Best Qwerty Podcasts (2024)

1
Why are keyboards in QWERTY order? 6:19

7d ago6:19

6:19

Have you ever looked at the keyboard on a phone or computer and wondered why the letters are arranged the way they are? The English alphabet starts with A-B-C-D-E, so why do keyboards start with Q-W-E-R-T-Y? We asked historian and museum curator Kristen Gallerneaux to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s just the right type? Send it to us…

1
Ep. 128 Caro de Robertis 25:13

8d ago25:13

25:13

Caro De Robertis, whose pronouns are they/theirs, is a Uruguayan-American author and full tenured professor in the creative writing dept at San Francisco State University. They are the author of five novels and the editor of an award-winning anthology, Radical Hope. Their books have been translated into seventeen languages and have received numerou…

1
Talk QWERTY to Me: A Keyboard History Lesson 35:56

15d ago35:56

35:56

Ned and Chris cover quirky keyboard history, from missing keys and ThinkPad debacles to vintage typewriters and relic keys like Sys Rq and Scroll Lock. Mo Keys Mo Problems Ned and Chris explore the quirks of keyboards, starting with the irritation of missing home and end keys and the infamous ThinkPad function/control key switch. They journey back …

1
How do butterflies get their designs? 6:23

13m ago6:23

6:23

There are thousands of species of butterflies, all with unique patterns of color on their wings. How did those designs get there? We asked butterfly collection curator Blanca Huertas to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s cocooned in your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll send an answer winging your way!…

1
Black Tuesday and the 1929 Stock Market Crash 17:08

22m ago17:08

17:08

On October 28, 1929, a day known as Black Monday, the New York Stock Exchange suffered its greatest one-day loss in history. The next day, known as Black Tuesday, the market dropped even further, registering the second biggest one-day loss in history. This was the start of an extended bear market that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average drop 89% i…

1
Tech News of the Week 09-17-2024 10:05

1h ago10:05

10:05

In this episode, we discuss the European Court of Justice's decision forcing Apple to pay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland, marking a major moment in corporate taxation within the EU. We also dive into Microsoft's breakthrough in quantum computing, as they announce the creation of 12 error-corrected qubits, a step forward in the notoriously dif…

1
Do cats go to the dentist? 5:20

8h ago5:20

5:20

An inevitability of life is that humans have to go to the dentist. Some people love it, some hate it! But taking care of our teeth is super important. Do our kitty friends have to do the same thing? Large animal surgeon Whitney Cutrone answers this very question. Got a question that’s got some bite? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll …

1
The French Origins of English 16:54

14m ago16:54

16:54

The English language is….different. Unlike other languages, English has borrowed and used words from a wide variety of other languages. However, no other language has had quite the influence that French has had. In fact, French was the language spoken by the kings and queens of England for centuries, and the rules of England couldn’t speak any Engl…

1
What is lava made of? 4:55

2h ago4:55

4:55

Lava is the red-hot gloop that comes pouring out of an erupting volcano. But what is it made out of? Some sort of supercharged Silly Putty? Volcano guts? Super-spicy habanero sauce? We asked geoscience grad student Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer. Got a real scorcher of a question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, we’d LAVA to find th…

1
Vichy France 15:44

1h ago15:44

15:44

After the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, the French were forced to sign a lopsided armistice that gave control over most of the country to Germany. However, about 40% of Frace was not occupied by the Germans. It was controlled by a French government that came to power after the invasion and collaborated with and sided with Germany. The government…

1
The Disappearance of Michael Rockefeller (Encore) 14:43

3d ago14:43

14:43

In 1961, Michael Rockefeller, an heir to one of the greatest fortunes in the world, disappeared on an art-collecting trip off the coast of the island of New Guinea. For decades, the family simply assumed that he accidentally drowned off the coast in an attempt to rescue his anthropologist colleague. However, in the decades since he disappeared, mor…

1
Box Office Bombs 17:02

13m ago17:02

17:02

People in the entertainment industry often say that show business is “show business.” As much as motion pictures are an art form, it is also a business. In many cases, a very big business. Motion picture studios will often invest hundreds of millions of dollars into a film expecting to see a return on their investment. Most of the time, a film will…

1
Why do gorillas beat their chests (and why is science so great)? 5:24

4d ago5:24

5:24

It’s impressive to see a gorilla beat its chest. But why do they do it? We’ve tackled this question before, but there’s a new scientific scoop about this primate percussion! We asked primatologist Andrea DiGiorgio to tell us about it. Got a question that you want to get off your chest? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get an answer …

1
Lake Superior 15:10

1h ago15:10

15:10

Located between Canada and the United States is one of the largest bodies of freshwater in the world, Lake Superior. Lake Superior is the largest and deepest of the Great Lakes, and it is the first of the lakes in terms of water flow. Despite being the largest of the Great Lakes, it has the fewest number of people living on its shores, yet it is on…

1
Turing to Transistors: Classical Computing 101 40:11

19h ago40:11

40:11

In this episode, Ned and Chris examine classical computing fundamentals, breaking down complex topics like Turing machines, the von Neumann architecture, and the role of logic gates in computing. They explain how binary operations, logic gates, and transistors come together to form the foundation of modern computers. They also get into a discussion…

