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Something Offbeat

Something Offbeat

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What’s the deeper story behind that weird headline you forwarded to your friends or shared at the watercooler? We ask questions to gain grounded insight into the stranger news of the week.

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Top 10 Something Offbeat Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Something Offbeat episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Something Offbeat for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Something Offbeat episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Remember the fun of naming your pet? Now, imagine taking on the task of naming an entire species. Earlier this year, Dr. Christopher Whalen of Yale University got that chance. This week on Something Offbeat, we talk to Whalen about his discovery – an ancient ancestor of the octopus that he named after President Joe Biden – and to Dr. Brittany Kenyon-Flatt of North Carolina State University about the history behind scientific names.

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Crews rescued seven people from a ride that got stuck at a carnival outside St. Louis earlier this summer. That's despite county officials inspecting the attractions before the fair opened, according to organizers.

Amusement ride safety consultant Ken Martin explains that there's plenty that can wrong between the time of an inspection and when it's time for the ride to run, especially when the human element is introduced to the situation.

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It’s not hard to find gruesome, macabre images or videos – they’re on TV, in horror movies and online. But what if you wanted to see them in person? Through a series of donations and transactions, the body of a 98-year-old World War II veteran from Louisiana ended up on a table in an Oregon hotel ballroom where attendees paid as much as $500 to view a public dissection.

Dr. Gail Saltz, associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine and host of the “How Can I Help?" podcast, explains what drives people to seek out such spectacles and what that fascination with death can tell us about ourselves and our society.

Hosted by Mike Rogers, produced by Lauren Barry and Chris Blake, audio editing by Chris Blake, original music by Myron Kaplan, editorial support from Cooper Moll.

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Last month, NASA announced it would commission a study on unidentified aerial phenomenon, or UAPs, otherwise known as UFOs. Why now? Does this new program signal that an alien visit could be imminent? Dr. Avi Loeb, a Harvard professor, bestselling author of “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth” and head of the Galileo Project, joined Something Offbeat to provide a better understanding of what the public might get out of UFO research.

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Spongy moth caterpillars have taken over the lives of a Maine couple this year, from ruining trees to popping up in food. This week, Angela Mech, assistant professor of forest entomology at the University of Maine, and Erika Hasle, a conservation ecologist with the Keller Science Action Center at The Field Museum in Chicago, joined Something Offbeat to fill us in on the outbreak and explore how climate change influences human interactions with the insect world.

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A group of margarita-drinking kindergarteners got us thinking: How does advertising impact kids and how can advertisers improve on it?

From the Joe Camel cigarette ads of the late 1980s and 1990s to the fruit-flavored vape juice pods of recent years, the BBB National Programs' Mary Engle helps break it down on “Something Offbeat."

Hosted by Mike Rogers, produced by Lauren Barry and Chris Blake, audio editing by Chris Blake, original music by Myron Kaplan, editorial support from Cooper Moll.

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When an Austin-area antique dealer bought a 52-pound marble bust for $35 at a Goodwill store, she thought she might have a special find. But she may not have known how special.

The bust turned out to date back to the first century and was likely carried back to the United States by a soldier returning from World War II, says Laura Young, the woman who purchased it.

Shimrit Lee, the author of the book Decolonize Museums, explains that plunder and destruction during wars are common.

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We all know office parties can be a drag, but for some, they can be more than uncomfortable. Recently, a court awarded a man who suffers from an anxiety disorder $450,000 for being subjected to an unwanted office party. Why do some people dismiss mental health issues such as anxiety, and why are some boundaries not respected?

To find out, host Mike Rogers spoke with Dr. Kevin Chapman, founder and director of the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

Hosted by Mike Rogers, produced by Lauren Barry and Chris Blake, audio editing by Chris Blake, original music by Myron Kaplan, editorial support from Cooper Moll.

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A recent study published in the Nature journal found that fourteen people who were legally blind now have improved vision thanks to a new procedure where material derived from pigs is injected into patients’ eyes. On this episode of “Something Offbeat” we spoke to study author Dr. Neil Lagali of Linköping University in Sweden and xenotransplantation expert Dr. David K.C. Cooper to figure out the role animals play in the future of human medicine.

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This week on “Something Offbeat” the story of online entrepreneur Stephanie Matto from “90 Day Fiancé” selling her farts – and then selling them as NFTs – inspired us to look into the digital economy. Arabian Prince of rap group N.W.A. and founder of multiple technology-based companies joined us with his MdDAO business partner Nick Donarski to talk NFTs. We’re also joined by Nate, creator of the “Terrible Origami” Etsy storefront.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Something Offbeat have?

Something Offbeat currently has 140 episodes available.

What topics does Something Offbeat cover?

The podcast is about News and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on Something Offbeat?

The episode title 'An ancient sea creature named after the president: The secrets behind scientific names' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Something Offbeat?

The average episode length on Something Offbeat is 15 minutes.

How often are episodes of Something Offbeat released?

Episodes of Something Offbeat are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Something Offbeat?

The first episode of Something Offbeat was released on Jun 13, 2022.

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