Condensed Soup

Rome's ancient ampthitheater, the Colosseum, will be hosting concerts -- and gladiator fights, maybe. Plus: how you can get a free breakfast next week.

World Series grand slam means free breakfast at Denny's How to get it. (Mike Snider, USA Today, Oct 25, 2025)

Raves at Rome's ancient amphitheater? New Colosseum director sets the record straight (David Biller and Silvia Stellacci, AP, Oct 26, 2025)

An ancient theater in Greece opens for its final season before undergoing a 3-year restoration (Theodora Tongas, AP, Jun 22, 2025)

Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre (official, accessed October 26, 2025)

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We love our coffee -- but prices are going up! Tariffs and weather changes have resulted in a reduced supply even while American demand is increasing.

US coffee prices spike due to tariffs and poor weather (Dee-ann Durbin and Chris Rugaber, AP, Oct 24, 2025)

Tariffs and Climate Change Push Coffee Prices Up (Renata Carlos Daou, Lauren Rosenthal, and Eric Roston, Bloomberg, Oct 25, 2025)

Daily coffee consumption at 20-year high, up nearly 40% (National Coffee Association, Apr 11, 2024)

Is drinking coffee healthy? (Mayo Clinic, accessed Oct 25, 2025)

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'It was a circus': Volcano crowds gather with limited oversight due to government shutdown (Mahealani Richardson, Hawaii News Now, Oct 23, 2025)

Volcano dormant for 700,000 years could soon resume activity, scientists say, "Julie Jacobo, ABC News, Oct 24, 2025)

The 1883 Krakatau eruption: A year of blue Moons (Tammana Begum, The Natural History Museum, accessed Oct 24, 2025)

The Eruption of Mount Tambora (1815-1818) (Climate in Global Cultures and Histories: Promoting Climate Literacy Across Disciplines, Jun 11, 2023)

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*This episode was recorded in a corporate apartment

A small update on the Louvre heist! Then: if your loved ones are Muppet fans, you might have some holiday shopping to do: The Jim Henson Company is auctioning off items from its collection for the first time ever.

Video captures Louvre jewel thieves emerging from museum in a cherry picker (Aicha El Hammar Castano, Jon Haworth, and Bill Hutchinson (ABC News, Oct 23, 2025)

'Quiet as a whisper': German firm launches ad campaign after lift used in Louvre heist (Deborah Cole, The Guardian, Oct 23, 2025)

Puppets and props from Muppets creator Jim Henson's archives going up for auction for the first time (CTV / AP, Sep 25, 2025)

The Jim Henson Company Celebrates 70 Years by Partnering with Julien's for Their First-Ever Official Auction of Puppets, Props, Memorabilia and More (Press release, The Jim Henson Company, Sep 24, 2025)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

Here's the buzz -- Iceland has had their hottest year on record -- and it's attracting both attention and mosquitos.

Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time after record heat (BBC, Oct 22, 2025)

The Weather & Temperature in Iceland (Nanna Gunnarsdottir, Guide to Iceland, accessed Oct 22, 2025)

7 Fascinating Mosquito Facts (Raid, accessed Oct 22, 2025)

Mosquitos (Orkin Canada, accessed Oct 22, 2025)

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*This episode was recorded in a corporate apartment.

With the recent release of Sora 2, we've begun to see AI-generated videos that can easily fool even the most savvy.

What's real? How to spot a fake AI video (Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, Oct 20, 2025)

Pikachu at war and Mario on the street: OpenAI's Sora 2 thrills and alarms the internet (Jared Perlo, NBC News, Oct 2, 2025)

Hollywood pushes OpenAI for consent (Mandalit del Barco, All Things Considered / NPR, Oct 20, 2025

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*This episode was recorded in a corporate apartment.

Can they still call it the West Wing if there is no East Wing?

Also, you may have thought you were strong, but Ashraf "Strongman" Mahrous can chew you up and spit you out for breakfast. Literally. The wrestler just pulled a 700-ton ship by pulling a rope... with his teeth.

Construction begins on Trump's $250m White House ballroom (Anna Betts and Coral Murphy Marcos, The Guardian, Oct 21, 2025)

Ashraf Mahrous: Egypt's 'strongman' wrestler pulls ship using his teeth (Sky News, Sep 28, 2025)

How do people pull large objects with their teeth? (How Stuff Works, accessed Oct 20. 2025)

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*This episode was recorded in a corporate apartment.

We've got a real-life heist! The crown jewels have been stolen from the Louvre in a story straight out of a movie. Plus, some of the bitter notes from opera's legacy.

Thieves steal crown jewels in 4 minutes from Louvre Museum (Thomas Adamson, AP, Oct 19, 2025)

Metropolitan Opera to Drop Use of Blackface-Style Makeup in 'Otello' (Brakkton Booker, NPR, Aug 4, 2015)

Retiring Blackface (Naveen Kumar, Opera America, Jan 28, 2023)

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*This episode was recorded in a corporate apartment.

The Met Opera in HD livestreams let you attend the opera in real time! Find out why I think it's so special. Opera in with captions, in recliners? Yes, please.

Our Top 10 Opera Facts (West Australian Opera, accessed Oct 18, 2025)

Met Opera Live in HD (official, accessed Oct 18, 2025)

9 Fun and Quirky Facts About Opera You Didn't Know (Kristen Bray, Serenade Magazine, Aug 15, 2025)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.

Tragedy has struck in Western Alaska. We have a way you can help. Also, does knuckle cracking cause arthritis?

Western Alaska residents evacuated to Anchorage as EPA cancels state flood grants (La'shawn Donelson, Your Alaska Link, Oct 16, 2025)

How Did a Croatian Freediver Hold His Breath 60 Times Longer Than Most? (Theresa Larkin & Gregory Peoples, The Conversation, Science Alert, Sep 5, 2025)

Western Alaska Disaster Relief 2025 Fund (Alaska Community Foundation, accessed October 17, 2025)

Crack Research: Good news about knuckle cracking (Steve Mirsky, Scientific American, Dec 1, 2009)

Mayo Clinic Minute: A hand surgeon's advice about knuckle cracking (Jeff Olsen, Mayo Clinic News Network, Jun 27, 2017)

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*This episode was recorded in my bedroom.