Why is math both so easy and so hard for our brains, and how can the psychology of horses, babies, and mathematicians help answer that? And what wild journey did Sudoku take to become the popular puzzle that Ella adores? Things we Talk About: The Video of a Child Learning to Count The Melencolia Painting Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:59) The Psychology of Math (01:00:35) Sudoku (01:44:59) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: the Wonderful stude...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 51 min
Why is the common fruit fly the perfect model organism, and the reason for 6 Nobel Prizes?? And what is the british fascination around the meal deal, lunchtime, and the sandwich? Images we Talk About: Map of the Fruit Fly Brain Rat My Meal Deal The Sandwich Factory Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:57) Drosophila Melanogaster (00:49:46) The British Meal Deal (01:37:48) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Ella’s former favorite fun fact, are 6 nobe...
Feb 13, 2025•1 hr 43 min
What can we learn from the most modern - but overlooked form of pollution? And can mistakes in art be something actually... good? Images we Talk About: Navajo Rug Ch'ihónít’i Ramses II Statue Ecce Homo The Original Ecce Homo 3 Versions of Ecce Homo Lincoln Memorial Mistake Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:25) Light Pollution (00:48:06) Mistaeks (01:37:02) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Auctioning topics, the origins of pollution, pollution i...
Jan 30, 2025•1 hr 44 min
As we plan out the new year, please enjoy a recast of one of my (Tom's) favorite guest appearances on Spellbound and Gagged, hosted by the wonderful friend of the show Ellen Weatherford!
Jan 16, 2025•1 hr 16 min
It's the start of the new year which means a bunch of new questions submitted by YOU! What are our favorite words from the podcast? What's it like to scrap a topic? Would we still love each other if we were worms? Things we Talk About: Contrapoints' Twilight Video Jenny Nicholson's Star Wars Hotel Video Shaun's Channel China's Artifical Sun XOXO 2024 Videos Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:07:42) Part 1 (01:13:53) Part 2 (01:54:30) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We...
Jan 02, 2025•1 hr 59 min
It's the HaLearn Days!! We've gathered a whole bunch of fun facts from each other and from friends of the show to share the gift of laughter and learning! Images we Talk About: The Rat Car Rat Car Video Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:07:57) Part 1 (00:59:11) Part 2 (01:37:06) Outro We also learn about: The Christmas Brussel Sprout Tradition, put christ back in halearn days, Where the Dog Ran, eclipses are more of a “huh?” moment, you migh...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 44 min
Where are we in the universe? And what can we learn from all the hilariously wrong guesses and bad maps that got us there? And just how much carrot propaganda was there? Well, we'll see a lot of posters and a few myths to debunk! Images we Talk About: Dunn's Earth & Moon Maps Herschel's Milky Way Map Wright's Island Universes Drawing The Image of M31 from 1919 First Full Image of Earth The World Carrot Museum Carrot Poster 1 Carrot Poster 2 Disney Carrot Characters Dr Carrot Timestamps: (00:00:0...
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 29 min
It's everyone's favorite holiday: the day we ask you to submit your Q&A questions!! Go to www.LetsLearnEverything.com/questions and submit your questions about truly anything at all from the science to the serious to the silly!
Nov 28, 2024•4 min
Why do leaves change color? No... like really? Like, show-me-the-scientific-literature-really? After all how mysterious could the answer be? And holy frick we're finally doing a topic on swearing!! What are the eras of swearing, and what is swearing actually good for? Listen to our episode of Escape this Podcast: Oceananigans pt. 3 - The Bering-toss Strait Images we Talk About: Carotenemia Hands Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:34) Autumn Leaves (00:53:04) Swearing (01:42:57) Outro Support us...
Nov 21, 2024•1 hr 49 min
Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch of Lingthusiasm joins us to casually answer all of our pressing linguistics questions with the most mind blowing facts. Why does science use so much dang latin, and what is so unique about internet linguistics? Images we Talk About: Gretchen's Favorite Frogs Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:10:58) Latin in Science (00:54:49) Misc & Internet Linguistics (01:22:46) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Words that cha...
