Today we're tackling a listener question: how close are we to making teleportation a reality? The answer includes a very catchy song about quantum physics, and a chat with @danielwhiteson.bsky.social about wormholes! omny.fm/shows/part-t...

Scientists in the Library's Preservation Research and Testing Division recently worked to analyze the colorants in this beautiful entomology book from 1705. Technical studies like this one help provide scholars with insights into where, when and how items in the Library's collection were made.

Breaking: SATED space oven inventor Jim Sears (winner of our 2025 Pie in the Sky Award) reached out to let us know he's working with @johnlehndorff.bsky.social, co-founder of the American Pie Council, to create *an actual pie in the sky aka space*. This story is developing... www.satedspace.com

This is one current bright spot for climate and human wellbeing.

A year of mapping the world beneath our feet and advocating for the protection of underground fungal networks.

It's the greatest day of the year: the annual Part-Time Genius Awards! Our honorees include a guy who invented an oven for astronauts, an especially handsome water buffalo, and the team that finally figured out why ice is slippery. omny.fm/shows/part-t...

Lots of people have written in to request an official Part-Time Genius membership card, so we want to take a moment to shout out the amazing graphic designer who made them: Erin Douglas! www.erinmdouglas.com Check out her work, and DM us your address and one fun fact if you want a card too.

Behold, my one of a kind Kermit The Frog Energy Dome! And inside? A screaming Kermit mouth!

Absolutely incredible replies/quotes here. We love archivists and librarians and their archives and libraries SO MUCH

Water voles are on the verge of a renaissance in London. A little Christmas good news story about American mink getting lured to their doom: www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

We want to share with you this charming piece of holiday ephemera from the Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division: An 1858 interactive Christmas card featuring a patriotic Santa Claus. 🎄🎅🇺🇸

Dressed in a spotted owl sweater handmade by his wife, ecologist Rocky Gutierrez explains why he thinks so many people share his love for owls. 🦉

'Tis the season, etc. If you know a nerd who has it all, do they have letterpress posters with motivational science messages? I've built an old-timey print shop in my basement where I use old printing presses to make modern prints. And you can purchase them! www.etsy.com/shop/Indispe...

This PEANUTS comic strip was published #OTD on December 11, 1972.

I'm not in the West, so I'm going to have to figure out a strategy for working "atmospheric river" into conversations, but believe you me I'll find a way #riversinthesky

Red Lobster never released a commercial with a jingle that went “Shrimply having a wonderful Fishmastime.” That’s why they went bankrupt.

While we await Greta Gerwig's Narnia, let's discover some surprising things about C.S. Lewis, like the fact that he had very strong opinions about the movie version of Snow White. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

This week we dive into holiday shopping traditions, many of which involve the city of Philadelphia for some reason. Plus, listen to the end for our exclusive gift recommendations! Two words: trash calendars. omny.fm/shows/part-t...

🍬 Are you sweet on food science trivia, or does it leave a sour taste in your mouth? From panda diets to hot peppers, we’re teaming up with the @parttimegenius.bsky.social podcast and one lucky listener to deliver a real treat.

This is ONE way to dismount a penny-farthing. You could also make a pile of mattresses, pull up alongside, and slowly tip over

Thanks to everyone who shared their pasta opinions for this episode, and extra thanks to @douglasmack.bsky.social for boosting our question. May your plates always be full and topped with extra parm. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...

You might think to yourself, "Self, I don't care about physics. It's too complicated. Too boring. It's not relevant to my life. And worst of all, there are no jokes and very few cartoons." This week's episode with @danielwhiteson.bsky.social will prove you wrong. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Come for the space telescopes, stay for the poetry

It's the end of our week-long series about curiosity! Will and Mango sit down with two of the most curious people we know: Josh & Chuck from Stuff You Should Know (plus super producer Jeri) to talk childhood obsessions, behind-the-scenes stories, and Muppet personalities. omny.fm/shows/part-t...

It's Day 4 of our week-long series about curiosity! Today: Are Will and Mango doomed to spend their retirement watching Scrubs reruns? And what is all that screen time really doing to your kid's ability to be curious? omny.fm/shows/part-t...

