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Hey, Wowzer fans, Mindy here.
And before we start the show, I gotta let you know that this November, with a special new episode featuring our friends at Circle Round and Terrestrials on Radiolab for Kids,
And don't miss when Elmo from Sesame Street stops by Wow in the World to make us all belly laugh on November 24th.
Oh, but that's not all, Reg.
On December 1st, we are sharing our 250th episode of Wow in the World with all of you.
We think this one is going to be music to your ears.
Literally.
Did I mention it's a musical?
And if you're a member of the World Organization of Wowzers...
Oh boy, do I have a surprise for you.
You can listen to our 250th episode early with me and other members from around the world on Saturday, November 22nd, at 7 pm.
Eastern.
That's right, we are throwing another listening party.
Join us as we dance along to our new songs.
React to the episode with other members in the chat and more.
Grownups.
If you want your wowzer to join this members-only listening party, you can sign up to become a member today at Tinkercastcom.
Slash wow.
Already a member?
Well, you can find the link and password to join the event when you sign in at Tinkercastcom.
Slash wow.
That's it.
It's going to be a November to remember.
But for now, let's get on with the show.
Woo!
Okay, let's see here.
Azuki beans, they should definitely be the first.
Shouldn't you?
Yes, you should.
And then... Ah, yes, the cannellini beans.
Get over here, guys.
There you go.
Okay.
Oh, how are we doing for time?
Hey, Zoodle, what's the... The time is currently 11 o'clock a.m.
Why does this only work when Mindy's not here?
Right on cue.
What you doing in here?
Were your ears burning?
Yeah, how did you know?
I was trying to see inside them with this candle and almost got a little too close.
Mindy?
Oh, it's fine, Guy Raz.
The candle was made out of my own earwax.
Ugh.
Anywho, I was over there trying out my new binoculars by looking through your windows.
Mindy!
And I couldn't help but notice you pacing over here.
What's got your noodle in a strudel, little buddy?
Oh, Mindy, it's a disaster.
I have a very important guest coming over for dinner tonight, and my house is a complete mess.
Uh, Guy Raz?
This is by far the cleanest room I've been in in at least two weeks.
Well, that's very kind of you, Mindy, but you don't have to humor me.
Just take a look.
My legume collection isn't even alphabetized.
Your what?
My legume collection.
Oh, right.
Your fancy beans.
Mindy, they're not just beans.
So who's the lucky leprechaun that gets to share a seven-course ancient grains digustacion with the one and only Guy Raz?
Huh?
Huh?
Professor Montague.
Professor Montague.
Professor Montague.
Oh, yeah!
Your old etiquette professor from college.
That's right.
That's right.
She's the one who gave me my graduation elbow patches.
She taught me the difference between an oval soup spoon and a cream soup spoon.
She even helped me refine my southern drawl, although it does tend to come out a bit when I get anxious.
Uh, excuse me.
Oh, man.
So you're saying that this is the professor that turned you into the NPR tote bag carrying New Yorker reading?
Four-eyed wonder kid you are today.
Exactly.
This is such a big deal, Mindy.
Okay, uh, look, all you need to do is just chillax a little bit.
Um, here.
Uh, it's near somewhere.
Oh, here it is.
It's a stress ball.
Mindy, is your face on this stress ball?
Oh, you know it.
I mean, what's more relaxing than this mug?
I'm pointing at my face.
Uh, thanks.
I appreciate the offer, but I don't think it's going to work.
I've already tried all my usual stress reduction techniques.
I've gotten my eight hours of sleep.
I've drunk all of my chamomile tea.
I even tried using my meditation app.
Okay, time to relax.
Welcome to mobile device guided meditation.
I'm your guru, Theodore Poolsink.
Hello, Theodore.
Hello.
Guy.
Raz.
Focus on your body and breathe in and out.
Oh, did I turn all my air purifiers on for all this breathing?
Did I answer all those emails?
It's out.
Don't think about that.
