Selects: How Fever Dreams Work

Fever dreams can be unsettling experiences. These ramped up nightmares are vivid, detailed and only happen when the human body experiences a fever. What is it about the combination of fevers and dreams that make these night terrors so hellish? Learn all that and more in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

• 0:04Josh Clark?

  Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. That's Toyota Ford ability, and it starts with a great deal on an off-road-ready Tacoma or half-ton Tundra, two of Toyota's longest-lasting trucks, combining power for work, tech for adventures, and style in between. And they're built on a reputation for quality and reliability, which is why Toyota trucks are known for holding their value, which could mean big savings when it's time for your next Toyota. So get a great deal today and a great value tomorrow. Shop toyota.com for more. Toyota, let's go places.

• 0:35Speaker 02

  Hey, folks. Owning a home means one thing: something's gonna break. AC, plumbing, fridge, and it's never convenient or cheap. That's where American Home Shield comes in. An AHS home warranty can help protect your wallet from pricey breakdowns on even your oldest appliances and systems. And if they can't repair the covered item, they'll replace it. So check out American Home Shield and get 20% off any plan at ahs.com/sysk and see promo details. See ahs.com/contracts for coverage details, including service fees, limitations, and exclusions. American Home Shield: don't worry, be warranty.

• 1:13Speaker 03

  Do you ever feel like your computer is tracking you? Well, it's not. It's your browser following you. But not if you come back to Firefox. Firefox blocks the trackers automatically, doesn't follow you from site to site, and supports the ad blockers other browsers dropped. Plus, you can switch AI on or off when its intelligence is acting too artificial. And switching? Totally painless. Your bookmarks, passwords, and browsing history come right with you. Come back to Firefox. Visit firefox.com.

• 1:45Speaker 02

  Hey, everybody. Happy Saturday. It's Chuck here, and I'm here to deliver to you my pick for this week's Selects episode. This is from July 2017. It's the episode, "How Fever Dreams Work." And quite honestly, you guys, I picked this one because I don't remember much about it, so I'm gonna listen to it all over again myself. So I hope you do as well. Hope you have a great Saturday and a great weekend. Here we go with "How Fever Dreams Work."

• 2:13Speaker 04

  Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio.

• 2:23Josh Clark?

  Hey and welcome to the podcast. How are you? I'm Josh Clark, there's Charles W., Chuck Bryant, there's Jerry. Jerry's got a salad, everything's normal. Which means it's time for stuff you should know.

• 2:36Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 2:37Josh Clark?

  Jerry's got this shawarma special, she said.

• 2:40Speaker 02

  Oh, really?

• 2:41Josh Clark?

  Yep. She loves it.

• 2:43Speaker 02

  How you doing?

• 2:43Josh Clark?

  I'm good, man. Feeling, despite myself, kinda relaxed.

• 2:48Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 2:48Josh Clark?

  I'm not feeling feverish, if that's what you're driving at.

• 2:51Speaker 02

  No, that's not what I was driving at.

• 2:52Josh Clark?

  Uh, yeah, no, I'm not.

• 2:55Speaker 02

  You get fevers a lot?

• 2:56Josh Clark?

  No, not anymore. Although I haven't for a long time, like, I've never been like a fever person. I've probably had like, a handful, maybe? How many fevers have you had?

• 3:06Speaker 02

  Not a ton, since I was a kid.

• 3:08Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 3:08Speaker 02

  Not a lot of adult fevers.

• 3:10Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 3:10Speaker 02

  I mean, I've had, like, hip-hop fever. I've had rock and roll fever.

• 3:17Josh Clark?

  Yeah, yellow fever?

• 3:18Speaker 02

  I've had the fever for a flavor of a Pringle.

• 3:21Josh Clark?

  Oh, man, me too.

• 3:23Speaker 02

  What are those? Those aren't even potato chips, are they?

• 3:25Josh Clark?

  They're potato crisps.

• 3:26Speaker 02

  Man, those are good.

• 3:27Josh Clark?

  They're mashed together potato parts.

• 3:29Speaker 02

  I don't think I wanna know how those are made.

• 3:31Josh Clark?

  No, it's like chicken McNuggets.

• 3:33Speaker 02

  I think a unicorn just poops them out.

• 3:36Josh Clark?

  Have you seen unicorn pizza? It's a little much.

• 3:39Speaker 02

  What is it?

• 3:40Josh Clark?

  There's a restaurant in New York, I'm not quite sure where, maybe Lower East Side. They have unicorn pizza, it's like, um, dough.

• 3:48Speaker 02

  Okay, good start.

• 3:49Josh Clark?

  Um, like a nice pastel-colored frosting, instead of sauce.

• 3:53Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:54Josh Clark?

  Um, cotton, a mound of cotton candy.

• 3:57Speaker 02

  Ugh.

• 3:58Josh Clark?

  Um, Nerds or Pop Rocks, maybe?

• 4:00Speaker 02

  Oh, good lord.

• 4:01Josh Clark?

  Um, and then some other stuff. Supposedly, it tastes kinda good. I'll eat anything that has enough frosting on it.

• 4:08Speaker 02

  I like frosting, but I'm not into like, sugary candies, really.

• 4:12Josh Clark?

  Oh, like Nerds and Pop Rocks and stuff?

• 4:14Speaker 02

  Nah.

• 4:14Josh Clark?

  You know, I did a brain stuff once on Pop Rocks. And that was interesting.

• 4:19Speaker 02

  Yeah?

• 4:20Josh Clark?

  Yeah, your tongue actually warms the Pop Rocks. To the point where they melt and since they have CO2 trapped inside during the manufacturing process, that CO2 suddenly is released in a pop.

• 4:32Speaker 02

  So it's just a little bubble of CO2?

• 4:33Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 4:34Speaker 02

  That's gotta be good for you.

• 4:36Josh Clark?

  I'm sure.

• 4:38Speaker 02

  It's funny, my, I had a roommate in college, like, not many adults eat candy. Like, people eat chocolate and stuff like that, candy bars, but candy candy?

• 4:48Josh Clark?

  I don't know.

• 4:49Speaker 02

  For an adult, it's just a little strange.

• 4:51Josh Clark?

  I guess, yeah.

• 4:53Speaker 02

  Do you eat candy?

• 4:53Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 4:54Speaker 02

  Like what?

• 4:55Josh Clark?

  Mentos, not mint Mentos, like candy Mentos?

• 4:59Speaker 02

  Oh.

