Most Useful Podcast Ever

In an episode chock-full of things we're thankful for, we start out by speaking with Steven Caple, Jr., the director of the new movie Creed II. We highly recommend checking it out this Thanksgiving--preferably early in the day, before you fall into a tryptophan coma. Another guest, funny car champ Ron Capps, shares how grateful he is to the crew that builds, maintains, and starts the cars he drives, which get to 100 mph in 60 feet and are prone to explosions. Peter Martin and Eleanor Hildebrandt make appearances, mainly to discuss the phenomenon of Black Friday. And finally, Roy Berendsohn weights in on dinner table power tool use. Happy Thanksgiving!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Martian author Andy Weir is really into Mars. So much so that National Geographic tapped him to be an expert on their series Mars, about what human colonization of the red planet might be like. In advance of the season two premiere, Andy stops by the office to talk about the biggest challenges to living on Mars, methods we might use to get there, and whether he'd go himself. (Spoiler alert: Heck no) Also on this episode, technology editor Alex George explains the hierarchy of Apple products, and the Testing Table makes Ramen Krispie Treats in the microwave. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Endurance races have gotten substantially more popular over the last several years, which means a lot of people with not a lot of experience are tackling serious miles on foot or by bike. One of those people is your humble host Jacqueline Detwiler, who is running her first marathon in New York City on November 4th. To get ready, she and the rest of the team talked to running experts at New York Road Runners (who also gave some tips on watching a marathon), and went on a trip to Staten Island to check out the New York Sports Science Lab, which has rooms and rooms full of gadgets that can train boxers, runners, football players, even professional bowlers. We also drank some beer specially made for exercise recovery, and learned some pretty wild track facts. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ryan North's new book, How to Invent Everything, addresses that question that's probably been sitting in the back of your brain since you were a kid: If you got stuck in a previous time period, could you survive on your wits alone? Ryan says yes, so long as you bring a little advice. Also on this episode, field editor James Lynch talks about riding a Boosted Board between New York City and Philadelphia; Roy talks about chopping and seasoning firewood; tech editor Alex George uses a video game to test drive a Maclaren you can't even buy; and the testing table tries out gravity blankets.  

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The editors of Popular Mechanics have been crazy busy dealing with real life tasks lately, but what they learned doing their weekend work is great fodder for a podcast that's supposed to make your life easier. First, Roy spruces up a rental apartment in-between tenants. Kevin tries (unsuccessfully) to remove a bunch of stuck bolts from his Jeep. And automotive editor Ezra Dyer waits out hurricane Florence down in North Carolina and then takes a Silverado to harder hit areas to try to help out.  

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you know how many eyes Popular Mechanics home editor Roy Berendsohn has? Two. And that's thanks to his diligent wearing of safety goggles. On this episode, we'll learn what items Roy deems essential to wear when doing work, plus how to make sure your house isn't leaking heat or air conditioning. Meanwhile, technology editor Alex George has some ideas about products you can bring back to school, and we test out a recipe from PM's How to Make Anything issue: Shaking butter in a ball jar. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In honor of tonight's premiere of the new action flick Kin, starring Myles Truitt, Jack Reynor, James Franco and Zoë Kravitz, we talk to the directors about crazy stunts and shots, as well as how they came up with their high-tech mystery weapon. Also on this episode, Alex George talks gaming computers, Roy Berendsohn helps Peter find the source of a water stain on his ceiling, and we try out some weird glasses that blink when you move your head. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode, we decided to delve into some of the more serious, thoughtful, and future-thinking topics Popular Mechanics covers. In keeping with the theme, we interview iceman Wim Hof about how he changes his own autonomic nervous system so he can hang out in freezing temperatures for hours. (If you want to learn even more than what Wim explains in the segment, check out www.wimhofmethod.com.) Not in keeping with the theme, we also test out a soda called kvass, which is sort of like Russian kombucha. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sometimes at the Popular Mechanics office, we have a lot of interesting things to talk about, but none of them have anything to do with each other. We figure that's fine—the smartest people always know enough to be conversant about a lot of different topics. For example: By the end of this episode, you'll know how to take care of a brand new baby, exercise in a rubber band suit,  keep plants alive,  route a cable around a door, and make brown butter bourbon. Just probably not all at the same time. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's show, MUPE tackles the most all-American of vacations: The summer road trip. We call up Kevin's mom, who is somewhere in Idaho in the midst of a weeks-long trip around the northern US. We ask Alex George about the best gadgets to take in the car. Sunny Kim tells us about her favorite road trips around the US. And then everyone convenes to eat way... way... way too much junk food in pursuit of an answer to an important question: Best snacks for the road?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices