In the late 1950s, NASA recruited military test pilots to become the very first American Astronauts.
They underwent an extensive battery of tests to find the very best astronauts for the Mercury program.
These men became the Mercury 7.
However, at the same time, another round of tests was being conducted on another group of pilots. These pilots were given the exact same physical and mental tests as the astronauts. The only difference was, they were women.
Mike tells Sarah how a 20-year-old singer, actress and French horn player became Miss America with less than six months of practice. Digressions include Ted Bundy, Stephen King’s “It” and a bonus debunking of the "bra-burning feminist" trope. We're sorry to say that this episode includes a description of child sexual abuse.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are having their moment. People are buying JPEGs or video files… that anyone can watch online. The Nasdaq’s midday plummet on Friday reminds us of a barista’s moves on your latte foam. And Amazon has a big decision to make with Amazon Go.
$AMZN $QQQ NFT
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George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police last year sparked an international protest movement and amplified calls for police accountability. Now, as the former police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial, Minneapolis is preparing for another public reckoning.
Guest: Jon Collins, senior reporter for Minnesota Public Radio.
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Leah and Kate recap some February arguments (Brnovich v. DNC and United States v. Arthrex) before pleading with the Biden administration to give them some court culture material. Oh, and, Justice Breyer they have a request for you -- with respect, of course.
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
400 years ago Robert Burton produced his labyrinthine masterpiece, The Anatomy of Melancholy – a work which was celebrated in the Renaissance for its understanding of the huge variety of causes, symptoms and cures of mental distress. In A User’s Guide To Melancholy the academic Mary Ann Lund looks back to this precursor of the self-help book. She tells Amol Rajan that we have much to learn from those who struggled with melancholy in the past.
In Heavy Light, the writer Horatio Clare shares how his mind began to unwind; his growing mania followed by psychosis and his treatment in a psychiatric hospital. But he also details the journey of recovery and healing, and he investigates how society treats acute crises of mental health.
The psychiatrist Ahmed Hankir understands only too well what it’s like to feel depressed and hopeless – he suffered from mental health difficulties during his studies. He has used his own experiences to produce The Wounded Healer which seeks to reduce stigma around mental health, blending psychiatry and the performing arts.
400 years ago Robert Burton produced his labyrinthine masterpiece, The Anatomy of Melancholy – a work which was celebrated in the Renaissance for its understanding of the huge variety of causes, symptoms and cures of mental distress. In A User’s Guide To Melancholy the academic Mary Ann Lund looks back to this precursor of the self-help book. She tells Amol Rajan that we have much to learn from those who struggled with melancholy in the past.
In Heavy Light, the writer Horatio Clare shares how his mind began to unwind; his growing mania followed by psychosis and his treatment in a psychiatric hospital. But he also details the journey of recovery and healing, and he investigates how society treats acute crises of mental health.
The psychiatrist Ahmed Hankir understands only too well what it’s like to feel depressed and hopeless – he suffered from mental health difficulties during his studies. He has used his own experiences to produce The Wounded Healer which seeks to reduce stigma around mental health, blending psychiatry and the performing arts.
More than 4 million U.S. homes face substantial risk of expensive flood damage, according to new research. On top of that, NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher found that communities where flood insurance is already unaffordable face potentially catastrophic damage — including to mental and physical health.
This is not a comprehensive study of every sexual quirk, kink and ritual across all cultures throughout time, as that would entail writing an encyclopaedia. Rather, this is a drop in the ocean, a paddle in the shallow end of sex history, but I hope you will get pleasantly wet nonetheless. The act of sex has not changed since people first worked out what went where, but the ways in which society dictates how sex is culturally understood and performed have varied significantly through the ages. Humans are the only creatures that stigmatise particular sexual practices, and sex remains a deeply divisive issue around the world. Attitudes will change and grow - hopefully for the better - but sex will never be free of stigma or shame unless we acknowledge where it has come from.
Drawing upon extensive research from Dr Kate Lister's Whores of Yore website and written with her distinctive humour and wit, A Curious History of Sex (Unbound, 2020) covers topics ranging from twentieth- century testicle thefts to Victorian doctors massaging the pelvises of their female patients, from smutty bread innuendos dating back to AD 79, to the new and controversial sex doll brothels. It is peppered with surprising and informative historical slang and illustrated by eye-opening, toe- curling and hilarious images. In this fascinating book, Lister deftly debunks myths and stereotypes and gives unusual sexual practices an historical framework, as she provides valuable context for issues facing people today, including gender, sexual shame, beauty and language.
Rachel Stuart is a sex work researcher whose primary interest is the lived experiences of sex workers.
