The FDA has given approval for the first time to a lab-grown meat. Plus, another company is genetically modifying plants to work as superpowered air purifiers. And 500 new words like bae and subtweet have been added to the o…
Can wearing a mask yourself make it harder to recognize the faces of people, even when they’re not wearing a mask? Plus, why Kraft Heinz has upped the goof factor with so many off-the-wall stunts in recent years. And is frui…
In what feels like the start of a riddle, egg prices are surging, but chicken prices are going down. Plus, it turns out chimps like to share cool stuff as much as some daily podcasters. And Artemis I is supposed to launch la…
Polar Night and Midnight Sun. What’s it like living in a place that stays absolutely pitch black for two and half months, and what can we learn from the people who live there? Plus, a new emergency alert system in the US to …
How tech from shows like The Mandalorian is now being used in live election coverage on TV. Plus, an enormous tunnel has been uncovered beneath an Egyptian temple and some think it could lead to Cleopatra’s tomb. And Netflix…
Is algae the secret to feeding our growing world? Plus, new evidence for a sixth mass extinction that occurred even earlier than the Big Five. And some prescient thoughts on democracy from fifty years ago, courtesy of the cr…
Could the ballpoint pen be just as responsible for the death of cursive handwriting as the computer? Plus, lab-grown blood has been injected into two patients in a world-first clinical trial. And, would you attend a Zoom mee…
From a 3D bioprinter for human tissues to pumpkin spice cappuccinos, here’s the cargo being delivered on board the S.S. Sally Ride tomorrow to the International Space Station. Plus, this time it’s not just in your head, the …
On TikTok, Twitter, and more broadly how social media has changed us, how we might finally be approaching a tipping point in how we use it, and the ways in which our devices play just as large a role as the algorithms.
Could a musical cue played while you’re asleep help prevent nightmares? Plus, a round-up of science news from this month in history. And the US government might be getting an official Space Bureau.
A deep dive into two major events that led to the television boom, and a question of what that has meant for the artifice and theatricality of live events.
2022 has been the year of cheating. The latest scandal to rock a niche community? BagGate at the American Cornhole League World Championships. Plus, Collins Dictionary has declared “permacrisis” their word of the year. And a…
Why does Dracula still resonate with audiences over a century later? The disease narrative is one possible reason, but there’s another less-discussed theory too. Plus, one team of scientists have detected traces of an ancien…
Dispatches from the Recreational Fear Lab on why being scared might be a healthy thing. And the raucous Halloween parties Queen Victoria used to throw in Scotland.
In our first-ever "Best Of" episode, we look back at the history of candy corn. How did this contentious candy come to be, why does it persist when so many people hate it, and does it really contain bug secretions? Plus, a s…
Can the books we read permanently change our brains? Or at least impact our values over a lifetime? Two studies that used undergrads as guinea pigs attempt to quantify the effects of powerful books on our brains. Plus, the u…
How and why did food become so gendered? Y’know, men eat red meat and women eat salads. When did those associations begin? Plus, according to new evolutionary findings, animals might have begun to vocalize to each other even…
Why marigolds are so prevalent in cultural celebrations around the world this time of year. Plus, how insect swarms affect atmospheric electricity. And the parkour athletes turned environmental activists.
Why scents and fragrances have been so strongly associated with witchcraft throughout time and how those associations influence witchcraft, feminism, and misogyny today. Plus, a wild bison has been born in England for the fi…
How the Black Death changed the course of human evolution. Plus, the exoplanet with a marshmallow-like atmosphere. And IKEA is testing out autonomous delivery vehicles.
A look into the growing movement of human composting as a funeral option. Plus, Anna May Wong quarters start shipping in the US on Monday. And two iconic movies with intriguing reboots on the horizon.
Could vampires exist, mathematically speaking? Plus, an update on COVID variants of concern as we head into winter. And the United Kingdom has ruled that GIFs are still relevant and Meta can’t hog them all.
NASA isn’t the only one who may launch a rocket to the moon next month. Plus, a Danish political party led by an AI chatbot that’s running for office. A new horror film that’s causing people to faint and puke in theaters. An…
The FCC has just proposed new rules to combat space junk. Plus, remember the company trying to bring back the woolly mammoth? The CIA just invested in them. Plus, a previously unheard Queen song, featuring Freddie Mercury’s …