Could we have domesticated a T-Rex? Is the mafia really that violent? Haven't all the possible songs been written by now? Unexpected gems of knowledge are hidden all around us. Let’s dig them up, one offbeat question at a time.
I come to you one last time to say goodbye. And to thank you for joining me on this journey of being curious for its own sake, of saddling a hunch and seeing where its long stride takes us. I think curiosity takes different forms throughout our lives. Wherever you are in your journey, it’s been an honor to be a part of it.
You can follow my next adventures on my website: www.dougfraserdigital.com
Here's my Twitter
And here's the ol' LinkedIn
Until next time, stay curious.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
In 2021, the top three classical musicians on Spotify—Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart—were streamed 19.2 million times a month in 2021, which together would have earned them over $852,000. How is it that songs hundreds of years old are still being listened to? What is it about classical music that makes it so timeless?
Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, shares his passion for the love that classical music generates.
To learn more about Ben and access his incredible library of free classical music resources, visit BenjaminZander.org.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Matt McGinley entered the music industry over 15 years ago as the drummer for the band Gym Class Heroes. Nowadays, Matt’s a contributing music producer for hit radio shows and podcasts, like This American Life, Serial, Nice White Parents, and S Town. Suffice it to say, he produces a lot of music. And it's all part of an ever-growing global library. By Google’s count, between 97 and 230 million songs exist worldwide. It makes you wonder…haven’t all the possible songs been written by now?
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Easy money is hard to come by. Unless you’re in the ransomware business. Then tens of millions of dollars can be yours in a single, unsuspecting click. Quick cash grabs fuel a worldwide economy, funneling extorted funds into secret bank accounts, hackers’ salaries, and even government pockets.
In a world where your data is the gateway to a thief’s payday, all is not lost.
Cybercrime vigilantes like The Ransomware Hunting Team volunteer their time to make the digital world a safer place. Chances are, one day you’re going to need help from them. And when you do, this band of cyber wizards will be ready.
Get a copy of Renee Dudly and Daniel Golden's book, The Ransomware Hunting Team, on Amazon, Bookshop, or Audible today.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
On Chris’s investigations (To Catch a Predator), the predators are real—so is the danger. And one night in Florida, that danger came with a car full of guns.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Back in the day, Princeton eating clubs were all the rage. It’s where you tapped into the pulse of the Princeton experience. Allegiances were sworn. Bread was broken. Bonds were forged with fellow members, some of whom would become crucial connections in the post-college world.
The bicker of 1958 is a tale of a time gone by, but also a reminder of the continued struggle with anti-semitism and exclusion.
Listen to Gatecrashers, a hidden history of Jews in the Ivy League, wherever you get your podcasts.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
It’s a tough world out there, eh? To live. To die. To hear the call of nature and answer it by eating your children. Just ask Bill Schutt, the author of Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History.
He discovered something shocking: Cannibalism in nature is incredibly widespread. In fact, it covers the entire spectrum of the animal kingdom.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
The music of Stranger Things haunts living rooms across the globe, and at times steals the show. It takes a professional touch to properly integrate music to serve the goal of a scene, and of a moment. Be it for signaling tension, to call back to a previous season, to ratchet up the thrills, or to bring comic relief.
Creating the right music offers the opportunity to elevate a scene. But getting the timing just right is what makes it so. Because it’s not just what music plays—it’s when.
To learn more about the films and TV series David Klotz has worked on, check out his IMDB page.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Howard Berger started working in the movie industry at the young age of 13. Today, he has over 100 films to his credit as a professional makeup artist. He's worked on movies like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, From Dusk Till Dawn, and the blood-filled Kill Bill movies. But things on set don't always go as planned.
Click here to learn more about Howard and purchase his new book, Masters of Make-Up Effects.
A Quick Request
If you enjoy Curious State, would you mind sharing your favorite episode with a friend? It’s a great way to help the show grow and start fun conversations along the way.
There are so many incredible podcasts out there, and you’ve chosen to be here. That means the world to me. Thank you.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Growing up in rural Ohio, Michelle Belanger had to hide her unique abilities from classmates. Her grandmother worried that if she showed off too much, government men would take her away for testing. Luckily, that never happened. Instead, Michelle went on a journey of self-discovery and created the de facto code of ethics for the international vampire community.
