THE HUMAN SCREAM | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh, and there's Chuck. And I'm not. going to scream to start this off. because I care about all of you. listening. >> Yeah, >> that was for you. Yeah, we're talking about Julia helped. us out with this one and I commissioned. this one and I don't remember what. instigated it. It definitely wasn't from.

hearing somebody scream. I may have seen. an article or something that piqued my. interest and I was like, wait a minute, what? Like screaming is interesting that. people scream and for all different. kinds of reasons people scream and uh. that's why that's why I picked it. >> Here we are. Yeah, I I was very. surprised and impressed that it's one of. those ones where you just you think you. know about it because you never really. thought about it. And when you dive into.

it, there's a lot more to it than you. ever realized. Although all of it makes. sense anecdotally, you're like, "Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I've done that. I've. screamed like that. I've screamed and. screamed and screamed again." Um, it. Yeah, I like ones like this. I guess. human human nature. explained. And there's a comma in there. somewhere. >> Somewhere in there. Definitely not a. colon. Uh we should get some nuts and. bolts out of the way as far as like uh. everyone knows what a scream is. It's. obviously a very loud, high-pitched,

harsh thing on the ears. Uh it's a sound. that you make with uh I was about to say. with your mouth, but we'll we'll get to. the parts that make the scream. Um but. nuts and bolts wise, the scream is in. about the 80 to 120 decel range in. volume. Um 60 dB is normal speech. Um. unless you're my wife, that's more like. an A75, I would say. Uh she and her her. friend Stacy are two of the loudest.

humans on Earth and they they admit. that. Uh they're not wall flowers and. they own it and I respect it. >> Nice. uh they reach frequent not Stacy and and. Emily, but uh humans uh or I'm sorry, the human scream can reach a frequency. in the range of 2,000 to 3,000 hertz, >> whereas a normal talker is about 80 to. 300 hertz. >> Yeah. And for for dum dums with sound. like me, um the higher the hertz, the. higher the pitch. So hertz is a measure. of actual frequency. Pitch is a me.

basically a measure, a description of. how we experience that frequency. That's. right. And just to clear up something. for what's coming later, uh, a a sound, a tone can have two different. frequencies. >> I've got it. I have it now. >> Okay, that's it. >> No, I can't wait to explain it later. because it's going to get flubbed all. over the place. Well, it is it isn't intui in intuitive.

like you would think like a a guitar. string makes like you know one one uh. frequency range, but it's just Yeah, it's not true. It's one of those things. >> Yeah, it's just not true. We'll just. leave it at that. But we're we're. getting ahead of ourselves, Chuck. >> Yeah. Back to screaming, right? >> Yeah. Because um if you think about. screaming, I always think of someone. screaming usually in a horror movie or. something like that. I haven't heard too. many like real deal screams in in real. life, which is nice. Um, but we're not. the only animals that scream. There's.

plenty of other animals in the animal. kingdom that that scream that we know. of. I'm quite sure there's plants that. scream, too. We just can't hear them. >> Maybe. >> But, um, birds scream, seals, marmets, mountain lions, and I didn't know. giraffes scream. That's got to be. off-putting. The funniest scream of all. is a goat screaming. >> Yeah. >> If you have never witnessed a goat. scream, >> go right now to YouTube and just look up.

goat screaming videos. And they don't. all scream the same way, but every once. in a while, one of them's going to come. along and scream like a man. >> And it is like you will, you can't not. laugh out loud when you see it. Every. time I watched the same goat scream over. and over again, and I laughed out loud. every time I watched it. Yeah. And it. it's so uh non-goat sounding because. it's not even like a loud bleet that you. wonder like is somebody punking me and. that's just like you know that's James.

Khan from Misery that they're looping in. there. >> Does kind of sound like that. Um another. one to look up real quick are two links. in Ontario screaming at each other. It's. like right in their faces. Have you seen. that one? >> I haven't seen that one. >> Oh, it's it's nuts. uh animals um well. they they well let's just talk about why. anything screams. It's it's a very. effective tool. Um it's obviously a. great fear response because everyone's. going to sit up and take notice because. it's so harsh and loud.

