Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From the Radiolab podcast: Why do cold winds, sudden frights, and meaningful moments all give us goosebumps?
Lauren Brown gets goosebumps. A lot. Sometimes several times a day. When her partner, writer Carmen Maria Machado, noticed it... she couldn't stop thinking about it. Why does she get them in so many different situations? What’s happening in her body and what does it mean? We take that question and run with it. We face chilly winds, sudden frights, and moments when the world seems to shift under your feet to figure out what the little bumps on our skin might be trying to tell us.
Special thanks to Rachel Gross and Gregory Rupik
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by Maria Paz Gutierrez
Produced by Maria Paz Gutierrez, Sindhu Gnanasambandan
Fact-checking by Angely Mercado
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Videos -
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah (zpr.io/6ak2f), performed by Rufus Wainwright accompanied by 1500 singers
De Ushuaia a La Quiaca (zpr.io/PcYbN)
Alysa Liu wins the Olympic gold medal for the United States (zpr.io/Q7pPNkYSTGVd)
Books -
Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado
On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters, by Bonnie Tsui (bonnietsui.com/)
Episode Segments:
0:00 Chapter 1
10:47 Break
10:50 Chapter 2
36:29 Credits
37:25 Support
🎧 Subscribe to Radiolab wherever you listen to podcasts: lnk.to/radiolab!youtube
🔎 Subscribe to Radiolab on YouTube: bit.ly/3I9KI53
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Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: radiolab.org/the-lab
Photo illustration by Lily Padula
Video by Joanna Strogatz
From the Radiolab podcast: Why do cold winds, sudden frights, and meaningful moments all give us goosebumps?
Lauren Brown gets goosebumps. A lot. Sometimes several times a day. When her partner, writer Carmen Maria Machado, noticed it... she couldn't stop thinking about it. Why does she get them in so many different situations? What’s happening in her body and what does it mean? We take that question and run with it. We face chilly winds, sudden frights, and moments when the world seems to shift under your feet to figure out what the little bumps on our skin might be trying to tell us.
Special thanks to Rachel Gross and Gregory Rupik
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by Maria Paz Gutierrez
Produced by Maria Paz Gutierrez, Sindhu Gnanasambandan
Fact-checking by Angely Mercado
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Videos -
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah (zpr.io/6ak2f), performed by Rufus Wainwright accompanied by 1500 singers
De Ushuaia a La Quiaca (zpr.io/PcYbN)
Alysa Liu wins the Olympic gold medal for the United States (zpr.io/Q7pPNkYSTGVd)
Books -
Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado
On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters, by Bonnie Tsui (bonnietsui.com/)
Episode Segments:
0:00 Chapter 1
10:47 Break
10:50 Chapter 2
36:29 Credits
37:25 Support
🎧 Subscribe to Radiolab wherever you listen to podcasts: lnk.to/radiolab!youtube
🔎 Subscribe to Radiolab on YouTube: bit.ly/3I9KI53
🖋 Subscribe to Radiolab’s Newsletter: radiolab.org/newsletter
🌱 Check out Radiolab's Starter Kit Playlist: bit.ly/3sX8f4P
👍 Like this video ✏️ and leave us a comment!
Follow Radiolab:
Instagram — instagram.com/radiolab
X — https://x.com/Radiolab
Facebook — facebook.com/Radiolab
Threads — threads.net/@radiolab
TikTok — tiktok.com/@radiolab
Our newsletter includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up here: radiolab.org/newsletter
Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: radiolab.org/the-lab
Photo illustration by Lily Padula
Video by Joanna Strogatz
