Popular Mechanics editors spend all day researching cool tech, tools, and toys. We asked a few to stop by the recording studio and tell us what they want for the holidays. The suggestions might just inspire you to spend your gift cards. And if you're home for the holidays and struggling with your parents' 50-character WiFi password, tech editor Alex George is here to help you out. Finally, on the testing table, we ask all our talking tech whether Santa is real. Learn more about your ad choices. ...
Dec 24, 2016•34 min
After helping the staff of Popular Mechanics learn how to build a backyard weather station for the print magazine, ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee calls in to explain how snow works and what you can do about it. Roy Berendsohn helps Kevin Dupzyk get his Christmas tree straight, and we ill-advisedly speed-taste a beer advent calendar. Beer-vent calendar? We're calling it a beer-vent calendar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 11, 2016•41 min
What the heck are you gonna do with all that leftover turkey? The Most Useful Podcast Ever calls the Butterball Turkey Talk-line to get some ideas (as well as some amazing stories of Thanksgiving dinners gone wrong). We also get some tips on finding Cyber Monday deals, and finally finish our Amazon Alexa scotch tasting... which continues to not go well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 27, 2016•31 min
A couple of weeks ago, your intrepid hosts tackled a 10-mile mud race in the middle of New Jersey to tell our listeners the best way to attempt obstacles like monkey bars, barbed wire crawls, and the dreaded Atlas carry. We even invited ASOne Fitness trainer and Death Race finisher Mark Merchant on the show to whip our butts into shape. After that, Kevin and Jacqui debate the merits of a Gore-tex running shoe, and pretty much the whole staff gets in on a whiskey tasting with Amazon Echo's Alexa,...
Nov 12, 2016•38 min
Are you ready for the most useful Halloween weekend yet? This week, the staff of Popular Mechanics goes on a field trip to Stumpy's Hatchet House in Eatontown, New Jersey to learn how to throw hatchets (at targets, not monsters, but still.) After that, we talk about our brand new microphone and scare the crap out of each other with a new, creepy game that will take over your smartphone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 29, 2016•26 min
The Most Useful Podcast Ever's TV buying saga continues this week with Roy Berendsohn's advice on mounting a TV on the wall. We talk to NC State University food safety professor Ben Chapman about Botox, lemon jelly and judging the canning competition at the North Carolina State Fair. And Matt Goulet watches a creepy movie on a short-throw projector while camping in the woods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 17, 2016•36 min
The Most Useful Podcast Ever meets its first beer cicerone, James Watt, who is also the cofounder of Brewdog. He tastes a few random beers we got together and the results are very impressive. On this episode, Popular Mechanics technology editor Alex George and TV fan and executive editor Peter Martin also help host Jacqui Detwiler buy a TV on the air, and senior home editor Roy Berendsohn brews coffee using a machine from a company that usually makes power tools. Learn more about your ad choices...
Oct 03, 2016•39 min
Hurricanes take a huge toll on buildings and cities, but have you ever wondered if they do anything useful? According to Frank Marks, director of NOAA's hurricane research division, they do. This week is a special two-expert episode, as Ash Fulk, returning guest and pitmaster at Hill Country Barbecue, returns to help us test the new Crafthouse by Fortessa smoking box. Finally, we talk to senior home editor Roy Berendsohn about a home renovation problem, and he gives us advice on generators for t...
Sep 19, 2016•37 min
On today's show, we give advice on tipping, so you'll finally know for certain how stingy your friends really are. Then Roy drops by to answer a few questions about cabinetry, courtesy of our producer. And Peter Martin destroys a computer before finding out if he can destroy the Popular Mechanics podcast hosts in a push up contest (after drinking HFactor hydrogen rich water). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 07, 2016•35 min
With the temperature in New York city in the 90s, the Most Useful Podcast Ever asks Luke Belvel, an expert on heat exhaustion from the University of Connecticut’s Korey Stringer Institute, for some essential cooling tips, including whether panting like a dog works for humans. We also learn what to look for in a kayak from the owner of Manhattan Kayak Club, and the staff plays football indoors. Plus, tech editor Alex George has a secret to tell you about iOS 10. Learn more about your ad choices. ...
Aug 19, 2016•38 min
Not all summer Olympic sports are as well known as swimming and gymnastics. How much do you know about steeplechase, the triple jump and racewalking? Not much? That's ok. This week's episode delves into the rules and history of unusual Olympic events, as well as who to watch for if they turn up on your TV. We also talk to a leather expert from Wickett & Craig tannery about keeping leather nice in wet weather, and we send our fact checker out on a run in a pair of Cole Haan dress shoes. Learn mor...
Aug 05, 2016•31 min
It's cool that Pokemon Go is getting teenagers (and... um... adults) excited about spending time in outside, but there are lots of ways to have fun in public parks and gardens. On today's episode, we play true or false with Gerard Lordahl, director of GrowNYC's Open Space Greening Program, about crazy gardening hacks, like painting strawberries to fool birds. We go on location in Central Park to test out a spotting scope, and, yes, we have a millennial teach us how to play Pokemon Go. Learn more...