>> Uh it's a very jarring thing. It can. also distract predators. Um obviously. screaming if you're lost, you know, a. scream can travel a great distance in. the woods uh or anywhere and you can um. you know alert somebody from a great. distance. So, it's a it's a a great. communicative tool for humans and. animals alike. >> Yeah. And um that loudness I saw the. Guinness record for the loudest scream. um is 129 dB, which is one decel under a. jet engine and almost and almost 10.

times louder than a police siren. >> Wonder who that was. >> I don't know. But man, I can't imagine. that they did that too many times. because as we'll see, screaming can. really mess up your your uh neck junk. >> Yeah, that's really gross. Uh I'm getting older, so I'm getting. more and more neck junk. >> A lot of neck junk, too. >> Uh all right, so humans are are born. with this ability. Uh we know how to. scream right away. Uh because we we come.

out of the womb screaming. Um, in fact, that's a very comforting sound when a. baby is born is that first scream. They're going to clear that flim in. their airway so they can breathe. It. lets everybody know, hey, I'm here. I'm. ready for action. I'm feeling good. despite the fact that I'm screaming. Uh, if if a baby is born and there is no. scream, that is a very scary scary. moment for parents and everybody in that. room. >> Yeah, I can imagine. It's like the one. time where not screaming means that.

there's an issue. >> Yeah. you know, >> totally. >> Um, and there's a lot of information in. a baby's scream. It says, "I'm in. distress. I'm in pain. I'm I could use a. nosh." Um, there's just a lot that that makes a. parent, because we're tuned to this kind. of thing, especially if you're the. parent of that baby. Studies show that. you respond to your own baby's cries or. screams a lot more easily or quickly. than somebody who um is not the parent.

of that baby. Um, but you rush over. there and you say, "Here's some food. Here's a little blanket and way to go. You just got all the fleg out of your. throat, so now you can breathe. normally.". >> Yeah. I remember when you uh met Ruby as. a baby and she was screaming and you're. like, "What the hell's wrong with this. kid?". >> Right. Yeah. I just, you know, I tried. to bounce around my knee faster and it. did the opposite of help. >> And I said, "Oh, Josh, I'm I'm in tune. already." Not in tune, attuned already. I was also in tune. And I said, "That. just means she's hungry." So just.

raise your shirt. >> Yeah. >> Give her what she needs. >> That didn't work either. She got like. hair in her mouth though. >> Oh my god, this got really disturbing. very fast. >> Yeah, we got it out. >> Uh what about that cat cry? >> So there is a um a syndrome that's. colloquially called I think credot, cry. of the cat in French. And uh it has um. some similarities to Down syndrome. But. one of the defining characteristics of. credtor is a larynx malf formation. So.

that babies when they cry like the loud. screaming cry have a make a a very. specific cry that sounds very much like. a cat crying. >> Yeah. Um if if like you can find a. couple of videos on YouTube of people. with their baby with crude shot of. crying and it's it's really cute in a. lot of ways but also you're like that. sounds a lot like a cat and it's so. distinct that you can actually initially. diagnose an infant with credot syndrome.

because of their cry. It's that. distinct. >> Yeah. So, I mean, that's a a benefit. that can save a lot of time. and discomfort for this kid in. diagnosing this kind of condition. >> Exactly. >> It's great. Um, it also is a sign. obviously when a kid is screaming um. saying, "Hey parent, um, go into fight. orflight mode because I need something.". And you know, if it's one of distress, uh, even more so obviously and not just. like, "I'm hungry like severe distress.".

Um, I don't know that we need to discuss. fight orflight in detail because we did. it 364 times over the first like five. years of the show, >> right? >> But everyone knows what that is, right? >> Yeah, I would think so. I don't think we. really need to describe fight or flight. >> You're like, uh, but it's the. >> I didn't I stopped myself. >> I exercise great restraint. >> Nice work. >> Okay. Well, anyway, I'll take it from. here, Chuck. Yeah, >> because the reason you brought that up. is screams activate fight orflight mode.

in some really like basic ways as we'll. see. Um, and so a scream actually. activates in you, a human who hears a. scream that that readiness to like. either spring into action or run like. hell or freeze or fawn is the other one. now. Um, because the fight orflight. syndrome's really come a long way since. we last talked about it. And fawn is the. the response that you want when a baby's. crying. >> You want to go over and be like, "Oh, it's okay.". >> Yeah, that's right. Uh here, never mind.

I'm going to abandon that line of. thought. >> I think you should. >> Uh so, let's talk about sound for a. minute because all sound comes from and. is perceived by us through a a series of. processes in the brain. And most of. these are in the higher brain region. But screams are different. They happen. in the lower brain region and um it's. it's a very interesting thing. It kind. of lives in its own as far as like.

humans making sound lives in its own. area. It's very distinct from all the. other sounds we make. >> Yeah. And it's a lot faster um to. basically activate us than than normal. speech that we hear. Right. So when you. talk when you're making just just talk. like I am right now. Say this this is a. good example. I'm using this description. as an example in real time. Okay, >> that's right. >> So, I'm using my laryngal motor cortex. That's basically running the show right. now. And that is a higher brain process, right? So, I'm using um cognition. I'm.

figuring out how my mouth should move, which also requires fine motor. coordination. I'm processing sound. Uh I. think from our internal dialogue. episode, I'm doing a quick quality check. right before I actually say the words. >> and then sound like Josh. Exactly. And. do I sound like a muppety tenor? I do. Let's go. >> Um, and then this stuff is sent to the. brain stem which basically says, "Okay, larynx and vocal cords and lungs and. abdominal muscles, let's talk." That's.

normal speech. And again, it requires a. lot of higher brain processing. Screaming uses a different set of. equipment to to make itself happen. It's. nuts because you think screaming is a. form of speech. It's actually not. Even. though we use a lot of the same stuff, a. lot of the same bait and tech I'll say. um like it's its own thing which is I. just find this is where I'm like okay. this is super fascinating now. >> Yeah that's right. So for screams uh and.

some involuntary vocalizations but. really screams the sound production. takes a different and like you said a. much faster path. Uh the signal starts. in the lyic system and it skips that. higher brain processing. uh the it it happens in the amygdala. basically the emotional stimulus that. the amygdala is all about just sends a. scream signal. It's it's sort of like a. direct path like a express train um. through that brain stem uh to all the.

anatomy that you were talking about in. your in your you know the neck junk and. that scream just comes out immediately. And the the craziest part is our body. actually picks up on this before our. ears and brain can even process what. we've just heard. >> Yeah. Once the scream comes out of. someone else, when we hear that scream, it puts us in fight orflight mode before. we're even consciously aware that we. have heard a scream. That's how that's. how finely tuned we are to responding to.

screens, which again, this is something. you just think exists out there and then. when you dig in, you're like, my god. So, there's like a whole a whole set of. um processes that take place that again. are different than how we would respond. if we hear regular speech, right? So, it. follows some of the same processes. It. hits the outer ear, goes through the ear. canal, the eardrum goes boom, boom, boom. it that is amplified in the middle. ear and that goes onto the cacia which.

triggers a wave along the baselor. membrane which says I'm going to turn. this into an electrical signal sends it. to the auditory nerve which sends it to. the brain stem and then to the phalamus. and the phalamus is the sensory clearing. house it's it sends this to that and. that to that all of your sensory. information goes to the phalamus and. here is where it it diverges from normal. speech. >> yeah and I mean that's why when somebody. screams like a blood curdling scream out. in public, you're you're instantly. reacting. You don't hear that and then.

decide like, well, maybe I should go see. what's going on over there. Like, your. body is instantly reacting because it is. unconsciously picked up on that scream. before it's even registered in your. brain. So, it's it's really a a pretty. remarkable sort of evolutionary. uh trait, I think, like to to to help. rescue uh you know, probably back in. Tuktuk's days, uh the the wife or baby. that the the husband who's out hunting. and gathering has to protect from. whatever dangers are around the fire.

>> Yeah. And the reason why that happens is. because when it hits that phalamus, it. gets sent two different ways. It's like. it gets sent the normal way to that. higher brain processing and when it goes. through that higher brain processing. that's when you become conscious of. hearing that scream. But what's happened. even faster is it got sent to that. amydala and that sended the the fight. orflight um response and that happened. before your higher brain finish. processing which is just it's it so. there's its own pathway for just screams.

that the hum that the human brain has. evolved. >> um to basically make you able to respond. to a scream faster. It has its own. expressway. Screams only essentially is. what it says. And if you're regular. speech and you try to use that same. expressway, it's got those um tire. bursting spikes. >> that will just stop you cold right there. and and they'll send you back along the. way you're supposed to go to the higher. brain. >> You go back to Talktown, buddy.

>> Exactly. And it's going to take you a. while to get there because you don't. have tires. You're driving on just rims. now because you were dumb and you made a. poor decision. >> Yeah. And you shouldn't do that because. you're going to damage those rims. You. need to pull over immediately. >> Yeah, it's bad. >> Uh should we take a break? >> Uh yeah, I think so. >> All right, we're going to take a break. and come back and Josh is going to. explain something called the roughness. domain right after this.

>> You should know. All right, Chuck. Here we go. Here's the. flubbing.

Okay. >> Well, we'll see. It's a little brain. breaking, but we'll get it. I think it's. one of those things where if I I just. thought too hard about it and I've made. it brain breaking but so so screams have. something in common and that is that. they exist in um a region of human. perception that's called the the. roughness domain. Okay. >> Mhm. >> And if you take a someone's voice right. it has a certain frequency. My voice has.

a certain frequency. You can recognize. it as mine. But you can take my voice. and make it modulate, right? So, um, like the British, um, police car that. goes, that's modulating, right? So, it has its. own its own frequency, right? But you're making it um, change. pitch. So, that's a second frequency that it. has. And if that frequency is between 30. hertz and 150 hertz, that modulation.

