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.
Learn about why children develop racial prejudice unless their parents teach them otherwise; why archaeologists studying Stonehenge may have found the largest prehistoric structure in all of Europe; and why cats have vertical pupils.
Learn how researchers test drugs for deadly diseases like COVID-19 (without exposing participants); how Fannie Farmer transformed cooking from folk art into science; and how the Shepard scale audio illusion makes it sound like a tone is rising forever.
Learn about why more advertising means less happiness; how to calculate your maximum heart rate; and how parents and kids can help language researchers during the pandemic, with help from an app called KidTalk.
Learn about how scientists and animals are benefitting from the “anthropause” during the coronavirus pandemic; why sweat from stress smells worse than regular sweat; and whether men really “see less mess” than women.
Stanford behavior scientist Dr. BJ Fogg explains new research into how you can pick new habits you’ll actually stick with. Then, you’ll learn about the best time of day to exercise.
Stanford behavior scientist Dr. BJ Fogg, author of “Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything,” explains why the best new habits are tiny ones. Then, learn why human infants are late bloomers compared to other baby animals.
Learn about why you might feel stronger after just one workout; why the Earth’s core doesn’t melt, even though it’s so hot; and prosopagnosia, the surprising neurological condition of face blindness.
Learn about how humans literally use their noses to navigate; why the blue blood of horseshoe crabs is essential for developing drugs like a COVID-19 vaccine; and the truth behind 5 myths about summer dangers.
Learn about how your ancestors’ work habits might be influencing your own; the first evidence of an underwater dinosaur; and how an aquarium successfully reproduced coral in captivity for the first time.
Researchers Elizabeth Sawchuk and Mary Prendergast discuss the surprising discoveries archaeologists are making thanks to new technology. Plus: learn how eye-tracking software can tell you more about you than you think.
Learn about why NASA doesn’t launch rockets in the rain (which is why there was a delay launching the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley); why llamas are so promising for protecting humans against viruses like COVID-19; and why things get cold — when they’re wet, when you’re chewing mint gum, and when you blow air through narrowed lips.
Renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe explains how we know that climate change is caused by humans. Then, learn about why there’s no such thing as “common sense.”
Learn about how our sun is different from similar stars; how deep sleep literally cleans your brain; and the psychology behind why some psychopaths are serial killers, while others are CEOs.