Episodes

March 4, 2022

Fri. 03/04 - How Hybrid Work Could Change Cities & the Workforce

Is it possible for ocean cleanup programs to do more harm than good? And how might offices, cities, and the nature of work itself change if––as looks increasingly likely––many office jobs never return to fully on-site work. Plus, the latest Wordle-style game recommendation.
March 3, 2022

Thu. 03/03 - Designing Gotham: Batman's Universal Hometown

A look at how the design of Gotham City has changed throughout each incarnation of Batman, reflecting the soul and vengeance of the caped crusader. Plus, the technicolor array of blood throughout the animal kingdom. And, your chance to take your name to the moon. Not in an investing sense. Like, li…
March 2, 2022

Wed. 03/02 - Death to Plastic

175 nations have agreed to craft a legally binding treaty to reel in the world’s out-of-control plastic problem. Plus, remember that rocket booster no one is taking responsibility for? It’s still hitting the moon on Friday. Here’s what it might be able to tell us. And, a Beetlejuice sequel might fi…
March 1, 2022

Tue. 03/01 - Dino Drama: Should Tyrannosaurus Be Split Into Three Species?

Is the tyrannosaurus rex going to be broken up into three species? Plus, we’ve talked a lot about meat alternatives, but now it’s time for: dairy milk alternatives. No, not oat or almond. Actual dairy milk but without the use of animals. And, finally a study that says going for a walk is bad for yo…
Feb. 28, 2022

Mon. 02/28 - Pres. Zelensky's Uncanny Comedy Career & the Perils of Idol-worship

That thing you’re looking at right now, it’s already fifteen seconds in the past. Plus, new findings from Apple and Harvard’s giant period-tracking study. And, before emerging as a wartime president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a prolific career as a comedian. Here’s a rundown of some of the wildest cl…
Feb. 25, 2022

Fri. 02/25 - The Meme Accounts Behind Misinformation

The meme accounts behind some of the spread of misinformation already this week, as well as some guidance for seeking out and sharing accurate information. Plus, seals that are being recruited by scientists to spy on whales. And the latest vaccine seeking authorization.
Feb. 24, 2022

Thu. 02/24 - The Little-Known Women Who Saved Millions of Children

The too-little-known story of the creation of the whooping cough vaccine. Plus, the remarkable initiatives in Taiwan that are helping keep the country clean with a little help from Beethoven. A new Netflix docuseries that uses AI to recreate Andy Warhol’s voice reading his diaries. And a note on th…
Feb. 23, 2022

Wed. 02/23 - I'm Feeling Lucky

Why does Google still have the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button? And what do the ways Google Search has changed mean for us as a society? Plus, a proposed global library of underwater audio with a perfect name, and what fish are usually “talking” about when they communicate acoustically. And finally, Kra…
Feb. 22, 2022

Tue. 02/22 - Hot Jupiter Is Raining Gems

The mysteries of people with super color vision. Plus, a Hot Jupiter that rains gems. And Hank the Tank, the furry 500 pound dumpster diving home invader taking California by storm.
Feb. 21, 2022

Mon. 02/21 - Emo Poet & Wrestling Champ Abe Lincoln

Hundreds of birds dropped from the sky in northern Mexico. Why it happened and two brothers in India who heal birds who have suffered a similar fate. Plus: wrestler. Poet. Mattress King? The semi-true extracurriculars of Abraham Lincoln. And some recommendations for Brad Neely Appreciation Day.
Feb. 18, 2022

Fri. 02/18 - Did the Index Destroy How We Read? Will eBooks?

