Understand Life

In this episode, we talk about what a suntan is and what a sunburn is. We then go into all of the genetic differences that people have which cause their skin to react differently than others when it comes to UV radiation and the sun. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at www.leonardnieman.com/podcast/50. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife

In this episode, we talk about credit and debit cards. We cover some history and especially what merchants, such as gas stations, are allowed to charge when it comes to having different prices based on how you pay. Near the end, we cover what this means for consumers and how they should act. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/49. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife

Sorry for not having a normal episode this month; it was deemed too controversial for the general public. If you would like to become our patron at Patreon, it is available there. Go to www.patreon.com/understandlife.  Sorry again. We'll be back next month.  

In this episode, we talk about what it takes to start a business. We start with some of the basic legal aspects but spend most of the episode talking about all of the expenses that businesses have and how to manage the biggest one well: payroll. We don't go super deep into what takes a business from good to great, but we do cover the basics. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/48. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we talk about why people do anything and then move on to why people have kids specifically. On why people do anything, we talk about the results pyramid from episode 15 and then discuss what beliefs people have that lead to their actions of trying to have kids. We also relate why different quadrant theory personality types do different things, both in general and in relationship to having kids. (Quadrant Theory personality types is discussed in episode 18.)  Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/47. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we talk about the different meanings of the word "Average" and then what an "Average American" looks like for each of those types of averages for multiple different qualities, such as income, land ownership, age, college education, etc. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/45. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we finish talking about the causes of the Great Depression. We review the basics of what people believe the cause was (i.e. the stock market crash) and then move on to some more nuances. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/45. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we start talking about the causes of the Great Depression. We cover the basics of what people believe the cause was (i.e. the stock market crash) and then move on to some more nuances, such as whether another crash is coming today. Next week we will finish our discussion on this topic. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/44. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we talk about why diamond prices are what they are. We utilize some of the lessons about supply and demand from the previous episode combined with some history of the diamond market. We end with a look to the future of the diamond market. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/43. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we start talking about how prices are able to be set by different companies based on their power in the market. We mostly talk about the law of supply and demand by explaining the basic principle and graph. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/42. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we finish talking about how flowers started being thrown at people. We begin by going over last week's insights around why throwing things at people at all started. Then, we move on to flowers specifically, including the faunogrophy of the Victorian era. Enjoy the show! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/41. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we are talking about how performers of old would be treated. We start the episode with an overview of our previous episodes about how different cheeses are made. Then, we we move on to discussing that performers of old would want people to throw money at them, but if they were bad would get rotten food instead. This was a form of feedback to indicate if the performers were doing a good job. Next week we will finish discussing the question: covering when flowers started being thrown. Enjoy the show. Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/40. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we are continuing our discussion on how different cheeses are made. We start with a re-cap of the last two episode where we went over all 7 steps in the cheese making process and then went in-depth into the first 3 steps, discussing some of the different options in those steps and the changes that has to the finished cheese. This week we will do the same thing for the final four steps in the process. Enjoy the show. Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/39. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife. 

In this episode, we are continuing our discussion on how different cheeses are made. We start with a re-cap of the last episode where we went over all 7 steps in the cheese making process. This time, we really dig into the first 3 steps, discussing some of the different options in those steps and the changes that has to the finished cheese. Enjoy the show. Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/38. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we are talking about how cheese is made. We break it down into 7 main steps that most types of cheeses go through...in one way or another. From preparing the milk to aging the cheese. Join us next week as we continue the cheese topic and start to talk about the differences between different types of cheeses. Enjoy the show. Also, please note that we are trying a new format: combining the mini-podcast concept with shorter full podcasts. Let us know what you think! Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/37. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

In this episode, we are talking about the cost of car ownership. We consider four different options: buying a new car, leasing a new car, buying a used car with a low number of miles and buying a used car with a high number of miles. We go over the monetary costs of each of those and touch on the fact that there are ancillary benefits which can influence which choice is right for you. Enjoy the show. Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/36. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

This is a short episode which goes over the highlights of last week and touches on what we are going to talk about next week. Last week:  We talked about Expected Value: how you can calculate out whether you are making a good decision or not (or at least attempt to). We cover the basic concept and then some sticky points, like guestimating, likely values, and that sometimes you may be willing to pay for enjoyment. Next week: We will be discussing the cost of automobile ownership. Enjoy the show! Support us at www.Patreon.com/UnderstandLife

In this episode, we are talking about Expected Value and how that can help you to make wise decisions. Roughly calculating out an expected value can quickly show that something is or is not worth doing. We talk about using this information to guard against your intuition, though you still need to be careful in how you calculate because even the calculated EV could be subject in your inherent biases. Enjoy the show. Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/35. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.

This is a short episode which goes over the highlights of last week and touches on what we are going to talk about next week. Last week:  We talked about the fact that Americans are less happy than people in other countries because we spend so much time comparing ourselves to people we don't know very well. We talked about social media, gratitude journals, and other strategies to be happier. Next week: We will be exploring "Expected Value" of decisions and how this can guide us to make wiser decisions. Enjoy the show! Support us at www.Patreon.com/understandlife

In this episode, we are talking about how the International Happiness Survey ranks Americans relatively low, especially considering our economic status. We talk about some things that Americans specifically do more often that make them less happy and then some things that you can do to make yourself more happy. Enjoy the show. Show notes are located at leonardnieman.com/podcast/34. Support us at Patreon.com/UnderstandLife.