Learn about potential drawbacks to life hacking from Professor Joseph M. Reagle Jr., author of the new book “Hacking Life: Systematized Living and Its Discontents.” You’ll also learn why your fingers get pruney when they’re soaked in water.

Learn about why blinking communicates a lot more than you probably thought; why astronomers think Uranus is tipped over; and the story of "The Blood Countess," a female murderer who may have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Learn about why metals, fruit, and vegetables spark in the microwave, and the 1-3-5 method for arranging your to-do list. Plus, hear a couple lesser-known stories from the 20th-century space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, with some help from a special guest, Dr. David Warmflash.

Learn about whether being too clean makes kids sick; an ancient coronavirus epidemic; and a black hole-neutron star merger.

Learn about the RLR gene editing tool; Victorian-era emoji; and why “night shift” screen settings don’t help you sleep.

Learn about an easy way to catch someone in a lie; a possible scientific explanation for why your vestibular system may be to blame for out-of-body experiences; and the healthiest way to prepare broccoli, according to science.

Learn about why a predicted increase in phytoplankton is good news for our environment; how researchers can detect evidence of climate change from just one day of global weather conditions; and how Pablo Escobar's hippos became an invasive species in Colombia.

Learn about why younger kids don’t understand sarcasm; a 24,000 year old living worm; and Betelgeuse’s “Great Dimming.”

Cody Cassidy is back to talk about how soap was invented. You’ll also learn about a bias that makes people believe poor people have thicker skin, and how good anxiety can help you get things done.

Learn about the scientific reason why Australia has bubblegum pink lakes; why immortality is mathematically impossible; and how often you should wash your sheets, towels, and basically everything you own.

Learn about the Moses Illusion, which shows how your brain processes information; why urine is yellow; and how watching horror movies can help reduce anxiety.

Learn about how scientists just measured the quickest event ever recorded; how tiny remoras (suckerfish) stay stuck to fast-moving whales; and why being too busy could be killing your creativity.

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:

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 how doctors on Earth diagnosed and treated an astronaut’s medical problem in space for the first time; a new study that explains why whales are so big, but not bigger; and a Stanford technique for getting better at picking creative ideas.