Binging on holiday confectionery could kickstart an emotional low. A new study on the relationship between sugar and depression may have you re-think the wisdom of polishing off ALL of grandma’s cranberry cheesecake pie.

Click above to listen to part 4 of Handling the Holidays, featuring Steve Ilardi, clinical psychology associate professor at the University of Kansas.

Handling the Holidays:
Part 1: Adam South / The Season for Giving
Part 2: Mitch Ratcliffe / A Bad Wrap
Part 3: Julie Norem / Positively Pessimistic
Part 4: Steve Ilardi / Candy Crash
Part 5: Elizabeth Margulis / Tis the Earworm

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2026 Webby Award Nominee
for our three part series on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Big Picture Science is an immersive radio show and podcast that reveals the unexpected connections in science.

Our Skeptic Check episodes take a critical look at extraordinary science claims and pseudoscience.

Don’t settle for a science snapshot. Get the big picture. 

Hosted By

Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science  

Seth Shostak Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science
Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

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