Curiosity Daily Podcast: The Science of Swearing and What it Says About Our Values

Learn about how clocks and lightbulbs changed human health, with author and materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez. Plus: learn about that time a bunch of birds became milk bottle thieves and whether you should put one or two spaces after a period.

Is there a right or wrong way to learn? Dr. Stephen Kosslyn is an expert on the science of learning, with more than 30 years of experience working at elite institutions such as Harvard and Stanford. He also thinks that higher education could learn a lot about how people learn, and that's why he became the Founding Dean and Chief Learning Officer of the Minerva Schools at KGI. On this podcast, Dr. Kosslyn explains how people learn and how his institution is changing the way learning is approached — one student at a time.

Learn about the harmful effects of the “mass hysteria” label; why you say “like”; and the link between beauty and moral worth.

Learn about how researchers built a “soft robot” that reached the depths of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean; why musicians with brain tumors serenade their surgeons; and the best way to phrase words of comfort.

Learn how much your work suffers when you’re sleep deprived; the scientific reason why some places feel like they’re haunted by ghosts; and how to get the most benefits from being surrounded by nature.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

Learn about how to choose the right cooking method for different cuts of meat; how to figure out the perfect temperature for your meat; pro tips for searing and tempering; and the best way to capture that juicy flavor, including the science of what’s actually happening to those juices while you’re cooking.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

Learn about the shocking prevalence of torture scenes in movies; why durian, the world’s smelliest fruit, smells so bad; and where mold comes from.

What gets you curious? Virtual experiences, celestial bodies, water worlds or maybe just the tiniest mysteries inside your brain? The endlessly curious and curiously funny, Gillian Jacobs (Community, Netflix's LOVE) and Diona Reasonover (NCIS), step off set to go on tangents with real-life astronauts, astrophysicists, science artists, mathematician-types and other really smart people that investigate what seems impossible.