Ep. 8: This week I learned a massive solar storm nearly sparked a nuclear war, and more

FromThis Week I Learned

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Ep. 8: This week I learned a massive solar storm nearly sparked a nuclear war, and more

FromThis Week I Learned

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Length:

13 minutes

Released:

Aug 12, 2016

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

A close call during the Cold War | The terrifying world of insect zombies | The life-extending benefits of reading | The first American woman to win gold

Released:

Aug 12, 2016

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (80)

Your audio guide to the most fascinating and fun revelations, reports, and studies on the internet. Quick, concise, and infectiously entertaining, This Week I Learned promises to make learning fun again.

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Ep. 7: This week I learned why sleeping with the lights on is a terrible idea, and more: Artificial light at night | Cinnamon's brain-boosting powers | Humpback whales' altruism | The complicated history of doves at the Olympics by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Ep. 2: This week I learned why dogs are so freaked out by fireworks, and more: Fun and interesting facts from the web by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Welcome to This Week I Learned!: Introducing a new podcast from The Week! by This Week I Learned
2 min listen
Ep. 16: This week I learned dogs can tell time with their noses, and more: Dogs sense time through smell | The life-extending effects of humor | Easing regret through temperature | The pineapple's luxe history by This Week I Learned
10 min listen
Ep. 6: This week I learned you're charging your phone wrong, and more: Your phone battery is stressed | The most electrified place on Earth | The evolution of human speech | How a whale mourns by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Ep. 22: This week I learned Australia wiggles back and forth, pigs can be optimists, and more: Australia's seasonal dance | A pigpen, half full | George Washington's herculean immune system | A brief history of "baby shows" by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Ep. 14: This week I learned why turbulence isn’t as scary as it feels, and more: The science of turbulence | Pigeons can read! | The health benefits of fidgeting | Do big ears hear better? by This Week I Learned
10 min listen
Ep. 5: This week I learned why people in old movies talk weird, and more: Fun and interesting facts from around the web by This Week I Learned
7 min listen
Ep. 17: This week I learned your avocado is radioactive, and more: Everyday radiation | Embracing your middle name | The dark origins of the Nobel Prizes | The jiu jitsu-fighting suffragettes by This Week I Learned
10 min listen
Ep. 3: This week I learned that we think with our hands, and more: Fun and interesting facts from around the web by This Week I Learned
10 min listen
Ep. 13: This week I learned binge watching TV is good for your relationship, and more: Binge watching as couples therapy | You're imagining your nicotine addiction | Why paper cuts hurt so much | The sartorial defense against snakebites by This Week I Learned
8 min listen
Ep. 40: This week I learned the word pink used to mean yellow, and more: Pink’s murky origins | Our wide-eyed transition from water to land | The super blind mind | The ever mischievous Jane Austen by This Week I Learned
9 min listen
Ep. 15: This week I learned your dog may be smarter than your kid, and more: Dogs are practical learners | Good news for acne sufferers | The health boosts of a happy spouse | Pureed pumpkin is a lie by This Week I Learned
8 min listen
Ep. 4: This week I learned eating more fruits and veggies makes you happier immediately, and more: Fun and interesting facts from around the web by This Week I Learned
9 min listen
Ep. 8: This week I learned a massive solar storm nearly sparked a nuclear war, and more: A close call during the Cold War | The terrifying world of insect zombies | The life-extending benefits of reading | The first American woman to win gold by This Week I Learned
13 min listen
Ep. 9: This week I learned just thinking about exercising improves your fitness, and more: The power of motor imagery | Taxing Olympic medals | Your brain's feel-good response to rejection | The dark history of the American flag salute by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Ep. 1: This week I learned that parts of our body come back to life after we die, and more: Fun and interesting facts from around the web by This Week I Learned
63 min listen
Ep. 29: This week I learned how fake news can be good for your brain, and more: A benefit to fake news | Dinosaur eggs and doom | The perils of cotton swabs | Your filthy money by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Ep. 20: This week I learned elevator close-door buttons don’t do anything, and more: The uselessness of the elevator close-button | The most effective workout motivator | The confidence-boosting effects of disgust | Marijuana's influence on night vision by This Week I Learned
7 min listen
Ep. 12: This week I learned why you should celebrate airline baggage fees, and more: Your bag shouldn't fly free | The sixth taste | Your cat wants to work | The love songs of coral fish by This Week I Learned
9 min listen
Ep. 41: This week I learned that sleep walking is an evolutionary trait gone terribly wrong, and more: The ancient origins of sleep walking | The spinach heart | A woman's right to go by her own name | The two faces of the smiley emoji by This Week I Learned
13 min listen
Ep. 31: This week I learned the CIA once hired psychics for intelligence gathering, and more: Program Star Gate | Human-hunting vampire bats | Leonie, the asexual zebra shark mom | The dinosaurs' cold, dark death by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Ep. 23: This week I learned 'ahoy' was nearly the universal telephone greeting, and more: The origins of the telephone greeting | The hijacking effects of eye contact | The other Gettysburg Address | The only government agency with a catchy theme song by This Week I Learned
10 min listen
Ep. 11: This week I learned there’s a mathematically correct way to sort your socks, and more: Math helps with your laundry | The etymology of the slang word "lit" | The post office has a floating zip code | A low-carb diet will make you smell better by This Week I Learned
9 min listen
Ep. 10: This week I learned how screen addicts can get a good night's sleep, and more: Good news for screen addicts | Why humans are so hairless | The whistle of the Caribbean sea | John F. Kennedy's goat by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 24: This week I learned your brain doesn't know the difference between feeling high and feeling spiritual, and more: Your brain on God | The complex memory of dogs | Spider daddy issues | The rule of re-freezing food by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Ep. 33: This week I learned dogs dig reggae, and more: Music fit for a dog | A plant's smelly defense | Our terrifying ancestors | The mystery of synched pendulums by This Week I Learned
9 min listen
37: This week I learned the unexpected ways an asteroid could kill us all, and more: How an asteroid takes us down | The revolting necessity of vultures | That "grima" feeling | Sleepless in the Serengeti by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 27: This week I learned cavemen brushed their teeth, and more: The dental hygiene of cavemen | The bagpiper and the penguin | Your breath, your health | The brain-boosting benefits of the sauna by This Week I Learned
9 min listen
Ep. 21: This week I learned there's a bright side to the gripping fear of death, and more: A fear of death is good for you | Stop washing your office coffee mug | The science behind a lump in your throat | The envious work-life balance of medieval peasants by This Week I Learned
7 min listen

