People Stuff

Michael Scroggins, Dan Souleles
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Comedy Interviews
  • Updated Weekly

People Stuff is a write-in, anthropology advice podcast wherein we answer all sorts of questions with the weird and wonderful wisdom that anthropology offers. From whether you should make your bed to what you owe to the dead, no dilemma is too tiny, no conundrum too vast for a little bit of anthropology. After all, as a species, we've been human-ing for like 300,000 years already. Surely we've figured some stuff out.

  1. 11h ago ·  Bonus

    [Encore] Dan and Michael Are Not Your Type: Corporate astrology, MBTI madness, and the myth of the measurable self

    Are you a “blue brain,” a “Phoebe,” or just a person trying to do your job? This week on People Stuff, Dan and Michael dig into the strange afterlife of psychological typing — from Jungian archetypes to workplace “whole brain” seminars and gifted testing for seven-year-olds. Why do employers, schools, and BuzzFeed quizzes all want to turn us into caricatures of ourselves? They’ll also diagnose Peter Thiel’s end-times theology, dismantle the eugenic logic of IQ tests, and fix the entire school admissions system (again). Plus, a listener wonders: if your friend only speaks in Sex and the City quotes, are they still your friend… or just a Carrie with Wi-Fi? 🔹 Why workplace personality tests are corporate astrology 🔹 The dark history of IQ testing 🔹 How BuzzFeed quizzes became proto-surveillance capitalism 🔹 Why “fixing” education means letting everyone in As always, it’s academic insight meets anthropological mischief — because we’re anthropologists, and we know stuff about people. 🎧 Listen now at people-stuff.com or on Apple Podcasts: People Stuff   That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people. If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com   Credits Produced by Gabe BullardMusic by The Endless BummerArt by Siobhan HeneganMarketing by Bryan HautLegal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle. You can also sign up for our newsletter, drop us a voice memo, or become a Friend of People Stuff — which is our fancy way of saying you get to support the show and we get to keep talking about dust, dads, and late capitalism. So go to people-stuff.com

  2. Jul 21

    Heat waves, AI layoffs, Finnish saunas, and why Americans can't relax

    This week, Dan and Michael tackle one of humanity's oldest problems: staying cool. From heat waves and climate adaptation to office air conditioning, Finnish sauna culture, and the strange ways Americans think about bodies, risk, and comfort, they explore what sweating tells us about society. Along the way they discuss: why heat is political AI layoffs that companies are already reversing whether automation is actually making work better why Americans struggle with truly hot saunas tort law, lawsuits, and safety culture climate, infrastructure, and adaptation the anthropology of comfort As always, listeners write in with impossible problems, Dan proposes another questionable solution during Fixing Shit, and the episode ends with another completely trustworthy fake sponsor. If you've ever wondered why everyone complains about the weather, why employers keep firing and rehiring workers, or why Finnish people think American saunas are embarrassingly cold, this episode is for you. That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people. If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com   Credits Produced by Gabe BullardMusic by The Endless BummerArt by Siobhan HeneganMarketing by Bryan HautLegal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle. You can also sign up for our newsletter, drop us a voice memo, or become a Friend of People Stuff — which is our fancy way of saying you get to support the show and we get to keep talking about dust, dads, and late capitalism. So go to people-stuff.com

  3. Jul 7

    Home Cooking, Kitchen Gadgets, Dinner Party Etiquette & Food Culture | Dan and Michael Left the Oven On (feat. Bryan Haut)

    Why do people collect ridiculous kitchen gadgets? When do dietary restrictions become impossible to cook around? Why does feeding people create friendship, obligation, and family? This week on People Stuff, anthropologists Dan and Michael are joined by cook, marketer, and longtime friend Bryan Haut for an episode about the anthropology of home cooking. Together they explore why kitchens fill with avocado slicers and egg gadgets, what dinner parties reveal about modern etiquette, why hospitality is never just about food, and whether blessed beans can actually solve your grocery budget. Along the way they discuss: Home cooking and hospitality Kitchen gadgets and clutter Minimalist kitchens vs. cooking gear Food allergies and dinner party etiquette Gift giving and cooking Anthropology of meals and commensality Martha Stewart and middle-class entertaining Why feeding people builds communities Light pollution and seeing the stars Whether priests should bless your freezer If you've ever argued over kitchen clutter, hosted an impossible dinner party, or wondered why people take food so seriously, this episode is for you. That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people. If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com   Credits Produced by Gabe BullardMusic by The Endless BummerArt by Siobhan HeneganMarketing by Bryan HautLegal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle. You can also sign up for our newsletter, drop us a voice memo, or become a Friend of People Stuff — which is our fancy way of saying you get to support the show and we get to keep talking about dust, dads, and late capitalism. So go to people-stuff.com

