Condensed Soup

The CIA World Factbook, longtime global reference manual, was unceremoniously discontinued earlier this year.

Eulogy for the CIA Factbook: The free standard for world facts, long an educational staple, is gone (Laurie Kellman, AP, Apr 5, 2026)

Spotlighting the World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell (CIA, Feb 4, 2026)

CIA terminates its World Factbook, overthrowing reference regime (Harmeet Kaur, CNN, Feb 5, 2026)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

Exotic leathers are controversial, but what if no animals are harmed -- because they're extinct?

The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever (J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Serious Eats, Sep 21, 2025)

Forget Crocodile. This New One-of-a-Kind Handbag Is Made From Lab-Grown 'T-Rex Leather.' (Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, Apr 3, 2026)

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We've all overslept. But when Kansas City Royals rookie Carter Jensen did it, it made national news.

Royals' Carter Jensen pulled from lineup after sleeping through alarm (Elizabeth Flores, USA Today, Apr 3, 2026)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

It's Easter weekend. Time for... true crime podcasts and murder mysteries? Welcome to Norway.

Påskekrim: The Norwegian Obsession with Crime at Easter (Life in Norway, Jul 13, 2025)

In Norway, Easter Means Tucking Into Crime Stories (Jessica Furseth, Atlas Obscura, Apr 18, 2025)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

March Madness is coming to a close, and it's not just the teams that might be winners. A local furniture chain is offering customers refunds if both UConn teams make the finals!

A New England furniture store will refund customers if both UConn teams make the NCAA title games (Dave Collins, AP, Apr 2, 2026)

25 Extremely Bizarre or Ill-Advised Promotions in Sports History (Andrew Robeson, Bleacher Report, Jun 7, 2018)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

Someone is sitting pretty on 12 tons of stolen KitKats -- and KitKat is hoping we can all help catch the thieves.

KitKat launches tracker to help recover 400K stolen candy bars (Melina Khan and Mike Snider, USA Today, Apr 1, 2026)

Sugar high(st): more than 12 tons of KitKat's 'new chocolate range' stolen in Italy (Gloria Oladipo, The Guardian, Mar 28, 2026)

Japanese Kit Kat Flavors: The Complete List (Japan Candystore, Jul 10, 2023)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

If you've been living with a Google username you'd rather ditch, you can now change it. Never say never, millenials!

Have an embarrassing Gmail address? You can now change it. (Kate Perez, USA Today, Mar 31, 2026)

Odd Facts You May have Forgotten (or Never Learned) About Google (Christine Lagorio-Chafkin, Inc (dot) com, Apr 1, 2014)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

Stephen Colbert is prepping for his next gig -- writing the next Lord of the Rings movie and becoming part of a universe that has inspired people all over the world.

Stephen Colbert's next epic quest? Writing a new 'Lord of the Rings' movie (Ivy Buck, NPR, Mar 25, 2026)

'What is this if not magic?' The Italian man living as a hobbit (Lorenzo Tondo, The Guardian, Sep 6, 2021)

Soviet TV version of Lord of the Rings rediscovered after 30 years (Andrew Roth, The Guardian, Apr 5, 2021)

Soviet Lord of the Rings: A Psychedelic Masterpiece (Ink Magazine, Mar 2, 2022)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

Easter approaches, and there's a shortage of chocolate eggs in American stores.

Music Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea realizes lifelong dream with solo jazz album, 'Honora' (Krysta Fauria, AP, Mar 25, 2026)

'Dangerously moreish': the best supermarket Easter eggs, tasted and rated (Tom Hunt, The Guardian, Mar 28, 2026)

Why do we have Easter eggs and the Easter bunny? (BBC, Feb 17, 2023)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

Rolex has a trade school in Dallas, free of charge, to train the newest generations of watchmakers -- and applications for the newest cohort open later this year.

Rolex has just opened a trade school for watchmakers in Texas. Already competition is as fierce as Harvard's, and students could walk out with $95,000 jobs (Emma Burleigh, Fortune, Feb 26, 2026)

The Future of Watchmaking, One Student At A Time (Rolex Watchmaking Training Center, accessed Mar 28, 2026)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.