For thousands of years, people have looked into the night sky and seen something unusual.
It was fuzzy, sometimes bright, and it wasn’t there before. It appeared out of nowhere and, after a few days or weeks, disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared.
When these events occurred, they were often interpreted as omens. Good or bad depending on who was do ... Show More
Today
Florence Nightingale and the Birth of Modern Healthcare
Florence Nightingale was far more than a compassionate nurse. She was a reformer, statistician, administrator, and relentless critic of systems that allowed people to die unnecessarily. Her work in the Crimean War made her a legend, but what she did afterward changed hospitals, a ... Show More
14m 35s
Yesterday
The History of the 4th of July Celebrations
Few dates carry as much significance in the United States as July 4th, but the celebration of the date has evolved over time. July 4, 1776, was not a day of celebration across the country, as nobody outside of Philadelphia knew what had happened. Just one year later, it was being ... Show More
15m 38s
Jul 3
The Wealth of Nations
In 1776, a work was published that challenged an empire, questioned old systems of power, and helped reshape the modern world. But this wasn’t the Declaration of Independence. It was a dense, ambitious book about trade, labor, money, and prosperity that changed how people underst ... Show More
15m 32s
Apr 2025
How the War on Drugs got us... blueberries
Ever wondered why you can buy fresh Peruvian blueberries in the dead of winter? The answer, surprisingly, is tied to cocaine. Today on the show, we look at how the War on Drugs led to an American trade policy and a foreign aid initiative that won us blueberries all year round. An ... Show More
27m 57s
Oct 2019
The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Things (Part 2)
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we start off looking at that time the United States government banned pre-sliced bread… Really.
Next up, we have a brief message from a sponsor, Blinkist, which gives you the key ideas from more than 3,000 bestselling nonfiction books in j ... Show More
48m 6s
Aug 2023
BONUS 🎤🎤 “What makes TBOY tick” — Nick & Jack get interviewed by AdWeek.
In May, we jumped on the mics for an interview on Adweek’s podcast, Young Influentials. In this 30 minute episode, you’ll jump-in TBOY-style… to The Best One Yet. - When we met in a freshman year dorm. - How we spun out TBOY from Robinhood Snacks, and how we rebranded. - How we c ... Show More
30m 23s
Jul 2020
What We’ve Learned This Month
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we are start out looking at the rather curious phenomenon of the average of your friends being happier, wealthier, and more successful than you.
Next up we have a brief message from our sponsor Backblaze and unlimited automatic backup serv ... Show More
1h 18m
Sep 2023
A trucker hat mystery, the curse of September and other listener questions
Ba-dee-yah! Say do you remember? Ba-dee-yah! Questions in September!That's right - it's time for Listener Questions!Every so often, we like to hear from listeners about what's on their minds, and we try to get to the bottom of their economic mysteries. On today's show, we have qu ... Show More
26m 35s