Curious About...

Have you ever stopped yourself from singing in front of someone? Or maybe you've watched a jaw-dropping live performance and quietly thought, "Welp, I could never." This episode is for you, and the science has some things to say about that.Evelina and Danny go deep on the human voice - where our relationship to singing comes from, why it's genuinely one of the most cognitively complex things a human can do (harder than the violin, it turns out), and what's actually happening when your favourite artist sounds impossibly perfect live. Personal karaoke shame, a Lion King origin story, and a six-year-old performing at Biggera Waters Shopping Centre all make an appearance. So does a really inconvenient truth about auto-tune.In this episode:Danny's journey from imitating his idols in his bedroom to swinging seven ensemble roles in the original Australian production of The Lion KingEvelina's first singing discovery (courtesy of Mrs. Oxford, year four, and a lot of singing to herself in the corner)Why the "perfect" voices on live talent shows may not be what they seem and the YouTube channel pulling back the curtainRolling Stone's top 10 greatest singers of all time, a pop quiz, and one very controversial omission (no Celine???)The age at which you stop discovering new music, and it's probably not when you thinkWhether singing is something you're born with or something you can learn Why singing together in a crowd might be the most human thing you can do right nowSneaky science alert: A 2022 twin study breaks down the genetics vs environment debate on vocal ability, a 2017 study on congenital amusia explains the rare few who genuinely cannot pitch match, and research on oxytocin, lifespan, and live performance sneak in between Danny's Wiggles era and a very passionate defence of the vocal trinity.PS: Our mics were doing weird things this episode, we're working on it!

What's your brain actually doing while you sleep — and why do your teeth keep falling out in that one nightmare?In this episode, Evelina and Danny dive deep into the science, strangeness, and surprising usefulness of dreams. From memory consolidation to threat simulation, they unpack the three main reasons researchers believe we dream — and why binge-watching horror before bed is genuinely a terrible idea.Along the way, you'll hear about Evelina's childhood lucid dreaming experiment (complete with a two-CD mail-order kit), why digital watches might help you take control of your nightmares, and the research study that suggests you can literally solve problems in your sleep — if you pick the right soundtrack.Danny also gets quizzed on what common dream scenarios really mean (being chased, falling, showing up naked to a speech…), and the results are more psychologically revealing than either of them bargained for.In this episode:The three science-backed reasons we dreamWhat lucid dreaming is and how to start practising itA technique to rewrite recurring nightmares (with a 70% success rate in just 2–3 weeks)The "sensory anchor" sleep study that improved next-day problem solving by 55%A Curious Quiz on the universal meanings behind the most common dream themesShakespeare, Inception, The Wizard of Oz, and why "it was all a dream" endings are universally hatedSneaky science alert: This episode covers memory consolidation, REM sleep, threat simulation theory, and image rehearsal therapy — wrapped in the kind of conversation you'd have at brunch with your most curious friends.-----Curious About… is hosted by musician & psychologist Evelina Bereni and Broadway performer & counsellor Danny Beiruti.

We all carry them. But what exactly makes something a secret — and when does keeping one start costing you more than it's worth?In this episode, Evelina and Danny get into it from the very first minute: affairs, white lies, the tooth fairy, Crocs, and the secrets we keep not to deceive others — but just to survive the rooms we're in.Danny opens up about growing up in a household where loving musical theater felt like something to hide, and what it really cost him to conceal his identity across multiple worlds — family, auditions, Broadway — for over a decade. It's an honest, funny, and genuinely moving conversation about the cognitive load of masking, the shame that secrets breed, and why belonging can sometimes feel like it requires becoming someone else entirely.Evelina, meanwhile, confesses to lying three times before 6am, running across her house in the dark, and hiding a tooth fairy box in a pantry. Not her finest hour. Possibly her best story.In this episode:Where secrets end and lies begin (and why the line is blurrier than you think)Gossip as the brain's junk food — and why we keep reaching for itMasking, minority stress, and the hidden tax of being "different" in any roomWhy radical honesty is overrated and unsolicited opinions are the enemyThe beach ball theory of suppressed emotions (you know how this ends)What resilience actually is — and why it's built, not bornThe secret Danny kept until he was 32, and what finally lifted the weightSneaky science alert: Shame researcher Brené Brown, Bronnie Ware's five regrets of the dying, anti-fragility theory, and the psychology of identity concealment — all snuck in between a couch confession and a very strong take on Crocs.-----Curious About… is hosted by musician & psychologist Evelina Bereni and Broadway performer & counsellor Danny Beiruti.

What does it actually take to start over? And what do you have to let go of to do it?In this very first episode of Curious About…, Evelina and Danny introduce themselves, their friendship, and the question that sits underneath every new beginning: are you choosing this, or is it choosing you?Danny shares what it was like to pack his entire life into two suitcases and move to New York with no apartment, no guarantee, and an overwhelming feeling of freedom. Evelina talks about the new beginnings she followed like a script — until the ones she didn't see coming brought her to tears, pushing a pram, wondering where she'd gone.Together they get into why humans are wired to hate uncertainty (even though that's exactly where growth lives), why we romanticize the past while conveniently forgetting the hangovers, and what a drama teacher named Bronwyn Egan started that neither of us could have predicted.This is a conversation about courage, identity, grief, and gratitude — wrapped in a whole lot of warmth and the kind of honesty you usually only hear at 11pm with a good friend.In this episode:What a multipotentialite is — and why it might describe you tooThe research on uncertainty and why your brain is fighting you on every new beginningIdentity grief: the older version of you that has to be released before the new one arrivesWhy the first applause is basically a drug (and what happened when a 15-year-old Danny played the Lion)The "which you practice grows stronger" mindset shift that keeps coming upGratitude in the shower, LinkedIn detoxes, and why Evelina's son's face is pressed against the glassAnti-fragility, resilience, and what two suitcases teaches you about what actually mattersSneaky science alert: Adam Grant's hidden potential, negativity bias research, gratitude neuroscience, and the default mode network — all slipped in between a very emotional plane ride and a very strong take on social media.-----Curious About… is hosted by musician & psychologist Evelina Bereni and Broadway performer & counsellor Danny Beiruti.