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.
576
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
577
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
578
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
579
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
580
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
581
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
582
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
583
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
584
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
585
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
586
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
587
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
588
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
589
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
590
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
591
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
592
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
593
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
594
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
595
Mon. 04/11 - You Have Livetweeted Dysentery
The Maryland man livetweeting his bout of dysentery––don’t worry, he’s okay. Plus, scientists have managed to de-age human skin cells by thirty years. And an implausible NASA artifact was taken back to space this weekend by one of the Axiom...
16 min
596
Fri. 04/08 - Short Kings & Barbie Girls
We turn back the clocks to 1997 for a history of the song “Barbie Girl” and a look at its influence on music. Plus, the Neolithic origins of Short King Spring. And mark your calendars for the Great North American Solar Eclipse. Sponsors: Indeed,...
20 min
597
Thu. 04/07 - Scaly Dino Fossil From the Day the...
An impressively well-preserved dinosaur leg fossil has been found that could be the first-ever fossil evidence of the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Plus, Amtrak is stirring up some beef with their...
16 min
598
Wed. 04/06 - The Darwin Book Thief
Some libraries cancel late fees, others get Interpol involved for missing manuscripts. Either way, missing books can become fascinating treasures when they’re finally returned. Plus, Hubble has spotted a rare planet in the earliest phase of...
16 min
599
Tue. 04/05 - So You Wanna Be A Fossil
How to have the best odds of becoming a fossil after you die. Plus, the creators of the viral Marcel the Shell videos secretly made a feature-length film that’s coming out this summer. And a few other recommendations you can stream right now....
16 min
600
Mon. 04/04 - The Artwork Made By Six Million Pe...
Six million people and counting are creating a piece of artwork together right now in a reminder that sometimes we can have nice things on the internet. Plus, birds are laying their eggs almost a whole month earlier than they used to. And some sounds...
18 min