The Surprising Science of Enjoying Food & Why We Need to Know Why

We all have vivid memories of major events from our past — moments we can picture so clearly that we’re certain we remember exactly what happened. They’re known as “flashbulb memories.” But here’s the strange thing: even when those memories feel crystal clear, they may not be very accurate and there is an interesting reason why. https://dictionary.apa.org/flashbulb-memory Why are some foods simply more fun to eat than others? Why does restaurant food often seem to taste better than what we make at home? And is there actually a right way to build the perfect sandwich? Dan Pashman has spent a lot of time thinking about questions like these. He is host of the culinary podcast The Sporkful (https://www.sporkful.com/), which TIME named one of the 100 Best Podcasts of All Time. He also invented his own pasta shape, cascatelli — and there’s a great story behind that. Listen as Dan explores the surprisingly fascinating details that can turn eating from something we have to do into something we really enjoy. He is also author of Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People (https://link.amazon/B0geSlwHB). Humans have a powerful need to understand why. We’re constantly asking for explanations and giving them to other people — but some explanations click immediately while others leave us more confused than when we started. So what actually makes an explanation satisfying? Why are some people naturally better at explaining things? Tania Lombrozo is a professor of psychology at Princeton University and author of Why We Ask Why: The Science of Explanation and the Human Drive to Understand (https://link.amazon/B0fYNqZiB). She reveals the fascinating science behind our need to understand — and how we can all become better explainers. You probably like to think you can spot something that sounds suspicious or simply isn’t true. But there’s an amazingly simple technique that can make even skeptical people more likely to believe a false claim — and it’s used all the time. Listen and see if you recognize it when I tell you what it is. https://www.sciencefocus.com/advertisement-feature/psychological-tricks-hackers-everyday Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices