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.
451
Mon. 05/16 - Plants Grown In Moon Dust
Plants have successfully been grown in moon dust for the first time. Plus, McDonald’s is officially closing all of their restaurants in Russia––why that’s a big deal. A new site that will tell you how much your current home, or one you’re...
16 min
452
Fri. 05/13 - The Multiverse: A Balm, A Mirror, ...
A deep dive into the multiverse––what it actually is, why it’s become such a popular trope, what its popularity says about where we’re at as a society right now, how it mirrors our relationship to the internet, and why, despite some cynical...
16 min
453
Thu. 05/12 - 1st Image of Milky Way Black Hole ...
Everything you need to know about the just-released first-ever image of the black hole at the center of our galaxy. Plus, is there sight after death? No. But kind of. And, in the most predictable news of the day, Dolly Parton is starring in a Doja...
17 min
454
Wed. 05/11 - Love, Sleep, & Dinosaurs: The Thre...
How data can help us find happiness in romantic relationships, or at least tell us why we’re dating all wrong. Plus, it turns out sleep-deprivation can affect how we see other people. And a new website for finding and reporting dinosaur sightings in...
16 min
455
Tue. 05/10 - How Hollywood Changed In The Summe...
How the summer of 1982 changed movies forever––for better or worse. Plus, a study justifying why teenagers suck at listening to their parents. And, how to watch this weekend’s total eclipse of the moon. Sponsors: The Jordan Harbinger Show,...
15 min
456
Mon. 05/09 - The Real-Life Inspiration Behind '...
How the 50’s sci-fi horror film The Blob was actually a ripped-from-the-headlines story. Plus, potential cancer treatments involving magnets and dirt. And would you undergo a fecal transplant to reverse signs of aging? It could be an option in the...
15 min
457
Fri. 05/06 - Dickens and the Rise of Creepy Clowns
How much can we blame Charles Dickens for the persisting archetype of creepy clowns? Who and what other cultural factors over the centuries contributed to so many people being whigged out by clowns? Plus, we now know the (general) location of...
23 min
458
Thu. 05/05 - Is Original Pop Culture Going Exti...
A deep dive into the question of whether pop culture has become completely dominated by franchises and the same superstars; and, if so, how new that phenomenon actually is and, if it’s really a bad thing in the end. Sponsors: Outer, Get $300 off...
16 min
459
Wed. 05/04 - Margaret Thatcher's Empire Strikes...
Did Margaret Thatcher play a role in the origins of Star Wars Day? Plus, why human hibernation for long-distance space travel might not actually be worth it. And a redone Bob Dylan recording on an all-new analog medium, coming this Friday. Sponsors: ...
16 min
460
Tue. 05/03 - Why Can't The US Have Weird Chip F...
Why doesn’t the US get all the cool chip flavors that other countries do? Plus, scientists have figured out a way to breakdown plastic in just a few days, instead of over centuries. And why a bunch of creepy dolls keeping washing ashore along the...
15 min
461
Mon. 05/02 - Waste More Time
Why it’s time for you to waste time. Plus, a café in Tokyo that doesn’t let people leave until they’ve successfully hit their writing goals. And a possibly sustainable use for the ungodly amounts of disposable masks we’ve thrown out in the...
18 min
462
Fri. 04/29 - Books That Kill: Arsenic-Laced Cov...
How an innocent trip to the library could give you arsenic poisoning. Plus, a new pterosaur fossil seems to confirm the prehistoric reptiles had some pretty cool feathers. And, how would you like to meditate with Yoda and Chewbacca? Sponsors: I Am...
15 min
463
Thu. 04/28 - Oreology: The Science of Oreos
Canada has become the first country to release census data on their trans and nonbinary population. Plus, a new study showing how the climate emergency could fuel future pandemics. And, in lighter news, some MIT engineers 3D printed a new device to...
16 min
464
Wed. 04/27 - Our Backstabbed Two-Faced Moon
The moon has a bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation going on that astronomers have never been able to definitively explain, but a new study suggests it could be the result of a massive impact four billion years ago. Plus, yoga for your eyes? What...
14 min
465
Tue. 04/26 - When the CIA Funded an Animal Farm...
How the CIA funded that 1954 animated adaptation of Animal Farm as part of their anti-communist propaganda campaign. Plus, the woman who found out she’d been missing a chunk of her brain for most of her life without realizing. And why more and more...
16 min
466
Mon. 04/25 - Monopoly’s Scandalous Anti-Monopol...
The secret, anti-monopolist history of the Monopoly board game. Plus, why we’re all having trouble remembering things right now, and how we can strengthen our memories going forward. Sponsors: I Am Bio, Subscribe at Munk Pack, Use code KRH at for...
14 min
467
Fri. 04/22 - Some Like It Hot... But Why?
Why did some cultures develop tastes for particularly spicy foods and others didn’t? Plus, the Museum of Endangered Sounds. And an upcoming documentary from Alex Winter about radicalization on social media. Sponsors: Outer, Get $300 off and free...
17 min
468
Thu. 04/22 - The Sport of Extreme Sitting
Introducing the sport of extreme sitting. Plus, a new study that suggests fungi might be communicating with each other via electrical impulses. And, Sir David Attenborough has been named Champion of the Earth. Sponsors: Shopify, Get a 14-day free...
15 min
469
Wed. 04/20 - The AI Microwave Out for Revenge
The story of a self-described mad scientist who gave a microwave the soul of his childhood imaginary friend using AI, and then it tried to kill him. Plus, texting etiquette from Emily Post’s great-great-grandchildren. Sponsors: Outer, Get $300 off...
17 min
470
Tue. 04/19 - Holoportation & the Real Scream Queen
A doctor was beamed up to the ISS in the first-ever holoportation to space. Plus, a new chopsticks invention that makes your food taste salty without adding any salt. And inside the world of a professional scream artist. Sponsors: Shopify, Get a...
15 min
471
Mon. 04/18 - The Old Villains Are the New Heroe...
Why indie booksellers went from hating Barnes & Noble to defending it, and what that means for the future of publishing. Plus, a look at inflation through the lens of the Big Mac Index. Sponsors: Outer, Get $300 off and free shipping at Shopify,...
16 min
472
Fri. 04/15 - We Need a Time Variance Authority
In a more serious take on yesterday’s musings, how is the pandemic and modern technology changing how we communicate about and understand time? Plus, speaking of time, why do Passover and Easter sometimes occur so far apart from one another? Let’s...
16 min
473
Thu. 04/14 - Redefining Units of Time for the T...
Should we be measuring time differently now that we spend more time with digital technology than nature? Paul Ford has some suggestions. Plus, how the heck is AriZona Iced Tea still just 99 cents and not playing any nefarious shrinkflation games like...
16 min
474
Wed. 04/13 - That's A Big Ol' Comet
A very big comet. How sewage monitoring could transform public health beyond just its applications for COVID-19. Plus, libraries are relinquishing local library card requirements for eBooks in a bid to fight back against book bans. And a new National...
16 min
475
Tue. 04/12 - Social Media as the Fall of the To...
How social media has created a Tower of Babel-like fragmentation of society. Plus, the infrastructure secrets behind a new-to-the-US reality show starring some very busy toddlers. And the brewing beef between Spirit Halloween and the King of...
18 min