IQ Tests are (Kind of) Dumb
Have you ever taken an IQ test? Originally envisioned as a way to determine which French children should be locked in asylums, Alfred Binet's attempt to quantify human intelligence took the modern wor...
2 Apr 56min
Did Lead Lead to the Fall of the Roman Empire?
Don't do lead, kids! Nowadays everyone knows the dangers this substance poses to humans -- especially children in their formative years -- but back in the day, lead was everywhere. Ancient Rome was ri...
31 Mar 49min
CLASSIC: California Schoolchildren and the Great Squirrel War
In this week's Classic episode: In 1918, as the planet was consumed by World War I, the government of California found itself combating an unexpected and catastrophic enemy: Ground squirrels. The rode...
28 Mar 28min
Don’t Be a Schmo Yo, Try a Yoyo!
Most people think of yo-yos as a fun, old-school toy for kids: a pretty simple, clever device leveraging physics with a string and a weight. Yet as Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode, the s...
26 Mar 42min
The Ridiculous Secret of "Supreme" Pizza
The results are in: pretty much everyone loves pizza... but what doth a pizza make varies from place to place. Obsessed with a game-changing message from a former pizzaiolo on the inside, Ben, Noel an...
24 Mar 48min
CLASSIC: When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid
In this week's Classic episode: Were it not for the coal mine, the town of Vulcan, West Virginia may well have never existed. As a rural and geographically isolated community, Vulcan relied on a singl...
21 Mar 29min
Knitting as Espionage, Part Two: Legendary Spies -- and One Traitor
Espionage takes many forms. As Ben, Noel and Max learned in the first part of this two-part series, one of those forms was knitting. In today's episode, the guys explore the stories of phenomenal spie...
19 Mar 33min
Knitting as Espionage, Part One: Secrets in the Stitch
For a lot of folks in the modern day, knitting is more a relaxing hobby than a household necessity. However, not too long ago, this needlecraft was a genuine -- and effective! -- tool for spies. In th...
17 Mar 32min
