

Secretly Incredibly Fascinating
Alex Schmidt
A weekly podcast about the history, science, lore and surprises that make everyday things secretly incredibly fascinating. Hosted by comedy writer, emoji creator, and ‘Jeopardy!‘ champion Alex Schmidt. Join Alex & his co-host Katie Goldin for a joyful deep dive into seeing the world a whole new way! (For research sources, bonus episodes, and how you can support the podcast, visit sifpod.fun.)
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 27, 2023 • 11min
super mega triple ANNOUNCEMENT about this podcast!
Alex Schmidt has three big pieces of news to share! 1) SIFpod is joining the Maximum Fun podcast network. 2) Katie Goldin is joining up as Alex's weekly co-host. 3) There's now a Discord hangout for our SIF community. Hear all about it here!You can check out the new SIF page at MaxFun's site: https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/secretly-incredibly-fascinating/Join in the fun on the SIF Discord: https://discord.gg/D5k9X4Rg [note: this invite link expires in February 2023]And see you Monday with another brand-new SIF episode. 🦬

Jan 23, 2023 • 52min
Glitter
Alex Schmidt is joined by comedy writers/podcasters Andrew Ti (‘Yo, Is This Racist?’, Sub-Optimal Pods) and Moujan Zolfaghari ('Mission To Zyxx', 'Tooning Out The News') for a look at why glitter is secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week's bonus episode.

Jan 16, 2023 • 51min
Maps!
Alex Schmidt is joined by author & comedy writer Dennard Dayle (1900HotDog.com, book 'Everything Abridged') and comics & comedy writer Brendan McGinley (1900HotDog.com, comic series 'Citizen X') for a look at why maps are secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week's bonus episode.
(Alex's podcast hosting service requires a minimum of 5 characters per episode title, so that's why this episode's title has an exclamation point)

Jan 9, 2023 • 1h 8min
Undersea Cables
Alex Schmidt is joined by bestselling author Jason Pargin (new novel "If This Book Exists, You’re In The Wrong Universe") for a look at why undersea cables are secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week's bonus episode.

Jan 2, 2023 • 56min
Rubber Ducks
Alex Schmidt is joined by comedian Billy Wayne Davis (new special 'Testify') and comedy writer/performer Zac Oyama ('Dimension 20' on Dropout.tv) for a look at why rubber ducks are secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week's bonus episode.

Dec 26, 2022 • 38min
a holiday hello, and bison emoji audio you may enjoy
Hey folks -- happy holidays! Please enjoy this holiday hello, plus the first episode of a podcast miniseries Alex made in 2020. (and "Alex" = me, I'm the one writing this)
Here's the website for the full 4-episode miniseries: https://www.bisonemojipodcast.com/
You can also find the episodes by searching "1 Way To Make An Emoji" in your podcast player.
Have a safe and fantastic rest of 2022, and see you in 2023!

Dec 19, 2022 • 1h 2min
Ball Bearings
Alex Schmidt is joined by comedy writers/performers Sam Reich and Mike Trapp (Dropout.tv) for a look at why ball bearings are secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week's bonus episode.

Dec 12, 2022 • 1h 6min
Snoopy
Alex Schmidt is joined by comedy writer/podcaster Katie Goldin (‘Creature Feature’ podcast, @ProBirdRights) for a look at why Snoopy is secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week's bonus episode.
See NordPass Business in action now with a 3-month free trial here nordpass.com/sifpod with code SIFPOD.

Dec 5, 2022 • 58min
Eggnog
Alex Schmidt is joined by author/podcaster Joel Stein ('Story Of The Week' podcast) for a look at why eggnog is secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week's bonus episode.
See NordPass Business in action now with a 3-month free trial here nordpass.com/sifpod with code SIFPOD.

Dec 2, 2022 • 54min
special re-release: Toasters
Breaking news: the entire Internet fell for a decade-long Wikipedia hoax about the invention of toasters. Here's the BBC's story about that: https://www.bbc.com/news/the-reporters-63622746
Great news: this podcast is one of the only forms of Internet media that didn't fall for that hoax. (Alex researched the real story!) So please enjoy this re-release of our already-accurate "Toasters" episode, featuring special guests Moujan Zolfaghari and Kimberly Clark. Original air date: June 27th, 2022.


