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Only in a country which believes in the superiority of its own people does the word foreigner become an insult. In Sweden, it is taboo to claim or imply that someone is not Swedish. New words for "immigrants" are made up, presumably in order not to offend foreigners - but what does that say about the Swedes' view of themselves? Jacob claims that Sweden is small enough to be a cult and large enough to be a state - is it true that Sweden is a delusional and self-righteous little country? The (Un)cultured Hypothesis is a show about the things in culture and society you’ve always wondered about but have never really figured out. Your hosts Jacob Sundberg and Johannes Koch hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

Have we run amok chasing short-term gain over long-term vision? Do we hold yourself accountable to our principles? The (Un)cultured Hypothesis is a show about the things in culture and society you’ve always wondered about but have never really figured out. Your hosts Jacob Sundberg and Johannes Koch hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

The increasing rate of specialisation creates a fragmented world view, a microscopic view which limits our understanding, our grasp of the totality. We could all need to zoom out intellectually - lest we get lost in detail. In this episode, Jacob uses intellectual superstar Jordan B Peterson as a rare example of someone who dares to zoom out and move seamlessly between different disciplines and areas of knowledge - perhaps in part even explaining his rise to fame. Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Credit to Aaron Day for the jingle! 

In this episode, Johannes points to the important role of the underdog on a psychological as well as societal level: We root for the underdog, and underdogs band together because it's a classic David and Goliath tale, but it's also a symptom of the hegemon's power which has become too great and needs to give way to something new. Far from being an inferiority complex, the underdog phenomenon is necessary as part of the social struggle that is required to give way and rise to a new hegemon in its place, before a cycle of destruction and rebirth restarts. Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Credit to Aaron Day for the jingle! Artwork by Vecteezy

In this episode, Jacob laments the loss of human interaction thanks to the increase in automation in virtually every area of human life. Self checkouts in grocery stores, restaurants that force you to download their app to order food etc - things that admittedly save people's time but at what cost? Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Credit to Aaron Day for the jingle! Episode artwork designed by Freepik

Will multitasking lead to humanity's extinction? In this episode, Johannes claims that multitasking doesn't really exist. We are made to focus on one thing at a time, and our attempt to ignore this may well lead to our demise. Artwork Designed by Freepik Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Credit to Aaron Day for the new jingle

Is the boom of dietary trends an expression of existential anxiety? In this episode, Jacob wonders whether the rise in awareness of diet and exercise in actual fact is a replacement for previously held religious beliefs. It has all the trademarks of religion: guilt, confessions, self-flagellation and hope of a better hereafter. Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Credit to Aaron Day for the new jingle and a spectacular sounding episode.

I this episode, Johannes argues that the West's obsession with punctuality compromises relationships. In fact, in Germany it borders on the ridiculous – people actually lose friendships over being a couple of minutes late. Punctuality is to time what black Peter is to Santa Claus – a stern pedant that will whip you into shape. Kind of like a badass PT but without the benefit of giving you that beach-ready body. (Jacob also mistakenly attributes a quote to Gandhi which actually seems to come from the Taliban. He always gets those two confused) References: On "Black Peter": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Credit to Aaron Day for the new jingle and a spectacular sounding episode.

Humans are not entirely rational - and perhaps that's not even desirable. Or is it? In this episode, Jacob outlines his irrational fear of flying (when he becomes extra religious - to the point of southern baptism), and then proceeds to make the case that there are aspects of life that are out of bounds of rationality. Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Credit to Aaron Day for the new jingle and a spectacular sounding episode.

Lots of nudity in this episode. Johannes makes the case that repressed societies are more likely to produce nudist beach goers since nudity is a way of stripping oneself of status. And is it true that Americans conceive of Europe as one big nudist beach where everyone smokes Gauloises and makes animated hand gestures? Johannes reveals he's hopelessly European by repeatedly making reference to a non-existent baseball team by the name "Boston White Sox" (sorry all Boston or Chicago fans for the mixup). Also, Jacob reveals how he happened to do some naked dancing unaware of a group of spectators. In short, an episode on genitals and culture. Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Credit to Aaron Day for the new jingle and a spectacular sounding episode.

