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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

00:08:06

Did This Tiny Fish Really Swim Up a Man’s Urethra? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/17

It’s Weird Animals Week on Smartest Year Ever—and today, Gordy investigates one of the most infamous creatures in the Amazon: the candiru, also known as the vampire fish.This needle-thin parasite has a reputation that’s spread far beyond the rainforest—thanks to a viral legend that it swam into a man’s urethra. But how much of that is true? And how did this obscure fish become one of the most feared animals in the world, despite being only a few inches long?In this episode, Gordy digs into the

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00:10:27

Can You Really Sleep Through a Vampire Bat Drinking...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/17

Vampire bats don’t just live in horror stories—they’re real, they’re precise, and they might be the most unexpectedly polite bloodsuckers in the animal kingdom.In this kickoff to Weird Animals Week, Gordy dives into one of the strangest mammals on Earth—a warm-blooded, heat-seeking crawler that walks, leaps, and drinks blood without waking its victim. From the Amazon jungle to modern medicine, this episode uncovers the biological marvels behind a creature that’s as unsettling as it is

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00:07:12

The Taj Mahal: Love, Loss, and the World’s Greatest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/15

The Taj Mahal is more than a postcard. It’s a monument to obsession, grief, and imperial love, built by a shattered emperor for the woman he couldn’t live without.In today’s finale of Wonders Week, Gordy explores the breathtaking symmetry, engineering secrets, and emotional legacy of India’s most iconic landmark. Why did it take 20 years and 20,000 workers to build? What’s hidden beneath the marble dome? And what really happened to the so-called “Black Taj”?This isn’t just about architecture—it’s

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00:09:49

Inside the Roman Colosseum: Bloodsport for 50,000...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/14

What kind of empire builds a stadium where trapdoors launch tigers, elevators lift rhinoceroses, and ships fight naval battles on floodwater—all in front of 50,000 fans breathing rose-scented mist?In this episode, Gordy explores the Colosseum: not just an ancient arena, but a precision-engineered machine of blood, power, and propaganda. From hypogeum trapdoor systems that rival modern stagecraft, to naumachiae—actual sea battles fought inside the arena—this isn’t just a story about gladiators. It’s

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00:07:36

Chichén Itzá: How This Pyramid Summons a Snake Each...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/13

At the heart of the Yucatán jungle stands one of the most mathematically astonishing structures ever built: El Castillo, the towering pyramid of Chichén Itzá. But this isn’t just architecture—it’s astronomy, acoustics, and ancient cosmology in stone.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the mysteries of Chichén Itzá—one of the New 7 Wonders of the World—to explore how the Maya used shadows, steps, and serpent gods to turn limestone into a living calendar. From eerie snake-shaped

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00:09:56

The Mystery of Machu Picchu: Lost for 400 Years |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/12

How do you lose an entire city in the mountains—and then find it again centuries later? In this episode, Gordy explores Machu Picchu, the legendary Incan citadel perched high in the Andes Mountains, hidden from the outside world for over 400 years.We’ll uncover how the Inca built this architectural wonder at 8,000 feet, without wheels, iron tools, or written records—and how a Yale professor accidentally brought it to global fame while looking for something else entirely.From stonework that defies

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00:05:59

The Real Story Behind Christ the Redeemer | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/11

Why did Brazil build a 100-foot-tall statue of Jesus (Christ the Redeemer) on top of a mountain? How did they do it without helicopters or cranes—and what secret chamber is hidden inside his chest?In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy explores Christ the Redeemer, the towering statue that has become a global icon of Brazil. From its political origins to its mind-blowing construction challenges, you’ll learn what this wonder is really made of—both physically and symbolically.Discover how

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00:06:11

Petra: The Ancient City Carved Into Stone | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/10

Petra wasn’t built—it was carved. Straight into rose-red cliffs in the Jordanian desert.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the lost city of Petra, a marvel of ancient engineering, water mastery, and architectural fusion. Once a bustling capital of the Nabataean kingdom, Petra is famous for its towering façade known as Al-Khazneh—but there’s way more hidden beneath the surface.With temples, tombs, aqueducts, and amphitheaters all sculpted out of solid rock, Petra stands as a

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00:08:32

The Truth About the Great Wall of China | Smartest...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/09

Is the Great Wall of China really the only manmade structure you can see from space? Gordy kicks off Wonders Week with one of the most iconic monuments on Earth—and digs into what’s fact, what’s fiction, and what makes the Wall truly unforgettable. From its 2,000-year history to Ming Dynasty engineering feats, glutinous rice mortar, and its complicated legacy as both a defense system and a symbol of Chinese power, this episode peels back the myths and shows what the Great Wall really was... and

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00:06:34

The Uncanny Valley: Why Almost-Human Faces Feel So...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/08

Why do almost-human faces make us uncomfortable? Why does a robot that looks too real feel creepier than one that doesn’t? In this episode, Gordy explores the strange psychological dip known as the Uncanny Valley — where human-likeness turns unsettling.From lifelike robots to CGI gone wrong, we break down the evolutionary, cognitive, and emotional reasons behind this phenomenon — and why it still matters today. Whether it’s a deepfake, a dead-eyed doll, or a virtual avatar, your brain has a reason