between up and down or left and right, however you want to look at it, that is. um that roughness area. And it also. seems to be reserved as far as human. sounds go just for screams. >> Yeah, there was a study. They they. learned this because of a study. >> Whoa, whoa, how'd I do? >> Oh, you did great. >> Okay, good. >> I'm sorry. I didn't uh the customary. >> Thank you. We usually edit the claps. out. I think we should leave that one. in. >> Yeah. Yeah, let's leave that one in. Uh.

they know this because in 2015 uh NYU, the neuroscientists there published a. study um supporting this role of. amplitude modulation. And the the crazy. part is that the only other sound in. that roughest domain like that's the. only sound a human can make that's like. that. The only other sounds are all. artificial alarms. So the human screen. lives in the rough disc domain alongside. sirens and car alarms and you know just.

other other like a claxon maybe. >> What is that? Is that the bad guys in. Doctor Who? >> I think a claxon is the. >> Oh, those are terrible. Like pull your. credit card out of the card terminal. >> Does it actually do that? >> Yes. I So they they did originally. I. think they've kind of stopped but it. would used to be really jarring. >> Yeah. I I mean cuz that's a sound that. happens when a nuclear uh facility is. melting down, >> right? Forget your credit card, meltdown. a nuclear facility. Basically the same.

thing. >> Uh yeah. So thanks NYU for that. Right. >> Well, okay. That was just part one of. this study. This is a really robust. study. So they analyzed recorded sounds. and they found that screams were all in. roughness and the only other sounds that. were in there were alarms. Right? Then. they got a bunch of volunteers, almost. guaranteed NYU undergrads looking for. extra credit, >> and they said, "We want you to make a. bunch of sounds. We want you to scream. We want you to speak normally. We want.

you to scream speak.". >> Yeah. >> And make a bunch of meaningless. vocalizations like yips, yammers, yelps, that whole thing. Right. >> Sure. >> And then they analyzed those just like. they analyzed the recorded sounds. And. they found that all of the scream sounds. were in the roughness domain. >> and all of the non-scream sounds. including yips and yammers were uh not. in the roughness domain whatsoever. So. they're really zeroing in and yet. there's more to this study. This is how. robust it was.

>> Yeah. So then they said, "All right, we. got this this collection of sounds. Uh. neutral sounds is what we'll call the. ones that aren't screams and then the. screamy things." And they brought in. some other volunteers, other NYU. students for sure. and said, "All right, we want you to rate the scariness like. maybe on a 1 to 10, 1 to five, who knows. what they used, maybe a Yelp star. system.". >> Okay? >> And they said, "Rate the scariness of. the sounds." Uh, all the sounds in the. roughness domain, this is pretty. obvious, were rated as scarier than the. neutral sounds.

>> And the sounds that were rated the. scariest were the ones that were highest. on the roughness scale. All makes sense, >> right? So, they're really drilling down. here. It keeps going, everybody. They. actually took volunteers, probably the. same ones who rated the scariness of the. sounds, and they scanned them while they. were listening to scary sounds, and not. just screams, but also artificial. alarms, too, and probably some of the. nonsense sounds and um musical sounds. And as they were listening, the screams.

and the alarms were the only ones that. cause spikes in the amygdala. Remember. the amydala has uh is where that that. set aside pathway for screams is. >> And that the higher on the roughness. scale, if you can call it that, that the. screams or alarms were, the greater the. amygdala activity. And then the greater. the amydala activity that was shown in. the scans, the higher those um sounds. had been rated for scariness by the. volunteers previously. And when they. wrapped it up and put all this together,

they were like, "I forgot what we were. studying in the first place.". So, the upshot to to borrow a term from. Josh is that it seems like humans are uh. specifically attuned. um and our amygdala is specifically. activated by the sound of a scream uh to. say like, "Hey, it it's time to panic or. it's time to to kick into high gear.".

They found that this works if you're. awake or asleep. >> Yeah. um the the rough vocalizations in that. rough domain that we were talking about. penetrate human sleep cycles more than. neutral vocalizations. And that's not to. say that like yeah, of course it's. louder, dummy. We're not talking about. decibb here. We're talking about a. frequency range like u I think what. they're saying and correct me if I'm. wrong is that is that a scream that. might be the same decibel level as like. a really loud talk will penetrate that.

sleep cycle unlike that really loud. talk. >> Yes. and they think it's because the. amygdala is tuned to that 30 to 150 Hz. roughness band. >> So, the amygdala has its own route for. getting you aroused um and not. necessarily in the best way um when you. hear a scream and it's also listening. out to a specific band of modulation to. um that that screams existence. So. clearly, thanks to our NYU researchers. back in 2015, screams are a really important and kind.

of overlooked part of human speech, right? And. >> yeah, for sure. And they think also, Chuck, that not only has um like have we. evolved to develop this alarm system, which clearly is what it is, because not. only you're saying help, you're also. depending on how nice or altruistic the. people listening are, um you're also. saying look out, there's danger, and. they may run away if they flee or they. might run to you to help you if they're.

