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 DailyFri. 09/16 - What Is Going On In England?
From informing the bees to muting self-checkout machines, the many shades of mourning––and not––in the United Kingdom. And, from ice cream prescribed with…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/15 - The People's Joker & Lunar Crystals
China has discovered a new lunar mineral––and more dispatches from space, including the asteroid NASA is intentionally crashing into next week. Plus, a trans…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 09/14 - The Dream of the 90s Is Alive on the Internet Archive… But For How Much Longer?
Several major publishing houses are suing the Internet Archive. Why? And what could the ramifications of the lawsuit have on the archive and on digital access…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 09/13 - Too Many or Too Few Humans?
We’re approaching overpopulation. Or we’re in danger of population decline. It depends who you ask. As we prepare to pass eight billion humans on Earth, a look…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 09/12 - Not Your Papa’s Pawpaw
Is the most American of all fruits finally going to get its time to shine? And, no, NASA did not officially ask the public to name the probe to Uranus, but…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 09/09 - Garbled Nonsense: When Filter Bubbles Collide
Merriam-Webster has added 370 words to the dictionary, but it’s not enough to keep up with the changing pace of language on the internet, especially as we…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/08 - All Hail Big Hail
Hail is getting bigger and becoming more common to more areas, but we still know relatively little about it. Plus, a possibly complete dinosaur skeleton with…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 09/07 - The Haunting of Loab: AI's First Cryptid
Meet, Loab––a woman haunting every AI generated image she is summoned to with some of the goriest scenes you’ll find this side of Halloween. What does Loab…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 09/06 - The Science Tooth Fairy & the Vampire Skeleton
How analyzing baby teeth might be able to facilitate early intervention for childhood adversity. Plus, archaeologists have found the skeleton of a seventeenth…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 09/02 - Crappy Musicians Profiting From Kids’ Alexa Commands
The musicians getting paid anytime a preschooler makes a poop joke at an Alexa device. Plus, why Labor Day is a cursed weekend for movie releases. And the…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/01 - Littlefoot's Ancestor Is Oldest Ever Dino Found In Africa
One of the biggest ever and one of the smallest ever sauropods, both discovered recently and both helping us learn more about where and why dinosaurs traveled…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/31 - The World Bog Snorkeling Championships
The official trailer for the slasher horror version of Winnie the Pooh dropped and, I think I actually want to watch the whole movie now? Plus, the latest…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/30 - Big Kale's Big Lie
The surprising history of how kale became so popular so quickly back in 2014, and how both Pizza Hut and Chick-fil-A were partially responsible––but not…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/29 - Why Artemis I Didn't Launch
The Artemis I launch was scrubbed early this morning Here’s why the highly-anticipated launch didn’t get off the ground. Plus, rabies vaccines are raining down…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 08/26 - Prebunking Conspiratorial Thinking
Google ran a study using its own pre-roll ads to try to prebunk people before they fall for conspiracy theories. Plus, scientists have found the first-ever…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 08/25 - The Fantasy of History
Invented traditions. Reimagined visions of the past. History is never free from our present-day biases, but the way we talk about the past often says more…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/24 - Nimcels and Doppelgängers
The world of nimcels––what are they and where do they fit in online? Plus, the genetic similarities between unrelated doppelgängers. And gummy bears made out…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/23 - Omicron Boosters & Original Antigenic Sin
Omicron-specific COVID boosters are coming to the US soon. How much of a difference will they make to immunity? Well, it’s complicated. Plus, NASA says Artemis…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/22 - They've Got 57 Varieties, But Tomato's The Only One
A dive into the viscous depths of the unshakeable ketchup bottle and its 57 different origin stories. Plus, NASA released the sound of an actual black hole…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 08/19 - Competitive Lifesaving & Mullet Champions
Competitive lifesaving and the USA Mullet Championships. Just a couple of niche competitions to kick off your weekend with. Plus, a possible new method for…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 08/18 - Ancient Butt-less Sea Creature NOT a Human Ancestor
Could a century-old vaccine help protect against future epidemics? Plus, it turns out our oldest ancestor is not a half a billion year old sea creature with a…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/17 - Elektronik Supersonik
American Airlines has signed up for a supersonic boost. Plus, how to find the sweetest watermelon, and a brief history of the fruit. And Papa Johns is throwing…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/16 - De-Extincting Tasmanian Tigers
The team trying to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction is doing a trial run with Tasmanian tigers, funded in part by the Hemsworth brothers. Plus…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/15 - Exy McExoplanet
This one weird baking trick could make your cookies healthier and decrease waste in your home. Plus, the not-quite-net-positive potential in Greenland’s…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 08/12 - Micro-Robots Brushing Your Teeth?
