Very Bad Wizards Episode 20: Boston, Brains, and Bad Pronunciation (with Molly Crockett)
Dave and Tamler begin with a brief, heartfelt discussion about the Boston Bombings. Tamler talks about why Patriots' Day and the Boston Marathon mean so much to a kid growing up in Boston. They speculate a bit about the motive behind the attack and ask why the perpetrators didn't come out and claim responsibility.
In the second and third segments, Molly Crockett joins us to challenge Fiery Cushman for the prize of classiest episode ever. She tells us about her research on the effects of serotonin depletion on retributive behavior, and how it was reported as "Chocolate and Cheese help you make better decisions" in the popular media. We talk about the responsibility that scientists have to make sure that their studies are reported properly, and how brain research can (despite David's previous claims) help shed light on human nature and behavior. Also: Tamler mangles the pronunciation of roughly 14 brain regions, Dave yearns for the days when restrictions of human experimentation were non-existent, and both Dave and Tamler subtly and then not so subtly try to get Molly to hook them up with...molly. Enjoy!
Links- Dirty Water by the Standells [youtube.com]
- Patriots' Day [wikipedia.org]
- Molly Crockett [mollycrockett.com]
- Crockett, M. J., Clark, L., Tabibnia, G., Lieberman, M. D., & Robbins, T. W. (2008). Serotonin modulates behavioral reactions to unfairness. Science, 320, 1739.
- Serotonin [wikipedia.org]
- Striatum [wikipedia.org]
- DMT [wikipedia.org]
Special Guests: Fiery Cushman and Molly Crockett.