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. 07/02 - The Restaurant Taco Bell Lifted Their Taco Recipe From
The restaurant that inspired Taco Bell, its larger legacy, and the question of authenticity. Plus, the new species of beetle that was discovered in some…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 07/01 - How to Stop A/C's from Warming the Planet
This week has proven we need air conditioners more than ever, but we also need them to be better than ever. Here are some of the innovations being considered…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 06/30 - Why 1980s Nostalgia Films Won't Die
What’s with the on-going trend of horror films and TV shows being set in the 1980s? Is sunscreen worse in the United States compared to Europe? And one of the…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 06/29 - The Underground McDonald's DIY Recipe Guide for Recreating 1960s Menu Items
Why exactly were McDonald’s french fries so good back in the day? Why did they change and can the secret original recipe be recreated? Plus, a new sort of…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 06/28 - A New Extinct Human Species? The Giant Skull Everyone's Talking About
As promised on Friday, more information on the so-called Dragon Man––the recently unveiled 140,000-year-old skull that may be a new species of extinct human…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 06/25 - 20,000 Years Ago, A Different Coronavirus Epidemic Hit Humanity
Researchers have found evidence of a coronavirus epidemic from 20,000 years ago. A new blood test that can detect fifty different types of cancer. And what the…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 06/24 - Astronauts' Dirty Laundry
The growing attempts to put flavor back into our produce because, yes, apparently it left. An update on the lumber industry and what it could mean for the…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 06/23 - How to Recover from "Zoom Body" + A Big Ol' Comet's a-Comin'
A very big and very strange comet-ish object has entered our solar system. Some tips to help your body recover from a year of virtual learning, working, and…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 06/22 - Smart Slime, Supermoons, & Upcycled Food Scraps
How a single-celled yellow slime is changing the way scientists think about intelligence. A new upcycled food label that would let you know when your food has…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 06/21 - How the Pandemic Reshaped the Home of the Future
What will our homes look like in the future and how much has the pandemic shaped that vision? Plus, why are humans so thirsty? And, Brian Eno has found a home…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 06/18 - Are There Dinosaur Teeth on the Moon?
A new species of giant rhino might be the largest land mammal that ever walked the earth. Did you know there are probably dinosaur teeth on the moon? For real…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 06/17 - Top 10 Best Homes for Extraterrestrial Life & the 20-5-3 Rule
A ranking of the top ten best places in our solar system to find extraterrestrial life. Plus, you know about the food pyramid, but what about the nature…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 06/16 - How Xerox & Some Dalmatians Saved Disney
How Juneteenth has evolved over the years from its origins in Texas, and its reception today. How the Xerox machine (and several dozen dalmatian puppies) saved…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 06/15 - A Lunar Telescope Built From Moon Dust
A new report from fifty of the world’s leading experts on the need to combine solutions for combatting the climate crisis and our planet’s rapidly declining…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 06/14 - The Full Tale of the Man Nearly Eaten By a Whale on Friday
The full story of the man who was swallowed by a humpback whale on Friday and lived to tell the tale. Calories. Who’s responsible for their inclusion in the…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 06/11 - Why Are Tornado Warnings So Inaccurate & Last Minute?
