Episodes 589
Avg. Duration 47m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.5 (86)
Since May 2017
Latest Episode Jun 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every Few Days
Format
Episodic
Consistency
60%
Hosting
www.spreaker.com

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

We explain popular and weird, little-known ideas in psychology. Whether you are a little curious about psychology, or a student, or even a professional, we have something for everyone.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/why-we-do-what-we-do--3419521/support.

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Recent Episodes

How to Kill Science

Jun 10, 2026 53m Transcript

How to kill science is also how to kill humans. The incompetent "leadership" in the United States is racing toward dictatorship in their desire to kill all humans. They are proposing to rewrite…

Mini: Mosh Pits

Jun 08, 2026 16m Transcript

Mosh pits are the rough-house style dancing/bopping that people do at music concerts. But where and why did this start? And why are they called mosh pits? We'll describe what is happening in mosh…

Faith Healing

Jun 03, 2026 59m Transcript

Professional magicians tell you that they are tricking you for entertainment. Charlatan, con artist magicians tell you that they are performing real magic that will cure you of your ails. Cynical…

Mini: Three-Card Monte

Jun 01, 2026 15m Transcript

This old sleight of hand card trick is designed to steal your money. Be warned, you cannot win this game. It is rigged and 100% unwinable. We explain how the three-card Monte grift works so you can…

Nostalgia: Speed Reading

May 27, 2026 1h 4m Transcript

Years ago, we looked into the research on speed reading. What we found raised difficult questions about how viable this strategy really is. As we reviewed recent research for this re-release, we…

Mini: Car-Sick

May 25, 2026 15m Transcript

Sometimes we get nauseaus when riding around in or on vehicles. What is going on with this? We explore motion sickness and what you can do about it... if anything.Support us on Patreon!Links and…

Antimetabole and Chiasmus

May 20, 2026 52m Transcript

There is a form of rhetoric that is suprrisingly effective at persuading people to adopt beliefs regardless of their accuracy. These are called "antimetabole." They are not necessarily inherently…

Mini: Evidence of Bigfoot?

May 18, 2026 13m Transcript

In several interviews, Jane Goodall explained why she believed there was evidence of Bigfoot. While she was a wonderful natural scientist, a good science communicator, and radically changed the way…

English Accents

May 13, 2026 56m Transcript

Why do American and UK Accents sound so dissimilar? Could a couple hundred years of infrequent communciation result in that much drift? Did the Americans change or did the English change? Back in the…

Mini: Designer Genes

May 11, 2026 18m Transcript

There are pros and cons to the trajectory of genetic engineering research. Eventually, we will be confronted by a systemic drive to apply these interventions to human beings. On the one hand, genetic…

Billboard Hot 100

May 06, 2026 1h 5m Transcript

This fascinating and yet entirely expected piece of Americana has shaped the music industry for better or worse (probably worse). But, why does it exist at all? We explore how the Billboard Hot 100…

Mini: Suicide Hotline (988)

May 04, 2026 14m Transcript

Recent research has evaluated the effect of changes made to the national suicide hotline in 2022 in the US. Scientists analyzed the success of this program by comparing projected trends to actual…

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy pt. 2

Apr 29, 2026 53m Transcript

In the last discussion, we covered the history of CBT and the cognitive aspects of the intervention. In this segment, we'll review the behavioral components, some research evaluating the most…

Mini: Stroop Test

Apr 27, 2026 18m Transcript

In 1935 John Ridley Stroop published an article with a new experiment showing that people struggle to name things when there is a conflicting word corresponding with those things. While mostly a…

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy pt. 1

Apr 22, 2026 58m Transcript

The most well-recognized psychotherapy in the world is also the most widely researched. You've likely heard that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the evidence-based intervention for... pretty…

Mini: My, What Big Holes You Have

Apr 20, 2026 18m Transcript

This ambiguously titled discussion is about the practice of stretching piercings to become large holes. We talk about the history of this practice, how it's done, and why it's done. This practice is…

Dr. Kevorkian

Apr 15, 2026 1h 11m Transcript

Dr. Kevorkian was a controversial figure in the 1990s when he began providing unsanctioned assisted suicide service to terminally-ill patients. Kevorkian believed he was helping put an end to pain…

Mini: Repeatedly Incorrect

Apr 13, 2026 14m Transcript

Have you ever noticed that you always make the same typo when writing? Or, that you repeatedly misspeak some phrase or mispronounce some word when talking? When you make the same mistake often enough…

Interbehaviorism

Apr 08, 2026 1h 2m Transcript

Nearly a century ago, a groundbreaking philosopher of psychology was way ahead of his time. J.R. Kantor developed a theory of psychology that finally rooted psychology in a natural science…

Mini: Arrows Point the Way

Apr 06, 2026 11m Transcript

Symbols are weird. Actually, there are fairly intuitive in many cases, but many are surprisingly new. We explore the recent history of the arrow symbol and the way that it is able to direct human…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Why We Do What We Do have?

Why We Do What We Do has published 589 episodes since May 2017, covering topics in Education, Philosophy.

Is Why We Do What We Do still active?

Why We Do What We Do is currently highly active with new episodes every few days. Average episode length is 47m.

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