Shows / Cool Stuff Daily
Cool Stuff Daily
Cool Stuff Daily covers the most interesting and coolest stories in the world of 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 Zach Morris.
Episodes
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 12/15 - How Sci-Fi Impacts Real-World Innovation & Policy
The interplay between science fiction and real-world scientific innovations––from space travel to fusion energy. Plus, a replay of a classic Cool Stuff Ride…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 12/14 - Why Thousands of Street Lights Are Turning Purple
Why some street lights across the US and Canada have been turning purple, and what it says about the larger effects of the supply chain on our cityscapes…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 12/13 - The Enduring Power of "Silent Night"
The origins and significance of the song “Silent Night.” Plus, an update on the US’s fusion energy breakthrough. And Los Angeles County’s first-ever unicorn…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 12/12 - A "Major Breakthrough" on Fusion Energy?
A big fusion energy announcement is coming in the morning, but just how “big” will it really be? Plus, a collection of disappearing and extinct sounds. And how…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 12/09 - The Early Browser Button That Could've Changed The Web For The Better
A browser button proposed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1997 that could’ve changed the web as we know it… or could it? Plus, eight artists from the around the world…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 12/08 - The Christmas Classic That Almost Never Aired
As we go the first Christmas in over half a century without a network TV airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, an extended reflection on its staying power…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 12/07 - Your Milk Is Probably Not Actually Expired
How less-confusing food labeling––and perhaps more food-based curriculum in schools––can mitigate the huge problem of food waste. Plus, a new web-based…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 12/06 - Gory, Graphic Shakespeare & Those Who Tried to Erase Him in the 1800s
Candles will play stunt double for actors in a new staging of Shakespeare’s most violent play. Plus, we take a detour down the path of Shakespearean…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 12/05 - Will Sherlock Holmes Go Goblin Mode?
2023 is going to be a big year for the public domain, and especially for one estate who will finally be losing control of a character they’ve tried their very…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 12/02 - Pilk & Cookies: Santa's New Fave?
AriZona Iced Tea is joining the hard beverage movement. Pepsi is joining… Big Milk? And scientists have got some new, practical tips for training your body to…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 12/01 - Your Toilet Could Save Your Life
Was Mars once hit with an asteroid on the scale of Earth’s own dino-killer? Plus, what if there was a device that listened to your farts and let you know when…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 11/30 - Designing Spotify Wrapped
A dive into the design behind Spotify Wrapped, and some of the new features this years––including the Myers-Briggsification of your personal listening data…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 11/29 - Summer Drought Is Haunting Christmas
Drought and inflation are making it a tough year for Christmas trees. Plus, Japan has had to abandon what would’ve been their first-ever lunar landing, but a…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 11/28 - The World's Largest Active Volcano Is Erupting
The world’s largest active volcano has begun erupting for the first time in four decades. Plus, “monkeypox” has officially been renamed “mpox.” And insurance…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 11/22 - Should 16-Year-Olds Be Allowed To Vote?
New Zealand is set to vote on lowering the voting age to 16. Scientists have added four new prefixes to the metric system. And a peek inside the wide world of…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 11/21 - A Ray of Hope For the "Tripledemic?"
Could the “tripledemic” be tamped down slightly by the viruses interfering with and preventing each other from spiking in the same place at the same time?…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 11/18 - Giant Turkey Legs, The Quintessential American Snack
What’s the deal with those giant turkey legs they serve at renaissance fairs and Disney World? Plus, Coors Light has just launched a color-changing nail polish…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 11/17 - Lab-Grown Meat Gets FDA Approval
The FDA has given approval for the first time to a lab-grown meat. Plus, another company is genetically modifying plants to work as superpowered air purifiers…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 11/16 - Fruitcake Flavored: The Pumpkin Spice of Christmastime?
Can wearing a mask yourself make it harder to recognize the faces of people, even when they’re not wearing a mask? Plus, why Kraft Heinz has upped the goof…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 11/15 - Chimps––They're Just Like Us!
