Best Abumrad Podcasts (2024)

1
Haunted 30:42

1d ago30:42

30:42

In an episode we first aired in 2014, we meet a man named Dennis Conrow, who was stuck. After a brief stint at college, he’d spent most of his 20’s back home with his parents, sleeping in his childhood room. And just when he finally struck out on his own, fate intervened. He lost both his parents to cancer. So Dennis was left, back in the house, al…

1
The Unpopular Vote 59:46

5d ago59:46

59:46

As the US Presidential Election nears, Radiolab covers the closest we ever came to abolishing the Electoral College. In the 1960s, then-President Lyndon Johnson approached an ambitious young Senator known as the Kennedy of the Midwest to tweak the way Americans elect their President. The more Senator Birch Bayh looked into the electoral college the…

1
Track-by-Track Commentary on Podsongs Volume 13 1:01:01

12d ago1:01:01

1:01:01

In this special episode of Podsongs, we take a journey through a season full of diverse musical inspirations and intriguing interviews. Hosts Luigi Falcione, Maurizio Sanicola, and Massimino Vozza reflect on their creative process and share tracks inspired by guests from various fields, including physicist Alan Lightman, jazz musician Sidron, chef …

1
Tweak the Vote 1:09:43

12d ago1:09:43

1:09:43

Back in 2018, when this episode first aired, there was a feeling that democracy was on the ropes. In the United States and abroad, citizens of democracies are feeling increasingly alienated, disaffected, and powerless. Some are even asking themselves a question that feels almost too dangerous to say out loud: is democracy fundamentally broken? Toda…

1
Why Don't Sex Scandals Matter Anymore? 43:34

24d ago43:34

43:34

In 1987, Gary Hart was a young charismatic Democrat, poised to win his party’s nomination and possibly the presidency. Many of us know the story of what happened next, and even if you don’t, it’s a familiar tale. Back in 2016, we examined how, when this happened, politicians and political reporters found themselves in uncharted territory. And with …

1
Terrestrials: Stumpisode 32:37

26d ago32:37

32:37

As dead as they seem, tree stumps are hubs of life and relationships. Co-host Lulu Miller is back with another season of her hit spinoff show Terrestrials, and to celebrate, we’re sharing the first episode with you. From stumps to snags, dead wood provides habitat for rodents, falcons, insects, and even humans. Stumps hold together the forest floor…

1
Octomom 33:57

1M ago33:57

33:57

A mile under the ocean, we get to watch an octopus perform a heroic act of heart and determination. First aired back in 2020, this episode follows the story of an octopus living one mile under the ocean as she performs a heroic act of heart and determination. In 2007, Bruce Robison’s robot submarine stumbled across an octopus settling in to brood h…

1
A Little Pompeiian Fish Sauce Goes a Long Way 39:18

1M ago39:18

39:18

Today we follow a sleuth who has spent over a decade working to solve an epic mystery hiding in plain historical sight: did anyone survive the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD? Tired of hearing the conventional narrative that every Pompeiian perished without any evidence to back it up, Classicist Steven Tuck decides to look into it himself. Altho…

1
The Times They Are a-Changin' 24:54

2M ago24:54

24:54

This episode first aired back in December of 2013, and at the start of that new year, the team was cracking open fossils, peering back into ancient seas, and looking up at lunar skies only to find that a year is not quite as fixed as we thought it was. With the help of paleontologist Neil Shubin, reporter Emily Graslie and the Field Museum's Paul M…

1
DOGSONGS: Crafting a Canine-Inspired Composition with ATLYS and Dog Trainer Linda Michaels 1:31:39

2M ago1:31:39

1:31:39

In this episode of Podsongs, host Jack Stafford is joined by the band ATLYS to discuss their project inspired by renowned dog trainer Linda Michaels. They delve into the unique, innovative methods of Linda, emphasizing her force-free dog training techniques and the development of the Hierarchy of Dog Needs. The conversation covers the band's classi…

1
Shell Game 53:43

2M ago53:43

53:43

One man secretly hands off more and more of his life to an AI voice clone. Today, we feature veteran journalist Evan Ratliff who - for his new podcast Shell Game - decided to slowly replace himself bit by bit with an AI voice clone, to see how far he could actually take it. Could it do the mundane phone calls he’d prefer to skip? Could it get legal…

1
Big Little Questions 52:55

2M ago52:55

52:55

First aired back in 2017, here’s a show of questions and, sometimes, answers. Cause, we get a lot of questions. Like, A LOT of questions. Tiny questions, big questions, short questions, long questions. Weird questions. Poop questions. We get them all. And over the years, as more and more of these questions arrived in our inbox, what happened was, g…

1
Uneasy as ABC 34:38

2M ago34:38

34:38

February 1976. A flight out of California turned catastrophic when it crashed into a farm in rural Nebraska. What happened that night at the local hospital, and crucially, what went wrong, would inspire a global sea-change in how emergency rooms operate and fundamentally alter the way doctors think in a crisis. Special thanks to Jody and Jay Uprigh…

1
ART WITHOUT BORDERS: Healing the trauma of refugee children one picture at a time. 2:18:06

2M ago2:18:06

2:18:06

Creating hope with every brushstroke, Max Frieder goes into refugee camps around the world to bring light into the darkest corners. Working with children who have experienced terrible trauma, to anyone with any doubt he shows that Art can change the world.In this inspiring and engaging episode, he talks to the musician Zea Stallings form the band T…

