The award-winning Curiosity Daily podcast from Curiosity.com will help you get smarter about the world around you — every day. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll get a unique mix of research-based life hacks, the latest science and technology news, and more. Discovery's Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer will help you learn about your mind and body, outer space and the depths of the sea, and how history shaped the world into what it is today.
Learn about why sensitive questions won’t make conversations as uncomfortable as you think; why static is worse in winter than in summer; and the “umami synergy” behind why bacon and eggs go together so well. Sensitive questions won't make conversations as uncomfortable as you think by Kelsey Donk The Case for Asking Sensitive Questions. (2020, Nov…
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Curiosity Daily


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A Distant Galaxy Is Warping the Milky Way
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Author Jen Sincero explains why it’s important to form and maintain habits. You’ll also learn about why phantom limb sensations are way more common than you think; and how the Large Magellanic Cloud, or LMC, is warping the Milky Way galaxy. Additional resources from author Jen Sincero Pick up "Badass Habits: Cultivate the Awareness, Boundaries, and…
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What Most People Miss When Building Habits (w/ Jen Sincero)
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Author Jen Sincero explains how changing your thoughts, beliefs, and words can help you stick to your goals and successfully form new habits. Plus, learn how ancient Puebloans survived in the desert badlands of New Mexico with help from secret underground ice reserves. How did ancestral Puebloans survive in the 'Badlands?' They had a secret ice res…
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We Still Don’t Know How Ice Skating Works
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Learn about how social connection may be as basic of a human need as hunger; the ongoing scientific debate around how ice skating actually works; and the Uberman sleep cycle, a polyphasic sleep schedule that was allegedly used by Leonardo da Vinci and Nikola Tesla. Social connection may be a "basic human need" like hunger by Kelsey Donk Pattillo, A…
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Why Your Dog’s Paws Smell Like Corn Chips
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Learn about why you shouldn’t add oil to your pasta water; a simple way to help kids think better; and why your dog’s paws smell like corn chips. Here's Why You Shouldn't Add Oil to Your Pasta Water by Ashley Hamer Helmenstein, A. M. (2019). Why Don’t Oil and Water Mix? ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/why-oil-and-water-dont-mix-609193 Corrihe…
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Disgusting Sights Literally Turn Your Stomach
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Learn about how disgusting sights literally turn your stomach; and why tattoos are permanent. Then, play along at home as we test your podcast knowledge in this month’s edition of the Curiosity Challenge trivia game. Disgusting sights literally turn your stomach by Cameron Duke Nord, C. L., Dalmaijer, E. S., Armstrong, T., Baker, K., & Dalgleish, T…
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A New Discovery About That Weird “Aurora” Named STEVE
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Learn about a new discovery about STEVE, the weird streak of color in the Canadian skies; how a “wind phone” in Otsuchi, Japan, helped thousands cope with grief after losing their loved ones; and why we judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves. There's a new discovery about STEVE, the weird aurora discovered by citizen scientists by Grant …
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Beat Stress with Laughter Yoga (w/ Madan Kataria, MD)
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Learn about the benefits of laughter yoga with the founder of the laughter club movement, Dr. Madan Kataria. You’ll also learn about a major breakthrough in the way scientists are searching for dark matter. This new dark-matter detection method is 10x more precise by Grant Currin Seeing dark matter in a new light. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eu…
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Why Are the COVID-19 Vaccines Kept So Cold?
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Learn about how the Faroe Islands created their own Google Street View using sheep; why some vaccines (like Pfizer’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines) have to be kept so cold; and why it’s easier to understand a second language than it is to speak it. The Faroe Islands Created Their Own Google Street View with Sheep by Anna Todd Visit Faroe Islands …
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People Respond to Music Even When They Can’t Hear It
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Learn about why you can have an emotional reaction to music even when it’s not being played; how people have been performing brain surgery for thousands of years; and why some bathroom light switches are outside the room. People can have emotional reactions to music even when it's not being played by Kelsey Donk Emotional responses to music - witho…
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Your Brain Treats Human Beauty Differently from Artistic Beauty
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Learn about how your brain treats beautiful faces differently from beautiful objects; why the town of Baarle sits on one of the world’s most complex international borders; and what might happen if you’re eating during a car accident. Your brain treats beautiful faces differently from beautiful objects by Kelsey Donk Our Brains Have Two Distinct “Be…
Learn about why Wolf-Rayet stars are the brightest stars in the sky; why immune cells in your brain may have started out in your gut; and the history of why we can thank Grace Hopper for calling computer glitches “bugs.” Wolf-Rayet Stars Are Ridiculously Hot, Bright, and Massive by Ashley Hamer Howell, E. (2018, October 24). Sirius: Brightest Star …
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What’s the Shortest Amount of Time Ever Recorded?
