Abstracts Podcast

It's time to get yourself off social media. Here's why. ** 'Coffee' by Cambo https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo/~/Coffee_1919

"What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash?" In this episode we take a look at the latest incarnation of the Joker, from psychopathology to political impact. In a harrowing character study we watch Arthur Fleck slip under the surface of society and the Joker re-emerge. Todd Phillips, the director, says the character is based on Freudian theory, so we ask who is the id and who is the ego? We also get into pathological laughter, the impact of loneliness, and why protestors across the world have donned the villain's face-paint. Infused with Edinburgh Gin, we get under the skin of Arthur Fleck in episode 11 of Abstracts. *** Music Coffee by Cambo https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo Media https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rPvrQGx8Ww https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l98OMyDrqU

This week, we boldly go where no-one has gone before... Wait, hang on. This week, we go back to a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away to discuss the psychology and mythology of Star Wars. Is the dark side really all that bad? Have the Sith any genuine grievances? Does fear really lead to anger, hate, and suffering? Over a smashing Canadian Gin, Matt and Andy discuss archetypes, spirituality, and genocide in this exciting new instalment to the Abstracts universe. *** Coffee by Cambo https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo Media Star Wars Episode V: George Lucas On The Force (2010) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44H1zWYubmM

In part two, we turn the lens on the USA. From injecting immortal cancer cells into unsuspecting patients, to forcing gonorrheal pus into the eyes of the mentally ill; the USA has a dark history of abuse. We round off the two-parter by moving from the biological to the psychological, investigating MK Ultra, a declassified military project trying to weaponise mind control. We continue the journey over a bottle of Lone Wolf cloudy lemon gin in episode 8 of Abstracts. *** Coffee by 'Cambo' https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo Media MK Ultra brainwashing program: Former patients fight for settlement (1985) - The Fifth Estate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNPTLKzqjuM Pres. Clinton's Remarks on Human Radiation Experiments (1995) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StId27Dmx78

New Year’s resolutions. We’ve all made them, we’ve all broken them, so how do we set better ones? From riding around on emotional elephants to the mental shotgun, we chat about our thoughts on tackling the year ahead. We get into the relationship between order and chaos, and what it might have to do with setting meaningful resolutions. More importantly, we discuss our own resolutions for 2020, from fixing our bodies to swinging into the roaring 20s. In the first Anecdotal episode of Abstracts, we explore a new format in which we put the citations and sources to one side in favour of a relaxed and free flowing discussion. Our serving suggestion: Season with a pinch of salt and serve with plenty of gin. *** 'Coffee' by Cambo https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo

This time we follow on from episode 6, looking at the psychology of Christmas. We find out just how robust our beliefs in Santa Claus really are with the Candy Witch experiments, whether there is a neural basis for Christmas spirit, and what all these decorations are doing to our collective identities. We put our Scroogeconomist hats on and find out just how much value is destroyed by gift giving (and the psychologists in us ask if ‘value’ is even the point). Most importantly of all, we find out who the jolliest Europeans are at Christmas time! Armed with a glass of Kopparberg’s Strawberry and Lime gin, we get festively merry in episode 7 of Abstracts. *** 'Coffee' by Cambo https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo http://abstractspodcast.com *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eObVoC0dOp0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NM3xkUuOzo

In this episode we take a look at the history of Christmas. We explore the various ingredients that make up our present-day festivities. Despite our belief that a modern winter holiday is uniquely abundant and materialistic, people have been complaining about it since 4 AD! While some traditions have stayed the same, some have changed a little... Why did Saint Nicholas have a horned monster (Krampus) whip the naughty children? What does carol singing have to do with the Pagans? Why is the tomb of Saint Nicholas in Italy, and why is he also considered the Saint of Seafaring Men? Where is Santa still travelling up from Spain on his steamboat to a televised reception? The development of Christmas is a fascinating trip through mythology, astrology, and religion. Armed with a glass of Kopparberg’s Strawberry and Lime gin, we get festively merry in episode 6 of Abstracts. *** 'Coffee' by Cambo https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo http://www.abstractspodcast.com

In part one, we take a dark journey through bioethical history, starting with the Russians, Nazis, and Japanese during WWII. We look at everything from attempts to crossbreed chimpanzees and humans, to the Japanese plague-bombs that were dropped on Chinese citizens by Unit 731. From sewn-together Mengele twins to innocent victims being dragged out into the nearest field and cut open for analysis, this episode is not for the faint of heart. Along the way we will consider how institutions enable evil, why the Japanese were granted immunity despite committing crimes against humanity, and how fascist imperialism sowed the seeds of WWII. In part 2 we turn the lens around on the USA, with terrifying results. We get into it over a bottle of Lone Wolf gin in episode 5 of Abstracts. *** Music https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo Media https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx7loRv70y8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFpcFScVKog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWGtSGIxyBQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcpUi7KBxz0&t=1679s

