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
Mon. 11/15 - Welcome To The Human Library
Zillow is out of the iBuying game. What does that mean for its competitors and for the future of real estate? Plus, a look into the Human Library. And astronauts aboard the International Space Station were forced to take shelter in their return ships...
18 min
577
Fri. 11/12 - The Year Without A Santa Claus? "L...
White-tailed deer in America have been found to be transmitting SARS-CoV-2 among each other in higher than expected rates. Plus, next week will be the century’s longest partial lunar eclipse. A new, huge species of dinosaur was discovered on the...
14 min
578
Wed. 11/10 - Could Dogs Survive Without Us?
The curious story of how sushi became popular in America. Plus, what would happen to dogs if all their humans disappeared? And in their latest stunt, Heinz says they’ve grown ketchup in Martian conditions. Sponsors: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at...
19 min
579
Tue. 11/09 - Why Does America Have So Few Publi...
A deep dive down the drain pipe to discuss why America has so few public restrooms. Plus, how Pinterest ruined Google Search, and a few options for fixing it. Sponsors: inkl, Get a 25% discount at Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Links: ...
17 min
580
Mon. 11/08 - The Messy Legacy of Emily Dickinso...
Another even more promising antiviral pill for COVID-19 has been announced, this time from Pfizer. Plus, why adults aren’t as good at learning new things as kids are, but is it such a bad thing? And the messy legacy of both Emily Dickinson and her...
15 min
581
Fri. 11/05 - A Universal Vaccine For EVERY Coro...
How would a universal coronavirus vaccine work and how close are we to having one? Plus, how cosplaying as a superhero can actually make you a better person, at least temporarily. And one of the most notorious serial killers in horror is getting his...
15 min
582
Thu. 11/04 - Steel Igloos In Iceland Turn CO2 I...
New international space laws may soon be on the horizon. Plus, the brewing battles between artists using AI to reconstruct lost artworks and the estates of the original artists. And some steel igloos in Iceland that protect one of the most promising...
16 min
583
Wed. 11/03 - The McRib, Space Tacos, and Tropic...
An abridged history of the McRib sandwich. Astronauts have leveled up their taco game by growing chile peppers in space. And Tropicana just introduced their own line of toothpaste. Sponsor: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE for 15% off your first order at ...
16 min
584
Tue. 11/02 - How to Rewild Your Attention
Some tips for “rewilding your attention.” Plus, how to help NASA train future rovers to better navigate Mars. And what’s going on with those NFT billboards in Times Square… and also, the McRib is now an NFT? Sponsor: Tentree, Use code KOTTKE...
18 min
585
Mon. 11/01 - "Behind The Joy Are The Algorithms"
A meditation on streaming entertainment, algorithms, and David Foster Wallace’s prescient writing on the illusion of choice. Plus, a possible functional cure for HIV has just been approved to enter human trials. And, the Wampanoag woman who grew...
18 min
586
Fri. 10/29 - Disease and the Vampire Myth + Hal...
Digging up the origins of some of the most popular Halloween memes––from “Spooky Scary Skeletons” to the dancing pumpkin man, and also touching on the Disney Channel’s 1980s answer to MTV. Plus, how times of disease have historically led to...
19 min
587
Thu. 10/28 - Human Eggs Made From Blood Cells
Could we one day create sperm and egg cells from any human cell, even across the sexes? Plus, how BJ Novak from The Office’s face ended up on products all around the world without him knowing. And the latest drops from two of the internet’s...
17 min
588
Wed. 10/27 - Permafrost Thaw May Unleash Radioa...
It turns out that melting permafrost could unleash Cold War-era radioactive waste and millions of years old antibiotic resistant bacteria. Cool cool cool. Plus, a look back at when picnicking in cemeteries was a common past time––and not just for...
15 min
589
Tue. 10/26 - Can AI Simulations Solve the Suppl...
Could a new generation of AI simulations help solve the mounting supply chain disruptions? Plus, the history and future of haunted houses. And Jeff Bezos is basically trying to start a WeWork in space. Sponsor: NetSuite, Links: (MIT Technology...
14 min
590
Mon. 10/25 - Music That Gives You Chills, and W...
The countercultural witchcraft music of the 1960s, and a study exploring what it is about certain songs that give us a spine-tingling chill. Plus, elephants in Mozambique have evolved to be born without tusks. And the guy who discovered a budget hack...
16 min
591
Fri. 10/22 - A Solar Storm Proved the Vikings V...
Thanks to a collab between trees and the sun, we can now pinpoint an exact year that the Vikings were in North America. Plus, are sirens actually effective tools for emergency vehicles? And why are apples associated with Halloween? Like what is up...
17 min
592
Thu. 10/21 - Using These Memes Is A Red Flag 🚩
Open captions are coming to the big screen as AMC Theaters takes a big step towards accessibility, and a look at captions’ growing popularity among the hearing. Plus, how some of the most popular memes are completely inaccessible. And the group of...
18 min
593
Wed. 10/20 - None Pizza With Left Beef: A Slice...
A brief history of one of the most famous pizzas on the internet. Surgeons have successfully transplanted a kidney from a genetically-altered pig to a human. And how to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower this week, if the big ol’ full moon doesn’t...
17 min
594
Tue. 10/19 - Grand Duke Travis of Westarctica W...
A look at the micronation of Westarctica, whose Grand Duke Travis started a nonprofit arm of the micronation to raise awareness about the consequences of the climate emergency in Western Antarctica. Plus, AstroAccess successfully completed their first...
16 min
595
Mon. 10/18 - Thank Exoplanets For Your iPhone's...
How the push to search for signs of life on exoplanets fueled the development of the technology we use in our latest generation of smartphones. Plus, what your punctuation habits can say about you as a writer––and a new website based on a 2016 art...
17 min
596
Fri. 10/15 - Responding to Pandemic Uncertainty...
A proposal for approaching this next phase of the pandemic less like an epidemiologist and more like an engineer. Plus, new findings from the Mars Perseverance rover that has NASA breathing a sigh of relief. And product placement in novels, added...
17 min
597
Thu. 10/14 - Do Spoilers Actually Make Movies B...
Should you read the spoilers for horror movies before you watch them? Plus, a butterfly species in Finland with parasitic wasps in its belly… and even more wasps inside of that one. And, what if instead of lamps we one day use glowing plants to...
19 min
598
Wed. 10/13 - Who's To Blame For Candy Corn?
How candy corn went from a year round candy marketed at farmers to the love-to-hate it Halloween treat it is today. Plus, a new interactive image gallery that starkly shows what effects three degrees of global warming will have on coastal cities...
19 min
599
Tue. 10/12 - Why Do We Casually Kill Spiders Wi...
What is it that makes spiders so frightening to us, and why do most of us kill them without sparing a second thought? Plus, a Scottish nightclub that’s using the body heat of their dancing patrons to heat and cool the venue. And Prince Charles,...
14 min
600
Mon. 10/11 - The Very Intense Miss Navajo Natio...
It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day. More and more local governments are making it official, but why did we start celebrating Columbus Day to begin with? Plus, the impressive and gnarly competition to be crowned Miss Navajo Nation. And the history of...
21 min