Learn about how to avoid getting dragged down by “Sludge”; how hybrid fruit like plumcots are made; and pirate parlance.

In this Halloween episode, learn how scientists were able to get three people to communicate with each other using only the power of their brains, and why toxic mold might make you see ghosts. Plus, hear the story of “Cropsey,” a terrifying boogeyman who turned out to be real.

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 why pop songs are getting sadder; a mysterious radio signal coming from outer space every 16 days; and why it pays to be yourself when you’re in a high-stakes situation.

Learn about the key ingredients for forging a friendship; why it’s so hard to make decisions with friends; and what it would mean if dark matter doesn’t exist and the law of gravity is wrong.

Learn about how birds could help us predict natural disasters; fairy tales’ old origins; and how breaks and sprains heal.

It's hard to count on a world that's constantly changing. That's why it's vital to grow internal strengths like grit, gratitude, and compassion — at least, according to Dr. Rick Hanson, a Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and author of "Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness." In this episode, he discusses the key to resilience, and to lasting well-being in a changing world.

Learn how superstitions can actually reduce anxiety, why rebooting can often fix computer problems, and why the first full dinosaur skeleton ever found is finally being studied 160 years later.

You might be able to survive for a bit longer than you think.

Learn about anger makes you look guilty; a new quantum microscope; and why the fight against cancer is going very well.

Learn about why your creep radar is probably terrible; the science of spontaneous human combustion; and the one belief that determines employee honesty.

Learn about how blind people can describe what animals look like, how “Ring Around the Rosie” probably doesn’t reference the Plague, and why scientists used Cladosporium sphaerospermum, a radiosynthetic species of fungus, to build a radiation shield.

Learn how ADHD could make you more creative, and how to boost your productivity by scheduling your week with the Arrow Method. Plus, Mike Wall, author of “Out There: A Scientific Guide to Alien Life, Antimatter, and Human Space Travel (For the Cosmically Curious),” explains why we may have already found aliens.

Learn about the “birthday paradox.” Then, George Craford — one of the pioneers of LED lighting — talks LED innovation.

These two men are the ultimate friendship goal.