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 DailyWed. 09/29 - When Humans Die On Mars, What Will Happen?
What will happen to the bodies of people who die on Mars? Plus, AI has indicated that a famous painting at the National Gallery might be a phoney. And…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 09/28 - Are Climate Companies Reliving the Dot Com Era?
Could removing methane from the atmosphere be a viable strategy for slowing global warming? And are all of these disparate new ideas and strategies to solve…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 09/27 - 900 Year Old Cosmic Mystery: Officially Solved
How 19th century New Yorkers took advantage of a loophole in the strict drinking laws and ended up creating the world’s worst sandwich. Plus, a supernova…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 09/24 - Ancient Teens Shake Up History of Human Migration
Ancient footprints discovered in New Mexico are shaking up what we thought we knew about when humans first arrived in the Americas. Plus, how much plastic do…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/23 - Birds Are Real (and Got Louder During Lockdown)
The dark side of the history of epidemiology. Plus, a study that proves, yes actually, birds were louder and more numerous during lockdown. And two women in…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 09/22 - The Wonders of Fall, and the Cosmos
Sharing some reflections, some poetry, and a bit of a historical context on what it is that makes fall strike such a strong chord with so many of us, in honor…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 09/21 - Making 26,000 People Out of 20: Ted Lasso's Trick
How Ted Lasso filled a whole stadium for a crowd scene during the pandemic, and how advances, especially in AI, are beginning to change filmmaking. Plus, a…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 09/20 - Poison Ivy Vaccines & A Mosh Pit History
The history and science of mosh pits. Exciting developments in the treatment of poison ivy reactions, including a possible vaccine. And how to catch tonight’s…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 09/17 - Night-Lunch and the Origin of Food Trucks
The history and future of food trucks, and a look at the old tradition of “night lunch.” The visually-striking lanternfly that eastern US states are begging…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/16 - Jane Austen's Advice for Social Media Users
How the social lives of the characters from Jane Austen’s novels are analogous to our digital ones today, and what we can learn from them about being…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 09/15 - Civilian? Amateur? Private? Whatever, They're Going to Space!
SpaceX’s Inspiration4 all-civilian crew is blasting off tonight in Cape Canaveral. Here’s everything you need to know about the historic launch. Plus, the…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 09/14 - Steve Wozniak's New Space Company
How gas stations actually make money, and their prospects for the future. Steve Wozniak says Don’t Mess With Space. And, a timeless question for the ages: how…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 09/13 - De-Extinct Woolly Mammoths & Potty-Trained Cows
Could woolly mammoths help slow the effects of the climate emergency? It’s not just a theoretical question. One entrepreneur is betting on it, and working to…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 09/10 - The Mystery of Blue Moon Ice Cream
What exactly is blue moon-flavored ice cream and where did it come from? Plus, NASA is planning to purposefully hit an asteroid with a spacecraft, more on why…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/09 - Roof Panels That Cool Your Home, No A/C Required!
Forget air conditioners, give me radiative cooling panels on my roof! That’s what I hope I’ll be saying a few years from now. Plus, a new species of giant…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 09/08 - What Happens When You Get Struck By Lightning?
What it’s actually like getting struck by lightning, and the community of survivors helping each other cope. Plus, another team of scientists say they have…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 09/07 - Mars Rocks, A Billionaire's Utopia, & The Free Blockbuster Movement
The Mars Perseverance Rover has secured its first rock sample, with big promise for insights to come. A billionaire is working on plans to build a new…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 09/03 - The Billion Year Gap In the Grand Canyon's Rocks
What if a room could charge all of your devices just by them being in there? Like no wires, no charging pads, just being in the room. Some engineers have made…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 09/02 - What Is Grimace & Why Are Hyperlinks Blue?
Why are hyperlinks blue? You ever think about that before? Plus, a look at the tech behind the wheelchairs and prostheses used by Paralympians. And what the…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 09/01 - Flying EVs, Bedroom Pop, & Murder Hornets 2: Venomous Boogaloo
Would you take a flying rideshare taxi? NASA is betting on it. Plus, murder hornets are back and badder than ever. And the growing genre of “bedroom pop,”…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/31 - Could We Delete Our Memories One Day?
