Curiosity Daily Podcast: Measuring the Deadliness of Viruses (Like Coronavirus), Why We Do the Potty Dance, and Depression’s Cousin “Acedia”
Learn about how scientists measure the contagiousness and deadliness of diseases like coronavirus; the history of acedia, an emotion that is similar to (but distinct from) depression; and why it helps to do a “potty dance” when you really have to go to the bathroom.
February 07, 2020
Episode Show Notes:
Measuring the Deadliness of Viruses (Like Coronavirus) by Ashley Hamer
- McCandless, D. (2018, October). The MicrobeScope – Infectious Diseases in Context — Information is Beautiful. https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-microbescope-infectious-diseases-in-context/
- Vanessa Bates Ramirez. (2014, October 28). What Is R0?: Gauging Contagious Infections. Healthline; Healthline Media. https://www.healthline.com/health/r-nought-reproduction-number
- Vogel, Gretchen (2014, September 8). How deadly is Ebola? Statistical challenges may be inflating survival rate. Science | AAAS. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/09/how-deadly-ebola-statistical-challenges-may-be-inflating-survival-rate
- How Bad Will the Coronavirus Outbreak Get? Here Are 6 Key Factors. (2020, January 31). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/asia/china-coronavirus-contain.html
Depression’s Cousin “Acedia” by Mae Rice
- You Might Not Actually Be Struggling With Depression | HeartSupport https://blog.heartsupport.com/you-might-not-actually-be-struggling-with-depression-8ce57ab41f66
- Before Sloth Meant Laziness, It Was the Spiritual Sin of Acedia | Atlas Obscura https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/desert-fathers-sins-acedia-sloth
- Do You Have Any of These 3 Signs of Acedia? | National Catholic Register http://www.ncregister.com/blog/dlittle/do-you-have-any-of-these-3-signs-of-acedia
- Kathleen Norris battles ‘the demon of acedia’ | Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-kathleen-norris21-2008sep21-story.html
- Depression And Acedia: The Mood And The Spirit | PsyWeb http://www.psyweb.com/articles/depression/depression-and-acedia-the-mood-and-the-spirit/
- A Need For Spiritual Connection | Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spiritual-wisdom-secular-times/201608/need-spiritual-connection
Why We Do the Potty Dance by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Stewart C.)
- Ashish. (2015, December 29). Why Do We “Dance” When We Really Need to Urinate? » Science ABC. https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/why-do-we-dance-when-we-really-need-to-urinate.html
- Displacement activity | animal behaviour | Britannica. (2020). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/displacement-activity
- Farricelli, A. (2013, May 3). Understanding Dog Displacement Behaviors. PetHelpful; PetHelpful. https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Understanding-Dog-Dispacement-Behavior
- UConn Today. (2016, November 30). Mind Over Bladder: The Brain-Organ Connection. UConn Today. https://today.uconn.edu/2016/11/mind-bladder-research-explores-brain-organ-connection
- Angle, S. (2016, April 21). Why Do You Have to Pee the Closer You Get to a Bathroom? Shape. https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/why-do-you-have-pee-closer-you-get-bathroom
Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing
Next Up
Why We Know Nothing about Dark Matter and Dark Energy
Welcome to the era of precision cosmology…where we’ve managed to very precisely measure everything we don't know about the universe.
Watch Ken Jeong & Rei Ami Make a Splash on 'K-Pop Shark Heroes'
They'll use the power of K-Pop to change the way we view sharks forever!
Shark Week 2026 Kicks Off July 26!
Take a bite out of our 38th annual Shark Week event, starting July 26, 2026! Here's everything we have coming up, only on Discovery.
A Guide to Defending the Earth
Let’s say one day astronomers announce that our worst nightmare has come true: a large object is headed towards the Earth with a significant chance of impact. What do we do?
An Astronomical Review of “Don’t Look Up”
In our annual New Year’s family tradition of struggling to stay awake until midnight, we decided to watch “Don’t Look Up,” the Adam McKay satire starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and other fabulously good-looking people.
What You Can't Miss on Discovery This Week
In need of plans? We've got you covered! Here's what you can watch on Discovery all week!
Shipwrecked & Surrounded by Sharks
This week, we do things a little differently, as Shark Week’s Luke Tipple invites Adventure Aaron into the podcast studio to talk about his incredible near-death experience on the open water. Adventure Aaron gets into what it takes to circumnavigate the world in an ocean rowboat, what it’s like to stare eye-to-eye with an oceanic white tip that probably wants you for lunch, and everything else that happened to him when his boat was capsized, and he was lost by himself at sea.
Shark Week: The Podcast - What is the Status of Sharks in our Oceans?
In this season’s final episode, Luke welcomes Emmy-winning filmmaker and conservationist Shawn Heinrichs to discuss the state of sharks in the ocean. They go over how both legal and illegal fishing operations are decimating the ocean’s wildlife, what it’s like to have a hit put out on you for exposing criminal enterprises to the world, and whether or not NOAA’s data on “sustainable” fishing can really be trusted.
Shark Week: The Podcast - How To Have A Career in Shark Science
Shark Week’s Luke Tipple tackles the question “How can I work with sharks?” alongside two experts in the field – and their answers are not always the obvious ones. Luke is joined first by Kelly Link, Associate Curator of the Georgia Aquarium who talks about what it’s like to be an aquarist, how it differs from field work, and how to get yourself noticed. The second guest is Dr. Neil Hammerschlag who goes into detail on what it takes to become a prominent scientist, and what other paths you can take if a PhD isn’t for you. And at the end, researcher Sierra stops by to tell us about the world’s smallest shark.