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PODCAST

Learning English with Human Beans

Welcome to "Learning English with Human Beans," where language learning meets social sciences! Dive into fascinating human behavior topics while naturally improving your English skills. We explore current research from psychology, sociology, anthropology... unpacking key vocabulary and expressions along the way. Each episode combines engaging social science concepts with practical language learning, helping you communicate with confidence about complex human topics. Grow your English skills through

science social sciences

All Episodes

00:09:12

#47 – Why Do You Suddenly Want to Throw Your Baby Out...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/18

Have you ever stood on a cliff edge and felt a sudden urge to jump? Or held a newborn and visualized dropping them?In this episode, Alice and Marc tackle the terrifying phenomenon of Intrusive Thoughts and the Call of the Void. Far from being a sign of madness, discover why these dark flashes are actually "Misinterpreted Safety Signals" generated by a hyper-vigilant brain.From the High Place Phenomenon to the critical difference between Ego-Dystonic (unwanted) and Ego-Syntonic thoughts,

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00:15:22

#46 – Post-Orgasmic Shame: Why Do You Become a...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/16

Why do you suddenly want to delete your browser history and join a monastery the second the "fun" is over?In this episode, Alice and Marc decode the neurochemistry behind Post-Nut Clarity. Discover why the sudden crash of Dopamine and the rise of Prolactin turn your brain from a risk-taker into a risk-averse judge.From the Japanese concept of Kenjataimu ("Sage Time") to the evolutionary humor of the Coolidge Effect , learn why your Behavioral Immune System makes you feel

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00:09:06

#45 – Who Is Driving the Bus When You Scroll?

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/15

Do you control your thumb, or is an algorithm holding the steering wheel?In this episode, Alice and Marc dive into the terrifying mechanics of the Attention Economy. From the "slot machine" effect of Intermittent Reinforcement to the zombie-like state of Dark Flow, discover how Silicon Valley hacks your dopamine to keep you scrolling.Learn why you can’t stop watching useless videos at 2 AM and how to reclaim your agency by reintroducing Frictioninto your digital life.

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00:12:07

#44 – What Happens When You Do Nothing?

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/13

Why does a simple 6-minute wait at a bus stop feel like torture without your phone?In this episode, Alice and Marc explore the "Crisis of Emptiness." From Blaise Pascal’s philosophy to the neuroscience of the Default Mode Network, discover why your brain desperately needs you to be bored to function properly.Find out why reading a phone book can actually boost your creativity and how to overcome the "Intolerance to Boredom Paradox" to turn those empty moments into a laboratory

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00:09:49

#43 – Is Your Gut Smarter Than Your Brain?

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/12

Should you trust that knot in your stomach when making a big decision?In this episode, Alice and Marc reveal that intuition isn't magic—it’s high-speed biology. From the high-stakes world of London traders to the neuroscience of the Insula, discover how your body processes data faster than your conscious mind.Learn about Interoception, the famous Iowa Gambling Task, and why listening to your "gut feeling" might actually be the most rational choice you can make.

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00:15:24

#42 – Do the words you use change how you feel?

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/10

Does your morning “meh” hide a much more specific emotion?In this episode, Alice and Marc explore Emotional Granularity and discover why the precision of your vocabulary acts as a real biological brake on your amygdala (the center of fear).From Wittgenstein's philosophy (“The limits of my language are the limits of my world”) to untranslatable emotions such as the Russian Toska or the Portuguese Saudade, learn why “to name is to tame” (Name it to tame it) and how enriching your inner dictionary

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00:14:12

#41 – Why you are an entire universe that is dying...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/08

What if the apocalypse wasn't the end of the Earth, but simply the end of your world?Alice and Marc revisit the film The Life of Chuck from a new angle: the neuroscience of consciousness. Drawing on the theory of Controlled Hallucination, they decipher why the death of a single man is comparable to “a burning library” and how your brain populates your reality with the “ghosts” of the people you encounter.A dizzying reflection on our finitude, proving that in the face of the inevitable extinction

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00:08:59

#40 – Why is it physically impossible to admit that...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/06

Why can a simple political debate trigger real physical pain in your stomach?In this episode, Alice and Marc dive into the neuroscience of bad faith. Discover why your rational brain is often just a “shady lawyer” serving your emotions (the Elephant) and how the fear of being wrong activates the same neural areas as an actual physical injury.Understand the trap of Error Blindness (why being wrong feels exactly like being right) and learn how to switch from Soldier mode to Scout mode (Scout Mindset)

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00:10:13

#39 – Does it hurt, or do you think it hurts?

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/05

Can you feel excruciating pain without having a single scratch?In this episode, Alice (and her sore little toe) and Marc delve into the mechanics of suffering. From the Buddhist parable of the “Two Arrows” to the incredible true story of the worker pierced by a nail, discover why pain is a construct of the brain.

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00:13:40

#38 - Are you sure you're awake?

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/04

Look at your hands. Are you absolutely sure you're not dreaming?In this episode, Alice and Marc explore the most fascinating flaw in our brains: lucid dreaming. Find out why it's physically impossible to run fast in a dream and how scientists have achieved the unthinkable: communicating in real time with people who are asleep.Between neuroscience and philosophical vertigo, get ready to question the very nature of your reality. Being awake may just be a controlled hallucination...

