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ELI5 Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast

Explain Like I'm Five, aka ELI5, is the mini-podcast series where we take the questions you always wanted to ask, and talk about them in a way that is easy to understand. Made possible by the amazing reddit community at r/explainlikeimfive. See episode show notes for user credits.

ELI5 Cupping Therapy - can bruises really heal you?

6 mins; March 12, 2026

ELI5 Crying - why do we cry with both sadness and joy?

8 mins; March 06, 2026

ELI5 Norway's Olympics - how tiny Norway conquered the Winter Olympics

7 mins; February 27, 2026

ELI5 One Way Mirrors - how do they work?

7 mins; February 20, 2026

ELI5 Ski Jumping - how do they not get injured when landing?

7 mins; February 13, 2026

ELI5 Fire Extinguishers - why are they red in color?

8 mins; February 06, 2026

ELI5 HRV - what is heart rate variability and why can a steady heartbeat be trouble?

9 mins; January 30, 2026

ELI5 Activity Trackers - how do they detect deep sleep?

8 mins; January 23, 2026

ELI5 Palladium - more valuable than gold?

8 mins; January 16, 2026

ELI5 Jevons Paradox – why adding more lanes to a highway can make it worse?

8 mins; January 09, 2026

ELI5 Titanium - why is it the metal most used in surgeries?

8 mins; January 02, 2026

ELI5 Xmas - how and why NORAD tracks Santa (part 2)?

8 mins; December 20, 2025

ELI5 Xmas - why some say Happy Christmas vs Merry Christmas?

10 mins; December 19, 2025

ELI5 Pearls - how does a grain of sand make such treasure?

7 mins; December 12, 2025

ELI5 National Debt - who do countries owe when they are in debt?

7 mins; December 05, 2025

ELI5 Bubble Gum - why is it almost always pink?

8 mins; November 28, 2025

ELI5 Morse Code - what tragedy led to its invention?

8 mins; November 21, 2025

ELI5 Marble - why does it feel cool to the touch?

7 mins; November 14, 2025

ELI5 Aircraft Carriers - why are the runways at an angle?

8 mins; November 07, 2025

ELI5 Iron - is body iron different to construction iron?

8 mins; October 31, 2025

ELI5 Daylight Savings Time - who thought it was a good idea?

8 mins; October 24, 2025

ELI5 Submarines - how the Titanic was a cover for a US Navy submarine mission

9 mins; October 17, 2025

ELI5 The Gold Standard - how Isaac Newton helped gold win over silver

9 mins; October 10, 2025

ELI5 Locks and Keys - aren't there high chances that two keys are the same?

8 mins; October 03, 2025

ELI5 Monopoly - was it invented to criticize capitalism or crush friendships?

8 mins; September 26, 2025

ELI5 Ferris Wheels - what inspired George Ferris to invent it?

8 mins; September 19, 2025

ELI5 Silica Gel Desiccants - can they be reused?

7 mins; September 12, 2025

ELI5 Sleepwalking - is it dangerous to wake someone in the middle of a sleep walk?

7 mins; September 05, 2025

ELI5 Poker - which US president used poker to launch his election campaign?

7 mins; August 29, 2025

ELI5 Washing Machines - more consequential than the internet?

7 mins; August 22, 2025

ELI5 LiDAR - how it sees the world?

7 mins; August 15, 2025

ELI5 Deck of Cards - why 52 playing cards and why so mysterious?

7 mins; August 08, 2025

ELI5 Gout - what is it and why is the big toe a target?

9 mins; August 01, 2025

ELI5 Rubiks Cubes - how do some people solve it in seconds?

7 mins; July 25, 2025

ELI5 Toilets - why are public toilets tankless unlike those at home?

6 mins; July 18, 2025

ELI5 Black Box Flight Recorders - what’s inside the orange mystery?

6 mins; July 11, 2025

ELI5 Wine - which came first, wine or beer?

8 mins; July 04, 2025

ELI5 Beer - why it was central to historical society?

7 mins; June 27, 2025

ELI5 Creatine - what makes it so popular and does it really make you stronger?

8 mins; June 20, 2025

ELI5 Induction Stoves - are they really faster than gas stoves?

7 mins; June 13, 2025

ELI5 Muscle Knots - do muscles really get in knots and what causes them?

7 mins; June 06, 2025

ELI5 Berries - is the banana really a berry?!

6 mins; May 30, 2025

ELI5 Paper Sizes - why paper sizes in the US are different?

7 mins; May 23, 2025

ELI5 Defibrillators - why AEDs at malls differ from those on TV?

8 mins; May 16, 2025

ELI5 Dragons - why do dragons exist across almost every culture?

7 mins; May 09, 2025

ELI5 Invisalign – are they better than braces?

7 mins; May 02, 2025

ELI5 Stoicism - what are the four Stoic values?

8 mins; April 25, 2025

ELI5 Panama Canal - why did the original French attempt fail?

7 mins; April 18, 2025

ELI5 Blood Types - do animals have different blood types just like humans?

7 mins; April 11, 2025

ELI5 Fish Oil - if it’s so good for you, why not use it more for cooking?

6 mins; April 04, 2025

ELI5 Traffic Lights - why not use pressure sensors?

8 mins; April 03, 2025

ELI5 GPUs - why are they better than CPUs for artificial intelligence?

7 mins; March 28, 2025

ELI5 Sunrise - why do sunrise and sunset look different?

7 mins; March 21, 2025

ELI5 Sliced Bread - why is it the greatest thing since…

7 mins; March 14, 2025

ELI5 Nautical Miles - why are they different from the regular mile?

7 mins; March 07, 2025

ELI5 Nautical Miles - why are they different from the regular mile?

7 mins; March 07, 2025

ELI5 AA Batteries - how did AA type batteries become standard and what about the A battery?

7 mins; February 28, 2025

ELI5 Meditation - Can meditation really change your brain?

8 mins; February 21, 2025

ELI5 Wolves - why are there big cats but not big dogs in the wild?

7 mins; February 14, 2025

ELI5 E. Coli - what is it and why isn’t it all bad?

6 mins; February 07, 2025

ELI5 Schrödinger's Cat - is the cat both dead and alive and why does it matter in quantum mechanics?

6 mins; January 31, 2025

ELI5 Rare Earth Metals - why they aren’t actually rare?

6 mins; January 24, 2025

ELI5 LASIK - how exactly does it fix your vision?

7 mins; January 17, 2025

ELI5 Ligers, Lions and Tigers - who would win in a fight?

8 mins; January 10, 2025

Introducing American Masters: Creative Spark

2 mins; January 03, 2025

ELI5 Wasabi - is most wasabi really “fake” outside of Japan?

7 mins; December 27, 2024

ELI5 Spicy Food - if water is not a good antidote, what is?

6 mins; December 20, 2024

ELI5 Rubber Bands - why do they become brittle over time?

6 mins; December 13, 2024

ELI5 Mint - why it became associated with freshness?

7 mins; December 06, 2024

ELI5 Black Friday - why is it called Black Friday?

6 mins; November 29, 2024

ELI5 Myopia - why can’t you buy myopia glasses off the shelf like reading glasses?

6 mins; November 22, 2024

Introducing American Masters: Creative Spark

2 mins; November 21, 2024

ELI5 Volcanoes - can they be used for dumping trash?

8 mins; November 15, 2024

Introducing American Masters: Creative Spark

2 mins; November 14, 2024

ELI5 Lab Grown Diamonds - why do they have lower resale values?

6 mins; November 08, 2024

Introducing American Masters: Creative Spark

2 mins; November 07, 2024

ELI5 MRIs - how do they work and why are they so noisy?

7 mins; November 01, 2024

ELI5 Aircraft Engines - why propellers on military planes vs jet engines?

7 mins; October 25, 2024

ELI5 Speed of Light - why can’t we exceed it?

6 mins; October 18, 2024

ELI5 QR Codes - how do they work even with portions covered or obscured?

6 mins; October 11, 2024

ELI5 Dyson Sphere - did aliens already build one?

5 mins; October 04, 2024

ELI5 Skyscrapers - which NYC skyscraper could have fallen over?

7 mins; September 27, 2024

ELI5 Super Mario Bros - how did it fit into 32KB?

7 mins; September 20, 2024

ELI5 Lie Detector Tests - how do polygraph tests work?

8 mins; September 13, 2024

ELI5 Solar Eclipses - how often do they occur?

7 mins; September 07, 2024

ELI5 Donor Organs - do donor organs age according to the donor’s age or the new host’s age?

6 mins; August 30, 2024

ELI5 Prime Numbers - why isn’t 1 a prime number?

7 mins; August 23, 2024

ELI5 Burping - how loud was the world loudest burp?

5 mins; August 16, 2024

ELI5 Yawning - why is it contagious?

5 mins; August 09, 2024

ELI5 Olympics - why the amateur vs professional line blurred?

7 mins; August 02, 2024

ELI5 USB - is it still wrong to remove a thumb drive without first ‘ejecting’?’

6 mins; July 26, 2024

ELI5 Sore Throat - is alcohol or honey a better remedy?

6 mins; July 19, 2024

ELI5 Dyson Sphere - what exactly is it?

5 mins; July 12, 2024

ELI5 Collagen - what makes it special and important for your skin?

7 mins; July 12, 2024

ELI5 Mona Lisa - why is it the most famous painting in the world?

6 mins; July 05, 2024

ELI5 Blueberries - what makes them a superfood?

7 mins; June 28, 2024

ELI5 Three Body Problem - what makes it so intriguing?

6 mins; June 21, 2024

ELI5 Two Factor Authentication - how are authenticator apps more secure than SMS?

8 mins; June 14, 2024

ELI5 Starlink - what makes it possible and how does it work?

8 mins; June 08, 2024

ELI5 Bubble Tea - how did it become a global sensation?

7 mins; May 31, 2024

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ELI5 Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast

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