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  • Lucius: Ice Cream (Multisensory Perception with Ladan Shams)

    Lucius: Ice Cream (Multisensory Perception with Ladan Shams)
    Jan 21 2026
    Taped live at Japan House LA on January 10, 2026. Matt chats with Lucius front women Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig—and Dr. Ladan Shams, UCLA professor of psychology, bioengineering, and neuroscience, to explore the science behind the band’s song “Ice Cream.” Starting from the lyric “time melts away like ice cream in the sun,” the conversation moves between metaphor, memory, and the fleeting nature of love, and into the brain’s remarkable ability to blend sound, sight, taste, and touch into a single experience. From rubber hands to ventriloquists, pop art to perceptual pleasure, the episode reveals how our senses collaborate, compete, and sometimes fool us—while Lucius reflects on their own multisensory artistry, coordinated visuals, and the emotional power of metaphor in their music.
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    53 Min.
  • Public Service Broadcasting: The Last Flight (Archeology with Richard Pettigrew)

    Public Service Broadcasting: The Last Flight (Archeology with Richard Pettigrew)
    Jan 7 2026
    A century-old vanishing act meets modern investigation in a conversation where art and archaeology follow the same pursuit. J. Willgoose, Esq.—founder of the British band Public Service Broadcasting—and archaeologist Dr. Rick Pettigrew, Executive Director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, go for a deep dive into one of the most enduring mysteries of the 20th century: Amelia Earhart’s final flight. Willgoose unpacks the research and craft behind The Last Flight, PSB’s album built from primary sources, historical texts, and period-accurate voice performances engineered to sound convincingly 1930s. Pettigrew brings the scientific side of the story, explaining why the Nikumaroro hypothesis has persisted for decades—and why a newly analyzed “Taraia object” in the island’s lagoon could represent the long-missing Lockheed Electra. Together they explore the tangled intersection of history, sound, celebrity, navigation, and evidence, from radio failures and line-of-position logic to artifacts found on the island and the ethics of doing archaeology with care and diplomacy. The conversation also looks ahead to Pettigrew’s planned 2026 expedition—what it will take to test the hypothesis on the ground (and underwater), and what it would mean to finally move from theory to proof.
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    1 Std. und 2 Min.
  • Encore: Sheila E: The Glamorous Life (Rhythm Neuroscience with Hugo Merchant)

    Encore: Sheila E: The Glamorous Life (Rhythm Neuroscience with Hugo Merchant)
    Dec 24 2025
    Queen of Percussion and Prince collaborator Sheila E talks about her 1984 hit, working with Prince, salsa music and learning from her legendary father with University of Mexico Neuroscientist, Dr. Hugo Merchant. Hugo shares fascinating findings about how the mechanisms in the brain process rhythm and help us keep a beat.
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    43 Min.
  • Taboo Science: Necrophilia (with Dr. Victoria Sullivan & Dr. Jens Foell)

    Taboo Science: Necrophilia (with Dr. Victoria Sullivan & Dr. Jens Foell)
    Dec 17 2025
    Where does necrophilia come from? What makes people desecrate corpses? And do you have to be a serial killer to have a death fetish? Today’s guests are Dr. Victoria Hartmann, a clinical psychology researcher and executive director of the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas, and neuroscientist and science communicator Dr. Jens Foell.
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    32 Min.
  • Bryan Cranston and Alan Hart on "The Chemistry of Breaking Bad"

    Bryan Cranston and Alan Hart on "The Chemistry of Breaking Bad"
    Dec 10 2025
    Recorded live at London’s Natural History Museum on November 24, 2025. Breaking Bad fanatics, have a fresh pair of trousers at the ready—Bryan Cranston delivers an unforgettable conversation packed with behind-the-scenes stories from his years playing Walter White. He shares how DEA agents taught him the fundamentals of meth production, what he learned shadowing a USC chemistry professor to prepare for the role, and the surprising science details the show actually got right. A Hollywood legend through and through, Cranston does not disappoint. Joining him is the eminent Alan Hart—mineralogist, science historian, and keeper of extraordinary knowledge about the material world. Hart breaks down the real science behind Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, the intricate chemistry of organic and inorganic crystal structures, and the remarkable history of how the Periodic Table came to be. Together, Cranston and Hart illuminate the scientific heart of Breaking Bad in a way fans have never heard before.
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    1 Std. und 16 Min.
  • Renée Fleming: O Mio Babbino Caro (Singing Science with Sean Hutchins)

    Renée Fleming: O Mio Babbino Caro (Singing Science with Sean Hutchins)
    Nov 26 2025
    Recorded live at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, this episode features world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming and vocal-science researcher Dr. Sean Hutchins in a conversation that plays like part masterclass, part science session. Together they explore how the anatomy and neuroscience of singing shape everything from breath and resonance to pitch and vocal control. Fleming reflects on the physical and artistic realities of life as a singer, while Hutchins breaks down what’s happening in the brain and body when a voice truly connects.
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    34 Min.
  • Raffi: The More We Get Together (Altruism Science with Jennifer Stellar)

    Raffi: The More We Get Together (Altruism Science with Jennifer Stellar)
    Nov 12 2025
    Recorded live at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto on October 31, 2025, this episode brings together beloved children’s musician and advocate Raffi and University of Toronto psychologist Dr. Jennifer Stellar for a conversation about how music helps shape our earliest experiences of empathy, gratitude, and wonder. Raffi reflects on three songs spanning nearly three decades of his career—“The More We Get Together,” “Thanks a Lot,”and “Bananaphone”—and how they came to embody his philosophy of Child Honouring, a vision that places the well-being of children at the center of community and culture. Dr. Stellar, director of University of Toronto's HEAL Lab (Health, Emotions, and Altruism Laboratory), explains how these songs map onto what psychologists call self-transcendent emotions: feelings that expand our sense of self and deepen our connections with others. Together, they explore why compassion tends to emerge in children around the ages of five to eight, how gratitude can encourage cooperation and trust, and how awe invites us to reimagine what is possible. They discuss the science of co-regulation, the role of music in developing social awareness, and why playful imagination—like pretending a banana is a phone—can support a child’s ability to see the world in new ways. The episode ends with a joyful reflection on the enduring power of communal singing—reminding us that “the more we get together, the happier we’ll be,” not just as a lyric, but as a lifelong practice in belonging.
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    49 Min.
  • Rosanne Cash: Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Storytelling Psychology with Robyn Fivush)

    Rosanne Cash: Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Storytelling Psychology with Robyn Fivush)
    Oct 29 2025
    Recorded live at Emory IDEAS Fest in Covington, GA on October 18, 2025, this episode brings together Rosanne Cash—four-time Grammy winner, songwriter, and Americana icon—and psychologist Dr. Robyn Fivush for a conversation about how the stories we tell across generations shape who we become. Rosanne shares the story of “The List”—the 100 essential country songs her father, Johnny Cash, gave her when she turned 18—and how a vivid dream involving Linda Ronstadt sparked her decision to leave Nashville and reinvent herself in midlife. Dr. Fivush unpacks these moments through the lens of psychology, explaining how researchers classify such turning points, or “crises,” and how Erik Erikson’s theories of identity and midlife development help make sense of them. Together, they explore the overlap between Joseph Campbell’s power of myth and Rosanne’s work as a storyteller, and Dr. Fivush discusses her landmark dinnertime study, which found that children who grow up hearing family stories at the table tend to become more resilient and grounded adults. The episode ends on a high note as Matt and Rosanne lead the audience in a joyful sing-along—reminding us that sometimes the best way to pass down a story is through song.
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    1 Std. und 1 Min.