Episodes

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 đźš©

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…
Oct. 4, 2021

Mon. 10/04 - Thor's Antiviral COVID-19 Pill & Sexist Suitcases

The sexist history of the rollerboard suitcases. Plus, the facts about Merck’s new COVID-19 antiviral pill, including its connection to Thor. And the return of Nick Lutsko’s absurdist Spirit Halloween music videos.
Oct. 1, 2021

Fri. 10/01 - Edibles In Your Kid's Trick-Or-Treat Candy? Don't Bet On It.

The persisting myth of tampered-with and tainted trick-or-treat candy, and why it’s an urban legend that will never die. Plus, how we humans produce speech and a website that shows you both the beautiful engineering and the chaos of our mouths. And a selection of haunted houses you can sleep over a…
Sept. 30, 2021

Thu. 09/30 - Chinese Takeout Boxes Are Americancore

The very American history of the Chinese takeout box, and a look at the new “Americancore” trend. Plus, archaeologists have uncovered a hidden neighborhood in the ancient Maya city of Tikal that sheds new light on the imperialism of the Teotihuacán. And a lost David Bowie album is finally being rel…
Sept. 29, 2021

Wed. 09/29 - When Humans Die On Mars, What Will Happen?

What will happen to the bodies of people who die on Mars? Plus, AI has indicated that a famous painting at the National Gallery might be a phoney. And festival-goers at Glastonbury are endangering rare eels with their drug-addled refusal to use public toilets.
Sept. 28, 2021

Tue. 09/28 - Are Climate Companies Reliving the Dot Com Era?

Could removing methane from the atmosphere be a viable strategy for slowing global warming? And are all of these disparate new ideas and strategies to solve the climate crisis going to lead to real solutions? Plus, pulling back the curtain on the on-going supply chain problems. And the crypto-tradi…
Sept. 27, 2021

Mon. 09/27 - 900 Year Old Cosmic Mystery: Officially Solved

How 19th century New Yorkers took advantage of a loophole in the strict drinking laws and ended up creating the world’s worst sandwich. Plus, a supernova that’s been missing since the twelfth century has been found! And how a young woman on Tiktok accidentally caused havoc to thousands of scientifi…
Sept. 24, 2021

Fri. 09/24 - Ancient Teens Shake Up History of Human Migration

Ancient footprints discovered in New Mexico are shaking up what we thought we knew about when humans first arrived in the Americas. Plus, how much plastic do we unknowingly ingest each year? The answer is probably more than you’re comfortable with, but it also turns out that babies take in way more…
Sept. 23, 2021

Thu. 09/23 - Birds Are Real (and Got Louder During Lockdown)

The dark side of the history of epidemiology. Plus, a study that proves, yes actually, birds were louder and more numerous during lockdown. And two women in their hundreds who have lived incredible lives and refuse to quit doing what they love.