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BrainStuff

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Latest episodes

  • Can Your Hair Really Turn White Overnight?

    October 21, 2026 · 14 min

    Tales of some great shock or fright suddenly turning a person's hair white go back thousands of years. Learn what researchers think is really going on -- and how our hair normally goes grey and white -- in today's episode of BrainStuff…

  • Why Are Brown Recluse Spiders Not All That Scary?

    October 19, 2026 · 11 min

    Brown recluse spiders rarely bite humans, and when they do, it only causes a reaction in about 10 percent of cases. Learn how to identify brown recluses and what their bites do in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article…

  • BrainStuff Classics: When Has a Single Vote Decided an Election?

    October 17, 2026 · 8 min

    Voting is an incredibly important way to make your voice heard, but it's very rare for a candidate to win or lose by just one vote. Learn how rare -- and about a few times that it's happened -- in today's classic episode of BrainStuff…

  • How Do You Grow a 3,000-Pound Pumpkin?

    October 16, 2026 · 12 min

    The largest pumpkins in the world now weigh well over a ton, and the record gets broken just about every year. But how (and why) would you go about growing one? Learn how competitive gourd growing works in today's episode of BrainStuff…

  • How Do Your Nerves Tell Your Muscles to Function?

    October 14, 2026 · 14 min

    Every movement our bodies make -- from waving at a friend to pumping blood -- is goverened by complex electrochemical handshakes among our nerves and our muscles. Learn how voluntary, involuntary, and reflexive movements work in today's…

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  • Why Did the Massive Maginot Line Fail to Stop Hitler?

    October 12, 2026 · 12 min

    After years of trench warfare in WWI, France built a line of massive underground bunkers and other defensive fortifications along hundreds of miles of its border. Learn how the Maginot Line worked -- and why it failed to stop the Nazi…

  • BrainStuff Classics: Why Are Some Americans Cancelling Columbus Day?

    October 10, 2026 · 7 min

    Some U.S. cities and states have officially changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day. Learn why -- and why some Americans disagree with the change -- in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: h…

  • American Versus British English: What Are Biscuits, Muffins, and Pudding?

    October 9, 2026 · 10 min

    The English-language terms for different baked goods vary based on where English is being spoken. Learn why an American cookie is a British biscuit, an American biscuit is a British scone, our muffins have nothing to do with each other…

  • How Do Sunspots Work?

    October 7, 2026 · 14 min

    When dark spots appear on the surface of the Sun, we're actually seeing the result of massive distortions in solar magnetic fields caused by roiling plasma -- and they appear in regular(ish) 11-year cycles. Learn what we know (and don't…

  • Did the Lost Continent of Lemuria Really Exist?

    October 5, 2026 · 11 min

    A sunken continent called Lemuria was first proposed as a scientific explanation for lemur populations in the mid-1800s, but it quickly became part of the mythology of Theosophist mystics and Tamil cultural activists alike. Learn the truth…

  • BrainStuff Classics: How Did a Mad King Design Disney's Castle?

    October 3, 2026 · 8 min

    Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty's castle -- the centerpiece of Disneyland and the Disney logo -- on a real castle in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Learn about Neuschwanstein Castle's strange and tragic history in this classic episode of…

  • Could the Bird Flu Cause a Human Pandemic?

    October 2, 2026 · 15 min

    Since the early 2000s, the H5N1 bird flu has sickened wild and domestic birds around the world -- and sometimes humans and other mammals, too. Learn how this strain of avian influenza works (and why it seems unlikey to cause a pandemic…

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About the show

Whether the topic is popcorn or particle physics, you can count on BrainStuff to explore -- and explain -- the everyday science in the world around us.