Volcanoes. Trees. Drunk butterflies. Mars missions. Slug sex. Death. Beauty standards. Anxiety busters. Beer science. Bee drama. Take away a pocket full of science knowledge and charming, bizarre stories about what fuels these professional -ologists' obsessions. Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward asks smart people stupid questions and the answers might change your life.
Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF) with Paul Rozin
Taboos. Intolerable foods. Sad songs. Sexy kinks. Candy that looks like poo. Let’s get a little gross, shall we? The foremost expert in disgust, Dr. Paul Rozin, chats about the emotions related to revulsion – and BOY HOWDY do we cover some ground. Why do some things gross us out and others don’t? Can we change that? Learn how research psychologists study disgust, from butterflies to bigotry, and from pranks to power dynamics. Maybe don’t eat lunch while you listen, but definitely tune in to learn how to conquer some fears.
Browse Dr. Rozin’s publications on Google Scholar
Donations went to InterAct Theatre Company and the International OCD Foundation
More episode sources and links
Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes
Other episodes you may enjoy: Personality Psychology (PERSONALITIES), Scatology (POOP), Gelotology (LAUGHTER), Gustology (TASTE), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD) Part 1 & Part 2, Dipterology (FLIES), Chickenology (HENS & ROOSTERS), FIELD TRIP: Alie’s Mystery Surgery
Transcripts and bleeped episodes
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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee
Managing Director: Susan Hale
Scheduling producer: Noel Dilworth
Transcripts by Aveline Malek and The Wordary
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn