Episódios

  • The Surprising History and Psychology of Board Games & Cracking the Fitness Code

    The Surprising History and Psychology of Board Games & Cracking the Fitness Code
    May 22 2025
    Do happy couples have more sex or does having more sex make couples happy? This episode begins with some surprising insight into that question. https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2015/may/more-sex-does-not-lead-to-happiness.html There is something about board games. Chess, checkers, backgammon, Monopoly, Parcheesi – we like to play board games. What’s fascinating is people all over the world love board games and have for centuries. Why is there this universal appeal? What do these games do for us? Here to offer up the answers and explanations is Tim Clare, an award winning writer and author of the book Across the Board: How Games Make Us Human (https://amzn.to/4kmAZvo). Everyone knows exercise is important. Still, a lot of people shy away from it. What is it that turns some people off while other people truly enjoy it? Is there a way to motivate people to exercise more beyond just telling them, “Exercise is good for you”? Can people who hate exercise learn to love it? How much exercise is enough to make a difference? Here to explore all of this is Katy Bowman who is the author of 11 books and a frequent speaker on the topic of movement and exercise. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, and Good Housekeeping and she has been on The Joe Rogan Experience, The Today Show and now she is here. Her latest book is I Know I Should Exercise, But...: 44 Reasons We Don't Move and How to Get Over Them (https://amzn.to/4dmWdHs). Do you have a calling? A passion? Not everyone does – or at least not everyone knows what it is. Listen as I reveal some questions you can ask yourself that might help you uncover what you are really called to do with your life. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/passion/201505/6-signs-that-a-passion-or-calling-is-true PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! MINT MOBILE: Ditch overpriced wireless and get 3 months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://MintMobile.com/something⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://FactorMeals.com/something50off⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TIMELINE: Get 10% off your order of Mitopure! Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Timeline.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ROCKET MONEY: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster! Go to ⁠⁠https://RocketMoney.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠ QUINCE: Elevate your shopping with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Quince.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ right now! DELL: The power of Dell AI with Intel inside is transforming the world of pro sports! For the players and the fans who are there for every game. See how Dell Technologies with Intel inside can help find your advantage, and power your wins at ⁠⁠⁠https://Dell.com/Wins⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 minutos
  • Ridiculous Rules of the English Language & How Infrastructure Keeps Cities Moving

    Ridiculous Rules of the English Language & How Infrastructure Keeps Cities Moving
    May 19 2025
    People prefer to pay for things with plastic more than cash today. While it is convenient, it creates a problem that is likely costing you quite a bit of money. This episode begins by explaining the problem and how to solve it. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/people-twice-likely-spend-using-card-than-cash/ So many English words are pronounced nothing like they are spelled. Cough, salmon, laugh, doubt, and calf are just a few examples and I am sure you can come up with more. Why is this? Why can’t the spelling of words match the pronunciation? Well, that’s an interesting question with multiple answers. It’s not that people haven’t tried to fix this problem. Joining me to explain why English spelling is so bizarre is Gabe Henry who is author of the book, Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Easier to Spell (https://amzn.to/3GP36VT) It’s mind boggling to think about the infrastructure of a city - all the systems that must work for that city to function. There is water, waste, electricity, transportation, communications and more. How does it all work? Here with some insight is Sybil Derrible, a professor of urban engineering and director of the Complex and Sustainable Urban Networks Laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is author of the book, The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power Our Lives (https://amzn.to/3Fb6utx). There is a stigma about doing things alone. Many of us would feel uncomfortable going to a restaurant or the movies by ourselves. While the thought of it might feel odd, it could actually be quite pleasurable – at least that is what some interesting research says. Listen as I explain https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/the-unexpected-pleasure-of-doing-things-alone/392486/ PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! MINT MOBILE: Ditch overpriced wireless and get 3 months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://MintMobile.com/something⁠⁠⁠⁠ ! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://FactorMeals.com/something50off⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TIMELINE: Get 10% off your order of Mitopure! Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Timeline.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ROCKET MONEY: Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster! Go to ⁠https://RocketMoney.com/SOMETHING⁠ QUINCE: Elevate your shopping with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Quince.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ right now! DELL: The power of Dell AI with Intel inside is transforming the world of pro sports! For the players and the fans who are there for every game. See how Dell Technologies with Intel inside can help find your advantage, and power your wins at ⁠⁠https://Dell.com/Wins⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 minutos
  • How to Get Unstuck & A New Approach to Longevity - SYSK Choice

    How to Get Unstuck & A New Approach to Longevity - SYSK Choice
    May 17 2025
    Drinking water is what keeps you from becoming dehydrated. What you may not know is that there are other factors that can speed up your dehydration that may require you drink even more water than you think. This episode begins by explaining what causes this to happen even when you think you are taking in plenty of water. https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8034255/sneaky-reasons-youre-dehydrated-nothing-to-do-with-water/ Have you ever felt stuck? May you've felt stuck in a job or a relationship or maybe you are stuck trying to come up with a new idea. Sooner or later, we all feel stuck. Luckily, for over 20 years, Adam Alter has studied “stuckness” to help people understand how and why it happens and most importantly how to get unstuck. Adam is a professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He also holds an affiliated professorship in social psychology at NYU’s psychology department and he is author of the book Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most (https://amzn.to/3O2uH7d). We've all heard the advice that to live a long and healthy life you should eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, reduce stress, etc. The problem is that as advice goes – it is pretty vague. Good thing my guest is here. Peter Atia, MD. Peter serves on the editorial board for the journal Aging. He is the host of the podcast, “The Drive”, (https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/ ) which covers topics such as health, medicine, and longevity. He is also the author of a monster best-selling book called Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity (https://amzn.to/3VTaWBa). Don’t you hate it when someone on a car trip says, “I feel carsick”? There are a lot of ideas on the best way to deal with car sickness but not all of them are effective. Listen as I explain what really works to help prevent motion sickness and alleviate the symptoms once someone starts to get that horrible nauseous feeling. https://www.ahchealthenews.com/2016/05/13/tips-preventing-treating-motion-sickness/ PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! CARAWAY: Get 10% off your next purchase, at ⁠⁠https://Carawayhome.com/SYSK⁠⁠ or use code SYSK at checkout. Caraway. Non-Toxic cookware made modern. MINT MOBILE: Ditch overpriced wireless and get 3 months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠https://MintMobile.com/something⁠⁠ ! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://FactorMeals.com/something50off⁠⁠⁠⁠ TIMELINE: Get 10% off your order of Mitopure! Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Timeline.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠⁠ INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠⁠ right now! QUINCE: Elevate your shopping with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://Quince.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    50 minutos
  • The Science Behind Your Intuition & How Things Get Made

    The Science Behind Your Intuition & How Things Get Made
    May 15 2025
    A lot of people drink coffee in the morning to kickstart the day. Interestingly, how you drink it (when, how many cups, length of time between cups, etc.) influences the kick that you get. This episode begins by explaining the best way to consume your morning brew for maximum benefit. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a15327/coffee-most-caffeine/ I’m sure you’ve had a gut feeling about something. You didn’t have to think about it – you just knew! That is your intuition at work. But what is it? Is intuition just a knee jerk reaction to something or is it something more – perhaps some deep inner wisdom? Is it reliable? Should you trust it? Joining me to talk about that is Elizabeth Greenwood. She is a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Esquire, and GQ, and she is author of a book called Everyday Intuition: What Psychology, Science, and Psychics Can Teach Us About Finding and Trusting Our Inner Voice (https://amzn.to/3H0TN4U). It is astonishing to contemplate all the things around you that have been manufactured. Everything you can see that is not a plant, an animal or dirt – someone manufactured it. That means a person designed it, got the materials, assembled it, packaged it up and shipped it. How does that happen? What is the process that keeps it all going? Here to discuss this is Tim Minnshall. He is an engineering academic who works at the University of Cambridge, and he is author of the book, How Things Are Made: A Journey Through the Hidden World of Manufacturing (https://amzn.to/43bsRHf). Why do cars break down? Surprisingly, they mostly break down for just one of a few reasons – which are often preventable. Listen as I reveal what those reasons are and how to prevent them from happening. https://roadsidesurvival.com/ PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! CARAWAY: Get 10% off your next purchase, at ⁠https://Carawayhome.com/SYSK⁠ or use code SYSK at checkout. Caraway. Non-Toxic cookware made modern. MINT MOBILE: Ditch overpriced wireless and get 3 months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month at ⁠https://MintMobile.com/something⁠ ! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at ⁠⁠⁠https://FactorMeals.com/something50off⁠⁠⁠ TIMELINE: Get 10% off your order of Mitopure! Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://Timeline.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠ INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠⁠⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠ right now! QUINCE: Elevate your shopping with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠https://Quince.com/sysk⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 minutos
  • How Apple Became a $3 Trillion Company & Why We Love to Laugh

    How Apple Became a $3 Trillion Company & Why We Love to Laugh
    May 12 2025
    It is so tempting. The gas pump clicks off indicating that your tank is full but there is that urge to squeeze out a few more drops. Should you? This episode begins by explaining what happens when you do that. ⁠https://cluballiance.aaa.com/the-extra-mile/advice/car/seo-should-you-really-top-off-your-gas-tank⁠ Apple is a huge company worth $3 trillion. It makes money from products (iPhone, computers, smart watch etc.) and services (App store, Apple Pay etc.). Most Apple products are made and assembled in China and the impact Apple has made in China is astonishing and a story you must hear. Here to tell it is Patrick McGee. He was the Financial Times’s principal Apple reporter from 2019 to 2023. Previously, he was a reporter at The Wall Street Journal and is now the author of the book ⁠Apple In China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company (https://amzn.to/4cXXwfC).⁠ We love to laugh. We seek it out. We go to comedy clubs and watch funny movies in order to laugh. Why do we do that? What is it about laughter that makes us feel so good? What makes something or someone funny? Joining me for an interesting discussion about this is Jesse David Fox, Senior Editor and comedy critic at Vulture. He also hosts a podcast called ⁠Good One (https://www.vulture.com/good-one)⁠ and he is author of the book, ⁠Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture―and the Magic That Makes It Work (https://amzn.to/4iIRnW5).⁠ All cancer is scary but pancreatic is particularly horrible because it often goes undetected until it is too late – and because no one really knows what causes it. Interestingly, there does seem to be a link between pancreatic cancer and sunlight. Listen as I explain. ⁠https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150430082151.htm⁠ PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! CARAWAY: Get 10% off your next purchase, at ⁠https://Carawayhome.com/SYSK⁠ or use code SYSK at checkout. Caraway. Non-Toxic cookware made modern. MINT MOBILE: Ditch overpriced wireless and get 3 months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month at ⁠https://MintMobile.com/something⁠ ! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at ⁠⁠⁠https://FactorMeals.com/something50off⁠⁠⁠ TIMELINE: Get 10% off your order of Mitopure! Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://Timeline.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠ INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠⁠⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠ right now! QUINCE: Elevate your shopping with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠https://Quince.com/sysk⁠⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 minutos
  • How Things Became User Friendly & Effective Ways to Change People’s Minds - SYSK Choice

    How Things Became User Friendly & Effective Ways to Change People’s Minds - SYSK Choice
    May 10 2025
    If someone tells you how a book or movie ends - does it spoil the whole thing? Is it not worth watching or reading it? Or could knowing the ending first make the experience even better? Listen and find out. ⁠https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/spoiler-alert-spoilers-make-you-enjoy-stories-more⁠ You may not remember this but about 20 years ago, personal computers and other electronic devices came with big instruction manuals. Of course, now they don’t. We expect computers and just about everything else today to be user-friendly. Instructions should be minimal. This idea of “user-friendly” and the desire for a “positive user experience” is a fairly new thing that we can trace back to a point in time not very long ago. Cliff Kuang is a user experience designer and author of the book ⁠User Friendly: How the hidden rules of design are changing the way we live, work, and play (https://amzn.to/37T1Vi0).⁠ Listen as he explores the evolution from complicated to easy – which is just the way we like it. Should you bother trying to change someone’s mind? After all, we know arguing doesn’t work and neither does rational explanation. Perhaps it just isn’t worth the effort – we should just let people believe what they want to believe. Eleanor Gordon Smith has researched this topic and written a book about it called ⁠Stop Being Reasonable: How We Really Change Our Minds (https://amzn.to/2R9OxQQ). ⁠Listen as she explains her research on why changing someone’s mind is so difficult. In almost every workplace, some people complain that it is too hot while others say it is too cold. Regardless of your position on the subject, there is a way to feel comfortable no matter where the thermostat says. Listen to the explanation. is. ⁠https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/09/office-too-cold-shoes/502184 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at ⁠⁠https://FactorMeals.com/something50off⁠⁠ TIMELINE: Get 10% off your order of Mitopure! Go to ⁠⁠https://Timeline.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠ INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠ right now! QUINCE: Elevate your shopping with Quince! Go to ⁠https://Quince.com/sysk⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! SHOPIFY: Nobody does selling better than Shopify! Sign up for a $1 per-month trial period at⁠⁠ https://Shopify.com/sysk⁠⁠ and upgrade your selling today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 minutos
  • The Many Ways Music Affects Your Brain & How Safe and Effective Are Your Meds?

