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PODCAST

Smartest Year Ever

The Smartest Year Ever began as a 365-day experiment in curiosity. In 2025, I dropped a new fact every single day. History, science, language, word origins, and strange true stories, all the stuff that somehow makes you sound smarter in conversation. The goal hasn’t changed: help you become the world’s greatest conversationalist.

education

All Episodes

00:04:08

The CIA’s $20 Million Spy Cat | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/14

In the 1960s, the CIA launched one of the strangest covert projects in espionage history — a top-secret mission to transform an ordinary house cat into a Cold War spy.In this episode, Gordy dives into the bizarre true story of Project Acoustic Kitty — a multimillion-dollar experiment where veterinarians and engineers attempted to surgically implant listening devices inside cats. It was part of a larger intelligence arms race where both the U.S. and the Soviet Union were desperate for new

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00:04:36

Balloonfest ’86: The World Record That Went Horribly...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/13

In 1986, Cleveland tried to set a world record for the biggest balloon launch in history — and ended up with one of the most infamous public relations disasters of all time.On this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks the unbelievable story of Balloonfest ’86 — a charity event gone wrong that flooded skies with 1.4 million helium balloons, shut down airports, and even interfered with Coast Guard rescue efforts.It began as an uplifting act of civic pride, backed by the United Way of

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00:03:36

The U.S. Secret Plan to Nuke the Moon | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/12

In 1958, the U.S. Air Force drafted a top-secret project so shocking it sounds like science fiction — a plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon.In this episode, Gordy uncovers Project A119, a Cold War proposal designed to send a nuclear warhead to the lunar surface — not to test weapons or gather data, but to put on a show of power visible from Earth. It was meant to intimidate the Soviet Union, boost American morale after Sputnik, and prove technological dominance at any cost.With names like

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00:04:54

The Woman Who Cheated the Boston Marathon | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/11

In 1980, a woman crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon with perfect hair, flawless makeup, and no sign of sweat. Her name was Rosie Ruiz, and her time wasn’t just impressive—it was one of the fastest women’s marathon times in history.There was just one problem: she didn’t actually run the race.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks one of the most infamous cheating scandals in sports history—a story that became less about running and more about the illusion of success. From

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00:04:16

The Town That’s Been Burning Since 1962 | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/10

What happens when a small Pennsylvania coal town accidentally sets itself on fire—and never puts it out?Gordy dives into the haunting story of Centralia, the real-life ghost town that’s been smoldering underground for more than sixty years. It’s a tale of coal seam fires, slow-motion disaster, and human stubbornness that turned one community into a living science experiment. From the 1981 sinkhole rescue to the eerie landscape that inspired Silent Hill, this episode uncovers how one spark became a

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00:05:10

How Parrots Talk | Smartest Year Ever (Dec 9, 2025)

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/09

Parrots can talk, mimic human speech, and even ask questions—but how? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores the science behind how parrots talk, from the anatomy of the syrinx to the extraordinary neural circuitry that gives them one of nature’s rarest superpowers: vocal learning.Discover how parrots use mimicry not just for fun, but for social bonding, why they can reproduce words with precision even without vocal cords, and how one remarkable bird—Alex the African Grey—blurred the

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00:04:00

NASA’s Forgotten Moon Trees | Smartest Year Ever (Dec...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/08

In 1971, during Apollo 14, astronaut Stuart Roosa quietly carried a few hundred tree seeds into lunar orbit — and almost no one remembers what happened next. This episode of Smartest Year Ever explores one of NASA’s most overlooked experiments, where Earth’s forests met the space age, and a handful of sycamores, redwoods, loblolly pines, sweetgums, and Douglas firs became living symbols of human exploration.Gordy unearths the forgotten story of these so-called “Moon Trees,” how they were planted

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00:05:23

Why You Think Everyone’s Noticing You | Smartest Year...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/07

When you trip, stutter, or realize you’ve been talking with spinach in your teeth, it feels like the whole world saw. But what if that embarrassment is just a psychological illusion?In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores the Spotlight Effect — a powerful cognitive bias that makes us believe we’re the center of everyone’s attention. It’s a fascinating glimpse into social psychology, self-consciousness, and the way our brains exaggerate how visible we really are.From awkward college

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00:04:21

Why Incompetent People Think They’re Brilliant |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/06

Why do the least skilled people often feel the most confident?In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores the strange psychology behind overconfidence, self-delusion, and how our brains confuse ignorance for insight — the phenomenon known as the Dunning–Kruger Effect.It all started with a real bank robber who believed lemon juice would make him invisible to security cameras — and the psychologists who couldn’t stop asking how someone could be so wrong and so sure. The answer turned out to

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00:04:43

Why One Good Trait Blinds Us to the Rest | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/05

Why do we assume someone’s attractive, confident, or well-spoken means they’re also smart, honest, or competent? Gordy explores the Halo Effect—a powerful psychological bias that colors every judgment we make about people, products, and even presidents.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks how a single positive trait can trick our brains into seeing an entire person through a glowing filter. From job interviews and classrooms to courtrooms and marketing campaigns, this cognitive

