Selects: Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Feminist Physician
13 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Becoming the first licensed woman physician in America was tough, convincing male surgeons to wash t...
Salsa: NOT THE DANCE
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Salsa is one of the great inventions of the culinary world. Here in the USA it's mainly a vehicle fo...
Short Stuff: Milk Wars
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re a mobster and you can’t make money off of booze any longer what should you move to nex...
Jane Goodall: All Good
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There aren’t too many people walking around today who get a pass from the entire world for anythin...
Selects: How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work, Part II
06 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this classic episode, we finish revisiting our 2017 tour of the best sights of the ancient world ...
Salute to Women Inventors
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Women inventors have always had a tough time, for obvious reasons. So we're here today to pay tribut...
Short Stuff: POW Olympics
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While it sounds like something out of a movie, some POWs in WWII really held an Olympics. And it hap...
How Dopamine Works
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dopamine is perhaps the most talked-about, most misunderstood biochemical in our bodies. It’s link...
Selects: How Restaurant Health Inspections Work
29 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you know the feeling that occurs when the health inspector pa...
EXTRA! EXTRA! The Newsboy Strike Episode!
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When paperboys stopped delivering a couple of very big newspapers in 1899 it was a big deal. Big eno...
Short Stuff: James Dean's Car
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The story of what happened to the car that James Dean crashed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...
Whistling!
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Whistling is pretty cool when you think about it because it can mean many things, from simple happy ...
Selects: How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work, Part I
22 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Long before slide rulers and pocket protectors, civilizations across the world used their noggins to...
The Big Episode on Wikipedia
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wikipedia changed the world. Before it came along, you had to go to the library to get the answers y...
Short Stuff: Hostile Architecture
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Those armrests in the middle of benches aren’t just for your comfort, they’re intended to keep t...
Why Must Widowhood Be So Difficult?
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In almost every part of the world, in some form or fashion, widows have things harder than they did ...
Selects: The Murder Mystery of Ötzi the Iceman
15 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
About 5,300 years ago a Copper Age shepherd was murdered. He just happened to die in a place where h...
A Brief History of Air Travel
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we take to the friendly skies to detail the fascinating history of air travel. From planes wit...
Short Stuff: Peace Sign
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The peace sign is one of the most globally recognized symbols around today, but it’s only a few de...
Coercive Control, the Invisible Basis of Abuse
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When we think of an abused spouse we tend to think of horrific physical or emotional violence. But o...
Selects: Sunburn, Suntans and Sunscreen
08 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's pretty obvious something's gone wrong when you get a sunburn, but did you know a tan means you'...
The Ballad of Grit
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the last decade American schools became enrapt by a new psychological concept centered on perseve...
Short Stuff: Amber Alerts
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Learn all about the saddest phone notification in today's episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for ...
Conductors: What the heck is going on there?
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You've probably been to a symphony performance and wondered, what in the heck are conductors doing u...
Selects: What are think tanks all about?
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Think tanks? More like stink tanks! We're kidding. Think tanks do valuable work, when they operate i...
The Guinness Book of Records
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you grew up in the 70s and 80s in America, you probably have the image of your tattered Guinness ...
Short Stuff: What's a mudlarker?
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mudlarking is a uniquely British hobby, though you can dig through river mud anywhere there's a rive...
The shameful and harrowing story of Unit 731
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Unit 731 was a secret group within the Japanese Army in WWII that committed unspeakable atrocities a...
Selects: How Vomit Phobia Works
25 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
No one - no one - likes to vomit, but there are some people who would prefer to die rather than vomi...
J. Edgar Hoover: Evil G-Man Pt. 2
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the exciting conclusion of our two-part episode on Hoover, we come in at the Cold War and end on ...
Short Stuff: Hobo Signs
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
By definition hobos are people who travel from town to town taking odd jobs as they go. But some tow...
J. Edgar Hoover: Evil G-Man Pt. 1
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that J. Edgar Hoover was perhaps the most powerful American...
Selects: The Great War of the Worlds Panic Myth
18 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Halloween 1938 young radio star Orson Welles scared the pants off of America with a fictional new...
The Silurian Hypothesis
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The idea that we aren’t the first advanced civilization to live on Earth sounds like a fringe theo...
Short Stuff: Zambonis!
