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Even a fact has a half-life

Portrait of a Goldfish (Carrasius auratus).
kuritafsheen
/
RooM RF / Getty Images

Listen live Wednesday at 1 p.m.

In April, 2010, we did a segment on the concept of the mesofact, a certain kind of data point that feels fixed even though it’s actually always slowly changing. And we’ve gone back to the idea every now and again ever since.

This hour, a look at three things about the world that changed pretty dramatically while you were thinking about other stuff.

Hey, did you know there’s a fifth ocean now? Hey, did you know that you can put hot food right into your fridge now? Hey, did you know that goldfish are actually pretty smart?

Those kinds of things.

GUESTS:

  • Andrea Barnes: A writer at Wirecutter covering large cleaning appliances and laundry
  • Liam McCabe: A writer at Wirecutter covering home improvement
  • Cait Newport: An associate professor at the University of Oxford, where she leads the Animal Perception and Cognition Group
  • Alex Tait: The Geographer at the National Geographic Society

Music featured (in order):

This show was produced by Amanda Adams.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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Jonathan is a producer for ‘The Colin McEnroe Show.’ His work has been heard nationally on NPR and locally on Connecticut Public’s talk shows and news magazines. He’s as likely to host a podcast on minor league baseball as he is to cover a presidential debate almost by accident. Jonathan can be reached at jmcnicol@ctpublic.org.