• 4:59Josh Clark?

  I like those.

• 5:01Speaker 02

  Well, I had a roommate that would go to the convenience store next, and this was college, granted.

• 5:05Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 5:05Speaker 02

  But he still eats this stuff, I think.

• 5:07Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 5:07Speaker 02

  And he would go with like fifteen dollars and buy, you know, like giant Sweet Tarts.

• 5:14Josh Clark?

  Mm-hmm.

• 5:14Speaker 02

  You know, those big chewable ones?

• 5:15Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 5:16Speaker 02

  And like Fun Dip and Nerds and just all kinds of candy.

• 5:23Josh Clark?

  Fun Dip, remember, or Lick-A-Made? It was the same thing, I think, yeah.

• 5:27Speaker 02

  It was just a sugar stick that you dip in sugar.

• 5:29Josh Clark?

  Right. Like, I don't have a foot, but I've got my Lick-A-Made.

• 5:34Speaker 02

  Oh, man.

• 5:34Josh Clark?

  Can you, can you guys out there in podcast land tell we're stalling? Cause we are, big time, because we happen upon a topic that no one really knows what's what.

• 5:47Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 5:48Josh Clark?

  I mean, we're talking about fever dreams.

• 5:50Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 5:51Josh Clark?

  We know about fevers.

• 5:53Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 5:53Josh Clark?

  Kinda know about dreams.

• 5:55Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 5:56Josh Clark?

  But apparently, no one's really gotten to work on figuring out what fever dreams themselves are. So it's largely anecdotal.

• 6:05Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 6:06Josh Clark?

  So you're gonna have to bear with us on this.

• 6:08Speaker 02

  We'll leave it, we'll leave that there for now.

• 6:09Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 6:10Speaker 02

  Uh, but I guess a good place to start is by talking about both those things separately. Uh, and starting with fevers, you know, you've always heard ninety-eight point six Fahrenheit is the normal.

• 6:24Speaker 02

  Internal body temperature of a human. Um, that in ninety-two, there was a big study that said it's really ninety-eight point two.

• 6:32Josh Clark?

  What?

• 6:33Speaker 02

  Um, depending on like how old you are, what time of day it is, what you're doing, where you, if you put it in your butt or in your, under your armpit, or in your mouth, or in your ear.

• 6:44Josh Clark?

  Or all of them at once?

• 6:45Speaker 02

  That'd be something else.

• 6:46Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 6:47Speaker 02

  Uh, it can vary a little bit. So I think there's a bit of a slight sliding scale to that number.

• 6:53Josh Clark?

  Yeah, for sure. But I think the key is, is it's gonna be roughly around there. And even if you have a, an average body temperature, that's not exactly ninety-eight point six. Let's say you typically tend toward ninety-seven point five.

• 7:08Speaker 02

  You run cooler.

• 7:09Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 7:10Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 7:10Josh Clark?

  Uh, your body temperature is still during the average day gonna fluctuate plus or minus about a degree Fahrenheit either way.

• 7:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, so I looked a little bit into the ninety-eight point six and the original, um, dude that came up with that was a, a German physician named Karl Reinhold August von Tellek.

• 7:28Josh Clark?

  That was good.

• 7:30Speaker 02

  It's a good one.

• 7:31Josh Clark?

  When?

• 7:31Speaker 02

  Uh, eighteen sixty-eight, he wrote a book. Well, he did a, his studies where he had this, temperature rod, he would stick under the armpits of all these people.

• 7:39Josh Clark?

  He's like, where do you want this?

• 7:40Speaker 02

  Yeah, exactly. And everyone would said.

• 7:42Josh Clark?

  Everyone always says armpit.

• 7:46Speaker 02

  Uh, you know the comedian Rory Scoville?

• 7:50Josh Clark?

  No.

• 7:51Speaker 02

  You should just check him out.

• 7:52Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 7:53Speaker 02

  He does these weird things, like he'll just do his whole routine with a German accent.

• 7:58Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 7:58Speaker 02

  Like for no reason whatsoever.

• 8:00Josh Clark?

  I like the sound of that.

• 8:01Speaker 02

  And he did one about stealing, uh, old people. Like kidnapping old people for the German accent. He's from South Carolina, I think, but he, he's done shows with like, a severe southern accent and then one just normal accent and then he'll do a German thing.

• 8:17Josh Clark?

  He just likes to mess with people?

• 8:19Speaker 02

  I guess so. He's great.

• 8:20Josh Clark?

  I will check him out. Thanks, man.

• 8:21Speaker 02

  He's one of my favorites. Uh, so anyway, um, eighteen sixty-eight, he wrote a book called, after these experiments, called Dos Verhalten der Erkenfahrer in Keinkenheiten.

• 8:34Josh Clark?

  That is good.

• 8:35Speaker 02

  And I looked, it's funny, the real translation, I think of that is on the temperature in diseases, but if you type it into Google Translate, it comes out as the behavior of the intrinsically warm in sick units.

• 8:51Josh Clark?

  That's the subtitle.

• 8:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 8:52Josh Clark?

  Colon.

• 8:53Speaker 02

  Yeah. So anyway, he's a guy that came up with 98.6 and that stood for a long time.

• 8:57Josh Clark?

  But that's just so, that was just based on his observations, his study. And it stuck.

• 9:03Speaker 02

  It was an average. It wasn't like, this is what you should be. It was just the average of all these people.

• 9:08Josh Clark?

  Right. And then 130 years later, we finally got around to verifying whether that was actually true or not.

• 9:15Speaker 02

  Well, I mean, it says in 92 that, that they said it was 98.2 from another study, but then everything I still read says 98.6, so.

• 9:23Josh Clark?

  All right. I know what you're talking about, though. I had heard in the last few years that they're like, that 98.6 jazz is kinda,

• 9:29Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:29Josh Clark?

  kinda made up.

• 9:30Speaker 02

  Right.

• 9:31Josh Clark?

  So, um, the point is, is that your body's going to be roughly somewhere around there, right? That's your normal body temperature.

• 9:38Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 9:38Josh Clark?

  And then depending on the time of day, it's either gonna be a little cooler than that or a little warmer than that.

• 9:44Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 9:44Josh Clark?

  And our body temperature is regulated by something called the hypothalamus. And like I said, depending on the time of day, your body temperature's gonna fluctuate. And that's tied to sleep, apparently. So as your body temperature is rising, usually in the late afternoon is about where it peaks during the day. That's associated with wakefulness, alertness.

