Don't Know, Do Care

In this episode, we dive into the mysterious, manipulative, and occasionally unhinged world of the New York Times Bestseller List, that shiny sticker every book seems to have, even the ones that read like rejected BuzzFeed headlines. What starts as casual airport doomscrolling quickly unravels into a full-blown investigation: Who actually decides this list? Why is the methodology secret? And is it...

In this episode, we dive into the wild, worldwide PR machine known as Hasbara, Israel's official strategy to shape global opinion, rewrite narratives, and "explain" things that probably shouldn't have to be explained. What starts off as a lesson in public diplomacy quickly turns into a crash course in how coordinated messaging, mass disinformation, and a whole lot of lobby money can bend reality i...

This week, we get swept up in the quirky insights and lowkey chaos of how cyclones and hurricanes get their names. From Cyclone Bob to Mocha and Yaas, we explore why the World Meteorological Organization sounds less like a scientific authority and more like your group chat trying to name a cat. In the very true sense of comedy commentary, we dig into the absurd history of how storms went from bein...

In this episode, we descend into the unfiltered chaos of the Heartland Institute, a self-described think tank that's spent the last 40 years defending Big Tobacco, denying climate change, and comparing climate scientists to the Unabomber. Yes. That actually happened. We trace how this shady libertarian PR machine evolved from lobbying against secondhand smoke regulations to becoming one of the lou...

This episode starts with a wolf, a womb, and an empire, and somehow ends up in a lab in Texas trying to bring back the Ice Age. We're talking about Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome who were supposedly raised by a she-wolf. But also, we're talking about Romulus and Remus, the names of two genetically engineered not-quite-dogs recently created by a biotech company claiming to resurr...

In this episode, we (unfortunately) find ourselves talking about NoFap, the online movement that claims giving up masturbation will give you laser focus, superhuman testosterone levels, and somehow make you irresistible to women through sheer… restraint? We explore how a random Reddit post snowballed into a full-fledged website, brand, and cult-like following with terms like "fapstronaut" and "fem...

Meet Big Lonely Doug, a 70-meter-tall tree left standing in the middle of a giant Canadian clear-cut. Why? Because one logger randomly decided Doug deserved to live. And now Doug's just… there. Lonely. Iconic. A little awkward. Kind of like us. In this episode, we spiral into a surprisingly emotional rabbit hole about famous lonely trees; from Doug's solo forest vigil to India's own Great Banyan T...

What do levitating frogs, poop timers, dead spiders turned into robot claws, and pizza-based healthcare in Italy have in common? They've all won an Ig Nobel Prize; the award for research that first makes you laugh, then makes you seriously question your life choices. In this episode, we dive into science's weirdest awards ceremony, where Nobel laureates hand out trophies for studies on duckling ae...

Facebook is evil. That's not new. What is new is a "tell-all" book from a former public policy director… who apparently did nothing wrong and knew nothing shady while working there. In this episode, we dissect "Careless People", a memoir that claims to be brave but forgets to hold the mirror up. From a genocide in Myanmar to creepy China deals to logging in mid-childbirth, we go through the rage,...

Ever stopped to wonder why we say "OK" 30 times a day? Or where it came from? In this episode, we dig deep into the surprisingly unhinged history of the most boringly useful word in the English language. We uncover petty newspaper rivalries, prank spellings of "all correct," and one very meh presidential campaign that accidentally made "OK" go viral. From telegraph commands and military myths to G...

You've seen it in Mario, fairy tales, and weird Christmas merch - the iconic red mushroom with white spots. But did you know it's a real thing? And also a psychedelic? And possibly a religious relic? Oh, and people used to drink shaman pee to get high off it? Yeah. In this episode, we deep-dive into the strange world of Amanita muscaria (aka fly agaric), the real mushroom that inspired Mario's pow...

Ever wondered why Americans still use inches, feet, and Fahrenheit while the rest of the world moved on to the metric system decades ago? Spoiler: pirates are involved. So is Ronald Reagan. And also… vibes? In this episode, we unravel the chaotic history of how the U.S. got stuck with the imperial system. From French nerds inventing the meter during a revolution to a platinum prototype that got li...

Mayong, Assam: A beautiful village with rhinos, riverbanks… and apparently, shape-shifting sorcerers who turn bullets into fish. That is, if you believe the truly unhinged travel blogs and SEO clickbait out there. In this episode, we unspool the myth of "India's land of black magic" and how a small village got buried under internet nonsense, why mainstream media couldn't be bothered to fact-check,...

Whey, dal, sattu, tofu, (insert anything else you want here) - in this episode, we try to figure out if we're doing protein the whey we should. Spoiler: we're probably not. We talk desi diet myths, gym bro science, and the rising panic of hitting protein goals in your 30s without turning into a spreadsheet. Is sattu legit? Is pea protein just vibes? Why does everyone suddenly care about macros? If...

Why does "+" mean add? What even is "@"? And why did school kids accidentally name the ampersand? In this episode, we deep-dive into the bizarre origin stories of the everyday symbols we type, tap, and totally take for granted, from ancient math hacks and monk scribbles to the merchant roots of the @ sign and the absolute chaos behind the humble equal sign. Also featuring: toddler mispronunciation...

What if India had its own Area 51? What if it was in Ladakh? And what if over 100 soldiers reported UFOs but no one blinked? In this episode, we dive headfirst into the Kongka La Pass conspiracy: from CIA reports and humanoid sightings to Google Earth wipes and suspicious yellow spheres in the sky. There's military drama, alien tourism, and a very real quote about "clapping alien cheeks." You're w...

This week, we fly headfirst into Superman's lesser-known stories; from memory-erasing kisses to Communist Kal-El, from the time he roasted the KKK on radio to the shocking fact that he wasn't even supposed to fly (say what?)! Also in this episode: Indian Superman (yes, it exists), why Kryptonite was invented for smoke breaks, and a very heated debate on whether Clark Kent is the disguise or the re...

It's our first-ever bonus quiz episode! We battle it out, tenable style, over very serious topics like "languages we should probably know," "Olympic sports with balls," and "Shakespeare plays we definitely forgot." There's fake confidence, real confusion, and a bottle of wine (or beer) on the line. One of us wins. One of us buys. This is Don't Know, Do Guess; our new monthly quiz series where know...

Why are MBTI types on LinkedIn bios and why are people proud of them? Why do consultants love putting everything into a 2x2? And what exactly do we do with a SWOT analysis once it's made? In this episode, we tear into some of the most overhyped, oversimplified, and overused business theories; from the Myers-Briggs cult to Maslow's misunderstood pyramid, the 10,000-hour myth, and the classic consul...

In this episode, we share the weirdest info we could find; the kind that make you go "Wait, what?" and then proceed to ruin your entire day. But given that it's Monday, are we really ruining it any more than it already is? Be honest with yourself.  From the original use of chainsaws (brace yourself) to poop particles on your toothbrush, zombie fungi, cows with regional accents (yes, we tried some)...

Don't know why every YouTube thumbnail looks like it's screaming at you? Same. In this episode, we dive face-first into the chaotic world of clickbait thumbnails, limbic system hijacking, and the ancient part of your brain that's somehow obsessed with faces that look like they just lost everything in 24 hours. We talk about why your brain can't resist dramatic thumbnails, how your amygdala is basi...

Don't know about carbon lock-in? Neither did we. That is until we realized we might be stuck in the world's biggest escape room powered by coal, oil, and fossil fuel regret. In this episode, we try to make sense of carbon lock-in, the not-so-fun reality where green energy and clean energy solutions aren't the magical exits we hoped for. We ask why fossil fuels still have a grip on our systems, whe...