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.
501
Thu. 09/29 - Are Lawns ALL Bad?
Lawns are terrible for the environment, but is ripping them out all together the right answer? Plus, why decorating your home for the holidays is, actually, really good for your health. And other facts I’m overhyping to justify the many decorative...
18 min
502
Wed. 09/27 - Could Changing Jupiter Make Earth ...
Could a change in Jupiter’s orbit make life on Earth more hospitable? Plus, behold the best GIFs of the 90s, uploaded a-fresh by internet strangers. And all the Taco Bell news that’s fit to print. Sponsor: American Musical Supply, Use code COOL...
17 min
503
Tue. 09/27 - Giant Invisible Otters
How close are we to some kind of invisibility cloak? Plus, when giant lion-sized otters roamed the land. Yes, the land. And Hasbro wants to make you into an action figure. Sponsors: American Musical Supply, Use code COOL at for $20 off your next...
16 min
504
Mon. 09/26 - GIFs Are Dead, Long Live the GIF
Thanks to a court filing from the largest search engine of its kind, it’s official: GIFs are cringe. How did they fall so far? Plus, the Colorado River is drying up and part of the reason has to do with politicians ignoring the science one hundred...
19 min
505
Fri. 09/23 - Asteroid SMASH
Why is NASA slamming a spacecraft into an asteroid on Monday and what will we be able to see of the collision? Plus, a new low-cost, no-lab-required COVID-19 antibody test that could set the stage for more personalized vaccination plans. And a new...
20 min
506
Thu. 09/22 - Fall Is Here & Your Phone Is Dying
It’s the first day of fall. Or is it? Everything you need to know about the equinox, plus some seasonal music recommendations. An app you can only use when your phone’s battery is less than 5%. And why Queen Elizabeth II and other royal family...
19 min
507
Wed. 09/21 - What is this? A podcast for ANTS?!
Scientists have conducted an ant census. Or at least that’s what I’m calling it. And the total number they came up with is out of this world. Plus, the return of the Shortage Report. This time? Craft beer. Its cause? An extinct volcano. Sponsors: ...
18 min
508
Tue. 09/20 - The Lost Moon of Saturn
How did Saturn get its jaunty tilt and cool rings? A new study says it could’ve been caused by an hither-to-unknown ancient moon that got torn apart by its planet. Plus, new findings on just how much misinformation is being spread around TikTok....
19 min
509
Mon. 09/19 - Did Volcanoes Kill the Dinosaurs?
It’s not all about the asteroid. Some scientists are still debating what caused the dinosaurs to go extinct and a new study provides some interesting evidence for the role of volcanoes in the mass extinction event. Plus, we know concrete isn’t...
16 min
510
Fri. 09/16 - What Is Going On In England?
From informing the bees to muting self-checkout machines, the many shades of mourning––and not––in the United Kingdom. And, from ice cream prescribed with chemotherapy to synchronized heart beats signaling romantic attraction –– here are...
19 min
511
Thu. 09/15 - The People's Joker & Lunar Crystals
China has discovered a new lunar mineral––and more dispatches from space, including the asteroid NASA is intentionally crashing into next week. Plus, a trans DIY retelling of The Joker that got pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival...
17 min
512
Wed. 09/14 - The Dream of the 90s Is Alive on t...
Several major publishing houses are suing the Internet Archive. Why? And what could the ramifications of the lawsuit have on the archive and on digital access to knowledge more broadly? Sponsors: Bambee, Schedule a conversation at BetterHelp, Get...
20 min
513
Tue. 09/13 - Too Many or Too Few Humans?
We’re approaching overpopulation. Or we’re in danger of population decline. It depends who you ask. As we prepare to pass eight billion humans on Earth, a look at the history of population anxiety and thoughts about where we go from here. Plus, a...
16 min
514
Mon. 09/12 - Not Your Papa’s Pawpaw
Is the most American of all fruits finally going to get its time to shine? And, no, NASA did not officially ask the public to name the probe to Uranus, but they could one day and, if and when they do, the internet will be ready. Sponsors: Bambee,...
18 min
515
Fri. 09/09 - Garbled Nonsense: When Filter Bubb...
Merriam-Webster has added 370 words to the dictionary, but it’s not enough to keep up with the changing pace of language on the internet, especially as we increasingly communicate with imagery and in-jokes that transcend single word definitions....
20 min
516
Thu. 09/08 - All Hail Big Hail
Hail is getting bigger and becoming more common to more areas, but we still know relatively little about it. Plus, a possibly complete dinosaur skeleton with intact fossilized skin has been discovered in Alberta. And a brief historical perspective on...
15 min
517
Wed. 09/07 - The Haunting of Loab: AI's First C...
Meet, Loab––a woman haunting every AI generated image she is summoned to with some of the goriest scenes you’ll find this side of Halloween. What does Loab tell us about AI generated art and our relationship to truth and reality...
20 min
518
Tue. 09/06 - The Science Tooth Fairy & the Vamp...
How analyzing baby teeth might be able to facilitate early intervention for childhood adversity. Plus, archaeologists have found the skeleton of a seventeenth century woman accused of being a vampire. And yet another Artemis update, including why the...
19 min
519
Fri. 09/02 - Crappy Musicians Profiting From Ki...
The musicians getting paid anytime a preschooler makes a poop joke at an Alexa device. Plus, why Labor Day is a cursed weekend for movie releases. And the Artemis I launch is officially maybe happening on Saturday. Sponsors: Kolide, Got Slack? Got...
18 min
520
Thu. 09/01 - Littlefoot's Ancestor Is Oldest Ev...
One of the biggest ever and one of the smallest ever sauropods, both discovered recently and both helping us learn more about where and why dinosaurs traveled millions of years ago. Plus, the latest on the soon-to-be-available omicron booster shots....
17 min
521
Wed. 08/31 - The World Bog Snorkeling Champions...
The official trailer for the slasher horror version of Winnie the Pooh dropped and, I think I actually want to watch the whole movie now? Plus, the latest update on when Artemis I will actually be launching and what happened at the scrubbed launch on...
16 min
522
Tue. 08/30 - Big Kale's Big Lie
The surprising history of how kale became so popular so quickly back in 2014, and how both Pizza Hut and Chick-fil-A were partially responsible––but not because they actually included kale on their menus. It’s a tale of lawsuits, publicity...
17 min
523
Mon. 08/29 - Why Artemis I Didn't Launch
The Artemis I launch was scrubbed early this morning Here’s why the highly-anticipated launch didn’t get off the ground. Plus, rabies vaccines are raining down across the nation. And a new classic author version of Street Fighter. Sponsors: ...
14 min
524
Fri. 08/26 - Prebunking Conspiratorial Thinking
Google ran a study using its own pre-roll ads to try to prebunk people before they fall for conspiracy theories. Plus, scientists have found the first-ever evidence of carbon dioxide in a planet’s atmosphere beyond our solar system. And the curious...
16 min
525
Thu. 08/25 - The Fantasy of History
Invented traditions. Reimagined visions of the past. History is never free from our present-day biases, but the way we talk about the past often says more about us than the past itself. From the Disneyification of the Middle Ages to the aristocratic...
18 min