Cool Stuff Ride Home
Covering the most interesting and coolest stories that you may have missed around the world in about 15 minutes a day. Cool Stuff Ride Home looks at science, progress, life-hacks, memes, exciting art, and hope. This is the antidote to depressing headlines. Smart stuff in podcast form. Cool news, as a service.
Hosted by Reggie Risseeuw and Marques Pfaff.
226
Wed. 02/01 - The Dodo Is Coming Back! ...is tha...
The dodo bird is back, baby! Or at least lots of investors are betting on its return. But why is de-extincting animals the hot new thing and what does it mean for the future of conservation? Plus, Abraham Lincoln: Bartender. Another look at his motley...
19 min
227
Tue. 01/31 - Lorem Ipsum? I Hardly Know 'Em! I ...
Where did lorem ipsum come from? The answer turns out to be just as murky as the nonsense placeholder text itself. Plus, a new game that challenges you to guess when photos were taken. And the best family sitcom of the turn of the twenty-first century...
19 min
228
Mon. 01/30 - What Time Is It On The Moon?
How scientists are deciding how we will tell time on the moon and beyond. Plus, a new Frog and Toad series from Apple TV+ has gay Twitter crossing their fingers. Links: (Nature) (NPR) (Space.com) (NASA JPL, 2004) (NASA) (The Atlantic, 2012) ...
17 min
229
Fri. 01/27 - Shakespeare for Gamers
Some wildly optimistic projects being funded by NASA––including more sustainable commercial aircrafts and self-growing bricks on Mars. Plus, a new Shakespearean theater company whose performances all take place inside one of the world’s most...
17 min
230
Thu. 01/26 - Eggflation: Price-Gouging on Eggs ...
Is the huge increase in the price of eggs being caused by price-gouging and not avian flu? Plus, why we need to be paying attention to avian flu even beyond its relation to egg prices. And people are selling bottles of water from the recently-closed...
15 min
231
Wed. 01/25 - Wikipedia as a Model for the Rest ...
How Wikipedia editors are bringing more nuance into their decisions and what ripple effects that can have on a website that increasingly defines our shared reality. Plus, how do you refer to historical figures who may have been trans? And a veritable...
20 min
232
Tue. 01/24 - 90 Seconds To Midnight
The Doomsday Clock has ticked down even closer to midnight, but how useful of a mechanism is it? Plus, some good news on climate change. And a new Wordle spin-off for the Zillow-obsessed. Links: (The Verge) (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) ...
17 min
233
Mon. 01/23 - The HustleCore of Medieval Monks (...
The Earth’s inner core has paused its spinning and reversed its course . Sounds alarming, but everything is fine. Plus, what medieval Christian monks, the OG hustle bros apparently, can teach us about distraction and routine. Links: (NY Times) ...
17 min
234
Fri. 01/20 - Are Coffee Pods MORE Environmental...
How did whales get so big anyways? Plus, a new study claims coffee pods are more environmentally-friendly than regular filter coffee. Is it true? Sponsor: ZocDoc, Links: (Phys.org) (NY Times) (Reuters) (Slate, 2014) (Cool Stuff Ride Home) ...
15 min
235
Thu. 01/19 - Edgar Allan Poe Wrote In His Books...
A deep dive on marginalia. What is it, why should you do it, and how does it reveal the more joyful side of history’s most famous sadboy, Edgar Allan Poe? All that and more in this extended love letter to writing in books. Sponsor: ZocDoc, Links:...
19 min
236
Wed. 01/18 - The CIA's Spy-Pigeons
Earth-like exoplanet discoveries galore, including some that could be habitable. Plus, a look back at the clandestine history of the CIA’s pigeon surveillance missions. Sponsors: ZocDoc, Links: (ScienceAlert) (CBS News) (NASA) (The Verge) ...
16 min
237
Tue. 01/17 - Fake Marrying Kids To Each Other, ...
