Episodes

Nov. 5, 2021

Fri. 11/05 - A Universal Vaccine For EVERY Coronavirus, Not Just COVID-19

How would a universal coronavirus vaccine work and how close are we to having one? Plus, how cosplaying as a superhero can actually make you a better person, at least temporarily. And one of the most notorious serial killers in horror is getting his own killer breakfast cereal.
Nov. 4, 2021

Thu. 11/04 - Steel Igloos In Iceland Turn CO2 Into Rocks

New international space laws may soon be on the horizon. Plus, the brewing battles between artists using AI to reconstruct lost artworks and the estates of the original artists. And some steel igloos in Iceland that protect one of the most promising examples of carbon capture yet.
Nov. 3, 2021

Wed. 11/03 - The McRib, Space Tacos, and Tropicana Toothpaste

An abridged history of the McRib sandwich. Astronauts have leveled up their taco game by growing chile peppers in space. And Tropicana just introduced their own line of toothpaste.
Nov. 2, 2021

Tue. 11/02 - How to Rewild Your Attention

Some tips for “rewilding your attention.” Plus, how to help NASA train future rovers to better navigate Mars. And what’s going on with those NFT billboards in Times Square… and also, the McRib is now an NFT?
Nov. 1, 2021

Mon. 11/01 - "Behind The Joy Are The Algorithms"

A meditation on streaming entertainment, algorithms, and David Foster Wallace’s prescient writing on the illusion of choice. Plus, a possible functional cure for HIV has just been approved to enter human trials. And, the Wampanoag woman who grew heirloom corn on its original land for the first time…
Oct. 29, 2021

Fri. 10/29 - Disease and the Vampire Myth + Hallowmeme History

Digging up the origins of some of the most popular Halloween memes––from “Spooky Scary Skeletons” to the dancing pumpkin man, and also touching on the Disney Channel’s 1980s answer to MTV. Plus, how times of disease have historically led to an uptick in vampire fear and folklore. And, on a more opt…
Oct. 28, 2021

Thu. 10/28 - Human Eggs Made From Blood Cells

Could we one day create sperm and egg cells from any human cell, even across the sexes? Plus, how BJ Novak from The Office’s face ended up on products all around the world without him knowing. And the latest drops from two of the internet’s leading mischief-making companies, including Andy Warhol f…
Oct. 27, 2021

Wed. 10/27 - Permafrost Thaw May Unleash Radioactive Waste & Bacteria

It turns out that melting permafrost could unleash Cold War-era radioactive waste and millions of years old antibiotic resistant bacteria. Cool cool cool. Plus, a look back at when picnicking in cemeteries was a common past time––and not just for goths. And the annual drop of totally weird and prob…
Oct. 26, 2021

Tue. 10/26 - Can AI Simulations Solve the Supply Chain Disruptions?

Could a new generation of AI simulations help solve the mounting supply chain disruptions? Plus, the history and future of haunted houses. And Jeff Bezos is basically trying to start a WeWork in space.
Oct. 25, 2021

Mon. 10/25 - Music That Gives You Chills, and Why It Does

The countercultural witchcraft music of the 1960s, and a study exploring what it is about certain songs that give us a spine-tingling chill. Plus, elephants in Mozambique have evolved to be born without tusks. And the guy who discovered a budget hack for spending just $150 on meals all year: eat ev…
Oct. 22, 2021

Fri. 10/22 - A Solar Storm Proved the Vikings Visited The Americas Exactly 1000 Years Ago

Thanks to a collaboration between trees and the sun, we can now pinpoint an exact year that the Vikings were in North America. Plus, are sirens actually effective tools for emergency vehicles? And why are apples associated with Halloween? Like what is up with apple bobbing?
Oct. 21, 2021

Thu. 10/21 - Using These Memes Is A Red Flag 🚩

Open captions are coming to the big screen as AMC Theaters takes a big step towards accessibility, and a look at captions’ growing popularity among the hearing. Plus, how some of the most popular memes are completely inaccessible. And the group of museums who have started an OnlyFans account.
Oct. 20, 2021

