Episodes

Why do people love rituals so much? This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about medicine, Lunar New Year, habits, disease, leg washing, and flossing. They don’t talk about Jane's Addiction. references twitterpated Yale School of Medicine: Phenylephrine, a Common Decongestant, Is Ineffective, Say FDA Advisors. It’s Not Alone Gregorian calendar Ritual, Play and Belief, in Evolution and Early Human Societies by Colin Renfrew National Geographic: "Why do humans embrace rituals? Disease and dange...

What can we learn about reality from aquariums? This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about Barbie, virtual reality, augmented reality, Sphere, interactivity, and raccoons. They don’t talk about Phish. references BBC: Aquariums 'deliver significant health benefits' Sphere This Is Water by David Foster Wallace Disney Imagineer Makes History

When should we change the target? This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess talk about SATs, grade inflation, games, goals, dating, and wine. They don’t talk about French Kiss. references Joey missed you. The New York Times' The Daily Podcast: The Messy Fight Over the SAT @AnthonyLeeZhang on former-Twitter discussing the Goodhart Overhang vintner Concord grapes How Save Scumming Makes Baldur's Gate 3 Better

When is it okay to correct someone? This week, Jess and Joey talk about Vander-ism, otaku, pedantry, language, Ryan-ing, and comments sections. Thankfully, they don’t talk about the Oxford comma. references Otaku Corrections Department (because of course): Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland easter eggs propinquity Merriam-Webster on X Seth Meyers' Corrections on Late Night

How did our predictions play out in 2023, and what's to come in 2024? This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess serve a combo platter of Wild Prognostications, reviewing nogs past from Episode 206 and progging forward into the new year. They talk about influencers, chickens, stuffies, egg nogs, algae, and AI hardware. They don’t talk about quail eggs. references Happy New Year for Cutie Puffer Onesie Omlet solidwiggles The New York Times: The Secret Weapon of Celebrity Stylists? Comfortable Shoes.

Thank you for the love and support you've shown us in light of Alain's passing. If you want to make a donation in Alain's memory, his family suggested they be made to the following organizations: Family Defense Practicum at Main Street Legal Services (write "Family Defense Practicum" in the Additional Comments section) Anseye Pou Haiti Haitian Education Leadership Program Typically, we close the year with our Wild Prognostications year in review, instead, we just wanted to leave you with a lig...

How do we loosen the reins? This week, Joey and Jess talk about latchkey kids, parenting, protectiveness, perfectionism, social narrative, and lawnmowers. They don’t talk about driveways vs. parkways. references Latchkey kids "Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children’s Mental Wellbeing: Summary of the Evidence" (PDF) Science Daily: 'All work, no independent play' cause of children's declining mental health Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by ...

How much is too much, and how far do you take it for your pets? This week, special guest Amanda Medina joins Joey and Jess to talk about chicken tenders/tendies (again), dogs in baby-carrying apparatuses, therapy, working dogs, diets, and parenting. They don’t talk about pet chickens. references Eater: A New Hampshire Restaurant Says it Invented Chicken Tenders in 1974 Belgian Malinois anthropomorphize

Where are you sourcing your criticism? This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess talk about critics, movie reviews, Dan Gilbert, unintentionally laxative candy, mind bleachers, and overcorrecting. They don’t talk about criticizing nonsense. references The Aaron and Joey of Wine Norio Ohga Plain English podcast: Disney’s Downfall: The Rise and Fall of an Entertainment Giant Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert Daniel Gilbert Ted Talk: The surprising science of happiness Vox: Stop watching movie tr...

Where haven't we unlocked the fifth gait? This week, Jess and Joey talk about Icelandic horses, Stardew Valley, Japanese craftsmanship, molecular gastronomy v. farm to table, biohacking, and "the source code." They don’t talk about how galloping is an elongated canter, because we only just found this out. references The fateful non-conversation about bracts. American Museum of Natural History: Horse Gaits "The Five Gaits of the Icelandic Horse" and this generously paced video version to see ...

This week Aaron and Joey talk about the importance of making space for weird. They don't talk about being normal and forgotten or weird and remembered. references CVS Bangers The X Files Techno Remix Pure Moods CD Commercial

Where does your justice threshold rest? This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Lana Del Rey, LEGO, the arenas of justice, the TSA, Aaron's personal space, and taking umbrage. They don’t talk about the Molecular Lego of Knots. references Lana Del Rey's "Video Games" Father John Misty LEGO Great Pyramid of Giza Corrections Department: Jan (pronounced Yon) Vormann discusses his Dispatch Work Donatello vs Sub Zero | Mortal Kombat 11 vs Injustice LEGO Masters Season 1, Episode 6: Aaron and Ch...

