BrainStuff

The Batagaika crater (or, technically, megaslump) is a massive pit caused by thawing permafrost -- and it's only getting bigger. Learn what paleontologists have found there (and why geoscientists are worried about it) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/batagaika-crater.htm;...

Investigating murders right here on planet Earth can be tricky -- how would it be handled in space? Who would even be in charge? Learn what current and future laws may apply in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/murdered-in-space.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your sense of taste isn't just a chemical catalog of what's in a food or drink -- it's a complex physiological and psychological process. Learn what we know (and don't know!) about taste in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/taste.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weasels have a bad reputation among bird farmers and have been cast as literal villains in books and cartoons, but they can actually help control vermin populations -- and ferrets can make great pets. Learn more about various types of weasels (including why they dance) in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/weasels.htm;...

In the midst of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte rode his hubris straight into an emperorship, but he was fated to fail. Learn how he came to power twice, why Waterloo was his downfall, and why he actually wasn't that short in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/napoleon.htm;...

Alchemists may have never turned lead into gold, but they did create the field of chemistry. Learn how the study of alchemy worked in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/alchemy-to-chemistry.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sundown towns are places in the United States where, after the Civil War and Reconstruction, white communities kept Black Americans and other groups out for decades, on purpose. Learn how they came to be -- and how some sundown towns are in recovery -- in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/sundown-towns.htm. Check out Dr. James...

Science isn't entirely sure why humans and other animals yawn, let alone why yawning can be contagious -- but we've got some good hypotheses. Learn about them, from cooling the brain to spreading alertness, in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/question572.htm;...

Rip currents are dangerous flows of water that can drag you away from the shore and out into the deep. Learn how they form, what to watch for, and how to escape one by swimming sideways or riding it out in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/rip-current.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remote islands are excellent laboratories for observing evolution at work -- and in the case of a flightless bird called the Aldabra rail, we can observe how its evolution happened twice. Learn about iterative evolution in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/evolution/iterative-evolution.htmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...