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00:13:47

#37 - Why are incompetent people so confident? (And...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/03

Why does Uncle Gerard, who has only read one article, think he understands geopolitics better than an expert? And why do the most brilliant people live in constant fear of being “exposed”?In this episode, Alice and Marc explore the two sides of the same metacognitive coin: the arrogance of ignorance (the Dunning-Kruger effect) and the paralysis of expertise (impostor syndrome). Find out why 80% of people think they are better drivers than average and how to transform your paralyzing doubt into

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00:09:14

#36 - Why do you think everyone is looking at you?...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/02

Ever felt like a tiny coffee stain on your shirt was a neon sign screaming for attention?In this episode, Alice and Marc dive into the Spotlight Effect to explain why our brains trick us into believing we are the center of the universe. From the famous "Barry Manilow T-shirt" experiment to the Illusion of Transparency, discover why you are statistically "invisible" to the people around you.Stop worrying about judgment and learn why being a background extra in other people’s lives

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00:13:31

#35 - Why do you treat your future self like a...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/12/01

Why is it so difficult to go to bed early, even when we know full well that we'll regret it the next morning?In this episode, Alice and Marc debunk the myth of laziness. Find out why your brain neurologically treats your “future self” as a complete stranger (literally as if it were Matt Damon) and how “Revenge Procrastination” becomes an act of emotional rebellion.Forget iron discipline: learn why procrastination is an empathy bug and how to reconcile yourself with the stranger you will become

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00:12:01

#34 - Does analysis paralyze genius? (Or why...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/11/30

Why does a champion miss an easy shot under pressure? Why does a centipede stumble when asked how it walks? In this episode, Alice and Marc delve into the paradox of expertise: that critical moment when conscious analysis, an essential tool for learning, suddenly becomes the enemy of performance. From the neuroscience of jazz improvisation to the tragedy of focal dystonia, discover the biological duel between your internal “Editor” and your “Creator.”Learn how to avoid the trap of overthinking and

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00:14:23

#33 - Understanding Metacognition Through Mindfulness

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/11/29

What if meditation wasn’t what you think it is? Forget the cliché of the monk sitting in silence trying to think about "nothing."In this episode of Learning English with Human Beans, Alice and Marc (a cognitive psychology researcher) lift the hood of the human mind to watch the engine running.Discover metacognition, a mental "superpower" that allows you to switch from being an actor trapped in your own movie to becoming a free, benevolent spectator. Learn why your brain loves "autopilot," how to

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00:24:54

#31 - Deconstructing "It Was Better Before" - Pt. 4

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/09/29

After three episodes dismantling the "good old days" myth, Alice and Marc ask a crucial question: In our justified rejection of golden age nostalgia, are we throwing out the baby with the bathwater? This nuanced finale explores what traditional life might have genuinely done better for human flourishing—without falling back into romantic mythology.Through four compelling themes, they examine valuable lessons we might have overlooked: our relationship with time (discovering the

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00:21:31

#31 - Deconstructing "It Was Better Before" - Pt. 3

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/09/23

Why does nostalgia seem to be everywhere? In this eye-opening episode, Alice and Marc pull back the curtain on the multi-billion-dollar nostalgia economy that surrounds us daily—from the Nintendo game that made Alice spend £60 on childhood memories to the political slogans that promise to restore imaginary golden ages.Discover how companies have turned our emotional vulnerabilities into sophisticated business models using three types of nostalgia marketing: personal nostalgia (targeting your

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00:22:45

#30 - Deconstructing "It Was Better Before" - Pt. 2

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/09/18

"Memories lie, but statistics don't." In this data-driven episode, Alice and Marc set aside emotions and personal anecdotes to examine the cold, hard facts about how life has actually changed over the past century.From life expectancy and workplace safety to education access and women's rights, every measurable aspect of human existence tells the same story: we're living through what might honestly be called the golden age of humanity. The question isn't whether the data

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00:16:11

#29 - Deconstructing "It Was Better Before" - Pt. 1

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/09/18

Do you ever think music was better in the past, or that people were more polite when you were younger? You're not alone. Today, we're exploring "The Architecture of Nostalgia"—why our brains are wired to believe things were better before, even when they probably weren't.I'm Alice, and joining me is Marc, a sociologist who studies how we construct meaning from our experiences. Together, we'll uncover why every generation thinks the next one will destroy civilization, how

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00:14:57

#28 - Walter White - Anatomy of a Tragic...

Learning English with Human Beans ·

2025/09/03

What do a mild-mannered chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin and a pioneering psychologist from Vienna have in common? In this episode, we dive into the psychological transformation of Walter White—Breaking Bad’s iconic antihero—through the lens of Alfred Adler’s individual psychology.Alice and George explore how Walter’s descent from overlooked teacher to ruthless Heisenberg perfectly embodies Adler’s theory of the inferiority complex and overcompensation. Drawing on Adler’s ideas—like the drive

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67 results

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