Is the placebo effect getting stronger?

Is the placebo effect getting stronger?

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Strange News: The TSA Conspiracy, a Missing General, Oil Trades and More

In this week's strange news segment: Ben, Matt and Noel explore the oddly credible conspiracy that recent hours-long lines at US airports may be part of a larger conspiracy. Updates on the still-missing Major General William McCasland. Hilarious phone pranks as protest. Also, who ...  Show more

Mind Games: an Interview with Zoë Lescaze

Does hypnosis work? Can you really hack your brain into becoming a better person? On the flip side: Can you possibly push people to do what you want, without their knowledge? In tonight's interview, Ben, Matt and Noel welcome the legendary journalist and author Zoë Lescaze, co-cr ...  Show more

Recommended Episodes

What is the placebo effect and how does it work?
Do you really know?

The placebo effect is a phenomenon in which a person's symptoms or well-being improve after receiving a fake treatment that has no specific or intrinsic effect on their condition. For example, a person may feel less pain after taking a sugar pill that they believe is a painkille ...  Show more

L'effet placebo existe-t-il chez les animaux ?
Choses à Savoir SCIENCES

On sait que l'effet placebo est bien présent chez l'homme. il serait même responsable d'une partie non négligeable des guérisons. Mais un animal peut-il être sensible à un tel effet ?


Un effet placebo très présent chez l'homme...


On sait qu'un produit anodi ...

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Will a placebo boost my sports performance?
CrowdScience

In medicine, it’s long been recognised that a placebo, a sham medicine or treatment, can have a powerful positive effect on a patient’s health. Part of that effect relies on a person’s belief that an inactive substance or treatment (for example, a sugar pill) is in fact an act ...

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Placebos work. Why?
Unexplainable

For decades, scientists thought that placebos only worked if patients didn’t know they were taking them. Not anymore: You can give patients placebos, tell them they’re on sugar pills, and they still might feel better. No one is sure how this works, but it raises a question: Shoul ...  Show more