Episodes

Aug. 18, 2021

Wed. 08/18 - A "Wright Bros. Moment" In Nuclear Fusion

A lab in California has achieved a historic breakthrough in nuclear fusion. Three new species from the post-dinosaur mammalian revolution have been identified, including one that’s been named after a Hobbit character. And re…
Aug. 17, 2021

Tue. 08/17 - The Thriving Imported Mango Market on WhatsApp

Inside the world of the quasi-secret WhatsApp mango economy. It turns out Saturn is kind of jiggly inside. And the beginning of a season, marked by the end of an era for department stores.
Aug. 16, 2021

Mon. 08/16 - Eerily Accurate 1990s Predictions of Current Tech Dangers

How one of the earliest bloggers predicted the dark side of the internet, and then went completely off the grid. Plus, the first tribally-affiliated medical school, on tribal land, in the US. is bridging gaps. And Yik Yak is…
Aug. 13, 2021

Fri. 08/13 - Woolly Mammoth Adventures & Goodreads Pages Held For Ransom

The groundbreaking study that has basically given us a daily diary of the entire life of a 17,000 year old woolly mammoth. Why coffee prices are spiking. And a ransom scam targeting authors that says a lot about the state of…
Aug. 12, 2021

Thu. 08/12 - The Nickelodeon Design Aesthetic

How does a kid’s network establish their brand identity? Apparently, riff on a high brow architectural style and add heaping amounts of radioactive green slime. On the 30th anniversary of the first Nicktoons, a look back at …
Aug. 11, 2021

Wed. 08/11 - Robin, Batman's Sidekick, Has Come Out of the Closet

Robin has officially come out of the closet. No statement yet from Batman, but I do have the other details, and a brief history of LGBTQ+ superheroes. Plus, SpaceX is planning to put billboards in space. And plastic pollutio…
Aug. 10, 2021

Tue. 08/10 - A New Carnivorous Flower CAPTCHAs Its Prey

Why are CAPTCHA’s so frustrating and, in a way, so grim and disconcerting? Plus, botanists have identified the first carnivorous plant in twenty years, but don’t go calling it Audrey III just yet. And, a new development in t…
Aug. 9, 2021

Mon. 08/09 - That “Code Red” Climate Report, Explained

Some context and takeaways from the big UN climate report released this morning. NASA has opened applications for their Mars simulation mission. And why are some people in Japan sending bags of rice with their baby’s face on…
Aug. 6, 2021

Fri. 08/06 - A Gardener's High? Can Playing In Dirt Make You Happier?

What are forest schools? And the science behind why gardening can make you feel happy and peaceful. Plus, the Perseid meteor shower is happening in just a few days. And the co-creator of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has be…
Aug. 5, 2021

Thu. 08/05 - Vaccine APP-rehension

As the tides trend toward requiring vaccinations for entry in more places, what is the landscape of apps and methods to verify vaccination status? Plus, meatball-scented candles from IKEA and two very different commercial sp…
Aug. 4, 2021

Wed. 08/04 - Why Is Snow on the Alps Turning Red?

The six countries most likely to survive all-out societal collapse from climate change. Why is snow on the Alps turning red? And a website that will transport you back to sleepy nights in front of the TV in the early 2000s.
Aug. 3, 2021

Tue. 08/03 - What Edgar Allan Poe's Forgotten Science Writing Can Tell Us About Misinformation

Edgar Allan Poe wasn’t just the sad author of spooky tales we all know and love, but also a passionate science journalist, and the writings he left behind can tell us a lot about our current relationship to misinformation an…
Aug. 2, 2021

Mon. 08/02 - Why Skateboarding Is An Olympic Sport, But Cricket Isn't

What makes an Olympic sport an Olympic sport? And what does it take to get cut from the lineup? Namely, why is baseball getting cut once again in 2024, but breakdancing will make its Olympic debut? A breakdown of how it work…
July 30, 2021

Fri. 07/30 - Millions of Views & Not a Dollar To Show For It

I read a BuzzFeed article about virality and go on a rant about the creator economy. PornHub has a new campaign to help bolster museum tourism. And we may have found a fingerprint from Michelangelo… on a statue’s butt.
July 29, 2021

Thu. 07/29 - Kids Are Using Soda To Fake Positive COVID Tests

Why it could take you months to get a new sofa. Kids are trying to get out of class by using soda to fake positive COVID tests. And how to reinvigorate your health with a “microadventure.”
July 28, 2021

Wed. 07/28 - Why the COVID Vaccines WEREN'T Hacked... So Far

How a task force prevented the COVID-19 vaccines from being hacked because, yes, that was a real and valid concern. Plus, the sometimes controversial history of timekeeping at the Olympics and the AI-based innovations introd…
July 27, 2021

Tue. 07/27 - Are Personalized Digital Billboards the Future?

The history and future of billboard advertising. The surprisingly big challenge of recycling bowling balls. And the YouTube Creator who just got hired by Lucasfilm.
July 26, 2021

Mon. 07/26 - An Olympic Medal For Designing Olympic Medals

A look back at when the Olympics used to give out medals in artistic categories, including the designing of Olympic medals, and the case for why they should bring that back this year in particular. Plus, some more background…
July 23, 2021

Fri. 07/23 - Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping

Rounding errors may cause winners to become losers and losers winners, Bezos and James Webb both fall to Earth, and beyond lobster shortages, now crabs.
July 22, 2021

Thu. 07/22 - Venmore You Venknow

Your payments for dog walking and, er, “love hotels” via Venmo are now no longer subject to global scrutiny, neutron stars have wee tiny mountains, smaller than predicted, pool parties by the hour via Swimply, and former Col…
July 21, 2021

Wed. 07/21 - It Was in All the Papers

How did paper sizes fall into their century-long groove, how low-wage workers seem to have the upper hand in the job market despite pandemic job losses, and the very newest, freshest words are in.
July 20, 2021

Tue. 07/20 - Creepy Clown Town 2021

Was the Chinese seed scare of mid-2020 just a matter of delayed orders and pandemic memory? The Ever Green clogging the Suez Canal is probably a sign of things to come, not a one-off accident. And Wally Funk returns from spa…
July 19, 2021

Mon. 07/19 - It Brings Good Things Back to Life

Coca-Cola brings your dead taste buds back to life with a new Coke Zero formulation that probably definitely certainly won’t produce a New Coke outrage, Olympic athletes can perform team gymnastics on the beds provided in Ja…
July 16, 2021

Fri. 07/16 - People Have Reservations about Deep-Faking Bourdain’s Voice

The flood of robocalls may soon abate due to a technology named after James Bond’s martini instructions to bartenders, an ethical debate over whether we can revive the dead’s voices to simulate what they said or wrote in lif…