{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"","title":"Back to the Future to take down AI, Punch the Monkey, Hypervigilence, and the ghostly love story of the Taj Mahal","description":"

In this episode of Drinking Tea with Monsters, we time travel, tackle artificial intelligence, talk anxiety, OCD, and hypervigilance, one of history’s most haunting love stories, and the world's current love for Punch the monkey.


First, we go Back to the Future to ask: if we could rewrite the timeline, would we stop the rise of AI? From sci-fi predictions to modern fears about artificial intelligence, we unpack how pop culture shaped our expectations, our paranoia, and we come up with a whole new conspiracy theory.


Then we deep dive into hypervigilance. What it is, why your nervous system won’t relax, and how the “monkey mind” keeps punching the panic button when nothing is actually on fire.


And finally, we uncover the ghostly romance behind the Taj Mahal, the tragic love story of Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, and the haunting legend surrounding the iconic white marble mausoleum in Agra, India. Is it a monument to eternal devotion, or one of history’s most beautiful ghost stories?


Pour your tea. Question the timeline. Calm your nervous system. And maybe don’t trust the robots!


Because sometimes the real monsters are the ones we build, and the ones we carry inside. ☕


Our Current Watchlist

📺 Back to the Future II (Available to buy or rent)

📺 Shrinking (Apple TV)


I'm, like, totally obsessed with...

🐵 Punch the monkey


OCD

International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)

Psychology Today


DTWM

Taj Mahal, India


Looking for another cozy listen?

Check out Leela's other podcast, No Dating Till You're Married, an audiobook podcast. Gilmore Girls meets Crazy Rich Asians.


Contact Us

IG: @drinkingteawithmonsters

EMAIL: drinkingteamwithmosters@gmail.com



","author_name":"Leela Dua"}