• 10:05Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 10:05Josh Clark?

  Not necessarily just having a high body temperature, but an incline in the temperature in your body.

• 10:12Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 10:13Josh Clark?

  Means you're awake, you're alert, you're ready to go. Right?

• 10:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, ready for action.

• 10:17Josh Clark?

  And once it starts to decline, that's associated with drowsiness. And it hits its, um, its trough. Your body temperature's at its lowest right about before you wake up.

• 10:30Speaker 02

  Right.

• 10:31Josh Clark?

  And that's actually associated with REM sleep.

• 10:33Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 10:34Josh Clark?

  So there are some, some stuff starting to come out. Just bear with us, everybody.

• 10:38Speaker 02

  We're laying the groundwork.

• 10:39Josh Clark?

  So your body temperature changes, the hypothalamus is directing the whole thing. And sleep and wakefulness has something to do, it's related to your body temperature changes.

• 10:52Speaker 02

  All right.

• 10:53Josh Clark?

  Good night. You take it from here.

• 10:54Speaker 02

  Well, you know what? Let's take a break because

• 10:56Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 10:57Speaker 02

  I'm not sure where I should go. We'll be right back.

• 11:13Speaker 05

  First thought is like, wow, how are we going to do all this?

• 11:16Josh Clark?

  Hey, this is Josh and Chuck from Stuff You Should Know.

• 11:19Speaker 02

  That's Alan Goya, planning engineer at AT&T, and he's talking about Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, where every seat, screen, phone, and transaction is connected with AT&T fiber and 5G, redefining the fan's experience. And Alan's master plan made it all possible.

• 11:34Speaker 05

  It was going to rival anything that was already built. And that takes quite a bit of people and different teams to all be on the same page.

• 11:42Josh Clark?

  That includes field services manager Drexel Jones. His team made sure it all came together and held up on game day.

• 11:48Speaker 06

  Through what Alan's whole crew designed, we connected the event visitors to the world.

• 11:54Speaker 02

  And after years of hard work and collaboration, it was opening night.

• 11:58Speaker 06

  To actually see the whole stadium light up and data's flowing is a beautiful thing.

• 12:02Speaker 05

  With the fan's experience, it's incredible. It gave me a lot of pride.

• 12:05Josh Clark?

  AT&T, connecting fans to what they love. Connecting changes everything. AT&T.

• 12:15Speaker 02

  You know, you're never done decorating your home. You know what I mean?

• 12:18Josh Clark?

  Sure.

• 12:19Speaker 02

  Yeah, because it's a process. There's always something you could do or buy or update. The only question is, what's next? For us, our animals just wear out our rugs so quickly. It's usually a new rug.

• 12:29Josh Clark?

  Well, Chuck, whether you need a rug or whatever is next for you, you can go to Wayfair. It's the smart place to get it.

• 12:36Speaker 02

  That's right. Whatever your style, whatever your budget, whatever you're looking for, Wayfair makes it easy to find it. And you can feel good about your purchases, too, because Wayfair verified products go through a thorough 10-point quality inspection.

• 12:47Josh Clark?

  And with over 20 million 5-star reviews, Wayfair must be doing something right. You can find pieces made for real life and get even more value with Wayfair Rewards. Join Wayfair Rewards today to get 5% back on every purchase. Head to wayfair.com to shop all things home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R dot com.

• 13:13Josh Clark?

  Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours? The moment you met your partner, landed that promotion? For people living with a rare disease, life can feel divided into before the diagnosis and all the after moments that follow. On Voices of Vivgart, Vivgart is also known as its generic name, Fgartigimod Alpha F-Cab, you'll hear powerful stories from people facing challenges and embracing a life with a rare disease.

• 13:37Speaker 02

  Join host Andra Stratten as she guides listeners through honest conversations about life after diagnosis. You'll hear how each guest worked with her care team on their treatment plan, as well as their personal challenges, setbacks, progress, and moments of connection.

• 13:50Josh Clark?

  These stories reveal that life is bigger than a moment, a condition, or a tough day. Listen to Voices of Vivgart on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 14:13Speaker 02

  Okay, I was being coy. You set the stage very nicely.

• 14:17Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 14:19Speaker 02

  So if your body gets, let's say some bad bacteria gets in it.

• 14:24Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 14:25Speaker 02

  And your body is alerted, warning, intruder is coming. Your immune system kicks into gear and starts producing this biochemical material called a pyrogen.

• 14:38Josh Clark?

  Okay. This is my new favorite thing the body does.

• 14:43Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah?

• 14:44Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 14:45Speaker 02

  Well, you knew that before, right? Or did you just not know the mechanism?

• 14:48Josh Clark?

  I mean, I knew humans get fevers and I knew the fever was to kind of like cook out everything. I didn't understand the mechanism. I guess to answer your question.

• 14:55Speaker 02

  Well, take this part then.

• 14:57Josh Clark?

  Oh, yeah, can I?

• 14:58Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 14:58Josh Clark?

  So these pyrogens, right? They are these biochemical markers that are released by the immune system in the body.

• 15:08Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:08Josh Clark?

  Or, and this is why I love this, there's some bacteria, some pathogens that make humans sick, that produce pyrogens naturally.

• 15:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:16Josh Clark?

  So when they show up, they just start releasing them and they just give themselves away.

• 15:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, they're, it's, they're big dummies in that way.

• 15:24Josh Clark?

  Right. They're like, hey, where's the party? They kick open the door.

• 15:27Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:28Josh Clark?

  They're carrying like a pony keg under one arm.

• 15:30Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:31Josh Clark?

  Their guts sticking out. It's just, that's like that kind of bacteria, right?

• 15:35Speaker 02

  Uh huh.

• 15:35Josh Clark?

  So the pyrogens enter the bloodstream and they travel to the hypothalamus. Cause remember the hypothalamus controls your, um, your body temperature. And this is what they do, Chuck. Are you ready for what the pyrogens do?

• 15:48Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 15:48Josh Clark?

  They go to your hypothalamus and they dampen the heat sensing neurons in the hypothalamus. And they excite the cold sensing neurons in your hypothalamus. And they trick your hypothalamus into thinking your body's suddenly gotten very, very cold.

• 16:06Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 16:07Josh Clark?

  So that your hypothalamus turns the temperature up and says, don't let any of this heat out. We gotta, we gotta warm back up. It tricks your body, your hypothalamus into creating a fever.

