BOO! The Science of Scary with Mathias Clasen & Heather Berlin

Why do we like being scared? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the haunting effects of horror and recreational fear with horror scholar and author, Mathias Clasen, and neuroscientist, Heather Berlin, PhD.

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Thanks to our Patrons Jessica Giancola, Jeff States, seth 06, Matthew Ritter, Kelvin Goliday, Kenny PK, and Kaya for supporting us this week.

Photo Credit: Esparta, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Heather Saved this Episode

I’m convinced that Neil and Chuck took an edible before recording this. Humor obviously plays a vital role in exploring such subjects, but all the giggling and silliness was just excessive to the point of being annoying. I felt it impeded the depth of the episode. Also, newsflash to Neil and Chuck: Black people DO love the genre of horror even though we encounter the reality of everyday actual horrors. In fact, fictional horror (especially of the supernatural sub-genre of horror) can actually be a welcomed escape from the reality of the horrific dangers we face in life. So much more could’ve been explored in this hour had Heather been interviewed from the beginning of the episode. Btw, it was mildly annoying that Neil continually mispronounced Mathias’ name. Hopefully they revisit this subject, perhaps from a different angle, and give it a more thorough treatment next time. This was a missed opportunity at what could’ve been a riveting, intellectually satisfying episode.