A Quick Request
If you enjoy Curious State, would you mind sharing your favorite episode with a friend? It’s a great way to help the show grow and start fun conversations along the way.
There are so many incredible podcasts out there, and you’ve chosen to be here. That means the world to me. Thank you.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Leonard Pickel's Hauntrepreneurs has designed over 300 original haunted attractions, including ones for Madison Square Garden, Universal Studios Florida, several Six Flags Amusement Parks, and the Kandy Halloween Party at the Playboy Mansion.
But what goes into designing a haunted house?
Leonard takes us through the spooky business of manipulating architecture, impossible floor plans, why you should always "scare forward," and the kind of haunted houses that chill him to the bone.
A Quick Request
If you enjoy Curious State, would you mind sharing your favorite episode with a friend? It’s a great way to help the show grow and start fun conversations along the way.
There are so many incredible podcasts out there, and you’ve chosen to be here. That means the world to me. Thank you.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Imagine the Ultimate Fighting Championship…but with pillows. That’s the basic recipe for the Pillow Fighting Championships. And it just might be the next big sport.
Steve Williams, CEO of PFC, joins me to share pillow fighting’s journey into worldwide popularity (and possibly into the list of Olympic sports).
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
A Quick Request
If you enjoy Curious State, would you mind sharing your favorite episode with a friend? It’s a great way to help the show grow and start fun conversations along the way.
There are so many incredible podcasts out there, and you’ve chosen to be here. That means the world to me. Thank you.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Movie trailers are a game of chess. Except in this game, millions of dollars are at stake with every move.
Dallas Taylor, owner of Defacto Sound and host of Twenty Thousand Hertz, gives us a peek behind the curtains where creativity and business live in a pressure cooker.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
A Quick Request
If you enjoy Curious State, would you mind sharing your favorite episode with a friend? It’s a great way to help the show grow and start fun conversations along the way.
There are so many incredible podcasts out there, and you’ve chosen to be here. That means the world to me. Thank you.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Kamryn Lacy
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Ashrita Furman broke the world record for underwater hoola-hooping in Florida, where a pod of dolphins watched from afar—in what I presume was utter confusion.
I've been in the presence of some pretty fascinating people. The voice of Porky Pig, a haunted house architect, a scientist who's close to bringing back a T-Rex (albeit in a less menacing, chicken-sized form). But Ashrita Furman is in a league of his own. He has world records out the ying yang, including:
He holds so many records that he snagged another one in the process: the world record for the most world records. He's broken over 800 in total, with more than 200 still standing. His secret?
Meditation.
(And a child-like sense of curiosity. Because when you can be anything, why just be one thing?)
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
A photo album made with rabbit fur.
A secret breeding project.
A lost alligator.
The story of Project Angora is truly stranger than fiction.
Holocaust researcher and founder of the Knitting Hope project, Tanya Singer, shares a little-known story from inside 31 concentration camps.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Click here to read the article on which this episode is based.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
The line between friendship and a romantic relationship blurs when sex comes strutting into the room. How do you navigate the complications of going from buddy to booty call?
Thankfully, we’ve got an expert with the answers: Dr. Justin Lehmiller. He’s a social psychologist, Kinsey Institute Research Fellow, and the creator of Sex and Psychology.
Justin was part of a team that conducted a year-long study of 200 friends-with-benefits relationships. And what he found can help us all unweave this type of messy, sexy, and downright “oh my god what have I done??” relationship.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
According to the study Justin worked on, 25% of subjects hoped their friend-with-benefits relationship would turn into a romantic relationship. However, friends-with-benefits relationships play out how people want them to only 17% of the time.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Cyanide has made quite the name for itself.
Take the Jonestown murder-suicide, for example—where cult leader Jim Jones called for over 900 of his followers to drink cyanide-laced punch. Cyanide also sits centerstage with a popular spy movie trope: the cyanide tooth. In case of capture, pop out the fake tooth that’s actually made of cyanide. Swallow it. And boom, a quick death is on its way.
But how exactly does cyanide kill you?
Let’s light up our gumshoe detective pipes and crack this case wide open with Neil Bradbury, author of A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
From a murderer’s perspective, cyanide is typically given as either sodium or potassium cyanide crystals—which are often sprinkled in water.