Thanks to a new study that sequenced the genomes of several types of wild melons, we now have a better idea of the origins of the watermelon… but we still…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 06/10 - The 1920s Transgender Clinic Destroyed By the Nazis
A new method of carbon capture that would turn carbon dioxide from the ocean into rocks. Mosquitos beefed up with virus-fighting bacteria have proven even more…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 06/09 - Millions Lack a "Mind's Eye" & We're Not Sure Why
Why some people don’t have a mind’s eye and others can visualize things in incredible detail. Watermelons on Mars and human-animal hybrid babies born across…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 06/08 - New Giant Dinosaur, Same Boring Cereal
New ocean just dropped. And a new dinosaur species. Big release day. All about the fifth ocean and one of the newest, largest dinosaurs. Plus, what a new…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 06/07 - Squids In Space & Why Vaccine Lotteries Work
SpaceX just delivered a bunch of tardigrades and baby squids to the International Space Station. New research finding pupil size is an indicator of…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 06/04 - Shark-pocalypse & Extinct Flu Strains (possibly)
COVID-19 precautions largely prevented outbreaks of the flu this past winter, and they also may have caused two types of flu viruses to go extinct. Spinking of…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 06/03 - Why Unique People Are More Attractive
What if your pick-up truck could power your whole neighborhood? That’s the potential people are imagining with the new Ford F-150 Lightning. The science behind…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 06/02 - John Steinbeck's Unpublished Werewolf Murder Mystery Novel
John Steinbeck’s secret unpublished werewolf novel that his estate doesn’t want you to read. Lithuania built a portal to Poland and more may soon follow. And…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 06/01 - Bacteria Saves Michelangelo Works From Medici Ooze
Five hundred years later the Medicis continue to ruin Michelangelo’s artworks, but fortunately some bacteria are on the scene to restore his works to their…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 05/28 - Rural Oregon Tries to Become Greater Idaho
Seven counties in the US state of Oregon have now voted to leave their state behind and merge with neighboring Idaho. Could this actually work? A new English…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 05/27 - Naked Mole Rats: The Key to Slowing Human Aging?
Potentially good news for longterm COVID-19 immunity. Pizza farms, not just a figment of my imagination, apparently they’re a real and wonderful thing. And the…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 05/26 - You Signed Up For a Vaccine Waitlist. Now What Happens To Your Data?
Dr. B was the most well-known nationwide vaccine finder in the US. But did anyone actually end up getting their vaccine through the service? Plus, the artist…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 05/25 - Do Ovens Dream of Frozen Pizza?
The flavorful history of frozen pizza. We check in on how the pandemic continues to affect our dreams. And meet the dude actually taking advantage of Krispy…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 05/24 - Big Wind Energy & Tech-Savvy Lessons from the Amish
The latest floating wind farm technology and the part of the US that could make the biggest difference when it comes to offshore wind energy. What we can learn…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 05/21 - The Cicadas Are Turning Into Dismembered, Zombie Sex Fiends
The Brood X cicadas have reemerged and are losing their butts due to a zombie-inducing fungus. Bald eagles are reemerging from the brink of extinction, causing…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 05/20 - How The Sun Could Spoil NASA's Trip Back to the Moon
Why the sun is about to get quite temperamental and how that could spell danger for NASA’s upcoming lunar mission. In other sun news, the case for turning…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 05/19 - Is Carbon Neutral Gasoline Coming?
A promising method for producing carbon-neutral gasoline from, basically, thin air. The strange story of the very first ransomware attack. And the surprisingly…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 05/18 - Why Mammals Don't Have Neon or Iridescent Skin Like Other Animals
What’s next now that China has officially landed their first rover on Mars? How come us mammals don’t have bright, fluorescent plumage like birds or cool neon…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 05/17 - The Historical Mix-Up That Led to COVID Aerosol Confusion
The microscopic error with major implications that seems to have delayed public health officials in acknowledging the aerosol transmission of COVID-19. Why…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 05/14 - Using Nostalgia to Combat Boring Small Talk
What a new lawsuit against TikTok says about the rights of actors who lend their likeness to AI and similar projects. How nostalgia could help you make…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 05/13 - I'll Have What She's Having: The Decline of Personalized Recommendations?
How Netflix’s new top ten lists actually work, some other features they’re testing out, and what their findings mean for the future of algorithmic…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 05/12 - How Epidemiologists Are Approaching Post-Vaccine Life
A look at how epidemiologists are approaching their personal returns to everyday life. How Denmark has quadrupled their cardiac arrest survival rate and…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 05/11 - The Real Voice Behind Alexa
A new book digs into the origins of Amazon’s Alexa and allegedly reveals the woman who provided the voice for their original virtual assistant. A teenage…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 05/10 - Got Wood? America's Mounting Lumber Problem
America is off candy. All we want is chicken wings and lumber. At least according to the market. A productivity hack that lets you celebrate your…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 05/07 - No Shrooms on Mars, Just Misinformation
No, there is not evidence of mushrooms on Mars, and the story of how that misinformation spread yesterday goes even deeper than you may think. Part of the…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 05/06 - Is This Podcast Cheugy?