Jul 22, 2016•31 min
Guest hosts Cameron Johnson and Kevin Dupzyk talk to Elias Cairo of Olympia Provisions about curing meat for summer picnics. Regular guest Matt Goulet tries to make executive editor Peter Martin care about birds. Roy stops by to learn about ratcheting socket wrenches (and learns about the rap term "ratchet"), and we test a sous vide machine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 11, 2016•27 min
We made our intern sit on the phone with customer service for his whole first week. Now he gives us the best strategies for minimizing your wait time and frustration. Then, the Curious Idiot learns what Snapchat is, and two editors test some new-fangled shaving tools. Plus Roy Berendsohn teaches us how to strip — but not in the way you’re thinking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 24, 2016•35 min
To get the smartest hi-tech tips for traveling well, we talk to Robert Birge and Krista Pappas of Lola, an app that brings travel agents into the 21st century. We also have travel blogger Johnny Jet tell us where to find a bathroom in an unfamiliar city, and get the lowdown on the dirty tricks airlines use to prevent you from getting compensation for missed flights from AirHelp cofounder Nicolas Michaelsen Finally, the Testing Table gets heated when Matt Goulet professes his love for Spirit Airl...
Jun 11, 2016•37 min
Now that it’s summer, the Most Useful Podcast Ever is excited to get outside. On this episode we learn about preventing allergies, selecting mushrooms, shucking oysters and preventing pit stains. To the backyard! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 29, 2016•33 min
This might be the best episode we’ve done where we talk the least. First we play a game with Popular Mechanics auto editor Ezra Dyer called 30 Second Car Salesman, then Momentum Drums, a musical group that builds their own rigs and light up drums, stops by the office to make music out of tools. Finally, we test the first prototypes of fully wireless earbuds, which, unlike Bluetooth headsets, actually seem kinda cool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 13, 2016•35 min
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 30, 2016•31 min
Taxes are boring, but comedian and certified public accountant Greg Kyteisn’t. On today’s Most Useful Podcast Ever, he gives us tax tips thatwon’t make you fall asleep on your desk. After that, Alex George tells ushow to pimp your WiFi, Roy Berendsohn explains the particleboard family, and the Testing Table goes camping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 15, 2016•33 min
April Fools Special Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 01, 2016•23 min
On this episode of the Most Useful Podcast Ever, Austin Robey, founder of Brooklyn 3D-printing studio MakeMode, stops by to tell us who stands to benefit most from the 3D printing revolution. Then, associate editor Matt Goulet tries out four methods of peeling hardboiled eggs, senior home editor Roy Berendsohn tells us about the old song that made everyone confuse concrete and cement, and some of the staff members break their keyboards and try to find a better way to wake up. Learn more about yo...
Mar 21, 2016•25 min
Most people breathe into their shoulders instead of into their chests, causing a host of physical problems and increasing stress. Clinical psychologist and breathing expert to law enforcement Belisa Vranich stops by the Most Useful Podcast Ever to give us a simple equation that makes it easier to breathe correctly. Then, on our testing table, Prohibition Distillery whiskeymaker Brian Facquet explains how (and whether) to age whiskey at home. And Senior Editor Roy Berendsohn stops by with a power...
Mar 07, 2016•30 min
With Apple’s battle over phone security in the news, the Most Useful Podcast Ever finds out how to keep your iPhone safe from criminals. Then, in honor of Popular Mechanics’ annual Survival issue, Shane Hobel of Mountain Scout Survival School stops by to teach us that there’s more than one way to start a fire, and we play a game of intra-office Survivor, in which executive editor Sean Manning does not fare well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 19, 2016•24 min
Just in time for the big game, we invite Hill Country Market Barbecue pitmaster Ash Fulk into the Popular Mechanics workshop to teach us all about nachos. Then we test new Sam Adams nitro beers you can serve with those nachos, and learn the trick to optimizing your television for sports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 06, 2016•27 min
We talk to Bridgestone Winter Driving instructor Mark Cox, about Anti lock brakes, what to do if you're in a skid, and the difference between all those tires you see at the tire store. The we take a look at the best in from this years Outdoor Retailer Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 23, 2016•32 min
Now that there’s finally enough ice to go ice fishing, we asked Minnesota fishing guide Scott Merwin for tips on doing it right. We figure he’ll know: He managed to catch six fish while being interviewed. After that, Curious Idiot Kevin Dupzyk finds out the best way to share photos from his vacation to Cuba, and the Testing Table tries out easy ways to to hard things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 09, 2016•21 min
On today's episode, in advance of your New Year’s Eve party, we take science into our own hands and test a variety of hangover prevention products—on ourselves. Our post-office party Testing Table is a little bit groggy but hopefully still informative. Just in case it’s not, we also talk to Dr. Jason Burke, the founder of Hangover Heaven in Las Vegas, a clinic that treats hangovers. He tells us why they are so debilitating, and which hangover remedies we should take next time. Learn more about y...
Dec 24, 2015•24 min
Our editors suggest gifts for all those you may have in your life, from that teenager you don't know so well, to your girlfriend's Dad. Plus, we'll explain how to talk about technology to the older generation, and we test out which vacuum flask will keep your coco the warmest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 12, 2015•22 min
In this episode, chef Wylie Dufresne demonstrates the best way to carve whatever fowl you might be having this Thanksgiving, whether it’s a traditional turkey, or, as it was in our podcast studio, an overcooked rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods supermarket. Then, at the testing roundtable, we crash test Motorola’s new shatterproof phone, the Droid Turbo 2, and see if a copper-infused t-shirt can help us jump father, stretch better, or even look good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...
Nov 24, 2015•24 min
Amateur astronomer Ed Ting explains why the contributions of hobbyists like himself are still vital in the field of astronomy and helps others launch their own star obsessions with tips about telescopes, telescope targets, and light pollution. On Testing Table, we review Apple's new extra large iPad Pro, a vibrating physiotherapy ball that could shake your house down, and technology that threatens to disrupt your package. (Hint: It’s men’s underwear). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...
Nov 13, 2015•23 min
