This is your brain on Radiolab

A few weeks ago I posted about neurotransmitters and happiness. The whole time I was writing that post, I was recalling one of my favorite Radiolab episodes. Radiolab is a pop science and humor radio show that I absolutely adore. In this one episode, This is Your Brain on Love, which is about brain chemicals, each chemical has a super short song that goes along with it. So I’m typing away and my brain is singing, dop-a-mine, la, la! nor-ep-ineph-rine! This is a live episode which makes the recording quality not quite as good as the others, but it’s still an entertaining show.

When I was first introduced to Radiolab it became an addiction. I started wearing headphones everywhere. Every free moment of my life was spent listening. I went through dozens of episodes back-to-back and mastered multitasking. My husband assured me that I could not in fact rot my brain with science radio. Challenge accepted.

There’s something incredibly compelling and touching about each of these episodes. They remind me just how infinitely amazing our world is. The shows are available for free on the web and in the itunes store. Here are some things I learned from my very favorite episodes:

-People who are good at lying to themselves are happier and more successful. Deception

-Our rational brain is very easily distracted. Choice

-Hallucinating about zombies once helped a man win a cross country bicycle race. Limits

-Rats laugh. Laughter

-There is someone in the world who had the same dream every day for three years. Wake Up and Dream

-The memories we recall the most are the least accurate. Memory and Forgetting

-No one really knows why we have to sleep. (!) Sleep

-Rooting for an underdog carries fewer emotional risks than rooting for a favorite. Games

-Having a name for your medical condition, after spending a long time without one, can be incredibly empowering. Lost and Found

-Only 3% of CPR recipients recover and go on to lead normal, healthy lives. The Bitter End

-Numbers that are created by real-life sources start with 1 more frequently that numbers that are fabricated, and the IRS has used this fact to catch tax evaders. Numbers

-After being freed from a fishing net by divers, a whale swam to each diver individually and paused, as if to thank each person. Animal Minds

If you’re looking for a place to start, I say go with Limits, Animal Minds, and Numbers.

This is an unsolicited plug for WNYC's Radioab. You're welcome. Don’t stay up too late.

Comments

[Danny]

Amusingly enough I got my first accidental dose of Radiolab on NPR during the drive to a wedding this weekend. It was "Animal Minds" and was indeed a very good show.