It looks like the ozone layer is on track to be restored in just a couple of decades. Plus, an opportunity to get paid for donating your stool samples. (Yes, really) And an examination of the nineteenth and twentieth century phenomenon of Tom Thumb...
19 min
238
Mon. 01/16 - Dr. King's Most Controversial Speech
Some projects that will help you suss out the truth in movies that claim to be “based on a true story.” Plus, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most controversial speech. Sponsor: ZocDoc, Links: (Franklin Leonard, Twitter) (The Guardian) ...
16 min
239
Fri. 01/13 - Surprisingly Old Galaxies & the Fu...
New findings from the JWST may push the origins of the universe’s earliest galaxies back millions of years. Plus, a huge rare earth deposit has been found in Sweden. And an Instagram-based library run out of the home of a famous Mexico City...
23 min
240
Thu. 01/12 - A Giant River Falling From the Sky
What exactly is an “atmospheric river,” why is it causing so much havoc in California right now, and what do these current storms mean for the future? Plus, NASA and Roscosmos have reached an agreement on how to bring three ISS crew members back...
16 min
241
Wed. 01/11 - Earliest Human Tools Just Monkey B...
Were the first stone tools in the Americas made, not by ancient humans, but by monkeys? Plus, could color-changing cars be in our future? And will other nations follow New Zealand’s lead on banning cigarettes to future generations? Links: ...
17 min
242
Tue. 01/10 - Is "Y'All" Actually... British?
A historic satellite launch in the United Kingdom ended in disappointment last night. Plus, how “y’all” left the south and its surprising possible origins in… seventeenth century England? Links: (AP) (BBC) (Reuters) (Ars Technica) ...
19 min
243
Mon. 01/09 - Amateur Discovery May Rewrite Huma...
A cave art discovery that could put the development of writing back thousands of years. Plus, one US state taking concrete steps against misinformation. And Benoit Blanc isn’t just playing Among Us, now he’s in it. Links: (BBC News) (Cambridge...
16 min
244
Fri. 01/06 - Food Has Always Been Dangerous
How old is fast food? And to what extent was food actually healthier in the past, before our days of factory farming and artificial preservatives? A deep dive into the pros and cons of convenience food then and now. Links: by Rachel Laudan,...
17 min
245
Thu. 01/05 - A Vaccine For The Queen Bee
A vaccine for bees. Plus, the Japanese government will pay families to leave Tokyo. And a device that doesn’t let you type “LOL” unless you actually laughed out loud. Links: (The Guardian) (IFL Science) (Bee Informed) (FDA) (NPR, 2020) ...
16 min
246
Wed. 01/04 - A Global Vault of Frozen Stool Sam...
Could a poop vault become joining the Svalbard Global Seed Vault's new neighbor? Some scientists think could be a pretty crappy move. Plus, the US congressman who’s slated to be sworn in on a Superman comic. And the History of the World, Part Two....
17 min
247
Tue. 01/03 - A New Space Race? And Gregor Mende...
Are we at the beginning of a new space race? NASA Administrator Bill Nelson thinks so. Plus, why father of genetics Gregor Mendel’s skeleton was dug up last year. And a chance to read history’s most famous diarist’s words in real time over the...
18 min
248
Thu. 12/29 - BEST OF: Witchy Beer-Makers, CIA-F...
Our final lookback on some of the best segments from the past few years. From 2021, how beer-making used to be considered women’s work, and also may have popularized some of the popular symbols, like broomsticks and pointed hats, that we associate...
25 min
249
Wed. 12/28 - BEST OF: Crossing the Ocean W/O a ...
Today from the Cool Stuff Ride Home archives, how Polynesian voyagers navigated the oceans without compasses or maps, and how a new generation is bringing back those traditional skills. Plus, Waffle House’s earnest and hilarious record label. And,...
25 min
250
Tue. 12/27 - BEST OF: Gendered Food, The Brontë...
We kick off the final week of the year with a look back at some of the show’s best segments. So for today, from the archives, we’ve got how and why food itself became gendered––y’know, men eat red meat, women eat salads. Women watch their...
26 min