1
More Perfect: The Gun Show 1:12:30

3M ago1:12:30

1:12:30

Given that we’re all gearing up for the Presidential race, and how gun rights and regulations are almost always centerstage during these times. Today, we’re re-releasing a More Perfect episode that aired just after the October 2017 Las Vegas shooting. It is an episode that attempts to make sense of our country’s fraught relationship with the Second…

1
Up in Smoke 27:23

3M ago27:23

27:23

Two scenes. In the first, a doctor gets a call — the hospital she works at is having an outbreak of unknown origin, in the middle of the worst wildfire season on record. In the second, an ecologist stands in a forest, watching it burn. Through very different circumstances, they both find themselves asking the same question: is there something in th…

1
Sleep 56:02

3M ago56:02

56:02

We had a question back in 2007, about a thing every creature on the planet does--from giant humpback whales to teeny fruit flies. Why do we all sleep? What does it do for us, and what happens when we go without? We take a peek at iguanas sleeping with one eye open, get in bed with a pair of sleep-deprived new parents, and eavesdrop on the uneasy dr…

1
Terrestrials: The Trio 31:23

3M ago31:23

31:23

High above the banks of the Mississippi river, a nest holds the secret life of one of America’s most patriotic creatures. Their story puzzles scientists, reinforces indigenous wisdom, and wows audiences, all thanks to a park ranger named Ed, and a well-placed webcam. If you want to spoil the mystery, here ya go: it’s a bald eagle. Actually, it’s th…

1
THE ARTISTIC JOURNEY: From Self-Doubt to Confidence. Robert Carlyle inspires songwriter Milo Gore 1:33:15

3M ago1:33:15

1:33:15

In an extraordinary dialogue between rising music talent Milo Gore and acclaimed actor Robert Carlyle, Episode 151 of Podsongs unveils the raw essence of the creative process, navigating through the highs and lows that define the artistic journey. Hosted by Jack Stafford, this episode takes listeners on an introspective dive into the minds of two p…

1
Lose Lose 31:32

3M ago31:32

31:32

To celebrate the imminent start of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France we have an episode originally reported in 2016. No matter what sport you play, the object of the game is to win. And that’s hard enough to do. But we found a match where four top athletes had to do the opposite in one of the most high profile matches of their careers. Than…

1
How to Save a Life 47:52

4M ago47:52

47:52

We get it… the world feels too bleak and too big for you to make a difference. But there is one thing - one simple tangible thing - you can do to make all the difference in the world to someone, possibly even a loved one, at arguably the worst moment of their life. Statistics show that 1 out of every 5 people on earth will die of heart failure. Car…

1
Happy Birthday, Good Dr. Sacks 23:58

4M ago23:58

23:58

First aired back in 2013, we originally released this episode to celebrate the 80th birthday of one of our favorite human beings, Oliver Sacks. To celebrate, his good friend, and our former co-host Rober Krulwich, asks the good doctor to look back, and explain how thousands of worms and a motorbike accident led to a brilliant writing career. We hav…

1
The Alford Plea 53:49

4M ago53:49

53:49

In 1995, a tragic fire in Pittsburgh set off a decades-long investigation that sent Greg Brown Jr. to prison. But, after a series of remarkable twists, Brown found himself contemplating a path to freedom that involved a paradoxical plea deal—one that peels back the curtain on the criminal justice system and reveals it doesn’t work the way we think …

1
Birdie in the Cage 44:18

4M ago44:18

44:18

People have been doing the square dance since before the Declaration of Independence. But does that mean it should be THE American folk dance? That question took us on a journey from Appalachian front porches, to dance classes across our nation, to the halls of Congress, and finally a Kansas City convention center. And along the way, we uncovered a…

1
Aphantasia 34:43

5M ago34:43

34:43

Close your eyes and imagine a red apple. What do you see? Turns out there’s a whole spectrum of answers to that question and Producer Sindhu Gnanasambandan is on one far end. In this episode, she explores what it means to see – and not see – in your mind. Special thanks to Kim Nederveen Pieterse, Nathan Peereboom, Lizzie Peabody, Kristin Lin, Jo Ei…

1
WHALES, BREATH AND BEING: James Nestor inspires Lowland Hum to create a song about Freediving 1:45:36

5M ago1:45:36

1:45:36

Podsongs is the unique podcast where musicians interview inspirational people as inspiration for a new song. This episode, with writer James Nestor and the musical duo Lowland Hum, covers an expansive range of topics including the significant roles of breathing in enhancing both physical and mental health as advocated by Nestor, the creative and tr…

1
Argentine Invasion 21:54

5M ago21:54

21:54

From a suburban sidewalk in southern California, Jad and Robert witness the carnage of a gruesome turf war. Though the tiny warriors doing battle clock in at just a fraction of an inch, they have evolved a surprising, successful, and rather unsettling strategy of ironclad loyalty, absolute intolerance, and brutal violence. David Holway, an ecologis…

1
Mixtapes to the Moon 37:38

5M ago37:38

37:38

They promised to change you. They ended up changing all of us. On July 20, 1969 humanity watched as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon. It was the dazzling culmination of a decade of teamwork, a collective global experience unlike anything before or since, a singular moment in which every human being was invited to feel part of something large…

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