Learning English with Human Beans

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Welcome to "Learning English with Human Beans," where language learning meets social sciences! Dive into fascinating human behavior topics while naturally improving your English skills. We explore current research from psychology, sociology, anthropology... unpacking key vocabulary and expressions along the way. Each episode combines engaging social science concepts with practical language learning, helping you communicate with confidence about complex human topics. Grow your English skills through the lens of what makes us human!

  1. #55 – Do you become someone else when you read? (The Experience Taking)

    1 HR AGO

    #55 – Do you become someone else when you read? (The Experience Taking)

    Have you ever wanted to run a marathon right after finishing a novel... even though you hate sports? In this first installment of the “The Self is a Fiction” saga, Alice and Marc explore the fascinating phenomenon of Experience Taking. Discover why immersive reading is not mere observation, but a true dissolution of identity. Unlike simple “Perspective Taking” (conscious empathy), learn how your brain temporarily “turns off” your own personality to viscerally simulate that of the protagonist. From influencing your voting choices to unconsciously reducing prejudice, discover why stepping into a character's shoes changes your biological reality. Reading isn't just escapism. It's becoming.

    15 min
  2. #54 – Why Are Dragons More Reassuring Than Humans?

    25/12/2025

    #54 – Why Are Dragons More Reassuring Than Humans?

    Why do some people feel more "at home" in Middle-earth or aboard a starship than in their own neighborhood? Why is a dragon’s fire sometimes less frightening than a simple social conversation? In this final installment of our trilogy, Alice and Marc explore the vital role of fiction for neurodivergent minds (Autism, ADHD). Discover how stories act as a "social manual" with explicit rules, and why the predictability of a favorite movie watched for the 100th time is a crucial tool for emotional regulation. We’ll debunk the myth of the "lack of empathy" by looking at hyper-empathy and the Double Empathy Problem. From the honesty of robots to the safety of fantasy worlds, learn how fiction isn't an escape from reality, but a bridge that makes a chaotic world finally readable.

    14 min
  3. #53 – Is Your Best Friend Imaginary?

    23/12/2025

    #53 – Is Your Best Friend Imaginary?

    Why does the finale of Friends feel like a real-life breakup? Why do we feel a deep void when characters who don't know we exist disappear from our screens? In this episode, Alice and Marc decode the mechanics of Parasocial Relationships. Far from the cliché of the lonely geek, discover why your brain is evolutionarily wired to bond with fictional people through concepts like Social Snacking and the Benjamin Franklin Effect. From the "Gym of Empathy" theory to the Pratfall Effect (why we love clumsy heroes), learn how fiction acts as a safe "social simulator" that can actually upgrade your real-world emotional intelligence.

    14 min
  4. #52 – Why Do You Pay to Have Nightmares?

    23/12/2025

    #52 – Why Do You Pay to Have Nightmares?

    You know it’s just a movie. You know the characters are just pixels. So why are you sobbing on your couch like you’ve lost a best friend? In this episode, Alice and Marc decode the Paradox of Fiction. Discover why your "Rational Brain" (Belief) knows it's fake, while your "Primal Brain" (Alief) reacts as if it were life-or-death. From the "Low Road" of the amygdala to the theory of Make-Believe, learn how storytellers hack your biology to trigger Quasi-Emotions and why crying over a fictional death isn't a weakness—it's the ultimate workout for your empathy.

    13 min
  5. #51 – Does Culture Control Your Emotions? (The Engineering of Surprise – Part 3/3)

    21/12/2025

    #51 – Does Culture Control Your Emotions? (The Engineering of Surprise – Part 3/3)

    Is the "Three-Act Structure" universal, or just a Western obsession? For the grand finale of the trilogy, we travel East to explore the Kishōtenketsu—the narrative structure that powers everything from Totoro to Parasite. While the Western brain demands Conflict and linear causality (the "Chekhov’s Gun"), the Eastern brain embraces Contrast and harmony. Marc and Alice decode why Westerners often find Asian movies "confusing" or "without an ending," and how learning to accept a story without a villain can actually rewire your brain’s predictive software.

    16 min
  6. #50 – Why Do You Love Spoilers? (The Engineering of Surprise – Part 2/3)

    21/12/2025

    #50 – Why Do You Love Spoilers? (The Engineering of Surprise – Part 2/3)

    Are you the type of person who reads the last page of a book first? In this second installment, we investigate the Paradox of Suspense. If the brain loves surprise, why do we rewatch movies we know by heart? Alice and Marc explore how Processing Fluency and Dramatic Irony turn a known story into a comforting "safety belt" for the brain. We also dive into Neurodiversity: discover why the Intolerance of Uncertainty makes spoilers therapeutic for anxious minds , and how the autistic brain’s hyper-focus on detail can shatter the illusion of a plot twist before it even happens.

    13 min
  7. #49 – Why Does Your Brain Love Being Tricked? (The Engineering of Surprise - Part 1/3)

    20/12/2025

    #49 – Why Does Your Brain Love Being Tricked? (The Engineering of Surprise - Part 1/3)

    Why do we pay to be lied to? In this first episode of our trilogy on the neuroscience of storytelling, Alice and Marc crack open the black box of the Bayesian Brain. Discover how your mind is actually a "prediction machine" that hallucinates your reality, and why a good plot twist triggers a massive dopamine hit by generating a Prediction Error. From The Sixth Sense to Fight Club, learn how directors hack your attention and why, the second the twist is revealed, your memory rewrites itself to make you believe you "knew it all along" (Hindsight Bias). It’s not just entertainment; it’s a survival simulation.

    13 min
  8. #48 – What If You Were Already Dead and No One Told You?

    19/12/2025

    #48 – What If You Were Already Dead and No One Told You?

    Imagine looking in the mirror and knowing—with absolute mathematical certainty—that you no longer exist. In this episode, Alice and Marc explore the chilling world of Cotard’s Delusion (Walking Corpse Syndrome). Far from being "crazy," discover why these patients are actually too rational: when the brain loses its emotional connection to the body (Emotional Anosognosia), the only logical conclusion is death. From the tragic story of Mademoiselle X to the reversal of Descartes' "Cogito," learn why pure logic leads to the grave and why feeling pain is the ultimate proof of life.

    10 min
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About

Welcome to "Learning English with Human Beans," where language learning meets social sciences! Dive into fascinating human behavior topics while naturally improving your English skills. We explore current research from psychology, sociology, anthropology... unpacking key vocabulary and expressions along the way. Each episode combines engaging social science concepts with practical language learning, helping you communicate with confidence about complex human topics. Grow your English skills through the lens of what makes us human!

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