Episodes

April 26, 2021

Mon. 04/26 - The Battle of the Joshes

Dozens of people named Josh gathered in Nebraska over the weekend for a battle to crown the ultimate Josh. Who won and why the heck did this happen? I’ve got the details. The precursor to laugh tracks: professional applauder…
April 23, 2021

Fri. 04/23 - A McShake Up: The Battle Over McDonald's Ice Cream Machines

What do you call a collection of black holes? That’s not the tee-up for a punchline. Scientists are legitimately trying to decide what word to use. Plus, how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was based on Blackfoot principles that…
April 22, 2021

Thu. 04/22 - Your Grandma's Meme Stocks of the 1980s

NASA has generated oxygen on Mars. The story of the women retirees who hacked the stock market decades before GameStop and Wall Street Bets. And on the eve of his 404th death day, a look at what Shakespeare can teach us abou…
April 21, 2021

Wed. 04/21 - Translating Whales' Conversations Using AI

A few newly-announced NASA funded projects, including one to build a radio telescope in a crater on the moon. A Welsh farmer shares his secrets to ultimate contentment. And can machine learning help us understand what whales…
April 20, 2021

Tue. 04/20 - The New Roaring 20s? An Economist & Epidemiologist Weigh In

Will this decade be another “Roaring 20s?” A social epidemiologist and a Nobel Prize-winning economist weigh in. How many T-Rexes roamed the land throughout their time on Earth? A team of paleontologists did the math. And sc…
April 19, 2021

Mon. 04/19 - Super League, Explained (w/ Brian McCullough)

You may have heard about a bit of a shake-up in the world of soccer today with a dozen of the world’s biggest teams forming what they’re calling the Super League. To help explain what the heck is going on, we’re joined today…
April 16, 2021

Fri. 04/16 - Human-Monkey Chimera Embryos Are a Reality Now

Scientists have created human-monkey hybrid embryos––yes, you heard that right. Archaeologists have found an entire lost city in Egypt. We have even more pterosaur news this week! And a very delicious false alarm in Krakow.
April 15, 2021

Thu. 04/15 - What Do Spiderwebs Sound Like?

The CDC says we should wait two weeks after our final COVID-19 vaccination to be considered fully vaccinated, but why? What do spiderwebs sound like? These scientists turned them into music. Google Earth’s latest feature sho…
April 14, 2021

Wed. 04/14 - A Pterosaur With Opposable Thumbs?

We’ve all been talking about Zoom Fatigue for the past year, but a new study has the facts on the phenomenon. Have you tried booking a rental car and noticed they’re all sold out or only going for exorbitant prices? Here’s w…
April 13, 2021

Tue. 04/13 - A Methane-Eating Bacteria Inside of Trees

Researchers have found a methane-eating bacteria living in a common species of Australian tree. The UK is considering a legal “right to disconnect” for remote workers. Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have uncovered evidence o…
April 12, 2021

Mon. 04/12 - Is An Art Movement Happening On TikTok?

Genetically-modified mosquitoes are set to be released in Florida, but will locals thwart the project? A new technology that can 3D print bones directly inside of patients’ bodies. Is TikTok our latest great art movement? No…
April 9, 2021

Fri. 04/09 - The Sound of Our Future Depends On Electric Vehicles

The story of the woman whose decades of research helped make the mRNA COVID vaccines possible. Plus, electric cars don’t make much noise, which means we have the opportunity now to design what the future will sound like. And…
April 8, 2021

Thu. 04/08 - Who Invented the High Five?

Where did the high five come from? Who came up with it? And why has it persisted for so long? Plus, what if we could turn the entire Earth into a telescope? One astronomer has drawn up the plans. And, how bad is blue light f…
April 7, 2021

Wed. 04/07 - The 1970s Clubhouse Precursor

When social media happened over the phone. Have physicists found a new force of nature? And the long-lost Lord of the Rings made-for-TV-movie produced by Soviet Russia.
April 6, 2021

Tue. 04/06 - A New Bacteria Discovered on the ISS That Could Help Grow Plants on Mars

A new bacteria was discovered on the International Space Station and it could mean interesting things for our future on Mars. The latest shortage in the US has left restaurant owners scrambling to catch up. And are seasonal …
April 5, 2021

Mon. 04/05 - Vaccine Side Effects: Myths & Tips

Busting some myths and sharing some doctor-backed advice on COVID vaccine side effects. The history of cigarette cards and how they played an important role in World War II. And how narwhal tusks act as a kind of history boo…
April 2, 2021

Fri. 04/02 - When Ships Were Stuck at the Suez Canal for Eight YEARS & a Micronation Was Formed at Sea

It turns out we got lucky with how quickly the Ever Given was freed. The last time the Suez Canal was blocked, it dragged on for eight years and led to the creation of a micro-nation at sea with a separate postal service and…
April 1, 2021

Thu. 04/01 - Slamilton: A Basketball Musical

Could humans evolve to be venomous? The man currently walking from Washington D.C. to New York City and tweeting all the way. The Hamilton/Space Jam mashup you never knew you needed. A brief roundup of corporate April Fools’…
March 31, 2021

Wed. 03/31 - Why All The Galaxy Carpets In 90s Movie Theaters?

Why did every movie theater in the 90s install that galaxy-themed carpet? A mafia fugitive who got caught by authorities after starting a cooking channel on YouTube. And the theory that the remains of proto-planet Theia may …
March 30, 2021

Tue. 03/30 - Zombie Brain Cells Keep Going After We Die

The medieval version of the millennial avocado craze––if avocados were only eaten when rotten and commonly referred to with a sexual nickname, anyways. Turns out that after we die, certain “zombie cells” go into overdrive. A…
March 29, 2021

Mon. 03/29 - Why The Lawyer Cat Filter Was a Default on Thousands of Computers

A new fossil analysis that bolsters the theory that primates may have lived alongside dinosaurs––and somehow survived extinction. The high school girl who invented color-changing sutures that show when a wound has become inf…
March 26, 2021

Fri. 03/26 - We Are All the Big Boat Stuck in the Suez Canal

The gargantuan container ship is still blocking traffic from flowing in the Suez Canal, but it has not stemmed the creativity of people online––from memes to fanfic, here’s your Ever Given round-up. Plus, archaeologists have…
March 25, 2021

Thu. 03/25 - How to Cook & Eat Cicadas

Have you ever wondered who or what comes up with the explanatory blurbs beneath trending terms on Twitter? I’ve got your answer. Your guide to eating and enjoying the Brood X cicadas. And a website to help you out when a wor…
March 24, 2021

Wed. 03/24 - Oops All Shrimp Tails! The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Saga

The saga of the shrimp tails in the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and what it has to do with Chance the Rapper, women’s basketball, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, and Topanga. Scientists have identified the first “space…