Don't Know, Do Care

Don't Know If the Shroud of Turin is Indian

This week, we dive headfirst into one of the strangest objects in human history: the Shroud of Turin, a 14-foot piece of linen that is either the burial cloth of Jesus Christ… or the world's most successful medieval scam. For centuries, this faintly creepy cloth has sat at the exact intersection of faith, science, history, and people confidently yelling at each other online. Because printed onto it is the image of a tortured man bearing injuries eerily similar to the Biblical description of the crucifixion. So we trace the bizarre history of the Shroud, from its sudden appearance in 14th-century France and accusations of forgery by medieval bishops, to fires, papal PR gymnastics, carbon dating tests, and increasingly complicated scientific studies that somehow keep making the mystery worse instead of better. And because apparently this story wasn't chaotic enough already, we also get into the recent DNA study that found genetic traces linked to India, sparking exactly the kind of internet discourse you would expect. This episode is classic offbeat learning territory: a weird historical rabbit hole full of contradictory evidence, scientific detective work, Vatican ambiguity, and the kind of mystery that refuses to sit still, all wrapped in comedy commentary and packed with quirky insights. Because at the end of the day, the Shroud of Turin is less a solved mystery and more a centuries-long argument that nobody has managed to conclusively win. Important links: 1. Shroud of Turin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_of_Turin] 2. Shroud of Turin - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shroud-of-Turin [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shroud-of-Turin] 3. The Shroud of Turin: An Overview of the Archaeological Scientific Studies - https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/5/1/8 [https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/5/1/8] 4. Shroud of Turin, linked by believers to Jesus Christ, has an Indian DNA trace: Study - https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/shroud-of-turin-linked-by-believers-to-jesus-christ-has-an-indian-dna-signal-study-10614146/ [https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/shroud-of-turin-linked-by-believers-to-jesus-christ-has-an-indian-dna-signal-study-10614146/] Don't Know, Do Care is the brainchild of Ashmita, Sandy, and Prakhar, three friends from different backgrounds and interests. Ashmita works in sustainability, Sandy's an entrepreneur (puke) who'd rather not be, and Prakhar works with Sandy and is just trying to make sense of it all. Three mildly confused friends, one weirdly specific topic each week. We don't know much, but we care just enough to talk about it for up to an hour each week. Don't Know, Do Care is produced by "Ghar Pe Productions", edited by Prakhar and Sandy, critiqued (thoroughly) by Ashmita, and enjoyed mostly by our friends. Thanks for giving us a listen!

We're going on a (very) short break!

Hey there carers, Thank you for sticking with us thus far and we hope you continue to do so in the foreseeable future as well. We will be taking a very short break till the first week of May and will go back to our regular schedule of a new episode every Monday thereon. In the meantime, we hope you get a chance to listen to some of our older episodes. Just like in life, we have grown and improved from Episode 1 last year. We hope you get to see that too. See you back in May!

Don't Know Who's Buying This Bulls**t (Psychological Theories Edition)

