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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

00:21:56

EP34 - Salem's Gallows: Where There's No Smoke,...

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/27

We all picture the same scene: villagers, torches, and a witch burning at the stake in colonial Salem. It's an image seared into our collective memory of America's most infamous witch hunt. But what if the most iconic, fiery detail of that entire tragedy is completely wrong?

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00:18:35

EP33 - The Unsinkable Lie: How the Titanic Myth Was...

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/24

We all know the story of the Titanic, the magnificent ship infamously advertised as "unsinkable" before its tragic maiden voyage. But what if that famous label, the very symbol of human hubris, was never a marketing slogan at all? This episode dives into the archives to uncover how the myth of the "unsinkable" ship was constructed in the wake of the disaster, not before it.

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00:19:51

EP32 - The Toxin That Wasn't There: Detox Diets and...

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/21

We’re told our bodies are accumulating toxins that only a special juice cleanse can remove, and that drinking eight glasses of water a day is the key to health. But what if the multi-billion-dollar detox industry is selling a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, and the most famous rule in hydration is based on a complete misunderstanding?

en-US

00:18:26

EP31 - The Alpha Wolf: A Leader of the Pack, or a...

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/18

We all know the story of the "alpha wolf," the dominant leader who fights to rule the pack. This powerful image has shaped our understanding of nature and even human society. But what if the entire scientific basis for the alpha wolf was a profound misunderstanding, based on a situation that was anything but natural?

en-US

00:21:51

EP30 - The Trojan Horse: A Gift, a Weapon, or a Lie?

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/15

We all learned the story of the Trojan War's dramatic end: a giant wooden horse, a clever trick, and a city burned to the ground. It’s a classic tale of Greek ingenuity and Trojan hubris. But what if the most famous part of the story, the horse itself, is a complete fabrication?

en-US

00:19:15

EP29 - The Five-Second Fallacy: Our Delicious Lie...

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/12

We've all done it: dropped a cookie, snatched it up, and declared it safe by the "five-second rule." This universally accepted wisdom says we have a brief, magical window to rescue our food from the germs on the floor. But what if science says that window closes the instant the food hits the ground?

en-US

00:20:14

EP28 - An Iron-Clad Lie: The Great Spinach Typo

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/09

We all grew up believing that spinach, the secret to Popeye's strength, was a superfood packed with an unbelievable amount of iron. But what if this cornerstone of nutritional wisdom, this multi-generational parental trick to get kids to eat their greens, was all based on a simple typo from the 19th century? This episode uncovers the surprisingly flimsy truth behind the iron-clad myth.

en-US

00:20:16

EP27 - Vitamins: The Fuel or the Ignition?

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/06

We reach for vitamins when we feel run down, believing they provide a direct boost of energy to get us through the day. But if vitamins have zero calories, where does that "energy" actually come from? This episode dismantles the billion-dollar myth of energy in a pill, revealing the difference between being a fuel source and being the spark that ignites the fuel.

en-US

00:20:58

EP26 - X Marks the Myth: The Buried Truth About...

Half-Truths ·

2025/10/03

We all know the story: a grizzled pirate, a heavy chest, and a secret map where X marks the spot. But this iconic image of buried treasure is one of history's greatest half-truths. Where did this legend come from, and what did pirates *actually* do with their mountains of stolen loot?

en-US

00:21:06

EP25 - Bleeding the Patient: The Cure That Was Never...

Half-Truths ·

2025/09/30

We all learned about bloodletting as a grim but accepted part of ancient medicine, a practice used by the best doctors for thousands of years. But was it really a legitimate medical treatment based on the "science" of the day? This episode pulls back the curtain on the four humors to reveal how a philosophical idea, not evidence, dominated medicine for centuries and often did more harm than good.

en-US

00:20:24

EP24 - Marie Curie's Radiant Tomb: A Luminous Lie

Half-Truths ·

2025/09/29

We all learned that Marie Curie, the heroic mother of modern physics, died from radiation poisoning due to her groundbreaking research. It’s a tragic, poetic story of a martyr for science. But what if the official cause of death on her certificate tells a different, more complex, and medically fascinating story about the true cost of discovery?

en-US

00:21:07

EP23 - The Tongue Map: A Delicious Deception

Half-Truths ·

2025/09/28

We all remember the colorful map from science class showing where we taste sweet, salty, sour, and bitter on our tongues. It’s a simple, scientific fact we've carried with us since childhood. But what if that map is a complete fabrication, a century-old misinterpretation that has obscured the far more complex and fascinating truth about how we experience flavor?

en-US

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

54 results

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