Welcome to the Hurt Your Brain newsletter, the place to get podcasts and links that will make you think.
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After positive feedback, continuing on with "The Big Idea" for each podcast recommended. Basically, what is an interesting takeaway or at least one thing that might stick with you weeks after listening. Still open to feedback though! (even negative).
The Big Idea: Some languages describe emotions that are hard to translate into other languages, and in general, having the right vocabulary for emotions is a large part of knowing how you feel.
The trailer to this show and the introductory episode linked above give me high hopes about this series. I like the host and the production and framing of the content is all high quality. I'm down for smart discussions about emotions.
The Big Idea: If you've ever lost a bag while flying, it probably ended up at a one-of a kind store in Scottsboro, Alabama. A store where they sell your lost stuff.
Found this great episode in the feed of 99% Invisible where they featured two episodes of TheAtlas Obscura Podcast.
The Big Idea: There is biological sex assigned at birth, and there is gender identity. The assumption might be that biological sex assigned at birth is a more cut and dry science, but that is far from the truth.
This episode is an excellent exploration of what we actually know about biologic sex and where there is still incomplete knowledge.
The Big Idea: Once a decade, a group of planetary scientists recommend a list of missions they think NASA should focus on (and NASA largely follows suit), and it looks like Uranus will now be getting its day in the sun (from 1.8 billion miles away).
Uranus and Neptune are technically ice giants, not gas giants, which is a new distinction for me. There is some early evidence that ice giants could be the most common type of planet in the universe.
I have two brothers who are both much smarter than me. As proof, my younger brother just published his first paper during his path to his PhD in planetary science. It's about why the near and far sides of the moon look so different. He breaks down his research in this Twitter thread, and Phil Plait (aka Bad Astronomer) wrote about it as well, which I think is super rad. Also Vice and CNN picked it up! How many stars are in the universe? Turns out it's not as simple as you may think. It depends when you count them. For fun:Baby mistakes man for Santa
Connect with me @erikthejones on twitter and if you've learned anything interesting, please forward this link to any curious natured friends or family so they can subscribe. Many thanks!