• 16:17Speaker 02

  That's right. And they do this because, well, they don't do this because, but what happens from there, they do this because they're dumb. But what happens from there is like you said, the fever, what a fever is and why you want that fever for at least a little while.

• 16:32Josh Clark?

  Fever?

• 16:32Speaker 02

  That it does. It's, it's trying to cook and burn and bake that bacteria until it dies.

• 16:38Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 16:39Speaker 02

  It is your body's fighting. Like when you hear, you know, like your fever broke, that's usually a good sign. That means.

• 16:46Josh Clark?

  Yeah, right.

• 16:46Speaker 02

  That your fever did its job and it's cooked all that bacteria up and you're gonna be on the mend soon.

• 16:52Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 16:53Speaker 02

  Uh, so basically, that's what's happening, and this is the great thing about a fever. But, um, you know, a fever makes you feel like crap because it's a lot of hard work to kill all those things.

• 17:04Josh Clark?

  Well, it is. There's a lot of, um, your sympathetic nervous system is kicked into high gear, which I found out is one reason why they say you wanna feed a cold, starve a fever, because you don't wanna introduce digestion, because it requires the parasympathetic nervous system.

• 17:20Speaker 02

  Right.

• 17:21Josh Clark?

  Right? Fight or flight, and you don't want those two things going on while your body has a fever. It's just a lot of extra work for it, right? But, one of the, one of the things that is going on when your body has a fever, when that temperature rises, it's hard enough on your organs, but it's also hard on the level, just the fact that they're operating outside of their normal operating temperature.

• 17:43Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 17:44Josh Clark?

  And that makes it very hard on them, and can actually cook some of the ingredients inside your cells.

• 17:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, it's like working in a too hot of an environment. It's just, it's never fun for anyone.

• 17:53Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 17:54Speaker 02

  Although, I guess, some people love that stuff.

• 17:55Josh Clark?

  Yeah, but they're still, they might like it, but they still aren't working fast.

• 18:00Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's true.

• 18:01Josh Clark?

  You know? They might be happy, but they're slow.

• 18:03Speaker 02

  Uh, so if you have a fever, what's considered a fever now, uh, in 2017, if you're an adult and your oral temperature is above 100.4, or if your rectal or ear temperature is above 101, then that's considered a fever. Uh, if you're a kid, um, good luck getting anything besides the rectal temperature, because it's just tough.

• 18:26Josh Clark?

  You have basically no right.

• 18:28Speaker 02

  Well, yeah. What you have is wiggly kids who aren't like, sure, stick something in my ear for four seconds.

• 18:35Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 18:36Speaker 02

  Uh, but up the, up the kazoo, there's not really anything you can do about that.

• 18:41Josh Clark?

  All they can do is say, glaven!

• 18:43Speaker 02

  Yeah, exactly. So the rectal temperature for a kid above 100.4. And with adults, like, you don't have to really worry about your fever too much. If it tops 105 for, you know, any period of time, you probably want to do something about that.

• 19:02Josh Clark?

  That's what I saw was the 105 degree Fahrenheit mark was about where you should start to worry.

• 19:07Speaker 02

  Yeah, as an adult, and you're gonna feel so awful if your temperature is 105. You've probably already been to a doctor at that point.

• 19:14Josh Clark?

  Let's hope so.

• 19:15Speaker 02

  For kids, it's different, though. If you don't want to let your child get up to 105, that's bad, bad, bad.

• 19:21Josh Clark?

  So what is it for kids that you really want to start worrying about, as you say?

• 19:25Speaker 02

  You know what? I'm not exactly sure. I mean.

• 19:28Josh Clark?

  It probably depends on whether you're a first-time parent or this is your second or third kid.

• 19:32Speaker 02

  Well, and it varies with the age. You know, it's like 0 to 18 months, it's something.

• 19:37Josh Clark?

  I gotcha.

• 19:38Speaker 02

  Like, what you should do is.

• 19:39Josh Clark?

  Go consult your doctor?

• 19:41Speaker 02

  Yeah, exactly. But, you know, any kind of temperature you should, for a child, you should kind of be a little more alert about.

• 19:48Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 19:48Speaker 02

  But we're not medical experts here.

• 19:50Josh Clark?

  No, we're not. And everything we're saying assumes that you have healthcare coverage.

• 19:53Speaker 02

  That's right. All right, so that's fever in general. You got anything else on that?

• 20:00Josh Clark?

  Yeah, one other thing. The pyrogens.

• 20:06Speaker 02

  Pyro, by the way. It's no mistake.

• 20:08Josh Clark?

  Man, I did have something.

• 20:09Speaker 02

  No coincidence.

• 20:10Josh Clark?

  No, it's not. What is it? Latin for fire? Greek word for fire.

• 20:14Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 20:15Josh Clark?

  Pyro.

• 20:15Speaker 02

  Eat.

• 20:16Josh Clark?

  Def Leppard, right?

• 20:19Speaker 02

  Great, great song.

• 20:20Josh Clark?

  It really is. A whole album, right?

• 20:22Speaker 02

  The album, yeah.

• 20:23Josh Clark?

  Yeah, they just mentioned it in Rock of Ages.

• 20:25Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 20:26Josh Clark?

  It comes up.

• 20:28Speaker 02

  They should have a song called Pyromania. I wonder.

• 20:31Josh Clark?

  But that's pretty cool. It's like the antithesis of your band, your album, and your song all being the same name, like Big Country.

• 20:41Speaker 02

  Oh, I love that song.

• 20:42Josh Clark?

  Sure, but it's pretty uncreative. You're basically saying like, here's our basket, and we're gonna put every egg we have into it. That's the one, one thing we came up with.

• 20:53Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 20:53Josh Clark?

  I saw David Spade bit once and he, he was talking about, he was complaining, it wasn't even comedy. He was just complaining that he went and saw Big Country and they didn't play the song Big Country.

• 21:02Speaker 02

  No.

• 21:03Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 21:03Speaker 02

  Really?

• 21:04Josh Clark?

  He's like, it's the name of your band. It's the one song everybody came to see and they didn't play it.

• 21:10Speaker 02

  He's funny too.

• 21:11Josh Clark?

  Well, the long, the long and short of it is, is I totally forgot what the other thing I had to say about pyrogens was. So I'll probably think of it. Oh, I know what it was.

• 21:19Speaker 02

  Oh.

• 21:20Josh Clark?

