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.
851
Wed. 03/10 - A Year of the Pandemic WITHOUT the...
Reflections from a man who quit using the internet right before the pandemic started. A meteorite older than Earth was discovered in the Sahara Desert. And playable music videos? How film and music are pulling more and more from gaming both in terms...
16 min
852
Tue. 03/09 - Could Aliens' Pollution Help Us Fi...
Can we find extraterrestrial civilizations by searching the cosmos for their pollutants? Are humans hard-wired to be productive? And what can we learn about leisure from hunter-gatherer societies? Plus, a big uh-oh from HBO Max and masks that are sure...
15 min
853
Mon. 03/08 - Replacing The Simpsons Cast with A...
Could The Simpsons replace their entire cast with AI replicas? A look at the scientific, artistic, and legal possibilities. Researchers have discovered an interesting trait in green tree frogs that they’re describing as built-in noise-canceling...
16 min
854
Fri. 03/05 - A Physical Warp Drive Is Now Possi...
Will warp drive ever be possible? These scientists say they’ve created the first physical model for how it could work. A lookback at the Star Wars immunization PSAs of the 1970s. And a potential new type of COVID-19 test that will double as a form...
15 min
855
Thu. 03/04 - Will NFTs Change How We Buy Music ...
Will NFTs bring about an economic and creative revolution for artists and change the way we buy our media? Kings of Leon are willing to give it a shot. A small village in Iceland is making a big bid for Oscar glory. And another small town that just...
17 min
856
Wed. 03/03 - Life Lessons From Cats
Cuttlefish have passed a test designed for small human children. Polaroid has made a pen that draws in edible 3D candy. What we can learn from cats about being happier and more content with life. And a website that translates your typing into jazz...
17 min
857
Tue. 03/02 - Light-Up Tattoos For You and Your ...
Scientists have created light-up OLED tattoos that could tell you when to put on sunscreen or when your avocados have gone bad. The Twitter account tracking Geneva Convention violations in video games. And good news: scientists have confirmed that all...
15 min
858
Mon. 03/01 - The Future: Fast Vaccines and Slow...
How the RNA-based platform used for some of the COVID-19 vaccines is already changing the game for other diseases. Plus, “I got vaccinated” stickers and selfie stations are starting to pop up. And an app that’s bringing back the disposable...
16 min
859
Fri. 02/26 - Is Mr. Potato Head Non-fungible?
Delving into the world of crypto art and non-fungible tokens. A history of Mr. Potato Head, or, I’m sorry, just Potato Head? And a few links to help you chill out this weekend. Sponsors: Audible, or text kottke to 500-500 to start your 30-day free...
16 min
860
Thu. 02/25 - The Anti-Marie Kondo & Radical Kee...
How to make your clothes last longer and practice the art of “radical keeping” according to “the anti-Marie Kondo.” A segment about #Buttergate in Canada that’s not really about Buttergate afterall. And a browser extension that shows you...
16 min
861
Wed. 02/24 - How Childhood Illness Can Shape Fu...
How the flu you had as a kid could shape your immune response to future flu viruses. A bunch of videos have been going viral showing snow not melting when held up against a flame, but it’s not a conspiracy. It’s science. And the first song...
16 min
862
Tue. 02/23 - The History (and Erasure) of Black...
Beer culture is perceived as overwhelmingly white, but its history and its present is not. A historical look at the erasure of Black brewers. The impact of pandemic boredom on the economy. And a new app that will put David Attenborough in your living...
17 min
863
Mon. 02/22 - Two-Way Dream Communication
Scientists have tapped deeper into the depths of our dreams by achieving two-way communication with lucid dreamers. Why were there so many serial killers between 1970 and 2000? And what stopped them? And space is getting more diverse in more ways than...
15 min
864
Fri. 02/19 - Green Oranges, Pink Margarine, & G...
A history of how the US government started deciding what color our food is allowed to be. Could lab-grown wood disrupt the lumber industry? And, The Muppet Show has been released from the Disney Vault. Sponsors: OurCrowd, Skillshare, Get a free...
15 min
865
Thu. 02/18 - Improving Twitter with an 1800s Et...
The Los Angeles musician who helped design the microphones on the Perseverance rover that will hopefully give us our first-ever audio recordings of Mars. Can a 19th century etiquette book make Twitter bearable? And what some of the top websites looked...
14 min
866
Wed. 02/17 - How Perseverance Could Pave the Wa...
A historical defense of arranging book collections by color. Scientists have sequenced the oldest DNA ever found and made some mammoth discoveries in the process. And NASA’s Perseverance rover is set to touch down on Mars tomorrow––some...
15 min
867
Tue. 02/16 - Del Monte Engineered Pink Pineappl...
The new fruit taking over Instagram. Why the winter storm sweeping the US is causing an energy crisis, especially in Texas. And a new-ish game that lets you take a virtual vacation with your friends. Sponsors: Skillshare, Get a free trial of Premium...
18 min
868
Mon. 02/15 - The Impactor That Killed the Dinos...
Scientists in Antarctica accidentally discovered animal life beneath an ice shelf half a mile deep. An app that lets you tune into live radio stations all over the world. A new study that challenges the long held theory about the asteroid that killed...
17 min
869
Fri. 02/12 - He Made a Guitar Out of His Uncle'...
The story of how two brothers gamed the YouTube system thirteen years ago and have since used that method to raise nearly 14 million dollars for charity. An interactive site that simulates the audio experience of being at your favorite bar. Coca-Cola...
15 min
870
Thu. 02/11 - Myspace is back!
How the UK variant of Sars-CoV-2 may have evolved inside just one human. Some dating apps are adding video components, but it’s just another case of modern tech “inventing” something that has already existed for decades. Let’s talk about the...
17 min
871
Wed. 02/10 - The Curious Case of the Purple Dai...
Do all of these UV light “virus-killing” appliances really work? The mystery of the purple flower photo that has accounted for nearly 20% of all Wikimedia Commons traffic since last summer. And, it’s been ten years since “Friday” by Rebecca...
16 min
872
Tue. 02/09 - A Hacker Tried to Poison a Town's ...
The scientific benefits of going for regular walks, and some tips for incorporating more walks into your life. The town in Florida whose water was almost poisoned when a nefarious individual hacked into their water supply. The researchers hoping to...
16 min
873
Mon. 02/08 - A Live Animated Stage Production.....
How the Royal Shakespeare Company is using live motion capture to animate a virtual show in real time. A case study of a California town who has this whole pandemic response thing down. A 3D printed house has hit the market on Long Island. And...
17 min
874
Fri. 02/05 - This Is Your Brain On Juggling
How learning to juggle is the perfect example of what happens to your brain when you learn a new skill. A new literary version of Street Fighter II. Why Burger King France is handing out free potatoes. And, following on yesterday’s story about the...
15 min
875
Wed. 02/04 - An Unborn Baby's Debut Album
We were bracing for a flu and COVID double whammy of a winter, but it never came. What happened? An intriguing new community initiative taking off in Europe to help prevent the mounting problem of electronic waste. And have you heard of...
17 min