When it Comes to Singing, Birds Are a Lot Like Us

December 15, 2011
Birds are more like people than we may suspect, and their songs prove it. Studies have revealed common musical patterns that stretch across different human cultures. These common traits may come from constraints to the way people sing, and researchers... continued

Is This the Beginning of the End?

December 15, 2011
It's happened: Methane, previously trapped in the ocean floors, is out gassing into the atmosphere at an extraordinary rate. This will cause the flow of the Gulf Stream to weaken even further, essentially producing climate change that it's--even now--too late... continued

A Surprising Reason Why Some Movies Bomb

December 15, 2011
The movie box office isn't doing too well right now, so when you watch the new spate of Christmas films, check to see how many of the characters smoke. Smoking may make you feel sexy, but it doesn't sell tickets:... continued

How to Outmaneuver Those Long Checkout Lines

December 14, 2011
People are avoiding long lines at the cash register by shopping online this year. A recent survey shows that almost half of all US shoppers say they plan to buy gifts online this holiday season, up from about a third... continued

God Has Been Glimpsed

December 14, 2011
There's more confirmation from CERN (the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland) that the God particle--the Higgs boson--has been glimpsed (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show). The Higgs is a sub-atomic particle that is predicted to exist, but... continued

How We’re Polluting Mexico

December 14, 2011
We have a difficult relationship with Mexico and politicians in the Southwest are trying to get elected by using campaign rhetoric that stresses keeping out Mexican immigrants--especially those peddling drugs across the border. While they may be harming us, we... continued

Creative People Cheat the Most

December 13, 2011
Here's a secret not everybody knows: Creative people are more likely to cheat than less creative people, probably because they CAN. Their creativity increases their ability to rationalize their actions. Psychologist Francesca Gino says, "Greater creativity helps individuals solve difficult... continued

Do You Have to be Good Looking to Get Elected?

December 13, 2011
Some politicians have a hard time talking, while others just LOOK terrible, but we may not notice them because they don't get much TV coverage. Israelis are watching the upcoming US elections carefully, because a Middle East peace treaty may... continued

Is It a Natural Object, a Video Artifact or a UFO?

December 13, 2011
A passing coronal mass ejection from the sun caused an illumination response from an otherwise invisible object near Mercury that was captured both by NASA's Heliospheric Imager 1 satellite and by the SECCHI-A spacecraft. Initially, SECCHI staff explained it as... continued

Christmas Celebrations of the Third Kind

December 12, 2011
In 2010, Anne Strieber posted a diary in which she said that there are 3 kinds of Christmas and we can celebrate one of them, two of them, or all three (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show). She... continued