In this episode we take a look at faces, the centre of our visual social world. From super-recognisers helping the police to track down criminals, to people with ‘face-blindness’ who are unable to recognise their own families, we explore the tricky landscape of face perception. We take a look at the evolutionary origins, critical developmental periods, and the specialised neural pathways that make us face experts. Along the way we find out how to “melt” or distort somebody’s face through brain stimulation, why the man mistook his wife for a hat, and why older people become less sensitive to negative emotions. We get into it over a bottle of Roku gin in episode 4 of Abstracts. *** FFA Stimulation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7AQ8NjSnTo Super-recogniser test: http://bit.ly/super-recognition *** 'Coffee' by Cambo (Theme) https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo/Chilled_Beats/Coffee Oliver Sacks - Face Blindness (Oliver Sacks Foundation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5bvnXYIQG8 Sensation Without Perception: Visual Prosopagnosia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwCrxomPbtY BBC - Article on Super Recognisers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ-iQqsBHHk

In this episode we get seasonal and discuss possession and exorcism. We take a whistle-stop tour through the history of the devil's work, looking at real exorcisms from the 16th century. We explore whether exorcists were the forerunners of the scientific method. Finally, we take a look at the medical model of possession, from brain inflammation to possession disorder. Along the way we ask the important questions: What do comedians and the devil have in common? Why did Matthew find a priest in his bedroom? How can sticky balls of rice help rid us of our demons? We get into it over a bottle of gin in our Halloween edition of Abstracts. *** Emmanuel TV – “I am from the ocean” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RuCLB6vM3M ABC News – Teen Girls Perform Exorcisms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy1hvTltswc ABC News – Possessed: The Modern Exorcism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1u8EPwNkss CNN – Does video show Pope doing exorcism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvbgc9dz0Ho EWTN - Conversations the World Over – Exorcism and Demonic Possession https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt7ke--cEZ0 ABC News – 2020 In Touch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNpFH9UNOM0 MovieClips - The Exorcist “That was no spasm!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd5HqEJuY1g MovieClips – The Exorcist “That thing up there isn’t my daughter!” https://youtu.be/5xiAs8GGqD8 The Devil and Father Amorth https://www.netflix.com/watch/80204616?source=35 The Exorcism of Emily Rose https://www.netflix.com/watch/70032591?source=35

In this episode we discuss the psychology of Brexit and ponder the question, “Why can’t we communicate?”. We talk about what Locke from Lost has got to do with Brexit, what evolution has to say about our behaviour, and why one side (literally) sees the forest while the other sees the trees. Can we learn anything about politics from personality traits and the psychology of group behaviour? We get into it over a bottle of gin in another episode of Abstracts. *** For all references used in the episode please head to: www.abstractspodcast.com ** Media Coffee by Cambo (Theme) https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo/~/Coffee_1919 BBC – Dimbleby Annouces Result https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqAk4iGcARw Guardian News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RJwuqNGbKk DW News Brexit Prepping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFNsQfVx8bk Boris Johnson We want to do a deal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivj5XG0y8sI

In this episode we discuss the phenomenon of competitive gaming, otherwise known as eSports. With $3 million tournament prizes, viewing figures in excess of the Super Bowl, and the recent news that eSports will become an Olympics-sanctioned event in Tokyo next year, this is a truly modern industry that cannot be stopped. However, can we really consider gaming a sport? What happens to those that don't make it to the big leagues? What is it doing to the brains of the young people who are budding to win the next million dollar jackpot? We get into it over a tipple in our first episode of Abstracts. *** Music Cambo - 'Coffee' https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cambo *** Reference List (PDF) https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_2gW9Q4Np-aZH1RpHeVg-hm9QLIFolHa The Amthauer Test (IST) https://amthauer-ist.com/en/ *** Sound Samples and Media CBS News Price of the Grind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=box4SFtGvA0 ABC News – Inside Billion dollar industry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrnZ7SboHvI CNN – Video games scholarships to play league of legends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR5AOpEzCBs CNBC – Former NBS star reveals why he’s betting big on eSports https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxHtF2SCQk FOX Business - Is Esports the new ESPN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l3IxywUMeU HBO Boxing – Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: eSports Discussion (HBO Sports) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Box01YzekaQ FOX5 – Ryan Hart talks SFV and eSports on FOX5 News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN-5U806SRw