podcast

Flashbulb Memories and Decision Making

It turns out there is a lot to learn about when studying the psychology of near misses. One thing we learn is that the memories of these events–like the time you almost ran into a tree with your bike, or the time you stuck your head out of a moving train and then pulled it back in just before another train rushed passed by– are different from other memories. Psychologists call these “flashbulb memories.”

In this episode, our first in our series on near misses, Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman, and Dr. Bob Duke talk about flashbulb memories and how they influence our decision-making process.

Audience Q&A: Money and Happiness

Listen back to Two Guys on Your Head recorded live at The Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas for a Views and Brews, as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy talks with Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke about the psychology of happiness.

In this episode, we answer an audience question about money and happiness.

Jazz & The Art of Movement

Where do we consider being at home? When do we feel that we belong in a place and how quickly can we become dispossessed? In its essence, jazz traces various migrations – some arbitrary, some forced, and some chosen – and beyond appropriation and broad-stroke caricature, reveal difficult truths of identity, well-being, and honest relationship.

Through the artistry of Miles, Monk, and Mingus, both critique and imagination of the American melting pot will be explored – lessons crucial to our current navigation of the difficulties of migration, refugees, and asylum-seeking in our land. What is native land – and beyond the symbols demanding our loyalty, what consistently makes America, great?

Listen back to Views and Brew: Jazz and The Art of Movement recorded live at the historic Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas, with Rabbi and Jazz Historian Neil Blumofe in conversation with Rebecca McInroy. Featuring: Michael Malone, saxophone; Andre Hayward, trombone; Red Young, piano; Scott Laningham, drums.

Why Talk About Happiness?

Many people chase after goals that seem to them important and promising—getting into the right college, getting the dream job, moving to a big house. But what do you really need to be happy? To have a sense of fulfillment and joy? And why is it important?

This Song: FINNEAS

Singer, songwriter and producer Finneas O’Connell not only writes and produces music with his sister Billie Eilish, but also makes his own music under the name FINNEAS. He just released a solo EP called Blood Harmony. Listen as he explains why he loved “Holy S**t” by Father John Misty from the moment he heard it and how the song helped understand that when it comes to songwriting, nothing has to be off the table.

“My general rule with songs — it’s the rule I follow with Billie, it’s the rule I follow with every other artist I collaborate with — is like, write about the stuff that you’re uncomfortable writing about, write songs that you’d be scared to put out, because you wouldn’t want the person who it’s about to hear it…and then put it the f*ck out.”

📸 Michael Minasi

Check out FINNEAS’ Tour Dates

Watch “Holy Shit” performed live on KEXP

Listen to FINNEAS’ new EP “Blood Harmony”

Billie Elilish talked to NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson at ACLfest. Listen to that interview here

Listen to Songs from this episode of This Song

The Psychology of Art and Museums

Why can experiencing art in a museum be significant? It turns out there’s much more to it than just the pictures on the walls.

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of museums and art.

TSI Live: The Green New Deal

The Secret Ingredient with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, Raj Patel, author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, and food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, Tom Philpott to talk about what the Green New Deal is, what it could mean for the future of agriculture, and what it will take to revive this plan in an effort to save the planet.

Multitasking and Gender

It turns out the idea that women are better than men at multitasking is not true at all. In fact, men and women are equally bad at multitasking, however, why does this notion persist? In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke take on multitasking and gender.

New Approaches To The Work Week

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about how to rethink your approach to work for a happier life.

Bad Science

Why do we continue to believe in ideas that sound scientific long after they have been scientifically proven to be incorrect? That is the question that Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke take on in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head.

This Song: Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend

Ezra Koenig, lead singer and songwriter for the band Vampire Weekend, explains why he recently became obsessed with “I Don’t Think Much About Her No More” by country singer and songwriter Mickey Newbury. He loved it so much that he even included a cover of the song as a bonus track for the Japanese release of the band’s latest record Father of the Bride. Listen as he describes why he finds that song so compelling and explores what it was like to apply country music’s direct approach to songwriting to some of the the songs on Father of the Bride.

Listen to this episode of This Song

📸 Monika Mogi

Get your own copy of the Japanese release of Father of the Bride

Get your copy of the US release of Father of the Bride

Listen to Father of the Bride on Apple Music or Spotify

Check out Vampire Weekend’s Tour Dates

Learn more about Mickey Newbury

Listen to more Mickey Newbury

Listen to Songs from this episode of This Song

Science and Society

Our environment affects our thinking in ways beyond our conscious awareness; even if we happen to be scientists.

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about science and society.

Olivia Gatwood Trigger Warning Explicit Content and Adult Language

**Trigger Warning** This episode contains explicit content and adult language.

Olivia Gatwood author of Life of The Party talks on This is Just To Say with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about her practice of reading poetry out loud while writing, taking a feminist look at true crime, embracing obsessions, and much more.

See Oliva Gatwood read in Austin September 15th at the North Door

Pat Metheny

Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about the life and work of jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny.

This is Just To Say-Tribute To Tony Hoagland

Listen back to a live taping of This is Just to Say with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy and Carrie Fountain as they welcome actor Richard Robichaux, scholar Dr. Carra Martinez, playwright Kirk Lynn, and poet August Huerta for a reading and tribute to the late poet Tony Hoagland.

The Gun Debate (Rebroadcast)

In light of recent events, we are rebroadcasting an edition of Two Guys on Your Head with Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke about the psychology behind both sides of America’s ongoing debate about firearms and gun control.

Austin High

Listen back to “Austin High” a variety show hosted by Austin’s own Ray Benson from Asleep At The Wheel!

Lawrence Wright and Marcia Ball unveil a piece from their new musical, Sonny Carl Davis reprises his role from Bernie, Anne Rapp reads a one page short story that will burn a hole in your soul, Elizabeth McQueen shows us the softer side of Ray, and Katie Shore and Dennis Ludiker face off in a Texas fiddle showdown!

Loudness

We may be drawn to loud sounds in the environment, but do we really know why? On this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of volume.

Empathy

Is empathy inherently a good thing? It turns out, not always. In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of empathy.