Science Vs

Social media. Many of us don’t feel very good when we’re on it, and yet we sometimes spend hours a day scrolling, eyeballs glued to our screens. Some experts say that social media is causing a mental health crisis, and governments are even talking about banning social media for kids. So what’s going on — can social media really shorten our attention span, hurt our body image or make us feel depressed? To find out, we talk to psychologists Professor Gloria Mark, Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley, Professor Silje Steinsbekk, and Dr. Rachel Hogg.  Resources to help with disordered eating: United States: National Eating Disorders: 800-931-2237 https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-help/     International resources and general mental health resources can be found here: https://resources.byspotify.com/  Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsSocialMedia  Gloria Mark’s book, Attention Span: https://gloriamark.com/, and Substack: https://gloriamark.substack.com/  Vote for the New Zealand Bird of the Year here: birdoftheyear.org.nz — we are supporting the tawaki piki toka! In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Our love/hate relationship with social media (06:36) Is social media ruining our attention spans? (14:04) Why is it so hard to stop looking at social media? (18:39) Is social media making us feel depressed? (25:56) Can social media affect your body image? (34:02) Tips for getting off social media. This episode was produced by Meryl Horn, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, Bumi Hidaka and So Wylie. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to, including Professor Hunt Allcott, Dr. Jacqueline Nesi, Professor Patricia Conrad, Dr. Robert Kraut, Dr. Andrew Westbrook, and Dr. Niklas Ihssen. A big thanks to everyone who talked to us about social media in Washington Square Park! And thanks to Lori Segal, Ally Settelmayer and Whitney Potter. And extra thanks to Christopher Suter, Beverly, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We will be BACK with brand-new episodes in just one week! Join us for pun-packed science romps on microplastics, social media, climate tipping points, narcissism, fiber, lucid dreaming — and a ton more. Fact you Sept. 12! Video production by Bobby Lord. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord and Sam Bair. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We asked you all: Do you have questions for Wendy and the Science Vs team? And oh boy, did you have questions. Hundreds of questions from all across the globe. Today on the show, senior producer Rose Rimler gets the goss on Wendy's personal life, finds out what happened when Wendy got hypnotized, and spills the tea on Science Vs.  Watch this episode as a video on Spotify. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/sciencevsawa (00:00) Ask Wendy Anything! (02:20) Wendy’s bad date (04:05) Wendy gets hypnotized (10:45) Wendy and Rose’s Roman Empires (12:53) Behind the scenes at Science Vs (21:10)  How doing Science Vs has changed Wendy’s behavior (23:42) Wendy’s hair care routine (25:53) Wendy gets trolled by her sister This episode was produced by Blythe Terrell and Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. Edited, mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord, So Wylie and Peter Leonard. Thanks to Evan Munro-Smith at Stupid Old Studios; Kevin Cureghian, Mark Amber, Nick Johnson, T Cruz and Paige Ransbury. Special thanks to The Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since the beginning of women’s sports, there has been a struggle over who qualifies for the women’s category. So this week, we're sharing an episode of a new podcast we love, called Tested. Tested follows the unfolding story of elite female runners who have been told they can no longer race as women because of their biology. As they work toward the Olympics, they face hard choices: take drugs to lower their natural testosterone levels, give up their sport entirely, or fight. This episode asks: Would you alter your body for the chance to compete for a gold medal? You’ll meet runner Christine Mboma and hear about the difficult choice she faces.  Find more episodes of Tested at https://link.chtbl.com/XReiimtO Tested is from CBC, NPR’s Embedded, and Bucket of Eels. The show is written, reported, and hosted by Rose Eveleth. Editing by Alison MacAdam and Veronica Simmonds. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman, Andrew Mambo, and Rhaina Cohen. Additional reporting, producing, and editing by Lisa Pollak. Sound design by Mitra Kaboli. Our production manager is Michael Kamel. Anna Ashitey is our digital producer. This series was mixed by Robert Rodriguez. Fact checking by Dania Suleman. Our intersex script consultant is Hans Lindahl. Archival research by Hillary Dann. Legal support from Beverly Davis. Mixed for Science Vs by Bobby Lord. Special thanks to Yeezir for letting us use his song Silent Hero, and Keith Houston, Amir Nakhjavani, and Damon Papadopoulos. French translation by Vanessa Nicolai. Special thanks also to CBC Licensing. Additional audio from World Athletics and Warner Brothers. At CBC, Chris Oke and Cesil Fernandes are Executive Producers, Tanya Springer is the Senior Manager, and Arif Noorani is the Director of CBC Podcasts. At NPR, Katie Simon is Supervising Editor for Embedded. Irene Noguchi is Executive Producer. NPR’s senior vice president for podcasting is Collin Campbell. We got legal support from Micah Ratner. And thanks to NPR’s Managing Editor for Standards and Practices, Tony Cavin. This series was created with support from a New America fellowship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

[REBROADCAST] Celebs and wellness blogs treat water like a magic elixir that will make us the most attractive and healthiest version of ourselves. But do these claims hold water? And how much do we really need to be drinking to stay healthy? We speak to Professor Hollie Raynor, Professor Stavros Kavouras and Dr. Tamara Hew-Butler to find out. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/sciencevshydrationrerun  We’re doing an “Ask Wendy Anything” episode! To ask Wendy a question, get in touch on Instagram: Science_Vs; Tiktok: @wendyzukerman. If you want to send us a voicemail you can email us on [email protected]. If you're in the US, you can call us at 774-481-1238. This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Nick DelRose, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn, Courtney Gilbert, Rose Rimler and Disha Bhagat. Editing by Blythe Terrell with help from Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord, So Wylie and Peter Leonard. Thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Andrew Brown, Dr. Jason Lee Kai, Dr. Jodi Stookey, Dr. Vincent Ho, Dr. Tristan Struja, Dr. Stephen Goodall, Dr. Ekua Annobil, Professor Barbara Rolls and Dr. Krista Casazza. Special thanks to Rasha Aridi, Eric Mennel, The Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices