PRX - Pieces for Tone: Informational

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115 results


111: Pigeons and Four Letter Words
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Might it be possible to teach a pigeon how to "read" a label for a person who can't read? Is there the possibility of a future where pigeon service...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: May 20, 2020
  • Length: 04:15
  • Purchases: 1
107: What Dogs Dream
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
You've probably seen a dog sleeping soundly with their legs pedaling. Is Fido really dreaming of chasing a tennis ball? Let's find out.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Apr 29, 2020
  • Length: 04:49
  • Purchases: 1
106: Civil War Candy
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Necco Wafers and Jelly Beans were candies citizens were urged to "send to the troops" during the Civil War. Easy to transport and not likely to mel...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Apr 29, 2020
  • Length: 04:05
  • Purchases: 1
98: Tenterhooks
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
If you're thinking, wait, I thought it was tenderhooks, you're not alone. Amy explains this early 18th century idiom that describes having a sense ...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 20, 2020
  • Length: 03:13
  • Purchases: 1
93: Farting Herring
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Welcome to our funniest episode yet. Scientists avert international tension between Sweden and Russia, learn something we didn't know about herring...

  • Added: Jan 13, 2020
  • Length: 04:37
90: Full Moon Killers
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Barn owls come in three colors, a tawny brown, a mix of brown a white, and all white. It didn't make sense to researchers how a white owl could be ...

  • Added: Jan 06, 2020
  • Length: 06:15
87: Licorice or Liquorice?
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Either way you spell it, you either love that black candy or can't get away fast enough. Amy dives into why.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 03, 2019
  • Length: 06:27
  • Purchases: 1
85: Two Penny Hangover
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
In the late 19th century, London had the beginnings of homeless shelters. They weren't always comfortable (try sleeping in a four-penny coffin), bu...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 04:42
  • Purchases: 1
82: Talking Eggs
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Before they even hatch, Yellow Legged Gull chicks seem to be communication to their nest mates. Amy dives into the how and why.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 04:58
  • Purchases: 1
81: Victorian Pineapple Rental
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Would you pay eight-thousand dollars to impress your friends with a pineapple? No? Well, the Victorians did.

  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 08:19
79: Pt. Roberts
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
When the US and Canadian governments decided the border between our two countries, a few places got left on the "wrong" side of the line. Those pla...

  • Added: Nov 24, 2019
  • Length: 08:03
70: Galloping Crocodiles
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Like a scaly cheetah, galloping crocs were a terror both on land and in the water. Good thing they lived 100 million years ago.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio and KSFR


  • Added: Aug 06, 2019
  • Length: 04:15
  • Purchases: 2
65: Kidney Stone Roller Coaster
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Medical science on the fly. Turns out you only need to pull a few G's to loosen that stubborn kidney stone.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 26, 2019
  • Length: 03:24
  • Purchases: 1
62: Troxler Effect
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
In 1804 Dr. Troxler discovered he could make pastel dots on paper disappear if he stared at them for long enough. Blink, and they would reappear. T...

  • Added: Jun 05, 2019
  • Length: 03:24
61: Science Ferrets
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Need to string some wire through your house or clean a particle accelerator? You might need a science ferret.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: May 28, 2019
  • Length: 03:09
  • Purchases: 1
60: You Swallowed What?
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
It's our one year podcast-aversary! We thank you for listening with an episode on accidental swallowings and some...not so accidental. Trace also ...

  • Added: May 21, 2019
  • Length: 05:50
52: Long Lives of Lobsters
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
The internet claims lobsters are immortal. Amy pulls a Dana Scully and debunks the heck out of that idea.

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Mar 26, 2019
  • Length: 04:35
  • Purchases: 1
51: Backpack vs Parachute
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Jumping out of an airplane without a parachute?! We explore a study that explains how sometimes, if you look at the data in just the right way, bac...

  • Added: Mar 19, 2019
  • Length: 02:40
36: Cougar Screams
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Cougars are beautiful and stealthy solitary hunters. Until they want to mate. Then they sound like a person being run through a garbage compactor. ...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio and PRX Remix


  • Added: Jan 10, 2019
  • Length: 02:06
  • Purchases: 2
39: Sick Ants
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Where we talk about Dr. Nathalie Stroeymeyt and her foraging, black garden ants. Infected ants seem to stay away from other ants. Find out why.

  • Added: Jan 09, 2019
  • Length: 02:49
National Writers Series: Mary Roach
From: Interlochen Public Radio
Series: National Writers Series
Piece image
Science writer Mary Roach talks with author and actor Benjamin Busch.

Bought by WKAR, WCMU Michigan, WKAR, and WDET Detroit Public Radio


  • Added: Sep 21, 2018
  • Length: 54:31
  • Purchases: 4
Literary Ringtails
From: KXCI
Series: Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey
Piece image
Well, I’m not sure I can add a whole lot more to this true story, but here are a few ringtail facts that are fun. Okay, fun for nature geeks like y...

  • Added: May 30, 2018
  • Length: 05:10
Simmondsia Chinensis
From: KXCI
Series: Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey
Piece image
I’m not sure I can add a whole lot more about jojoba (Simmondsia chinesis) other than what you hear in this show, except that it is now in its own ...

  • Added: Dec 22, 2017
  • Length: 05:20
SWE
From: Pius Wong
Series: Engineering Word Of The Day
Piece image
SWE wants to "stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders," among other goals.

Bought by WETD


  • Added: Sep 22, 2017
  • Length: 02:05
  • Purchases: 1
A Mesquitey Gardening History
From: KXCI
Series: Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey
Piece image
Well, now you know about my personal gardening history. It’s not done. I mean there is history in the making in the garden just outside the front d...

  • Added: Aug 03, 2017
  • Length: 04:53