We are about to tape new episodes of Tell Me Something I Don’t Know. You’ll be able to hear them later this year in the Freakonomics Radio podcast feed. Details in this short announcement.

New Episodes Coming Soon!

Why New York has skinny skyscrapers, how to weaponize water, and what astronauts talk about in space. John McWhorter is co-host; Bari Weiss is live fact-checker.

An Astronaut, a Catalan, and Two Linguists Walk Into a Bar…

In this special call-in episode: why some Peruvians eat cats; why operas need repetiteurs; and why we should get rid of prisons. Michael Smerconish (CNN) is co-host; AJ Jacobs (It’s All Relative) checks the facts.

Extra 7: Corrosive Energy Drinks and Peruvian Cat Stew

This week, we work on our survival skills: in the desert, on the tundra, and growing food in abandoned warehouses. Actress Sas Goldberg is co-host; A.J. Jacobs (author of It’s All Relative) is live fact-checker.

Farming Without Sun or Soil and Eating Manna From Heaven

How to make people like you, why you should lick rocks, and what an awkward person is really thinking. Angela Duckworth (Grit author) is co-host; Mike Maughan (Qualtrics) is live fact-checker.

Mind Games

Things we learn this week: dogs aren't so great at sniffing, men aren't so lazy, and New York doesn't smell so bad (anymore). Gail Simmons (Top Chef) is co-host; Jon Batiste plays his melodica for us; the live fact-checker is Mike Maughan.

Jon Batiste, Gail Simmons, and Strange Smells

Musical crickets, crop-saving wasps — and why you should pre-bug your software. John McWhorter is co-host; the live fact-checker is Bari Weiss.

All About Bugs (of the Animal and Computer Varieties)

Alex Wagner (CBS This Morning Saturday, The Atlantic) is our special guest co-host, with AJ Jacobs (author of It's All Relative) as real-time fact-checker. We filled this episode with insights about the true value of ground beef, sleeping in, company names, and more.

School Start Times, Brand Names, and Too Much Ground Beef

Mary Roach (author of Stiff, Spook, Bonk, Gulp, and Grunt) is our special guest co-host, with AJ Jacobs (author of It's All Relative) as real-time fact-checker. If the promise of tractor beams doesn't pull you in, our guests also explore robotic fish, counting to infinity, and more.

How to Count to Infinity

Alex Guarnaschelli (Iron Chef America and Chopped) is our special guest co-host, with Sean Rameswaram (Radiolab Presents: More Perfect) as real-time fact-checker. TMSIDK explores the origins of food words, children's menus, and seltzer.

The Perfect Potato Chip, the Origin of Seltzer, and Why We Eat “Beef” and Not “Cow”

Hari Kondabolu (comedian and host of Politically Re-Active) is our special guest co-host, with Sean Rameswaram (Radiolab Presents: More Perfect) as real-time fact-checker. TMSIDK reaches into our "grab bag" for fascinating facts on the downside of keeping secrets, the origin of fantasy sports, what pronunciations say about our politics, and more.

You Say “eye-RACK,” I Say “ear-ROCK”

Alex Guarnaschelli, Alexandra Petri, Hari Kondabolu, Mary Roach, and Jemele Hill are some of the brilliant co-hosts joining us during Season 4. Here's a sneak peek of what you'll learn in 10 new episodes beginning September 17th.

Season 4 Preview

Alexandra Petri (Washington Post columnist) is our special guest co-host, with AJ Jacobs (author of It's All Relative) as real-time fact-checker. TMSIDK covers everything from birth to earth, including pregnancy tests, parenting, monogamy, aging better, and, finally, embalming.

Womb to Tomb

Basketball fans know how boring a game's ending can be — intentional fouls can stretch 90 seconds into 10 minutes. What if we could fix it by blowing up the last 4 minutes?

Extra 6: A Better Way to End Basketball Games

Off-Broadway actress, producer, and Guinness Record-holder Catherine Russell has played the same off-Broadway role for three decades. What’s more impressive than the play itself? She’s never called in sick.

Extra 5: The Actress Who Never Takes a Sick Day

Some of our most important inventions safely remove human waste. But what if we could use that waste to generate electricity?

Extra 4: The Most Renewable Energy of All

From medieval times through the French Revolution, rosé ruled the wine world — and now it’s staging a comeback. Actress (and rosé fan) Miriam Shor joins as a co-host.

Extra 3: The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of Rosé Wine

Senator Todd Young of Indiana wants to make government-funded social programs more effective with Social Impact Partnerships, which pair private funding with proven projects.

Extra 2: Meet the Senator Who Wants to Start an Evidence-Based Revolution

In 1803, Sicily and Malta won contracts to provide lemon juice to the entire British Royal Navy. Half a century later, the mafia was born.

Extra 1: How the Mafia Got Its Start

James Altucher (host of The James Altucher Show) is our special guest co-host, with Mike Maughan (head of global insights at Qualtrics) as real-time fact-checker. TMSIDK is on the weird side of the tracks in Philadelphia with everything you've ever wanted to know about graffiti, cockroaches, tattoos, pee, and more.

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