What is the role of truth and how should we think about how it's changing? This week, Joey and Jess talk about misinformation, wallets, the replication crisis, journalism, radical candor, and trust. They don’t talk about the word "cap." references Revisiting Critical Nonsense 227! Tendies Nick Lavallee Wants to Crown Manchester “The Chicken Tender Capital of the World” Replication crisis The Explorer and the Journalist: The Extraordinary Story of Frederick Cook and Philip Gibbs by Richard Eva...

In what ways is procrastitivity useful ... or not? This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about procrastination styles, Maya Angelou, procrastavoidance, urgency, anxiety, and Éric Ripert. They don’t talk about The Soul of an Octopus. references Joey is a baboon "Maya Angelou: How I Write" The Eisenhower Matrix Urge incontinence Baldur's Gate 3 Final Fantasy XVI Éric Ripert

What's in a name? This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about Cher, dysmorphia, name commonality, De'Coldest Crawford, permutations, and nick names. They don’t talk about Major Danger. references Cher and Aqua turn back time. Revisiting Critical Nonsense 139! Teenage Girl Power and Sharing Names De'Coldest Crawford Ryans Meetup How Many of Me? (a variation) Danger Charles Come On Be My Baby Tonight Torres Potato Chips Neutral Milk Hotel Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

What things should we be leaving up to chance? This week, Joey and Jess talk about the expectation of rightness, hiring, outsourcing decisions, smart coins, Level 5 Engineers, and proposing. They don’t talk about DJ Screw. references Take a look at me now ... because we've been waiting for this moment for all our lives. Big Think: ‘Freakonomics’ study offers simple strategy for making tough decisions "Not good enough!"

How do we wrestle with history? This week, Jess and Aaron talk about rote learning, putty, history as study vs. history as culture, stories, empathy, and erasure. They don’t talk about the history of Play-Doh. references Six The Very Serious History of Silly Putty Red, White & Royal Blue Giving credit where it's due: "Molly Ivins, lively columnist who dubbed Bush 'Shrub'" See also: Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush by Molly Ivins

This week, Joey and Jess talk about Chuck Klosterman, Bluey (again), the Mona Lisa, High Fidelity, Kafka, and Shakespeare. They don’t talk about Slick Rick. references Whut? How to find Kentucky on a map Anathem by Neal Stephenson How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie High Fidelity Me and Earl and the Dying Girl The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

What things that we need should we be gamifying? This week, Joey and Jess talk about not getting enough sleep, Pokémon, mixed expertise, incentivized behavior change, Duolingo, and eating. They don’t talk about superconductors, no matter how badly Joey wants to. references Like no one ever was ... Pokémon Sleep The Atlantic: Did Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely Fabricate Data for the Same Study? The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson The New York Times: Sleep Better at Every Age The New York T...

How do we deal with contradiction? This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about Björk, Barbie, G-strings, Elf on a Shelf, multiverses, and compartmentalization. They don’t talk about Green Day. references The Perfectly Emo Clone High Intro Björk "All Is Full of Love" Björk + SNL 'Barbie' invites you into a Dream House stuffed with existential angst The New York Times: Who Gets to Wear G-Strings Now? Occam's razor Reader's Digest: 26 of the Funniest Oxymoron Examples The Elf on a Shelf The Verg...

Where might we find more empathy for each other? This week, Jess and Joey talk about etiquette, niceties, deplaning, consideration, the inverse crush, and villains. They don’t talk about Brother Bear. references Take a look at something that's not The Lion King now Whatever you're feeling in the air tonight, it's not The Lion King It might just be love though Bumble released its female users height preferences Pulmonary embolism Paramore's "crushcrushcrush"

How should we think about things that are created that wind up being more beloved by audiences that weren't the original target? This week, Joey and Aaron talk about Bluey, Pixar, Adult Swim, Married With Children, Patricia Richardson, and drag queens. They don’t talk about Left Eye. references In case you Don't Know Much about Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt Lisa Stansfeild aka Definitely-Not-Linda-Ronstadt Bluey Bandit Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood The Most Subversive Kid’s Television Shows...

How important is attractiveness? This week, Joey and Jess talk about self-rating, the butt phase, dating apps, dating profiles as brand strategy, TMI, and hotties. They don’t talk about teratophilia. references Debutante Ball's are real ... as are narwhals "Physical and Psychosocial Correlates of Facial Attractiveness" by Marco Costa and Dario Maestripieri (PDF) "80% Of Women Choose Only The Top 20% of Attractive Men" Is A Big Fat Incel Lie Pew Research: The Virtues and Downsides of Online Da...

What is patriotic? This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about American Democracy, fusion foods, the spirit of the thing, beer holding, the cronut, and empanadas. They don’t talk about pastechi. references Dance Moms BuzzFeed: "Maddie Ziegler On Being Sia's 'Muse' From Age 11" "Majorities in most countries have a positive opinion of the U.S." "Will Democracy Win? Barack Obama in Conversation with Christiane Amanpour" Revisiting: Critical Nonsense 233! The Familiar Unexpected Empanada Mama Tas...