Buy A Taste for Poison
Amazon | Audible | Bookshop.org
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Jackson Galaxy is America’s Cat Daddy. He’s the host of Animal Planet’s hit show, My Cat From Hell, he’s amassed over 100 million views on his YouTube channel, and he has his own toy line—when it comes to cats, Jackson knows best.
So, Jackson…is it true? Are cats assholes? Or is there more to those furry enigmas than meets the eye?
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
There are an estimated 373 million pet cats around the globe.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
The shows we refer to as guilty pleasures may be more insightful than we think. Danielle J. Lindemann, author of True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us, takes us on a journey into ourselves.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
For the season one finale of Survivor in 2000—guess how many people tuned in. Upwards of 51 million. That’s the combined population of Georgia, Ohio, Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North and South Dakota, Delaware, Montana, Maine, Michigan, and Illinois.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Only 80 known cases of highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) exist. What's it like to remember almost everything that’s ever happened to you? Rebecca Sharrock shares her experience—and how her dreams revealed an incredible feature of HSAM.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
To help her quiet the memories in her mind, Rebecca goes to Harry Potter for help. At night, she quietly recites passages to herself, distracting her brain long enough to fall asleep.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Whales are textbook beauty and grace—and they’re a helluva lot of work to clean up when they die. Today, we’re diving into one of the most bizarre, smelly, and heartbreaking jobs in the world: working on a marine animal stranding response team.
Thanks to Dr. Susan Barco and Dr. Alex Costidis at The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Stranding Response Program, here are a few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
For every foot in length, a whale weighs about two thousand pounds.
To learn more about the stranding response team and how you can support them (as well as how to take a whale watching tour), please visit these links:
https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/research-and-conservation/stranding-response
https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/support/give-to-stranding
https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/things-to-do/boat-tours
https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/blog/whale-watching-boat-tours
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
A special thanks to Brennan Tapp for assisting in this episode's field recordings, and Mackenzie DiNardo (PR Manager at the VA Aquarium) for helping make all this happen.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Under the right conditions, hobbies and physical activities become deep play, taking on additional layers of meaning and personal significance. Historical figures, like Winston Churchill, relished his deep play. Which, for him, was painting. “I know of nothing which, without exhausting the body,” he said, “more entirely absorbs the mind.”
Ol’ Churchill knew that his deep play was important not just for the fun of it, but for the positive impacts on his work. Something Alex Pang knows all about.
Alex is the author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. He’s made it his life’s work to show that success doesn’t demand longer hours. It demands more rest. And deep play is a central part of it.
But what exactly is it? How can you find the deep play that’s right for you? And can it revolutionize your work?
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
• The 4 elements of deep play
• Why Winston Churchill likened painting to battle
• The often-misunderstood relationship between work and rest
Did You Know?
“It is not enough merely to switch off the lights which play upon the main and ordinary field of interest. A new field of interest must be illuminated. The tired parts of the mind can be rested and strengthened, not merely by rest, but by using other parts.” – Winston Churchill
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Did know that—scientifically speaking—there’s no difference between a dove and a pigeon? Yet a dove’s more colorful counterpart has been dragged through the cultural mud. In doing so, we’ve missed out on the rich history and amazing features of this incredible creature. Andrew Blechman (author of Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird) is here to share the jaw-dropping details.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
Genghis Khan and his grandson created a pigeon post that spanned—get this—one-sixth of the entire world.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Over the next year, 56 million people around the world will die. That’s 106.6 per minute, 1.8 people every second, every day. That’s a lot of deaths. And it’s someone’s job to pick those people up and take them where they need to go. But who picks you up when you die?
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
Want to hear a joke? This one’s from Jake: What do you call a mortician with a bad back? Unemployed. (With physical labor like that, if you don’t get those day-to-day movements right you can destroy your body.)
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Sully. Miguel. Mr. Incredible. Nemo. Pixar has an extensive roster of characters who instantly capture our imaginations. But getting an impactful story to fall into place comes with big challenges—ones Pixar writers have to creatively spar with every day. And sometimes, those challenges hit back. 20-year Pixar storytelling veteran Matthew Luhn takes us on his journey into the writers’ room.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
Since 1995, Pixar has made $14.7 billion at the global box office.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
The First World War saw the dawn of fighting in the skies and advanced, savage warfare on the ground. Maimed soldiers lucky enough to survive were unlucky enough to live in a time when medical tech was vastly outpaced by war tech. That struggle to keep up meant uncertain futures for wounded soldiers—especially when it came to facial injuries. Medical historian Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris takes us behind the scenes of a medical revolution: the birth of plastic surgery.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Get a copy of Dr. Fitzharris' book, The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I, at Amazon, Audible, or Bookshop.org.
Did You Know?
8-10 million people died in WWI, with twice as many injured—often seriously.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
In an age when eels were sometimes used as currency and castles pierced the sky, “thou” was all the rage. But over time, it disappeared from use. Where’d it go? And will it ever make a comeback? Grammar Girl (aka Mignon Fogarty) helps us parse through the grammatical treasures of yore and solve the “thou” mystery once and for all.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
“Thou” was used longest in areas farthest from London. It’s still used in a few regional dialects, including those in Yorkshire and Cumbria.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Is sleep giving you the cold shoulder? What if you had a bedtime buddy? A platonic pal who could slow the thoughts running through your head and lull you to sleep every night? Enter Drew Ackerman (aka Dearest Scooter).
His Sleep With Me podcast gets 3 million+ downloads every month. That’s over a hundred thousand people, every night, falling to sleep to Drew’s hypnotic voice and meandering tales. How does he do it? What’s the secret sauce to lulling a football stadium’s worth people nightly?
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
A lack of sleep is detrimental to our mood, creative output, and even self-control. Brain scans have shown the frontal lobe—which is responsible for self-control and gatekeeping emotional impulses—is switched off by a lack of sleep.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Digital Operations Specialist - Holly Hutchings
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Science is all around us. It's in our smartphones, the contours our of eyelids, the hidden rabbit nest in the backyard. But what if everything we’ve come to know about the world (and that the natural world knows about itself) disappeared? Could science itself go extinct?
Alie Ward of Ologies stops by to set the scientific record straight, and share why science is more than a path to answers—it's a gift of questions.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
If human knowledge is a janky old car, science is the friend who’s happy to push us to the repair shop.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Cemeteries are a rather new invention in human history, created only 10-15,000 years ago. We’ve come a long way from stopping to smell the proverbial roses… instead of rotting flesh. But how do these resting grounds for the deceased become tourist destinations for the living? Cemetery historian and author Loren Rhoads helps us dig up the truth.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
Humans didn’t start burying their dead until around 120,000 years ago.
Credits
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
We humans love law and order. But what happens when non-humans go mucking around and chewing on our rules? Can animals actually break the law? Renowned science writer and raccoon super-fan Mary Roach has the answers.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
In 1451, a Swiss bishop took some leeches to court. His reason? There were too many of them in the local pond.
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
What do a crow and a glossy-eyed harbor seal named Monty have in common?
Us.
Oftentimes, human interaction with animals is for the worse. But when it comes to animal rehabbers, the interaction is meant to get the animal back on its feet—or paws or claws or flippers—and release them back into the wild. Chip Harshaw, VP of Animal Care at The Virginia Aquarium, takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour to meet Monty and dives into the good, the bad, and the downright heart-melting aspects of human/animal relationships.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
Harbor seals enjoy posing on coastal rocks like blubbery land bananas—Google “harbor seal banana” to experience the full glory.
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Five years ago, Dylan Marron (creator and host of Conversations with People Who Hate Me) started engaging his internet detractors in long-form conversations over the phone. What started as a coping mechanism has turned into a hit podcast, lessons from which he’s shared in his new book.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
Do you avoid conflict at all costs? Maybe society should thank you. Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggests that conflict avoidance is how societies overcome violence.
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Journalist SuChin Pak (co-host of Add to Cart) has been reporting on TV since she was 16 years old. If you watched MTV in the early 2000s, you saw her just about every day, interviewing the who's who of pop culture and music.
Those celebrities, the ones who grace the silver screen and flood the airwaves with catchy tunes that burrow into your brain and never ever leave—are those people actually more interesting than the rest of us?
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy, aka Puffy, aka Diddy) is one of the richest musicians, with a net worth of over $820 million. Now that’s someone who knows how to work their fame.
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Dr. Mark Freestone, author of Making a Psychopath: My Journey into Seven Dangerous Minds, takes us into the mind of an infamous female psychopath—and the finicky, outdated, and often untrustworthy system that attempts to diagnose women like her.