This episode starts at a party, takes a hard left into pseudoscience, and ends with us aggressively side-eyeing half of modern psychology. We're talking about bullshit psychological theories, the ones that sound legit, get repeated everywhere, and somehow survive despite having little to no actual scientific backing. From Stockholm Syndrome to the five stages of grief, we break down how these ideas became mainstream, and why they probably shouldn't have. Along the way, we take detours into things like left-brain vs right-brain nonsense, the Mozart effect, primal therapy, and the particularly chaotic world of marketing psychology, where "science" is often just a very expensive rebrand of common sense. This episode is peak comedy commentary meets scientific frustration, packed with quirky insights, offbeat learning, and just enough research to make you question every "fun fact" you've ever confidently repeated. Like most of our episodes, this starts as one of those seemingly random topics and slowly turns into something more uncomfortable: a reminder that just because something sounds scientific… doesn't mean it is. Important links: 1. Stockholm syndrome - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome] 2. Five stages of grief - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_stages_of_grief [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_stages_of_grief] 3. An Empirical Examination of the Stage Theory of Grief - https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/205661#google_vignette [https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/205661#google_vignette] 4. Cautioning Health-Care Professionals: Bereaved Persons Are Misguided Through the Stages of Grief - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5375020/ [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5375020/] 5. Inkblot Test - https://www.kansashistory.gov/kansapedia/inkblot-test/17670 [https://www.kansashistory.gov/kansapedia/inkblot-test/17670] 6. Rorschach test - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test] 7. Controversial psychology tests are often still used in US courts - https://www.newscientist.com/article/2233956-controversial-psychology-tests-are-often-still-used-in-us-courts/ [https://www.newscientist.com/article/2233956-controversial-psychology-tests-are-often-still-used-in-us-courts/] 8. Insights from an inkblot - https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/insights-from-an-inkblot/article5335329.ece [https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/insights-from-an-inkblot/article5335329.ece] 9. Rorschach Inkblot Test: an overview on current status - https://ijip.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/18.01.075.20200804.pdf [https://ijip.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/18.01.075.20200804.pdf] 10. Learning styles - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles] 11. Roundup on Research: The Myth of 'Learning Styles' - https://onlineteaching.umich.edu/articles/the-myth-of-learning-styles/ [https://onlineteaching.umich.edu/articles/the-myth-of-learning-styles/] 12. Belief in Learning Styles Myth May Be Detrimental - https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/learning-styles-myth [https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/learning-styles-myth] 13. Did an honesty researcher fabricate data? - https://www.npr.org/2023/07/28/1190663435/did-an-honesty-researcher-fabricate-data [https://www.npr.org/2023/07/28/1190663435/did-an-honesty-researcher-fabricate-data] Don't Know, Do Care is the brainchild of Ashmita, Sandy, and Prakhar, three friends from different backgrounds and interests. Ashmita works in sustainability, Sandy's an entrepreneur (puke) who'd rather not be, and Prakhar works with Sandy and is just trying to make sense of it all. Three mildly confused friends, one weirdly specific topic each week. We don't know much, but we care just enough to talk about it for up to an hour each week. Don't Know, Do Care is produced by "Ghar Pe Productions", edited by Prakhar and Sandy, critiqued (thoroughly) by Ashmita, and enjoyed mostly by our friends. Thanks for giving us a listen!

Don't Know How Mangoes Took Over India

Summer is objectively the worst season. It's hot, sticky, mildly unbearable… and yet, somehow, we all tolerate it for one reason: mangoes. In this episode, we take a deep dive into India's favourite fruit, not just as food, but as a full-blown cultural phenomenon. From its origins in South Asia and its journey through Portuguese trade, to the fact that India produces nearly half the world's mangoes, this is a story that's way bigger than just something you eat after lunch. We talk about the absurd variety of mangoes across the country and how these names come from places, people, and occasionally very random backstories. We also get into why mango season is so painfully short, and why no amount of branding ("Har Mausam Aam") can override the very specific weather cycle these fruits need to actually taste good. But mangoes don't just stop at food. We explore how they became a symbol of luxury during the Mughal era, inspired the ambi pattern in fashion, and somehow went from royal gardens to being sucked directly from the seed in Indian households. This episode is classic comedy commentary meets offbeat learning, packed with quirky insights about history, agriculture, culture, and the very real emotional attachment we all seem to have with this fruit. It's lighthearted education wrapped in one of those seemingly random topics that turns out to be much deeper than expected. Because at the end of the day, mango isn't just a fruit. It's a season, a personality trait, and for some of us… a lack of self-control. Don't Know, Do Care is the brainchild of Ashmita, Sandy, and Prakhar, three friends from different backgrounds and interests. Ashmita works in sustainability, Sandy's an entrepreneur (puke) who'd rather not be, and Prakhar works with Sandy and is just trying to make sense of it all. Three mildly confused friends, one weirdly specific topic each week. We don't know much, but we care just enough to talk about it for up to an hour each week. Don't Know, Do Care is produced by "Ghar Pe Productions", edited by Prakhar and Sandy, critiqued (thoroughly) by Ashmita, and enjoyed mostly by our friends. Thanks for giving us a listen!