Colors. as images now.
Oh, lovely.
We're at the beach.
Okay, I hope it's a protected beach.
It is.
The sun is out.
I should have probably brought some of my sunblock with me.
A sea breeze tussles your hair playfully, and on our next breath, the world falls away.
Ah!
Ah!
Ah! to think of it, Mindy.
I think those techniques just made me more stressed out.
Well, you know what chills me out when I'm stressed?
What?
Some good old-fashioned TV.
Mindy, I haven't owned a TV for 10 years.
Yeah, but there is a giant home theater somewhere in my gingerbread mansion.
What do you say?
Hmm.
Well, do you have any new episodes of Date or Bait?
I'm pretty sure it's streaming on Petflix.
Let me see here.
Catflix?
Yeah, it's that app that streams just animal videos.
You know, like your typical cats playing pianos, monkeys riding segways, that kind of thing.
Let me see here.
Dramas, comedies, documentaries.
Oh, here it is.
Daterbait.
All 23 seasons.
Well, maybe a little time off from organizing my legume collection. would help me clear my head.
Okay, so it's settled?
You'll stop alphabetizing your beans?
Mindy, they are very rare and expensive legumes.
Chick, please, spare P the details.
You get it?
It's a play on beans.
Well, Lima gonna get out of here.
You coming?
Yeah, yeah, hold on.
Let me just put these legumes away.
Wait, are you covering up those beans with tiny blankets, Guyron?
Well, of course.
I don't want them to get cold, do I?
Sleep tight, sweet beans.
I mean, dreams.
What in the... All right, Mindy, let's go.
Okay.
Next stop, fine, numbing television.
Is there any other kind?
Well, if there is, I don't want to know about it.
Womp, womp, womp, womp, womp.
All right, now where did I leave that theater?
Hmm.
You don't remember where you left your giant home movie theater?
I mean, I remember where I left it last week, but then I did some shuffling around on Thursday and uh Uh, Let me just Oh, there it is.
All right, Guy Raz, do you have your ticket?
A ticket?
Nah, just joking.
Popcorn?
Have you got any kale chips?
Kale chips?
Let me see here.
No.
I'm fine.
Thanks.
Suit yourself.
Now, where should we sit?
This place is always so empty.
Well, that's because it's in your house, Mindy.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, look.
The commercials are starting up.
Come on.
Sit down.
Commercials?
I thought we were just watching TV.
We are.
Now, you sit down.
Stay here.
I'm going to go get an unhealthy amount of popcorn.
Be right back.
What?
Are you stressed out by visitors to your homes?
For example, I don't know, an etiquette professor?
I am.
And have you tried all the herbal teas, stress balls, and meditation apps you can handle?
I have.
Well, maybe it's time you visit us at the Flow Retreat.
Maybe it is.
Of course.
Of course it is.
Here at Flow, we approach stress relief scientifically, using the latest in relaxification to help you unwind.
That sounds perfect.
Hey, Mindy.
Hey, Guy Razzi.
I think I found out exactly what I need to unwind.
I thought we were watching date or bake.
I think I found something even better.
Check it out.
For the prevention of tension and to finally be heebie-jeebie-freebie.
Join us at Flow Retreat today.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, why didn't I think of that?
I've got free coupons for this place.
Really?
Yeah, Reggie won them in a video game competition.
What?
During his eSports phase.
Is there anything that bird can't do?
Um, well, build a nest.
Kind of weird that they'd be giving away tickets to a relaxation spot of video game competition, isn't it?
Hey, gamers need to relax too, Guy Raz.
Have you seen Reggie play Fort Nightingale?
Talk about an angry bird.
That is true, Mindy.
Okay, let me just finish this popcorn and then we can head out.
Mindy, you can just leave it here.
You don't have to... Good to go.
So, uh, how are we getting there, Mindy?
I mean, the Wow Machine, are we gonna take Reggie, Power Walking?