A few curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
James Bond is a psychopath. He scores around a 27 on the PCL-R, which in the UK is past the threshold for a psychopath.
Get a copy of Dr. Freestone's book on Amazon, Audible, or Bookshop.org.
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Assistant Manager - Emily Miller
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Regret is our constant companion, tugging at our ears to remind us of our mistakes. Our follies. The kind of stuff we shove to the back of our brain fridge and hope it doesn’t stink up the house.
But what if regret isn’t what we think?
What if it’s actually the way to a happier, more fulfilling life?
Daniel Pink, the author of such insightful classics as To Sell is Human and A Whole New Mind, rolled up his sleeves and mined the deep, dingy trenches of regret. What he found just might change your life.
As part of the World Regret Survey, Daniel collected regrets from around 16,000 people in 105 countries to try to crack the code of what people regret. He put together his findings in his new book, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. “The four core regrets operate as a photographic negative of the good life,” Daniel says. “If we know what people regret the most, we can reverse that image to reveal what they value the most.”
The curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
Did You Know?
Silver medalists tend to be the least happy person on the podium. According to a study by David Matsumoto of San Francisco State University, they smiled one-quarter less than first and third place. While the gold medalist shines with happiness for their win and the bronze medalist is happy to have made the podium, the silver medalist is often plagued with “if only” regrets.
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Assistant Manager - Emily Miller
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
The mafia and violence go together like a fist and brass knuckles. But is the mafia really as violent as pop culture would have us believe? Or are we being conned?
Nicknamed "organized crime's worst nightmare," former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig earned his stripes through the prosecution of John Gotti Jr and other major mafia players. He’s here to set the record straight.
A few curiosities you’ll discover in this episode:
Check out Elie's podcast Up Against the Mob.
Did You Know?
The mafia has captured our collective imagination—which can cause problems in the courtroom. “There is such a thing as the jury becoming enamored with the defendant, becoming charmed by the bad guy,” says Elie. “It's the same way you sit there and you root for Tony Soprano. It’s part of the reason I wanted to be a mafia prosecutor, for the outrageous stories and the personalities of these guys. But I was concerned about this when I was arguing a mafia trial to a jury.”
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Assistant Manager - Emily Miller
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Have a question? Or a topic you’d like covered on the show? Maybe you just love sending emails? Whichever shoe fits, tie it on and send me a message at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Somewhere in the rows and rows of office cubicles that make up the emotional business of our brains, there’s one employee hellbent on burning the whole place down. Her name…is childhood. Is it possible to pry ourselves from her fiery grasp? Or are we destined to live with one hand on the fire extinguisher? Psychotherapist and bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb, offers a way to set our childhoods free: changing the stories we tell ourselves.
A few of the curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
To learn more about Lori’s book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone (in both written and audio form), and to check out the podcast she co-hosts called “Dear Therapists,” visit www.lorigottlieb.com.
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Assistant Manager - Emily Miller
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Ah, the T-Rex. King of the tyrant lizards. Ruler of children’s imaginations the world over. With its savagery and you-look-tasty-enough-to-eat smile…could we have domesticated it? Dr. Richard Kissel is here to help us figure it all out. He’s the VP of Education at The DoSeum in San Antonio, Texas, and a total T-Rex fanboy.
A few of the curiosities you’ll uncover in this episode:
To learn more about Dr. Richard Kissel and the DoSeum in San Antonio, Texas, visit www.thedoseum.org
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser.
Find Curious State on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
Podcast Manager - Adam Cecil
Assistant Manager - Emily Miller
Podcast and Advertising Operations Specialist - Morgan Christianson
Marketing Publicity Assistant - Davina Tomlin
Intern - Brendan Picha
The Quick and Dirty Tips network is a division of Macmillan Publishers in partnership with Mignon Fogarty, Inc.
Can animals break the law? Why do some fonts just feel so good? Can a "friend with benefits" relationship last? Could we have domesticated a T-Rex? Dive into what you didn’t know you needed to know on Curious Statewith Doug Fraser. First two episodes drop on March 29.
Curious State is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast hosted and produced by Doug Fraser. Have a question you want Doug to find the answer to? Leave a voicemail at (757) 541-8471 or email us at curious@quickanddirtytips.com.
Follow the show:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Quick and Dirty Tips is a division of Macmillan Publishers.