Why We’re Drawn to Death, Crime, & Danger - Coltan Scrivner - #984
Modern Wisdom
08/23/25
•66m
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Coltan Scrivner is a behavioral scientist, an expert on morbid curiosity in horror and true‐crime media, and an author.
Why are humans so curious about death? From car accidents to scary stories, roller coasters, and horror movies, some people are fascinated while others are repulsed. What draws us toward the very things we should naturally want to avoid?
Expect to learn why humans are drawn to dark or morbid content and the evolutionary logic behind watching something that disturbs us, why there is a gender gap of who is more interested in morbid curiosity, why some people find serial killers fascinating while others are repulsed, the biggest differences between terror and horror & the connection between disgust and fascination, what horror can teach us about emotional self-regulation, and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) Why are We Drawn to Dark Content?
(7:20) The 4 Domains of Morbid Curiosity
(15:25) Morbid Curiosity in Evolution
(22:51) Individual Difference in Morbid Curiosity
(34:05) What is So Attractive About Serial Killers?
(37:46) Why are Certain Groups Attracted to Certain Types of Morbid Content?
(47:17) The Perfect Ingredients for a Horror Movie
(57:14) Why is There Increasing Desensitisation to Morbid Content?
(01:02:59) Find Out More About Colton
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Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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Previous Episode
Deeply Connected Relationships - Gay Hendricks - #983
August 21, 2025
•92m
Gay Hendricks is a psychologist, teacher, and an author renowned for his work on relationship transformation.
Conscious loving is about more than just romance, it’s about clarity, commitment, and growth. With endless advice on the internet on how to optimize your love life, what if the real answer is aligning your expectations and evolving together?
Expect to learn what conscious loving is and the difference from unconscious loving, why its important to feel your feeling and tell the truth in a relationship, what good commitment looks like, how to be more proactively benevolent in their relationship and stop “keeping score” in a culture that constantly teaches people to expect the even 50/50 split every level, what co-commitment is and the steps to building a co-commitment relationship, and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) The Key to Conscious Loving
(12:54) 10 Seconds of Sweaty Conversation
(16:02) Why You Should Be Truthful in a Relationship
(21:54) What are the Main Practical Obstacles in a Relationship?
(26:43) Creating a Safe Environment to Receive Truth
(37:41) Navigating Your Sense of Self in Conscious Relationships
(46:40) What is Co-Commitment?
(58:47) Breaking the Victimhood Pattern
(01:06:25) Men and Women Bring Different Things to the Table
(01:15:45) You are the Common Denominator in Your Life
(01:27:02) Find Out More About Gay
Sponsors:
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Extra Stuff:
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Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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Get In Touch:
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Next Episode
Hypnosis, Brain Hacking, & Mental Mastery - Dr David Spiegel - #985
August 25, 2025
•93m
Dr. David Spiegel is a psychiatrist, Stanford professor, and leading authority on hypnosis and stress-related health.
What exactly is hypnosis? Most of us picture it as a magician’s trick, when someone dangles a watch, your eyes get heavy, and suddenly you’re suggestible. But that barely scratches the surface. The real question is, what’s the true purpose of hypnosis? And what if we aren’t just hypnotized during those sessions, but in some sense all the time, walking through life under subtle trances we don’t even notice?
Expect to learn what Dr. Speigel thinks most people misunderstand about what hypnosis is or how it works, what’s actually happening in the brain when we enter a hypnotic state, if anyone can be hypnotized or is there a specific “profile” of someone more likely to respond, the neurobiological difference between someone pretending to be hypnotized vs. someone actually in a trance state, how effective hypnosis is for improving sleep, the role hypnosis could play in reducing our reliance on pharmaceuticals, and much more...
Timestamps:
(0:00) The Biggest Misunderstandings About Hypnosis
(6:00) Why Can We Be Hypnotised?
(22:44) What is Hypnosis?
(25:24) Why are Some People Hypnotisable and Others Not?
(34:04) Predicting Hypnotisability Through Genes
(38:54) Can You Train Hypnotisability?
(41:28) Is In-Person Hypnosis More Effective?
(54:21) Training Your Brain to Tolerate Pain
(01:04:51) How to Use Self-Hypnosis to Maximum Effect
(01:07:08) What Areas Could Hypnosis Be Combined With?
(01:11:57) The Positive Effects of Breath Work
(01:15:15) David’s Stand Out Hypnosis Cases
(01:24:31) Overcoming Resistance with Hypnosis
(01:30:29) Why Has Hypnosis Been Sidelined in Modern Medicine?
(01:32:42) Find Out More About David
Sponsors:
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Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular Flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom
Extra Stuff:
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Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Get 20% off Reveri's yearly or lifetime membership at https://reverihealth.app.link/modern-wisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM)
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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Get In Touch:
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