We may be living in strange times, but we can’t let Halloween pass without a spooky tale. We are bringing you the first story in our eerie new series, the Dreadnought Tales, named for a quarantine ship that housed the sick for four years off the coast of England in the early 19th century — but also as a reminder to us all not to dwell too much in f…

Tune in for a quick announcement about where we’ve been and why we’ll be on hiatus for a while longer. (HINT: Check out this episode's image!)---Welcome to Psychologia, a scientific exploration of the strange and pathological. www.psychologiapodcast.comโดย Amaia Perta

It’s the beginning of a new year, and we’ve been reflecting on the work we’ve put together and how the scripts and music weave themselves together. What we’ve never explored, however, is how the soundscapes relate to one another. This weird mixtape is an amalgamation of the sonic worlds of several episodes from the last three seasons. So find yours…

Innocent people are locked up and convicted of crimes more often than you may think. One of the most mysterious reasons this happens is that people confess to things they didn’t do. This may seem incomprehensible, but the fact is that law enforcement has gotten better and better at using psychological methods combined with false evidence to elicit …

On the morning of February 21st, 1933, a brand-new structure opened on the grounds of the Ontario Hospital in Penetanguishene. It was known as the “Criminal Insane Building,” although its official name would be Oak Ridge. It was designed as a maximum-security forensic mental healthcare unit for criminally insane men – many of whom were psychopaths …

There are few topics that bring on as much emotional outrage and heated argument as the death penalty. It’s the kind of debate that divides friends, families and nations, and it falls on a short list of subjects about which nearly everyone has a strong, inflexible opinion. This episode will bring you some facts, some history and some research about…

For this year’s annual Halloween story time, we bring you another horror classic with a psychological undercurrent, a touch of crime, and a name so famous that it is nearly synonymous with the horror genre. Psychologia presents “The Tell-Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allan Poe.---Welcome to Psychologia, a scientific exploration of the strange and pathologi…

February 2nd, 1933 was a frosty evening in Le Mans, France. When Monsieur René Lancelin got to his front door, he found it locked and dark. Neither his wife nor his daughter appeared to be home, but a dim light flickered in the maids’ attic room. He ran for the police, and the violent mystery of the events inside the house began to unfold, leading …

How is it possible that huge groups of people can all fall ill or be incapacitated by a physical sickness no doctor can diagnose? How can hundreds of citizens across a city be moved to perform some odd repeated behavior for days or even weeks on end with no biological cause? Today’s episode will explore some famous instances of mass hysteria, and t…

Before the second-wave feminist movement of the 1960s, psychological study was largely the study of (mostly white) men, by (mostly white) men. To say, however, that men have always been the only ones in the lab is a huge mistake. This episode is a tiny overview of four groundbreaking American psychologists – who just happen to have been women.---We…

Capgras Syndrome is a psychiatric disorder in which a person believes that people around them have been replaced with doubles. Sufferers of this condition truly think that the people they know and love are imposters. This episode breaks down this mysterious delusion to delve into its history, etiology, and whether or not it can be treated.---Welcom…

A remastered version of our second-ever episode:Many people are familiar with the term "Satanic Panic," but most have no idea about the bizarre role that psychology played in the widespread mayhem that erupted in the 1980s and 90s.(The second part of our two-part false memory suite)---Welcome to Psychologia, a scientific exploration of the strange …

A remastered version of our first-ever episode:We rely on our memories to orient ourselves in time and space. But what if your memories are unreliable? Or worse, what if it is possible for someone else to implant false memories in your mind?(The first part of our two-part false memory suite)---Welcome to Psychologia, a scientific exploration of the…

The Old Tolbooth stood for over 400 years just off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and housed all manner of torture, torment, and even public execution. One of these deaths was that of a man whose bizarre and duplicitous life would become the inspiration for one of fiction’s most well-known horror stories, and whose hanging was the most well-attended i…

At first, there were 18 dead. All members of the Hmong tribe, all from a mountainous province of Laos. They fled their homeland at the end of the Vietnam War and made their way to the United States as refugees. They shared a difficult life – and they shared a terrifying death. Each of them was found in their beds, killed in their sleep by a mysteri…

In honor of Halloween, this episode is a bit different. We’re reading a wonderful, chilling short story, a perfect combination of some of this podcast’s favorite subjects: psychology, feminism, and horror. Psychologia presents “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.---Welcome to Psychologia, a scientific exploration of the strange and …

Throughout history, there have been many mental illnesses that have spread widely only to disappear years later because they are problematic or discriminatory, laughable or preposterous, or simply no longer relevant. This episode explores six disorders that were once considered real threats to people’s sanity, but have now vanished from modern psyc…

Psychopaths fascinate us. They commit extreme violence, but can mask it with a smile. They preying on the weakest among us, and take advantage of every situation to get what they want. They don’t seem to belong in society, and yet they often excel. But what is a psychopath? How do you recognize one and how do you diagnose one? Have you ever been in…

Once upon a time, women’s bodies were considered so mysterious and inexplicable that their wombs were believed to move around their bodies. The medical name for this condition was “hysteria,” and the cure for it was...a sex toy. Enter the strange and fantastical history of the vibrator.---Welcome to Psychologia, a scientific exploration of the stra…

There are many terrifying stories about the misery endured by patients in 19th century asylums, and while they seem too horrific to be true, the real history of psychiatric hospitals may be even worse than you imagine – and in some places, the nightmare is still happening today.---Welcome to Psychologia, a scientific exploration of the strange and …

Persuasion and cults seem to go hand-in-hand. Campaigns to convert people to religious and political movements have always used control techniques, but whether or not cult leaders use coercive persuasion is hotly debated. This episode examines the use of persuasion in cult indoctrination - or step one in building a cult. (The second episode in a tw…

Why are some people better at convincing others to see the world their way? As far as psychology is concerned, it has a lot to do with the ability that some people or groups have to successfully convince - or persuade - others of their perspective. But what is persuasion and how does it work? How can we use persuasion to get what we want, and is it…

Is it possible to catch the criminal by studying the crime? How much can we rely on science to stop murder? Join us as we trace the history of criminal profiling from Jack the Ripper to the Olympic Bomber and explore the potential benefits - and pitfalls - of using psychology to track killers.Welcome to Psychologia, the podcast where we explore the…

In honor of the Halloween season, we are bringing you a mini-episode: a case study of a real-life horror story, caught inextricably in the thin net that separates the old world of religion and faith from today’s understanding of science and psychology. So dim the lights, light a candle, and settle in for the sad and harrowing tale of the exorcism o…

Who is sane and who is not? What exactly is an insanity plea? Can you be too insane to be guilty of a crime? Join us as we explore three major cases behind America’s hotly-debated insanity defense. Welcome to Psychologia, the podcast where we explore the science behind why we do what we do. www.psychologiapodcast.com…