Free Will Might be an Illusion!

The Shocking Power of the Placebo Effect!

A man attempted suicide by overdosing on a drug he was given in a clinical trial. He was rushed to a hospital in bad shape…shaking, breathing rapidly with a dangerously low pulse, and blood pressure that had bottomed out. He was eventually stabilized, but not by anything the staff at the hospital did. The treatment and cure? He was informed that the overdose he had taken was a placebo. He had downed 29 capsules that were effectively sugar pills and the cause of his medical emergency… was all in his mind…Really, no really!

Jason and Peter were fascinated by the seemingly lethal effects of an inert substance. And while they had heard about the placebo effect, they were amazed that it could be this powerful. To find out more, they sought out the world’s foremost expert and researcher on the subject. Dr. Luana Colloca is a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland and the Director of the Placebo Beyond Opinions Center.

As an NIH-funded, internationally recognized expert, Dr. Colloca and her team research human pain modulation in patients suffering from chronic pain hoping to deepen understanding of placebo and nocebo effects.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The reason for the placebo’s creation in 1799.
• Why the placebo effect is more powerful than you think.
• The lesser-known nocebo effect and how it works.
• How do placebos mimic active treatments?
• Is it ethical to prescribe placebos without informing patients?
• Why patients who KNEW they were getting placebos improved!
• The placebo effect on positive vs negative-minded people.
• Acupuncture, reiki, other alternative treatments - placebos?
• Jason’s trick for alleviating pain using the power of his mind.
• A placebo to replace erectile dysfunction medications?
• Pondering non-medical uses for placebos - placebo vacations?
• Google-:heim: Placebo “isn’t” but “is.” Here are other things we think “are” that “aren’t.”

FOLLOW LUANA:

The Colloca Lab

Placebo Beyond Opinions (PBO) Center

Instagram: @CollocaLab

Facebook: @LuanaColloca

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Secret Life of Alligators!

Have you heard about Wally the 5-foot-long, 60-pound emotional support alligator? Wally’s owner sleeps with him, walks him on a leash, and even hosts children’s pool parties featuring the supposedly docile reptile. With their inhuman eyes, prehistoric looks, razor sharp teeth, and propensity to eat small dogs (and sometimes their owners), most of us have concluded that alligators are mindless, aggressive killing machines. Today’s guest says…we’re wrong. Really, no really!

We wanted to know if Wally’s antics represented the tip of the iceberg when it came to alligators demonstrating intelligence, receptiveness to petting and scratching, and if gators could express affection towards their human companions. Thousands of videos on Instagram and Tik Tok show people interacting lovingly with alligators so to understand the dichotomy of a predator with feelings we sought out Paul Bedard, one of the most knowledgeable people on the planet when it comes to understanding the psyche of wild alligators and how humans can interact with them in a safe and…get this… fun way.

Paul was featured on Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys” for 6 seasons where viewers saw him catch and rescue alligators that were deemed a threat to people, pets, or livestock. Outside of the reality show, Paul leads The Gator Boys Alligator Rescue Sanctuary housed in the Everglades Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

ON THIS EPISODE:

• The improbable altruistic inclination that led Paul to become a savior to alligators.
• Why some gators can be successfully trained!
• Are gators capable of feeling affection, frustration, pleasure, anxiety, distress and able to plot and plan?
• The unusual way Paul catches wild alligators, while swimming in canals…Really!
• Paul reveals what went through his mind when an alligator clamped down on his skull!!!
• Do alligators sense your fear?
• Do humans care more about the welfare of cute animals?

• Google-heim: Play along with the game, “Can you do THIS in Florida?”

***

FOLLOW PAUL:

Everglades Holiday Park: EvergladesHolidayPark.com

Instagram: @gatorboysalligatorrescue

YouTube: @gatorboysoutdoors

Facebook: @GatorBoysPaul

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your Bad Customer Service was No Accident!

Today’s episode is all about our frustration with customer service… which by anyone’s standards is getting worse and worse! You experience it every time you encounter a phone tree, interact with a chatbot, or deal with increasingly longer hold times. The truly shocking fact, the apparent ineptitude of most customer service departments is by design. Really, no Really!

