Lucius: Ice Cream (Multisensory Perception with Ladan Shams)

About this episode

Matt chats with Lucius front women and a UCLA professor to explore the science behind the band's song 'Ice Cream'.

Taped live at Japan House LA on January 10, 2026. Matt chats with Lucius front women Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig—and Dr. Ladan Shams, UCLA professor of psychology, bioengineering, and neuroscience, to explore the science behind the band’s song “Ice Cream.” Starting from the lyric “time melts away like ice cream in the sun,” the conversation moves between metaphor, memory, and the fleeting nature of love, and into the brain’s remarkable ability to blend sound, sight, taste, and touch into a single experience. From rubber hands to ventriloquists, pop art to perceptual pleasure, the episode reveals how our senses collaborate, compete, and sometimes fool us—while Lucius reflects on their own multisensory artistry, coordinated visuals, and the emotional power of metaphor in their music.

People in this episode

Host: Matt

Guests: Jess Wolfe, Holly Lessig, Dr. Ladan Shams

Topics covered

• multisensory perception
• music
• psychology
• memory
• metaphor
• emotional power

Keywords

• multisensory
• perception
• music
• psychology
• memory
• metaphor
• emotional power

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UCLA

Books & works: Ice Cream

Places: Japan House LA

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