Well uh, the Wow Machine is in the wash, Reggie is visiting his parents and Power Walking is for Wednesdays.
Huh?
Which means... Oh, no.
Behold, the all-new and improved Motor Pickle!
Mindy, I thought you turned the Motor Pickle into relish last week.
I did.
And it was delicious.
But I grew another one.
Here, check it out.
This bad boy has a 500cc engine.
That means cucumber calories.
And multicolored streamers on the handles.
I can see that.
So what are you waiting for?
Come on.
I even built you a sidecar.
OK.
Mindy, it's all wet in here.
Oh, yeah.
That's mustard.
Ugh.
Here we... This should be it.
Are you sure, Mindy?
We're in the middle of a forest.
Uh, yeah.
It says right here on the coupon located in a tranquil forest, down the dirt path past the rock that holds no moss.
They couldn't have given a street address?
Oh, look.
There's the rock with no moss.
Oh, and there's the dirt path.
Oh, Guy Raz, this is definitely the right place.
Well, all right.
Let's do it.
All right.
Let me just lock up the motor pickle here.
And let's go.
Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.
You know what, Mindy?
Getting out to nature was such a great idea.
I feel more relaxed already.
I know what you mean.
There's something about the birds, running river, the 8-bit music.
The what?
The video game music.
I hear it too, Mindy, but where is it coming from?
Oh, look over there.
The Flow Retreat.
Guess this is it.
This is it.
It looks more like an arcade than it does a meditation retreat.
Come on, let's check it out.
Raise ya mindy, i'm not gonna snooze.
You lose mindy.
What is dr ross?
That's not fair.
Wait for me winner.
Winner ethically sourced eggs for dinner.
Run run run, run.
Somebody's been eating their compedios.
Okay, wait right here, Mindy.
I'm going to go find out if we're actually in the right place.
Hi there.
Welcome to the flow retreat.
Tokens and lockers are to the right.
Hi.
Yeah, are we at the right place?
I thought this was a relaxation retreat.
It is, sir.
A relaxation retreat using the latest in scientific studies, too.
Yeah, I've seen the ad, but this place looks just like an arcade.
Well, that's exactly where the scientific study comes in.
Scientific study?
What do you mean?
It's all explained, sir, right here in our introductory pamphlet.
Pamphlets?
I love pamphlets.
What's that for? a scoop on this place, Guy Raz.
I just got laser tagged three times.
Well, it looks like this is actually the place, Mindy.
They said it's all explained right here in this pamphlet.
You love pamphlets.
I know.
Okay, let's see here.
A guide to relaxation based on the scientific work of Kate Sweeney, a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside.
A psychologist.
You mean a scientist that studies the ways that people think, right?
Exactly, Mindy.
So it says here that they use video games to induce a state of mental flow, which in turn helps to reduce levels of anxiety.
Oh, yeah.
I know a thing or two about mental flow.
Really?
Yeah.
Mental flow is like the mental state of mind that a person gets into when they're fully immersed in whatever they're doing.
Huh.
I mean, it's basically just a fancy scientific way of saying being in the zone.
Ah, I get it, Mindy.
Kind of like when you're inventing something.
Yeah, or when you're alphabetizing your fancy bean collection.
You get into this mental flow and hours can pass by and you don't even notice.
And so this researcher from the University of California found out that you can enter this state of flow by playing video games.
I guess.
Yes, I mean, it sounds like it.
What else does it say in that pamphlet?
Well, not much.
It just goes on to talk about cleaning your chakra with air hockey and aligning your chi with table tennis.
Hmm.
Well, I don't know.
You want to walk around a little bit, maybe play some games, see if it helps you relax?
Well, I couldn't hurt, Mindy.
Great.
What do you want to play first?
It looks like there's Time Aversion 2 down there.
And I see a line for Smack-A-Mole.
Always promising.
Oh, and there's a glass.
Can we, can we, can we, can we, can we?
Well, usually I'd say no.
