Learn how the mathematical mistake of exponential growth bias makes people underestimate the spread of COVID-19, how crocodiles have survived since the dinosaurs, and how puns activate both sides of the brain.
Learn about why some words are more memorable than others; how hair growth works; and how fish end up in landlocked lakes.
Cody Cassidy is back to talk about how soap was invented. You’ll also learn about a bias that makes people believe poor people have thicker skin, and how good anxiety can help you get things done.
Learn about why we remember things in the opposite order as we see them and how spiders use atmospheric electricity to balloon through the air. You’ll also learn who actually ate the first oyster from author Cody Cassidy.
Learn about how culture plays a role in feeling sick; that time scientists measured all the light in the known universe; and what Jurassic Park got wrong about the Dilophosaurus, that venomous dinosaur with the frilly collar.
Learn the surprising reason why religious people tend to have more children; why sea turtles are actually pretty clumsy navigators; and where astronomers found the center of our solar system (spoiler alert: it’s not the center of our sun).
Learn about how wildfires are powerful enough to create their own storms, how the invention of bags influenced human evolution, and how announcers with low voices can make products larger.
Learn about the Luhn algorithm (the genius math behind credit card numbers) and how parents’ brains synchronize when they’re together. Then, play along at home and test your podcast knowledge with this month’s Curiosity Challenge trivia game.
To celebrate Shark Week, learn about why people are afraid of sharks; how scientists discovered four new species of “walking” sharks (also called epaulette sharks); and how enhanced rock weathering might help us fight climate change with rocks.
Learn about whether sharks can really smell a drop of blood from a mile away; how some sharks give birth from two uteruses (and why that’s not even the weirdest part); and the complicated way interstellar travel can mess with language.
Learn about why people can’t help but “shoot the messenger;” how neurons in your gut influence neurons in your brain thanks to the gut-brain axis; and why we still use the QWERTY keyboard, along with information on Dvorak and Colemak layouts.
Infectious disease doctor and researcher Dr. Lawrence Purpura discusses herd immunity and the coronavirus pandemic. Then, learn about how psilocybin therapy may be able to treat depression, and why credit card chips are safer than magnetic strips.
Learn what researchers found when they tried to build the perfect profanity, then learn how playing an online game called Stall Catchers can help scientists speed up Alzheimer’s research. Then, test your knowledge with Curiosity Challenge trivia questions.
Learn why Cygnus X-1, the first black hole ever discovered, is bigger than we thought. Then, learn about spider hearing with help from Ron Hoy, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University who studies acoustic communication in insects.