The Studies Show

Do you know anyone who has extremely intense relationships—one minute totally in love with someone; the next, flying into a rage and calling them the worst person ever? It’s possible that they have borderline personality disorder. Whatever that is. What is a “personality disorder”, anyway? How is one diagnosed? In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart discuss a disorder that gets a lot of attention online, but which seems pretty tricky to define. And it’s somehow both surprising and entirely predictable that Tom relates this disorder back to his favourite topic: the Reverend Thomas Bayes. The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress [https://worksinprogress.co/] magazine. On their Substack newsletter, you can find different styles of articles that aren’t part of the main magazine, like this excellent walkthrough of nuclear power technology called “Nuclear Reactors for Dummies [https://www.worksinprogress.news/p/nuclear-reactors-for-dummies]”. You can find that and much more at worksinprogress.news [https://www.worksinprogress.news]. Show notes * Mayo Clinic page on personality disorders [https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20354463] * NHS page [https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/symptoms/] on Borderline Personality Disorder * Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2021 essay “It is Obscene [https://www.chimamanda.com/news_items/it-is-obscene-a-true-reflection-in-three-parts/]” * Tom’s Unherd [https://unherd.com/2021/06/are-twitter-trolls-mentally-ill/] article [https://unherd.com/2021/06/are-twitter-trolls-mentally-ill/] on this controversy * 2009 paper [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2719457/] on Dissociative Identity Disorder and its overlap with Borderline Personality Disorder * Comparison of patients [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8348205/] with DID and BPD, with a discussion of the overlap * Pieces by people with BPD diagnoses who’ve regularly changed [https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bpd-borderline-personality-disorder_uk_5d36d48ae4b0419fd3327ec1] their dress/style [https://www.reddit.com/r/BPD/comments/dspuar/the_reality_of_bpd/] * Tom’s book [https://www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/tom-chivers/everything-is-predictable/9781399604031/] on Bayesianism * Sceptical article [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26189677/] about top-down effects on perception * Paper on the “predictive processing [https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/9B9A5CB1369FA84A6560EA7FA90243CA/S0033291722002458a.pdf/how_childhood_maltreatment_alters_perception_and_cognition_the_predictive_processing_account_of_borderline_personality_disorder.pdf]” theory of BPD * Scott Alexander article [https://lorienpsych.com/2021/01/16/borderline/] on the same topic * Twin study on the overlap [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26050739/] between BPD and antisocial personality disorder, and potential sex differences * Longitudinal studies on whether people “age out [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4500179/]” of BPD * People higher in “dark tetrad” traits [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886914000324] are more likely to enjoy trolling people online Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions [https://www.yada-yada.net/]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe [https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com [https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Did you miss our live show last week? Good news if you happen to be a paid subscriber: we’re posting the audio in full. Listen as we’re joined by Jesse Singal from Blocked and Reported [https://www.blockedandreported.org/] to discuss the strange “science” of Multiple Personality Disorder (or is it Dissociative Identity Disorder?), as well as digging into the methods of a deeply flawed paper on “top surgery” for gender-dysphoric youth. To listen to the full show, and to read the show notes, you’ll need to become a paid subscriber at www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe [https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe].

The Studies Show LIVE (with special guest Jesse Singal) is this week! Friday 9 May, Conway Hall, London, 8pm. Get your tickets AT THIS LINK [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-studies-show-live-with-jesse-singal-tickets-1295602585209] or at bit.ly/tss_live [http://bit.ly/tss_live]. Welcome to a new series of The Studies Show, all about parenting. We’ll cover the weird claims, fads, and controversies about how you should raise your kids. In this first episode, which focuses on infancy, we cover some feeding-related topics (an update on breastfeeding, the question of sterilising baby bottles, and the idea of baby-led weaning) as well as “tummy time” and sleep training. Are any of these good for your baby? Are any of them bad? Tom and Stuart look through the evidence. Let us know which parenting-related claims you want us to look into as the series continues! The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. In their recent issue you can find out about surprising policy screwups, the latest fertility techology, the history of the pineapple, and why all that steam comes out from the roads in New York City. It’s all available for free at worksinprogress.co [https://worksinprogress.co/]. Show notes * Breasfeeding: * 2024 meta-analysis [https://karger.com/anm/article/80/2/57/870656] of health effects of breastfeeding * 2024 study from Uganda [https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/153/1/e2023062228/196183/Breastfeeding-and-Once-Daily-Small-Volume-Formula] on “topping up” breastfeeding with formula milk * Bottle sterilising: * UK NHS advice on bottle sterilisation [https://www.nhs.uk/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/bottle-feeding/sterilising-baby-bottles/] * Advice from other countries/states: Ireland [https://www2.hse.ie/babies-children/bottle-feeding/equipment/], Australia [https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/bottle-feeding-nutrition-and-safety], New Zealand [https://healthed.govt.nz/products/feeding-your-baby-infant-formula], Alberta (Canada) [https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=hw97537], Israel [https://me.health.gov.il/en/parenting/raising-children/baby-nutrition/bottle-feeding/infant-formula-preparation/], Norway [https://www.helsedirektoratet.no/retningslinjer/spedbarnsernaering/anbefalinger-for-morsmelk-morsmelkerstatning-og-introduksjon-av-mat#dersom-det-er-behov-for-annen-mat-enn-morsmelk-er-morsmelkerstatning-det-eneste-alternativet-de-fire-forste-manedene-praktisk], Sweden [https://www.livsmedelsverket.se/matvanor-halsa--miljo/kostrad/barn-och-ungdomar/spadbarn#Modersmj%C3%B6lksers%C3%A4ttning], US CDC [https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/faq/index.html], Texas Children’s Hospital [https://www.texaschildrens.org/content/wellness/best-practices-for-baby-bottle-sterilization], France [https://www.anses.fr/en/content/infant-feeding-bottles-how-should-they-be-prepared-and-stored] * Lab research on germs passing from hands to bottles [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46181-0] * 2006 observational study [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2065954/] on health and sterilising bottles * Baby-led weaning * 2017 review and discussion of the history of baby-led weaning [https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13668-017-0201-2.pdf] * 2023 Turkish randomised control trial [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882596323002464] * 2017 report from the NZ “BLISS” study [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28692728/] * 2022 French Academy of Paediatrics statement [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929693X22001828] on baby-led weaning * Tummy time * UK NHS advice on tummy time [https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/baby-moves/] * 2023 protocol for a randomised trial [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35440448/] * Very low-quality [https://www.midwifery.iocspublisher.org/index.php/midwifery/article/view/1274/1053] Indonesian study on tummy time * Sleep training * Weird 2012 “cortisol synchrony [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21945361/]” study * Debate about the measurement of cortisol [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28903752/] * 2020 study [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32155677/] claiming no effects of sleep training on attachment; response 1 [https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.13390]; reply [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33977523/] from the authors; response 2 [https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/t5pb7_v1] * Emily Oster’s ParentData piece [https://parentdata.org/sleep-training-is-it-bad/] on sleep training Credits The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions [https://www.yada-yada.net/]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe [https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