More Episodes from This Week I Learned

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Ep. 79: This week I learned that crows make up after fights, and more: Considerate crows | The Vatican's milky walls | When Iceland's women went on strike | Mountain-climbing madness by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 78: The week I learned your ice is teeming with bacteria, and more: Your gross ice | Play Super Mario with Grandma | The Eiffel Tower at night | Our forcefield atmosphere by This Week I Learned
35 min listen
Ep. 77: This week I learned dogs really are smarter than cats, and more: Dogs are nerds | The trick to learning new skills | The great Halifax explosion | Pumice stones for whales by This Week I Learned
15 min listen
Ep. 76: This week I learned that prehistoric women were ridiculously strong, and more: Prehistoric girl power | Turtles' butt-breathing power | How cuddling changes genetics | The negative power of perception by This Week I Learned
13 min listen
Ep. 75: This week I learned America really struggled to pin down a date for Thanksgiving, and more: America's Thanksgiving indecision | The long history of the wishbone | Your gluten-less gluten sensitivity | A primer on naming countries by This Week I Learned
17 min listen
Ep. 74: This week I learned the dinosaurs could still be alive today if the asteroid had hit pretty much anywhere else, and more: How the dinosaurs could have survived | The healing powers of daytime | The room in your house that bugs prefer | The incredible efficiency of the penguin waddle by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 73: This week I learned that dogs can smell happiness, and more: How you're hijacking your dog's emotions | Right-handed bees | Chopin's pickled heart | England's sin-eaters by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 72: This week I learned plants can smell predators coming, and more: Plants can smell | Bacteria can feel | It snows sunscreen on a planet far, far away | The purpose of those silly little T. Rex arms by This Week I Learned
13 min listen
Ep. 71: This week I learned that salmon sex literally moves mountains, and more: Earth-shattering salmon love | The secret genius of daydreaming | Our innate arachnophobia | Diagnosed with a broken heart by This Week I Learned
11 min listen
Ep. 70: This week I learned worms can smell danger, and more: The olfactory defenses of the roundworm | Stress is ruining your diet | A fish's lament | The murderer behind the OED by This Week I Learned
16 min listen
Ep. 69: This week I learned how female dolphins are weaponizing their vaginas to fight the underwater patriarchy, and more: How dolphins fight 'the man' | Beware the nocebo effect | The mystery of the Amber Room | Europe's radioactive pigs problem by This Week I Learned
28 min listen
Ep. 68: This week I learned spoilers can actually make a story better, and more: Embrace the spoiler | Your parents' gender bias | Why clowns creep us out | How stress impairs by This Week I Learned
15 min listen
Ep. 67: This week I learned a good mood can make the flu vaccine more effective, and more: Happiness, the flu, and you | Which personality are you, cat? | The dinosaur-devouring frog | The bizarre aero-cure of the 1920s by This Week I Learned
18 min listen
Ep. 66: This week I learned you should absolutely beat yourself up a little the next time you fail, and more: The emotional trick to dealing with failure | Lightning-inducing cargo ships | The evolution of the giraffe's long neck | The Alaskan town overrun by bald eagles by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 65: This week I learned the science behind out-of-body experiences, and more: The science of OBEs | The plastic inside us | All hail Viking warrior princesses! | Chocolate's dark medicinal history by This Week I Learned
15 min listen
Ep. 64: This week I learned your unfulfilled coffee craving is wreaking havoc with your memory, and more: The power of a coffee craving | Swordfish heat their eyeballs | Wild dogs' democratic sneezing fit | Haagen-Dazs’ New York origins by This Week I Learned
