News Sidequest

The AP spent weeks with grocery shoppers across Massachusetts, Texas, and Hawaii documenting how Americans are adapting to the biggest jump in home food prices in 50 years — up 33% since 2019 — with couponing, comparison shopping, multi-store trips, and quietly dropping favorite foods. Also: Fortune and new Federal Reserve data confirm the millennial generation has formally split in two — older millennials aged 36-45 now post the highest median household income of any generational group at $132,700 and are functioning like Baby Boomers, while younger millennials aged 27-35 are moving into multigenerational homes at rates last seen in the early 1900s. And a University of Macau study of nearly 1,000 workers tracked over six months finds that "career wisdom" — comfort with uncertainty, intuition, and tolerating not having a plan — predicts more meaningful work, higher job satisfaction, and stronger engagement than rigid career planning. Plus an emotional support peacock, a cobra in the bed, Spider-Man, and measles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Council on Criminal Justice released a comprehensive mid-year crime report Thursday showing homicides are down 18% across 30 cities compared to 2025, on track for the lowest annual rate in over a century — and the drop is happening in cities with different political leadership, different policing strategies, and different economic conditions. Also: Wharton researchers led by Adam Grant just published a three-study investigation into why some leaders resist remote work — and the answer across all three studies was the same: narcissism. Not productivity concerns. Not collaboration. Power and status. And Japan's meteorological agency has formally adopted the word "kokushobi" — pronounced koh-koo-shoh-bee, meaning "cruelly hot day" — for temperatures above 40°C, after 200,000 people voted on it and Tuesday saw 260 people hospitalized with heat stroke symptoms around Tokyo alone. Plus a Pennsylvania fortune teller's witch trial, a McDonald's hot fries lawsuit, a bear on a utility pole, and 30% of Americans who've shoplifted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The BMO Real Financial Progress Index finds the all-in average cost of a date in the US hit $189 in 2026 — up 12.5% in a year, with Millennials averaging $252 — and 47% of singles say dating is no longer financially worth it. Also: a new Global Burden of Disease study published in The Lancet finds the US has the largest "morbidity gap" in the world — 14 years of life spent in poor health — and the bad news is it's not just happening at the end of life. And a new West Health-Gallup survey finds 24% of US employees — roughly 23 million people — are staying in unwanted jobs specifically to keep their health insurance, up from 16% in 2021. Plus the easyJet mid-air brawl, Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, the Pan Am plane found after 74 years, and a Florida man with a flamethrower at a Walmart. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wang Jibing is 56 years old, left school at 14, spent decades doing odd jobs, became a food delivery rider in 2019, wrote poems on scraps of paper between orders, and just won the Lu Xun Literary Prize — China's top literary honor — for his collection Low Flight, based on interviews with 200 fellow couriers. Also: the Wall Street Journal published a piece asking whether therapists are to blame for the rise of family estrangement — with researchers on both sides of a genuinely complicated question. And Yosemite dropped its reservation system in 2026 at federal direction, hit 90-minute entrance waits and full parking lots before noon, and became the most concentrated expression of what happens to affordable leisure when everything else gets too expensive. Plus a robot decapitated in combat, Australian identical quadruplets, the Baseball Spy, and deeply discounted Taylor Farms lettuce. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American Heart Association just published its most comprehensive position statement on coffee in years, and the verdict is: up to five cups a day is safe for most healthy adults, with cardiovascular benefits at moderate consumption. Also: a man in Ohio bought a house sight unseen in a competitive market, arrived with a moving truck, and found three decomposed human remains inside — and the story underneath it is really about what the housing market has pushed buyers to do. And Silicon Valley is actively pitching the Pentagon on armed autonomous robots, and the Washington Post got inside several of the pitches. Plus three bodies in a house, the David Rush toilet paper record, a dog rescued from a Scottish mountain after finding someone's stash, and pizza traded for pythons in Florida. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new CNN/Federal Reserve investigation finds that nearly half of adults aged 18-29 received assistance from someone outside their household to cover recurring expenses last year — and the people who got early inheritance aren't feeling good about it, they're feeling guilty and relieved simultaneously. Also: the average adult makes approximately 35,000 decisions per day, decision fatigue is real and measurable, and the research on how to fight it is more specific and actionable than "simplify your life." And on July 15, China's new AI companion regulations took effect — ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent all shut down their AI persona features, and the grief on Chinese social media was immediate and genuine. Plus two babies switched at birth 38 years ago, a man suing his bank for lending him money, an Alabama husband committed to a remarkable relationship, and the firefighting donkeys of Spain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Astronomers analyzing new James Webb Space Telescope observations of LHS 1140b — a "super-Earth" just 49 light-years away — are now reporting the strongest evidence yet for a nitrogen-rich atmosphere on a habitable-zone exoplanet, and models suggest it may have a liquid ocean roughly the size of half the Atlantic. Also: a Pew Research/Newsweek survey of 5,119 Americans finds Gen Z uses AI more than any other generation and is simultaneously the most worried about where it's heading — 66% use chatbots regularly, up from 55% in 2024, and they're more concerned than older generations about job loss, AI's reliability, and its environmental impact. And scientists from institutions around the world just published predictions for life in the 2100s. Plus a bored pilot who skytyped it, the Florida woman betrayed by a cat, the Ohio lottery voice winner, and a pole dancing sprinkler flood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enrollment at public two-year vocational schools is up nearly 20% since 2020, Gen Z is nearly evenly split between four-year college and trade school when asked what they'd choose today, and the math — sub-$25,000 programs leading to $80,000-plus jobs — is hard to argue with. Also: the felt-tip pen that Buzz Aldrin jammed into a broken circuit breaker on the lunar surface in 1969 to save the Apollo 11 crew sold at Sotheby's today alongside the snapped-off switch for $857,600. And a new Japanese study of 1,899 adults tracked over time finds that regular moviegoers, museum visitors, and theatergoers have bodies that function like people three years younger. Plus the 1,700-pound great white shark heading to Cape Cod, the bank robber's borrowed kitten, the deer in the antique store, and wildfire smoke rolling across the Midwest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About 90% of Americans say they want to die at home. Only about 35% do — and the median hospice enrollment in 2024 was 19 days, meaning most people get palliative care so late it barely functions as a transition. Also: Taskrabbit data shows a 23% jump in quick-move bookings and a 19% increase in same-day moves year-over-year, with the "micro-move" trend driven by smaller spaces, lighter lives, and a housing market where staying flexible is more important than putting down roots. And University of Reading research shows clear-air turbulence — the kind you can't see coming, that doesn't show on radar — has increased 55% since 1979, is projected to double or triple by 2050, and is being driven entirely by climate change. Plus the dog who caused a $200K fire, the peanut butter museum floor, the robotaxi sleepers, and the Taco Bell investigation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NPR spoke with five music influencers who say they regularly accept payments from record labels to post about songs without disclosing it — and when they reached out to Interscope, Republic, Atlantic, RCA, Sony, Universal, and Warner for comment, none responded. Also: a Boston College Center for Retirement Research study finds that since ChatGPT launched, older workers in AI-exposed jobs — coders, accountants, tax preparers — are leaving the workforce significantly faster than before, reversing a long-standing trend in which those jobs actually extended careers. And a new service in Russia allows lonely people to rent a companion specifically to share a barbecue and beers with. That is the entire service. Plus the Airbnb family who found their own photos on the wall, Ontario's grenade advisory, Zara's dangerous pants, and sugar discovered in space. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NASA is recruiting four volunteers for a yearlong simulated Moon and Mars mission beginning August 2027 at Johnson Space Center — two confined habitats, mock spacewalks, limited food, no sunshine, no wind, and complete isolation. A previous CHAPEA participant said what he missed most was birthdays, holidays, and fresh vegetables. Also: a Word Unscrambler analysis of Google Trends data finds "gaslighting" was the most-searched word definition in America in 2026, with 286,900 monthly searches, edging out "love" at 274,900. Narcissist, fascism, empathy, and propaganda also cracked the top 25. And a comprehensive Lancet review led by UBC researchers analyzed data from billions of mRNA vaccine doses across multiple countries and found: safe, effective, does not alter DNA, works for children and pregnant women, and shows enormous promise for cancer treatment. Plus the man who dangled from an airplane by his seatbelt, the Circle K lottery clerk, the dog pepper spray incident, and humanoid robot gallbladder surgery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Researchers at Hebrew University presenting in London this week found total testosterone levels in men declined 54% between 1972 and 2019, tracking more than 118,000 individuals across six studies — and they're calling it a "major crisis in male reproductive health." Also: Brown University economics professor Roberto Serrano — who is blind — allowed take-home exams after a December campus shooting traumatized his students. His class averaged 96 out of 100 on the take-home midterm. When he moved the final in-person, the average crashed to 48. And the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that the US median home sale price hit $440,600 in June — an all-time record going back to 1999, with prices rising on an annual basis for 36 consecutive months. Plus a squirrel mailed to Meta, a Florida man fighting police in alligator-infested water, a burglar whose truck got stolen while he robbed a Verizon store, and a son's lottery birthday gift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

World Cup tourists have been going viral on TikTok for their reactions to Walmart — the chips aisle, the gallon jugs of ranch, the dog-kibble-sized bags of Fruity Pebbles — and Walmart just announced VIP guided store tours for the first 20 visitors in line at two fan events. Also: Bryan Murray of New Zealand started water skiing in 1955, competed in tournaments across his country, survived a hip replacement last month, and just been named the world's oldest water skier at 94 years and 318 days old. He plans to extend his record this summer. And a Polish-Czech research team published a paper in PNAS this month building a mathematical model to answer why cannibalism became one of humanity's strongest taboos — and the answer is prions. Plus the hostage negotiation robot, the naked garage fire hero, the insect protein bar, and the Freedom Fuel gas stations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An exclusive Guardian/pollster survey finds 95% of Americans believe the country is in an affordability crisis, with half struggling to afford groceries and gas — and the partisan gap on the economy has collapsed fastest among Republicans since the Iran war sent gas prices surging. Also: new Census Bureau data shows the 45-to-64 age group shrank by 2.68 million people between 2020 and 2025, and the Northeast lost 7.1% of its midlife workforce in five years. And researchers presenting at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Forum found that multilingual people's brains appear 6 to 13 years younger than those who speak only one language — and the effect gets stronger with each additional language. Plus the serial plant thief, the man who slapped himself into a detached retina, the bail bond t-shirt, and the time traveler from 3700. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1973, 9-year-old Laurie Blair Brown threw a note in a bottle into the ocean at the Jersey Shore — a fake distress call from her family's vacation. It washed up 53 years later. Also: Bryan Johnson, who spends roughly $2 million a year on a 30-person medical team trying to live forever, just disclosed he has autoimmune gastritis — an incurable disease that was quietly destroying his stomach lining for over a decade while every biomarker looked fine. And the UN Secretary-General has declared that autonomous killer robots are "politically unacceptable and morally repugnant" and must be banned by international law — but the 2026 deadline he set is here, talks are stalled, and the US, Russia, and Israel have been quietly blocking a treaty for years. Plus a whale sinking a fire rescue ship, Frank's Hot Sauce across a highway, the Delaware falling camel, and a $3 Goodwill jacket worth $250,000. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On July 4th, 32-year-old Grand Canyon river guide Kelsey Pfendler rowed her 21-foot boat Lily into Honolulu harbor after 43 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes at sea — shattering both the women's record of 86 days and the men's record of 52 days, and raising over $180,000 for the Whale Foundation along the way. Also: the American Time Use Survey just confirmed what a lot of people feel but nobody wants to say — average daily socialization time has fallen from 45 to 35 minutes over the last 20 years, with teenagers down nearly 50%. And ETH Zurich researchers just published a light-controlled molecular switch that wakes dormant cancer cells out of hibernation, potentially making previously untreatable tumors vulnerable again. Plus the Brooklyn Bridge catching fire, the Smokey Bear sign thief, rental swimming pools, and a Delta flight hit by a firework over Chicago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sony just announced that physical disc production for new PlayStation games ends in January 2028 — and the deeper story is what this means for everyone who's watched a one-time purchase quietly become a monthly subscription. Also: a new Albert Einstein College of Medicine study published in Neurology finds that people in their 80s who walk unusually fast have about half the risk of cognitive impairment — and they maintain that advantage even when their brains show the same Alzheimer's-related pathology as everyone else. And new research from StudyFinds maps exactly how people lie to their partners — and finds that "good" lies damage relationships about as often as selfish ones. Plus shark attack alerts on your phone, Pokémon cards stolen from an arcade, an Empire State Building climbing arrest, and king cobras on Everest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NPR reports that the US murder rate in 2025 was almost certainly the lowest ever recorded since the FBI started keeping national data in the 1950s — and 2026 is tracking to go lower still. This is the second "Great Crime Decline" in American history and almost nobody is talking about it. Also: a new study from the University of Silesia finds that people who gossip and spread rumors are more likely to be in romantic relationships and have more children — and the evolutionary logic behind it is more interesting than the headline. And a Chinese platform launched in March called Wangbu lets dog owners in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen rent out their pets by the hour to strangers for walks, and animal welfare experts are not pleased. Plus a Harvard UFO professor running the White House alien council, human remains in a Queens school chimney, two-month-olds on screens, and a woman who denied owning the cocaine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate reports that kindergarten, first grade, fifth grade, and pre-K graduations have exploded into ticketed events with caps, gowns, diplomas, and