Special Brain Food Dude episode about food

This week we're featuring a special episode of Brain Food Dude, all about the topic of "food." Listen now, or subscribe to our podcast on itunes.

This week's episode includes the following clips:

A brief history of eating lobsters on The Memory Palace.
An interview with Michael Pollan on Science Friday.
Debate about organic food on Intelligence Squared.
Wholesale food market in Hunts Point, New York, on Planet Money.
A TED Talk with Mark Bittman, about What's wrong with what we eat.

Eating lobster is yuckee (or at least it used to be)

Eating lobster used to be about as socially acceptable as eating a squirrel. Seriously, listen to this episode of The Memory Palace to learn more.

What's wrong with our food?

Is organic food marketing hype?

Intelligence Squared held a 3 on 3 debate last year about organic food, take a look:

ORGANIC FOOD IS MARKETING HYPE (Full Debate) from Intelligence Squared US on Vimeo.

Wholesale food market

In November of 2009 Planet Money did a great podcast about a wholesale food market in Hunts Point, New York. I realize that doesn't sound very exciting, but trust me people, it is!

This episode is no longer available on itunes, but you can check it out here.

Michael Pollan

Back in 2006, Science Friday did an excellent interview with Michael Pollen, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, The Botany of Desire, and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

This episode is no longer available on itunes, but you can find it here.

Brain Food Dude Podcast #21

Episode #21 is now available. Listen here, or subscribe to our podcast on itunes.

This week's show includes clips from the following shows:

An interview with boxer, Sugar Ray Leonard, on Fresh Air.
The invention of basketball's jump shot, on Storycorps.
Credit card fraud on Planet Money.
An interview with the mayor of Reykjavik, Iceland on NPR News.
Pawn shops on Fresh Air.
Why the rat race is good for you, on Econ Talk.

Who invented the jump shot?

I always figured the jump shot in basketball was just something that's always been part of the game, and just came about naturally. I was wrong. It turns out the shot was developed by a guy named Kenny Sailors, and you can hear the 87-year-old talk about it on Story Corps.

Listen here, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 6/10/11.

Pawn Shops

My favorite podcast of the week was this interview with Rich Harrison, on Fresh Air. Harrison is the star of Pawn Stars on the History Channel, and author of the book License to Pawn.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 6/9/11.

The Mayor of Reykjavik, Iceland

Jon Gnarr is an absurdist comedian who ran for mayor of Iceland's capital...and won. Listen to this interview with the mayor of Reykjavik, on NPR News.

Sugar Ray Leonard

What is it like to be a boxer? How about an awesome boxer? Sugar Ray Leonard tells all in his book The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring and on this episode of Fresh Air.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 6/6/11.

Why You Need and Love the Rat Race

This week on Econ Talk, a great conversation with Todd G. Buchholz about his book Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 6/13/11.

Credit Card Fraud

Ever wonder what the bad guys do with your stolen credit card? On Planet Money they dive into the dark underbelly of credit card fraud.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 6/14/11.

Brain Food Dude Podcast #20

The 20th episode of our podcast is finally here! Listen now, or subscribe to us on itunes.

Segments from this show include:

The unconscious mind on Fresh Air.
Computer-human interactions on Radiolab.
Central American Drug Cartels on NPR.
Research about psychedelic drugs on To the Best of Our Knowledge.
Nominating judges in Chicago on This American Life.
Human brains can only handle 150 friends on NPR.

The Unconscious Mind

What's going on in those little heads of ours? Forget about Sigmund Froid, and listen to this interview on Fresh Air.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 5/31/11.

Talking to Robots

Oh boy, they're finally building smart robots. Don't believe me? Listen to this episode or radiolab, and find out how people get fooled into unknowingly "dating" robots online.



Click here to download on itunes. The itunes release date was 6/1/11.

Psychedelics

Last week To the Best of Our Knowledge did a fascinating show about the research being done on psychedelic drugs.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 6/2/11.

150 friends

If I have 1,300 friends on facebook, does that mean I have, like, 1,300 friends? Not according to Robin Dunbar and the good folks at NPR. Listen to this story about why our brains can only handle 150 friends.

The Windy City

Chicago is infamous for its corruption, but is it really still that bad? Well listen to how they select their judges on This American Life.

Central America's Drug War

I once heard the war on drugs described as a game of whack-a-mole. Suppress it in one area, and it just pops up in another. A few years ago the problem was rooted in Colombia, now it's Mexico, but where next? Potentially Central America. Listen to this story on NPR.

Brain Food Dude Podcast #19

Listen now, or subscribe on itunes.

This week the show features the following clips:

Book of Mormon, the musical, on Fresh Air.
I hugged the man who murdered my son, on Story Corps.
Iceland is more than just a baron rock, on NPR.
Dog behavior on Fresh Air.
What are all those bees actually doing in the backyard? On Morning Edition.
A TED Talk about smiling.

An amazing story

What would you do if someone murdered your son? The last thing you would probably say would be to adopt the murderer as your own son, but that's exactly what happens in this amazing episode of Story Corps.

Listen now:



Or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 5/20/11.

You can also check out the StoryCorps website.

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is no longer just a book, it's now a hit broadway musical. Learn more in this interview on Fresh Air, with writers Matt Stone & Trey Parker.

This podcast is no longer available on itunes, but you can listen here.

Smile

Learn about the power of a smile, on this TED Talk with Ron Gutman.

Bees

What on earth are all those bees in your backyard actually doing? Learn here.

Dog psychology

Ever wonder what's going on in your dog's head? Find out here, on this Fresh Air interview with John Bradshaw, author of Dogs Sense: How the new science of dog behavior can make you a better friend to your pet.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 5/26/11.

Iceland

Iceland. The land of Bjork, Sigor Ros, and massive financial meltdowns. But it's got oh so much more.

Learn all about the wonderful land of ice on this NPR clip.