CrowdScience - Why do some people eat soil?

For some people, the idea of eating soil is weird at best and at worst disgusting and dirty. But globally the practice of geophagy – or the regular and intentional consumption of earth – is more common than you might imagine. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates described it 2500 years ago and even today, eating soil, earth and clay can be seen in a wide range of human cultures as well in hundreds of animal species. But what’s the point of it? And what’s going on in the body to drive cravings for things that aren’t bona fide food?

That’s the question bothering CrowdScience listener Amy. Anna Lacey discovers the special properties of the soil people eat and the purpose geophagy might serve for our health. She also finds out the extent to which our bodies can tell us what we’re lacking and drive us to crave the substances we need to reset the balance. Produced and Presented by Anna Lacey

(Photo: Hands holding some soil. Credit: Getty Images)

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - Project 1794: A Real-life Flying Saucer

Flying saucers are perhaps the most iconic genre of UFO -- since the 1940s they've become the mainstay vehicles for extraterrestrials in all sorts of fictional stories. But, according to declassified files, the US Government was intensely interested in building some flying saucers of its own. So far did they get?

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Two World Cups: Football and Cricket

On this week?s More or Less, Ruth Alexander looks at the numbers involved with the two world cups that are going on at the moment.

Are more men than women watching the Women?s World Cup and how accurate is the Cricket World Cup rule of thumb that suggests if you double the score after 30 overs you get a good estimate of the final innings total?

Producer: Richard Vadon

Image: Cricket World Cup Trophy 2019 Credit: Getty Images/ Gareth Copley-IDI

Motley Fool Money - Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

What can parents learn from the success of tennis star Roger Federer? When is grit a problem? Should travel soccer get the boot? What’s the best predictor of success in the business world? Is it better to be a frog or bird? And what should every graduate know about the road ahead? On this week’s show, we explore those questions and more with David Epstein, author of the New York Times bestseller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.

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The Intelligence from The Economist - New Democracy in an old one: Greece’s election

Kyriakos Mitsotakis looks likely to lead his New Democracy party to victory in this weekend’s snap election. But can he deliver on all the promises of his big-tent campaign? We examine the controversy and the politics surrounding the detention of migrants at America’s southern border. And, it’s clear that the quality of women’s football is rocketing—we’ve got the data to prove it.