32 min listen
Ep. 63: This week I learned the beloved starfish is a surprisingly brutal killer, and more: The murderous starfish | The color of breakfast | Our drug-addicted fish | A musical medical miracle by This Week I Learned
14 min listen
Ep. 62: This week I learned our brains can predict the future, and more: Your clairvoyant brain | Live in the moment: take photos! | The quest for space bread | The venom that broke the mold by This Week I Learned
14 min listen
Ep. 61: This week I learned late-night snacking might make you more prone to sunburns, and more: Midnight snacking and sunburns | Why we hold babies on the left | Disney’s propaganda machine | The science of sound underwater by This Week I Learned
15 min listen
Ep. 60: This week I learned it might be possible to learn while you sleep, and more: Finally, sleep-learning! | Your impeccably organized taste system | Brilliant bees | When athletes used cocaine to train by This Week I Learned
32 min listen
Ep. 59: This week I learned the only way to use your phone at night without messing with your sleep, and more: Blue-blockers for smartphone addicts | Jimmy wants to lower Jimmy's stress | Who's the boss? Baby knows. | The great Mona Lisa heist of 1911 by This Week I Learned
17 min listen
Ep. 58: This week I learned why so many people order tomato juice on airplanes, and more: The science of bad airplane food | Why you're such a mosquito magnet | Ban soap! | The shy shark by This Week I Learned
9 min listen
Ep. 57: This week I learned what it would take to obliterate all life on Earth, and more: The surprising resilience of life | Jane Austen, home brewer | You're junk, DNA | The mind-cleansing effect of showering by This Week I Learned
15 min listen
Ep. 56: This week I learned praying mantises are killing your hummingbirds and eating their brains, and more: Praying mantises go for the brain | Frogs have ridiculously soft tongues | The 'poorly sleeping grandparent hypothesis' | Coral's magnificent protective glow by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 55: This week I learned even smelling your food can make you fat, and more: How smell affects your weight | The memory boost of forgetfulness | Frogs, evolutionary opportunists | The inspiring fiction of Betty Crocker by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 54: This week I learned just having your phone nearby is making you dumber, and more: The smartphone brain drain | The funky thing blinking does to your brain | The sisterhood of traveling vampire bats | How a California mailman gave us avocados by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 53: This week I learned that looking at puppies can save your marriage, and more: An excuse to look at puppies! | Heat-related airplane delays | The sea’s paragon of parenting | The most spectacular migration on Earth by This Week I Learned
12 min listen
Ep. 52: This week I learned that a low-carb diet may be changing your personality, and more: New diet, new you | Spain's time-zone woes | The mysteriously flexible pine trees | The dark origin of the word 'gypped' by This Week I Learned
13 min listen
Ep. 51: This week I learned the dark origin story of the seat belt, and more: Hugh DeHaven was obsessed with accidents | A raven's revenge | The better, simpler way to wash your hands by This Week I Learned
10 min listen
Ep. 50: This week I learned flight times are longer now than they were 50 years ago, and more: Airline regress | Rainmaking fungi | Semantic satiation | The spider web that gets stronger the more it kills by This Week I Learned
12 min listen

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Ep. 8: This week I learned a massive solar storm nearly sparked a nuclear war, and more

Ep. 8: This week I learned a massive solar storm nearly sparked a nuclear war, and more

Description

Titles in the series (80)

More Episodes from This Week I Learned