Something You Should Know

When you buy fruits and vegetables, how much pesticide residue is actually on them? Is it something you should worry about—or not? And does buying organic really make a meaningful difference? Recent findings offer some answers that may surprise you. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/produce-without-pesticides-a5260230325/

We tend to believe that hard work and good decisions determine how life turns out. But luck and random chance play a much bigger role than most people realize. From career paths to relationships to financial success, unexpected events often shape outcomes in powerful ways. Mark Robert Rank, professor at Washington University in St. Louis and author of The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us (https://amzn.to/3W1mDb4), explains how luck operates in everyday life—and how understanding it can help you better navigate uncertainty and make smarter choices.

Every living thing ages—but not at the same rate. Some organisms live for just days, while others survive for centuries. What determines how quickly we age? And is it possible to slow the process in humans? Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist and author of Why We Die (https://amzn.to/49KII0z), explains what science has uncovered about aging, why it happens, and what current research suggests about extending healthy lifespan.

You’ve heard the advice to stop and smell the roses—but there may be something else just as powerful you’re overlooking. Paying attention to certain everyday sounds could have a surprisingly positive effect on how you feel. https://www.treehugger.com/why-do-birds-sing-5179422

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Cravings can feel almost impossible to resist—whether it’s something sweet, salty, or just tempting in the moment. Yet, there is a simple and somehow satisfying way to stop yourself or at least eat less of what you are craving than you might otherwise. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habituation

Your body works in amazing ways. For instance your immune system acquires intelligence over time, how you breathe can have a big impact on preventing disease, and the benefits of human touch are extraordinary. Dr. Giulia Enders, physician, star of the Netflix series Hack Your Health, and author of Organ Speak: What It Really Means to Listen to Our Bodies (https://amzn.to/4tyaxn9), explains how these and other hidden processes work—and how understanding them can help you live healthier and feel better.

Arguments have a way of escalating quickly. Once emotions take over, people often double down, defend themselves, and say things that make the situation worse. But there’s a very different approach that can calm someone down much faster. Doug Noll, mediator, adjunct professor at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and author of De-Escalate: How to Calm an Angry Person in 90 Seconds or Less (https://amzn.to/4cCqJy1), explains how to respond in a way that reduces tension, diffuses anger, and leads to more productive conversations.

Resistance exercise is important for everyone. And when it comes to lifting weights, many people wonder if speed matters—should you lift fast or slow? The answer isn’t as complicated as you might think, but it does depend on what you’re trying to achieve. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25601394/
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You probably laugh every day—at something someone says, a scene in a show, or a random moment that just hits you the right way. But have you ever stopped to wonder why something is funny? Why one person bursts out laughing while another barely cracks a smile?

Humor feels spontaneous, but researchers say there is actually a structure behind it. Certain patterns, expectations, and subtle violations of those expectations seem to trigger laughter. In other words, what makes something funny may not be as random as it seems.

And laughter itself isn’t just entertainment. It can reduce stress, strengthen social bonds, and even influence how we connect with other people. That may explain why we actively seek out comedy—in movies, TV, and live performances—even when we don’t need it.

Caleb Warren, assistant professor at the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona and lead author of the study What Makes Things Funny (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1088868320961909), joins me to explain the science behind humor. He explores what triggers laughter, why humor varies so much from person to person, and what laughter reveals about how our brains process the world around us.

If you’ve ever wondered why something makes you laugh—or why it doesn’t—this is a fascinating look at something we all experience but rarely understand.
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Choosing between two options can feel straightforward. Add a third—and suddenly the decision gets harder. Add more, and it can become overwhelming. There’s a surprising reason your brain struggles when options multiply, and it can quietly influence the choices you make every day. https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/decoy-effect

In every close relationship, there is an underlying pattern that shapes how you connect, respond, and react—your attachment style. It influences how you handle conflict, how secure you feel, and even who you’re drawn to. Dr. Amir Levine, psychiatrist, neuroscientist at Columbia University, and co-author of Attached (https://amzn.to/48CJBKV) and Secure (https://amzn.to/47TdTcd), explains the four primary attachment styles and how understanding yours—and your partner’s—can shed light on relationship dynamics that often feel confusing or frustrating. If you want to explore your own attachment style, you can take a quiz at: https://amirlevinemd.com/

Predictions are supposed to help us understand what’s coming next. But in many cases, they do something far stranger—they actually help shape the future they claim to forecast. And despite the confidence of experts, humans are notoriously bad at predicting what will happen, even in fields they know well. Carissa Véliz, associate professor at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford and author of Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI (https://amzn.to/4mleiKt), explains why predictions are so unreliable, how they influence behavior, and why we should be more skeptical of them than we are.

When you need advice or someone to truly understand what you’re going through, not all perspectives are equal. There’s evidence that people of a certain age—and life experience—may be better at offering empathy and insight than others. https://isr.umich.edu/news-events/news-releases/age-and-empathy-middle-aged-are-most-likely-to-feel-your-pain
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Talking on the phone while driving seems harmless—after all, you can talk to passengers just fine. So why is phone use so much more dangerous? There’s something subtle happening in your brain that makes it far riskier than it appears. https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/care/centers/trauma-center/resources/distracted-driving

You see the world all day long—but how much do you actually notice? Visual intelligence is the skill of truly observing what’s in front of you, picking up details others miss, and interpreting what you see more accurately. Amy Herman, who has trained organizations like the FBI, Navy SEALs, NATO, and major corporations, explains how this skill can be sharpened. In her book Visual Intelligence (https://amzn.to/49LRD1U) and its adaptation for children, smART: Use Your Eyes to Boost Your Brain (https://amzn.to/49IX9T5), she shows how improving the way you look at the world can enhance decision-making, communication, and problem-solving in everyday life.

Pain is something we all experience—but we rarely stop to consider what it actually is or why it works the way it does. Is pain simply something to eliminate, or is it trying to tell you something important? Dr. Aneesh Singla, former Harvard Medical School faculty member and author of Why It Hurts: A Physician’s Insights on The Purpose of Pain (https://amzn.to/3W26jHc), explains how pain functions in the body, why it can sometimes persist even after an injury heals, and what you can do to better understand and manage it.

Smiling is usually a reaction to feeling good—but what happens when you do it the other way around? Even when you’re not particularly happy, putting on a smile may have effects you wouldn’t expect—and some of them are surprisingly powerful. https://www.verywellmind.com/top-reasons-to-smile-every-day-2223755

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