Wed. 10/20 - None Pizza With Left Beef: A Slice of History

A brief history of one of the most famous pizzas on the internet. Surgeons have successfully transplanted a kidney from a genetically-altered pig to a human. And how to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower this week, if the big ol’ full moon doesn’t get in your way.
Oct. 19, 2021

Tue. 10/19 - Grand Duke Travis of Westarctica Wants To Save the Planet

A look at the micronation of Westarctica, whose Grand Duke Travis started a nonprofit arm of the micronation to raise awareness about the consequences of the climate emergency in Western Antarctica. Plus, AstroAccess successfully completed their first zero-g flight with their disability ambassadors…
Oct. 18, 2021

Mon. 10/18 - Thank Exoplanets For Your iPhone's Display

How the push to search for signs of life on exoplanets fueled the development of the technology we use in our latest generation of smartphones. Plus, what your punctuation habits can say about you as a writer––and a new website based on a 2016 art project that allows you to visually analyze those f…
Oct. 15, 2021

Fri. 10/15 - Responding to Pandemic Uncertainty Like an Engineer

A proposal for approaching this next phase of the pandemic less like an epidemiologist and more like an engineer. Plus, new findings from the Mars Perseverance rover that has NASA breathing a sigh of relief. And product placement in novels, added without the author’s knowledge. It’s a real thing th…
Oct. 14, 2021

Thu. 10/14 - Do Spoilers Actually Make Movies Better?

Should you read the spoilers for horror movies before you watch them? Plus, a butterfly species in Finland with parasitic wasps in its belly… and even more wasps inside of that one. And, what if instead of lamps we one day use glowing plants to light our homes?
Oct. 13, 2021

Wed. 10/13 - Who's To Blame For Candy Corn?

How candy corn went from a year round candy marketed at farmers to the love-to-hate it Halloween treat it is today. Plus, a new interactive image gallery that starkly shows what effects three degrees of global warming will have on coastal cities around the world. And, in ten years, one of the bigge…
Oct. 12, 2021

Tue. 10/12 - Why Do We Casually Kill Spiders Without Remorse?

What is it that makes spiders so frightening to us, and why do most of us kill them without sparing a second thought? Plus, a Scottish nightclub that’s using the body heat of their dancing patrons to heat and cool the venue. And Prince Charles, trying to out British everyone else, fuels up his Asto…
Oct. 11, 2021

Mon. 10/11 - The Very Intense Miss Navajo Nation Pageant

It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day. More and more local governments are making it official, but why did we start celebrating Columbus Day to begin with? Plus, the impressive and gnarly competition to be crowned Miss Navajo Nation. And the history of National Coming Out Day, including the connection betwe…
Oct. 8, 2021

Fri. 10/08 - Is The Nobel Prize Bad For Science?

The winners of the Nobel Peace Prize have been announced! As well as the winners in Chemistry and Literature. More on each winner, as well as a question about whether we really need the Nobel Prize. Plus, the remnants of the oldest Black church in the US have been uncovered in Colonial Williamsburg…
Oct. 7, 2021

Thu. 10/07 - It's Like Venmo, But For the Post Office

The WHO has officially approved the first-ever malaria vaccine. The United States Postal Service is trying out being a bank. And the story of a white-naped crane named Walnut who fell in love with a human named Crowe.
Oct. 6, 2021

Wed. 10/06 - "Corpse Medicine," Brain Implants, & Actors In Space

A Russian film crew have arrived on the International Space Station to shoot the first-ever feature length film in space. A woman has received a brain implant that is successfully treating her depression by painlessly zapping her hundreds of times a day. And the seventeenth century health trend tha…
Oct. 5, 2021

Tue. 10/05 - The Facebook Outage Revealed a Grim Reality

Are we prepared to reckon with how much of the world came to a stop when Facebook went down yesterday? Plus, thanks to a new discovery, you may soon be able to find out if you had an identical twin in the womb using just a simple cheek swab. And it’s Nobel Prize week! The winners announced thus far…