  Pyrogens, um, as your immune system grows and ages and you become a grown up, the pyrogens have a little less of an effect on you. So where if you're a kid and your immune system is young and inexperienced, your fever is gonna shoot up quick and it's going to, it's gonna get hotter faster. So you do wanna stay on top of a kid's fever because their immune system is not used to pyrogens coming and messing with their hypothalamus like an adult's is.

• 21:47Speaker 02

  Yeah, it'll spike much faster. That's a good point.

• 21:49Josh Clark?

  That's what I was trying to think of.

• 21:50Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's true. You need to take that, uh, you need to take that rectal temperature way more than you're comfortable with.

• 21:58Josh Clark?

  I don't recall that ever having been done to me.

• 22:01Speaker 02

  Well, cuz you don't remember being a baby.

• 22:04Josh Clark?

  No, but my parents were pretty strict, pretty stern.

• 22:09Speaker 02

  No, I mean, by the time a kid is old enough to where you can say like, hey, put this under your tongue or hold still for a minute while I put this in your ear.

• 22:16Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 22:17Speaker 02

  But pre that, when they're not sentient humans and they're just, you know, crying, whiny little sacks of flesh.

• 22:23Josh Clark?

  I got you.

• 22:24Speaker 02

  You gotta stick it right up the butt.

• 22:26Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 22:27Speaker 02

  Carrie's laughing.

• 22:29Josh Clark?

  She almost spit out her shawarma salad.

• 22:31Speaker 02

  Carrie's done plenty of that, so she knows. Okay, so into dreams. Um, I always think we've done a general show on dreams.

• 22:41Josh Clark?

  I think we did, finally.

• 22:42Speaker 02

  I didn't find it.

• 22:43Josh Clark?

  What? Still?

• 22:45Speaker 02

  No, I saw lucid dreaming. Can you control your dreams?

• 22:48Josh Clark?

  That's the same thing, wasn't it?

• 22:52Josh Clark?

  I think that was the same episode.

• 22:53Speaker 02

  Maybe, yeah.

• 22:53Josh Clark?

  But no, we did one on dreams.

• 22:56Speaker 02

  I didn't see it.

• 22:57Josh Clark?

  Wow. I can't believe it. I can't believe it.

• 23:01Speaker 02

  Well.

• 23:02Josh Clark?

  This contributes to the little by little.

• 23:05Speaker 02

  Someone will know.

• 23:06Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 23:07Speaker 02

  Jill Hurley, where are you when we need you? Our statistician, Minister of Stats.

• 23:11Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 23:12Speaker 02

  Uh, all right, well, we'll talk about dreams a bit here then, even though we've explained this in various episodes here and there, to some degree. But, uh, dreams, you know, if you're a psychologist, you, you really love to spend time talking and dissecting dreams, interpreting dreams. If you're a, um, more into the neurology side of science, you don't really care about that kind of stuff. Um, in fact, for many years, uh, they thought it was called activation synthesis hypothesis, which was, you go to sleep and all these synapses are just randomly firing and they don't really add up to even a story. You just do that when you wake up because you're human.

• 23:56Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 23:56Speaker 02

  But that, I mean, that's complete BS.

• 23:58Josh Clark?

  Well, you almost get the impression that they came up with this and the neurologists came up with it to stake out their territory in response to years of psychoanalysts saying, this is what dreams are.

• 24:09Speaker 02

  Right.

• 24:10Josh Clark?

  They're like tapping into the collective unconscious, or, um, they're, your repressed memories. Neuroscience said, no, nothing.

• 24:18Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 24:19Josh Clark?

  They're just your stupid wet brain going crazy while you sleep.

• 24:23Speaker 02

  Yeah, which we all know now is not true.

• 24:25Josh Clark?

  I saw another one, too.

• 24:27Speaker 02

  What's that?

• 24:28Josh Clark?

  Um, threat simulation theory. Have you heard of that one?

• 24:31Speaker 02

  No, but that's a great band name.

• 24:33Josh Clark?

  Basically, it's you're training to be a ninja while you sleep. Like, your brain is running threat simulations.

• 24:41Speaker 02

  Constantly.

• 24:41Josh Clark?

  So that it's like working itself out, like getting more and more agile and quick and like, like, so you can get better at running from a saber-toothed tiger.

• 24:50Speaker 02

  Right.

• 24:50Josh Clark?

  If you actually encounter it.

• 24:53Speaker 02

  I could see that early on, maybe.

• 24:54Josh Clark?

  Sure. And there is an evolutionary advantage to it, so evolutionarily speaking, it would make sense. The point is, it, it, that one came along and was like, no. There's obviously some reason for dreams. It's not just random.

• 25:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, and then, maybe I could have seen that early on, but then, at some point, someone around the fire had a dream about Tuk Tuk's wife, and woke up and went, whoa.

• 25:17Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 25:18Speaker 02

  There was no saber-toothed tiger in that dream. I'm not sure what that meant.

• 25:23Speaker 02

  Uh, but I better not tell Tuk Tuk. You know?

• 25:26Josh Clark?

  And then they went, what's a rectal thermometer? It hasn't even been invented yet.

• 25:31Speaker 02

  So, uh, these days, they've done actual studies, um, with EEG machines and MRI machines. And, uh, especially in Italy, these Italian researchers, basically, put people to sleep, not put them to sleep.

• 25:46Josh Clark?

  In a sleeper hole?

• 25:48Speaker 02

  They lay them down in a nice Italian bed, feed them some pasta fazool.

• 25:53Josh Clark?

  Get out the rectal thermometer?

• 25:54Speaker 02

  Yep, and they hook them up to all these wires and machines. Uh, and then they will wake them up at different points in the night and say, hey, what were you dreaming of? Um, we'd like to talk about it and study what was going on with these machines.

• 26:07Josh Clark?

  Right, and, um, they actually, what they found, supports the current, the prevailing theory, I don't think it was their theory, I think it was around, but their research supports it, called, um, affect regulation theory. Which is basically that we control our emotions, or we process our emotions through our dreams.

• 26:28Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 26:28Josh Clark?

  And these Italians found support for this, in that when they woke people up and asked them what they were dreaming about,

• 26:35Speaker 02

  Uh huh.

• 26:35Josh Clark?

  The ones who had the best recall were the ones who had the most theta waves in their frontal lobes.

• 26:40Speaker 02

  Right, which are slow-moving waves, right?

• 26:43Josh Clark?

  Yes, and when you look at an EEG machine, if you looked at those dreamers' brainwaves, it looked like the brainwaves of somebody who was sitting there forming and recalling memories.

