Academia... you don't often hear it described as like the most passive aggressive upper middle class dinner party ever, but it's pretty much true. We sat down for a beer with a fascinating thinker on the world of academia, Associate Professor Inger Mewburn - or as she's more widely known, The Thesis Whisperer! Enjoy!

The Wholesome Show is @rodl and @willozap, proudly supported by @ANU_CPAS

Academia... you don't often hear it described as like the most passive aggressive upper middle class dinner party ever, but it's pretty much true. We sat down for a beer with a fascinating thinker on the world of academia, Associate Professor Inger Mewburn - or as she's more widely known, The Thesis Whisperer! Enjoy! The Wholesome Show is @rodl and @willozap, proudly supported by @ANU_CPAS

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed.

Bizarre science history from academics with beers

A Little Bit Of Science

Academia... you don't often hear it described as …

The most pass-ag upper-middle class dinner party ever - with Thesis Whisperer Inger Mewburn

Conspiracy theorists hate uncertainty, a mushroom hot pot in China can apparently summon tiny imaginary people, a bunch of seeds have been sitting underground since the 1800s waiting for their moment and scientists are trying to quantify why words like boobs are funny. This week is a mixed bag of psychology, botany and childish humour, which is basically the entire scientific enterprise when you strip away the grant applications.

We start with conspiracy thinking and why it is often less about facts and more about feelings. Research suggests people who lean hard into conspiracies can struggle with ambiguity and prefer simple explanations in a complicated world. Certainty feels good, chaos feels awful and conspiracy stories offer villains, motives and a neat ending. Even when the story is wrong.

Then we head to Yunnan, China, where prized mushrooms can cause hallucinations if they are eaten too early, including reports of seeing tiny people. Researchers still have not nailed down the exact chemical responsible, and it may be a mix of biology, preparation and expectation. The takeaway is simple. If the locals tell you to cook the mushrooms properly, listen.

We look at one of the longest running experiments in science, where seeds buried in glass bottles in the 1800s are still being dug up and tested to see what can germinate. We also dip into the science of funny words and why certain sounds and associations make some words reliably hilarious. So, stay curious, cook your hot pot properly, and if you start seeing tiny people, maybe stop eating the mushrooms.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

00:48 Conspiracy Believer Traits

03:13 New Study On Coverups

05:14 Ambiguity And Unfairness

06:42 Skepticism Vs Conspiracy

07:59 Mushroom Hot Pot Warning

10:19 Tiny People Hallucinations

14:01 Hunting The Active Compound

17:35 Seed Bottle Time Capsule

21:24 Custodians And Map

21:56 Bottles Remaining Timeline

23:12 Succession And Secrecy

24:51 2021 Dawn Dig

26:30 Why The Experiment Matters

29:10 Long Term Projects

30:48 Science Of Funny Words

36:31 Modeling Humor Categories

40:21 Phonemes And Incongruity

43:22 Destroying Humour And Wrap

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656622000423

https://futurism.com/health-medicine/conspiracy-theories-psychology 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/science/beal-seeds-experiment.html 

https://magazine.wfu.edu/2022/10/05/unearthing-time-in-a-bottle/ 

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-longest-running-lab-experiment-is-almost-100-years-old?utm_source=news.sciencealert.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=superagers-have-two-key-advantages&_bhlid=8fd449a2c8ea1d56a84867da881e4444546af69c 

https://www.mentalfloss.com/science/15-longest-running-scientific-studies-historyhttps://people.howstuffworks.com/why-poop-and-wiggle-are-funny-words-according-to-science.htm?utm_source=HowStuffWorks+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=themed-words-3-6-25

