Podcast Episodes

Cruise-o-nomics

This summer, more than 100 cruise ships will visit the small city of Portland, Maine, dropping thousands of passengers onto the city’s commercial waterfront for lobster rolls, local souvenirs and a q…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Where the Wild Things Grow

Growing up, Kiese Laymon thought of himself as a city kid. But he spent his childhood with a foot in two worlds: his mom’s house in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi and his grandma’s house in…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

A Righteous Gemstone

One of our listeners is in a pickle. He’s looking to buy an engagement ring but wants to make sure the diamond comes from an ethical and sustainable source. So he sent us an email asking for help. 

Th…

Published on 5 months ago

Foraging made her famous

Alexis Nikole Nelson, better known to her millions of fans as @blackforager, was raised by a mother who is an avid gardener and a father who loves to cook. Foraging allowed Alexis to fuse her love fo…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

The future was hydrogen

Mike Strizki drives the only hydrogen-powered car on the East Coast. That’s because he’s the only person with access to fuel… which he makes, by himself, in his backyard in New Jersey. 

And it’s not j…

Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago

Black Sheep Metal

Lead is a study in contradictions. It’s dense enough to stop an X-ray, but soft enough to scratch with your fingernail. It’s heavier than steel and iron, but also more flexible. 

And, despite evidence…

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

The Cold War Ice Core of Greenland

In the late 1950s, engineer Herb Ueda Sr. traveled to a remote Arctic military base. His mission? To drill through nearly a mile of ice, and extract the world’s first complete ice core.

To finish the …

Published on 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Dark Magic Rabbit

A magician spins a black top hat to show their audience it’s empty. Then, with the wave of a wand and a few magic words, PRESTO: a snow white rabbit pokes its ears over the brim. 

Compared to sawing a…

Published on 6 months ago

The Bee’s Sneeze: Why allergies are getting worse

Allergies have been documented in historical records dating as far back as 2,400 years ago, when Hippocrates wrote about “hostile humors” in some people who suffered badly after eating cheese. But wh…

Published on 6 months, 1 week ago

Venom and the cure

Venom is full of dualities. According to the UN’s World Health Organization, snakebite envenoming causes somewhere between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths per year, and even that is likely an undercount. Y…

Published on 6 months, 2 weeks ago