Are Swedes only concerned with the illusion of justice rather than real justice, focusing on "millimeter justice" and the equality of outcome? Comedian Aron Flam joins the show to discuss the view on gender that permeates the public discourse in Sweden - and comes up with his very own hypothesis about the state of things in a country seemingly gone mad. This episode includes a long and hilarious rant: about how Sweden is sweeping its historical Nazi support under the carpet, how Swedes constantly jumps on the bandwagon of new ideological trends - and what this has to do with polytheism and socialism. Listen to Aron's own podcast Dekonstruktiv Kritik here: https://soundcloud.com/aronflam Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

Germans religiously follow the recycling dictates of the authorities and get chastised by their neighbors if they don't flatten their cardboard packages. Johannes argues that recycling is a German obsession - but also an act of humanism. Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

The unpredictable Swedish weather makes Swedes always ready for changes, waiting for the right moment to put on swimsuits or skis. Does this in part explain why Swedes are so trend sensitive? And what on earth does that have to do with heroin addicts? Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. Today I’m gonna talk about the weather. But it’s not just gonna be small talk, it’s gonna be BIG talk about the weather. So hear me out. In Sweden we have really short summers. And I mean really really short summers. There’s a classic joke which goes something like: “I really enjoyed last summer, I think it was on a Saturday”. We don’t really have summer at all in Sweden, I mean we BELIEVE that we have summer, but we don’t. Most people of my age will have experienced somewhere around 30 to 40 real summer days in Sweden. Ever. But when we look back on those summer days – say, three days when we were ten, one day when we were eleven, and so on – we place them all in one mythological summer, a pretend year of our youth. Imagine 30, 40 consecutive days of swimming in lakes, running naked in the meadows, getting stung by a wasp but that’s alright cause you get your first kiss as well, and you catch your own fish in the dim light of the almost - but not quite - setting sun. And that’s why most Swedes say that THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A SWEDISH SUMMER, because we accumulate all those summer days and place them in a nostalgic light. And in a way I agree that there’s nothing like a Swedish summer, I quite enjoy that day of the year, if it comes. But yeah, I would argue that we really don’t have summers in Sweden. But then, we don’t have winter either. I know that most people think that Sweden is a country of snow and ice for six months a year, and that is true for the northern part, which admittedly is the largest part geographically, but demographically it constitutes something like 7 percent. So anywhere from Stockholm and south, we don’t have real winter. Although WE DO have winter, but it’s very unpredictable. The Swedish winter is about as reliable as a heroin addict. It doesn’t really show up when you had agreed, but then it might show up at four a m pounding on your door frantically, screaming profanities at you, and then leaving again as if saying “ah screw it”. So one day there’s a blizzard and twenty degrees below zero, and the next day it’s just slush and rain. The keyword is unpredictability. Someone noted the other year that we had the same temperature one Christmas as we did on midsummer. You might suspect that this moody weather, you know, which is lashing out at you for no reason and then wanting to be best friends, you might suspect that this would turn Swedish people into Stoics, that it would toughen us, but it doesn’t. We whine about everything. At least I do. Yeah, it’s probably just me when I think of it. Because there’s a standard phrase that we have here, which goes “there is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing.” This is particularly used by Swedish parents who project their outdoor compulsion onto their children. And it’s largely accepted as fact, you can actually end discussions by taking recourse to that expression. “You do know that there’s no such thing as bad weather” – OH yeah, that’s right, I forgot, sorry. No such thing as bad weather, that’s a horrible thing to say to someone who lost their house in a hurricane. “So you’re homeless now? Aaawwh, did you wear that raincoat I gave you… no you didn’t, did you? And look what happened. Well at least you lear

Germans use the formal "Sie" and the informal "Du" to describe someone but is the latter slowly eroding the former and what does this mean for Europe? Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

Are we sacrificing our future by constantly seeking immediate gratification on our smartphones? Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

The German psyche may lack the concept of randomness, a central ingredient to being funny. Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

Will Sweden rid itself of potentially obsolete and dangerous ideas by abolishing the past? Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

How Jacob and Johannes came up with the ludicrous concept of the (un)cultured hypothesis and other secrets about who they are. Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.

Do Germans avoid confrontation with tiny passive-aggressive acts to keep psychotic tendencies at bay and maintain order in an otherwise chaotic world? Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week. 

Why do Swedes call their children “prince” and “princess”? Does it have anything to do with their desperate urge to break free from a consensus dystopia? Jacob Sundberg is a Swedish author (http://jacobsundberg.se) and Johannes Koch is a German journalist. Together they hypothesize, entertain and enlighten you about a wide variety of topics ranging from the trivial to the existential - and usually spin them out into their illogical conclusions. At times philosophical, at times psychological but hardly ever researched or serious, they jostle with a new (Un)cultured Hypothesis every other week.