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Even the dullest hockey game is worth seeing when the Zamboni comes out to resurface the ice.See omn...
NYC Trash: A study in persistence
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Taking care of 12,000 tons of residential trash every day is a hard job. But how does that even work...
Selects: How Stuttering Works
11 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Despite as much as one percent of the adult population having the condition, science doesn't actuall...
10 - Yes, 10! - Dumb Criminals
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes you just have to turn it off for a while – all the thinking, and overthinking, analyzing...
Short Stuff: Titanic Survivors!
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We all know the story of the Titanic and the tragedy of lives lost. So hey, let's talk about the sur...
Misophonia: More Than an Annoyance
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Misophonia is a condition in which certain sounds trigger people in very negative ways that can real...
Selects: The Legends of Lost Nazi Gold
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As if being murdering SOBs weren’t enough, the Nazis were also thieving rats. During WWII, they st...
Atomic Clocks, Ahoy!
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The only thing more complicated than an atomic clock is researching how they work and then figuring ...
Short Stuff: Getting Winded
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Getting the wind knocked out of you is scary, but passes quickly. Learn exactly what's happening wit...
The Village People Episode
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Village People were a smash hit singing group that came and went in under two years. Then other ...
Selects: How the Beagle Brigade Works
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever been to an international airport, you've probably seen one of the keenest spotters of...
The Awful Crimes of Georgia Tann
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Georgia Tann was a bad human. We feel safe in saying that because she kidnapped babies from poor fam...
Short Stuff: The Sad, Strange Tale of Margaret Schilling
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Not too much is known about Margaret Schilling. She was the kind of person whose memory might have b...
The Power of the Wind
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You probably know wind energy projects have been around since the 90s, but did you know they now pro...
Selects: Special Effects: A Short History
20 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Special effects have been around since the first movies. In fact, the techniques the earliest filmma...
Hitchhiking: Two thumbs out!
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we go down the road a bit, thumbs out, to explore the rich history of hitchhiking. See omnyst...
Short Stuff: The Amazing Tale of Juliane Koepcke
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Few people have been more qualified to survive a plane crash alone in the Amazon for almost two week...
The Dubious Science of Arson Investigation
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Arson investigation has changed a lot over the years. There is actual science available now, but the...
Selects: How Famines Work
13 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's common knowledge that famines are usually caused by major droughts: Rain doesn't fall, crops d...
Testosterone and Estrogen: Wondrous Hormones
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We think of estrogen and testosterone as the female and male sex hormones and they may seem kind of ...
Short Stuff: Straitjackets
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Straitjackets aren't really a thing anymore unless you're watching a movie or TV show. Or in prison....
The 1977 Women's Conference That Changed America
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 70s were the decade of the woman in the US. America finally was coming around to the understandi...
Selects: All the Gold In Fort Knox: Meh
06 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Fort Knox was built in the 1930s to house America’s gold supply, it was billed as an impenetr...
The Everglades: Wowee
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of America’s most important ecosystems takes up more than half the state of Florida. It’s a ...
Short Stuff: Knock on Wood
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What's the deal with knocking on wood? It's an action one takes to ensure good luck. Which doesn't e...
Greedflation Is Real
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the things we rely on is for the companies who make the stuff we need to not stick it to us, ...
Selects: Who is The Man of the Hole?
30 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2018, there's a man from a lost tribe still living deep in the jungles of Brazil who has been all...
The Pulitzer Prize: A major award!
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It doesn't get much bigger than the Pulitzer Prize if you're a journalist. Or a novelist. Or really ...
Short Stuff: Ramree Island Crocodile Massacre
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The strange thing about the story of the Ramree Island Crocodile Massacre is that it didn't happen. ...
Love Canal: Even Dirtier Than It Sounds
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A man with an unfulfilled vision left a huge gash in the ground near Niagara Falls. Then a chemical ...
Selects: MOVE: Or When the Philly Police Dropped a Bomb on a Residential Neighborhood
23 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Believe it or not, in 1985 the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb from a helicopter onto ...
Peanuts (the comic) Part II
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today is part II of our tribute to one of the most iconic pieces of American culture.See omnystudio....
Short Stuff: Mariko Aoki Phenomenon
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ten percent of people – in Japan at least – get the urge to poop when they visit bookstores. But...
Peanuts (the comic) Part I
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today we pay tribute to one of the most iconic pieces of American culture. Listen in to hear us gush...