Could chewing gum and micro-robots replace your toothbrush? Plus, a Lord Byron-themed RPG. And get paid to indulge in every pumpkin-spiced item at Trader…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 08/11 - Bog Butter Blogs & Predator's Food Vlog
The science and history of bog butter–––still edible butter buried in Irish bogs thousands of years ago. Plus, the first-ever feature film dubbed entirely in…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/10 - Mary Shelley & the Cryogenic Tabloid Star
The story of the 197-year-old frozen gentleman–––a tale that will take us from unprecedented weather events and the 19th century version of misinformation to…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/09 - Excel eSports Championships
The exciting world of Excel eSports. Plus, a Native American tribe who has had their land returned to them after 350 years. The top scientist who caused a big…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/08 - Do We REALLY Need Mosquitoes?
What would happen if we just Thanos-snapped all the mosquitoes out of existence? Would there be significantly adverse effects? Plus, from heat indexes to…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 08/05 - Your Brain On Horror
Let’s talk about your brain on horror movies. Plus, Mark Cuban wants to turn a Texas town into Jurassic Park. And a virtual map that lets you see what your…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 08/04 - The Hazy History of the IPA
A deep dive into the history of the IPA. What exactly is an IPA anyways? How did it get its name? And why did it become so ubiquitous over the last decade?…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/03 - Cheese Baths
Cheese baths––a nineteenth century fad coming back in style. Plus, Shaun the Sheep is officially going to the moon later this month, alongside 10,000 other…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/02 - Smell-O-Vision Meets VR
Virtual Reality doesn’t stink. And that’s kind of a problem. Why virtual smell could take the VR experience to the next level. Plus, a paper battery that’s…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/01 - Early Europeans Drank Milk Despite Lactose Intolerance; Ancient Humans, They're Just Like Us!
The first major study of its kind sheds new light on the evolution of all you mutants who can digest dairy. Plus, engineers at MIT have developed a wearable…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 07/29 - Shark Attacks, Moon Caves, & Murder Hornets
How likely are you really to get bit by a shark and do some of those cliché comparisons still hold up as waters warm and shark sightings seem to be on the…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 07/28 - No, This Isn't Scientific Evidence for the Loch Ness Monster
Why a new discovery about plesiosaurs has gotten everyone talking about the Loch Ness Monster. Plus, the oldest DNA from a horse domesticated in America might…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 07/27 - Netflix "Lucas-ing" Stranger Things
Cryptographers have identified the first known secure global communication system, in the form of nineteenth century newspaper ads. Plus, a fourth patient has…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 07/26 - The Best Failed Inventions
Let’s take a visit to the Museum of Failure. Plus, robot spider zombies. Not a new comic book series, but an actual experiment from mechanical engineers in…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 07/25 - When Did NASA Logos Become Fashionable?