But in the spirit of self-care and relaxification, let's do it, Mindy.
Yes!
Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run!
Okay, Guy Ross, stand back and prepare to be amazed, because this buttery little claw is about to pick up the cutest little.
Scientific study?
What?
Mindy, look.
All the prizes in this claw machine game are scientific studies.
Why?
Wait a minute.
What?
Exploring the benefits of flow during uncertain waiting periods.
Mindy, I think that might be... Oh, that's Kate Sweeney's study from the University of California.
Jackpot!
You gotta get that one, Mindy.
We need that study.
Oh, I'm gonna get it, little buddy.
Put a couple of tokens in this bad boy and watch mama go to work.
Let's do this.
Okay, concentrating a little to the left.
Just nudge forward.
Move it back a smidge.
Come on, Mindy, you can do it.
Okay, claws opening.
It's latching on.
Look, look, Mindy, it's got it.
Come on!
We got it!
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
Scientific study!
Scientific study!
Oh, Mindy, I never doubted you for a second.
All right, let me just get it out of the machine here.
See what it says, Guy Raz.
How do they find out that playing video games could put you in a state of flow?
Okay, so...
The researchers gathered 309 college students and told them that their peers would be rating how good looking they are.
Man, that doesn't sound very nice.
I know, but apparently it's a really effective way to get people stressed out.
Oh, I get it.
So they didn't really do this.
They just said they were going to do this to get the participants in the study all stressed out.
I got it.
And then after that, the researchers split the 309 college students into three different groups.
And each group played Tetris, but at different difficulty levels.
Oh, I've played Tetris before.
It's that game where you have all of the falling blocks in different shapes and you got to make straight lines to get points.
Yeah, that's right.
I was actually the high score leader back in high school.
Really?
Yep.
They used to call me High Roz because of all my high scores.
Ooh, you must have been a pretty popular guy.
Roz.
Anyway, they split the group up into three difficulties.
One of the groups played a super easy-peasy version of the game which, as you can guess, was super boring.
And then the next group played an extremely challenging, super-duper fast version of the game, which was just
Super-duper frustrating.
And then the last group played a classic version of the game, where it adapts to the skill level of whoever is playing.
And as the researchers found out, it got them into that state of flow.
Aha.
So one was too slow, one was too fast, and one was just right.
That's it, Mindy.
Well, you know what they should have called the study, right?
What's that, Mindy?
Goldilocks and the falling squares.
Ha ha, nice one.
So, what did these researchers find out?
Well, it says here that, while all the participants experienced some degree of worry, the third group, The one that had the skill level, that was just right.
Yeah well, they reported higher levels of positive emotions and slightly lower levels of negative emotions.
Suggesting that the video game that brought on a greater sense of flow actually lowered their levels of stress.
Correctamundo, Mindy!
Ah, that's so wow!
But that's not all, Mindy.
The study goes on to say that this doesn't just work for video games.
What?
This doesn't just work for video games.
Say that into my good ear.
What?
This doesn't just work for video games.
Yeah, okay, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it.
So you're saying that, as long as it brings us to that state of flow that we can do other things to help us?
Chillax too.
Any activity that brings on a state of flow has the potential to lower anxiety and help relieve stress.
So that means that my inventing and building stuff and your alphabetizing your fancy beans could also be used to put your mind into a state of flow and help you to be less stressed out too.
That's exactly right, Mindy.
You don't have to use screens at all.
But since we are here in an arcade and we are looking to help you, chillax um, did you want to hit up that Tetris machine in the corner over there?
Or yes.
Hmm, I don't know.
How much time do we have before Professor Montague arrives?
Who?
Professor Montague, the professor who taught me my, uh, P's and Q's.
Oh, right, that Professor Montague, the one that's coming over for dinner.
Don't remind me.
Come on, Guy Raz, you've got plenty of time.
Well... Come on, I can hear the Snackamoles calling your name.
Okay.