In what feels like the start of a riddle, egg prices are surging, but chicken prices are going down. Plus, it turns out chimps like to share cool stuff as much…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 11/14 - Polar Night, Midnight Sun, & Fruit Quakes
Polar Night and Midnight Sun. What’s it like living in a place that stays absolutely pitch black for two and half months, and what can we learn from the people…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 11/11 - VR Special Effects Made Live TV Debut on Election Night
How tech from shows like The Mandalorian is now being used in live election coverage on TV. Plus, an enormous tunnel has been uncovered beneath an Egyptian…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 11/10 - Can I Get One Large Algae, Please?
Is algae the secret to feeding our growing world? Plus, new evidence for a sixth mass extinction that occurred even earlier than the Big Five. And some…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 11/09 - Ballpoint Pens Killed the Cursive Star
Could the ballpoint pen be just as responsible for the death of cursive handwriting as the computer? Plus, lab-grown blood has been injected into two patients…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 11/08 - 3D Printing Human Organs In Space
From a 3D bioprinter for human tissues to pumpkin spice cappuccinos, here’s the cargo being delivered on board the S.S. Sally Ride tomorrow to the…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 11/07 - The Uncertain Future of Social Media, Our Phones, & Us
On TikTok, Twitter, and more broadly how social media has changed us, how we might finally be approaching a tipping point in how we use it, and the ways in…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 11/04 - Music to Prevent Nightmares
Could a musical cue played while you’re asleep help prevent nightmares? Plus, a round-up of science news from this month in history. And the US government…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 11/03 - How the World Series Led To the Television Boom
A deep dive into two major events that led to the television boom, and a question of what that has meant for the artifice and theatricality of live events…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 11/02 - Cornhole Controversy
2022 has been the year of cheating. The latest scandal to rock a niche community? BagGate at the American Cornhole League World Championships. Plus, Collins…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 11/01 - Dracula: A Tale of Misinformation?
Why does Dracula still resonate with audiences over a century later? The disease narrative is one possible reason, but there’s another less-discussed theory…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 10/31 - Queen Victoria's Halloween Ragers
Dispatches from the Recreational Fear Lab on why being scared might be a healthy thing. And the raucous Halloween parties Queen Victoria used to throw in…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 10/28 - Best Of: Candy Corn, Witches, & Spine-Tingling Music
In our first-ever "Best Of" episode, we look back at the history of candy corn. How did this contentious candy come to be, why does it persist when so many…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 10/27 - This Is Your Brain On Books
Can the books we read permanently change our brains? Or at least impact our values over a lifetime? Two studies that used undergrads as guinea pigs attempt to…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 10/26 - Men Eat Red Meat, Women Eat Salads –– But Why?
How and why did food become so gendered? Y’know, men eat red meat and women eat salads. When did those associations begin? Plus, according to new evolutionary…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 10/25 - Parkour Activists
Why marigolds are so prevalent in cultural celebrations around the world this time of year. Plus, how insect swarms affect atmospheric electricity. And the…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 10/24 - Eau de Witchcraft
Why scents and fragrances have been so strongly associated with witchcraft throughout time and how those associations influence witchcraft, feminism, and…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 10/20 - How the Black Death Changed Our Genes
How the Black Death changed the course of human evolution. Plus, the exoplanet with a marshmallow-like atmosphere. And IKEA is testing out autonomous delivery…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 10/19 - The Rise of Human Composting, a Burial Alternative
A look into the growing movement of human composting as a funeral option. Plus, Anna May Wong quarters start shipping in the US on Monday. And two iconic…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 10/18 - How Quickly Would Vampires Make Humans Extinct?