ready to fight. >> But they also have shown that screams. have evolved in other ways, too. like we. don't scream just out of an alarm system. anymore. There's actually at least six. other screams that they've discovered. that correlate or correspond to six. other separate emotions. >> Yeah. Uh anger, of course, is going to. be one. You can scream at somebody in. traffic. >> There's a Europe song called um Scream. of Anger. >> Really? >> In Europe, of course, is known for a. different song. >> Uh yeah, but you know what? I heard uh.

oh, what was it? That other Europe song. I forgot about the other day on Hair. Nation on SiriusXM. >> Okay. >> Uh which I'm still pounding by the way. I I I can't get away from it. I'm so. back into the hair metal. It's really. funny. >> That's awesome. >> Um what was it? Keep on walking that. road and I'll follow. Uh and if a mirror. should break. Uh Superstitious. >> That was Europe. >> Yeah, that was Europe. That was another.

big song besides Final uh Countdown. >> Okay. Well, so Scream of An. >> That's a great song. >> Okay. Scream of Anger is even better. It's like actual metal tinge. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You just made me. think of Europe. Um they're they're. definitely not screamers. They had. voices of angels. >> They did. >> Uh obviously scream and fear, which is. kind of one of the things we've been. talking about. Uh screaming and pain. >> Yikes. >> That's something that I have never. experienced. I've been I've felt great. deals of physical pain, but I'm very. internal. I I kind of go inward. Um, but.

I've been to emergency rooms and a. screamer in an emergency room is a very. unsettling situation. >> Yeah, for sure. Um, the one I always. associate with that is Tom Behringer. telling that guy who got shot in the gut. and platoon to eat the pain. >> Uh, yeah, that's right. >> That guy was definitely screaming in. pain. >> Yeah. Yeah. He put his hand over his. mouth. >> and it was that Junior. Yeah. >> So, uh, there's also, this one's great. a scream of extreme joy.

>> Yeah, like at a concert maybe. >> Sure, that's one. Or if you uh watch The. Simpsons and go back and watch, I think, the murder house episode where Marge is. a real estate agent selling a murder. house to Ned Flanders, you hear a. terrible scream and it turns out it's. Ned Flanders screaming in joy because. there's purple drapes in the house. It's great. Just go look it up. It's. like a 10sec clip. >> Uh I guess, you know, we're not going to. dance around this. We're adults here. Uh.

obviously during intercourse an orgasm. can produce uh quite a scream, I'm told. >> Yeah. Next to that, I just have an. ellipse. >> Uh intense pleasure. So, you know, that. extreme joy and intense pleasure. probably encapsulates both of those if. if you're doing it right. Uh and then a. scream of sadness. Um and I guess this. is just uh uh like whailing plus. Yeah, I feel like this one may have just been. mislabeled because I think you can make. a case that what they're describing here.

is actually a scream of emotional pain, not physical pain. Emotional pain. >> And that's what sadness is, right? >> Yeah, I guess so. So, sure. I mean, maybe it's just me that was like, "No, it's that's wrong.". >> Um, a really good example of it as far. as movies go is Tony Colette in. Hereditary. >> Oh, god. >> She finds out that her daughter has. died. It's. >> gutwrenching. the the work she does like. like oh my god it's really tough to. watch and of course it's all over the. internet.

>> I. am about to say something I thought I. would never say. I think I would like to. see that movie again. >> Oh why did you not like it the first. time? >> I loved it but it was it's a tough movie. and it was one of those I was like well. that was amazing but I don't think I. need to see that ever again but I think. I might want to because it was really. that great. I've seen people here or. there describe it as potentially the. darkest dark comedy around. >> Oh, interesting. >> And there's there's this one part that I. think kind of supports it. Do you. remember the part where um Stephen is in.

the classroom and he messes himself up. pretty good? >> It's been a while, but yeah, sort of. >> Yeah, it's I mean it's really good. Um. I've seen it I think just a couple of. times, but the second time I saw it was. not too long ago. But Chuck, please. please watch St. mod as far as A24. horror movies go. That's one of the more. overlooked ones. It is off the chain. It's so good and it's just so nuts, man. >> Uh why have I heard of that? Is that.

>> I've told you about this before, I. think. Yeah. And I don't think you. watched it because you would have. definitely come back and been like, "Dude.". >> Okay. >> Same. >> That's all I need to say. >> Okay, >> dude. >> Yeah. >> Well, it's a British horror film. I'm. all I'm all about those. >> It's It's good. There's It's rough, though. like this is not for kids and. there's, you know, really upsetting. stuff throughout. So, just FYI. >> All right, so back to screaming. Um, obviously rage, fear, pain. These are. alarm screams. Uh, the non-alarm screams.

like we talked about the the joy, intense pleasure. Um, I don't think I'll. throw sadness in there because that can. be alarm, but those aren't things that. you will find in the animal kingdom. Um, it is a distinctly uniquely human. instinct to signal something positive. with a scream. Animals don't scream out. in joy. >> No, but it we do think that some. non-human primates scream out in grief, though. Isn't that awful? >> Oh, man. Yeah. >> I think that's a great way to end um. this section and start with the ab. break. What do you think?