The climate crisis is causing some animals to shrink, and that’s definitely not a good thing. Experts weigh in on the possibility of humans ever being able to…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/30 - Electric Cars Almost Became the Norm in the 1800s
Electric cars were being made as far back at the late 19th century, with entire fleets of electric cabs roaming the streets of several major cities. So what…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 08/27 - The History of the ICEE, The Coolest Drink In Town
The history of and science behind the ICEE. Plus, Glenfiddich is now powering their delivering trucks with spent whisky. And some tips on cleaning your earbuds…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 08/26 - What If All Food Was Square?
The 7,200 year old skeleton of a teenage girl is shaking up what we thought we knew about ancient human migration. The creative solution an Oregon hospital has…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/25 - Comirnaty? How Pfizer's Vaccine Got Its Brand Name (and what it almost was)
The Paralympic Games kicked off in Tokyo last night. Here’s what you need to know and a brief history of the games. Plus, how did the Pfizer vaccine end up…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/24 - Pixels Aren't Square. Or Visible.
What exactly is a pixel? Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith discusses its math and history and his new book. Plus, farmer’s markets, once a cornerstone of…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/23 - Critics Hate Them! Netflix's UNBELIEVABLE Clickbait Strategies
Netflix is leaning into the clickbait game that soured online journalism ten years ago. Could this strategy affect the film industry overall, and has it been…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 08/20 - The Necrobiome: Dead and Loving It
What is the necrobiome and why do some think it’s crucial for restoring our ecosystems? More and more zoo animals across the US are getting their own special…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 08/19 - The #1 Site on Facebook is a Green Bay Packers Alumni Company?
Facebook has released a report of their most widely viewed content, but the #1 most viewed link on the platform shows how the report isn’t exactly proving the…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/18 - A "Wright Bros. Moment" In Nuclear Fusion
A lab in California has achieved a historic breakthrough in nuclear fusion. Three new species from the post-dinosaur mammalian revolution have been identified…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/17 - The Thriving Imported Mango Market on WhatsApp
Inside the world of the quasi-secret WhatsApp mango economy. It turns out Saturn is kind of jiggly inside. And the beginning of a season, marked by the end of…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/16 - Eerily Accurate 1990s Predictions of Current Tech Dangers
How one of the earliest bloggers predicted the dark side of the internet, and then went completely off the grid. Plus, the first tribally-affiliated medical…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 08/13 - Woolly Mammoth Adventures & Goodreads Pages Held For Ransom
The groundbreaking study that has basically given us a daily diary of the entire life of a 17,000 year old woolly mammoth. Why coffee prices are spiking. And a…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 08/12 - The Nickelodeon Design Aesthetic
How does a kid’s network establish their brand identity? Apparently, riff on a high brow architectural style and add heaping amounts of radioactive green…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/11 - Robin, Batman's Sidekick, Has Come Out of the Closet
Robin has officially come out of the closet. No statement yet from Batman, but I do have the other details, and a brief history of LGBTQ+ superheroes. Plus…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/10 - A New Carnivorous Flower CAPTCHAs Its Prey
Why are CAPTCHA’s so frustrating and, in a way, so grim and disconcerting? Plus, botanists have identified the first carnivorous plant in twenty years, but…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/09 - That “Code Red” Climate Report, Explained
Some context and takeaways from the big UN climate report released this morning. NASA has opened applications for their Mars simulation mission. And why are…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 08/06 - A Gardener's High? Can Playing In Dirt Make You Happier?
What are forest schools? And the science behind why gardening can make you feel happy and peaceful. Plus, the Perseid meteor shower is happening in just a few…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 08/05 - Vaccine APP-rehension
As the tides trend toward requiring vaccinations for entry in more places, what is the landscape of apps and methods to verify vaccination status? Plus…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 08/04 - Why Is Snow on the Alps Turning Red?