  4. Jun 30 ·  Bonus

    [Encore] Dan and Michael Get Spooked: The Anthropology of Fear and Other Modern Hauntings

    Highlights The cultural power of brutal honesty in hiring (and why job posts should repel as much as they attract). Vampires as symbols of modern alienation and eternal cool. Fascism as a false cure for loneliness and economic despair. Monsters as mirrors of humanity’s deepest fears and longings. A defense of national parks and public lands. Segment Breakdown 00:00 – Intro: Brutal honesty and vampire week preview 06:00 – What Fresh Hell: The war on empathy 12:00 – Question 1: “Can I be a vampire?” 27:00 – Question 2: “Why are people still obsessed with Nazis?” 48:00 – Fixing Shit: Saving public lands 57:00 – Question 3: “Why do we keep making monsters?” 1:08:00 – Outro: Fairy Circles™ and the existential loneliness of humanity Dan and Michael discuss the following works: Living Right: Far Right Youth Activists in Contemporary Europe by Agniezska Pasieka The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town 1922-1945 by William Allen Sheridan: https://archive.org/details/naziseizureofpow0000alle\_m2p7 The Jersey Devil:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey\_Devil The Sopranos e3 ep11, "Pine Barrens:"  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0705272/ What We Do in the Shadows:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7908628/ That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people. If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com   Credits Produced by Gabe BullardMusic by The Endless BummerArt by Siobhan HeneganMarketing by Bryan HautLegal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle. You can also sign up for our newsletter, drop us a voice memo, or become a Friend of People Stuff — which is our fancy way of saying you get to support the show and we get to keep talking about dust, dads, and late capitalism. So go to people-stuff.com

  5. Jun 23

    Why Do We Care About TV People? (feat. Arianna Haut of Jeopardy & Master Minds)

    Why do we care so much about people we've never met? This week on People Stuff, Dan and Michael are joined by trivia expert and television veteran Arianna Haut—whose résumé includes Jeopardy!, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Chase, and five seasons on Master Minds—to ask what television actually does to us. Why do celebrities feel like old friends? Is it ever acceptable to talk to a TV star at the gym? Does watching violent shows like The Wire make kids more violent? And what happens when television personalities start occupying more space in our emotional lives than the people sitting in the same room? Along the way, the crew debates whether streaming has become worse than cable, mourns the possible loss of New York City's legendary Jimmy's Corner bar, accidentally accuses Ted Cruz of being the Zodiac Killer, and wonders whether aging parents increasingly rely on TV personalities for companionship. It's an episode about celebrity, nostalgia, media panic, parasocial relationships, and the strange human tendency to build genuine feelings for people who have absolutely no idea we exist. Because television isn't just entertainment. It's one of the main ways modern humans learn how to be people. Also: please don't bother Aziz Ansari while he's eating pastrami.Arianna Haut That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people. If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com   Credits Produced by Gabe BullardMusic by The Endless BummerArt by Siobhan HeneganMarketing by Bryan HautLegal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle. You can also sign up for our newsletter, drop us a voice memo, or become a Friend of People Stuff — which is our fancy way of saying you get to support the show and we get to keep talking about dust, dads, and late capitalism. So go to people-stuff.com

  6. Jun 16

    Why Is Los Angeles Like This? Traffic, Identity, Hollywood, and the Meaning of LA (feat. Saanchi Shah)

    What exactly is Los Angeles? A city? A county? A collection of freeways? A lifestyle brand with excellent tacos and terrible traffic? This week on People Stuff, Dan and Michael are joined by genetic counselor and longtime Angeleno-adjacent observer Saanchi Shah to tackle one of America's most confusing cities. Along the way they explore: Why Los Angeles seems designed entirely around cars Whether tourists fundamentally misunderstand LA Why the San Fernando Valley creates existential crises for Angelenos How neighborhoods become identities Why LA's food scene might be the city's true cultural superpower Whether Hollywood is being quietly replaced by AI And whether repeated fires, earthquakes, floods, and disasters mean God is trying to tell Los Angeles something Plus: Scientology speed-runners, influencer culture, Danish tranquility, Mumbai comparisons, Westside snobbery, and a spirited defense of Valley citizenship. Los Angeles may be America's most fragmented city—a place where beaches, mountains, movie studios, strip malls, taco trucks, billionaires, aspiring actors, and 18-lane freeways somehow coexist. We try to figure out how it all works. Or at least why it keeps existing. Topics: Los Angeles, LA culture, California, traffic, Hollywood, AI, cities, urbanism, anthropology, San Fernando Valley, public transit, food culture, identity, disasters, California history That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people. If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com   Credits Produced by Gabe BullardMusic by The Endless BummerArt by Siobhan HeneganMarketing by Bryan HautLegal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle. You can also sign up for our newsletter, drop us a voice memo, or become a Friend of People Stuff — which is our fancy way of saying you get to support the show and we get to keep talking about dust, dads, and late capitalism. So go to people-stuff.com