Could vampires exist, mathematically speaking? Plus, an update on COVID variants of concern as we head into winter. And the United Kingdom has ruled that GIFs…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 10/17 - The AI Chatbot Running for Office in Denmark
NASA isn’t the only one who may launch a rocket to the moon next month. Plus, a Danish political party led by an AI chatbot that’s running for office. A new…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 10/14 - CIA-Funded Woolly Mammoths
The FCC has just proposed new rules to combat space junk. Plus, remember the company trying to bring back the woolly mammoth? The CIA just invested in them…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 10/13 - Warhol & Prince & Galileo & Elvis.
A Supreme Court case involving Prince and Andy Warhol that could have huge implications on the future of art. Plus, a new book by Galileo just dropped. And a…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 10/12 - Space Age Clam Slam
The verdict on that asteroid NASA hit with a spacecraft last month. Plus, Tom Cruise’s latest plan to make history in space. And the latest Cards Against…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 10/11 - The Ghost of Halloween Candy Panics Past
Another Halloween, another candy tampering panic. While these panics rarely––if ever––bear fruit, poisoned candy and concerns around it have a longer history…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 10/10 - Cyborg Cockroaches Are Here To Save the Day
Just in time for Halloween, we’ve got cyborg cockroaches. As terrifying as it sounds though, they might actually end up saving our lives. Plus, a round-up of…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 10/07 - When Novelty Halloween Songs Ruled The Billboard Charts
What the heck is a flying purple people eater and why did that song about one stick around for so long? Plus, remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? Eight years…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 10/06 - Jinkies! I Can't Believe Butter Is So Expensive
I’m back with another shortage report. This time? Butter. Plus, sleep tourism is apparently a thing now. And Velma from Scooby-Doo is officially super gay, for…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 10/05 - Bruce Willis Deepfake Deal is Fake, But Others Could Be Coming
It’s Nobel Prize week. With three prizes announced and three yet to come, here are the winners in Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine. Plus, Bruce…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 10/04 - Turns Out, Buttons Are Bad For Us
From the annals of “everyday objects our ancestors were once super concerned about”: electric push buttons. Like, on/off buttons on any basic device. And you…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 10/03 - Can You Eat Crocs?
Answering the age old question: can you eat Crocs? Plus, why it is adults still get stress dreams about school even years after they leave. And a chance to…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 09/30 - The Real Warriors From 'The Woman King'
The real story of the Agoji warriors fictionalized in The Woman King. Plus, the Food and Drug Administration just dropped a new definition for the word…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/29 - Are Lawns ALL Bad?
Lawns are terrible for the environment, but is ripping them out all together the right answer? Plus, why decorating your home for the holidays is, actually…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 09/27 - Could Changing Jupiter Make Earth Better?
Could a change in Jupiter’s orbit make life on Earth more hospitable? Plus, behold the best GIFs of the 90s, uploaded a-fresh by internet strangers. And all…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 09/27 - Giant Invisible Otters
How close are we to some kind of invisibility cloak? Plus, when giant lion-sized otters roamed the land. Yes, the land. And Hasbro wants to make you into an…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 09/26 - GIFs Are Dead, Long Live the GIF
Thanks to a court filing from the largest search engine of its kind, it’s official: GIFs are cringe. How did they fall so far? Plus, the Colorado River is…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 09/23 - Asteroid SMASH
Why is NASA slamming a spacecraft into an asteroid on Monday and what will we be able to see of the collision? Plus, a new low-cost, no-lab-required COVID-19…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/22 - Fall Is Here & Your Phone Is Dying
It’s the first day of fall. Or is it? Everything you need to know about the equinox, plus some seasonal music recommendations. An app you can only use when…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 09/21 - What is this? A podcast for ANTS?!
Scientists have conducted an ant census. Or at least that’s what I’m calling it. And the total number they came up with is out of this world. Plus, the return…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 09/20 - The Lost Moon of Saturn
How did Saturn get its jaunty tilt and cool rings? A new study says it could’ve been caused by an hither-to-unknown ancient moon that got torn apart by its…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 09/19 - Did Volcanoes Kill the Dinosaurs?
It’s not all about the asteroid. Some scientists are still debating what caused the dinosaurs to go extinct and a new study provides some interesting evidence…