Are you cheugy? Am I cheugy? What the heck is cheugy? The more we post photos of ourselves online, the easier it is for AIs to recognize us. But what if there…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 05/05 - Professional Mermaids Are Taking Over
Company tries running Facebook ads that transparently point out how Facebook ads work. Facebook blocks the ads. Shocking! Mermaid diving––like free diving but…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 05/04 - The Closest to a Real Lightsaber We'll Probably Get
The physics of jumping to hyperspace, Disney teases their retractable lightsaber, and more Star Wars Day updates. Plus, in real space news: China launched the…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 05/03 - Can We Expand Human Life Spans?
Average human life expectancy doubled in the last century. Has it reached its cap or can we double it again? Some considerations. And NASA conducted a tabletop…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 04/30 - Human Memes Are Taking Back What They’re Owed
People who accidentally became memes are using NFTs to regain a sense of ownership over their likenesses––and make some pretty nice chunks of change. Scotland…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 04/29 - An AI Won a Crossword Tournament & the Olympics Gets Into eSports
How an AI, after failing for a decade, finally won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The Olympics are going virtual, but not how you’re probably…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 04/28 - How To Fix Our Crappy Toilets & Secure Our Future
It’s time for a toilet revolution. No, I’m not just talking about bidets. Our wastewater systems are dangerously out of date, but sustainable innovations could…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 04/27 - This Famous Actor's Mom Helped Save the Apollo 13 Astronauts
Why the story of aerospace engineer Judith Love Cohen, who helped rescue the Apollo 13 astronauts, is making the rounds again and why we should remember her…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 04/26 - The Battle of the Joshes
Dozens of people named Josh gathered in Nebraska over the weekend for a battle to crown the ultimate Josh. Who won and why the heck did this happen? I’ve got…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 04/23 - A McShake Up: The Battle Over McDonald's Ice Cream Machines
What do you call a collection of black holes? That’s not the tee-up for a punchline. Scientists are legitimately trying to decide what word to use. Plus, how…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 04/22 - Your Grandma's Meme Stocks of the 1980s
NASA has generated oxygen on Mars. The story of the women retirees who hacked the stock market decades before GameStop and Wall Street Bets. And on the eve of…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 04/21 - Translating Whales' Conversations Using AI
A few newly-announced NASA funded projects, including one to build a radio telescope in a crater on the moon. A Welsh farmer shares his secrets to ultimate…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 04/20 - The New Roaring 20s? An Economist & Epidemiologist Weigh In
Will this decade be another “Roaring 20s?” A social epidemiologist and a Nobel Prize-winning economist weigh in. How many T-Rexes roamed the land throughout…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 04/19 - Super League, Explained (w/ Brian McCullough)
You may have heard about a bit of a shake-up in the world of soccer today with a dozen of the world’s biggest teams forming what they’re calling the Super…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 04/16 - Human-Monkey Chimera Embryos Are a Reality Now
Scientists have created human-monkey hybrid embryos––yes, you heard that right. Archaeologists have found an entire lost city in Egypt. We have even more…
Cool Stuff DailyThu. 04/15 - What Do Spiderwebs Sound Like?
The CDC says we should wait two weeks after our final COVID-19 vaccination to be considered fully vaccinated, but why? What do spiderwebs sound like? These…
Cool Stuff DailyWed. 04/14 - A Pterosaur With Opposable Thumbs?
We’ve all been talking about Zoom Fatigue for the past year, but a new study has the facts on the phenomenon. Have you tried booking a rental car and noticed…
Cool Stuff DailyTue. 04/13 - A Methane-Eating Bacteria Inside of Trees
Researchers have found a methane-eating bacteria living in a common species of Australian tree. The UK is considering a legal “right to disconnect” for remote…
Cool Stuff DailyMon. 04/12 - Is An Art Movement Happening On TikTok?
Genetically-modified mosquitoes are set to be released in Florida, but will locals thwart the project? A new technology that can 3D print bones directly inside…
Cool Stuff DailyFri. 04/09 - The Sound of Our Future Depends On Electric Vehicles
The story of the woman whose decades of research helped make the mRNA COVID vaccines possible. Plus, electric cars don’t make much noise, which means we have…