BUZZING· 71%49m·2026-10-11·ScienceSomething Weird Is Going On With Placebos
For the past few decades, something strange has been happening in clinical trials. Painkillers aren't getting worse, but the placebos they're tested against appear to be getting better. In one landmark study, the advantage of pain medication over placebo shrank from 27.3% in 1996 to just 8.9% in 2013. Even stranger?…
Active swarm energy. Strong reception, real community buzz.
- Platform
- 57%
- Community
- 90%
- Value
- no read yet
Buzzmeter says it's buzzing across platforms — the Hive Vote says whether the people who actually listened liked it.
Rate this episode
Add your vote to the Hive — listeners rate every episode after they finish.
- No reviews yet — be the first.
What people are saying
“The fact Michael never told us his favourite study, and only his 2nd favourite, will always haunt me”
“It is the way we are taught, the self is a developing invention!”
“The bystander effect is a reverse tinkerbell. If everybody thinks "Oh, someone else is going to help them" then nobody actually goes and helps.”
“Maybe it’s a stretch, but phantom limb pain is an example of a reverse tinker bell. It’s been shown that by tricking one’s brain into believing the effected phantom limb is restored with a mirror showing the other limb, they can get the pha…”
Similar episodes from other shows
More like The Rest Is Science →
One great episode in your inbox, daily — free.
One email a day, unsubscribe anytime. No spam, ever.