For centuries, people have described creativity as something mysterious: a flash of insight, a whisper from the muse, a sudden idea that seems to arrive out of nowhere. Psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis explores the hidden mental processes that lead to these moments of inspiration, and why breakthroughs often emerge when the mind is at rest.
Should you worry about your memory? For many of us, forgetting a name or losing your keys feels like a small failure. But what if forgetting is actually one of the most important things your brain does? Check out our new video on the surprising (and reassuring!) science of forgetting to learn more.
Episode illustration by Chloe for Unsplash+
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This is the abbreviated version of Checkup's call-in about e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-mopeds and where they belong on city streets. An ER doctor reveals the collisions he's seeing and the fallout that follows. Plus, stories and perspectives from across Canada.
Is Canada quietly drifting away from its climate goals? After a former environment minister accuses the federal government of backsliding on its climate commitments, Canadians tell us what they think matters more right now: protecting the planet or protecting the economy. Energy policy expert Warren Mabee unpacks the megaprojects at the centre of the fight — and what they reveal about Canada’s path forward.
Today, ICYMI is going back to October of 2019. A federal election was looming, and Canadians were in a heated debate over the Liberal government's decision to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline and approve its expansion. The day before the election, Checkup held two town halls at either end of the proposed expansion. Host Duncan McCue was in Leduc, Alberta and Michelle Eliot was in Vancouver. Here's some of the highlights from the show starting with oil and gas worker Tim Cameron in Leduc.
They’re fast, they’re everywhere — and cities are scrambling to keep up. As e‑bikes, e‑scooters, and e‑mopeds flood urban streets, governments are cracking down and riders are pushing back. An ER doctor and a personal injury lawyer reveal the collisions they’re seeing and the fallout that follows. Then, urban planning expert Jeff Casello explains how some cities have already carved out space for these heavier, faster machines — and what Canada can learn.
A couple summers ago, Radiolab reporter Alex Neason got out of the shower and almost stepped on her worst nightmare: an American Cockroach. It was flipped onto its back, struggling, and for a split second, Alex swears she felt the spiny tickle of its legs on the underside of her bare foot. And, like every other time she has come into contact with a roach, this sent her into a debilitating spiral of fear, anger, and disgust.
This week, Alex tries to understand what might be behind her fear, in the hopes she can overcome it. And in doing so, Alex learns more about these so-called pests than she could have ever wanted to.Special thanks to Jessica Ware, Timothy Marzullo, Alexandra Bell, and Changlu WangEPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Alex Neason
Produced by - Jessica Yung and Annie McEwen
with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloom
Fact-checking by - Sophie Samiee
and Edited by - Pat Walters
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Articles -
American Cockroaches, Racism, and the Ecology of the Slave Ship (https://zpr.io/UNKsMz7ZaLvb) by Lindsay Garcia, Arcadia
Books -
Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains (https://zpr.io/6E5wJBM4Kvcv) by Bethany Brookshire
The Cockroach Papers (https://zpr.io/CvKePYxEMEAW) by Richard Schweid
Cockroach (https://zpr.io/UuEAjmfqKccQ) by Marion Copeland
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Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In his final years, Richard Feynman's curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the trips he took — and one he wasn’t able to. (Part three of a three-part series originally published in 2024.)
SOURCES:
Alan Alda, actor and screenwriter.
Barbara Berg, friend of Richard Feynman.
Helen Czerski, physicist and oceanographer at University College London.
Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman.
Cheryl Haley, friend of Richard Feynman.
Debby Harlow, friend of Richard Feynman.
Ralph Leighton, biographer and film producer.
Charles Mann, science journalist and author.
John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology.
Lisa Randall, professor of theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University.
Christopher Sykes, documentary filmmaker.
Stephen Wolfram, founder and C.E.O. of Wolfram Research; creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language.
RESOURCES:
I Love My Wife..., directed by Ian Tierney (2020).
Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science, by Lawrence M. Krauss (2011).
Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track: Selected Letters of Richard P. Feynman, edited by Michelle Feynman (2005).
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman (1999).
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan (1995).
Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, by James Gleick (1992).
The Quest for Tannu Tuva, by Christopher Sykes (1988)
“What Do You Care What Other People Think?” by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1988).
The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-century Physics, by Robert Crease and Charles Mann (1986).
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1985).
Fun to Imagine, BBC docuseries (1983).
EXTRAS:
“The Curious, Brilliant, Vanishing Mr. Feynman,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
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First up on the podcast, a company is using whole brains—maintained with specialized life support—to study new drugs. Freelance science journalist Sara Reardon joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about the advantages and ethical considerations of keeping brains intact but inactive.
Next on the show, when some lizards lose their tails, they might regenerate new ones. But what happens to the old tail? Whereas a castoff lizard tail quickly decomposes, this isn’t the case for the castoff tube feet of the sea cucumber, Psolus fabricii. Sara Miller Jobson, a Ph.D. student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, describes how these “living” limbs healed after amputation and then survived for more than 3 years in just seawater. Their survival in such simple conditions, while maintaining a complex tissue with a functioning immune response, could make amputated tube feet a useful model system for studying regeneration.
Finally this week, the first in our book series on science biographies. Books host Angela Saini talks with historian Anna-Luna Post about her recent book, Galileo’s Fame: Science, Credibility, and Memory in the Seventeenth Century, which explores how fame shaped the scientific fortunes of Galileo Galilei.
This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.
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What happens when an existentially depressed and recently widowed young physicist from Queens gets a fresh start in California? We follow Richard Feynman out west, to explore his long and extremely fruitful second act. (Part two of a three-part series originally published in 2024.)
SOURCES:
Seamus Blackley, video game designer and creator of the Xbox.
Carl Feynman, computer scientist and son of Richard Feynman.
Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman.
Ralph Leighton, biographer and film producer.
Charles Mann, science journalist and author.
John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology.
Lisa Randall, professor of theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University.
Christopher Sykes, documentary filmmaker.
Stephen Wolfram, founder and C.E.O. of Wolfram Research; creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language.
Alan Zorthian, architect.
RESOURCES:
"Love After Life: Nobel-Winning Physicist Richard Feynman’s Extraordinary Letter to His Departed Wife," by Maria Popova (The Marginalian, 2017).
Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science, by Lawrence M. Krauss (2011).
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman (1999).
Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, by James Gleick (1992).
"G. Feynman; Landscape Expert, Physicist’s Widow," (Los Angeles Times, 1990).
"Nobel Physicist R. P. Feynman of Caltech Dies," by Lee Dye (Los Angeles Times, 1988).
The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-century Physics, by Robert Crease and Charles Mann (1986).
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1985).
Fun to Imagine, BBC docuseries (1983).
"Richard P. Feynman: Nobel Prize Winner," by Tim Hendrickson, Stuart Galley, and Fred Lamb (Engineering and Science, 1965).
F.B.I. files on Richard Feynman.
EXTRAS:
"The Curious Mr. Feynman," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
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How does the culture in which you live shape the life that you lead? We all know that culture affects the languages we speak and the foods we eat. But anthropologist Joseph Henrich says the impact of culture goes even further, reaching into our bodies and our minds. He takes us on a journey through time to show how human cultures create a "collective brain," and how that shared knowledge profoundly shapes who we are and how we live.
Hidden Brain is headed back on the road this summer, for the latest leg of our Perceptions tour! Join Shankar as he shares key psychological insights from the first decade of the show. More information on tour stops and tickets can be found at our tour page.
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This is the abbreviated version of Checkup's call-in about why boys are struggling in school. This episode looks at a recent report that shows boys are more likely to drop out of high school, and hears why it's happening and what can be done.