• 26:55Speaker 02

  Right.

• 26:56Josh Clark?

  So these people said, that's what they're doing. That's what all of us are doing. While we're dreaming, we're forming memories. We're taking emotions that we've experienced through the day. And we're creating memories out of them so we can file them away. So we're processing our emotions in our dreams. That's the point of dreams. That's the current understanding.

• 27:15Speaker 02

  Yeah, and then, I mean, other parts of the brain that have been active all sort of deal with emotion, whether it's the amygdala and the hippocampus or the lingual gyrus, which I think we just talked about that in another episode.

• 27:28Josh Clark?

  I don't recall.

• 27:30Speaker 02

  Can't remember. But they're all areas of the brain that relate to emotion and memory.

• 27:35Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 27:35Speaker 02

  And some with visual activity. And, you know, that kind of makes sense. I like that theory.

• 27:40Josh Clark?

  Yeah, and then, under that current theory, so that's like the explanation for regular dreams. And you can't just have a theory for dreams without including nightmares, or else your theory's broken, right?

• 27:50Speaker 02

  Right.

• 27:51Josh Clark?

  So the affect regulation theory considers nightmares, basically, it's an emotion that's being put into the process of being, of creating a memory, a false memory, right? A dream memory, I guess you'd put it. But it's a real emotion, right? And it's so big, it breaks the process. And all of a sudden, this process of creating a fake memory, a fake experience, goes haywire. And now, all of a sudden, you're enduring some terrible, horrifying experience because the emotion that was being processed was too big and got out of control. And now you have a nightmare. TS for you.

• 28:30Speaker 02

  Yeah. I think we did one on night terrors, right?

• 28:33Josh Clark?

  We did, for sure. And sleep paralysis.

• 28:38Speaker 02

  We've covered it all, I think.

• 28:40Josh Clark?

  I guess we really haven't done a dreams one.

• 28:42Speaker 02

  All right, so let's take another break. We're going to come back and finally talk about fever dreams.

• 29:02Josh Clark?

  Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours? The moment you met your partner, landed that promotion? For people living with a rare disease, life can feel divided into before the diagnosis and all the after moments that follow. On Voices of Vivgard, Vivgard is also known as its generic name, Fgartigimod Alpha Fcab, you'll hear powerful stories from people facing challenges and embracing a life with a rare disease.

• 29:25Speaker 02

  Join host Andra Stratten as she guides listeners through honest conversations about life after diagnosis. You'll hear how each guest worked with her care team on their treatment plan, as well as their personal challenges, setbacks, progress, and moments of connection.

• 29:38Josh Clark?

  These stories reveal that life is bigger than a moment, a condition, or a tough day. Listen to Voices of Vivgard on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 29:55Josh Clark?

  World Mental Health Day takes place in October, and it's really meant to be more than just awareness. It's about actually taking the next step and getting support if you need it.

• 30:04Speaker 02

  But a lot of people still talk themselves out of therapy. They think it's too expensive, they're not sure if it'll actually work, they don't know how to find the right therapist, or they just get overwhelmed trying to navigate the whole system.

• 30:14Josh Clark?

  And that's exactly what Rula is built to fix. Rula makes therapy feel a lot more approachable, a lot more human. You can find a therapist who actually fits your needs, not just whoever's available. And with insurance, sessions average around $15 copay.

• 30:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, you can sign up in just a few minutes, you can get matched with the right provider, and even book something as soon as the next day.

• 30:33Josh Clark?

  And it's not just about starting. Rula helps you stay consistent and actually make progress, because taking care of your mental health isn't a one-time thing. So if you've been thinking about therapy, don't talk yourself out of it. This is a really easy way to take that first step.

• 30:46Speaker 02

  So turn off the talk track that's keeping you from progress and head to rula.com, that is R-U-L-A dot com, to find a therapist the easy way.

• 30:58Speaker 03

  Do you ever feel like your computer is tracking you? Well, it's not. It's your browser following you. But not if you come back to Firefox. Firefox blocks the trackers automatically, doesn't follow you from site to site, and supports the ad blockers other browsers dropped. Plus, you can switch AI on or off when its intelligence is acting too artificial. And switching? Totally painless. Your bookmarks, passwords, and browsing history come right with you. Come back to Firefox. Visit firefox.com.

• 31:38Josh Clark?

  You robbed me of a Saturday Night Fever reference. I just wanna go on record as saying.

• 31:43Speaker 02

  That I was wrong.

• 31:45Josh Clark?

  So Chuck, here's where everything just kinda goes totally off the rail. We've talked about fevers. We've talked about nightmares. The problem is, really, understanding both doesn't necessarily amount to understanding them together.

• 32:03Speaker 02

  Right.

• 32:04Josh Clark?

  So knowing what fevers are, knowing what dreams are, doesn't mean you know what fever dreams are. But you can make stuff up if you want.

• 32:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, and I'm, boy, I don't even think we even said, if you've never had a fever dream, you might even know what we're talking about.

• 32:18Josh Clark?

  Oh, yeah.

• 32:18Speaker 02

  Feel kinda dumb at this point in the podcast, but a fever dream is basically a nightmare on steroids.

• 32:26Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 32:27Speaker 02

  It's just so vivid and so real and scary.

• 32:30Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 32:32Speaker 02

  That happens, you know, when you are sick with a fever.

• 32:35Josh Clark?

  Yes.

• 32:36Speaker 02

  Obviously.

• 32:37Josh Clark?

  So they're fever dreams, right? So they are a thing.

• 32:39Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:40Josh Clark?

  But the scientific literature on them is super thin. Basically nonexistent.

• 32:44Speaker 02

  Kids seem to get them, if not more, at least they stand out more to children.

• 32:49Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 32:49Speaker 02

  And so anecdotally, people seem to recall having fever dreams more when they were kids.

• 32:54Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 32:54Speaker 02

  Whether or not that's true or just a memory is, or, you know, what do you call it? Like a memory bias or whatever?

• 33:01Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 33:02Speaker 02

  There's, no one really knows.

• 33:05Josh Clark?

  Yeah, well, yeah, I mean, we don't really know.

• 33:08Speaker 02

  Cause I don't remember the last time I had a fever and if I did, whether or not I had a fever dream.

• 33:15Josh Clark?

  I, I don't think I've ever had a fever dream.

• 33:17Speaker 02

  I did when I was a kid.

• 33:18Josh Clark?

  I don't remember having fever dreams.

