Episode
How GPS Quietly Runs the World & When Illness Has No Obvious Cause
- Podcast
- Something You Should Know
- Published
- Jun 29, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2846
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
Ever notice when you hear someone talking on the phone nearby it’s hard not to listen? You are only hearing one-side of the conversation and that can drive your brain crazy. It’s not just annoying and distracting it can actually be dangerous. https://now.uiowa.edu/news/2017/06/ui-study-explores-why-cell-phone-use-leads-distracted-driving It’s hard to imagine life without GPS. But now it has become so woven into daily life that most of us never think about it. We use it to navigate, order food, track packages, find rides, locate our phones and even synchronize financial transactions. Yet GPS wasn't created for that. It began as a military technology and evolved into one of the most important—and expensive—infrastructure systems ever built. How does GPS actually know where you are? Why is it free to use? Who pays for it? Is it spying on you? Here to explain is Katherine Dunn, business reporter, editor and author of the book Little Blue Dot: How GPS Shaped the Modern World (https://amzn.to/4uvtk2M). Why is it that millions of people experience chronic pain, fatigue, digestive problems and other ailments that doctors and medical tests often fail to explain? Too often they're told "it's all in your head." But according to psychiatrist Susan Trachman, that phrase badly misunderstands what's happening. The connection between the brain and body is far more powerful than most people realize. Thoughts, emotions and stress can trigger genuine physical symptoms—and understanding how can be the key to finding relief. Susan has spent more than 30 years treating medically unexplained illnesses. She is author of the popular Psychology Today blog and the book It's Not Just in Your Head. (https://amzn.to/4oqvjDP) Listen to a tennis match or walk through a gym and you'll hear it everywhe…