The BrainFood Show

The BrainFood Show

In this show, the team behind the wildly popular TodayIFoundOut YouTube channel do deep dives into a variety of fascinating topics to help you feed your brain with interesting knowledge.

Episodes

The Secretary: Great Expectations

September 22, 2025 • 63 mins
“[T]here would not be I believe, a happier being in the United States… [c]ould I have just enough business to support my expences, so as to relieve me from the mortification of being at my time of life, a burden to my Parents…” -John Quincy Adams (December 14, 1790) These were the words of the 23 year old John Quincy Adams, tirelessly working in a profession he seemingly didn’t particularly enjoy, but making very little headway in...
Mark as Played

When is the Optimal School Start Time?

September 20, 2025 • 33 mins
Much like is the case with some adult humans, in the morning our miniature Sapiens often have a preference for expressing themselves in low-pitched, unintelligible grunts, mumbled from within the cavernous darkness of their bedrooms as you try to wake them up. The words might be jumbled, but the meaning is rather clear: ‘It’s too early. I want to sleep. Leave me alone.’ And yet, the adults in charge within the pack have to drag th...
Mark as Played

Hitler's Many Women and Their Often Unfortunate Ends

September 18, 2025 • 68 mins
Unsurprisingly to anyone who’s historied, Hitler was a man who promoted a hateful ideology, had millions murdered, crippled a generation, and plunged an entire continent into ruin. What’s maybe slightly less known is that before he did all this, he was a lazy layabout, ultimately squandering his inheritance culminating in him becoming homeless for a few years. To say Hitler avoided anything even remotely resembling work, except for...
Mark as Played

The Secretary- Training for Greatness

September 16, 2025 • 46 mins
“What are the Qualifications of a Secretary of State? He ought to be a Man of universal Reading in Laws, Governments, History. Our whole terrestrial Universe ought to be summarily comprehended in his Mind.” -John Adams July 5, 1811 The speed at which the United States’ rose from birth to prominence on the world stage has rarely been matched in history. From first casting off a king and parliament that no longer served them to uneq...
Mark as Played

That Time the USA Tried to Make Hippo Farming a Thing

September 14, 2025 • 22 mins
If you were to travel down the Rio Magdalena just north of the Columbian capital of Bogotá, you might just come across some rather out-of-place wildlife: a herd of African Hippopotamuses. The herd, which now numbers nearly 100, is descended from four individuals imported in the 1980s by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, and kept in a private zoo on his estate in Puerto Triunfo. When Escobar was killed in 1993, the hippos escaped i...
Mark as Played

The Fascinating Saga of History’s Largest Diamond

September 12, 2025 • 31 mins
“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” So wrote Samuel Johnson, the famed 18th Century polymath and founder of the modern English dictionary. And indeed, London offers many delights for the discerning traveller, from the iconic Houses of Parliament and St. Paul’s Cathedral to the theatres of the West End, the fashionable shops of Soho, and the countless world-class museums covering every subject imaginable. But no so...
Mark as Played

ENOUGH! The First Astronaut Strike In Space... Allegedly

September 10, 2025 • 33 mins
People being unhappy with their job is not a rare occurrence. It is almost a given that, assuming you don’t work for me, there are many people in your office who want an exit as soon as possible, maybe even you. At some point, maybe you’ve even snapped and rebelled against your company overlords in some fashion. But as cool as you might have felt passive aggressively sending that urgent email three days late on purpose, you will ne...
Mark as Played

The Incredible Real Life Cold War Bond Villain Ice Lair

September 8, 2025 • 28 mins
Ah, the ice lair! From Superman’s Fortress of Solitude to Ozymandias’s Antarctic headquarters in Watchmen to the Rebel Alliance’s Echo Base on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, nothing quite exudes sophistication, rugged determination, or - pun intended - sheer cool than a hideout carved out of cold, hard snow and ice. But while certainly stylish and awesome, such sub-zero digs are surely the exclusive preserve of comic book heroes ...
Mark as Played

32 Seconds from Detonation- That Time the U.S. Almost Accidentally Nuked North Carolina... 3 Times

September 6, 2025 • 51 mins
The Cold War, lasting from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, was one of the most dangerous periods in human history. For nearly five decades, the communist East and capitalist West eyed each other suspiciously across the Iron Curtain, precariously balanced on the brink of nuclear Armageddon. Numerous intercontinental ballistic missiles sat ready in their silos, nuke equipped submar...
Mark as Played

Nikola Tesla's Rather Peculiar Childhood and Oddities (Daven & Gilles)

September 4, 2025 • 74 mins
In today's episode, Gilles Messier and Daven Hiskey do a deep dive into Nikola Tesla's childhood and many of his rather peculiar oddities. In the mid-19th century, the Austrian Empire, which stretched for over a thousand miles (1600 km) from Italy to Ukraine, was a place of contradictions. The ruling patriarch, Minister of the Interior Baron Alexander von Bach, was on the one hand something of a despot, abolishing public trials, r...
Mark as Played

