UFOs, a public autopsy, and when caterpillars invade: ‘Something Offbeat’ goes beyond wacky news headlines
Audacy’s “Something Offbeat” goes beyond wacky headlines and shares bite-sized episodes on the week’s most unusual news. Hear episodes on topics ranging from UFOs to body modification, climate change’s effect on bugs, and more in less than 20 minutes. Since June, the podcast has released over 9 interesting episodes to binge in any order.
Yale University’s Dr. Christopher Whalen had the opportunity to name an entire species and shared the story behind an ancient sea creature’s name on an episode. Dr. Whalen, who works with the Museum of Natural History, explained the creature is one of the oldest known relatives of the vampire squid and octopuses. The creature was named after President Joe Biden. In this episode, we also learned more about the history of scientific names with Dr. Brittany Kenyon-Flatt from North Carolina State University.
How did a 2,000-year-old bust wind up at Goodwill? And what stolen pieces are still floating around? An episode shares an Austin-based antique dealer’s story when she found a 52-pound marble bust at a Goodwill location.
When Laura Young found the item, she recognized it was special, and was pleasantly surprised to learn more about its history. The bust dated back to the 1st century and possibly found its way back to the USA when a soldier carried it home from WWII, according to Laura. In this episode, Decolonize Museums‘ author Shimrit Lee talks about widespread theft and destruction of pieces during wartime.
In July, an episode covered NASA’s announcement to commission a study on unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAPs), aka UFOs. Harvard professor and author of “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth,” Dr. Avi Loeb, joined this episode to discuss what the public could learn from UFO research. Dr. Loeb also heads the Galileo Project at Harvard University.
“Something Offbeat” is an educational and witty listen that might just brighten your day with unusual news. Tune in for new episodes wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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