The Pulse-Pounding Origin Story of USB-C
There’s a new kind of jack in town—well, new as of 2014—called USB-C. This single, tiny connector can carry power, video, audio, and data between electronic gadgets—simultaneously. It can replace a la...
18 Aug 202344min
CeCe Moore Cracks Cold Cases with Genealogy
Genealogy has been around a while. So has DNA evidence. But what if you combined the two? What if you could use DNA from a crime scene, compare the unknown killer’s genetics with public databases of o...
4 Aug 202343min
What if Placebos ARE the Medicine?
We’ve known about the placebo effects for over 200 years. That’s where doctors give you a pill containing no actual medicine, but you still get better. Recent studies have uncovered a broader range of...
21 Juli 202334min
The Man Who Invented QR Codes
In 1994, Masahiro Hara got tired of having to scan six or seven barcodes on every box of Toyota car-parts that zoomed past him on the assembly line. He wondered why the standard barcode from the 70s w...
7 Juli 202337min
Inside the Lost Titanic Sub: An Update
The lost OceanGate submersible has captured the world’s attention. In the summer of 2022, “CBS News Sunday Morning” correspondent and "Unsung Science" host David Pogue was invited to join an expeditio...
23 Juni 202346min
How Doug Lindsay Invented His Own Surgery
In his senior year of college, a monstrous ailment fell upon Doug Lindsay. His skin felt flayed. His heart raced. The room spun. He was so weak, he couldn’t sit up in bed, let alone walk. Worst of all...
9 Juni 202341min
The Power of an Empty Metal Box
We’ve been shipping stuff across oceans for centuries. But until 1956, we loaded our ships in the dumbest way possible: one at a time. Then Malcolm McClean came along. He envisioned lifting the big me...
26 Maj 202339min
From Klingon to Dothraki: Constructed Languages for Hollywood
The first time you heard “Star Trek” characters speak Klingon, or the “Game of Thrones” characters speaking Dothraki and High Valyrian, you might have assumed that the actors were just speaking a few ...
12 Maj 202339min