The Studies Show LIVE (with special guest Jesse Singal) is next Friday, 9th of May, at Conway Hall in London. Get your tickets right HERE [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-studies-show-live-with-jesse-singal-tickets-1295602585209]! Or go to bit.ly/tss_live [http://bit.ly/tss_live]. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. can’t be wrong about literally everything, can he? His latest controversial statement is that he wants to find the “environmental exposure” that has been causing the huge spike in autism rates over the past few decades. In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart look into whether there really is an autism epidemic in the first place—and if there isn’t, why the diagnoses might be going up so quickly anyway. The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine [https://worksinprogress.co/]. This week we discussed the article from the most recent issue about the UK’s land value tax—a cautionary tale of a policy that might sound good on paper, but was utterly cursed in practice. Find this and so many more fascinating articles about human progress at worksinprogress.co [https://worksinprogress.co/]. Show notes * RFK Jr’s latest claims [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/fact-checking-rfk-jr-s-claim-that-environmental-toxins-cause-autism] about autism (and his plans to gather data [https://www.science.org/content/article/claiming-autism-epidemic-rfk-jr-describes-nih-initiative-find-environmental-causes]) * His statement [https://www.foxnews.com/video/6330950198112] “I believe autism comes from vaccines”, from 2023 * His “Children’s Health Defence [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/health/vaccines-kennedy-measles.html]” org from 2015 * CDC data on autism rates in the US [https://www.cdc.gov/autism/data-research/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com] * And similar data from the UK [https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.13505] * A paper on the much lower rates [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00584048] in 1966 * “Early infantile autism [https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(44)80156-1/abstract]” - the original 1944 paper by Leo Kanner * Hans Asperger’s similarly-timed research [http://www.th-hoffmann.eu/archiv/asperger/asperger.1944.pdf] * And on his collaboration with the Nazis [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43820794] * On “refrigerator mothers [https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1111%2Fj.1939-0025.1949.tb05441.x]” * Data from after the MMR vaccine was split [https://archive.is/o/WIUPr/dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01425.x] in Yokohama, Japan * The DSM-V checklist [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353909455_DSM-5_Symptom_Checklist_for_Adult_Autism_Diagnosis/link/6197d0083068c54fa5022438/download?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIn19] for autism spectrum disorder * Scott Alexander’s controversial piece “Against against autism cures [https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/10/12/against-against-autism-cures/]” * 2023 paper on the prevalence of profound autism [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00333549231163551] * Article on the growing waiting lists [https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/the-rapidly-growing-waiting-lists-for-autism-and-adhd-assessments] for autism diagnoses * More details [https://cognoa.com/waitlist-crisis-report/] on the same * 2022 paper on the genetics of autism [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01064-5] * Article on rates of extra time in exams [https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/apr/23/extra-exam-time-why-do-so-many-schoolkids-suddenly-need-it] in the UK * Adam Hunt’s post about Renée Thornton [https://www.adamhunt.info/post/commemorating-ren%C3%A9e-thornton], hot-air balloonist * The Economist’s Bagehot column [https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/04/02/the-tyranny-of-tiktokkers-who-turn-up] on the “tyranny of turning up” * Underdiagnosed autism in girls [https://acmedsci.ac.uk/more/news/finding-the-female-face-of-autism] Credits We’re grateful to Adam Hunt for talking to us about psychiatric diagnoses for this episode. The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions [https://www.yada-yada.net/]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe [https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com [https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Some scientific controversies are quite surprising (why would the shape of the Earth be controversial, for example?). But some aren’t. The controversy surrounding circumcision—which involves disputed medical science, bodily autonomy, children, disease, religion, sex, tradition, family, and, of course, genitalia—is about as fiery as it gets. In this paid-only episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart discuss the very sensitive issue of circumcision, covering the health benefits or lack thereof, the alleged risks, and the unbelievably bitter scientists who are battling it out over this unlikely topic. If you’re not a paid subscriber, you’ll just hear the very tip of the show—you’ll need to go to www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe [https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe] to read the show notes and hear the whole thing.