Decoder Ring
Decoder Ring is the show about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.
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26
The Scratch-Off Ticket’s Instant Win
Ian Coss shares how scratch-off tickets became a part of American life.
33 min
27
Jump, Jive and Fail: The ’90s Swing Craze
Why the swing revival sizzled and then fizzled almost as quickly as it started.
59 min
28
I am Tupperware, I Contain Multitudes
The storage container, a stealthy star of the modern home, started with Tupperware.
39 min
29
Introducing Planet Money: Can Money Buy Happiness?
Does more money mean fewer problems?
30 min
30
Mailbag: Fruit Snacks, Waterbeds, and Lobster T...
How fruity candy got a “healthful” rebrand, the rise and fall of the softest (and sexiest) bed, and more listener questions.
45 min
31
Mystery of the Mullet (Encore)
The history of the mullet is weirder than you think.
46 min
32
Reconsidering One of the “Worst” TV Shows of Al...
In 1980, “Pink Lady and Jeff” flopped spectacularly—but was it really that bad?
57 min
33
A Feel-Good Story About the End of the World
NASA’s bold mission to save Earth from a killer asteroid.
36 min
34
The Wrongest Bird in Movie History
The “Pygmy Nuthatch” in Charlie’s Angels has bedeviled birders for the last 25 years.
44 min
35
Selling Out (Encore)
How we all became sellouts.
47 min
36
Calling Dick Tracy! It’s Warren Beatty Again
Why is Oscar-winner Warren Beatty still playing comic book detective Dick Tracy, 30 years later?
42 min
37
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… Will He Want a We...
How a popular children’s book got caught up in the culture wars.
33 min
38
Chuck E. Cheese Pizza War (Encore)
In the 1980s, two restaurant chains duked it out to become the preeminent robot pizza arcade.
45 min
39
The Hysteria Over Mass Hysteria
It’s all in your head. Or is it?
33 min
40
Standing Up for Sitting Down
Sitting has, once again, stepped into the spotlight as a kind of villain.
35 min
41
The Secret Life of Lawn Ornaments
Gnomes, flamingos, and lawn jockeys—every garden decoration has a message for us.
44 min
42
Stuffed Animals Gone Wild
American kids and parents can’t get enough of creatures that make teddy bears seem impossibly quaint.
36 min
43
Sex, Lies, and Hockey Pucks
How a salacious rumor about the Vancouver Canucks has haunted one woman for 30 years.
33 min
44
Captain Planet to the Rescue
In 1990, the environmental superhero Captain Planet swooped onto TV screens.
39 min
45
Why Are We Still Using Fat Suits?
The fat suit is so much more than prosthetics. It’s an embodiment of all our cultural hang-ups about fatness.
32 min
46
How the Jalapeño Lost Its Heat
For more than a century, Americans have been obsessed with Mexican food – and changed it.
29 min
47
From ‘The Last Archive’: Building an Automatic ...
53 min
48
Making Real Music for a Fake Band
The Broadway show ‘Stereophonic’ on how to construct the sound of the ’70s.
37 min
49
Can the “Bookazine” Save Magazines?
Why is there a magazine all about Robert Redford in the CVS checkout lane?
33 min
50
Andrew Wyeth's Secret Nudes (Encore)
Why did America’s favorite artist hide 240 pieces of artwork from his wife?
50 min