Why We Do What We Do
We explain popular and weird, little-known ideas in psychology. Whether you are a little curious about psychology, or a student, or even a professional, we have something for everyone. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.
Episodes
October 8, 2025 • 47 mins
Some spooky topics are geographically creepy. Arguably, the most famous scary geography is lovingly called The Bermuda Triangle. This portion of the world is credited with a supernatural ability to vanish airplanes and ships... out of the thousands that use this as a shipping route. We dig into the history that inspired the mythical lore attribute to this portion of ocean. Despite its infamy, insurance happily covers shipping vesse...
Mark as Played
October 6, 2025 • 11 mins
This is our first Halloween mini of 2025! RIP is a well-wishing, a command, and an indication of your relationship to person or idea being bid farewell. We break down the history, meaning, and language functions of using RIP. Requiescat in Pace!
Help us keep doing our thing! Patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Help us keep doing our thing! Patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Mark as Played
October 1, 2025 • 59 mins
Welcome to our annual month of creepy topics! We are kicking off this year's selection with an overview of various conceptuatlizations of Hell from the perspectives of different religions and denominations. How common is the idea of Hell and why do so many traditions embrace this idea?
We are excited to get started!
Recommendations
We are excited to get started!
Recommendations
- Abraham: Shrinking (https://tv.apple.com/us/show/shrinking/umc.cmc.apzybj6eqf6pzccd97kev7bs)
- Shane: ...
Mark as Played
September 29, 2025 • 15 mins
You have probably heard of white noise, but there are a variety of noise patterns that have been assigned a color. Some have proposed hypothetical benefits of these various sound patterns ranging from sleep or focus to mental health conditions. We take a scalpel and scientifically remove the fluff. Tell us what colored sounds you prefer!
Links and References:
Links and References:
Mark as Played
September 24, 2025 • 74 mins
In the last episode, we outlined several specific propaganda strategies. We conclude this discussion by explaining some ways we can attempt to combat propaganda. Although propaganda can be a tool for good, it is often used nefariously, and we are well served to protect ourselves against those who would manipulate us. Did we miss anything? Let us know!
Recommendations
Recommendations
- Abraham: Between the Buried and Me “The Blue Nowhere”- (https:/...
Mark as Played
September 22, 2025 • 13 mins
Kintsugi is a Japanese tradition of repairing broken things rather than retiring them, and in doing so making them stronger. It has a nice metaphor for personal, social, and economic issues. We discuss the history, techniques, and metaphors of kinsugi.
Join our club: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Join our club: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Mark as Played
September 17, 2025 • 76 mins
Propaganda is remarkably effective at influencing your behavior, even if you don't recognize that it is happening. Being aware of its strategies can help prevent you from falling victim as much. But no one is immune. Propaganda is one of the ways conspiracy theories are born, for those extremely gullible among us. This issue inspires some passionate soap-boxing... although there is a lot more of that in part 2. Enjoy!
Recommendation...
Recommendation...
Mark as Played
September 15, 2025 • 11 mins
A lot. Unless you have face blindness, you can remember a lot of faces. Is this all in the brian? We do our best to explain the research behind our ability to recognize a very large number of faces.
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Mark as Played
September 10, 2025 • 61 mins
Once again, we have an idea that has mostly been bogged down in the septic tank of pseudoscience. There seems to be some therapeutic benefit to chiropractic care, but there's so much crap spread on top that it's difficult to find. We dig into the aspects of this that are worth saving vs throwing out.
Recommendations
Recommendations
- Abraham: Drop (https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-movies/drop)
- Shane: Strange Pictures by Uketsu (https://www.harperc...
Mark as Played
September 8, 2025 • 15 mins
This is another exploration of bad idea history. At one point, humans got really into consuming and surrounding themselves with irradiated materials. This idea stands out because the origins can be traced back to a clear starting point and "logic." FYI: Don't consume or put yourself (or anyone else) near radium. We'll explain why.
