Science Vs

There's claims out there that all kinds of things can make us happy in life, from making money to having kids to buying your dream home. But what actually works?? What does it take to have a happy life?? 

Professor Bob Waldinger is a psychiatrist at Harvard who has spent more than two decades as the director of this amazing study. It has tracked hundreds of people for decades and is the world's longest scientific study into happiness. So we're gonna find out what a lot of us get wrong in searching for the good life. Where we should be putting our time and attention. And we'll get this huge insight into how we can all be happier — and healthier.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsHappiness

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) What makes us happy?

(01:48) The world's longest study into happiness 

(07:25) The biggest finding of the study

(13:18) How do you build good relationships?

(18:26) How did Bob get happier??

(21:53) How childhood adversity changes us

(24:12) Does having kids make you happy? 

(25:22) Does making money make us happy? 

(27:55) The Happiest Person

(29:40) Looking back on our lives

Don't forget to text a friend you haven't seen in a while! Let us know what they say. Send us a photo if you end up catching up!! You can email us at ScienceVsTeam@gmail.com or tag us in an instagram post — we're at @science_vs. And come say hello to Wendy on tiktok, I'm @wendyzukerman

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking help by Ekedi Fauster-Keeys. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, So Wiley, Emma Munger and Peter Leonard. An extra thanks to the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.


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The U.S. just made a big change to its vaccine recommendations, cutting back on the number of shots it will routinely recommend for kids. The government says it wants to "better align" with countries like Denmark. But is following Denmark’s lead a fairy tale come true — or a nightmare in slow motion? Plus, we find out what this new schedule could mean for kids’ vaccines in the U.S. We hear from Professor Jens Lundgren and pediatrician and researcher David Higgins.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsVaccineSchedules 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) The growing turmoil around vaccines in the U.S.

(02:20) Why did the CDC change its vaccine recommendations?

(07:29) Vaccines, the Danish way

(16:20) Should the U.S. copy Denmark’s vaccine schedule?

(20:22) How bad is this?

(22:03) RSV: A case study in confusion

(28:27) What should parents do now?

This episode was produced by Blythe Terrell and Meryl Horn with help from Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Additional research help from Erica Akiko Howard. Our executive producer is Wendy Zukerman. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Emma Munger, So Wylie, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. Thanks very much to the Unbiased Science network, who connected us with David Higgins. They’ve been doing some amazing work on trying to explain what’s going on with the U.S. and vaccines. Unbiased Science — check out their podcast and their socials. Thanks very much to all the scientists we spoke to and emailed with about these changes. And special thanks to Bernadette Sciandra and Laurence Horn. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.  
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AI tools like ChatGPT have taken the world by storm, with tons of people saying they use them regularly. This is especially true for students, many of whom say they use AI to get their schoolwork done. And this is freaking some of us out — we're hearing that jumping on the AI train could be a terrible idea, partly because of claims that these tools could be bad for our brains. So — are we outsourcing too much of our thinking to the bots?? Will our brains turn to mush? Or can we use AI to boost our brainpower? To find out, we talk to Dr. Shiri Melumad, expert in the psychology of technology, and Dr. Aaron French, expert in information systems.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsAIStupid 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Is AI ruining or boosting our brains?

(02:45) How often are LLMs like ChatGPT wrong?

(05:01) Do LLMs mess with our ability to learn?

(19:26) Does using AI make us more productive?

(24:33) Another example of a technology that freaked a bunch of people out

(27:40) Can using AI help us learn?

This episode was produced by Meryl Horn with help from Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Michelle Dang, and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Our executive producer is Wendy Zukerman. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Emma Munger, So Wylie, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke with including Daniela Fernandes, Dr. Marcin Romanczyk, Professor Michael Henderson, Dr. Tim Zindulka, and Professor Vitomir Kovanovicent. Special thanks also to Sebastian Peleato, Chris Suter, Elise, Dylan, Jack Weinstein and Hunter.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 


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Influencers are out in full force, telling us how we can “manifest” anything we want using only the power of our thoughts. Want that dream car, dream boyfriend, or dream house? Act as if you already have it, and the universe will respond. And we know our thoughts can be powerful … so, could this be legit? We go on the hunt for a manifestation method that has the science stamp of approval. We talk to psychologists Prof. Laura King and Prof. Gabriele Oettingen. 



Find our transcript here:  https://bit.ly/ScienceVsManifestation



Chapters:

(00:00) The Promise of Manifesting

(04:54) The Best Possible Self Exercise

(09:40) Wendy and Rose Give it a Go

(12:23) The Fantasy Fiasco

(17:19) How To Get Your Dream Life (science approved!)

(20:44) Just a Bit of Magic

Check out Gabriele’s science-backed manifesting method here: https://woopmylife.org/en/science



This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Michelle Dang, and Meryl Horn. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Emma Munger, So Wylie, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. Thanks to all the researchers we reached out to, including Dr. Lucas Dixon. Special thanks also to Mark Johnson. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications


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Tons of people visit the chiropractor, saying it helps soothe pain in their neck or back. But we’re now hearing claims that chiro can do a whole lot more. Like, some say it can help kids with stuff like asthma, colic, even breastfeeding problems. So … can chiro really do all that?? To find out what’s cracking here, we talk to chiropractor Carl Cleveland III, physical therapist Anita Gross, neurophysiologist Dr. Marcello Costa — and the parents of former Senior Producer Kaitlyn Sawrey. 

We originally published a version of this episode several years ago; we’ve updated it with new science.

Check out our full transcript here: https://bit.ly/sciencevschiropractors 

00:00 Welcome to Science Vs chiropractors

01:09 Baby Kaity and the Sawreys

04:54 The origin of chiropractic  

07:35 The theory behind subluxation

10:19 Neck and back pain 

13:18 The science on taking kids to the chiro 

19:07 The evidence on subluxation

24:42 What are the risks? 

27:14 Let’s round it all up

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler and Wendy Zukerman, with help from Kaitlyn Sawrey, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Shruti Ravindran and Heather Rogers. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Sound design by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord. Recording help from Asher Griffith. Special thanks to Dr. Richard Deyo, Prof. Tim Mirtz, Prof. Gregory Whitcomb, Dr. Adam Cifu and Julie Knaak. An extra big thanks to Rachel Ward, Emma Morgenstern, Christina Sullivan, Jasmine Romero, Phoebe Flanigan, Alex Ward, Russell Gragg, Fiona Croall and Judy Adair. Also, a shout-out to the Sawreys! Thank you, Bill & Chris.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 
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