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.
1051
Fri. 07/10 - Groceries Delivered Via Puppy
Tomorrow is Bowdler’s Day! What the heck does that mean? A round-up of all the best apps and extensions for virtually watching movies together with your friends. The real meaning of “dog days of summer.” A labrador making home deliveries in...
15 min
1052
Thu. 07/09 - Does A Mask Make You More Attractive?
New research shows that native South Americans may have helped populate Polynesia 800 years ago. Why are men less likely to wear masks, does wearing a mask make you more attractive, and can we use that reasoning to persuade more people to wear them?...
17 min
1053
Wed. 07/08 - No Change For America (literally, ...
A plutonium mishap in New Mexico. The popular YouTube musician bringing awareness to indigenous languages. What’s up with the coin shortage in the US? And Spotify’s new personalized workout playlists. Sponsor: Beachbody on Demand, Text...
15 min
1054
Tue. 07/07 - The Selfless Inventor of the N95 M...
The story of the man who invented the N95 mask. Birds in Canada have changed their tune in an unprecedented way that has stumped scientists. How to become a citizen scientist. The sixteenth century “reading machine” recreated by engineering...
18 min
1055
Mon. 07/06 - Is America Running Out of Fireworks?
Scientists have discovered insects that have retained their shine after 99 million years. How to properly read an election poll, plus a little on Kanye West’s presidential campaign. After perhaps the most explosive Fourth of July in decades here in...
13 min
1056
Thu. 07/02 - The Exploding Whale Memorial Park ...
The full story behind America’s national anthem. The other American holiday kicking off this weekend that you may not have heard of. The legendary exploding whale of Oregon gets its own memorial park. And NASA’s 4K ten-year time lapse of the sun....
15 min
1057
Wed. 07/01 - The Beer Garden Run By Nuns
Physicists give us the lowdown on human teleportation. Some tips for taking actually impressive photos of fireworks this weekend. The nuns moonlighting as bartenders in Milwaukee. What works and what doesn’t for keeping mosquitos away. And the...
17 min
1058
Tue. 06/30 - Coming Soon: 3D-Printed Plant-Base...
A massive star has vanished. Or collapsed into a black hole. We’re not really sure. The story behind the new 3D-printed plant-based meats. Tips on how to finish your side project. And why Dairy Queen isn’t allowed to say they sell “ice cream”...
16 min
1059
Mon. 06/29 - Virtually Relive Your Daily Commute
A barber who’s invented a new, safe way to give people haircuts. The son who embarked on an eighty-five day solo trip across the Atlantic ocean to get to his dad’s 90th birthday after the coronavirus canceled all flights. An experiment in...
13 min
1060
Fri. 06/26 - When Going to a Polling Site is Ag...
The church created to circumvent a loophole in Tennessee's elections. VR is getting smell-o-vision, but smelling things is not actually the point. How to prevent your glasses from fogging up while wearing a mask. And a website that aims to combine the...
14 min
1061
Thu. 06/25 - NASA Wants YOU To Design a Moon To...
Tips for collaborating with coworkers and other ways to maximize working from home. NASA wants your help designing a toilet for their next trip to the moon. How unwanted pests in some store-bought broccoli turned into a wholesome Twitter saga. And a...
14 min
1062
Wed. 06/24 - Mental Health Tips for Reopening P...
A smart sponge that may be the key to cleaning up oil spills. How to mentally prepare as your town reopens. DIY instructions for making your own beehive bed. And the blossoming audience members that attended Monday night’s performance at the...
11 min
1063
Tue. 06/23 - Get Ready To Go To Flavortown, Ohio
A pet robot that’s helping cure COVID-19 loneliness. If you thought the fireworks going off every night in your town was bad, let me tell you about a city in France that has set them off every single day for 150 years. Jurassic Park was #1 in the US...
14 min
1064
Mon. 06/22 - Send Your Cardboard Avatar To a Fo...
Another Neolithic structure discovered just down the street from Stonehenge. Why some people are more resilient than others. The cardboard cutouts stadiums are using in lieu of real, flesh-based human fans. And a contract job that will pay you $10,000...
14 min
1065
Fri. 06/19 - Space Cake: The Future of Astronau...
Father’s Day-–its origins and how it’s celebrated around the world. How the astronauts onboard the International Space Station are giving a whole new meaning to “space cake.” A fake Nirvana song made with artificial intelligence. A library...
15 min
1066
Thu. 06/18 - The Segway Inventor Plans to Mass ...
Ahead of Juneteenth, a bit of background on its origins and the fight to make it a federal holiday. The inventor of the Segway has a plan to mass produce human organs. The productivity lifehack that lets you complain as much as you want. And the...
16 min
1067
Wed. 06/17 - How Poop Can Prevent COVID-19 Outb...
The Statue of Liberty arrived in the US on this day in 1885––a look at its original intended meaning. How our poop could help flatten the curve. The Boccaccio Project that’s capturing the music of quarantine. And a video camera returned to its...
13 min
1068
Tue. 06/16 - The 411 on Dexamethasone: A New CO...
A new promising treatment for COVID-19. Good news for LGBTQ+ Americans. Why people are more honest when they’re typing on their smartphones versus on their computers. The one man who created the stuffed crust pizza, the McGriddle, the Quizno’s...
17 min
1069
Mon. 06/15 - New Pandemic Solution: Just Print ...
The Kentucky tattoo shop fighting back against extremism. A small town in Washington that has straight up decided to start printing their own money. The science behind why heroes tend to downplay their heroic acts. And the dads who keep making and...
15 min
1070
Fri. 06/12 - CGI Crowds & Virtual Barbers: Our ...
With fans not allowed in stadiums, some sports leagues are using computer-generated crowds to fill the stands. If your hair has grown to a completely unmanageable length, this new site can help. Scientists have discovered massive unidentified...
16 min
1071
Thu. 06/11 - How To Safely Hug Someone Again
Weird comfort foods born out of historic times of discomfort. How to hug during a pandemic. Electric vehicle batteries may get a second life. Drones are now delivering library books to kids in Virginia. And the best custom birthday videos on the...
18 min
1072
Wed. 06/10 - The Woman Who Made Stuffed Olives ...
The WHO’s new official advice on mask-wearing do’s and don’t’s. The 103 year-old retired Belgian doctor hoping to make a difference in the coronavirus effort. Archaeologists have uncovered an entire ancient Roman city without digging a single...
16 min
1073
Tue. 06/09 - When Epidemiologists Expect to Res...
A look at when epidemiologists will personally be resuming various daily activities. The real people behind one of Apple’s most famous sound effects. How dropping f-bombs might actually be a useful strategy. And the first American woman to walk in...
16 min
1074
Mon. 06/08 - The Hottest New Musician in the Ba...
New Zealand has officially reduced their number of coronavirus cases to zero. Apple apparently patented technology for socially-distanced group selfies. How to order first-class stamps with your face on them. What paleontologists predict animals will...
14 min
1075
Fri. 06/05 - It's National Donut Day! ...But Why?
A further look at the emerging controversy surrounding the data analytics company behind that big hydroxychloroquine study. Another study shows that humans apparently really do want to be kind to each other. Some perfectly specific words from other...
15 min