The Incredible Tale of Inventing Walmart

August 13, 2025 • 54 mins
With their endless aisles, their bountiful racks chock full of discounted merchandise, Walmart stores have firmly wedged themselves into the hearts and minds of most Americans, especially within those neural circuits in charge of household budgeting. At this point, Walmart may as well be considered one of the great, all-American institutions, an essential fiber within the fabric of Star-Spangled capitalism. Or, on the other side, s...
Mark as Played

Why Did Japan Join the Nazis? (Given, You Know, the Nazis Explicitly Hated Non-Aryans)

August 11, 2025 • 45 mins
Discover the complex relationship between Nazi Germany and Japan during World War II. Learn about the Tripartite Pact, their conflicting ideologies, and the consequences of their loose alliance. Author: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler Sponsor note:  Give online therapy a try at ⁠betterhelp.com/BrainFoodShow⁠ and get on your way to being your best and happier self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...
Mark as Played

Why Wasn't There an Italian "Nuremberg / Tokyo War Crimes" Trial After WWII?

August 8, 2025 • 37 mins
Discover the untold story of Italian war crimes during WWII and why there was never an "Italian Nuremberg" to hold fascist officials accountable for their brutal actions. Author: Arnaldo Teodorani Host: Simon Whistler Editor: Daven Hiskey Sponsor note:  Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BrainFoodShow and get on your way to being your best and happier self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
Mark as Played

How Did the SR-71 Blackbird Get Made and How was It So Fast?

August 6, 2025 • 48 mins
Explore the legendary Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest military aircraft. Discover its groundbreaking design, thrilling history, and the incredible feats that made it an aviation icon. Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Editor: Daven Hiskey Sponsor note:  Give online therapy a try at ⁠betterhelp.com/BrainFoodShow⁠ and get on your way to being your best and happier self. Learn more about your ad choice...
Mark as Played

WTF is Up with Embalming and Displaying Communists?

August 4, 2025 • 61 mins
In the shadow of Moscow’s Kremlin Walls stands one of the most famous structures in all of Russia: a squat, austere-looking stepped pyramid, built of polished red porphyry. For decades, the balcony or tribune on the pyramid’s roof served as a stage of honour for Soviet and later Russian leaders to observe military parades on Red Square below. But what makes this imposing structure truly special is the macabre relic preserved within...
Mark as Played

What's the Deal With Presidential Libraries?

July 30, 2025 • 56 mins
In today's episode of The BrainFood Show, Daven Hiskey dives into the surprisingly cool Presidential Library system, how it came to be and what they are actually for. This episode is brought to you in part by the City of Quincy. To discover more about Quincy, check out the link - https://discoverquincy.com Occasionally accused of being “Modern day Pyramids” or “Monuments to someone’s ego”, presidential libraries have long bee...
Mark as Played

The Twisting, Turning Road That Gave Us the Microwave Oven

July 28, 2025 • 52 mins
In this episode of The BrainFood Show, Simon Whistler dives into the surprising origins of the microwave oven, from Maxwell's electromagnetic waves to WWII radar tech. Dive into the science and history behind this kitchen staple’s unlikely invention! Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played

A Guide to Building the Pyramids- How Did They Do It?

July 23, 2025 • 34 mins
In today's episode of The BrainFood Show, Daven Hiskey dives into how the pyramids were actually built. A quick tour on popular online video sharing platforms may convince you that ancient Egyptian builders were either Completely useless, and had to rely on Alien help, or They were incredibly advanced, and used power tools and lasers. Because … Atlantis, Tom Cruise, and Ice Road Truckers… These theories are a fairly recent tren...
Mark as Played

How Did the Wright Brothers Win the Race Into the Air?

July 21, 2025 • 66 mins
In this episode of The BrainFood Show, Simon Whistler dives into the fascinating journey of the Wright Brothers, from failed flight attempts to their groundbreaking success in 1903, reshaping aviation history with persistence, innovation, and a methodical approach. Author: Gilles Messier Host: Simon Whistler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played

From 0 to 1000 to 0- What Happened to Howard Johnson's?

July 16, 2025 • 35 mins
In today's episode of The BrainFood Show, Daven Hiskey dives into the incredible rise and fall of Howard Johnson's. This episode is brought to you by the City of Quincy. To discover more about Quincy, check out the link - https://discoverquincy.com In the modern world, if you step out your door and travel to neighboring cities or even countries, you’ll generally be greeted by a slew of familiar food related franchises for your ...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    Stuff You Should Know

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

    True Crime Tonight

    True Crime Tonight

    If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

Explore

iHeart

Live Radio

Podcasts

Artist Radio

Exclusives

News

Features

Events

Contests

Photos

Information

About

Advertise

Blog

Brand Guidelines

Contest Guidelines

Subscription Offers

Jobs

Get the App

Automotive

Home

Mobile

Wearables

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.