Don't Know How the Dinosaurs Actually Went Extinct

If you grew up anytime after the 1980s, you probably think you know exactly how dinosaurs went extinct: one massive asteroid, one very bad day, end of story. The problem is… we didn't actually know that for most of modern scientific history. In this episode, we go back to a time when the extinction of dinosaurs was basically a free-for-all of extremely confident guesses. We're talking climate change, massive volcanic eruptions in the Deccan Traps, eggs that were somehow both too strong and too weak, and at least one theory suggesting dinosaurs just collectively decided to stop reproducing. Which, honestly, feels like a very low-energy way to go extinct. We talk about shocked quartz, the discovery of the Chicxulub crater, and the kind of planet-wide chaos that follows when something the size of a mountain hits Earth at absurd speeds. We also explore why this theory took so long to be accepted, how it competed with volcanic explanations, and how science actually works when multiple ideas are fighting for legitimacy. This episode is a mix of comedy commentary, offbeat learning, and genuinely fascinating scientific detective work. It's lighthearted education that starts with ridiculous theories and ends with one of the most dramatic, evidence-backed stories in natural history. Along the way, there are plenty of quirky insights into how consensus is built, how evidence wins (eventually), and how even the biggest discoveries can take decades to land. Important links: 1. Deccan Traps - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deccan_Traps [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deccan_Traps] 2. Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_boundary [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_boundary] 3. Do We Know What Killed the Dinosaurs? - https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/do-we-know-what-killed-the-dinosaurs/ [https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/do-we-know-what-killed-the-dinosaurs/] 4. Chicxulub crater - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_crater#:~:text=The%20Alvarezes%2C%20joined%20by%20Frank,search%20for%20a%20suitable%20candidate [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_crater#:~:text=The%20Alvarezes%2C%20joined%20by%20Frank,search%20for%20a%20suitable%20candidate]. 5. Ruthenium isotopes show the Chicxulub impactor was a carbonaceous-type asteroid - https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk4868 [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk4868] 6. Walter Alvarez - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Alvarez [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Alvarez] 7. Luis Walter Alvarez - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Walter_Alvarez [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Walter_Alvarez] 8. How an asteroid ended the age of the dinosaurs - https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html [https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html] 9. We Know the Origins of the Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/asteroid-that-killed-the-dinosaurs-came-from-beyond-jupiter/#:~:text=They%20discovered%20a%20layer%20of%20debris%20in,and%20its%20submerged%20giant%20scar%2C%20called%20Chicxulub [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/asteroid-that-killed-the-dinosaurs-came-from-beyond-jupiter/#:~:text=They%20discovered%20a%20layer%20of%20debris%20in,and%20its%20submerged%20giant%20scar%2C%20called%20Chicxulub]. 10. Asteroid dust found at Chicxulub Crater confirms cause of dinosaurs' extinction - https://www.astronomy.com/science/asteroid-dust-found-at-chicxulub-crater-confirms-cause-of-dinosaurs-extinction/ [https://www.astronomy.com/science/asteroid-dust-found-at-chicxulub-crater-confirms-cause-of-dinosaurs-extinction/] 11. How We Figured Out an Asteroid Killed the Dinosaurs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJY5vWXZHgI&list=PLR34x9VMByzz98U_IitcV338ayr6W8-YX&index=9 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJY5vWXZHgI&list=PLR34x9VMByzz98U_IitcV338ayr6W8-YX&index=9] Don't Know, Do Care is the brainchild of Ashmita, Sandy, and Prakhar, three friends from different backgrounds and interests. Ashmita works in sustainability, Sandy's an entrepreneur (puke) who'd rather not be, and Prakhar works with Sandy and is just trying to make sense of it all. Three mildly confused friends, one weirdly specific topic each week. We don't know much, but we care just enough to talk about it for up to an hour each week. Don't Know, Do Care is produced by "Ghar Pe Productions", edited by Prakhar and Sandy, critiqued (thoroughly) by Ashmita, and enjoyed mostly by our friends. Thanks for giving us a listen!