>> Yeah, let's do it. turning all the things. You should know.

All right. So, back to screaming. I was. I was afraid you were going to scream at. one point. This is. >> No, I wouldn't do that. >> Not something we're going to do. >> I I can't remember the last time I tried. to scream. >> Yeah, me too. >> Like to like as a like, "Hey, what's. your scream sound like?" at a party or. something. >> Who does that? >> You know that old party trick, right? >> Uh and I wonder. like I always think of like the best. scream I've ever heard is probably from.

American movie the documentary. Uh you saw that, right? No, >> the American movie. It was about the the. the guys in Wisconsin making the. lowbudget horror movie. That's why I. always say Coven because he pronounced. it coven. >> I never saw that. I know what you're. talking about. Is it worth seeing? >> Yeah. Oh, it's one of the great great. documentaries of all time. Highly. recommend it. But, uh, Mike Shank um, rest in peace. Mike has has left us very. sadly. There's one part in there where. where the main guy is uh is trying to.

record screams for his lowbudget horror. film he's making. >> in the studio and Mike Shank is this. very very low-key friend of his. >> uh out of nowhere I'll send you the clip. produces the most blood curdling scream. I've ever heard in my life. It's. incredible. I definitely. >> and one of the funnier parts of that too. because nobody saw it coming including. his friend and his reaction is great and.

it's just one of the great parts of that. movie. >> Well, me and everybody listening will. definitely see it coming now. >> Oh, it's Yeah, I guess that is a little. bit of spoiler, but it's a 20-year-old. documentary, so you know. >> All right, I'll watch it, though. Okay, if you watch. >> ET goes home, too, everybody. >> Um Okay. So, there's a a a name that's. been kind of bestowed on some actresses. over the years, um, which is Scream. Queen. >> Yeah. >> I always associate that with Jamie Lee. Curtis, um, who got that from Halloween.

and Prom Night. >> Um, it actually dates back like 50 plus. years before Halloween, uh, with Fa Ray. when she was in King Kong in 1933. >> Apparently, I've not seen the original. King Kong, but her screams are. supposedly really terrifying. Uh, and. they did them all in post-production, like apparently American movie. Then. they mixed them together to just make. them as disturbing as possible. But Fey. Ray, the 1930s actress, was the original. Scream Queen. >> That's right. It's a pretty good scream.

Uh, not nearly as chilling as Mike. Shanks, but it was 1933. They did a. pretty good job. Um, you usually. associate it with a um like a a scream. queen, like a you know, it's usually a. woman screaming in a horror movie. That's just sort of the trope. >> Uh but there have been some notable man. screams. Uh James Con certainly I. mentioned earlier from Misery. Um but. another that uh was done in. post-prouction but is so great uh you. should just check out this clip on. YouTube is the the chilling uh ending of.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers from 1978. with Donald Sutherland. >> And you know who was in charge of that. scream, my friend? You probably looked. this up, but it's our old pal from Star. Wars. Oh, >> who was hitting that high tension wire. with a wrench? >> Ben Bert. >> Yeah. He was just a legend, wasn't he? >> Yeah. Apparently, this was layering uh. pig squeals on top of each other. >> Uh and and it's a very it's a sort of a. classic ending to that movie. Um because. that is the sound that the the the pod.

people make when they see a human. Um. and well, I mean, I guess this is all. spoiler stuff, but it's from 1978. Donald Sutherland makes that sound at. the end when he sees a human uh. indicating chillingly that he is now a. pod person. >> Yeah. So, keep an eye on Donald. Sutherland when you watch that movie for. the first time. >> Yeah, for sure. >> There's a couple others. Um Thomas Jane. gives a really terrible scream at the. end of The Mist, >> which has one of the.