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00:04:16

Why We Love What We Build | Smartest Year Ever (Dec...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/04

Why do we love what we build, even when it’s imperfect? In this episode, Gordy unpacks the IKEA Effect — a fascinating psychological bias showing that the more effort we put into creating something, the more value we assign to it.From IKEA furniture and homemade meals to LEGO sets and Build-A-Bear toys, Gordy explores how labor becomes love—and how our brains rewrite reality to make our hard work feel meaningful.He breaks down the original 2011 study by Michael Norton, Dan Ariely, and Daniel Mochon,

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00:04:07

Why Asking for a Favor Makes People Like You |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/03

Benjamin Franklin discovered something centuries before psychology gave it a name: people like you more when they do you a favor.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores the Ben Franklin Effect — a powerful psychological bias that flips the usual social script. Why does asking someone for help make them feel closer to you? How does cognitive dissonance rewire our brains to justify our actions? And what can you learn from Franklin’s legendary favor request that turned a rival into an

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00:04:34

Why That Horoscope (and Personality Test) Felt So...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/02

Why do horoscopes and personality tests feel so eerily accurate? In this Brain Hack Week episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy digs into the psychology behind why people see themselves so perfectly reflected in vague personality descriptions, from classic horoscopes to modern workplace assessments. This phenomenon has shaped everything from entertainment to hiring decisions, and it reveals something deep about how the human brain processes self-relevance, identity, and flattery.Gordy breaks down how

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00:05:25

Why You See Things Everywhere After You Learn About...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/12/01

Ever notice that once you learn about something, you suddenly start seeing it everywhere? A new word, a new car, a random concept — and now it’s somehow following you. Gordy kicks off Cognitive Bias Week by exploring one of the strangest tricks your brain plays on you: why our minds convince us the world has changed when it hasn’t.This episode dives into the psychology of perception, pattern recognition, and confirmation bias, breaking down how your attention rewires itself the moment something

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00:05:56

The Forgotten Captain of the Mayflower | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/11/30

Who really captained the Mayflower? Everyone knows about the Pilgrims, but few remember the merchant sailor who actually got them across the Atlantic. In this episode, Gordy uncovers the extraordinary true story of Captain Christopher Jones — a man whose decisions shaped the fate of Plymouth Colony but whose name was nearly erased from history. From storm-tossed seas and cracked masts to a baby born mid-voyage, this is the forgotten tale of the mariner who guided the Pilgrims to the New World.Gordy

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00:04:27

The Mystery of Virginia Dare and the Lost Colony |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/11/29

Gordy dives into one of early America’s most compelling historical enigmas: the 1587 birth of Virginia Dare, the first English-child born in the New World, and the eerie disappearance of the entire settlement known as the Lost Colony of Roanoke. On August 18 1587 that infant girl entered history on Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina, yet when her grandfather, Governor John White, returned three years later to check on the colony, all 115 settlers—including his daughter and

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00:06:02

The Myth of Plymouth Rock | Smartest Year Ever (Nov...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/11/28

Centuries of visitors have gazed down at Plymouth Rock, believing it marked where the Pilgrims first set foot in America. But history tells a different story. In this episode, Gordy unearths how one emotional claim from a 94-year-old church elder in 1741 transformed an ordinary boulder into a national origin myth—and why that myth still matters.From cracked stones to carved dates and cold December landings, Gordy traces how legend became legacy, and how America’s obsession with symbols can reshape

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00:04:05

Why It’s Called “Black Friday” | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/11/27

Ever wonder why it’s called “Black Friday” — and how a term that once meant financial ruin ended up describing holiday shopping chaos?In this episode, Gordy traces the strange evolution of “Black Friday” from an 1869 Wall Street panic to a Philadelphia police nickname, to one of the most profitable (and perilous) shopping days in modern history. Along the way, he unpacks how marketing spin, linguistic twists, and American consumer culture transformed a phrase of misery into one of money.From Jay

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00:04:42

What Was Actually Eaten at the First Thanksgiving |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/11/26

The first Thanksgiving wasn’t about turkey, cranberry sauce, or pie—it was about survival. In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy breaks down what the Pilgrims and Wampanoag really ate in 1621, using the only two surviving written accounts. Forget the gravy boats and pumpkin pie—this was a feast of venison, wildfowl, shellfish, and cornmeal shared between two worlds.Gordy dives into how this three-day harvest celebration became the foundation for an American tradition—one that looked nothing

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00:04:31

Why Turkeys Are Called Turkeys | Smartest Year Ever...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/11/25

Every Thanksgiving, Americans sit down to eat a bird named after a country halfway across the world.But why is the turkey called “turkey”?In this episode, Gordy untangles one of the strangest stories in linguistic history—a tale of colonial trade routes, mistaken identity, and centuries of confusion that turned a North American bird into a global geography lesson gone wrong. From Ottoman merchants to Benjamin Franklin’s famous letter praising the turkey’s “moral character,” this one has it all:

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368 results

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