The world’s first verified image of Mormonism founder Joseph Smith has been found… but it’s not convincing everyone just yet. And how did the NASA logo become…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 07/22 – Home Depot's Got (Giant) Crabs
Why do we laugh and what causes us to do so? Was laughing at one point an evolutionary advantage? Plus, the reason for a mysterious pink glow over a small…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 07/21 - TikTok is Oozing Pink Sauce
A product that could help you hear the person you’re trying to have a conversation with in a loud, crowded room. Plus, a follow-up on why Unicode is adding so…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 07/20 - Real-Life Quidditch Changes Its Name
The real-life sport inspired by quidditch has announced their new name––and I have a lot of thoughts. Plus, a few companies in Japan have introduced standing…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 07/19 - DIY 4 Lyfe & Death
Three species frozen in time within one single piece of amber. Plus, the DIYers building their own coffins. And Costco has promised not to raise the price of…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 07/18 - An Experiential Peek Into 2050's Weather
Heatwaves around the world are so extreme this week that one of them matches a projected forecast for 2050. Plus, MIT engineers have found a more efficient…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 07/13 - When Coal Was "Un-American"
What can the slow and timid adoption of coal in the US tell us about the transition to solar and wind power? Plus, this newly-discovered dinosaur sheds some…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 07/12 - Spikes, Blobs, & Bubbles: Explaining the JWST Images
The JWST images are here! But what are we actually looking at? Plus, could gene editing put an end to cholesterol-related disease? And Cat Power is planning to…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 07/11 - Sailing Without a Map, or Compass, or Anything
Could an MIT idea to ease the climate crisis by blowing up giant sun-blocking bubbles in space actually work? Plus, the Polynesian voyagers who are reviving…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 07/08 - The Breakfast Episode
Welcome to our accidental breakfast episode. First, how did orange juice become our go-to breakfast beverage of choice? Plus, Waffle House’s in-house record…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 07/07 - Sports Leagues IN SPACE
In 1972, a team of international researchers used computer modeling to assess and warn us about the potential collapse of human civilization. Fifty years…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 07/06 - Big Mouth Billy Bass
We take a deep dive into the freshwater lake origins of Big Mouth Billy Bass, the singing fish, and his riptide success in the early 2000s. And, in other peak…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 07/05 - The Rise of #Gentleminions
Could the historic flooding at Yellowstone National Park be a positive thing in the long term? Plus, new findings into long COVID-caused brain fog. And why…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 06/30 - The Kid Who Invented Popsicles... Allegedly
The murky history of Popsicles, and freeze pops or Otter Pops or whatever you call them. Plus, those skin mites that live on your face might be able to reveal…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 06/29 - Did "The Dress" Foreshadow Fake News?
Remember the photo of that blue and black dress, or I’m sorry, white and gold dress? It turns out at least one neuroscientist conducted an official study of…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 06/28 - The Return of the Moon Age
NASA’s Artemis mission returning us to the moon has officially begun… sort of. Here’s everything you need to know about today’s first step towards establishing…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 06/27 - Why Friends Smell Alike
Do groups of friends all smell alike? Plus, an astonishingly well-preserved 30,000 year old woolly mammoth baby was just discovered. And we finally have…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 06/24 - The Creatures That Live & Mate On Our Faces
The facts on how risky public bathrooms actually are when it comes to germs and disease transmission. Plus, the secret lives of skin mites––a bevy of new…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 06/23 - The "Anti-Hunger" Molecule Formed By Intense Workouts
A newly-identified molecule may explain why some workouts make you super hungry and others leave you without an appetite at all. Plus, a spectacular planetary…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 06/22 - Pinocchio, Fascism, & Guillermo del Toro
A deep dive into the origins, values, and many adaptations of The Adventures of Pinocchio––including how Guillermo del Toro’s dark upcoming stop motion…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 06/21 - Queerness in Colonial Williamsburg
More and more countries are banning single-use plastics, but what alternatives are available? One team of scientists have developed an antimicrobial spray that…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 06/20 - Peecycling
Would you use your own pee in your garden? Or donate it to a local farm? Some folks around the world see it as the future of fertilization. Plus, some…