Explain This

How come salamanders can regenerate limbs while we can't? Can we use stem cells to regrow organs for transplanting? What is an iPSC and why is it a total gamechanger? When is a human being considered first "alive"? All of this and more in this hot, fresh episode exploring the fascinating world of stem cells and their potential applications! Listen to the end of the episode for a spec...

How does a computer use a bunch of 0s and 1s to show you cat memes? What do 19th-century weaving looms have to do with the "bugs" in modern software? And how do I know what specs to look for if I want a smooth-running computer or phone? This week, we're opening up the magic box on your desk to explain how computers actually work. Transistor diagram (source: ExplainThatStuff) Email: e...

Why shouldn't you eat brains? How are cannibalism and mad cow disease linked? Can Jin say "transmissible spongiform encephalopathy" three times as fast? Let's learn about one of the most terrifying, unstoppable infectious diseases we know about: prions. Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthiscast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/explainthi...

Do you really know all of your Facebook friends? How many people can you know personally? Why does city life feel so isolating?  Join Jin as he unpicks Dunbar's Number, the "Monkeysphere," and its fascinating implications for our social lives! Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthiscast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/explainthiscast.bsky.soc...

Why are some babies born through surgery instead of by natural delivery? Is a Caesarean section better for the mum and baby? What is the dark history behind the C-section? Let's explore the miraculous and icky world of how we come into the world! Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthiscast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/explainthiscast.bsky.social Ins...

How does our economy work? What does it mean to seize the means of production? How is late stage capitalism ruining my life? And why did so many people lose their jobs in 2008? Jin takes you down the windy rabbit hole of the most prevalent economic system in the world, the history behind how it came about, and whether it's good or evil (or both). CAPITALISM · Céline Tshika Ken Liu - The Perfec...

Did you know.... that many of your fun facts are just plain wrong? Come join us for a spirited session of "well, actually"s and learn about factoids: facts that aren't, in fact, facts! Thorn Kurzgesagt - We Fell For The Oldest Lie On The Internet Jin's blog - Jineral Knowledge Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthiscast Bluesky: https://bsk...

How do you know which Chinese Zodiac animal's year is when? Why is there no Year of the Cat or Year of the Capybara? What's the sexagenary cycle? Let's learn about the Asian counterpart to the Western Zodiac, how it's related to the calendar, and the cute origin story of why the zodiac animals are in the order that they are! Photo of the twelve animals in anthropomorphised statue f...

Why does cancer happen? How come chemotherapy kills cancer but not us? What does my doctor mean when he says I have a "lesion"? We learn all about the emperor of maladies in today's episode, what makes it terrifying, and some of the exciting new ways science has figured out how to fight against it. (Apologies for the shoddy audio quality - I've rearranged my office and my setup i...

What's the best anti-aging cream available? Which is better - physical or chemical sunscreen? Can you get sunburnt through a glass window? What does SPF even mean? Get ready for the coming summer by Slip Slop Slapping some knowledge about how sunscreen works and why you should use it! Electromagnetic radiation spectrum Diagram of UV absorption in sunscreen molecules More detailed explanation o...

What is electricity made up of? How do power plants use magnets to generate electricity? What is the largest machine in the world? How can you make a mountain into a battery? Join us for our first one-hour-plus episode as we cover a lot of ground in helping you understand the complex and deep world of electrical physics! Basic circuit Current, voltage, resistance as garden hose courtesy of Freeing...

What does it mean to be functionally literate? How does reading help protect you from being manipulated and controlled? Why are books burned and banned in dystopias? Let's delve deep into understanding the sinister social threat of rising illiteracy rates, and why you should give a hoot about reading and writing! Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explainthisca...

What is the REAL story behind penicillin? How do antibiotics treat infections? Should we be worried about superbugs taking over the world? Jin geeks out on one of his favourite medical topics and teaches you about our table-turning super weapons against humanity's bane - bacteria. Relevant XKCD comic Alexander Fleming's original petri dishes showing the effect of penicillin Anatomy of bact...