Conspiracy theorists hate uncertainty, a mushroom hot pot in China can apparently summon tiny imaginary people, a bunch of seeds have been sitting underground since the 1800s waiting for their moment and scientists are trying to quantify why words like boobs are funny. This week is a mixed bag of psychology, botany and childish humour, which is basically the entire scientific enterprise when you strip away the grant applications.
We start with conspiracy thinking and why it is often less about facts and more about feelings. Research suggests people who lean hard into conspiracies can struggle with ambiguity and prefer simple explanations in a complicated world. Certainty feels good, chaos feels awful and conspiracy stories offer villains, motives and a neat ending. Even when the story is wrong.
Then we head to Yunnan, China, where prized mushrooms can cause hallucinations if they are eaten too early, including reports of seeing tiny people. Researchers still have not nailed down the exact chemical responsible, and it may be a mix of biology, preparation and expectation. The takeaway is simple. If the locals tell you to cook the mushrooms properly, listen.
We look at one of the longest running experiments in science, where seeds buried in glass bottles in the 1800s are still being dug up and tested to see what can germinate. We also dip into the science of funny words and why certain sounds and associations make some words reliably hilarious. So, stay curious, cook your hot pot properly, and if you start seeing tiny people, maybe stop eating the mushrooms.
&nbsp;
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
00:48 Conspiracy Believer Traits
03:13 New Study On Coverups
05:14 Ambiguity And Unfairness
06:42 Skepticism Vs Conspiracy
07:59 Mushroom Hot Pot Warning
10:19 Tiny People Hallucinations
14:01 Hunting The Active Compound
17:35 Seed Bottle Time Capsule
21:24 Custodians And Map
21:56 Bottles Remaining Timeline
23:12 Succession And Secrecy
24:51 2021 Dawn Dig
26:30 Why The Experiment Matters
29:10 Long Term Projects
30:48 Science Of Funny Words
36:31 Modeling Humor Categories
40:21 Phonemes And Incongruity
43:22 Destroying Humour And Wrap
&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656622000423">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656622000423</a>
<a href="https://futurism.com/health-medicine/conspiracy-theories-psychology">https://futurism.com/health-medicine/conspiracy-theories-psychology</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/science/beal-seeds-experiment.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/science/beal-seeds-experiment.html</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://magazine.wfu.edu/2022/10/05/unearthing-time-in-a-bottle/">https://magazine.wfu.edu/2022/10/05/unearthing-time-in-a-bottle/</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-longest-running-lab-experiment-is-almost-100-years-old?utm_source=news.sciencealert.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=superagers-have-two-key-advantages&amp;_bhlid=8fd449a2c8ea1d56a84867da881e4444546af69c">https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-longest-running-lab-experiment-is-almost-100-years-old?utm_source=news.sciencealert.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=superagers-have-two-key-advantages&amp;_bhlid=8fd449a2c8ea1d56a84867da881e4444546af69c</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/science/15-longest-running-scientific-studies-history">https://www.mentalfloss.com/science/15-longest-running-scientific-studies-history</a> <a href="https://people.howstuffworks.com/why-poop-and-wiggle-are-funny-words-according-to-science.htm?utm_source=HowStuffWorks+Newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=themed-words-3-6-25">https://people.howstuffworks.com/why-poop-and-wiggle-are-funny-words-according-to-science.htm?utm_source=HowStuffWorks+Newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=themed-words-3-6-25</a>

The Psychology of Conspiracies, Mushroom Hot Pot Trip and the Longest Botany Experiment Ever

Venting might be making you angrier, Neanderthals apparently had a type, and unborn babies are already forming strong opinions about kale. This week we bounce from modern psychology to ancient DNA to fetal facial expressions, with a quick detour into pokie machines and how they might be made a little less addictive.

We start with a meta analysis suggesting venting is not the healthy release we have been sold. Instead of calming you down, it can keep your body fired up and make the anger stick around longer. The less satisfying fix is also the more effective one, doing things that lower arousal like breathing, yoga, and anything that stops you replaying the same rant on loop.

Then we head back to prehistory, where research suggests Neanderthal DNA patterns point to pairings that may have involved Neanderthal men and human women more often than the reverse. The details are complicated, but the headline is simple. Neanderthals are not just history, they are part of us, and the human story has always been messier than we like to admit.

Finally, we look at a study that might explain why some people hate vegetables with the passion of a thousand suns. Fetuses exposed to carrot flavours appeared to react more positively than those exposed to kale, hinting that taste preferences may start before birth. We wrap up with a surprisingly practical idea for pokie machines, adding sounds for losses as well as wins to make the experience less psychologically sneaky.





CHAPTERS:

00:00 Venting Myth 

02:40 Science Debunks Catharsis

04:06 Meta Analysis Breakdown

05:40 Calm Down Not Amp Up

06:59 Jogging And Anger

09:25 Why We Love Anger

10:53 Play Metal And Fun

11:48 Neanderthal DNA Mystery

13:07 Who Mated With Whom

14:17 Neanderthal Dating Bias

15:16 Hybrid Myths and Mechanics

16:28 Picky Eaters Rant

18:54 Fetuses Taste Flavours

20:08 Carrot Smiles vs Kale Grimaces

23:30 Pokies Need Losing Sounds

27:47 Petition and Sign-Off





SOURCES:
 Interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans was strongly sex biased
 Why I risked prison to add a 'Losing Sound' to poker machines
 Flavour Sensing in Utero and Emerging Discriminative Behaviours in the Human Fetus


https://www.sciencealert.com/venting-doesnt-reduce-anger-but-something-else-does-review-finds

Venting might be making you angrier, Neanderthals apparently had a type, and unborn babies are already forming strong opinions about kale. This week we bounce from modern psychology to ancient DNA to fetal facial expressions, with a quick detour into pokie machines and how they might be made a little less addictive.
We start with a meta analysis suggesting venting is not the healthy release we have been sold. Instead of calming you down, it can keep your body fired up and make the anger stick around longer. The less satisfying fix is also the more effective one, doing things that lower arousal like breathing, yoga, and anything that stops you replaying the same rant on loop.
Then we head back to prehistory, where research suggests Neanderthal DNA patterns point to pairings that may have involved Neanderthal men and human women more often than the reverse. The details are complicated, but the headline is simple. Neanderthals are not just history, they are part of us, and the human story has always been messier than we like to admit.
Finally, we look at a study that might explain why some people hate vegetables with the passion of a thousand suns. Fetuses exposed to carrot flavours appeared to react more positively than those exposed to kale, hinting that taste preferences may start before birth. We wrap up with a surprisingly practical idea for pokie machines, adding sounds for losses as well as wins to make the experience less psychologically sneaky.
 
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Venting Myth&nbsp;
02:40 Science Debunks Catharsis
04:06 Meta Analysis Breakdown
05:40 Calm Down Not Amp Up
06:59 Jogging And Anger
09:25 Why We Love Anger
10:53 Play Metal And Fun
11:48 Neanderthal DNA Mystery
13:07 Who Mated With Whom
14:17 Neanderthal Dating Bias
15:16 Hybrid Myths and Mechanics
16:28 Picky Eaters Rant
18:54 Fetuses Taste Flavours
20:08 Carrot Smiles vs Kale Grimaces
23:30 Pokies Need Losing Sounds
27:47 Petition and Sign-Off
 
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea6774?ref=404media.co"> Interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans was strongly sex biased</a></li>
<li><a href="https://johnmenadue.com/post/2026/03/why-i-risked-prison-to-add-a-losing-sound-to-poker-machines/?utm_source=Pearls+&amp;+Irritations&amp;utm_campaign=4356d93291-Daily&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_0c6b037ecb-4356d93291-583194139"> Why I risked prison to add a 'Losing Sound' to poker machines</a></li>
<li><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09567976221105460"> Flavour Sensing in Utero and Emerging Discriminative Behaviours in the Human Fetus</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/venting-doesnt-reduce-anger-but-something-else-does-review-finds">https://www.sciencealert.com/venting-doesnt-reduce-anger-but-something-else-does-review-finds</a><a href="https://www.history.com/articles/da-vinci-robotic-lion"></a>
</li>
</ul>

Why Venting Makes You Angrier, Neanderthals Preferred Human Women, and Fetuses Hate Kale"

This week, AI is casually reaching for the nuclear button, a Norwegian scientist has accidentally recreated something that looks a lot like Havana Syndrome, and a brain lesion has turned a marathon runner into an intense foodie. It is a neat little trio of stories that sits right on the edge of science fiction, except the uncomfortable part is that it is all real.

We start with simulated war games where major AI models were put in charge of military decision making. The result is grimly simple. In these scenarios, the systems chose to deploy tactical nuclear weapons most of the time, showing none of the cultural taboo or restraints humans have built around nuclear escalation.

Then we head to Norway, where a scientist tested a pulse energy device on himself to see if it could plausibly cause Havana Syndrome-style symptoms. It did. Which is both a scientific result and a personal mistake, and it raises the obvious question of what happens when this kind of technology moves from theory to wider interest.

Finally, we look at Gorman Syndrome, a neurological twist where a brain lesion appears to flip someone from long distance running to an intense obsession with fine food. It is funny, strange, and a sharp reminder that personality can be less fixed than we like to believe. 

 

CHAPTERS:

 

00:00 Fire Alarm AI Fail

00:46 LLMs in War Games

06:34 Nukes and No Surrender

09:36 Pentagon Wants Anthropic

10:33 Testing AI Weirdness

12:50 Dead Cow Prompt Update

15:07 Car Wash Question Trap

18:10 Lost in the Middle Fix

22:01 Maps and Recursive Islands

23:32 Chasing Longest Line of Sight

26:53 All the Views Map

27:49 What Limits Sightlines

29:23 Havana Syndrome Emerges

31:58 Theories and Investigations

35:14 Norwegian Microwave Experiment

42:20 Official Stance and Confusion

44:04 Extreme Foodie Case Study

47:39 Gourmand Syndrome Explained

51:21 Brain Lesions and Cravings





SOURCES:
AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations
AI Arms and Influence: Frontier Models Exhibit Sophisticated Reasoning in Simulated Nuclear Crises
The Longest Line Of Sight
https://pub.towardsai.net/the-car-wash-question-that-breaks-every-ai-and-the-2-word-fix-nobody-talks-about-21db5c78fc29
https://www.vice.com/en/article/brain-damaged-gourmand-syndrome-foodies-cant-register-your-disgust/
https://www.iflscience.com/gourmand-syndrome-when-brain-injuries-spark-an-obsessive-craving-for-fine-food-and-gastronomy-82546
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/gourmand-syndrome-26067295/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/14/havana-syndrome-cia-norway-experiment/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pentagon-reportedly-testing-radio-wave-device-linked-to-havana-syndrome/
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi

This week, AI is casually reaching for the nuclear button, a Norwegian scientist has accidentally recreated something that looks a lot like Havana Syndrome, and a brain lesion has turned a marathon runner into an intense foodie. It is a neat little trio of stories that sits right on the edge of science fiction, except the uncomfortable part is that it is all real.
We start with simulated war games where major AI models were put in charge of military decision making. The result is grimly simple. In these scenarios, the systems chose to deploy tactical nuclear weapons most of the time, showing none of the cultural taboo or restraints humans have built around nuclear escalation.
Then we head to Norway, where a scientist tested a pulse energy device on himself to see if it could plausibly cause Havana Syndrome-style symptoms. It did. Which is both a scientific result and a personal mistake, and it raises the obvious question of what happens when this kind of technology moves from theory to wider interest.
Finally, we look at Gorman Syndrome, a neurological twist where a brain lesion appears to flip someone from long distance running to an intense obsession with fine food. It is funny, strange, and a sharp reminder that personality can be less fixed than we like to believe.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
CHAPTERS:
&nbsp;
00:00 Fire Alarm AI Fail
00:46 LLMs in War Games
06:34 Nukes and No Surrender
09:36 Pentagon Wants Anthropic
10:33 Testing AI Weirdness
12:50 Dead Cow Prompt Update
15:07 Car Wash Question Trap
18:10 Lost in the Middle Fix
22:01 Maps and Recursive Islands
23:32 Chasing Longest Line of Sight
26:53 All the Views Map
27:49 What Limits Sightlines
29:23 Havana Syndrome Emerges
31:58 Theories and Investigations
35:14 Norwegian Microwave Experiment
42:20 Official Stance and Confusion
44:04 Extreme Foodie Case Study
47:39 Gourmand Syndrome Explained
51:21 Brain Lesions and Cravings
 
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2516885-ais-cant-stop-recommending-nuclear-strikes-in-war-game-simulations/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">AIs can&rsquo;t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations</a></li>
<li><a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.14740v1?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">AI Arms and Influence: Frontier Models Exhibit Sophisticated Reasoning in Simulated Nuclear Crises</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tombh.co.uk/longest-line-of-sight?_bhlid=76083cad13ceef0e3e70baaa9134bceb7398bbcd">The Longest Line Of Sight</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pub.towardsai.net/the-car-wash-question-that-breaks-every-ai-and-the-2-word-fix-nobody-talks-about-21db5c78fc29">https://pub.towardsai.net/the-car-wash-question-that-breaks-every-ai-and-the-2-word-fix-nobody-talks-about-21db5c78fc29</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/brain-damaged-gourmand-syndrome-foodies-cant-register-your-disgust/">https://www.vice.com/en/article/brain-damaged-gourmand-syndrome-foodies-cant-register-your-disgust/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.iflscience.com/gourmand-syndrome-when-brain-injuries-spark-an-obsessive-craving-for-fine-food-and-gastronomy-82546">https://www.iflscience.com/gourmand-syndrome-when-brain-injuries-spark-an-obsessive-craving-for-fine-food-and-gastronomy-82546</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/gourmand-syndrome-26067295/">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/gourmand-syndrome-26067295/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/14/havana-syndrome-cia-norway-experiment/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/14/havana-syndrome-cia-norway-experiment/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pentagon-reportedly-testing-radio-wave-device-linked-to-havana-syndrome/">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pentagon-reportedly-testing-radio-wave-device-linked-to-havana-syndrome/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi">https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi</a></li>
</ul>

The most pass-ag upper-middle class dinner party ever - with Thesis Whisperer Inger Mewburn

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