What Makes Disaster Films Great

Disaster films are surprisingly tough to define. What makes them different from an action movie or a monster movie? Who cares? They’re great! Escape with us as we cover the the ins and outs and the history of disaster films and recommend some good ones.

Short Stuff: Tick tock goes the Doomsday Clock

The Doomsday Clock is closer too midnight than it's ever been, which is not awesome. But what does this metaphorical clock even indicate?

Kim Philby: Greatest Liar of All Time?

British MI6 agent Kim Philby was a spy for the Soviet Union and one of the great liars in human history, right up until his retirement in Moscow where he lived out his days as a national hero.

Selects: Cake: So Great. So, So Great

Cake has been around for a long time, but mostly less than great forms. It took the Industrial Revolution, the advent of plentiful sugar, and some good old American know-how to come together to make the cake we know and love today. Find out all about it in this classic episode.

Behavioral Priming: Buy, Robot Human!

In the late 90s, a large chunk of the field of social psychology started dedicating itself to figuring out ways to subtly persuade and influence people’s everyday decisions without their awareness. If you’re into freedom of choice, this was a close call.

Short Stuff: Colorful Noises

We’ve all heard of white noise, that static sound the TV makes when poltergeists arrive. There are other colored noise too that mimic natural sounds like rainfall and ocean waves. What they do for us is just now being studied.

Editorial Cartoons: Art as Satire

Editorial, or political cartoons, have a rich history in the United States and abroad. And though the Golden Age may have passed, the use of images to create satire and sway public opinion is still alive and well. 

Selects: Agatha Christie: Queen of the Murder Mystery

Agatha Christie was a great writer of murder mystery novels and is probably the best selling author of all time. Listen in this classic episode to learn her story.

The Pinkerton Detective Agency

The Pinkertons became the most famous detective company in the U.S. But were they noble or notorious? We get to the bottom of it all in today's episode.

Short Stuff: Tulipmania

The world experienced its first economic bubble when the Dutch went bonkers for tulips in the 1630s.