A must-read piece. And for the record, Team PTG is deeply divided: Will and Mango are anti-pumpkin spice. Gabe and Mary, on the other hand, are smart and enjoy delicious things.

It's Day 3 of our week-long series about curiosity! Today we're exploring curiosity in non-human animals, from pet cats to wild chimpanzees to the tiny cleaner wrasse fish. omny.fm/shows/part-t...

It's Day 2 of our week-long series about curiosity! Today: The long history of powerful people trying to suppress everyone else's curiosity, and what that has to do with killing cats (metaphorically). omny.fm/shows/part-t...

If you've ever wondered why you wonder so much, wonder no more! Every day this week we're dropping a new episode about curiosity—why we have it, why powerful people have tried to suppress it, how it changes as we age, and more. Day 1: Curiosity and braaaaaiiiins. omny.fm/shows/part-t...

the Muppets have been real quiet since the Louvre heist

Pandas, snow leopards...and bacteria. A newly formed team of scientists is setting out to conserve the world's diversity of microbes. Here's my story: nyti.ms/47vEfRC

Help us with an upcoming episode! What is the best pasta shape of ALL TIME? And WHY?

If you read Tintin as a child (or as an adult), check out our two-part series about this character's complicated, fascinating back story. Start here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Alrght everybody, get your Tin Can Telephones out. We need your help! We reach new people by word of mouth. Send all your educator friends this pic! Teachers, librarians, scout troop leaders, etc! We offer our program for free, so we need help getting the word out without advertising $$.

i challenge you to find cooler news today than “despite all odds against American scientific research rn, a CO researcher developed a temperature-stable, single dose rabies vaccine that works bc of particles coated in CANDY & SAPPHIRE, & it could help reduce rabies deaths in places w/o electricity”

apparently atlantic ghost crabs are self aware! maybe that's why they look like they're having an identify crisis

If you or your kid have ever had lice, our new episode is for you. Mummies with lice! The guy who invented the Louse Buster! How a common skincare ingredient makes lice explode! And so much more! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

If Part-Time Genius is one of them, your first date may include a lengthy conversation about the history of carousel horses

This PEANUTS comic strip was published #OTD on August 28, 1969.

Looking for #bookrecs? Here are the best books we read this summer! Gabe: Percival Everett's "James," the collected Peanuts comics Mary: Viet Thanh Nguyen's "The Sympathizer," Hwang Bo-reum's "Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop" Now tell us yours!

On this day in 1939, "The Wizard of Oz" opened in U.S. theaters. Today, the Library is happy to announce the acquisition of rare music and lyric sketches from the score of the iconic film, including the only lyric sketch for “Over the Rainbow” known to exist. newsroom.loc.gov/news/library...

In this week's history newsletter from AIP, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social spotlights the new article by @tiffanynichols.bsky.social in Isis, digging into the rise and fall of an early proposal to site a @ligo.org detector in Maine's Blueberry Barrens.

Here's why you should be paying your rent in dead eels. #personalfinance #moneytips #advice podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...

Apparently Bolivia is the world's largest producer of Brazil nuts! Not to start an international incident, but from now on, they're Bolivia nuts to me!

Firefly populations have been declining, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel for the glowing bugs.

Wrote about "corn sweat" again. Find out what the heck it is and how it makes heat worse. 🧪 (Was my temporary headline "Corn Sweat Part 2: The Corn Sweatening"? Maybe.)

If you've ever tasted 3D-printed food, please tell us what it was like. We can't stop thinking about this. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...

Researching an upcoming story and, once again, I find myself turning to the Library of Congress online catalog. We love this institution so much we made a whole episode about it—fellow @librarycongress.bsky.social fans, check it out! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...

1977: why would the bartender in star wars even care if some robots with artificial intelligence came into his bar 2025: ohhh ok

Hi! We're Part-Time Genius, a podcast for knowledge junkies, Wikipedia rabbit-holers, and people who've been told they ask too many questions. Our hosts are Will and Mango, aka the guys who started Mental Floss. Join us every week for a new deep dive! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...