Learn about why sensitive questions won’t make conversations as uncomfortable as you think; why static is worse in winter than in summer; and the “umami synergy” behind why bacon and eggs go together so well.
Learn about why small talk is important for coworkers during the workday; why gossip is actually pretty good for you; and how some frogs survive the winter by literally becoming “frogcicles.”
Learn about an easy trick for making needles less painful; how ancient Mayans used zeolite to filter water more than 2,000 years ago; and the story behind moonmoons, the hilarious name astronomers have proposed for moons that orbit other moons.
Author Priya Parker explains how you can make your next gathering more meaningful. But first, you’ll learn about TRPC1, a molecule that promotes muscle health when it’s magnetized.
Learn about a newly discovered way to cut down on intrusive thoughts; why wombats poop cubes; and why UPS trucks almost never make left turns.
Learn about why your dog might be lying about its size and how physicists just achieved room-temperature superconductivity for the first time. But first, food science expert Harold McGee is back to talk about the smells that existed before Earth did.
Author Priya Parker explains how to fix the biggest mistakes you’re making in your virtual gatherings. Plus: learn about how language can affect the amount of pain a bilingual person experiences; and why the world’s largest waterfall probably isn’t what you think it is.
Learn about why we now know what a dinosaur's cloaca looks like. You’ll also learn why smells change with context from food science expert Harold McGee.
Learn about why it’s relaxing to breathe in through your nose and the first woman who’s ever been struck by a meteor. We’ll also answer a listener question about why smacking electronics helps to make them work again.
Learn about why animals keep evolving into crabs in a principle called “carcinization,” whether water is actually wet, and if there’s any truth behind the old adage "feed a cold, starve a fever."
Learn about why adding cold cream to your coffee keeps it hotter longer, why social identity can make people distrust the scientific consensus, and why you need self-compassion for self-improvement.
Learn about how a planet-friendly diet also tends to be healthier and why we don’t have battery-powered airplanes. But first, social psychologist and author Devon Price is back to explain how we can all avoid burnout.
Learn about how naked mole-rats invade neighboring colonies and steal babies, the average person is hiding 13 secrets, and people use more jargon when they're insecure about their status.
Learn about how we know that an asteroid killed the dinosaurs. We’ll also talk to social psychologist and author Devon Price about how laziness might actually benefit us.
Learn about whether summer will help or hurt the coronavirus pandemic; why so many Mars missions like Mars 2020 are launching this summer; and how you might inspire yourself to exercise more by copying your friends.