic of tickling, and we learn why it's seen as "unsportsmanlike." We debate the ethics of free diving and why some people think inhaling pure oxygen beforehand is "cheating." Susie watched the Aileen Wournos docu...
We survived our live event! And better still we got to meet amazing Brainiacs and Susie got to witness Sarah embody the ghost of PeeWee Herman. It was incredible. We share how we violated one of our sacred principles when we participated in an activity we've previously railed against (we did not climb Mt. Everest). We discuss the woman who was left behind by a cruise ship on a deserted Australian island, and we debate how ...
Susie and Sarah have had a busy few week's in Denver preparing for their live event, Halloween special, and if you're hearing this episode, they either survived or are coming at you from beyond the grave. Hear about their documentary viewing party of Perfect Neighbor, why it freaked them out, and why Susie is extra mad about it. We discuss a new plastic surgery technique to make your waist smaller, debate whether it's wors...
We were worried we might not have anything left to talk about on the show (spoiler alert, we were wrong). We discuss the good and bad uses of AI, why it can be a better doctor than a human, why it's more dangerous than plastic, and why Sarah can't quit ChatGPT. Sarah explains why misinformation is causing more marriages than anything else. We share what our "favorite" conspiracy theories are, and why we sort of believe the...
We've got an update on the wounded hawk on Susie's property and an update on the wounded boobs in Susie's body. We hear how her second MRI went, and why she's mad as a hornet. Sarah had a breakdown about her haircut, but we cracked the case on what was really causing it. We debate what song we'd like to hear again for the first time. Susie is continuing her year of lesbian intrigue after she got hit on by a lady at a bar. ...
Sarah AND Susie had MRIs (separately, but still), and let's just say it didn't go well. Hear them trauma bond about it. We learn that cows have accents depending on where they live, and even their mood and what they're mooing about. And we learn how we even know that. We discuss how inspired we are by the work and life of Jane Goodall, and how her legacy will live on. We talk about how there are different expectations for ...
Sarah was nail biting sober for two years, but a reality show pushed her off the wagon. Hear why she thinks men are not ok, and why her nails are paying the price. We hear Susie's review of the extreme birding documentary, and the crazy coincidence that allowed her to have a birding experience on her property this week. We find out why we as a society were obsessed with To Catch a Predator, why it's more complicated than i...
Both hosts are getting an MRI soon, and now they're worried because some dude got killed by a machine recently when he wore a necklace into the MRI room. We hear what really happened today. We speculate about what we would get arrested for if we ever get arrested. Susie recounts the time she almost went to jail over breakfast, and Sarah claims she almost had to sue someone over mismatched carpet. Sarah watched an incredibl...
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