Is this the norm?

How Coke Killed the Refillable Bottle

Join Rebecca, Lora, and Heather, where Heather discusses how Coca-Cola and the broader beverage industry deliberately dismantled the environmentally superior refillable glass bottle system in favor of single-use plastic.  References: Why Coke Stopped Using Glass Bottles By Susan Messer Environmental historian Bart Elmore from Ohio State University. Story of Stuff website

Grave Robbing

Rebecca hosts the episode where the sisters talk about both historical and modern instances of grave robbing. Rebecca tells the story of the theft of Charlie Chaplin's body for ransom, William Cobbett's well-intentioned but misguided relocation of Thomas Paine's remains, two Pakistani brothers arrested for grave robbing and cannibalism, and a Pennsylvania man caught selling over 100 sets of human remains online. The conversation then broadens into discussions of archaeological grave robbing in the name of science, the black market for donated bodies, and cultural attitudes toward death — including an Indonesian tradition of exhuming ancestors to celebrate them — before wrapping up with a lighthearted tangent about their great-grandmother, hyenas, orcas, and a philosophical musing on why Western culture fears death so much. Sources 6abc Philadelphia. “Court Docs Reveal Accused Grave Robber’s Plot to Steal Human Remains.” YouTube, 9 Jan. 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xygNM9jtJtM. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026. July 2015, Stephanie Pappas 17. “The 6 Most Gruesome Grave Robberies.” Livescience.com, 2 Nov. 2021, www.livescience.com/51591-gruesome-grave-robberies.html. Khan, M Ilyas. “Pakistan Cannibal Brothers Jailed for 12 Years.” BBC News, 11 June 2014, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27801252.

The Moon Part II

This episode with hosts Lora, Heather and Rebecca covers Artemis missions breakdown, recap and highlights, also Voyager 1 & 2 and future space missions to Mars. The hosts reflect on how space exploration unites humanity, drawing parallels to the turbulent 1960s. A post-recorded note confirms the Artemis II crew made it home safely.

The Moon Part I

This is Part 1 of "The Moon" episode from the podcast Is This the Norm?, hosted by Lora, Heather, and Rebecca. Lora leads an educational deep-dive into the history of moon exploration, prompted by the ongoing Artemis missions. The episode covers all the Apollo missions.Throughout, Heather and Rebecca offer comic relief and genuine reactions to the drama. The episode ends with a teaser for Part 2 covering the Artemis program.

Acquired Sociopathy

In this episode of Is This the Norm?, hosts Rebecca, Heather, and Lora explore the concept of acquired sociopathy — antisocial behavior caused by damage to the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe. Using the famous 1848 case of Phineas Gage, a railroad foreman who survived an iron rod blasting through his skull and emerged with his intellect intact but his personality dramatically altered, they explain how this part of the brain governs impulse control, social judgment, and emotional regulation rather than cognitive ability. Sources: Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works Johns Hopkins Medicine Year: 2025 Container: Johns Hopkins Medicine Publisher: Johns Hopkins Medicine URL: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-of-the-brain "No longer Gage": an iron bar through the head K. O'Driscoll, J. P. Leach Year: 1998 Container: BMJ Volume: 317 Issue: 7174 Page: 1673-1674 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.317.7174.1673a URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1114479/ Filho, Ricardo Vieira Teles. “Phineas Gage’s Great Legacy.” Dementia & Neuropsychologia, vol. 14, no. 4, 2020, pp. 419–421, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7735047/, https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642020dn14-040013. Mendez, Mario. “The Unique Predisposition to Criminal Violations in Frontotemporal Dementia.” Jaapl.org, 2025, jaapl.org/content/38/3/318.