Jason and Peter had to find out the reason a company would intentionally offer unsatisfactory customer service and became even more bemused when they realized that A.I. is going to impact the entire sector. That’s why they sought out Amas Tenumah, a customer service expert and technologist who has advised DirecTV, Fastly, Wendy's, Teleflora, and Coca-Cola. His work has been featured on NPR, Forbes, The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and other business journals.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Poor customer care is part of the design!
• Amas’ secret trick to navigating customer service.
• How companies treat customer service employees: bathroom time tabulated, tethered to headsets, ridiculous scripts, terrible pay, and worse!
• Part of the customer service problem… YOU, the consumer!
• Every Call Center has one: the profanity policy.
• Correlating CEO tenure and inferior customer service.
• Can AI and technology improve people’s customer service experience?
• Peter’s “million-dollar idea” to revolutionize customer care.
• The growing number of companies that have terminated ALL phone interaction with customers.
• When chatbots go rogue!
• Why Amas almost got his hand cut off. Really!
• Google-heim: The Oldest continuously operating company in the world must have the best customer service, right? You will be shocked to learn how long these folks have been in business.

***

FOLLOW AMAS:

Website: AmasTenumah.com

Instagram: @AmasTenumah

YouTube: @AmasTenumah

Facebook: Amas Tenumah

X: @AmasTenumah

LinkedIn: Amas Tenumah

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Free Will Might be an Illusion!

Dr. Robert Sapolsky a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant winner and professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University has rankled the scientific and philosophic communities by arguing one simple point: There is no free will! We only THINK we’re making our own decisions. Really, no really!

When Jason and Peter heard this, they realized that they had absolutely no choice but to contact Dr. Sapolsky so they could get him to explain his thesis…in a simplistic way…that even they could understand. And he did!

Dr. Robert Sapolsky is a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research at the National Museum of Kenya, and the author of: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, A Primate's Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, Monkeyluv, and his latest is Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will. He is a regular contributor to Discover.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why a 14-year-old Robert Sapolsky concluded there is no free will.
• Misunderstanding what free will is; Dr. Sapolsky provides his definition.
• Determinism verses anti-determinism.
• How our sense of smell can affect our beliefs and choices.
• Thanks mom! How your pregnant mother’s elevated stress levels gave you a 20-fold likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder.
• Minority Report’s “pre-crime” idea is real and being implemented.
• Professor Sapolsky realizes that most philosophers and scientists reject his conclusions.
• Sapolsky says the world becomes more humane when we accept his hypothesis.
• Right, wrong, ethics, morality, compassion – What do we do with those concepts in a world without free will?
• Google-heim: No free will BUT the best things in life are free! (Sort of.)

***

FOLLOW ROBERT:

His latest book: “Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will”

TikTok: @ aprimatestiktok

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BONUS EPISODE: Blunt Truths on Marijuana

The cannabis available today is much, much stronger than the weed grandma was smoking back in her day and the effects on our brains are much more significant than previously thought. Really, no really!

Jason and Peter sought out Dr.Ryan Sultan an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University to understand the underlying reasons for our growing inability to get along but when we had him in studio we also picked his brain relating to his expertise in cannabis. He's also an expert in the areas of anxiety, mood disorders, depression, ADHD, and substance abuse. Ryan graciously agreed to help us understand why Peter has been so edgy lately since he's gone cold turkey off marijuana.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Peter isn't alone in having a hard time coming off pot.
• Lung cancer, stroke, anxiety, a shrinking brain? The new huge study on long-term cannabis use.
• The effects of long term cannabis consumption.
• What happens to your brain when you stop regular use of pot.
• Cannabis, rebound anxiety + ADHD.
• The reason kids should stay away from pot until at least age 25.

***

FOLLOW DR. SULTAN

He is the director ofIntegrative Psych, as well as being director ofSultan Lab at Columbia University.

Instagram @rsultanmd

X @DrRyanSultan

***

FOLLOW REALLY NO REALLY:

www.reallynoreally.com

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Facebook

Threads

X

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.