Episodes

May 11, 2022

Wed. 05/11 - Love, Sleep, & Dinosaurs: The Three Most Important Things In Life

How data can help us find happiness in romantic relationships, or at least tell us why we’re dating all wrong. Plus, it turns out sleep-deprivation can affect how we see other people. And a new website for finding and reporting dinosaur sightings in your area, and around the world.
May 10, 2022

Tue. 05/10 - How Hollywood Changed In The Summer of 19, 19, 1982

How the summer of 1982 changed movies forever––for better or worse. Plus, a study justifying why teenagers suck at listening to their parents. And, how to watch this weekend’s total eclipse of the moon.
May 9, 2022

Mon. 05/09 - The Real-Life Inspiration Behind 'The Blob'

How the 50’s sci-fi horror film The Blob was actually a ripped-from-the-headlines story. Plus, potential cancer treatments involving magnets and dirt. And would you undergo a fecal transplant to reverse signs of aging? It could be an option in the future.
May 6, 2022

Fri. 05/06 - Dickens and the Rise of Creepy Clowns

How much can we blame Charles Dickens for the persisting archetype of creepy clowns? Who and what other cultural factors over the centuries contributed to so many people being whigged out by clowns? Plus, we now know the (general) location of where Forrest Fenn’s treasure chest was found. And a ro…
May 5, 2022

Thu. 05/05 - Is Original Pop Culture Going Extinct?

A deep dive into the question of whether pop culture has become completely dominated by franchises and the same superstars; and, if so, how new that phenomenon actually is and, if it’s really a bad thing in the end.
May 4, 2022

Wed. 05/04 - Margaret Thatcher's Empire Strikes Back

Did Margaret Thatcher play a role in the origins of Star Wars Day? Plus, why human hibernation for long-distance space travel might not actually be worth it. And a redone Bob Dylan recording on an all-new analog medium, coming this Friday.
May 3, 2022

Tue. 05/03 - Why Can't The US Have Weird Chip Flavors?

Why doesn’t the US get all the cool chip flavors that other countries do? Plus, scientists have figured out a way to breakdown plastic in just a few days, instead of over centuries. And why a bunch of creepy dolls keeping washing ashore along the gulf coast in Texas.
May 2, 2022

Mon. 05/02 - Waste More Time

Why it’s time for you to waste time. Plus, a café in Tokyo that doesn’t let people leave until they’ve successfully hit their writing goals. And a possibly sustainable use for the ungodly amounts of disposable masks we’ve thrown out in the last two years?
April 29, 2022

Fri. 04/29 - Books That Kill: Arsenic-Laced Covers & Other Poisonous Pigments

How an innocent trip to the library could give you arsenic poisoning. Plus, a new pterosaur fossil seems to confirm the prehistoric reptiles had some pretty cool feathers. And, how would you like to meditate with Yoda and Chewbacca?
April 28, 2022

Thu. 04/28 - Oreology: The Science of Oreos

Canada has become the first country to release census data on their trans and nonbinary population. Plus, a new study showing how the climate emergency could fuel future pandemics. And, in lighter news, some MIT engineers 3D printed a new device to study why Oreos rarely split the cream filling eve…
April 27, 2022

Wed. 04/27 - Our Backstabbed Two-Faced Moon

The moon has a bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation going on that astronomers have never been able to definitively explain, but a new study suggests it could be the result of a massive impact four billion years ago. Plus, yoga for your eyes? What is it and does it actually do anything? And the …
April 26, 2022

Tue. 04/26 - When the CIA Funded an Animal Farm Cartoon

How the CIA funded that 1954 animated adaptation of Animal Farm as part of their anti-communist propaganda campaign. Plus, the woman who found out she’d been missing a chunk of her brain for most of her life without realizing. And why more and more rivers are being granted legal personhood.
April 25, 2022

Mon. 04/25 - Monopoly’s Scandalous Anti-Monopoly History

The secret, anti-monopolist history of the Monopoly board game. Plus, why we’re all having trouble remembering things right now, and how we can strengthen our memories going forward.
April 22, 2022

Fri. 04/22 - Some Like It Hot... But Why?

Why did some cultures develop tastes for particularly spicy foods and others didn’t? Plus, the Museum of Endangered Sounds. And an upcoming documentary from Alex Winter about radicalization on social media.
April 21, 2022

Thu. 04/22 - The Sport of Extreme Sitting

Introducing the sport of extreme sitting. Plus, a new study that suggests fungi might be communicating with each other via electrical impulses. And, Sir David Attenborough has been named Champion of the Earth.
April 20, 2022

Wed. 04/20 - The AI Microwave Out for Revenge

The story of a self-described mad scientist who gave a microwave the soul of his childhood imaginary friend using AI, and then it tried to kill him. Plus, texting etiquette from Emily Post’s great-great-grandchildren.
April 19, 2022

Tue. 04/19 - Holoportation & the Real Scream Queen

A doctor was beamed up to the ISS in the first-ever holoportation to space. Plus, a new chopsticks invention that makes your food taste salty without adding any salt. And inside the world of a professional scream artist.
April 18, 2022

Mon. 04/18 - The Old Villains Are the New Heroes + the Big Mac Index

Why indie booksellers went from hating Barnes & Noble to defending it, and what that means for the future of publishing. Plus, a look at inflation through the lens of the Big Mac Index.
April 15, 2022

Fri. 04/15 - We Need a Time Variance Authority

In a more serious take on yesterday’s musings, how is the pandemic and modern technology changing how we communicate about and understand time? Plus, speaking of time, why do Passover and Easter sometimes occur so far apart from one another? Let’s talk about the messy world of human-constructed cal…
April 14, 2022

Thu. 04/14 - Redefining Units of Time for the Techno-Era

Should we be measuring time differently now that we spend more time with digital technology than nature? Paul Ford has some suggestions. Plus, how the heck is AriZona Iced Tea still just 99 cents and not playing any nefarious shrinkflation games like the other guys? And a new study analyzing the pe…
April 13, 2022

Wed. 04/13 - That's A Big Ol' Comet

A very big comet. How sewage monitoring could transform public health beyond just its applications for COVID-19. Plus, libraries are relinquishing local library card requirements for eBooks in a bid to fight back against book bans. And a new National Park annual pass that won’t be valid for 150 yea…
April 12, 2022

Tue. 04/12 - Social Media as the Fall of the Tower of Babel

How social media has created a Tower of Babel-like fragmentation of society. Plus, the infrastructure secrets behind a new-to-the-US reality show starring some very busy toddlers. And the brewing beef between Spirit Halloween and the King of Halloween.
April 11, 2022

Mon. 04/11 - You Have Livetweeted Dysentery

The Maryland man livetweeting his bout of dysentery––don’t worry, he’s okay. Plus, scientists have managed to de-age human skin cells by thirty years. And an implausible NASA artifact was taken back to space this weekend by one of the Axiom Space private astronauts.
April 8, 2022

Fri. 04/08 - Short Kings & Barbie Girls

We turn back the clocks to 1997 for a history of the song “Barbie Girl” and a look at its influence on music. Plus, the Neolithic origins of Short King Spring. And mark your calendars for the Great North American Solar Eclipse.