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.
751
Tue. 08/24 - Pixels Aren't Square. Or Visible.
What exactly is a pixel? Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith discusses its math and history and his new book. Plus, farmer’s markets, once a cornerstone of in-person weekend outings, have gone digital. And Liquid Death Mountain Water is selling...
16 min
752
Mon. 08/23 - Critics Hate Them! Netflix's UNBEL...
Netflix is leaning into the clickbait game that soured online journalism ten years ago. Could this strategy affect the film industry overall, and has it been played before? Plus, how community members in Marseille took over a McDonald’s and turned...
17 min
753
Fri. 08/20 - The Necrobiome: Dead and Loving It
What is the necrobiome and why do some think it’s crucial for restoring our ecosystems? More and more zoo animals across the US are getting their own special animal vaccine, but why doesn’t your pet cat need one? And Disney’s animatronics are...
17 min
754
Thu. 08/19 - The #1 Site on Facebook is a Green...
Facebook has released a report of their most widely viewed content, but the #1 most viewed link on the platform shows how the report isn’t exactly proving the point they’re trying to make. Plus, are realtors engineering weird listing photos so...
17 min
755
Wed. 08/18 - A "Wright Bros. Moment" In Nuclear...
A lab in California has achieved a historic breakthrough in nuclear fusion. Three new species from the post-dinosaur mammalian revolution have been identified, including one that’s been named after a Hobbit character. And recent studies shedding...
14 min
756
Tue. 08/17 - The Thriving Imported Mango Market...
Inside the world of the quasi-secret WhatsApp mango economy. It turns out Saturn is kind of jiggly inside. And the beginning of a season, marked by the end of an era for department stores. Sponsor: Indeed, Get a free $75 credit at Links: (Eater) ...
17 min
757
Mon. 08/16 - Eerily Accurate 1990s Predictions ...
How one of the earliest bloggers predicted the dark side of the internet, and then went completely off the grid. Plus, the first tribally-affiliated medical school, on tribal land, in the US. is bridging gaps. And Yik Yak is back. Sponsor: Indeed,...
17 min
758
Fri. 08/13 - Woolly Mammoth Adventures & Goodre...
The groundbreaking study that has basically given us a daily diary of the entire life of a 17,000 year old woolly mammoth. Why coffee prices are spiking. And a ransom scam targeting authors that says a lot about the state of the world. Links: (NY...
17 min
759
Thu. 08/12 - The Nickelodeon Design Aesthetic
How does a kid’s network establish their brand identity? Apparently, riff on a high brow architectural style and add heaping amounts of radioactive green slime. On the 30th anniversary of the first Nicktoons, a look back at Nickelodeon’s iconic...
16 min
760
Wed. 08/11 - Robin, Batman's Sidekick, Has Come...
Robin has officially come out of the closet. No statement yet from Batman, but I do have the other details, and a brief history of LGBTQ+ superheroes. Plus, SpaceX is planning to put billboards in space. And plastic pollution is confusing the hermit...
16 min
761
Tue. 08/10 - A New Carnivorous Flower CAPTCHAs ...
Why are CAPTCHA’s so frustrating and, in a way, so grim and disconcerting? Plus, botanists have identified the first carnivorous plant in twenty years, but don’t go calling it Audrey III just yet. And, a new development in the McFlurry Cold War....
15 min
762
Mon. 08/09 - That “Code Red” Climate Report, Ex...
Some context and takeaways from the big UN climate report released this morning. NASA has opened applications for their Mars simulation mission. And why are some people in Japan sending bags of rice with their baby’s face on them to relatives?...
16 min
763
Fri. 08/06 - A Gardener's High? Can Playing In ...
What are forest schools? And the science behind why gardening can make you feel happy and peaceful. Plus, the Perseid meteor shower is happening in just a few days. And the co-creator of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been immortalized as a Barbie...
15 min
764
Thu. 08/05 - Vaccine APP-rehension
As the tides trend toward requiring vaccinations for entry in more places, what is the landscape of apps and methods to verify vaccination status? Plus, meatball-scented candles from IKEA and two very different commercial space flight updates....
15 min
765
Wed. 08/04 - Why Is Snow on the Alps Turning Red?
The six countries most likely to survive all-out societal collapse from climate change. Why is snow on the Alps turning red? And a website that will transport you back to sleepy nights in front of the TV in the early 2000s. Sponsor: Upstart, Links:...
13 min
766
Tue. 08/03 - What Edgar Allan Poe's Forgotten S...
Edgar Allan Poe wasn’t just the sad author of spooky tales we all know and love, but also a passionate science journalist, and the writings he left behind can tell us a lot about our current relationship to misinformation and science communication....
18 min
767
Mon. 08/02 - Why Skateboarding Is An Olympic Sp...
What makes an Olympic sport an Olympic sport? And what does it take to get cut from the lineup? Namely, why is baseball getting cut once again in 2024, but breakdancing will make its Olympic debut? A breakdown of how it works. Plus, Boeing is trying...
18 min
768
Fri. 07/30 - Millions of Views & Not a Dollar T...
I read a BuzzFeed article about virality and go on a rant about the creator economy. PornHub has a new campaign to help bolster museum tourism. And we may have found a fingerprint from Michelangelo… on a statue’s butt. Sponsor: Green Chef, go to ...
15 min
769
Thu. 07/29 - Kids Are Using Soda To Fake Positi...
Why it could take you months to get a new sofa. Kids are trying to get out of class by using soda to fake positive COVID tests. And how to reinvigorate your health with a “microadventure.” Sponsor: Green Chef, go to and use code kottke100 to get...
14 min
770
Wed. 07/28 - Why the COVID Vaccines WEREN'T Hac...
How a task force prevented the COVID-19 vaccines from being hacked because, yes, that was a real and valid concern. Plus, the sometimes controversial history of timekeeping at the Olympics and the AI-based innovations introduced this year. And, how...
14 min
771
Tue. 07/27 - Are Personalized Digital Billboard...
The history and future of billboard advertising. The surprisingly big challenge of recycling bowling balls. And the YouTube Creator who just got hired by Lucasfilm. Sponsor: Green Chef, go to and use code kottke100 to get $100 off including free...
15 min
772
Mon. 07/26 - An Olympic Medal For Designing Oly...
A look back at when the Olympics used to give out medals in artistic categories, including the designing of Olympic medals, and the case for why they should bring that back this year in particular. Plus, some more background on how the wildfires on...
19 min
773
Fri. 07/23 - Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, ...
Rounding errors may cause winners to become losers and losers winners, Bezos and James Webb both fall to Earth, and beyond lobster shortages, now crabs. Links: (American Journal of Physics) (The Verge) (CNN) (Nature)...
18 min
774
Thu. 07/22 - Venmore You Venknow
Your payments for dog walking and, er, “love hotels” via Venmo are now no longer subject to global scrutiny, neutron stars have wee tiny mountains, smaller than predicted, pool parties by the hour via Swimply, and former Colombian guerrillas tour...
16 min
775
Wed. 07/21 - It Was in All the Papers
How did paper sizes fall into their century-long groove, how low-wage workers seem to have the upper hand in the job market despite pandemic job losses, and the very newest, freshest words are in. Links: (Mental Floss) (Snopes)...
16 min