>> most unsettling um uh endings I think of. any movie ever. maybe tied with it comes. in the night. Um, which is another. really unsettling A24 movie. Bruce. Campbell, he's a great um Manscreamer, I. guess. Scream King. >> He does everything great. >> Uh, and then Justin Long, he's. definitely he's been in like way more. horror movies than you would think, but. he I'm pretty sure he screams pretty. well in Barbarian. >> Great movie. And then also, um, I can't.

help but bring up since I mentioned. Justin Long, he's in a new movie called. Coyotes, which is a horror comedy about. coyotes going on a rampage. And it just. so happens that my niece Mila Harris is. in that movie, too. She plays his and. Kate Bosworth's daughter. >> Oh, that's great. I love that. >> It's out. >> The the odd connection of. >> uh Justin Long and Hodgman, of course, with the the Mac Apple commercials, >> for sure. uh when I was out in New York. that time after hanging out with. Hajjman. You and I think went to a thing.

with him. Then later that night, I saw. Justin Long out. >> Oh, weird. >> And uh had to say something to him. I. was like, you know, John's a friend of. mine. I was just hanging out with him. It's funny that I saw you. And he said, "Well, Mila, Josh's future niece is. right behind me.". >> That's awesome. >> It was very funny. >> Thanks for circling back like that. That. was really kind. >> Of course. Uh, and then, you know, we. have to also give uh due to the a couple. of more scream queens, very famously, Janet Lee and Psycho. And you got to. talk about Nev Campbell in the movie.

Scream. >> Yes. And I would make an assertion that. Mia Goth is the current Scream Queen. from the Maxine trilogy. I think she's. she's the one killing it right now. >> Yeah, she's awesome. And uh speaking of. Scream, and I'm only um plugging an old. movie crush because, uh guest Nate. Baretti is now the biggest comedian on. planet Earth. >> I know. It's so great. >> But uh I had Nate on because I was a fan. of Nate's very early on and I just. wanted to meet Nate. So I drove to. Nashville and had Nate on and his movie.

crush pick was Scream. >> Did he know you were coming? >> Yeah. I cornered him in a studio and. he's like, "Who's this guy?". >> He's such a good guy, too, man. I'm It's. like his comedy is perfect. Like he's. it's I'm just really happy that he's so. huge now. >> He's a great guy and uh super super nice. in person. Uh and I'm sure he is still. that way even now that he's super. famous. He seems like he's still a great. guy. But Nate was very charming guest. So you can if you want to if you're a. big fan of Nate's now and you want to. hear him talk to me, you can check out. that old movie Crush. >> Don't just check out that old movie.

Crush. Check out all the movie crushes. because they are all priceless gems. Yeah, I definitely miss that show, but. you know, some things just uh have to be. retired eventually. >> Exactly, Chuck. >> Yeah. >> Um, so did you mention death metal? I. thought you did. >> Uh, I don't think so, but that's. obviously a place where screaming uh can. be a profession in a way. >> So, yeah. So, the University of Utah um. conducted these tests where they took um. dynamic MRI. So, like you don't have to.

just be laying down still uh to get an. MRI image of a person. They took um MRIs. of a guy named Will Ramos who's a. deathcore singer for a band called. Lauren Shore and he is extraordinarily. talented. Whether you like death core or. can't stand death core, go look up to. the hellfire the Lauren video and his. range of the work he does with screaming. like death deathcore screaming is yeah. you you can't help but be impressed. He's really good. Right. So, they got a.

really good um person to study u because. not only is he really good at screaming. um death core wise or death metal wise, his vocal um junk, his neck junk is like. entirely intact. Like, it's really. healthy. He's been doing this for years. and he hasn't done any damage. So, these. University of Utah researchers are like, "What are you doing? Can we take MRIs of. you singing?" And they did. And it's. really cool because the one of him just. singing normally, >> you can barely see any movement in.

inside the neck, right? >> When when he screams, it just is chaos. in there. And apparently people who know. what the anatomy is can look at it and. be like, "Oh my god, he's doing this and. this is how he's keeping from ruining. his vocal cords." So they actually got. pretty far with it. But it's worth. checking out that article because just. for the MRI side by side. >> Amazing. >> I thought so, too. Yeah. And you know, it sounds like he. has something special going on in his. neck junk. Uh because screaming can can.

definitely like um it's very hard on. your on your throat. Um so good for him. He found his his calling. >> He found his niche. He got in where he. fought in. >> That's right. Uh another reason to. scream kind of here as we're finishing. up is uh pain control. Uh they did a. pretty interesting survey in 2020 of. children that had been in the hospital. and pain like screaming to relieve pain. control it turns out is probably a.

thing. I I haven't seen like a the most. robust scientific study but at least. from this survey um children uh. routinely described feeling a feeling of. liberation when they screamed uh and. then a feeling of calmness afterward. that helped them uh experience pain in a. in a more manageable way. The problem is. is that adults and doctors and and. nurses can't take it. Um, obviously. parents, it's going to be very. disturbing because they're going to try. and get their kid to not scream. >> And the same goes for doctors and nurses.

trying to comfort them. But, uh, this is. the saddest quote of all. It seems like. it helped them. And an 8-year-old noted, "Maybe it's good to scream, but they. don't know that. Nobody asks me.". >> My god, >> I know. Sad. >> It's awful. Uh the the reason why they. think that it does um help with pain. relief is because one of the the. hormones or one of the chemicals. released in the fight orflight response. is our endorphins which can dull pain. So it does make sense that screaming.

could help you with pain. There's. another cleverer use of screaming, if. you ask me, than screaming in the. emergency room, which is um replacing. the current paradigm for creating. anxiety inside a lab to study anxiety. for research um which is to threaten. people with a shock. And they've. actually found that you can threaten. people that with a scream and and. generate anxiety just as reliably. So. people are like, we should stop. threatening people with shocks.