    The Many Ways Music Affects Your Brain & How Safe and Effective Are Your Meds?
    May 8 2025
    Which side is your good side? You know, the side of your face you point toward the camera when someone takes your picture. We all have a good side. And I bet I know which one yours is. https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/24/which-side-is-your-good-side-here-comes-the-science/ You are exposed to a lot of music every day. Sometimes it is music you seek out and want to listen to as well as music that plays in the background – in stores, in elevators, in a doctor’s office. All that music affects your brain in interesting ways. Here to explain how is Sara Leila Sherman. She is a musician and educator, who studied and pioneered innovation in music as a tool for learning and personal growth. She is coauthor of the book Resonant Minds: The Transformative Power of Music, One Note at a Time (https://amzn.to/4jDM6Aq). Many prescription drugs do amazing things to help people. Still, there are frequent stories of drugs that go wrong. They either don’t work or they turn out to cause harm or even death. Isn’t the FDA supposed to make sure that doesn’t happen? How do bad drugs get approved? Is the process broken? Here to offer some great insight into this is Jerry Avorn, MD. Who is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He created a leading research center at Harvard to study medication use, outcomes, costs, and policies and has written hundreds of papers that have appeared in medical literature as well as opinion pieces in The New York Times and The Washington Post. He is author of the book Rethinking Medications: Truth, Power, and the Drugs You Take (https://amzn.to/4lRlT2E) Many people look back fondly on the good old days. Were they really that good? For some, the past seems so much better than the present, and they love to reminisce fondly about a better and simpler time. Listen as I explain why the past looks so wonderful to many of us and just how good it really was. https://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/08/why-we-long-for-the-good-old-days-why-they-never-really-existed-marianne-stenger/ PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at ⁠⁠https://FactorMeals.com/something50off⁠⁠ TIMELINE: Get 10% off your order of Mitopure! Go to ⁠⁠https://Timeline.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠ INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠ right now! QUINCE: Elevate your shopping with Quince! Go to ⁠https://Quince.com/sysk⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! SHOPIFY: Nobody does selling better than Shopify! Sign up for a $1 per-month trial period at⁠⁠ https://Shopify.com/sysk⁠⁠ and upgrade your selling today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 minutos
  • How the LIKE Button Changed the World & Weird Things Your Body Does

    How the LIKE Button Changed the World & Weird Things Your Body Does
    May 5 2025
    Why is salmon pink? What is the shelf life of a Twinkie? What do almonds and peaches have in common? These are just a few of the fun food facts we cover to kick off this episode. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/food-facts_n_4788746 How many times would you guess the “Like” button is pressed by people every day around the world? You are about to find out and it is a lot! Where did the like button come from? Why is it so important? What does it do for the person who does the liking and for the person (or business) who gets your “like”? Listen to my guest Martin Reeves, who has explored the history of the like button and why it has become such a big part of our lives. Martin is chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, a think tank for developing new business ideas and he is co-author of the book Like: The Button That Changed the World (https://amzn.to/4cTgCUn). What is going on right now in your body is astonishing. Things like tears and your breath and even mucus. It is all fascinating and worth understanding. (And I promise we do not get really gross!) Joining me for this discussion is Cutter Wood, who has thoroughly explored and researched this topic and written a book called Earthly Materials: Journeys Through Our Bodies' Emissions, Excretions, and Disintegrations (https://amzn.to/4lPEJHw) You have likely had the dilemma of owning a favorite pair of shoes that need to be repaired and the question is – do you fix them or just get a new pair? Listen as I reveal what the experts say that determines the answer to that question. https://www.businessinsider.com/should-i-repair-or-replace-my-shoes-2015-4 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! FACTOR: Eat smart with Factor! Get 50% off at ⁠https://FactorMeals.com/something50off⁠ TIMELINE: Get 10% off your order of Mitopure! Go to ⁠https://Timeline.com/SOMETHING⁠ INDEED: Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at ⁠https://Indeed.com/SOMETHING⁠ right now! QUINCE: Elevate your shopping with Quince! Go to https://Quince.com/sysk for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns! SHOPIFY: Nobody does selling better than Shopify! Sign up for a $1 per-month trial period at⁠ https://Shopify.com/sysk⁠ and upgrade your selling today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 minutos