How a medieval hatred of indexes mirrors debates today about how search engines are changing our brains. Plus, a round-up of the unceasing Wordle news and spin-offs. A thousand Porsches are on fire in the middle of the Atlantic. And how about a caffeinated doughnut with your space-themed Coca-Cola?
Feb. 17, 2022

Thu. 02/17 - The Origins and Physics of Luge

The history and the science of luge, bobsledding, and skeleton. Plus, a new study has found that the US’s corn-based ethanol is worse for the climate than regular gasoline. And a bit of a pop culture round-up, including some new releases to look forward to this Record Store Day.
Feb. 16, 2022

Wed. 02/16 - EPCOT 2.0? Disney's New Residential Housing Communities

A new startup that is working on making steaks and chicken breasts out of thin air. Plus, the first woman has seemingly been cured of HIV. And Disney is developing a new round of residential communities around the US.
Feb. 15, 2022

Tue. 02/15 - The Love Story Behind the High Five Wikipedia Page

Uncovering the story behind two anonymous people whose photographs serve as instructions on the high five Wikipedia entry. Plus, people apparently find AI-generated faces more trustworthy than real human ones. And the Idaho Potato Commission just dropped their first fragrance.
Feb. 14, 2022

Mon. 02/14 - Rejected Olympic Sports

Speed skiing, synchronized skating, ski ballet, and other rejected sports from the Olympics. Plus, remember that SpaceX rocket stage headed for the moon? Turns out it’s a different piece of rocket junk, not from SpaceX at all. And the tropical disease that may be on the verge of eradication in huma…
Feb. 11, 2022

Fri. 02/11 - Rams vs. Bengals In the Wild

MoviePass is back and it wants to track your eyeballs. Plus, who would win in a real-world animal showdown: a ram or a Bengal tiger? NASA has released the first images of a star taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. And the Comanche language version of Wordle that Facebook doesn’t want you to se…
Feb. 10, 2022

Thu. 02/10 - Valentine's Meat Juice

A possible third planet has been spotted orbiting Proxima Centauri. Plus, a new record has been set by a nuclear fusion lab in the UK. And, just in time for the holiday, a brief history of Valentine’s Meat Juice.
Feb. 9, 2022

Wed. 02/09 - 300 y/o Arctic Sponges Found Surviving on Fossilized Worms

The mysterious century-old sponges somehow surviving on a dead underwater mountain near the North Pole. Plus, doctors in Canada can now prescribe patients annual passes to National Parks. And SpaceX is set to lose 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites it launched last week due to a geomagnetic storm.
Feb. 8, 2022

Tue. 02/08 - Wine Bricks To The Rescue + Decoding Dickens & Digital Dollars

Is a national digital currency coming to the US? And what would that look like? Plus, coders have teamed up with scholars of British literature to decode Charles Dickens’s secret notes. And the very clever wine bricks from the Prohibition Era that helped keep the wine industry afloat.
Feb. 7, 2022

Mon. 02/07 - How Many Micromorts Is Listening To This Podcast?

Micromorts, the unit of measurement that predicts your risk of death. How effective are they and how could we make it more effective, especially with regards to the pandemic? Plus, why Washington state is building highway overpasses for cougars. And two rappers who have been added to the Super Bowl…
Feb. 4, 2022

Fri. 02/04 - The "Eminently Boycottable" Olympics

The Olympic Games have officially begun––how to reconcile excitement for the sports and the spectacle with the reality of the situation. Plus, controversy is brewing over the remains of Captain Cook’s ship the HMS Endeavour. And choose your fighter: 3D-printed vegan meatballs or Build-A-Bear’s sult…
Feb. 3, 2022

Thu. 02/03 - Where Did Numbers Come From?

When did we start counting? Are numbers just a modern human concept? Plus, we have more details about the impending end of the International Space Station as focus turns ever-more to the moon and Mars. And a new search engine that only gives you one result and it’s always a book that was published …
Feb. 2, 2022

Wed. 02/02 - How Many Weeks of Winter When the Groundhog Dies?

How does your brain know when you’ve had enough to drink each time you take a sip of water? Plus, a Groundhog Day tragedy, how North America came to celebrate this wacky holiday, and what it’s future might look like in lieu of the climate emergency. And finally, the Pope’s personal playlist.
Feb. 1, 2022

Tue. 02/01 - 2,500 Subway Cars Under the Sea

The New York City subway cars taking on a second job on the ocean floor. Plus, a successful drone created using Leonardo da Vinci’s aerial screw design. And crows in Sweden are being trained to pick up litter.