professional photographers — and parents can't figure out who asked for this. Also: with the 250th anniversary tomorrow, life expectancy in America has doubled since 1776 — from roughly 35-40 years to 79 — and the story of how that happened is worth knowing. And a 60-year-old man in Spain came to the hospital with two weeks of worsening headaches, was put on the oncology track when his CT scan showed what looked like metastatic brain cancer, and was eventually diagnosed with something considerably more unsettling. Plus a bear who needed a lift, a water slide world record at a vow renewal, the Michigan lemonade stand freedom bill, and the Mexican Batman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Epic Research analyzed electronic health records from nearly 200 million American adults and found gambling disorder diagnoses jumped more than 60% since 2018 in states that legalized sports betting — with the rate among men 18 to 29 more than doubling. In the 11 states that never legalized it, diagnoses fell 30% over the same period. Also: a small Japanese trial found that a daily cup of probiotic yogurt, regular walks, and basic diet coaching shifted a DNA-based aging marker in overweight men within just 12 weeks — though the study was funded entirely by the yogurt company that makes the product. And a new Penn State experiment with real money on the line confirms that fear of losing and the dread of regret both shape our decisions simultaneously, with loss aversion the stronger of the two forces. Plus the world's loudest man, a self-driving toilet, the rhinestone menswear trend nobody asked for, and an instant-karma story for the ages. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new Realtor.com analysis finds a record 25.2 million Americans under 35 — roughly one in three — were living with a parent in 2025, and 70% of them have jobs. This isn't a story about unemployed young adults playing video games in the basement. It's a story about a 4-million-unit housing supply gap and a median home price up 34% since 2019. Also: a 30-year study tracking three generations of college students from 1982 to 2022 finds Millennials entered adulthood with significantly more fear of growing up than Gen X or Baby Boomers before them — but that fear fades with age across every generation, suggesting nobody stays scared of adulthood forever. And a new study of 180 British university students finds a year abroad makes you measurably more agreeable and curious, with lower anxiety — but it doesn't overhaul your personality the way the brochures promise. Plus a teleporting FEMA official, smoke grenades in checked luggage, a Carnival cruise brawl, and a snake and a spider sharing a bedroom in Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new PNAS study of more than 2,400 people finds women achieve the exact same economic outcomes as men in negotiations — but their partners trust them more, like them more, and want to negotiate with them again, even in fully anonymous text-chat negotiations where gender was unknown. The compounding effect projects to a roughly $55,000 earnings advantage over time. Also: Texas A&M researchers have regenerated bone, joints, and ligaments in mice using a two-step treatment that redirects the body's healing response away from scarring — suggesting the capacity for regeneration may never have left us, just gotten switched off. And researchers say the old phones sitting in drawers around the world contain an estimated $67 billion in recoverable critical minerals, and recycling currently meets just 1% of global rare earth demand. Plus a giant street-legal banana, a retired Robocop with a perfect arrest record of zero, an influencer who learned a hard lesson about showing off online, and a man who fell into a vault toilet rescuing his sunglasses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new Talker Research survey finds 86% of Americans distrust AI-generated results — but the study was commissioned by a content management company with a clear stake in the answer, and the actual complaint underneath the number is more specific and more interesting than blanket distrust. Also: a 6-year-old girl in Tokyo spent months preparing with her parents before completing a solo trip through the city to the grocery store and back — and the show that inspired an entire genre of "free-range kid" content is now a real parenting movement. And Columbia University exercise physiologists confirm that five minutes of walking every 30 minutes of sitting is enough to meaningfully offset the health harms of a sedentary day. Plus tentacled rabbits, a 13-year-old who climbed out of a Disneyland ride mid-drop, a missing giraffe with a $5,000 reward, and a DIY exorcism gone wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A decade-long study of more than 1,400 young people found that 83% of the life events they call most meaningful are positive — graduations, friendships, travel, sports. But teens and young adults with anxiety or depression were far more likely to name a struggle or a loss as their defining moment instead, raising a real question about which came first: the hard life or the hard lens. Also: a Wall Street Journal writer spent five days in total silence at a Buddhist retreat in Massachusetts, and it nearly broke her. And a McGill-led study of more than 200,000 people across 22 countries finds that feeling poorer than your peers wrecks your wellbeing — even when your actual income is identical to theirs. Plus the Titanic artifacts dispute, tentacled rabbits, a pickleball felony, and Russian soldiers catfished by Ukrainian fighters posing as lonely women online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New York Times reports that older couples who once stayed in "empty-shell" marriages are increasingly unwilling to spend their remaining healthy years that way — longer life expectancy is changing the math on what's worth enduring. Also: a Nature Human Behaviour study of 105,000 headlines viewed six million times confirms that negative words drive clicks — and a developmental psychologist explains why a brain built to track local, immediate threats is now being asked to process a war, a financial shock, and a climate disaster before lunch. And Zillow's new analysis finds a record 242 American cities now have "starter homes" priced at $1 million or more — triple the number from before the pandemic. Plus an 87-year-old's smart lottery decision, a vanished magician, the Red Lobster shrimp justification for invading Greenland, and 5,000 beers in Dallas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A USC study of 5,642 American adults finds that 26% of people with a completely normal BMI already meet the clinical criteria for obesity — because BMI can't tell the difference between muscle and dangerous belly fat. Also: a new Fox News poll finds only 25% of registered voters say they generally trust the federal government — the lowest reading in more than two decades of this poll, dating back to 2002 when more than half of Americans said they trusted it. And a University of Tokyo brain imaging study finds that reading on paper requires measurably less mental effort to piece a story together than reading the same content on a tablet — same comprehension, lower cost. Plus a quiz on dating red flags, the three pillars of a perfect dad joke, an 85-year-old street racer, and a nurse who sold 3,000 fake diplomas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new Gallup-Milken Center survey of more than 6,300 Americans finds belief that everyone has a real shot at the American Dream has fallen to 46% — but 69% still believe they personally will achieve it, and striving for it remains important to 78%. The gap between those two numbers might say more than either one alone. Also: Johnson & Johnson's CEO told a London leadership summit this week that curing certain cancers within the next decade is a realistic goal — not aspirational marketing, but a real projection backed by current treatment trajectories. And NPR reports that bumblebees just solved a classic problem-solving test originally designed for chimpanzees — using a ball as a stepstool to reach an out-of-reach reward, with no training required. Plus a 194-year-old tortoise, a robot toilet, a TSA ranch dressing warning, and a 12-year-old's elaborate fake kidnapping. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Dutch study of 451 married couples, average relationship length 28 years, finds that spouses genuinely resemble each other on exactly two personality traits — shared values and shared curiosity — and almost nothing else. On the rest of the personality spectrum, married couples are basically strangers. Also: a viral trend out of South Korea called "dopamine sites" lets users browse, fill a cart, and track a fake courier on fake food delivery apps that never complete a real order — all the anticipation, none of the bill. And new ground-penetrating radar scans at Turkey's Durupınar site are reigniting the decades-old Noah's Ark debate — researchers claim distinct organic material inside a boat-shaped formation, while geologists call it a natural rock structure. Plus the San Andreas Fault's worst stress level in 1,000 years, Scottish soccer fans drinking Boston dry, the 17,000-year doomsday formula, and the cats-don't-reduce-stress study. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

USA Today reports that "goblintimacy" — showing up on a first date as your actual, unpolished, slightly chaotic self — is having a moment, and the relationship experts quoted are surprisingly divided on whether it's a good idea. Also: a Semmelweis University study finds one in three young adults are heavy smartphone users primarily because of FOMO — fear of missing out — and the psychological mechanism behind it is more interesting than the name suggests. And a London School of Economics meta-analysis of 82,000 college students across 35 years finds that perfectionism has climbed steadily since 1989 — and phones aren't the cause. Economic anxiety is. Plus the CIA gold heist, bees on a United flight, the Idaho flaming torch juggler, and mixed emotions during a Weird Al song. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A University of Michigan poll finds most parents of 18-to-25-year-olds are using location tracking apps — and a quarter of those parents say it causes more anxiety than peace of mind. Also: a Medical University of Vienna study finds that people who appreciate dark humor score higher on both verbal and nonverbal intelligence tests, and lower on aggression — and the findings hold up across replications. And the Dog Aging Project just published in the Journals of Gerontology finding that the same metabolic biomarkers that predict lifespan in humans also predict it in dogs, with a striking correlation across 24 human cohort studies. Plus a house full of snakes, medieval eel rent, a scammer who got chocolate coins, and a lemonade stand robbery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Columbia University base editing paper has triggered a major scientific debate — with the researcher who helped develop CRISPR saying "the cat's out of the bag" and calling it "a gateway to embryo editing to do enhancements." Also: Northwestern Mutual's 2026 Planning and Progress Study finds 33% of Gen X adults — people now aged 45 to 61 — still feel financially dependent on their parents, and 1 in 5 say they don't expect to ever be financially independent. And a new MIT study in Open Mind finds that the social expectation of reciprocity — you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours — only applies between equals. In hierarchical relationships, once you're the giver, you're the giver forever. Plus a gaming PC that stopped a bullet, police in mascot costumes, the potato-shaped UFO, and the Marilyn Monroe world record. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Wall Street Journal reports that young New Yorkers are moving into convents to escape a rental market where Manhattan's median one-bedroom just hit $4,680 a month — and some of them say it's genuinely great. Also: in May 2026, for the first time in US history, solar power generated more electricity than coal — 12.8% to 12.2% — and solar is now the third-largest electricity source in the country. And Columbia University geneticist Dieter Egli and his team just published a landmark preprint demonstrating precise base editing of human embryos with high efficiency — and the conversation about where this goes next has officially started. Plus therapy donkeys, a period in a text message, Bigfoot's right to privacy, and a Pasadena horseplay situation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New data from the Princeton Review finds 16 American colleges have crossed the $100,000-a-year threshold for total cost of attendance for 2026-27 — Harvey Mudd tops the list at $104,512 — and the trend is accelerating. Also: a woman at a Florida noodle restaurant went to war with staff over her son's uneaten $5 bowl, invoking "the law" and threatening to call the owner and sue, and the internet mostly sided with the restaurant. And new research from Penn State and the University of Colorado finds that AI fact-checkers face the same problem human fact-checkers always have: people's politics strongly shape whether a fact-check changes their mind at all — and for conservatives, the reputation of the source matters more than the verdict. Plus an alligator DWI getaway, a whale graveyard, a satanic ritual at an Olive Garden, and a lightning-struck church. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two new papers from the National Bureau of Economic Research find that US fertility rates have fallen 22% since 2007 — the year the iPhone launched — and access to smartphones correlated with birth rate declines of up to 8% among teenagers. Also: the average all-in cost of a date in the US has hit $189, up 12.5% in a year, and a growing number of Gen Z and millennials are responding by opting out of dating entirely — a trend they're calling solo-maxxing. And Geoffrey Wall, a 59-year-old former Air Canada captain from Barrie, Ontario, flew more than 900 commercial flights on Boeing 767s, 777s, and 787s between 2009 and 2025 — allegedly without ever obtaining the license required to do so. Plus a fake boarding pass, woolly mammoth DNA in squirrel poo, a Florida man arrested on the way to court, and a hot sauce shortage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A 15-year-old Minneapolis café called Post Modern Times stopped charging for food in January as an act of protest and community care — converted to a nonprofit, kept the model, and owner Dylan Alverson says: "Stepping out of the capitalist system gave us more support than existing in it for 15 years." Also: Cambridge neuroscientists scanning 577 brains found that older adults' brains register fewer distinct "moments" per unit of time — literally processing fewer neural transitions — which is why years vanish faster the older you get, and what you can actually do about it. And a Pepperdine professor told Fortune: "It's not even an inability to critically think. It's an inability to read sentences." Plus dynamite in a freezer, mashed potato litigation, AI-look plastic surgery, and a mysterious cold blob. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A landmark study published in Science — 590,000 workers, 13 years of data — finds remote work explains about a third of the increase in isolation and mental distress since the pandemic. Workers in remote-capable jobs became more likely to see mental health professionals and fill prescriptions for anxiety and depression. Also: a new survey of 2,000 men finds 57% say financial struggles have made them feel like they're failing at manhood, 77% were taught growing up that a man's primary role is to be a financial provider, and 72% say society expects them to handle that stress quietly and alone. And a Zety survey of 900+ Gen Z workers finds 95% have stopped sharing their real opinions online to protect their careers — and 90% have already faced workplace consequences for something they posted. Plus $8.65 returned to the Pope, a goat in a London office, a spider in disguise, and a four-winged velociraptor cousin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Guardian profiles a booming category of faith-based energy drinks — with brands called Yahweh, 4gvn, and Praise Energy — that claim to spread the gospel through caffeine. The theology here is thin, but the market opportunity is apparently real. Also: physicists at ETH Zurich just published a landmark paper in Nature demonstrating certifiably perfect randomness for the first time in human history — using quantum entanglement and two chips cooled to near absolute zero. And a new LendingTree analysis finds 18.7% of Americans 65 and older are still working — the average Social Security benefit is $2,071 a month, but basic monthly expenses for a single adult run $4,641. Plus flesh-eating screwworms returning after 60 years, SpaghettiOs with unexpected ingredients, identical twin doctors, and 60 Idahoans who learned the hard way about raw milk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new PNAS study from Tufts University finds that Americans born between 1970 and 1985 are dying at higher rates than any previous generation did at the same age — with rising deaths from cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, and external causes including overdoses and suicide. The lead researcher called it "genuinely alarming." Also: Art Ulene is a physician, television personality, and author who survived a suspected stroke in Paris, watched his wife battle illness, and is now training six days a week at 89 years old to become the oldest person ever to summit Mount Kilimanjaro — in July, on his 90th birthday. And a Myrtle Beach detective named Michael DeBiase was arrested, charged with a felony, and fired from the police department after allegedly pulling his department-issued handgun on a fellow officer who microwaved fish in the breakroom. Plus sourdough from a mummy, the world's largest blanket fort, a casino self-ban that went awry, and a Frontier flight situation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Travel Guard survey of 1,022 Americans finds 97% have taken at least one trip they regret — and the most regretted destination in the US is Las Vegas. Also: The Atlantic profiles the solitude influencer, a growing genre of creator documenting life alone — and one woman's formula ("you live alone in NYC and have no friends") has 195,000 followers and sparked a real cultural conversation. And a new study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer finds that during just the first nine months of the pandemic, 55,000 cancer cases went undiagnosed across seven countries — with prostate cancer down 24% and breast cancer down 18% from expected levels. Plus a bed bug infestation at the USDA, a 19-year red light ticket fight, an AI laser mosquito system, and the Uber lost and found. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New York Federal Reserve just published the most direct answer yet to why young college graduates can't find jobs — and it's not AI. Remote work accounts for 64% of the surge in youth unemployment since the pandemic, because companies won't hire inexperienced workers onto distributed teams they can't train. Also: a University of Illinois study finds gratitude journaling and optimism training can reduce blood pressure by more than 7 points within weeks — and the mechanism is more interesting than "think positive thoughts." And gateway hotels near Crater Lake National Park are devastated this summer — not because the park is closed, but because misinformation spread that it was, and people cancelled anyway. Plus a chicken police recruit, a yellow submarine mystery, kitchen sponge microplastics, and a $200,000 Lego lawsuit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new Michigan State University study finds people consistently underestimate how cynical their friends are — and the blind spot appears to be deliberate, a kind of social glue that keeps friendships intact. Also: an aerospace engineering professor at Georgia Tech just did the math on interstellar travel, and the numbers are not encouraging for anyone hoping an alien civilization is on its way here. And new research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology finds that insomniacs under 50 are up to three times more likely to develop certain cancers — and the timing of the surge maps almost exactly onto the arrival of smartphones. Plus a Bluetooth device named "bomb," men emerging from a Brooklyn manhole, Gen Z tanning, and a humanoid robot with a mop. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Brookings Institution just released the most precise picture yet of American household financial fragility — and the number that should stop everyone is this: a single $1,000 increase in annual living costs would push 3 million more households over the edge. Also: prediction markets and sports betting apps are using memes, leaderboards, and social media to recruit users as young as 18 — and a UCLA gambling researcher says a young brain exposed to this "is going to want it again." And flight attendants are formally asking passengers to stop poking, tapping, prodding, and otherwise physically touching them to get their attention. One veteran of 20 years says it's a rare flight when it doesn't happen. Plus an excavator divorce, a kindergarten graduation brawl, a monkey in a Florida backyard, and an influencer banned from Cedar Point. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bloomberg reports that younger consumers are redirecting their entertainment budgets from bars to boutique gyms, and some are spending $300 or more a month to do it — because the gym has become the social infrastructure that everything else used to provide. Also: physicists at the University of Toronto just published a peer-reviewed study in Physical Review Letters confirming that photons can spend a negative amount of time inside a cloud of atoms — exiting before they enter. No, it's not time travel. Yes, it's still deeply unsettling. And a meta-analysis of 54 studies covering 2.5 million people across nearly 50 years confirms the happiness gap for single parents — and the specific reasons why it's worse in the US than anywhere else on Earth. Plus a Kit Kat truck, a murder investigation that wasn't, a dismissed phone charge, and a Florida man in a thong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new survey finds 48% of Americans say their lives are currently lacking fun — and the survey was commissioned by Dave and Busters, which tells you everything about the source and nothing about whether the finding is wrong. Also: a Harris Poll/Indeed survey finds 52% of professionals with degrees say their degree wasn't relevant to their current job, and among Gen Z that number rises to 51% who call it a waste of money outright. And a Chinese startup called Meng Xiaoyi has launched a $118 AI pet translator collar claiming 95% accuracy — with zero published data to back it up and 10,000 units already pre-ordered. Plus a robin nest that's holding a Ford truck hostage, a driver stuck in fresh concrete, a paraglider and a plane, and a toothpick world record. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new NYT/CNN poll finds 61% of Americans changed what they buy at the grocery store to stay within budget — a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and independents all said the same thing. Also: a rural North Carolina school district stopped students from using screens on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a public health professor who studied the results shares what happened — including the kid whose eye strain went away. And a new PNAS study of 215,000 professional chess moves finds that faster decisions are consistently linked to better moves — and the reason why is more interesting than "trust your gut." Plus a mayor who tasered his own adviser, an AI girlfriend breakup, an airport hair removal evacuation, and some screws on a Florida highway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Space Camp registrations doubled after Artemis II splashed down — and the NASA administrator who attended Space Camp as a kid is now running the agency. Also: Luis Salazar walked into a Wawa bathroom in Riviera Beach, Florida, found a fanny pack with $30,000 in cash, spent days trying to find the owner, and returned every dollar. The owner was carrying it for a family emergency. He cried. He hugged Luis. And a new report from the Oxford Longevity Project presented at the Smart Ageing Summit finds that at least 80% of the health problems people experience in old age are driven by lifestyle and environment — not genetics. Plus Harvard capping A grades, a Google Translate robbery, mutant super pigs, and a 14-year-old with incredible dedication to avoiding school. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new Adelaide University study of more than 20,000 students found that well-being declines across every single measured category after the move to high school — and the damage can persist for more than two years. Also: Burning Glass Institute data shows master's degree unemployment for workers under 35 is at the 77th percentile over the past two decades — near a 20-year high — while PhD, law, and medical degree unemployment is near a 20-year low. The lines used to move together. They don't anymore. And on the banks of the Darling River in Australia, archaeologists have uncovered a 950-year-old dingo burial that is the first documented case in world history of humans ritually feeding a grave — for 500 years after the animal died. Plus a frog in a salad bag, a heat gun and a dealer decal, a courtroom birth, and a sailor whose rescue flare started a wildfire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oxford researchers just published the most comprehensive answer yet to why 90% of humans favor their right hand — and it turns out it has everything to do with how we learned to walk. Also: a three-bedroom colonial on Nantucket that sold for $3 million five months ago is yours for free — you just have to move it off the property in 180 days, and the moving bill runs between $150,000 and $500,000. And the debate over whether human brains have been shrinking for thousands of years is genuinely unresolved — with one side saying yes, and the reasons pointing toward collective intelligence, and another side saying the data doesn't hold up. Plus a six-year-old who may be the rightful King of Norway, a Qantas flight diverted by a man who bit a flight attendant, and a 100-year overdue library book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The research on money and happiness has been debated for 15 years, but the most current numbers adjusted for inflation put the sweet spot around $100,000 to $111,000 — and the story of why problems scale beyond that is more interesting than the headline. Also: Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft got a microscope when she was seven years old, wanted to be a doctor her whole life, raised four children, worked as a neonatal nurse practitioner for 45 years, used her retirement savings to attend medical school in her late 60s, and is graduating this month at 72. And Gen Z — the generation raised on Amazon and Instagram — is driving a shopping mall renaissance, and the reason why is actually the same reason they put down their phones for a month. Plus sleeping Windsor Castle guards, the TSA's official position on rotisserie chicken, Southwest's robot ban, and the great glutes longevity story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At NC State's Wilson College of Textiles commencement on May 8th, donor Anil Kochhar stood up and announced he and his wife were paying off the final-year student loans for all 202 graduates — in honor of his father, who came from Punjab, India to study there in 1946. Also: a man who changed his Bitcoin wallet password while high eleven years ago just recovered $400,000 worth of cryptocurrency by dumping his old college computer files into an AI — which found an older wallet file he didn't know existed. And a new academic study finds tarot readers are increasingly using AI to interpret their cards, which raises a genuinely interesting question about why people consult tarot in the first place. Plus drunk deer in France, a ChatGPT confession, the Alabama annoyance defense, and a wine bottle hidden somewhere remarkable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.