S1E70 - The Hole In Your Brain That Makes You Doomscroll
Published: July 19, 2026
Duration: 49:20
Why can't you leave a sealed envelope unopened?
Professor Hannah Fry begins by refusing to allow Michael Stevens to open a mystery envelope addressed to him.
A small act of torture that turns out to be the perfect way in to today's subject: curiosity. What is it, why does it feel almost physical, and how far will people actually go just to resolve a nagging uncertainty?
From there Hannah and Michael trace curiosity's surprising reputation through history; how for well over a thousand years it was branded a vice, even...