Learn what causes that fresh rain smell; how astronauts can actually see cosmic rays; and a trick you can use to stop procrastinating called the “frog rule.”

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 the invisible harms of thirdhand smoke; massive viruses that blur the line between the living and non-living; and why whales get lost during solar storms.

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 how to see the Ursids, the last meteor shower of the year; how researchers figured out whether dogs can understand what you tell them; and how long it takes before you believe your own lies.

Learn about why you don’t weigh the same everywhere on Earth; the personality traits shared by people who live past 90; and how researchers figured out how shoelaces come untied.

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 the Battle of Puebla, the real reason why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo; how placebos of psychedelics can have psychedelic effects; and how early career choices may influence your personality.

Contrary to popular belief, bones are not that easy to break.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the innovative Active Learning Initiative with Cornell University’s Vice Provost for Academic Innovation Julia Thom-Levy, who is also a professor in their department of physics.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories — and discuss injury odds with the National Safety Council’s Ken Kolosh, manager of statistics — to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

Award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and environmentalist Ian Shive gives the inside scoop on a research expedition to the Aleutian Islands. Then, learn how researchers solved a molecular mystery about how our ears turn sound into what you hear.

Learn about which sleep trackers are actually accurate; how important closure is for a life transition; and why mirrors flip horizontally, but not vertically.

Learn about how lightning strikes led to life on Earth; the self-control of cuttlefish; and your roommate’s feelings.

Forrest Galante, host and star of “Extinct or Alive” on Animal Planet, explains what happens when you find an extinct animal. Then, learn about how bacteria don’t compete to survive — they cooperate.