>> because it's unethical and just start. saying somebody's going to scream in a. second or maybe two seconds. You're. never going to know. And that can. generate anxiety as well. >> But you know, we're so soft. Before. long, they're going to be like, you. can't scream at people either, >> right? They'll be like, "We we want you. to to feel anxiety right now, please.". >> Yeah. Would you do that for me? >> I'm sure the participant would be like, "I feel anxiety all the time." Can do. >> Right. Uh then I guess finally we should at. least mention uh scream therapy or.

primal scream therapy. I feel like we. talked about this at a certain point. Uh. but this has been around since the 60s. I felt like it was probably biggest. maybe in the late 60s and 70s. Um the. original primal scream therapy um. psychologist was a um Arthur Janoff. And. this was based on the idea that like we. all had this repressed trauma from. childhood. it's stored as primal pain. And um Arthur Jano said, "Well, you know. what? A good oldfashioned screaming.

session can release that stuff and get. it out there." Uh the bad news is it. turns out there's not a lot of evidence. that supports it as as being a credible. form of uh therapy. >> No. And actually, I think it's possible. it can hurt in trauma um therapy because. screaming can arouse anxiety in the. person screaming even too. So, not. necessarily the best thing to do. >> No, but very ' 60s7s. I could see that. being a thing.

>> Super. There's like one of those wicker. chairs that people used to take um prom. pictures in. >> Oh, yeah. >> One of those. A wicker throne. There's. definitely one of those in the office. >> Yeah. I think uh Black Moses album. cover. Wasn't Isaac Hayes in those? >> I believe so. Yeah. Was there like a. panther laying at his feet, too? >> Probably. There should have been. >> Uh okay. Well, obviously since we. started talking about Isaac Hayes, I. think we've just unlocked listener mail. Chuck, >> that's right. And uh I am wrong actually.

because of course the Black Moses album. cover was just that great picture of. Isaac Hayes with his shades on and. wearing that sort of striped colored. hood. But uh maybe it was on the back. I. definitely have seen Isaac K's in a. wicker throne. >> There you go. >> Uh maybe it was Escape from New York. All right, guys. This is Leslie. All. right, guys. is I don't remember how I. was turned on to your podcast, but I've. been a regular listener for several. years now and finally I'm getting around. to writing. I often wished I was in the. studio during a recording so I could. comment or applaud, hey, like I did.

today. >> Yeah. >> Uh it was sad. I was sad to learn that. you weren't doing San Francisco. Sketchfest uh this year, but I'm hoping. you come back next year and my friend. Christine and I will be there. I wanted. to write when the topic um was animal. communication because the musical. interlude was an homage to the Beach. Boys Pet Sounds, which was brilliant. You can thank Jerry for that, by the. way. >> Mhm. >> I work in animal care, you see. So, I. love your animal episodes. I appreciate. how how you guys accept correction, showing it's okay to make a mistake as.

long as you learn from it. And I. appreciate how you present important yet. sensitive topics in a respectful way, or. how you share multiple points of view on. divisive issues. Uh, I just want to. thank you for keeping me company during. my commute, explaining complex things, making seemingly unsavory topics. palatable, entertaining me, educating. me, and more. Uh, PS, in support of your. efforts to grow your listenership still, I shared your Sesame Street episode on. my Facebook page. So, uh, Leslie, really. appreciate that. >> Yeah. >> Uh, and then there's a PPS. Um, I've.

often thought a good drinking game could. be to drink every time Chuck says, "That's right, roll off the tongue.". >> Mhm. Or for sure. >> For sure. >> Mhm. Uh, but I don't drink alcohol, so. if I were to play, I'd probably just get. really well hydrated. Uh, it's very. funny. Leslie s in the San Francisco Bay. area. And, uh, yeah, Leslie, um, we'd. love to see you at our show next year. cuz hopefully we'll be there. >> That was really, really sweet. What a. very nice email, Leslie. Thank you for. taking the time to write all that. And.

thank you for sharing our Sesame Street. episode. It was a pretty good one to. share if you ask me. Uh, and if you want to be like Leslie. and send us a very nice email, we always. love getting those. You can send it off. to stuffodcast@ iheartradio.com. Stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart Radio. For more podcasts, iHeart. Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple. Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows.