From the genesis of Slender Man on a forum to the moral panic of the Momo Challenge, discover how the internet, creepypasta, and collaborative storytelling have created a terrifyingly new breed of urban legend.
Sewer Alligators and Bodies in the Bed: The Shocking Urban Legends That Are Actually True
Think all urban legends are fake? Think again. We investigate the chilling cases, from sewer gators to hotel horrors, where unbelievable folklore has a basis in fact.
Urban Legends 2 | The Global Ghost: How One Urban Legend Changes Across the World
Travel the globe with the “Vanishing Hitchhiker” legend. Discover how this single story transforms into a Hawaiian goddess, a Latin American demon, and a Japanese ghost, reflecting each culture’s unique beliefs and fears.
The Babysitter is Calling from Inside the Patriarchy: A Feminist Guide to Urban Legends
Ever wonder why classic urban legends always star women in peril? We explore how tales like “The Hook” reflect deep societal anxieties about female independence.
Urban Legends 1 | The Lure of the Legend: Why Our Brains Believe Urban Legends
Explore the psychology behind urban legends. Learn how cognitive biases like confirmation bias and emotional narratives make us believe and share stories that aren’t true.
Anatomy of a Hoax: The Science of Why We Fall for Disinformation
Ever wonder why you fall for online hoaxes? Discover the cognitive biases and emotional triggers manipulators exploit and learn how to build your mental toolkit.
Understanding Cognitive Biases 5 | The Biases of Memory & Recall
What is your most vivid childhood memory? The story of your first love? The moment you achieved a great success? What if I told you that memory might be wrong? This week, in our series finale, we tackle the most personal biases of all—the ones that live inside our own heads. We’ll discover how easily false memories can be planted, why we only remember the best and worst moments of a vacation, and how you might be accidentally stealing ideas. Prepare to question everything you think you know about your past.
Beyond Logic: Why Understanding Your Biases Makes You a More Empathetic Person
The true goal of learning about cognitive biases isn’t to become a perfect robot. It’s to become a “Rational Empath.” This capstone article explores how understanding our own flawed thinking leads to greater compassion, forgiveness, and wisdom.
The Cognitive Cascade: How a Chain Reaction of Biases Leads to Disaster
Cognitive biases rarely act alone. Discover how biases interact and compound each other in a “cognitive cascade.” Using the legendary “New Coke” failure as a case study, we deconstruct how a chain reaction of flawed thinking leads to disastrous outcomes.
What’s Your Social IQ? A Quiz to Master Workplace and Social Biases
Can you avoid common social pitfalls like Groupthink or the Bystander Effect? Take this scenario-based quiz to learn actionable strategies for smarter social interaction.
Recent Posts
Pragmatic: The Philosophy of What Actually Works
Pragmatic is often used as a polite way to say ‘boring’ or ‘unimaginative.’ But in this episode, we make the case that genuine pragmatism — the commitment to what actually works — is one of the most sophisticated and undervalued approaches to living.
Fall into Place: The Quiet Magic of Things Finally Making
You’ve been working at something: pushing, struggling, questioning: and then one day, without warning, everything aligns. The pieces land where they belong. Suddenly you can see the whole picture. ‘Falling into place’ is the expression for that particular kind of relief and clarity, and this episode explores what makes it so satisfying.
Impudent: The Fine Line Between Boldness and Disrespect
Impudent is the word for the person who says the thing they weren’t supposed to say — with remarkable confidence and no apparent shame. In this episode, we explore where impudence crosses into something useful, and where it just becomes rude.
I Know Depression’s Handwriting: A Writer on the Struggle, Without the Toxic Positivity
An honest, un-patronizing look at the strange relationship between writers and depression. No advice, no toxic positivity, no chirpy sunset memes. Just a peek into the struggle, and real hope built on real things.
Catch Your Breath: The Permission to Pause in a World That Never Stops
We rarely give ourselves permission to stop. To pause. To simply let the breathing steady before we go again. ‘Catching your breath’ sounds like a quick fix: but this episode unpacks it as something far richer: a small, essential act of self-restoration that most of us don’t take nearly enough.
Balmy: The Gift of the Perfectly Gentle Day
Some words exist just to name something that makes life feel worth it. Balmy is one of them — a word for soft warmth, pleasant air, and the specific pleasure of a day that asks nothing of you except that you enjoy it.