Selects: How Dyslexia Works
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For a learning disability that everyone seems to know about, dyslexia is maybe the most commonly mis...
The Alien Abduction Phenomenon of the Mid-20th Century
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It started with New Hampshire couple Betty and Barney Hill, who learned under hypnosis they’d been...
Short Stuff: Skittles and TIO2
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s an ingredient in Skittles and lots of other food that Dunkin Donuts stopped using it in th...
Leave Brutalism Alone!
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The most reviled, hated, despised, no-good, low down, dirty rotten architectural style of all time i...
Selects: The Science of Break-Ups
09 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Breaking up is hard to do. Your brain might even think you're getting over a cocaine addiction. Lear...
The Smiley, Stubborn Llama
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Llamas are pretty great. They smile! They also spit and if they feel overworked will just lay down. ...
Short Stuff: Roly Poly...Bugs?
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Roly Poly bugs go by many names. They look like tiny armadillos. They're great for your garden. And ...
Multitasking: Working slower with worse results
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Multitasking isn't really possible, because of the way the human brain works. We know you think you'...
Selects: The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti
02 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, two anarchists accused of murder, was one of the first "crimes of t...
Wireless Electricity: When Can We Unplug Our TVs?
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You know all of those cords and cables and wires that we use to connect our stuff to the electrical ...
Short Stuff: Smudging: Not just for hippies
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Smudging is the process of wafting around the smoke of burning white sage. What is it good for? List...
Haile Selassie: Statesman, Colonizer, God?
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you grew up outside of Africa, you might know Haile Selassie’s name from reggae music - the man...
Selects: How Zero Population Growth Works
24 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1968, Paul Erlich published The Population Bomb, predicting coming famine and mass death. Erlich'...
The Story of the Nuclear Boy Scout
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
David Hahn was a kid who was really into science. So much that he built a nuclear reactor in his mot...
Short Stuff: Benin Bronzes
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the world’s cultural treasure troves were created in West Africa. But for over a century th...
Ray and Charles Eames: More than Chairs
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Charles and Ray Eames were superstar designers who dreamed up some of the most iconic pieces of furn...
Selects: Geodesic Domes: The Wave of the Future That Wasn't
17 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes a good idea doesn’t pan out in real life. Take Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome: It ...
Like, here's the episode on "like"
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Like is a very divisive word. Purists think it's like, a filler word born in the 80s that's like, de...
Short Stuff: The Original Snake Oil Salesman
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a great origin story behind snake oil salesmen, and it has to do with just one guy who sin...
What Americans Ate When There Were No Food Laws
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There was a brief period in America’s history – after people left the farm to work in the city a...
Selects: The Unabomber: Misguided to say the least
10 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Unabomber was one of the most notorious and longest lasting cases in the history of the FBI. Jus...
What's the Pygmalion Effect?
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do teachers and managers give special treatment to those who they're told have great academic or pro...
Short Stuff: School Bus Yellow
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why are all school buses the same color? Because one man made it so. This is that story. See omnyst...
Clue(do): Third Best Board Game Ever
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you know it as Clue or Cluedo, the whodunnit mystery board game is one of the best of all ti...
Selects: How Disgust Works
03 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Disgust is an odd thing. It makes sense that we would feel a sense of revulsion at the thought of pu...
The History of Las Vegas
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How did the sleepy Nevada town of Las Vegas become LAS VEGAS? Well, we'll let you know over the cour...
Short Stuff: Wainscoting: When Half a Wall is Enough
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wainscoting is a beloved and time-tested decorative way to spruce up your walls. But what is it anyw...
The Harrowing Story of the North Hollywood Shootout
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tune in today to listen to the story of when North Hollywood became a war zone after a brazen bank r...
Selects: A List Of Games You Would Surely Lose to a Computer
27 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We live in a time where computers can beat the best humans in the world at chess, checkers, poker an...
Esperanto: Tre Mojosa
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One thing you could do is create your own language. Some people do and for lots of different reasons...
Short Stuff: Hot Cold Plunge
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jumping into a cold pool after a long sauna or hot tub can be pretty great. Saunas have proven healt...
The Strange Unsolved Murder of Ken McElroy
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The murder of Ken McElroy comes off like a story from a cheap paperback book you’d get to read on ...