Unexplainable

The Sound Barrier #1: The myth of hearing

Just like optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears. It makes scientists wonder: What exactly are we hearing, when we're hearing? This is the first episode of our new four-part series, The Sound Barrier. Guests: Diana Deutsch [https://deutsch.ucsd.edu/psychology/pages.php?i=101], emeritus professor at the University of California, San Diego; Matthew Winn [https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/mwinn], professor at the University of Minnesota; Michael Chorost [https://michaelchorost.com/], science writer For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠ [vox.com/unxtranscripts%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [vox.com/unexplainable%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] And please email us! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unexplainable@vox.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠⁠ [vox.com/members%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Solve me a river

This week on Unexplainable or Not, Sally Helm, the newest member of our team, tries to figure out what's killing mussels, why rivers suddenly change course, and what the longest river in the world is. Guests: ⁠Douglas Edmonds⁠ [https://earth.indiana.edu/directory/faculty/edmonds-douglas.html], professor at Indiana University; ⁠Neel Dhanesha⁠ [https://neeldhanesha.com/], science reporter  For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG]⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠ [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG]For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠ [http://vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And please email us! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unexplainable@vox.com⁠⁠ [unexplainable@vox.com] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [unexplainable@vox.com]⁠⁠⁠We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/support-membership]⁠⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠⁠ [http://vox.com/members] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://vox.com/members]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/support-membership]Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

This episode is haunted and spooky

Now why would you click on something like this? What's wrong with you?! Why are you — and so many other people — into scary stuff? Two scientists are trying to find out. (Originally aired in 2024) Guests: Mathias Clasen  [https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/mc%40cc.au.dk/]and Marc Andersen [https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/mana%40cas.au.dk], co-directors of the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG]⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠ [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG] For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠ [http://vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And please email us! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unexplainable@vox.com⁠⁠ [unexplainable@vox.com]⁠⁠⁠ We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/support-membership]⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠⁠ [http://vox.com/members]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/support-membership] Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Consider the shrimp

Killing two people is worse than killing one. What about 440 billion crustaceans? Adapted from Dylan Matthews's essay on Vox.com [https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/461008/shrimp-welfare-project-controversy]. This story is part of a series supported by Animal Charity Evaluators, which received a grant from EarthShare. For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG]⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠ [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG] For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/unexplainable]⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠ [http://vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And please email us! ⁠⁠⁠⁠unexplainable@vox.com⁠ [unexplainable@vox.com]⁠⁠⁠ We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/support-membership]⁠vox.com/members⁠ [http://vox.com/members]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/support-membership] Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

When talent vanishes overnight

Think about the thing you’ve practiced more than anything else in the world. Maybe it’s painting. Or writing. Or playing baseball. Now, imagine you wake up one day, and you just can’t do it. You’re not sick. You’re not injured. But suddenly, that one thing is impossible. (Originally published in 2024) Guests: Rick Ankiel [https://x.com/theerickankiel?lang=en], former Major League Baseball star; Sally Akehurst [https://www.roehampton.ac.uk/news/2023/april/university-of-roehampton-london-welcomes-dr-sally-akehurst-as-new-dean-of-life-and-health-sciences/], sports psychologist and a dean at University of Roehampton, London; Steven Frucht [https://nyulangone.org/doctors/1336157130/steven-j-frucht], neurologist at NYU Langone For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG]vox.com/unxtranscripts [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bMXuLuyy3zTLCnblKVWUBq4Gd84PY8sG] For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/unexplainable]vox.com/unexplainable [http://vox.com/unexplainable]⁠ [https://www.vox.com/unexplainable]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And please email us! ⁠⁠⁠unexplainable@vox.com [unexplainable@vox.com]⁠⁠⁠ We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/support-membership]vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.vox.com/support-membership] Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]