How do you fly in the sky? What do swoll pecs have to do with flying? Is it true that physics says that bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly? We're back from our hiatus with an exciting episode on how planes, birds and bees take to the sky and soar freely! Airfoil, camber, angle of attack and how Newton's Third Law of Motion creates lift Bernoulli's principle visualised with a wine...

How can you use the Sun, the stars, and time to measure your location on Earth? Why were clocks instrumental in conquering the seas? How can you use shadows and wells to prove that the Earth is round? Today, we learn all about the science of location, location, location! And the fascinating history of how sailors navigated the high seas before satellites and Google Maps. Latitude and longitude vis...

How do infections kill us? What happens when my immune system overreacts? Why is horseshoe crab blood important in medicine? All these questions and more are answered in today's episode, covering the often misunderstoon topic of sepsis. Step inside my world of emergency medicine, and how we fight against infectious diseases! Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/e...

How can you split a supposedly indivisible atom to release a lot of energy? Why was this discovery so controversial in the context of history? What does Einstein have to do with nukes? Are nuclear reactors good or evil? We dive into the nature of the fundamental particles that make up everything in the world, and how we came to harness the awesome yet terrible power that is nuclear energy! Anatomy...

What can star signs tell me about my personality and love life? (spoiler: nothing.) How did the Zodiac come about? Who is the mysterious, hidden thirteenth Zodiac sign? Let's kick off 2024 not with pseudoscience, but some real astronomical science and fascinating Greek mythololgy stories! Image of what the Zodiac band looks like, and each constellation Rod of Asclepius vs Caduceus Example of T...

Why do smokers  live 10-18 years fewer on average than non-smokers? What is in cigarette tar and why is it deadly? How can smoking cause impotence? Should I vape? In today's episode, we do a deep dive and tackle the world's greatest cause of preventable death in human society: smoking tobacco! Graph showing relationship between smoking and lung cancer prevalence Diagram of lung anatomy Pho...

How can you squeeze in infinite people into an already full hotel? Are some infinities bigger than others? What's the relationship between infinity and zero? Come explore the boundless, magical world of infinity with the help of some fantastical thought experiments! Zig zag method to convert a grid into a line Cantor's diagonal argument visualised Möebius Strip II, 1964 - M.C. Escher Ourob...

How do doctors put you to sleep for surgery? How do medicines and poison work on our body? What are the anaesthetic medications doing to your brain to keep your unconscious and paralysed? What do you mean we don't know??? Today we continue on from our special 50th episode by talking about ANOTHER topic that you'd be surprised to know that we don't know fully about - the mechanism of ge...

Why do we sleep? How do bicycles stay upright? Why does gravity exist? Wait...what do you mean you don't know??? For our 50th episode, we have a special topic - concepts that we don't fully understand yet! And why it's okay to say "I don't know". Thank you for being a patron of Explain This for so long! We're looking forward to continuing to explain complex concepts i...

Why do people sometimes say things that they don't mean? What is the difference between irony and a coincidence? What is wrong with Alanis Morissette's hit song "Ironic"? Let's take a deep dive into irony - one of the most misunderstood concepts in English! Rene Magritte - The Treachery of Images Alanis Morissette - Ironic Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://ww...

How does Youflixbook know to recommend the perfect content for me, so I can continue doomscrolling and binging? What makes ChatGPT such a powerful, scary new piece of tech? Will AI kill us all? We're back with a fresh new topic! Come learn all about algorithms, neural networks and large language models, so you can stay informed in all the interesting party and water cooler discussions! ChatGPT...

How did Romans use calendars for political purposes? When do we have leap years? Where do the names of the months come from? Let's learn about the weirdly fascinating history of the Gregorian calendar, and what can go wrong when calendars aren't made accurately! Knuckle method for figuring out if a month has 30 or 31 days Email: explainthiscast@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/...