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PODCAST

Half-Truths

Half-Truths Podcast

Remember that neat, tidy version of history and science you learned in school? The one with brave explorers discovering continents, brilliant inventors having a single "eureka!" moment, and a food pyramid that was definitely going to make you healthy? It turns out, a lot of it was wrong. Welcome to Half-Truths, the show dedicated to unlearning the myths, half-truths, and outright fabrications that have become common knowledge. In each episode, we take one "fact" you thought you knew and trace it

science social sciences

All Episodes

00:21:39

EP22 - The Internet Isn't a Truck, It's a Series of...

Half-Truths ·

2025/09/28

We all chuckle at the infamous "series of tubes" metaphor for the internet, dismissing it as the ramblings of an out-of-touch politician. But what if that simple, flawed analogy accidentally became the default way we all think about the web, blinding us to the chaotic, brilliant, and fragile truth of how it actually works?

en-US

00:17:33

EP21 - The White Desert: Unfreezing the Truth About...

Half-Truths ·

2025/09/27

We picture the Arctic as an eternal, silent wasteland of ice, home only to the occasional polar bear. But what if this image of desolate emptiness is a dangerous illusion? This episode journeys to the top of the world to reveal a hidden ecosystem teeming with color, sound, and life that is critical to the entire planet.

en-US

00:20:07

EP20 - The Birthday Party Placebo: Deconstructing the...

Half-Truths ·

2025/09/20

We’ve all seen it: the wild-eyed chaos after a child eats cake and ice cream. The cause seems obvious – a "sugar rush." But what if the science tells a completely different story, one where the most powerful ingredient is our own expectation?

en-US

00:21:24

EP19 - The Pineapple King and the Stolen Crown

Half-Truths ·

2025/09/13

We all know pineapples are as Hawaiian as luaus and surfboards. The iconic Dole logo is a global symbol of the islands' tropical bounty. But what if this entire identity was a marketing invention, crafted by an ambitious man who arrived just after the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown?

en-US

00:23:19

EP18 - Houston, We Have a Storyline

Half-Truths ·

2025/09/06

We all know the iconic footage of the first Moon landing, a defining moment of the 20th century. But for millions, that footage is a lie, a Hollywood production staged to win the Cold War. This episode unpacks why the Moon landing hoax theory is so persistent and reveals the mountain of evidence that proves the most incredible story is the one that actually happened.

en-US

00:18:48

EP17 - Cousins, Not Ancestors: Why You Didn't Evolve...

Half-Truths ·

2025/08/30

We’ve all seen the famous image of a stooped ape gradually evolving into an upright human. This "March of Progress" taught us that we evolved from apes, but is that really the picture science paints? This episode dismantles that iconic lineup to reveal a more complex and fascinating family tree where chimpanzees aren't our ancestors, but our cousins.

en-US

00:20:35

EP16 - Spin Cycle: The Truth About Toilets and Tornadoes

Half-Truths ·

2025/08/23

We've all heard that water swirls down the drain in opposite directions depending on which side of the equator you're on, thanks to the mighty Coriolis effect. But is this planet-spinning force really in charge of your bathtub, or has a simple physics lesson been twisted into a global myth?

en-US

00:18:09

EP15 - Blind as a Bat? Seeing Through a Sonic Myth

Half-Truths ·

2025/08/16

We all know the saying "blind as a bat," a creature that navigates the pitch-black world using sound alone. But what if this classic image of a sightless, sonar-guided marvel is just a convenient story we've been telling ourselves? The truth about what bats actually see might just change how you view the night sky.

en-US

00:18:07

EP14 - A Joint Dis-service: The Knuckle Cracking...

Half-Truths ·

2025/08/09

We've all been warned: "Stop cracking your knuckles, you'll get arthritis!" It's a piece of common wisdom passed down from parents and teachers, a surefire path to swollen, painful joints later in life. But what if that satisfying pop isn't the sound of your future pain, but something else entirely?

en-US

00:18:53

EP13 - Chameleon Camouflage: A Colorful Misunderstanding

Half-Truths ·

2025/08/02

We all learned that chameleons are the masters of camouflage, changing their skin to blend in and hide from predators. But what if this legendary disappearing act isn't the main reason for their color-shifting abilities? This episode reveals the vibrant, social, and surprisingly loud truth behind why chameleons really change their colors.

en-US

00:18:49

EP12 - The Goldfish in the Glass Castle: Memory...

Half-Truths ·

2025/07/26

We've all heard it: a goldfish has a memory that lasts only a few seconds, doomed to rediscover its tiny world with every lap. But what if that comforting "fact" is less science and more of a convenient fiction? This episode uncovers the surprisingly long and complex memory of the common goldfish, and what our belief in its forgetfulness says about us.

en-US

00:24:06

EP11 - The First First-Footers: Columbus, the...

Half-Truths ·

2025/07/19

We all learned the rhyme: "In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" and discovered America. But what if the story of a brave explorer finding a New World was just the convenient beginning to a much older, more complex, and far more interesting story?

en-US

00:19:34

EP10 - The Lemming's Lie: Disney's Plunge Into Deception

Half-Truths ·

2025/07/12

We've all heard the story: lemmings, in a fit of collective madness, blindly march off cliffs to their doom. It's a powerful metaphor for conformity, but it's built on a complete fabrication. This episode uncovers the shocking cinematic lie behind one of biology's most persistent myths.

en-US

00:22:51

EP9 - Dropping the Apple: Newton's Unpeeled Truth

Half-Truths ·

2025/07/05

We all know the story: an apple bonks Isaac Newton on the head, and in a flash of genius, the theory of gravity is born. But what if the most famous "eureka" moment in science history never actually happened? This episode peels back the layers of a legend to uncover a truth far more complex, and far more brilliant, than a simple falling fruit.

en-US

00:23:18

EP8 - The Emperor's New Inches: Why Napoleon Wasn't...

Half-Truths ·

2025/06/28

Everyone knows Napoleon Bonaparte was a tiny tyrant, a man so short he had a psychological complex named after him. But what if the story of the "Little Corporal" is one of history's greatest PR jobs? This episode uncovers how a mix-up in measurement and a masterful propaganda campaign shrunk an emperor and created a myth that has stood tall for two hundred years.

en-US

00:22:56

EP7 - The Wizard of Menlo Park and the Light Bulb Lie

Half-Truths ·

2025/06/21

We all learned that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in a singular "eureka!" moment. But what if the story of the lone genius who banished the darkness is just a convenient fable? This episode unscrews the familiar bulb to reveal a surprising, decades-long story of forgotten pioneers, brilliant marketing, and the real genius that actually powered our modern world.

en-US

00:15:53

EP6 - The Ghost in Your Fingertips

Half-Truths ·

2025/06/14

We learn it in kindergarten: humans have five senses. Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch are the five pillars of our reality. But what if that foundational piece of biology is wrong, leaving out the hidden senses that allow you to walk, feel pain, and even know which way is up?

en-US

00:17:51

EP5 - The Great Wall You Can't See From Space

Half-Truths ·

2025/06/07

We were all taught that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space, a testament to human ingenuity visible even from the moon. But what if the people who have actually been to space—the astronauts themselves—tell a completely different story?

en-US

00:19:07

EP4 - Vincent's Final Cut: The Truth About Van Gogh's...

Half-Truths ·

2025/05/31

We all know the story: in a fit of madness, Vincent van Gogh sliced off his entire ear and gave it to a prostitute. It's the ultimate symbol of the tortured artist. But what if that bloody, iconic story—the one that defined his legacy—is based on a fundamental misreading of the evidence, and the truth is both less dramatic and infinitely more tragic?

en-US

00:21:31

EP3 - The Great American Pyramid Scheme

Half-Truths ·

2025/05/24

We all remember the iconic USDA Food Pyramid from our school cafeterias—a simple, colorful guide telling us to build our diets on a foundation of bread, cereal, and pasta. It was presented as the gospel of good health, a scientific roadmap to nutrition. But what if that roadmap was drawn by lobbyists, and the destination it led us to wasn't health, but a national health crisis?

en-US

42 results

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