Zombified: Your Source for Fresh Brains

Latest Episodes:

Digitizing Humanity: Liz Grumbach Dec 22, 2022

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Whose voices get to carry on after death, and whose stories get buried with time? In this suprisingly optimistic episode, we talk with Liz Grumbach about the future of the human-tech interface and the way that technology can be used as a tool for understanding ourselves and our place in the world. We also chat with her about the social factors that decide who gets silenced, and how the field of Digital Humanities is giving a new voice to the silent dead.

Prezombification: Bob Cialdini Dec 08, 2022

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Has your brain been turned into a fertile ground for the planting of other people's ideas, goals and influence? In this episode, we talk to best-selling author Bob Cialdini about 'pre-suasion,' the idea that you can make people more receptive to persuasion by setting up the context and situation in certain ways. Learn about your own susceptibilities to influence, how to tell if you're being zombified, and how we can use these techniques to zombify ourselves for good!

Refusing to Die: Season 4 live premier Dec 08, 2022

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Are you barely alive or feeling a little undead? Well, it's time to crawl out of the ground and re-embrace this messy, wonderful thing called livin', with our new season of Zombified! Join hosts Athena Aktipis and David Lundberg-Kenrick as they talk with Liz Grumbach, Mzilikazi Koné, Tamas David-Barret and Baba Brinkman about the many ways that we can be resilient in times of crisis and embrace the joy and insanity of life.

The Infopocalypse: Kristy Roschke Apr 07, 2021

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Do you feel like your neurons are getting taken over by your smartphone, tablet, computer or TV? Then the infopocalypse has probably already infiltrated your brain. In this episode, journalist and media literacy expert, Kristy Roschke, explains how we get hijacked by the constant stream of information we consume from our devices. She also shares tips for keeping your brain safe from manipulative information that could compromise you, hurt those you love, or destroy civilization all together. Listen now to protect your brains—and the world!

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Shabamified: Josh Kurz & Wendy Roderweiss Mar 23, 2021

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What would your kids do if they were stuck in the zombie apocalypse and you were nowhere to be found? That’s the premise of Shabam!, a podcast where the story of the zombie apocalypse is a vehicle for explaining science and infrastructure to audiences of all ages. We talk to creators, Josh Kurz and Wendy Roderweiss, about the challenges of communicating scientific ideas and how to use engaging storytelling and silly voices to create a compelling narrative that is both interesting and informative. Listen with your kids, so they learn how to survive if you get eaten by a zombie!

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Zombie Politics: Mary Ziegler Mar 16, 2021

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Does politics turn us into zombies? We talk with law professor, Mary Ziegler, about the politics around the abortion debate and how a personal, medical issue can get hijacked for political ends. We also chat about the ways that politics can make us see others—specifically those who don’t agree with us—as zombies. If you think you or somebody you don’t agree with might be a zombie, you’ll definitely want to listen to this episode.

Famished: Cathryn Townsend Mar 09, 2021

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What happens to humans when they are not just hungry, but truly famished? In this episode we talk with anthropologist Cathryn Townsend about the ways that starvation can change who we are and how we relate to one another. She completed fieldwork with the Ik people of Uganda who were vilified as selfish and nasty by Colin Turnbull 50 years ago when he observed their society mid-famine. Cathryn explains how the Ik are just as generous as the rest of us—and why it’s problematic to blame culture for human selfishness. This is the episode you’ve been hungering for.

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Social Web: Tamas David Barrett Feb 16, 2021

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Do you ever have the feeling that your friends are talking about you behind your back? In this episode we talk with interdisciplinary social scientist Tamas David-Barrett about why we might actually want our friends to talk about us behind our backs. We also talk about how smaller family size has caused a fundamental shift in the structure of the social networks that we inhabit, and chat about giving unusual gifts to strangers at Burning Man. Listen to this episode and get caught in Tamas’s web of intriguing ideas, fascinating findings and sensational stories!

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Influenced: Robert Frank Feb 10, 2021

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If all the cool kids jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too? Should you? Many of us grew up with parents, guidance counselors, and school assembly lecturers teaching us to resist peer pressure, go our own way, and ignore the zombie crowd. And people online will quickly call you out for “virtue signaling” and “humble bragging” if you so much as mention how you rescued that eagle that got hit by your yacht. But are peer pressure and virtue signalling all bad? In today’s episode, we talk with brilliant (and popular!) economist and author Robert H. Frank about when you should go along with the crowd, and when you should get the crowd to go along with you. Listen to it, and then brag about it to your friends!

Perfect storm: Clyde Cain Dec 22, 2020

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What do you do when the shit hits the fan, and the government isn’t there to help? When need overwhelms infrastructure, we all need to work together to survive, but figuring out how to actually help each other isn’t so easy. This episode’s guest, Clyde Cain, leads the Louisiana Cajun Navy, which is a group of volunteers that help people during floods, storms and other emergencies. Clyde talks about how to stay calm during a disaster and what drew him to this unconventional life of service.

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