The six countries most likely to survive all-out societal collapse from climate change. Why is snow on the Alps turning red? And a website that will transport…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 08/03 - What Edgar Allan Poe's Forgotten Science Writing Can Tell Us About Misinformation
Edgar Allan Poe wasn’t just the sad author of spooky tales we all know and love, but also a passionate science journalist, and the writings he left behind can…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 08/02 - Why Skateboarding Is An Olympic Sport, But Cricket Isn't
What makes an Olympic sport an Olympic sport? And what does it take to get cut from the lineup? Namely, why is baseball getting cut once again in 2024, but…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 07/30 - Millions of Views & Not a Dollar To Show For It
I read a BuzzFeed article about virality and go on a rant about the creator economy. PornHub has a new campaign to help bolster museum tourism. And we may have…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 07/29 - Kids Are Using Soda To Fake Positive COVID Tests
Why it could take you months to get a new sofa. Kids are trying to get out of class by using soda to fake positive COVID tests. And how to reinvigorate your…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 07/28 - Why the COVID Vaccines WEREN'T Hacked... So Far
How a task force prevented the COVID-19 vaccines from being hacked because, yes, that was a real and valid concern. Plus, the sometimes controversial history…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 07/27 - Are Personalized Digital Billboards the Future?
The history and future of billboard advertising. The surprisingly big challenge of recycling bowling balls. And the YouTube Creator who just got hired by…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 07/26 - An Olympic Medal For Designing Olympic Medals
A look back at when the Olympics used to give out medals in artistic categories, including the designing of Olympic medals, and the case for why they should…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 07/23 - Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping
Rounding errors may cause winners to become losers and losers winners, Bezos and James Webb both fall to Earth, and beyond lobster shortages, now crabs. Links…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 07/22 - Venmore You Venknow
Your payments for dog walking and, er, “love hotels” via Venmo are now no longer subject to global scrutiny, neutron stars have wee tiny mountains, smaller…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 07/21 - It Was in All the Papers
How did paper sizes fall into their century-long groove, how low-wage workers seem to have the upper hand in the job market despite pandemic job losses, and…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 07/20 - Creepy Clown Town 2021
Was the Chinese seed scare of mid-2020 just a matter of delayed orders and pandemic memory? The Ever Green clogging the Suez Canal is probably a sign of things…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 07/19 - It Brings Good Things Back to Life
Coca-Cola brings your dead taste buds back to life with a new Coke Zero formulation that probably definitely certainly won’t produce a New Coke outrage…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 07/16 - People Have Reservations about Deep-Faking Bourdain’s Voice
The flood of robocalls may soon abate due to a technology named after James Bond’s martini instructions to bartenders, an ethical debate over whether we can…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 07/15 - NASA, Don’t Flub on Hubble Trouble
It’s not mind reading, but a man’s ability to convey words is partially restored through electrodes and machine learning; NASA carefully prepares to press…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 07/14 - Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet ETAOIN SHRDLU TK TK TK
It’s all greeked to me, some new history about the old text “lorem ipsum”; Europa may hide its secrets more deeply than previously thought; and a man happily…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 07/13 - A Cache of Metal Type Found in Korea
Archeologists dig up a massive cache of 15th century metal printing type in South Korea, a baby beaver is born in Exmoor, what if ice cream but also macaroni…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 07/12 - The Heliopause That Refreshes
Houseplants became Instagram models in 2020 driving sales up by billions and overwhelming mail-order and garden-supply stores; we know a lot more about the…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 07/08 - Will We Still Own Things In the Future?
New findings in the debate about whether the dinosaurs were actually already in a sharp decline before the asteroid hit the Earth. A rumination on private…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 07/07 - Algae Beer, Lead-Poisoned Emperors, & mRNA Flu Vaccines
Could lead poisoning have led to the fall of Rome? The Australian craft brewery using algae to offset their carbon emissions. And Moderna has started human…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 07/06 - Is the 4-Day Workweek Actually Happening This Time?
Why do we have a five-day work week and could changes from the pandemic be enough to finally implement the long held fantasy of the four-day work week? Are we…