
At Popular Science, we report and write dozens of science and tech stories every week. And while a lot of the fun facts we stumble across make it into our articles, there are lots of other weird facts that we just keep around the office. So we figured, why not share those with you? Welcome to The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week. For advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Stu... more
| Publishes | Twice monthly | Episodes | 235 | Founded | 8 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | ScienceEducation | |||

Alexis Nikole joins the show to talk about the heinous etymology of the juneberry (if that's even it's real name...). Plus, Liz Clayton Fuller returns to explain how birds are behind Pantone, and Rachel details the ins and outs of Naked Mole Rat soci... more
Greg Jenner joins the show to unravel all of the secrets hidden in King Tut's undies. (Seriously. There are a lot.) Plus, Sara Kiley tells the story of the crusty white dog from Madagascar, and Rachel goes down a rabbit hole about only marrying someo... more
Sarah Dern and Emma Gommetz join Rachel this week to talk a trio of extra weird things. We've got babies spitting backwash into the boob, radio's biggest op being literal "night", and a gender-bending squirrel beloved by military veterans named Tommy... more
Bee scientist Kit Prendergast joins the show to talk about... well... the birds and the bees. Plus, Rachel explains how portobello (portabella?) mushrooms are not exactly real. And Sara Kiley tells us how a spotted lanternfly's worst enemy could be a... more
People also subscribe to these shows.




The content of these podcasts is always very informative and entertaining. But the ads in the program are very loud, way louder than the content. This is very irritating and downright dangerous when using earphones. Such is also obnoxiously low class
Either just pick a winner, or revise the language in the intro. It’s frustrating to hear every. single. episode.
The volume difference between the host and guests is really jarring. Finding myself having to consistently adjust volume throughout the episode to hear everyone clearly, which the leads to the ads blasting in my ears. Facts are interesting but nothing very weird or new, usually facts someone into sciences will have heard already. Also interesting to have Pattie Gonia on when they are embroiled in a lawsuit with Patagonia.
The information is interesting, but the cackling laugh is so annoying I’m not sure I can keep listening.
Was enjoying this as a science and technology geek, even though the hosts and guests are blatantly politically biased. But when a recent guest used non-trinary neutrinos as an argument for gender identity, that was a bridge too far. Keep science separate from politics.
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Spotify | #28 | |
Apple Podcasts | #57 | |
Apple Podcasts | #78 | |
Apple Podcasts | #146 | |
Apple Podcasts | #150 | |
Apple Podcasts | #51 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
This show acts as a fast-moving, curiosity-driven science and history short-form podcast. Episodes weave together strange but accessible facts across biology, physics, history, and culture, often featuring guest scientists, writers, and storytellers who add depth and humor. It stands out for blending rigorous fact-checking with playful banter, broad topics, and memorable anecdotes, making complex ideas approachable for a general audience. Listeners typically enjoy quirky, evidence-based storytelling with a human-angle on science and historical oddities; the format and guest mix make it especially appealing to curious, science-minded adults who like a entertaining, information-packed listen.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week:
1. Ologies with Alie Ward
2. Science Vs
3. Unexplainable
4. Science Friday
5. Sidedoor
The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week launched 8 years ago and published 235 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week include:
1. Greg Jenner
2. Dr. Kit Prendergast
3. Ben Bradford
4. Pattie Gonia
5. Hari Kondabolu
6. Priyanka Wali
7. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
8. Josh Gondelman
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.