Answering questions you never thought to ask

👂 Here’s a question for you… and here’s the answer. In Decoder Ring, American Journalist Willa Paskin answers questions you might never think to ask. Paskin dissects all sorts of cultural phenomena, tracing their origins back years, decades, and centuries, and in doing so, answers some very interesting questions that satiate the cravings of every curious soul who loves getting to the bottom of things.

Riddle me this. Have you ever wondered why pumpkin spice lattes are a thing ? Have you perhaps ever been lost in thought thinking about white noise and why people are going out of their way to listen to it? Want to know more about the history of Halloween ? These questions — and so many others — only scratch the surface of what Paskin dissects in her podcast. At its core, Decoder Ring tackles topics that, at face value, may seem frivolous, but surprisingly carry deep historical, political, and psychological implications.

An apocalyptic happy ending: In one particular episode, Paskin hosts multi-award recipient space journalist Robin George Andrews, who tells the story of an asteroid collision with Earth in February 2013. Despite its relatively small size — smaller than an American football field — the asteroid was deemed by scientists to be the most dangerous space object to come our way in over a century. Fortunately for us, it didn’t make it to the surface, bursting apart in the sky.

Had it hit, its force would have been the equivalent of 10 atomic bombs. Residents in the Russian city below reported witnessing the sky light up as though a “ball of flame” had been sent their way from the ether. The episode dissects the incident, and Andrews explains how Nasa monitored and tracked the asteroid.

Launched in April 2018, the podcast now has some 190 intriguing episodes. Through engaging conversations with guest experts, Paskin’s show gives off the feel of a classic radio program from way back when, and we’d recommend tuning in.

WHERE TO LISTEN- You can tune in on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anghami | iHeart | Deezer | Amazon Music | YouTube | YouTube Music