• 33:20Speaker 02

  Yeah, I remember being sick as a kid and having like nightmares when I was sick.

• 33:25Josh Clark?

  So like they're noticeably worse than your average nightmare?

• 33:28Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 33:29Josh Clark?

  Really?

• 33:29Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 33:30Josh Clark?

  So would you keep waking up from them?

• 33:32Speaker 02

  Hmm, that I don't remember.

• 33:35Josh Clark?

  See, that's, that's a big question to me. Um, well, let's talk about the anecdotal theory of what is behind fever dreams, right?

• 33:43Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 33:43Josh Clark?

  So when your body's undergoing a fever, we said that your body's not functioning at its top performance.

• 33:49Speaker 02

  No.

• 33:50Josh Clark?

  Um, and that includes the brain. The brain itself is an extremely special organ, if you didn't know already. It's like, I think, 2% of the body's mass.

• 34:01Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 34:01Josh Clark?

  But it requires 20% of the body's energy.

• 34:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, and the, um, neurons compared to regular old dumb cells, uh, they, they burn or they need about between 300 and 2,500 times more energy.

• 34:17Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 34:17Speaker 02

  Than a regular old dumb cell in your body.

• 34:20Josh Clark?

  Right, and so when all these chemical processes, when all of this, um, energy is being exploited to power cells, um, it produces the byproduct of heat.

• 34:29Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 34:30Josh Clark?

  So the brain is super sensitive to overheating, right? Already, just under normal circumstances.

• 34:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, and is generally taken care of, uh, by, by your body, like it's, you know, it's cooled down.

• 34:41Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 34:42Speaker 02

  And regulated.

• 34:42Josh Clark?

  Right, so, um, if you have a fever and your brain is not operating at optimal conditions, but you're asleep, so it's trying to go through its normal processes. Um, if you have a nightmare, it's entirely possible that that nightmare is going to be far, far worse because the normal processes have broken down.

• 35:06Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 35:06Josh Clark?

  Or, it's even further possible, apparently, um, the amygdala is frequently implicated with nightmares because it has to do with being terrified or angry or fearful. Um, the amygdala might be functioning at an abnormal level.

• 35:23Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 35:24Josh Clark?

  And it's just basically going haywire while you have a fever.

• 35:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, and then the fact that most dreams occur during REM sleep, and I think that's when your body is warmest during sleep anyway, right?

• 35:36Josh Clark?

  That's when, see, this is where it all gets kinda hinky. During REM sleep, your hypothalamus says, "I'm done, I'm not working right now." So it stops regulating temperature, which is usually why your body temperature is lowest right before you wake up.

• 35:50Speaker 02

  Oh, I thought it was highest right before you wake up.

• 35:52Josh Clark?

  No, it's highest in the afternoon while you're awake. It's lowest right before you wake up.

• 35:56Speaker 02

  I feel like I always wake up hot.

• 35:59Josh Clark?

  You, I mean, you may be like sleeping with too many blankets. Your room might be a little too warm.

• 36:04Speaker 02

  No blankets.

• 36:05Josh Clark?

  Huh.

• 36:06Speaker 02

  Or maybe it's my stupid, you know, schedule of my AC.

• 36:10Josh Clark?

  I mean, it could be.

• 36:11Speaker 02

  You know, it might have cut off a couple of hours before or something.

• 36:14Josh Clark?

  Right, it could be, right?

• 36:15Speaker 02

  And then fires up after I get up.

• 36:16Josh Clark?

  Because supposedly, um, when you are sleeping and you're in REM sleep, your hypothalamus is not regulating temperature during that period.

• 36:25Speaker 02

  Huh.

• 36:25Josh Clark?

  So, if you, if you are already hot, and remember, uh, high body temperature is associated with wakefulness.

• 36:34Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 36:34Josh Clark?

  Then maybe you are waking up more frequently than you normally would, and when you wake up in the middle of a dream, you're more prone to remember it. If you wake up in the middle of a nightmare, it's going to seem even worse than one that you had and woke up normally from.

• 36:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I had a series of, not nightmares last night, but just sort of anxiety dreams, and I don't have any anxiety about anything right now. I think it was just after reading all this stuff.

• 36:59Josh Clark?

  Oh, yeah?

• 36:59Speaker 02

  Uh, I'm just suggestible.

• 37:01Josh Clark?

  You had anxiety dreams?

• 37:03Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:04Josh Clark?

  Huh.

• 37:05Speaker 02

  But not about like...

• 37:06Josh Clark?

  Nothing specific?

• 37:07Speaker 02

  No, like there's, you know, usually if I have anxiety dreams, I'm just like, cause something's going on in my life, I'm anxious about it.

• 37:12Josh Clark?

  Sure, yeah.

• 37:12Speaker 02

  But I'm...

• 37:13Josh Clark?

  It was just the research, huh?

• 37:15Speaker 02

  I think so.

• 37:15Josh Clark?

  Man, you're dedicated.

• 37:16Speaker 02

  But there are also celebrity dreams, cause I, you know, I've talked about those before.

• 37:21Josh Clark?

  No?

• 37:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, that I have just celebrity dreams all the time, but they're just very normal, that I'm just like friends with celebrity people.

• 37:30Josh Clark?

  But were they, were they anxiety ridden last night?

• 37:33Speaker 02

  Yes, like I was hanging out with the band Luna.

• 37:35Josh Clark?

  Okay.

• 37:35Speaker 02

  Dean Wareham of Luna.

• 37:36Josh Clark?

  Alright.

• 37:37Speaker 02

  And there was, uh, but there was, I can't remember exactly what was going on, but you know, there was anxiety involved. Like I was trying to get somewhere and couldn't get there, like the typical stupid dream stuff.

• 37:47Josh Clark?

  Gotcha.

• 37:47Speaker 02

  You know?

• 37:48Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 37:48Speaker 02

  But somehow Dean was in there somehow.

• 37:50Josh Clark?

  Yeah. Have you talked to him today?

• 37:53Speaker 02

  I don't know him, but, uh, I think I know why they were in there. That's all I'll say.

• 37:58Josh Clark?

  Oh, okay.

• 38:00Josh Clark?

  Wink, wink.

• 38:01Speaker 02

  I guess so. Here's another thing that was in our own article I thought was interesting, and just a little tidbit, was that some recreational drugs like meth and ecstasy can raise brain temperatures.

• 38:13Josh Clark?

  Right.

