# Coltan Scrivner (on morbid curiosities)

An episode of [Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1345682353), 10 Dec 2025, 2 h 14 min.

Audio: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/863e4b7a-eb04-4982-8c06-bc24c56109cc.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIhVJbnZpc2libGVOZXR3b3JrBjoGRVQ%3D--0761ee75eb25694efc17849092f8583c07f6c68b

Coltan Scrivner (Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can't Look Away) is a psychologist, researcher, and author. Coltan joins the Armchair Expert to discuss always preferring to do nitty gritty research in the field rather than a sterile lab, studying human fun and fear responses to haunted houses in Denmark, and his four domains of morbid curiosity. Coltan and Dax talk about why in nature there’s a lot of danger without safe opportunities to learn about it, that bar fights actually take place a lot less than if we were chimps, and how bodily injury is an effective cue for danger and violence. Coltan explains ghost hunting in Georgia while not believing but seeing anyway, the 24-question scale he created for measuring morbid curiosities, and whether serial killers over-index in liking horror. Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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