Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchThe era of slim clothing is over
Episode 801
Today's story: Skinny jeans and tight-fitting clothes are out, and loose, oversized fashion is in. The shift is driven by comfort after the pandemic,…
8 months ago
‘Coldplay couple’ in a viral nightmare
Episode 800
Today's story: A playful concert tradition took a serious turn when Coldplay’s “Jumbotron Song” captured an embrace between a tech CEO and his HR dir…
8 months ago
How prescription drugs get their names [archive episode]
Episode 557
Xoloft, Ibrance, Zocor, Mounjaro: How do drug companies come up with these names? That's exactly what we explored in this classic episode of Plain En…
8 months, 1 week ago
What it’s like to stare at a painting for a full hour [archive episode]
Episode 497
It can be hard to focus on one thing for an extended period of time. An art class at Harvard takes this to the extreme. All students get an assignmen…
8 months, 1 week ago
Egypt’s long-awaited mega-museum nears completion
Episode 799
Today's story: After years of delays, Cairo’s Grand Egypt Museum is finally nearing completion. The massive museum will house over 100,000 artifacts …
8 months, 2 weeks ago
The poison mushroom and Australia’s sensational murder trial
Episode 798
Today's story: Erin Patterson invited her estranged husband’s family to lunch and served them beef wellington. But her guests soon got sick, and doct…
8 months, 2 weeks ago
Cities are getting that sinking feeling
Episode 797
Today's story: Cities around the world are sinking due to a combination of groundwater extraction, rapid urbanization, and the weight of large buildi…
8 months, 3 weeks ago
Microsoft’s ‘Blue Screen of Death’ is going away
Episode 796
Today's story: For decades, white text on a full blue background has meant one thing to Windows users: the computer has crashed and needs to be resta…
8 months, 3 weeks ago
Alberta flirts with separation from Canada
Episode 795
Today's story: The western province of Alberta is moving toward a vote of independence from Canada. Polls show that only about 30 percent of resident…
9 months ago
What citizenship do you get at birth?
Episode 794
Today's story: 'Birthright citizenship' is the legal concept that grants citizenship to children born within a country's borders, no matter the natio…
9 months ago