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00:05:41

What Did We Find Inside the World’s Deepest Hole?...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/07

What’s the deepest hole humans have ever dug? And what did we find when we got there?In this episode, Gordy explores the mind-bending story of the Kola Superdeep Borehole, a Cold War-era Soviet project that went deeper into the Earth than any drill had ever gone before — and hasn’t been surpassed since.While space exploration was captivating the world’s imagination, the Soviet Union decided to turn its attention downward — attempting to punch through the Earth’s crust and see what secrets might be

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00:05:25

Can You Legally Build a House in Antarctica? |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/06

Gordy tackles one of the strangest legal questions on Earth: Could you actually build a house in Antarctica? It sounds absurd—but in a place with no cities, no government, and no cops, who’s stopping you?In this icy episode, Gordy explores:The Antarctic Treaty System and why sovereignty is frozen in placeHow Argentina tried to claim land by sending pregnant womenWhy even scientists struggle to get construction permitsAnd what might happen if you went rogue and built your own cabin at the bottom of

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00:08:03

The Hero’s Journey: Why Every Epic Story Follows the...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/05

Why do so many epic stories—from Star Wars to Harry Potter to The Lion King—follow the same exact plot points? In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks The Hero’s Journey, the storytelling blueprint behind Hollywood blockbusters, ancient myths, and nearly every piece of popular fiction you’ve ever loved.Based on the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell, and later adapted by screenwriters like Christopher Vogler, this 12-step narrative structure is the foundation for countless films,

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00:04:50

The Minnesota Starvation Experiment: How Far Would...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/04

In 1944, while war raged across Europe, 36 American men volunteered to be starved in Minnesota. But this wasn’t punishment. It was science.In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks one of the most extreme human experiments ever approved: The Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Conducted by Dr. Ancel Keys, this study wasn’t about cruelty — it was designed to solve one of the biggest post-war crises facing the world: how to refeed millions of starving civilians safely.What happened to these

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00:03:36

Shrinkwrapping Dinosaurs: Have We Been Imagining Them...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/03

Have we been picturing dinosaurs all wrong?This episode of Smartest Year Ever dives into the controversial world of paleontological reconstructions, where some scientists believe our classic T. rex and Velociraptor imagery might be misleading. Were they really lean, scaly lizards—or have we been “shrinkwrapping” their bones and forgetting the feathers, fat, and flesh?Gordy explores how modern research is transforming our understanding of dinosaur anatomy, behavior, and their evolutionary connection

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00:04:25

What Are CAPTCHAs? How They Stop Bots and Train AI |...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/02

Why do websites keep asking if you're a robot? And what if checking that box is about more than just security?In this episode, Gordy dives deep into the mysterious world of CAPTCHAs—those pesky puzzles we all click through daily. From their origins as spam blockers to their unexpected role in training artificial intelligence, you'll never look at a blurry street sign the same way again.You'll learn how CAPTCHAs:Use behavioral cues to detect bots 🤖Help digitize historical books and

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00:05:22

Oldest Message in a Bottle Found After 132 Years...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/06/01

Oldest Message in a Bottle Found After 132 Years (Lost at Sea and Found) | Smartest Year Ever (June 1, 2025) What’s the oldest confirmed message in a bottle ever found? And what story did it carry across time, tides, and oceans?In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into the real-life discovery that stunned maritime historians, scientists, and Guinness record-keepers alike. From the windswept shores of Western Australia to the decks of a 19th-century German barque, this story spans

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00:04:33

Point Nemo: Earth’s Most Remote Location (And Why We...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/31

What’s the most isolated place on Earth? Somewhere so far from land, the closest humans… are in space?In today’s episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy dives into Point Nemo — a remote patch of the Pacific Ocean with no islands, no people, and almost no marine life. But here’s the twist: this watery void has become the final resting place for over a hundred decommissioned spacecraft. There’s a reason it’s earned the nickname "spacecraft graveyard."Why is this particular spot used? What else

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00:06:04

The Arecibo Message: What We Told the Universe in...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/30

In this episode of Smartest Year Ever, Gordy unpacks one of humanity’s boldest space broadcasts — the Arecibo Message. In 1974, a powerful radio telescope in Puerto Rico fired off a burst of binary data aimed at the stars. But what was in that message? Who was it meant for? And why do some scientists now think we might've made a cosmic mistake?Explore how Frank Drake, Carl Sagan, and others condensed humanity into 1,679 bits. Dive into the incredible story of the Arecibo Observatory, the science

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00:05:20

Dark Forest Theory: What If Intelligent Life Is...

Smartest Year Ever ·

2025/05/29

Why haven’t we heard from aliens? Maybe the real question is: why would they want to be heard?In this episode, Gordy explores the Dark Forest Theory—a chilling thought experiment that flips the Fermi Paradox on its head. What if space isn’t quiet because we’re alone, but because everyone’s hiding? Drawing from Liu Cixin’s sci-fi masterpiece The Three-Body Problem, this concept offers a gripping alternative to our optimistic search for extraterrestrial life.Plus, we explore why some scientists,

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368 results

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