1
Counterfeiting 15:41

24h ago15:41

15:41

As soon as money was invented, counterfeiting was invented soon after. Counterfeiting has been around for as long as money, and as money has changed, counterfeiters have changed with it. What used to be a relatively simple process has become a highly technical game of cat and mouse. Today, it is considered a crime in every country on Earth, but of …

1
Why are cactuses prickly? 6:45

1d ago6:45

6:45

Lots of plants are smooth to the touch, and some are even soft and feathery like flowers! So why are cactuses prickly and sometimes even painful? We asked botanist Rachel Jabaily from Colorado College to answer this spine-tingling question. Got a question that’s prickling at your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll help sharpen …

1
Are bananas radioactive? 6:02

2d ago6:02

6:02

Bananas are a delicious, nutritious fruit! You can pack them in a picnic lunch or bake them into a sweet nutty banana bread. But are bananas radioactive? We asked Dr. Robert Chin to help us find the answer. Got a really a-PEEL-ing question? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll find bunches of answers for you!…

1
Imperial Units of Measure 18:55

2d ago18:55

18:55

Almost every country in the world uses the metric system…..almost. There are still a few stragglers, like the United States, who use units handed down to them from the British. These are known as Imperial Units. These units often confuse those living in countries that use the metric system….as well as those who live in countries that use Imperial U…

1
Tech News of the Week 09-10-2024 10:15

3d ago10:15

10:15

AT&T has filed a lawsuit against Broadcom, accusing the company of forcing it to purchase unwanted subscription software to maintain support for existing VMware licenses. Windows on ARM has arrived as a competitive platform, security vulnerabilities in Zyxel networking gear, and Intel's struggles to regain market dominance amid significant financia…

1
What happens when parts of your body fall asleep? 5:51

3d ago5:51

5:51

If you’ve ever stood up quickly and felt a little wobbly and tingly in your legs, you might be familiar with the sensation of having a body part that has fallen asleep! Why does that happen and how can we fix it? Otolaryngologist Karen Litzy helps us get to the bottom of this mystery. Got a question that you just can’t stand not knowing the answer …

1
The Last Emperor of China 15:13

3d ago15:13

15:13

In 1908, a two-year-old boy named Puyi was installed as the 11th Emperor of the Qing Dynasty in China. His life would prove to be radically different from that of any other Chinese emperor who came before him. He would see the end of Imperial China, become a puppet ruler for those who wished legitimacy, wind up in prison, and finally live out his f…

1
Silbo Gomero 13:52

4d ago13:52

13:52

Located on the island of La Gomera in the Spanish Canary Islands is one of the most unusual languages on Earth. For centuries, the people on this island have been able to communicate over vast distances not by shouting, using smoke signals, or drums, but rather by whistling. This system allowed them to communicate just as easily as if they were tal…

1
How heavy is North America? 6:15

9d ago6:15

6:15

You can use a scale to measure how heavy something is…but what if that something is really big? Like, really, REALLY big? Like the WHOLE continent of North America? There’s no scale big enough, so you gotta use science and math! We asked geoscience grad student Kelsey Woody to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s weighing heavily on you? …

1
Do my clothes define me? (The Sweatshirt Episode) 12:43

4d ago12:43

12:43

Here’s the scenario: you’ve been invited to donate a garment that represents you to your local museum. You’ve been given carte blanche to select something that is personal and important to you, and that reflects your daily life. What would you choose? You might be surprised by what I’d pick. This month’s episode challenges you to think about the di…

1
Liberia (Encore) 16:13

5d ago16:13

16:13

Every country in Africa is unique and has its own history. However, many African countries share a similar story over the last 150 years, having gone through European colonization and decolonization. The nation of Liberia, however, has a history, unlike any other country in the world. From its founding to its modern-day governance, the story of the…

1
Permutations and Combinations (Encore) 15:35

6d ago15:35

15:35

Whenever there is a lottery, the odds of winning are given. If you go to a pizzeria, they might tell you the number of possible pizzas that can be made, given their toppings. If you have a combination lock, it is secured because of the number of different solutions that are possible. All of these things might seem different, but they are all part o…

1
The National Park Service (Encore) 15:15

7d ago15:15

15:15

In 19th century America, a movement began to take areas of exceptional natural beauty and preserve them. This idea of setting aside land for the purpose of preservation is something that was never really taken seriously before. These areas became known as national parks, and they spawned a movement of land preservation that spread around the world …

1
Gridiron Gizmos: How Football Tech Scored Big in Broadcasting 41:34

8d ago41:34

41:34

Football season is back, and with it comes a reminder of how the NFL has driven significant technological advancements in broadcasting. From the introduction of multi-camera setups and color TV in the 1950s to the creation of instant replay and the telestrator, the demand for better football viewing experiences has led to innovations that have resh…

1
The History of Pizza (Encore) 14:24

8d ago14:24

14:24

There is a good chance that sometime in the last few days, weeks, or months, you might have enjoyed a slice or two of pizza. Pizza has become a near-ubiquitous food which can be found in almost every country. However, there is no one pizza. There are vehement disagreements about what pizza is best and what sort of toppings are acceptable. Learn mor…

1
Why do horses need horseshoes? 6:29

14d ago6:29

6:29

You don’t see most horses wearing pants, jackets or hats but one thing is for sure - they’re almost always wearing shoes! You know, those u-shaped things attached to their hooves. Why is that? Large animal surgeon Whitney Cutrone helps us find the answer. Are you saddled with a big equestrian? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll get to…

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