EP. 95 — BONUS! How Science Is Making ‘Inception’ A Reality

Let’s talk about ‘Inception’: Christopher Nolan’s least realistic movie up until ‘Interstellar’. While commercially and critically loved, you got the sense watching it that this was something to suspend your disbelief for; that this world of shared dreaming, dreams within dreams and implanting false memories surely had no basis in fact or science. But what if we told you Nolan’s half-baked ideas about the fallibility of memory were actually close to how the brain works? What if planting false memories in people was actually the most realistic part about ‘Inception’?

On this bonus episode of The Cracked Podcast, Jack O’Brien is joined by Steve Ramirez, a PhD student at MIT who actually incepted mice! With laser beams! They talk about that experiment and how it will shape the future of treating mental disorders. Jack is then joined by Dr. William Hirst, Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research, to talk about how utterly unreliable our memories are, even when trying to recall the most important moments of our lives.

Recent Episodes

January 26, 2020

EP. 328 — Why Fear-Based Democracies Aren’t Free (with Jason Pargin)

Guest Jason Pargin

Freedom sucks…and that is why we have to defend it. Because our democracy involves doing a lot of stuff that takes energy, takes time, and lacks that Michael Bay Quality that only a surprise missile launch can provide. So on this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt and special guest Jason Pargin (who writes for Cracked as David Wong) are exploring the ways being afraid of everything (an easy action) can stop us from being free. Discover the decades-long tradition of some Americans wanting to give up everything in exchange for not needing to think, the centuries-long tradition of people inciting fake panics, and the reasonable ways you can help change things for the better.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-fear-based-democracies-arenE28099t-free-with-jason-pargin/

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January 19, 2020

EP. 327 — 5 Parts Of The U.S. Economy That Are Stranger Than You Think

How’s your local shopping mall doing? Have you checked on it lately? Swing by sometime, because its department store might’ve turned into a call center or a hospital or a go-kart track. On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by the one and only Kai Ryssdal (Marketplace, Make Me Smart) for a look at surprising, strange, and shocking stories from all over the U.S. economy. Discover an international pig flu, a 26-word statement that built the modern Internet, and more amazing ways cash is ruling everything around you. By the way, if you’re an American listener, you spent the past few years funding an astonishingly huge bailout. Surprise! Listen for details!

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/5-parts-u.s.-economy-that-are-stranger-than-you-think

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January 12, 2020

EP. 326 — 9 Times Pop Culture Accidentally Taught People To Save Lives

Guest Caitlin Gill

Movies, TV, gaming: three things that are theoretically a waste of time. Oh sure, they deliver value in the art sense, and comfort in the goofing-off sense. But what if they’re more valuable than that? What if consuming shows and playing video games (accidentally) turns people into real-life heroes? On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedians/writers Caitlin Gill and Alex Watt for a look at the surprising number of times that exact thing happened. They’ll explore stories of regular people who saved a life thanks to skills gained randomly from cartoons, sitcoms, ‘World Of Warcraft’, and more silly entertainment.

Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/9-times-pop-culture-accidentally-taught-people-to-save-lives/

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