Episodes

June 30, 2021

Wed. 06/30 - Why 1980s Nostalgia Films Won't Die

What’s with the on-going trend of horror films and TV shows being set in the 1980s? Is sunscreen worse in the United States compared to Europe? And one of the sports returning to the Olympics next month has a deadly precedent.
June 29, 2021

Tue. 06/29 - The Underground McDonald's DIY Recipe Guide for Recreating 1960s Menu Items

Why exactly were McDonald’s french fries so good back in the day? Why did they change and can the secret original recipe be recreated? Plus, a new sort of post-post-punk subgenre is emerging in the post-Brexit United Kingdom. And, a completely pointless but wonderful website I discovered last week.
June 28, 2021

Mon. 06/28 - A New Extinct Human Species? The Giant Skull Everyone's Talking About

As promised on Friday, more information on the so-called Dragon Man––the recently unveiled 140,000-year-old skull that may be a new species of extinct human. The science behind why all your in-person coffee dates since reopening have been so awkward. And a first-of-its-kind study puts a number on t…
June 25, 2021

Fri. 06/25 - 20,000 Years Ago, A Different Coronavirus Epidemic Hit Humanity

Researchers have found evidence of a coronavirus epidemic from 20,000 years ago. A new blood test that can detect fifty different types of cancer. And what the lowercase “i” in Apple products stands for and why they stopped using it.
June 24, 2021

Thu. 06/24 - Astronauts' Dirty Laundry

The growing attempts to put flavor back into our produce because, yes, apparently it left. An update on the lumber industry and what it could mean for the economy overall. And the surprisingly strange things astronauts have done with their dirty laundry, plus the introduction of NASA Tide.
June 23, 2021

Wed. 06/23 - How to Recover from "Zoom Body" + A Big Ol' Comet's a-Comin'

A very big and very strange comet-ish object has entered our solar system. Some tips to help your body recover from a year of virtual learning, working, and socializing. And the two badass twelve-year-old girls going to the Tokyo Olympics for skateboarding.
June 22, 2021

Tue. 06/22 - Smart Slime, Supermoons, & Upcycled Food Scraps

How a single-celled yellow slime is changing the way scientists think about intelligence. A new upcycled food label that would let you know when your food has been made with food scraps that would’ve otherwise gone to waste. And everything you need to know about this week’s Strawberry Supermoon.
June 21, 2021

Mon. 06/21 - How the Pandemic Reshaped the Home of the Future

What will our homes look like in the future and how much has the pandemic shaped that vision? Plus, why are humans so thirsty? And, Brian Eno has found a home for hundreds of his previously unreleased songs.
June 18, 2021

Fri. 06/18 - Are There Dinosaur Teeth on the Moon?

A new species of giant rhino might be the largest land mammal that ever walked the earth. Did you know there are probably dinosaur teeth on the moon? For real. The Girl Scouts have millions of leftover cookies and we must do our part by eating as many as we can. And China sent its first crewed miss…
June 17, 2021

Thu. 06/17 - Top 10 Best Homes for Extraterrestrial Life & the 20-5-3 Rule

A ranking of the top ten best places in our solar system to find extraterrestrial life. Plus, you know about the food pyramid, but what about the nature pyramid? Also called the 20-5-3 rule. And, I guess we have to talk about that Jeff-Bezos-Eating-the-Mona-Lisa petition.
June 16, 2021

Wed. 06/16 - How Xerox & Some Dalmatians Saved Disney

How Juneteenth has evolved over the years from its origins in Texas, and its reception today. How the Xerox machine (and several dozen dalmatian puppies) saved Disney Animation Studios from closing up shop. And a portal for exploring the cosmos… on Google Chrome.
June 15, 2021

Tue. 06/15 - A Lunar Telescope Built From Moon Dust

A new report from fifty of the world’s leading scientists on the need to combine solutions for combatting the climate crisis and our planet’s rapidly declining biodiversity. California’s historically low water levels may have inadvertently helped solve the case of a missing plane that crashed fifty…
June 14, 2021

Mon. 06/14 - The Full Tale of the Man Nearly Eaten By a Whale on Friday

The full story of the man who was swallowed by a humpback whale on Friday and lived to tell the tale. Calories. Who’s responsible for their inclusion in the world of nutrition? Some weird highlights from the history of this controversial measurement. And the growing need for a bill of neuro-rights.
June 11, 2021

Fri. 06/11 - Why Are Tornado Warnings So Inaccurate & Last Minute?