  7. Jun 9

    Camping Isn’t Survival: Hiking, Hunting, REI Culture, and the Outdoors

    What is camping actually for? This week on People Stuff, Dan and Michael head into the wilderness to investigate one of modern life's strangest contradictions: millions of people spend thousands of dollars on gear, drive hours into the woods, and then eat store-bought snacks while pretending they're escaping civilization. Along the way, they tackle some surprisingly deep questions: Why do some people dress like they're summiting Everest to drop their kids off at school? What's the real difference between hiking and hunting? Why do outdoor activities carry such different political identities? Why do campers bring grocery store food instead of living off the land? And what exactly are we practicing when we go camping? Plus: Minnesota bans prediction markets, Dan proposes a new "right to wander" across public lands, Michael declares war on the privatization of the American West, and the hosts debate whether outdoor recreation is genuine self-reliance or just "light adversity tourism." If you've ever owned a Patagonia fleece, driven a Subaru, dreamed of disappearing into the woods, or wondered why your camping trip feels suspiciously dependent on modern supply chains, this episode is for you. Topics: camping, hiking, hunting, public lands, outdoor culture, Patagonia, REI, national parks, backpacking, anthropology, self-reliance, wilderness, conservation, American West That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people. If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com   Credits Produced by Gabe BullardMusic by The Endless BummerArt by Siobhan HeneganMarketing by Bryan HautLegal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle. You can also sign up for our newsletter, drop us a voice memo, or become a Friend of People Stuff — which is our fancy way of saying you get to support the show and we get to keep talking about dust, dads, and late capitalism. So go to people-stuff.com

  8. Jun 2

    Why Humans Need Privacy | Shelter, Office Design, and the Anthropology of Space (feat. Gretchen Pfeil)

    Why do humans need privacy? This week on People Stuff, Michael and Dan are joined by anthropologist and design researcher Gretchen Pfeil to explore one of the most basic—and surprisingly complicated—human needs: shelter. What makes a space feel private? Why do open offices drive people insane? Why does living and working in the same place feel so strange? And what happens when the social rules that organize public space suddenly break down? Along the way, we discuss: • Why Europeans and Britons keep crashing into each other at Heathrow Airport • The anthropology of privacy, personal space, and public life • How to find alone time while living in a summer camp cabin with seven other people • Whether remote companies actually need offices at all • Why hot desking and open-plan offices became so popular despite nearly everyone hating them • How architecture shapes behavior without us noticing • Whether it's creepy to watch people across the street who don't realize they're being observed • A fieldwork story involving a peacock, a courtyard, and a major anthropological mistake Drawing on anthropology, design research, urban life, and workplace culture, Gretchen explains how buildings do much more than keep the rain out. They create boundaries, define relationships, organize behavior, and help us negotiate the tension between being alone and being together. Also: Dan fixes the police by forcing them to hand out candy, Michael proposes a very selective approach to law enforcement, and everyone learns that privacy may be less about walls than about shared social agreements. People Stuff: anthropology for people trying to find five minutes alone. That’s it for this week’s People Stuff — the show where two anthropologists try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of people. If you’ve got a question, a dilemma, or just something deeply weird about humanity you’d like us to unpack, send it our way at people-stuff.com   Credits Produced by Gabe BullardMusic by The Endless BummerArt by Siobhan HeneganMarketing by Bryan HautLegal support by The Law Office of Matthew Shayefar, the one true business uncle. You can also sign up for our newsletter, drop us a voice memo, or become a Friend of People Stuff — which is our fancy way of saying you get to support the show and we get to keep talking about dust, dads, and late capitalism. So go to people-stuff.com

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About

People Stuff is a write-in, anthropology advice podcast wherein we answer all sorts of questions with the weird and wonderful wisdom that anthropology offers. From whether you should make your bed to what you owe to the dead, no dilemma is too tiny, no conundrum too vast for a little bit of anthropology. After all, as a species, we've been human-ing for like 300,000 years already. Surely we've figured some stuff out.

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Scroggins, Dan Souleles
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 People Stuff LLC
  • Show Website
    People Stuff

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