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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. Scientists have just measured the shortest amount of time, ever. by Cameron Duke Grundmann, S., Trabert, D., Fehre, K., Strenger, N., Pier, A., Kaiser, L.…
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Swedish Death Cleaning Can Declutter Your Life
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Learn about how you can de-clutter your life with the Swedish concept of döstädning, or “death cleaning.” Then, learn about how Alfred Russel Wallace, the “other” scientist who discovered natural selection. Use Swedish Death Cleaning to Declutter Your Life by Ashley Hamer Gyan Yankovich. (2018, April). A Beginner’s Guide To Swedish Death Cleaning. …
Learn about how experiencing “flow” could help your mental health during quarantine; why airplane windows are round; and whether flies experience time more slowly than we do. Experiencing flow could buffer the mental-health effects of quarantine by Kelsey Donk The mental state of flow might protect against harmful effects of quarantine. (2020). Eur…
Learn about how the coronavirus pandemic may have changed Americans’ attitudes about the poor; how you can relieve stress by learning something new; and a trick for setting goals to help you achieve what you want. COVID-19 may have changed Americans’ attitudes about the poor by Steffie Drucker Dolan, E. W. (2020, November 21). Study suggests the CO…
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When Smokers Quit, Dormant Lung Cells Wake Up
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Learn about how quitting smoking may reawaken healthy cells; how researchers figured out how to tell the age of crime scene fingerprints to help investigators; and why you sometimes yawn while exercising or singing. Quitting smoking doesn’t just slow lung damage, but can also reawaken undamaged cells by Grant Currin Gallagher, J. (2020, January 29)…
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Do People Think More in Words or Pictures?
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Learn about whether people think in words or in pictures; why brussels sprouts really are tastier than they used to be; and why buying luxury items might make you feel like an impostor. Whether People Think in Words or Pictures by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Alicia) (2020). Twitter. https://twitter.com/KylePlantEmoji/status/122171379291396…
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The Stinky Science of the World’s Smelliest Fruit
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Learn about the shocking prevalence of torture scenes in movies; why durian, the world’s smelliest fruit, smells so bad; and where mold comes from. Torture is prevalent and effective in movies (but not in real life) by Kelsey Donk Torture Prevalent, Effective in Popular Movies, Study Finds – University of Alabama News | The University of Alabama. (…
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Why Cuttlefish Wore 3-D Glasses for Science
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Learn about why your next relationship will probably be like your last one; what scientists learned by studying the oldest material on Earth; and what researchers learned when they had cuttlefish wear 3-D glasses. Why Your Next Relationship Will Probably Be Like Your Last by Kelsey Donk Changing partners doesn’t change relationship dynamics, study …
Learn about why opposites don’t really attract; the “propinquity effect” and how physical distance affects the way we feel about other people; and the history of when and why we started using last names. Opposites Don’t Attract by Kelsey Donk Johnson, M. D. (2018, February 12). No, opposites do not attract. The Conversation. https://theconversation…
Learn about Starlink’s unintended consequences for astronomy from astrophysicist Vivienne Baldassare, NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. Then, learn why toilet paper is white. More information on NEPA Implementing Regulations: CEQ’s Proposal to Update its NEPA Implementing Regulations | Council on Environmental Quality NEPA Moder…
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The Time Pi Was Almost Legally Changed to 3.2
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Learn about how speed listening to podcasts (or "podfasting") affects our emotions; the health differences between white and brown rice; and the time pi was once almost legally changed to 3.2. Speed listening’s effects on emotion by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from S.P.) Rousseau, S. (2020, January 24). I Tried Listening to Podcasts at 3x and B…
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Why Do Bats Cause So Many Virus Outbreaks?
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Learn about why bats are the source of so many deadly virus outbreaks; and the surprisingly strong influence older siblings can have on their brothers and sisters — just in time for Siblings Day. Then, test your knowledge from this podcast with a Curiosity Challenge trivia game. Why bats are the source of so many deadly virus outbreaks by Andrea Mi…
Learn about why successful people should reveal their failures; the extreme story of the death of planet WASP-12b; and why tulips used to cost more than houses during a period known as “tulip mania.” A Reason to Reveal Your Failures by Kelsey Donk HBS Working Knowledge. (2018, December 11). Why Managers Should Reveal Their Failures. Forbes. https:/…