Thanks to a new study that sequenced the genomes of several types of wild melons, we may now know the origins of the watermelon… but we still don’t know how tornadoes are formed. And that’s a problem. Plus, in a bid to continue dominating all Halloween-themed playlists, Danny Elfman released a new …
June 10, 2021

Thu. 06/10 - The 1920s Transgender Clinic Destroyed By the Nazis

A new method of carbon capture that would turn carbon dioxide from the ocean into rocks. Mosquitos beefed up with virus-fighting bacteria have proven even more effective at preventing dengue fever than expected. And the often forgotten history of a turn of the century scientist way ahead of his tim…
June 9, 2021

Wed. 06/09 - Millions Lack a "Mind's Eye" & We're Not Sure Why

Why some people don’t have a mind’s eye and others can visualize things in incredible detail. Watermelons on Mars and human-animal hybrid babies born across the world––neither of those are true, but if you read two of the biggest newspapers in the US, you might have been led to believe they are. An…
June 8, 2021

Tue. 06/08 - New Giant Dinosaur, Same Boring Cereal

New ocean just dropped. And a new dinosaur species. Big release day. All about the fifth ocean and one of the newest, largest dinosaurs. Plus, what a new cereal says about current marketing trends, the state of cereal as a whole, fan-franchise relationships, and the contemporary fusion of ancient f…
June 7, 2021

Mon. 06/07 - Squids In Space & Why Vaccine Lotteries Work

SpaceX just delivered a bunch of tardigrades and baby squids to the International Space Station. New research finding pupil size is an indicator of intelligence. And why it seems like vaccine lotteries are actually working.
June 4, 2021

Fri. 06/04 - Shark-pocalypse & Extinct Flu Strains (possibly)

COVID-19 precautions largely prevented outbreaks of the flu this past winter, and they also may have caused two types of flu viruses to go extinct. Spinking of extinction, sharks apparently lost 90% of their population 19 million years ago and never fully recovered. And what day-to-day life is like…
June 3, 2021

Thu. 06/03 - Why Unique People Are More Attractive

What if your pick-up truck could power your whole neighborhood? That’s the potential people are imagining with the new Ford F-150 Lightning. The science behind why unique people are more attractive. And updates from the annual State of NASA address, including the latest planet they’ll be returning …
June 2, 2021

Wed. 06/02 - John Steinbeck's Unpublished Werewolf Murder Mystery Novel

John Steinbeck’s secret unpublished werewolf novel that his estate doesn’t want you to read. Lithuania built a portal to Poland and more may soon follow. And set your alarms for the “ring of fire” solar eclipse next week.
June 1, 2021

Tue. 06/01 - Bacteria Saves Michelangelo Works From Medici Ooze

Five hundred years later the Medicis continue to ruin Michelangelo’s artworks, but fortunately some bacteria are on the scene to restore his works to their former glory. The new naming scheme for COVID-19 variants. And the story of Allandale, Texas––once the only village in the entire world to be f…
May 28, 2021

Fri. 05/28 - Rural Oregon Tries to Become Greater Idaho

Seven counties in the US state of Oregon have now voted to leave their state behind and merge with neighboring Idaho. Could this actually work? A new English dictionary of Ancient Greek fully and explicitly makes up for the modesty of its previous Victorian translators. And the best way to cook a h…
May 27, 2021

Thu. 05/27 - Naked Mole Rats: The Key to Slowing Human Aging?

Potentially good news for longterm COVID-19 immunity. Pizza farms, not just a figment of my imagination, apparently they’re a real and wonderful thing. And the story of a naked mole rat named Joe who just won’t die, and what he could mean for human longevity.