Become a member and support the show: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Become a member and support the show: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Mark as Played
September 3, 2025 • 75 mins
Fast fashion is a business model that emphasizes extremely high volume, cheap clothing designed to only last a short amount of time. This strategy produces an staggering amount of waste, consumes mllions of tons of raw materials, and contributes more to climate change than all internatinal flights and maritime vessels combined. However, it also employs millions of people, boosts the economy, and provides affordable clothing around ...
Mark as Played
September 1, 2025 • 18 mins
We have very special relationships with our pets. We usually try to talk to them. Do they understand what we are saying? Do they know their names? We quickly explore what it means for our pets to "understand" us or to "know" their names. There are some things we know about this and some things we don't.
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Mark as Played
August 27, 2025 • 78 mins
One could argue there are two ways of aggregating knowledge: by guessing or by verifying information. The current system for verifying is by checking one another's work through peer review, a process by which experts first review the quality of the work submitted for publication and only allowing information through that is rigorous in its method or arguments. This is not without its flaws, however. Bias and blinding (or lack there...
Mark as Played
August 25, 2025 • 18 mins
There is a proposal that there is a dichotomy in human activities (specifically the cognitive ones) that can be characterized as a "warrior" mentality or a "victim" mentality. Any dichotomy that attempts to clasffiy behavior this way is going to have substantial limitations. We suggest that this discinction can be helpful in some ways, but seems highly toxic in others.
Support us on Patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Support us on Patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Mark as Played
August 20, 2025 • 65 mins
Pain can be conceptualized physiologically, neurologically, and behaviorally. We review the physiological and neurological components of pain, and then spend considerable time considering the behavioral aspects of pain. It's a subject that seems straight forward on the surface, but has a surprising amount of complexity, nuance, and disagreement. It might seem nice to not be able to feel pain, but this is actually very dangerous. Al...
Mark as Played
August 18, 2025 • 18 mins
Autostereograms, better known as "Magic Eye" puzzles, are a unique 2D art in which repeated images create a 3D image, but you have to focus your eyes in just the right way to see it. We explain the history of this illusion, how it works, and how to see it. Futher, we explain why you see it as either 3D or inverted. Do you see the illusion?
Get ad-free episodes and help us continue doing our thing: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links...
Get ad-free episodes and help us continue doing our thing: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links...
Mark as Played
August 13, 2025 • 78 mins
Large musical movements are large cultural movements. Rap, rock, country, and other genres often galvanized or reflected social changes and values. Punk rock is a particularly iconoclast movement with an interesting history. We discuss the history of punk music as a genre of music and to an extent as a category of social behaviors. Even if you don't necessarily like punk, you may enjoy music that inspired it or was inspired by it. ...
Mark as Played
August 11, 2025 • 16 mins
We often talk about what students can do by referring to their repertoire. But what does it mean to refer to their repertoire? A lot of philosohpy in one little mini episode!
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwdwwdpodcast
Links and References:
- Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York, NY: The Free Press.
- Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal behavior. Cambridge, MA: Prentice Hall.
- Skinner, B. F. (1974). About Beha...
Mark as Played
August 6, 2025 • 109 mins
Has it been so long? Abraham discusses his favorite discussion topic: Board games! Also ,there's been new research since that that further supports that board games are beneficial for cognitive and brain health. Prepare for fun, fun, fun, FUN.
Recommendations
Recommendations
- Abraham: Fantastic Four: First Steps (https://movies.disney.com/the-fantastic-four-first-steps)
- Shane: Happy Gilmore 2 (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31868189/)
Mark as Played
August 4, 2025 • 15 mins
Do you ever feel an nearly uncontrollable urge to move your legs? If you do, you probably still don't have RLS, but it may be worth getting tested for a diagnosis. Please don't self-diagnose just because we talked about it. Restless Leg Syndome is mostly what it sounds like: A powerful urge to move your legs or get up and move around. Rather than just sitting for too long, this usually has a specific etiology and some specific trea...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!