• 38:14Speaker 02

  That is one of the reasons they think that it like kills so many brain cells when you do those drugs.

• 38:19Josh Clark?

  Yeah, supposedly you're not supposed to take ecstasy in warm climates.

• 38:23Speaker 02

  Yeah, I never have heard that.

• 38:25Josh Clark?

  Yeah, just Norway.

• 38:28Speaker 02

  Well, there you have it.

• 38:29Josh Clark?

  Only it's fall barred.

• 38:32Speaker 02

  Um, what else? Is there anything else in here?

• 38:34Josh Clark?

  No, man. I can't believe we stretched this one out as far as we did.

• 38:39Speaker 02

  Alrighty.

• 38:40Josh Clark?

  We never have to talk about fever dreams again, Chuck.

• 38:42Speaker 02

  Good.

• 38:43Josh Clark?

  If you want to know more about fever dreams, well, you might as well start at howstuffworks.com. There's nothing wrong with that. And you can also just go around and look at how sparse the research is on the internet for yourself. And if you are a researcher and you know more stuff about fever dreams that you can point us to, let us know.

• 39:02Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:03Josh Clark?

  Um, in the meantime, I think I said search bar somewhere in there, which means it's time for listener mail.

• 39:11Speaker 02

  Uh, you know what? I think another reason the anxiety dreams is because I'm barreling through the season of Fargo.

• 39:17Josh Clark?

  Uh huh.

• 39:18Speaker 02

  And-

• 39:18Josh Clark?

  The third season?

• 39:19Speaker 02

  Yeah, and the two episodes I watched last night, which I believe were, if there are 10, I think it was eight and nine, were both just like, ratcheted up with tension.

• 39:31Josh Clark?

  I'm sure that's what it was.

• 39:33Speaker 02

  And I think that probably had something to do with it.

• 39:34Josh Clark?

  That happens to me sometimes. I'll be watching something and I won't realize how on top of me it's gotten, and then all of a sudden like, it goes to an ad and I'm like really uptight about like this scratch and dent washing machine sale that's going on somewhere and I don't understand why. And I'm like, oh wow, that TV show really got to me.

• 39:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, I think Fargo had something to do with it.

• 39:53Josh Clark?

  I think you may have nailed it.

• 39:54Speaker 02

  Um, alright, I'm gonna call this one, uh, garden variety fan mail, which we don't read a lot of these, so. I'm going to.

• 40:02Josh Clark?

  Dig in.

• 40:03Speaker 02

  Uh, hey, guys. That's all this is. Fan mail. You guys are doing a great job. Always have. It's clear that with every episode, you take great pains to provide the most accurate information you can in the most thoughtful way possible.

• 40:15Josh Clark?

  How ironic that you would read this on the fever dreams of this thing.

• 40:18Speaker 02

  Uh, this has never been more evident to me than in the episodes you did on puberty. I know it's been a little while since these came out, but, uh, just listened to them and it was touching to see how frequently you tried to reassure young listeners what they're experiencing is normal and that there was nothing wrong about what was happening. Uh, to hear two grown men do their best to talk to young boys and girls about such sensitive material was a pleasure. Uh, yes, at times I could practically feel you nervously twitching while, uh, trying, uh, trying to discuss, um, menstruation in an informative yet reassuring way, but it was absolutely charming. Just reaffirm what we've always known. You two are just a pair of great dudes.

• 40:53Josh Clark?

  Oh.

• 40:53Speaker 02

  That's nice.

• 40:54Josh Clark?

  Yeah, I like this guy.

• 40:55Speaker 02

  Uh, I've only been listening for a few years, but I'm a lifetime fan now. Uh, if you're keeping count, I'd like to put in a vote for DC for live shows. Uh, Josh, uh, E D G E, uh, E. Sorry.

• 41:10Josh Clark?

  E D G E is Edge.

• 41:12Speaker 02

  And then add two L's. Edgel?

• 41:14Josh Clark?

  Edgel. Sure, yeah.

• 41:16Speaker 02

  Josh, Edgel or Edgel?

• 41:18Josh Clark?

  I like Edgel.

• 41:19Speaker 02

  Or Edgel?

• 41:20Josh Clark?

  Edgel.

• 41:21Speaker 02

  Or Edga- ooh.

• 41:23Josh Clark?

  I think Edgel. Edgel sounds like a kid next door. Josh Edgel.

• 41:27Speaker 02

  It's Josh. And Josh, you know what? We usually come to DC once a year. Um, I don't think we're coming this year, though.

• 41:34Josh Clark?

  No, we probably will be there early-ish 2018.

• 41:37Speaker 02

  Yeah, DC's always great to us, so we'll, we'll definitely be back.

• 41:40Josh Clark?

  Yeah.

• 41:40Speaker 02

  Soonish.

• 41:41Josh Clark?

  Yeah. Uh, and you can always fly somewhere in the continental United States or Canada, Josh.

• 41:47Speaker 02

  Take that Asila Express up to Brooklyn.

• 41:49Josh Clark?

  Exactly.

• 41:49Speaker 02

  It's a pleasure train.

• 41:50Josh Clark?

  There you go. Uh, there's rectal thermometers everywhere. Uh, and if you want to get in touch with us, you can send us both and Jerry an email to [email protected].

• 42:05Speaker 04

  Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, MyHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

• 42:21Josh Clark?

  Buy smart, drive for less and trade for more. That's Toyota affordability. And it starts with a great deal on an off-road-ready Tacoma or half-ton Tundra, two of Toyota's longest-lasting trucks, combining power for work, tech for adventures, and style in between. And they're built on a reputation for quality and reliability, which is why Toyota trucks are known for holding their value, which could mean big savings when it's time for your next Toyota. So get a great deal today and a great value tomorrow. Shop toyota.com for more. Toyota, let's go places. Introducing Voices of Vivgard. Vivgard is also known as its generic name, Fgard Tigamod Alpha F-Cab. And this new show features firsthand stories from people living with a rare disease. Hosted by Andrew Stratton,

• 43:04Josh Clark?

  these perspectives highlight that life is more than a moment, a condition, or a tough day. Living with a rare disease can be challenging, but it does not define the Voices of Vivgard. In these episodes, they share their stories, from diagnosis to working with their care team on their treatment plan. Listen to Voices of Vivgard on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 43:25Speaker 02

  With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One Bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends. It's pretty much all he talks about, in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com/bankguy. Capital One, N-A, Member FDIC.

• 43:52Speaker 00

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.