Podcast Episodes
Back to Search83: The Most Boring Element & Solving Shakespeare's Accent
What is the most boring element, and just how boring could it possibly be? Turns out: VERY! And how can we decipher what Shakespeare sounded like, and who among us can lay claim to his accent?
Timesta…
Published on 4 months ago
82: International Space Law & Taxidermy
What laws are there to worry about in the moon? And what does space law teach us about Earth law? And what can we learn about societies throughout history from the lens of stuffing dead animals?
Image…
Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Preview: The Lab Rat Games
Welcome to the (preview for the) Lab Rat Games! The GAME show where we compete to learn anything and everything interesting! We love putting games into our topics, so what happens when we make a whol…
Published on 5 months ago
81: Dinosaur Diet Detectives & Proto-Podcasts
How can scientist's unravel the mystery of what dinosaurs ate? Well the clues are right in front of our eyes, or should I say their teeth! And poop! And listener you may already know what a podcast i…
Published on 5 months, 1 week ago
Tom, Ella, and Caroline join MFD Spring Break
It’s not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts through some wacky ‘90s- and Spring Bre…
Published on 5 months, 1 week ago
80: Ify Nwadiwe, The Science of the Peasant Railgun, and a Panoply of Nerdery
Host of Um Actually and nerd of many domains Ify Nwadiwe joins us as Tom helps him deconstruct the infamous Peasant Railgun from D&D. Could it actually work? And can we come up with something even mo…
Published on 5 months, 2 weeks ago
79: The Psychology of Math & Sudoku
Why is math both so easy and so hard for our brains, and how can the psychology of horses, babies, and mathematicians help answer that? And what wild journey did Sudoku take to become the popular puz…
Published on 6 months ago
78: Drosophila Melanogaster & The British Meal Deal
Why is the common fruit fly the perfect model organism, and the reason for 6 Nobel Prizes?? And what is the british fascination around the meal deal, lunchtime, and the sandwich?
Images we Talk About:…
Published on 6 months, 2 weeks ago
77: Light Pollution & Mistaeks
What can we learn from the most modern - but overlooked form of pollution? And can mistakes in art be something actually... good?
Images we Talk About:
Navajo Rug Ch'ihónít’i
Ramses II Statue
Ecce Homo
Th…
Published on 6 months, 4 weeks ago
Recast: The Funcanny Valley - Spellbound and Gagged
As we plan out the new year, please enjoy a recast of one of my (Tom's) favorite guest appearances on Spellbound and Gagged, hosted by the wonderful friend of the show Ellen Weatherford!
Published on 7 months, 1 week ago