Your Bleeped Up Brain

The death of Adolf Hitler; a Bible that promotes adultery, and the brilliant disguises of desperate British sailors--what do these stories have in common? They all hinge on secrets hidden deep inside the human brain. The fact is that history is riddled with examples of people being fooled by simple tricks designed to confuse the human brain. The question is why do they work and why do we keep falling for similar deceptions? In this hour, we'll find out why our brains are so easily fooled by simple tricks of vision, and how these tricks have been used throughout time to change the course of history.

People often believe their memory is a perfect record of the events they have experienced. The reality is that human memory is not as good as we think and can sometimes lead to unusual consequences. How much can any of us really trust our memories? It turns out that when it comes to remembering any event, no matter how mundane or how monumental, our ability to recall the past is distorted. In this episode, we'll investigate the story of Lizzie Borden, an ax murderer, an alien abduction and the traumatic events of 9/11 to reveal the secrets of human memory. By end of the show, see how much better you will be at remembering the past.

Vampires, ghosts and witches are all part of superstitions that thrive deep within our brains. Ever wonder why so many people believe in superstitions? To find out, we investigate how our minds make connections, spot patterns and attempt to see into the future. By scouring ancient stories of conspiracies and superstitions we will reveal just what our brains are trying to do and how we are hard wired to fall prey to all kinds of superstitions.

We trust our brains to decide what is true or false every day; whether it something we see on TV, read on the internet, or hear from a friend. Most of the time we generally think we get things right; but the truth might be different. It seems most of us are not as good as we think when it comes to separating fact from fiction. From the Loch Ness monster, to the Moon Landing, and even alien life on Mars: a good story can make us believe almost anything. In this episode, we'll explore how our brains separate fact from fiction. Using a combination of magic tricks, psychological experiments, and stories from history, we'll learn how and why our brain gets it wrong, and learn a few tricks to help you better separate fact from fiction in your daily life.