Condensed Soup

A recent cheese recall has upgraded to the highest level -- check your fridges!  Recall of cheese products upgraded to highest danger level over Listeria-causing bacteria: FDA (Landon Mion, FOXBusiness, Jan 11, 2026) Cheese recall classified as potentially deadly. See affected products (Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, Jan 13, 2026) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This...

What does a conductor do? Not trains -- orchestras. They're important, even if it seems like a mystery. Who Leads an Orchestra (Colorado Symphony, May 19, 2023) What Does a Conductor Actually Do? (Redlands Symphony, accessed Jan 12, 2026) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded in a cruise ship cabin.

In heavy times, I often turn to Barber's "Adagio for Strings." Come share some space with me.  Adagio For Strings, Op. 11 (Leonard Bernstein YouTube, accessed Jan 11, 2026) Adagio for Strings (Wikipedia, accessed Jan 11, 2026) The Story Behind: Barber's "Adagio for Strings" (Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School, Apr 28, 2022) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *...

Everyone has to go, so are we doing it responsibly? Eco-friendly toilet paper may be the answer, but they're not all created equal.  Eco-friendly toilet papers are trendy, but their actual environmental impacts vary (Isabella O'Malley, ABC News / AP, Jan 8, 2025) https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/eco-friendly-toilet-papers-trendy-actual-environmental-impacts-129017394 Instagram: @condensed...

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas just wrapped up, and some cool things are on the horizon. Also, scary things.  CES 2026 (Rio Yamat and Shawn Chen, AP, Jan 9, 2026) CES 2026 live updates: See the latest news, surprises, and strange tech from LG, Samsung, and new startups (Shannon Connellan, Amanda Yeo, Crystal Bell, Eric Miller, and Timothy Beck Werth, Mashable, Jan 9, 2026) Instagram: @...

Did you know that sheep are smart, have complex emotions, and like to crash discount supermarkets?  On the lamb: 50 sheep break away from flock and storm German supermarket (Deborah Cole, The Guardian, Jan 8, 2026) 10 fun facts about sheep (BCSPCA, accessed Jan 9, 2026) 15 fascinating sheep facts — learn more about sheep intelligence and emotions (World Animal Protection, Jun 6, 2025) Instagram: @...

The Palm Beach Cardinals, a single-A affiliate baseball team, is temporarily going by the Palm Beach Frozen Iguanas in tribute to the summer-loving reptiles. Plus, other minor league stage names... The Palm Beach Frozen Iguanas is the Sports Team South Florida Needed (B. Scott McLendon, Miami New Times, Jan 7, 2026) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorde...

Welcome back, friends! After a hiatus over the 12 days of Christmas, I'm back. A brief catch up, and a chat about the public domain.  Heather Cox Richardson Substack (accessed Jan 6, 2026) Betty Boop and 'Blondie' enter the public domain in 2026, accompanied by a trio of detectives (Andrew Dalton, AP, Dec 31, 2025) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded...

Surprise -- I'm going on hiatus for the 12 days of Christmas! Condensed Soup will be back on January 7th with a brand new episode, refreshed and renewed. I leave you with some hopeful thoughts for 2026, and a reading of one of my favorite poems, "The Work of Christmas" by Howard Thurman. Until January 7!  Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded in a crui...

Think you've hacked sleep? Wait until you hear about the way animals do it. And... Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! The secret world of animal sleep (Christina Larson, Nicky Forster, Hyojin Too, Peter Hamlin, and Caleb Diehl (AP, Dec 19, 2025) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded in a cruise ship cabin.

An Australian woman takes the lead at the Antarctic Ice Marathon. Plus, a bonus holiday track for all of you -- a version of "Cantique de Noel" ("O Holy Night") recorded by my friend Alex and me. Enjoy!  Australian woman beats all the men at Antarctic Ice Marathon (Cameron Ormond, Canadian Running, Dec 15, 2025) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded in...

Understudies are the backbone of live theater. Learn how the magic happens! From Broadway understudy to star: John Skelley's magical journey with Harry Potter comes full circle (Mark Kennedy, AP, Dec 22. 2025) Shirley MacLaine, Elaine Stritch and More! The Stars You Never Knew Started Out as Understudies (Playbill, Jun 21, 2015) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episod...

Someone gets caught stealing (a lot of) silver. Plus, my American health insurance rates. Élysée Palace silver steward arrested for stealing thousands of euros' worth of silverware (AP, Dec 21, 2025) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded in a cruise ship cabin.  