Nov 07, 2024•1 hr 26 min
Cryptids may be spooky, but what about the spooky animals that turned out to be... real?? And what makes a good spooky story? Could it be something secretly... heartwarming?? Timestamps: (00:07:15) Intro (00:04:21) Former Cryptids (00:54:25) The Art of Spooky Stories (01:52:33) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Caroline have you never met a vampire? that was from episode number Four Three, what’s spookier than having to be known, Ella met Tom the ...
Oct 24, 2024•1 hr 57 min
For our birthday this year, we've each gifted a topic for one another! For Caroline, an environmental hot take: can invasive species ever be... good? For Tom, an entire topic about one of his favorite hobbies: rock climbing! And for Ella, interviews from the Ig Nobel Laureates this year. Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:09:04) Good Invasive Species (00:46:31) Rock Climbing (01:18:05) Ig Nobel Interviews (02:01:14) Outro We also learn about:...
Oct 10, 2024•2 hr 6 min
What's actually going on in the center of the Earth, and just how interesting and useful could it be? And how did the now ubiquitous Planned Obsolescence start with... bicycles?? Images we Talk About: An Early Bicycle Bilhert's Animations Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:05:06) The Core (00:58:24) Planned Obsolescence (01:45:52) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Core Memories, we live on the zest of a lemon, there’s something neapolitan icecreamy ...
Sep 26, 2024•1 hr 52 min
Longtime inspiration and friend of the show Hank Green joins us for a very special episode! How do colonial organisms with just one queen avoid incest? How many Ig Nobels have gone to sex science? Can the team figure out the identity of the Reverse Platypus? When was the first dick grafitti, and could the story actually be... wholesome??? Watch: The video of the unexpected moment Images we talk about: MRI of Sex Rat Pants Diagram The Phallodeum Image Venus of Hohle Fels The Debatable Dick Hadria...
Sep 12, 2024•2 hr 1 min
It's an infamous pseudoscience, but what haven't we learned from the rise and fall of Phrenology? And Lego are ubiquitous, which means there's a lot to learn and a lot of nuance for our love of these stackable bricks. Things we Talk About: The Phrenology Pamphelet The Lego Cullen House Lego Seismometer CERN Lego Device The Brick Experiment Channel Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:32) Phrenology (00:56:34) Lego (01:38:25) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also le...
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 43 min
While we're sending Tom "Well Wissage" and a speedy recovery, enjoy Ella & Caroline on this tremendous episode of one of our sibling shows on the network, Secretly Incredibly Fascinating!
Aug 15, 2024•1 hr 6 min
You may have heard Epigenetics used as a buzzword, but what is it really? Is it something we know about, something still new, or... both? And what in the world are the World Games, and what makes them better than the Olympics? Links we Talk About: Ella's SciShow Video on X Chromosome Diseases Sport Casting Fin Swimming Haudenosaunee Flag Christopher Root's Incredible Paper on the Colonization of Lacrosse The Adorable NYMuseum Haudenosaunee Video Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:21) Epigenetic...
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 57 min
It's a word we say all the time but... what IS a species? How has it been used in the past, and could the different answers all be right? And how does voting work in the UK? It starts with voting for knights, and could hopefully end in the future with something even better. Images we Talk About: Ella's Zoom Moustache Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:23) What is a Species? (01:01:54) UK Voting (01:50:46) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Jenny L...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 56 min
After much deliberation, the academy (listeners of the podcast) has voted on the best topics from the past year! If this is your first episode, you'll get a sampling of our favorite moments of science and sillyness, and if you're a long time listener, you'll hear some behind the scenes thoughts about the topics, as well as... a secret teaser at the very end?? Images we Talk About: The Jacobin Pigeon The Pouter Pigeon Timestamps: (00:04:37) Intro (00:03:59) Part 1 (00:55:00) Part 2 (01:51:28) Out...
Jul 04, 2024•2 hr
What happens when a star collapses to a point of near infinite gravity? And just how hard could that be to actually... find? And why do we love tattoos so much, and how long have human beings across the world been loving them too? Check out Tom's first long form video that's finally out! Images we Talk About: The Crab Nebula First Image of a Black Hole Photo of OUR Black Hole, Sagiratius A Ancient Siberian Tattoo Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:47) Black Holes 101 (00:57:51) Tattoos (01:43:5...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 48 min
How fast can a regular human accelerate from 0-60? How can you learn to love roller-coasters? And is there a terrifying experience Ella's done that even Tom Scott hasn't?? After having us on his show for so long, it's finally time for Tom Scott to join us on our show! Videos we Talk About: Tom Scott's Amazing Roller Coaster Video Tom Scott's Failed Video Video Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:15) Human Acceleration (00:50:03) Roller-coasters and Failed Videos (01:18:05) Outro Support us with ...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 22 min
It's Pride and Poll-jedice! For pride month we have some pride merch including an amazing design by Caroline, with proceeds going to Pride in Stem! Also, toss in your vote to defend the honor of your favorite topic for the next Best Of Everything episode! All of this is at LetsLearnEverything.com
May 30, 2024•4 min
What can we learn by mimicking animals in nature, and more importantly, what can we learn about the nuance behind the buzzword of biomimicry? And just how many wild facts are hidden in a simple chess set? Images we Talk About: One of the Oldest Shatranj Sets Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:26) Biomimicry (00:50:25) Chess Chess Evolution (01:33:41) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: So nice to have a topic taken, biomemetics, the spider grabber ...
May 23, 2024•1 hr 38 min
How much real science is there to the Mandela Effect, and how much should we be worried about our faulty memories? And what's the science and history behind our long love for house plants? Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:31) False Memories (00:57:30) House Plants (01:37:47) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! Yes Ella my favorite host of Let’s Learn Everything, Fiona Broome - Paranormal Researcher, Ella is shocked to learn the Mandela Effect was a conspiracy first, ...
May 09, 2024•1 hr 42 min
What happens when the largest living animal becomes the largest dead animal? Just how complex could a dead whale be? And what are the differences, flaws, and nuances of the jury system, and can we be studying it better? Images we Talk About: The Zombie Worm Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:59) Whale Fall Ecology (00:52:52) Jury Duty (01:32:41) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: A bucket of mice, when whales die the people who love them will miss...
Apr 25, 2024•1 hr 38 min
What are all these rocks hurtling through space? Do we need to worry about them, and what can we learn from them? And what are guitar tabs, why don't people take them seriously, and why does Tom love them so dang much? Videos we Talk About: Osiris Boop Gif Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:54) Near Earth Objects (00:56:58) Guitar Tabs (01:47:55) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! e|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------| B|-----------...
Apr 11, 2024•1 hr 54 min
With Tom as their DM, Ella, Caroline, and Ellen Weatherford team up for a dicey heist in the big apple. Only one catch: they're rats! Can Rex, Tango, and Muriel ratatouille their way to nab the cheddar, or will they crumble like feta? Believe it or not this is only the first quarter of the full 2 hour episode that you can only get by becoming a member at MaximumFun.org/join
Mar 28, 2024•35 min
Can Tom finally take on his science communication white whale: Quantum Physics?? And what is gossip, what did it mean in the past, and could it actually be... good?? Find out on a very special MaxFunDrive episode! See all the MaxFunDrive events, pins, and links here! Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:06:29) Quantum Physics (01:00:14) MaxFunDrive! (01:09:08) Gossip (01:44:14) Outro Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: One minute of self indulgence, another b...
Mar 21, 2024•1 hr 52 min
IT'S THE MAXFUNDRIVE!!! And we're kicking it off with a network-wide trivia competition with other MaxFun hosts! You can see all our upcoming events during the drive and become a member at www.LetsLearnEverything.com This special network wide event is a celebration of the MaxFunDrive! If you’d like to support podcasts you love for just $5 a month and get bonus gifts in the process, go to maximumfun.org/join. J. Keith van Straaten and Helen Hong from “Go Fact Yourself” are joined by: Teresa McElr...
Mar 18, 2024•21 min
What would a man-made ecosystem look like on mars? Just how complicated could it possibly be? And are the human and societal issues just as complicated? Science communicators and authors Zach and Dr. Kelly Weinersmith ask and answer all of these questions and more! Check out: A City on Mars! The Weinersmith's article on Frontier Mythology and Space The Weinersmith's paper in the journal Space Policy on Space Communes BeaWolf Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:05:3...
Mar 14, 2024•1 hr 16 min
