Short Stuff: Straitjackets

Trauma can stem from abuse to a severe car accident to wartime combat—and cause a lifetime of flashbacks, nightmares, isolation, insomnia, hypervigilance, and rage. In The Body Keeps the Score, the author explores how diagnosing and treating trauma has evolved as new technologies, research, and fields of science emerged.

Trauma’s impact is not only mental, emotional, and neurological, but also physiological: Trauma rewires the brain to put people in a constant state of stress or numbness, leading to a host of physical problems.

In this summary, you’ll learn:

• Why trauma survivors feel like their trauma is never-ending
• How flashbacks make parts of the brain shut down and others to go into overdrive
• Why some trauma survivors can’t recognize themselves in the mirror
• How activities like choral singing, yoga, and theater can be therapeutic

The Chinese government is calling Islam a mental illness, for which it’s “treating” 1 million imprisoned Muslims in internment camps.

Why do we get sick? Why hasn’t natural selection, over millions of years, prevented us from getting cancer, heart disease, and depression?

The science of evolutionary medicine says that our bodies have evolved over millions of years as a set of compromises, largely in pursuit of reproductive fitness. Put concisely, whatever gets you to survive and have kids is going to persist in the gene pool, even if it causes you lots of disease and pain in adult life. Learn more about the evolutionary roots of obesity, infectious disease, aging, and depression.

The 21st century will bring changes and challenges unlike any humans have encountered before. Globalism and technological innovations are changing the structures of societies worldwide—and the changes are happening quickly. If people don’t face these challenges and help shape the future, the world could have a class of obsolete workers whose jobs have been automated and people could lose their ability to make their own decisions. In 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari highlights the biggest challenges in the modern world, and he offers advice on making sense of and navigating such transitional times.

In this summary, you'll learn how algorithms like Netflix movie recommendations are teaching you to distrust your own judgment, why religion can’t solve 21st-century challenges, and how automation will threaten the jobs of humans in every industry.

Science and reason create technological marvels, but they’re less successful at shaping human behavior. Since humans are irrational creatures, irrationality can be a useful tool for pushing various agendas big and small. In Alchemy, Rory Sutherland suggests that to solve economic and political problems, we should leverage people’s illogical—and even magical—ways of thinking. If business and political leaders can better understand the human psyche, they can use it to tackle the issues of the modern world.

As vice chairman of the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather, Sutherland merged commercial advertising with behavioral science to “hack” the human mind. In this guide, we’ll examine what Sutherland believes are the faulty assumptions of standard economics, the peculiar quirks of human perception, and why meaning is more important than fact. We’ll delve into the underlying research on behavioral psychology and discuss the implications of using irrationality to influence the public at large.

On the Shawn Ryan Show, join former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan as he sits down with Victor Marx, known as the world's fastest gun disarmer, to uncover the gripping story behind his remarkable skill and his dedication to healing. In a candid conversation, they delve into Marx's tumultuous past marked by severe childhood abuse and the incredible journey that led him to become a symbol of protection and an advocate for at-risk children through his organization, All Things Possible Ministries.

Discover how Victor Marx's resilience and mastery of composure allowed him to rise above his early life trauma, transforming pain into purpose. His tale weaves through the dark alleys of substance abuse and mental health struggles, leading to a path of recovery grounded in therapeutic intervention, nutrition, and unwavering faith. This episode is not merely a chronicle of personal redemption but a powerful testimony to the strength of forgiveness and the profound impact of extending grace, even to those who have caused deep-seated scars.

Dive into the heart of the juvenile justice system with The Daily's meticulous examination of a seemingly minor incident that escalates into a county-wide scandal in Rutherford County. Journalists Sabrina Tavernise, Meribah Knight, and their team eloquently unravel how a children's basketball game leads to arrests and a far-reaching investigation into the legal system's inadequacies. The podcast, a collaborative effort between Serial Productions, The New York Times, ProPublica, and Nashville Public Radio, probes at the questionable use of a law enforcing collective responsibility—a statute that is markedly absent from the legal books.

"The Kids of Rutherford County" not only scrutinizes law enforcement procedures and systemic biases but also humanizes the narrative by exploring the emotional turmoil of those caught in the fray. Through the perspectives of Principal Tammy Garrett, Officer Chris Williams, and the affected children, including the heart-wrenching ordeal of young Imariye, the podcast challenges listeners to confront the unsettling realities of juvenile detention and discrimination. With incisive reporting that sparks decisive community and media reactions, The Daily's episode stands as a catalyst for discussion and demands for reform in juvenile justice practices.

In this chilling episode of "Murder, Mystery & Makeup," Bailey Sarian unravels the gruesome story of Cameron Hooker, a psychopath with a macabre fascination for torture. In a narrative interlaced with dark humor and empathetic storytelling, Sarian delves deep into Hooker's oppressive and sadistic hold over his victim Colleen, highlighting his blood-chilling cruelty involving creative torture devices and manipulation stunts.

The story evolves as Sarian transitions from the captive's ordeal to the aftermath, including the courtroom drama and the victims' rehabilitation. Amidst this, the mysterious murder case of Marliz Spannake adds to the horrifying dimension of Hooker's terror. Through the episode, Sarian succeeds in drawing the listeners' abhorrence for Cameron's heinous acts while leaving them in awe of the indomitable spirit of victims like Colleen and Janice, who managed to rebuild their lives post-trauma.

Join Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart as they venture into the shadowy psyche of Edmund Kemper, the notorious "Coed Killer," in "Morbid: A True Crime Podcast." With chilling precision, the co-hosts recount his brutal crimes and early displays of malcontent, painting a portrait of a disturbed individual shaped by an abusive childhood and societal missteps. By starting the episode with Kemper's own unnerving words, they construct an atmosphere that is both captivating and cautionary, ensuring listeners are acutely aware of the explicit and haunting journey ahead.

As they weave through Kemper's life—from his contemptuous relationship with his overbearing mother to his cunning double life that fooled even law enforcement—Ash and Alaina offer profound insights into the criminal mind. They dissect institutional failures and naivete that allowed Kemper to exploit the system, examine his impact on forensic psychology, and end with reflections on the precarious balance between normalcy and the hidden darkness within. This gripping episode not only lays bare the extremes of human behavior but sets the stage for future explorations of mystery, beginning with a teaser of the perplexing Dyatlov Pass incident.