BrainStuff

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Whether the topic is popcorn or particle physics, you can count on BrainStuff to explore -- and explain -- the everyday science in the world around us.

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2,688 episodes
Updated Monday

Episodes2688

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Jul 2, 2025 · 6 min
Does the Bunyip Really Roam Austraila's Wetlands?
A cryptid with a fearsome bellow, the bunyip is said to stalk the unwary who swim or walk alone at night in parts of Austraila and New Zealand. Learn about the potential real-life inspirations for the bunyip in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/australian-bunyip.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 10, 2025 · 9 min
How Does Foreign Accent Syndrome Work?
Patients with Foreign Accent Syndrome seem to develop a whole new accent overnight. Learn how it can happen in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/neurological-conditions/foreign-accent-syndrome.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 9, 2025 · 9 min
How Did Tetris Go from Soviet Passtime to Smashing Success?
During the Cold War, a programmer in the USSR created Tetris as a fun break for his coworkers. Learn how it became one of the best-selling video games of all time in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/tetris.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 4, 2025 · 4 min
BrainStuff Classics: Why Is Our Galaxy Warped?
Our galaxy isn't a flat disk -- it's warped like melted vinyl record. Learn how researchers discovered this and why they think it happened in this classic episode of BrainStuff. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 3, 2025 · 4 min
BrainStuff Classics: How Long Can Animals Hold Their Breath?
Humans tend to max out at a couple minutes of breath holding, but some air-breathing reptiles and even mammals have evolved to spend extreme lengths of time underwater. Learn how long (and how they manage it) in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/what-animal-can-hold-its-breath-longest.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 2, 2025 · 10 min
How Did the Dawes Act Steal 90 Million Acres of Land from Native Americans?
In the 1880s, an unlikely collaboration between land-hungry capitalists and social progressives ended in the sale of over 60 percent of Native American lands to non-Native people and corporations. Learn how it happened in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/dawes-act.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 22, 2025 · 6 min
How Do You Make Hummingbird Food Safely?
A hummingbird feeder can help out your local birds (and allow you some prime birdwatching), but it's important to keep one safely and responsibly. Learn how to make hummingbird food with sugar and water, and keep a feeder clean, in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/hummingbird-food-recipe.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 21, 2025 · 7 min
How Do Ghana's Fabulous 'Fantasy' Coffins Work?
In parts of Ghana and Togo, it's common to send the deceased off in style with coffins carved and brightly painted to resemble anything from chili peppers to taxi cabs to brand-name shoes. Learn about abebu adekai, also known as fantasy coffins, in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/funerals/ghana-fantasy-coffins.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 20, 2025 · 12 min
How Did Frances Perkins Create America's Social Safety Net?
FDR's Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, pushed to create Social Security and expand workers' rights -- and she was the first woman to serve in a U.S. president's cabinet. Learn about her life and work in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/frances-perkins.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 19, 2025 · 9 min
How Did POGs Become a '90s Phenomenon?
For a brief period in the 1990s, a simple game played with flashy paperboard discs ruled American playgrounds. Learn the history behind POGs in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/backyard-fun-games/pogs.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 11, 2025 · 7 min
BrainStuff Classics: Can the Fear of Public Speaking Be Conquered?
As many as 7 in every 10 Americans have a fear of public speaking. Learn how this type of social anxiety develops -- and what you can do to fight it -- in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/anxiety/conquering-fear-public-speaking.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 10, 2025 · 4 min
BrainStuff Classics: Why Are Sloths' Toilet Habits So Dangerous?
Sloths only defecate once a week or so, and more sloths die during the process than at any other time. Learn why in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/sloths-only-poop-once-week.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 9, 2025 · 8 min
How Did 'Uncle Tom' Go from Hero to Traitor?
In the 1850s, the abolitionist novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was America's first bestseller, and its enslaved character Uncle Tom was a heroic martyr. Learn how 'Uncle Tom' later became a biting insult in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/literature/uncle-toms-cabin.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 8, 2025 · 10 min
Could Orbital Chaos Make the Planets Collide?
Our solar system runs pretty smoothly, but even tiny changes to how the planets, moons, and asteroids move could potentially cause Earth to collide with Mars or Venus in the distant future. Learn more about how chaos theory applies to planetary orbits in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/earth-venus-mars-collide.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 6, 2025 · 11 min
How Did Woolly Mammoths Work?
These cold-adapted cousins of modern elephants coexisted with humans for thousands of years. Learn what we know (and don't know) about them -- and why we shouldn't bring them back -- in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/extinct-animals/woolly-mammoth.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 5, 2025 · 5 min
What Makes You Dizzy When You Stand Up?
If you've ever gotten dizzy and seen stars for a second after standing or moving quickly, don't worry, it's just your heart adjusting to the sudden change. Learn why it happens and how to prevent it in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/split-second-dizziness.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 20, 2025 · 6 min
BrainStuff Classics: Why a Gaggle of Geese? Where Do Collective Nouns Come From?
About 500 years ago, creating clever collective nouns for groups of animals, objects, and people was trendy, and some of those nouns of assemblage stuck. Learn the history of this quirk of the English language in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/shrewdness-apes-collective-nouns-500-year-old-language-fad.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 19, 2025 · 5 min
BrainStuff Classics: What's in Movie Theater Popcorn?
The satly, buttery popcorn sold in movie theaters is nigh irresistible, but there's zero butter involved. Learn what it's made of in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/what-heck-is-in-movie-theater-popcorn.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 18, 2025 · 7 min
Why Can't We Eat Grass?
Some animals like cows can live on grass, so why can't humans? And why do dogs and cats eat it even though they can't live on it either? Learn about digesting grass in this episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/why-do-dogs-and-cats-eat-grass.htm; https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/digestive/why-humans-dont-eat-grass.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 17, 2025 · 7 min
How Does the Sun Rotate?
Yes, the sun rotates, but it does so a little differently than rocky planets like Earth. Learn how (and why) in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/does-sun-rotate.htm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.