Well, okay, Mindy, you've convinced me.
I think it might be time for the return of High Roz.
Woo-hoo!
Yes, yes, yes!
Okay.
Step aside, Mindy, because here we... Come on, little buddy.
You can do it.
Come on.
Go, go, go, go.
Right there, right there.
Hey, grown-ups.
It's Mindy and Guy Raz here from Wow in the World.
Mindy and I have some brand new Wow in the World toys out in the world just in time for the holidays.
Made for the kids who love science and for the ones who don't yet.
From our 100 experiments, that Wow kit to the telescope and astronomy kit.
Our Wow in the World toys help your Wowzer learn about their world through play.
Play you can hear exclusive audio content from me and Guy Raz to help your wowzer discover even more wows.
Grownups.
Give the gift of wow and wonder this holiday season with our latest Wow in the World toys designed with your curious wowzer in mind.
You can shop our Wow in the World toys at Tinkercast.com slash toys.
That's Tinkercast.com slash toys. to the show.
Wow in the World.
Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Emma.
I live in Boquete, Panama.
My wow is that here in Panama, I've seen wasps called tarantula hawks dragging tarantulas.
They are their prey.
They paralyze them, drag them back to their nest, and lay an egg inside.
Then, the baby wasp eats the tarantula from the inside out.
Gross.
Adios.
Hi, my name is Irina, and I'm from Fukuoka, Japan.
And my wow in the world is that there's a type of shrimp that's called mantis shrimp.
And they have an amazing ability to punch their prey or enemy.
And sometimes, they punch so fast and so hard that the water boils around it.
And you call that cavitation.
Bye.
Love you, Reggie.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Roz.
My name is Alexa.
I am from Bridgeville, Pennsylvania.
And my wow in the world is that on phones and tablets there are little squares called pixels that make up the pictures.
Bye, Mindy and Guy Roz.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Roz.
My name is Lorelai, and I live in... the USA's oldest city, St.
Augustine, Florida.
My wow in the world is that there was once a chicken that lived 18 months with no head.
Love your show.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Liam.
I live in Brooklyn, New York.
My wow in the world is that the Mako shark is the fastest shark.
It can swim up to 46 miles an hour.
P.S.
Say hi to Reggie for me.
Loving the show.
Bye.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
My name is Sam, and I live in Decatur, Georgia.
And my wow is jars of honey were found in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen.
Bye, Mindy and Guy Raz.
Hi, Mindy and Guy Raz.
And hi, Reggie.
My name is Nathan, and I live in New York City, New York.
My wow in the world is that the dot over the letter I is called a tittle.
Neptune has rings.
Bye.
Bye.
Amazon, hang up.
End of messages.
Hey everyone, thank you so much for hanging out with us this week on Wow in the World.
And to keep the wow rolling, check out this week's scientific conversation starters at our website wowintheworldcom.
And grownups.
There you can find more info on how your kids can become members of the World Organization of Wowzers shop our Wow Shop.
Upload photos and videos to us and check dates for our upcoming live events.
That's wowintheworld.com.
Our show is produced by Jed Anderson.
Who provides the bells, whistles, and silly characters.
Say hello, Jed.
Hello.
Our show is written by me, Guy Raz, and Thomas Van Kalken, who also provides silly characters.
Tom?
Hello there.
Thanks also to Jessica Bode, Casey Koffer, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger, and Alex Curley.
Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by The Pop-Ups.
For more info on their two-time Grammy-nominated all-ages music, find them at thepopups.com.
And grown-ups, you can follow Wow in the World on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at wowintheworld.
And our email address is hello at wowintheworld.com.
And if you're a kid with a big wow to share with us, call us at 1-888- for a chance to be featured at the end of the show.
Also, if you haven't already done so, please subscribe to Wow in the World on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Yeah, leave us a few stars, a review, or just tell a friend about the show.
Thanks again for listening, and until next time, keep on wowing.
Jink!
Wow in the World is made by And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