"`Twas the night before Christmas" ... the poem has been a holiday staple since the early 20th century. Tuck in for this cozy memory, including a reading of the famous text.  'Twas the Night Before Christmas: The Story and Trivia Behind the Beloved Classic Holiday Tale (Jessica Sager, Parade, Dec 5, 2025) "Night Before Christmas" Series Reveals Evolution of St. Nick (Carnegie Mellon News, accessed...

Looking for ways to avoid adding wrapping paper to the landfill? Here are some ideas.  Your gift wrapping paper is trash — literally. Try these 7 sustainable ideas instead (Karen Yan and Filter US staff, The Guardian, Dec 19, 2025) Sustainable Gift Wrapping (Sarah Tribelhorn, San Diego State University, Dec 15, 2023) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was record...

Archealogical dogs are helping to solve historical mysteries in new ways. As if we couldn't love dogs enough. Detection dogs help archaeologists locate graves, guide noninvasive surveys (Paul Neely, American Archeology Magazine, Dec 11, 2025) Meet Migaloo, World's First "Archaeology Dog" (Amanda Feign, National Geographic, Dec 11, 2012) Archaeodogs - Digging Into Archaeology (Dig It Scotland, acce...

In the world of professional dart players, there's a hard and fast rule: you gotta pick a nickname.  LIVE UPDATES: WA power outages, flooding, blizzard warning, road closures (Tyler Slauson, Will Wixey, Charmin Flojo, Jim Jensen and FOX 13 Seattle Digital Team, Dec 17, 2025) 'Cool Hand' to 'Panda Man': the power or pitfalls of a darting nickname (Jonathan Liew, The Guardian, Dec 17, 2025) World Da...

The modern Christmas meal looks very different from ages past. Peacock, anyone?  7 Christmas Foods of Yesteryear (Kirstin Fawcett, Mental Floss, Dec 3, 2025) Traditional Christmas Foods (Miri Rotkovitz, The Spruce Eats, Aug 28, 2020) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded in a cruise ship cabin.

`Tis the season for holiday parties -- and with it comes the ubiquitous white elephant gift exchange! Are you ready?  White elephant (Wikipedia, accessed Dec 15, 2025) Why is it called a 'White Elephant' Gift? (Joseph Bennington-Castro, History (dot) com, accessed Dec 15, 2025) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded in a cruise ship cabin.

The legendary Dick Van Dyke turned 100 this weekend. His try-and-try-again career is an inspiration! Affable comedy acting legend Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old (AP, Dec 13, 2025) Dick Van Dyke biography and career timeline (PBS, Dec 2, 2025) Dick Van Dyke Fast Facts (CNN, Dec 12, 2025) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast condensedsoup@proton.me *This episode was recorded in a cruise ship cabin.

Sometimes it takes a fresh perspective to solve a problem. A bald volleyball coach stepped into help his players' hair problems.  How a bald coach solved volleyball's ponytail predicament (Alyssa Haddock, ESPN, Dec 1, 2025) The inventor of the scrunchie dies, leaving behind a fabulous fashion legacy (Kai McNamee, NPR, Sep 17, 2022) More atmospheric rivers coming for flooded Washington and the West...

One old, one new: the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and Steinmetz Hall in Orlando take two very different approaches to allowing music to soar.  'The space is like an instrument': How Notre-Dame found its voice after fire muffled it (Richard Gray, BBC, Mar 6, 2025) Orlando's Steinmetz Hall: One of the Most Acoustically Perfect Spaces (Iulia Popescu, AVIXA, Jul 12, 2022 Steinmetz Hall: Damian Do...

Quicksand isn't quite what they show in the movies, but it is real! A hiker in Arches National Park was just rescued. Are you quicksand survival skills up to par?  Hiker mired in quicksand in Utah's Arches National Park is rescued unharmed (Mead Gruver, AP, Dec 11, 2025) How to Get Out of Quicksand (It's Not LIke the Movies!) (Scott Fitterman and Dan Hickey, Wikihow, Feb 17, 2025) Instagram: @cond...

One of the year's most active meteor showers peaks this weekend! Pack your thermos! How to watch one of the year's best meteor shower, the Geminids (Adithi Ramakrishnan, AP, Dec 9, 2025) I Didn't Know That!: Shooting Stars (National Park Service, accessed Dec 10, 2025) Shooting Star Meaning, Spirituality and Superstitions (Bambi Turner & Sascha Bot (HowStuffWorks, Aug 22, 2023) What are shooting s...

Australia just enacted a law limiting social media access to children under 16. Is this the start (or end) of something?  Millions of Australian children just lost access to social media. What's happening and will it work? (Hilary Whiteman, CNN, Dec 9, 2025) Social media use damages children's ability to focus, say researchers (Dan Milmo, The Guardian, Dec 8, 2025) Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast...