Why do oranges have peels?

Some questions are so big they’re existential, meaning that they get right to the heart of human existence. These are also sometimes called philosophical questions, so for this episode we called up a professor of philosophy, Scott Hershovitz, who teaches at the University of Mich ...  Show more

Why did the dinosaurs go extinct? Many of you have learned about the meteorite that scientists say hit the earth 66 million years ago and killed off many dinosaur species. But some dinosaurs survived, and the birds you see flying around today are their direct descendants! In this ...  Show more

What is vitamin C and why do we need it? Which foods have the most vitamin C? Should we pop pills when we think we're getting a cold, or are we just producing expensive urine? And can vit C really cure cancer, or is it all hype?What is vitamin C and why do we need it? Which foods ...  Show more

Have you ever picked up a peach in the supermarket and noticed that its skin is covered in soft fuzz? What’s that about? Should we be taking our peaches to barbershops? And what about kiwis? They’re covered in scratchy hairs! Why do some fruits have fuzz while others have smooth ...  Show more

Why is it considered a good thing to urinate on lemon trees? Plus: can birth marks be hereditary?; and why do yellow sunglasses make daylight appear brighter? 

Meyer lemons are so special that restaurants go out of their way to call them out on menus. Martha Stewart loves to bake with them. And yet, Meyer lemons also have a fascinating and kinda tragic backstory. Tune in for a very fun episode about this very particular fruit. Our gu ...