Brain Junk

Series produced by Trace Kerr

Series image

Everything you never knew you wanted to know. We guarantee, you won't be bored.

Amy Barton and Trace Kerr shake up science, history & culture in this once a week show. We hunt for off the wall, totally unexpected answers to questions and bring them to you in two to ten minute short, "Brain Storms" or longer twenty to thirty minute episodes.
We dive into questions like: What are Supernumerary teeth? Do ants pass the Mirror Test? Why do kids in Denmark murder their birthday cakes?
Brain Junk is a fun ride for adults and kids who want to know.


137 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
168: The 442nd Infantry
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Once again we dive into a piece of history that should be explored in schools. Thousands of American born Japanese defied prejudice and hate to fig...

Bought by WRFA-LP and Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: May 24, 2021
  • Length: 03:59
  • Purchases: 2
167: Wormnado
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
When out on a walk, Tiffanie Fisher spotted a giant ring of worms and snapped a picture. She posted the photo in the hopes that someone could expla...

Bought by WRFA-LP and Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: May 24, 2021
  • Length: 04:55
  • Purchases: 2
165: Silently Screaming Tomato
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
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In a pitched battle against voracious tomato fruit worms, (aka. corn earworms or cotton bollworm) tomato plants have one sneaky defense...a wasp. I...

Bought by WRFA-LP and Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: May 24, 2021
  • Length: 05:03
  • Purchases: 2
164: Bumblebee Tunnel
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Researcher Sridhar Ravi of UNSW Canberra looks to the humble bumblebee to answer questions about how to program a more nimble drone. The way he and...

Bought by WRFA-LP


  • Added: May 24, 2021
  • Length: 04:55
  • Purchases: 1
162: penguin Guano & Giggle Gas
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
There's a strange connection between King penguins, one of their favorite islands, and Nitrous Oxide gas.

Bought by WRFA-LP and Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Mar 30, 2021
  • Length: 05:01
  • Purchases: 2
161: Wild Hamsters
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Our best topics come from late night dinner table conversations with our kids. Amy attempts to answer the question: Are there herds of hamsters roa...

Bought by WRFA-LP


  • Added: Mar 30, 2021
  • Length: 05:16
  • Purchases: 1
160: Fab Female Frog Lungs
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Imagine if you could block out loud noises at a party by taking a really deep breath. That's how the female American Green Tree Frog manages to fil...

Bought by WRFA-LP


  • Added: Mar 30, 2021
  • Length: 04:44
  • Purchases: 1
159: Wanna Cuttle?
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Can a cuttlefish master a test that very young children often struggle to pass? Instead of using marshmallows like we do with people, scientists us...

Bought by WRFA-LP


  • Added: Mar 30, 2021
  • Length: 05:05
  • Purchases: 1
158: Spider Pulley
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Arachnophobes BEWARE! Imagine a spider that uses special silk to lift something that's 50 times bigger than itself. There is a video! You must wat...

  • Added: Mar 30, 2021
  • Length: 04:59
156: Smell This
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
What is that weird smell? It's called trimethylamine (TMA) and for most of us it stinks like rotten fish. For a small percentage of people it smell...

  • Added: Mar 30, 2021
  • Length: 05:04
155: Gallon of PB&J
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
What if we burned calories the same way cars use gas for fuel? Amy fell down the comparison hole trying to figure out the "car calories" for humans...

  • Added: Mar 30, 2021
  • Length: 04:54
151: G. A. Morgan and the Traffic Light
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Traffic lights, a hair relaxant, gas masks, the zig-zag stitch on sewing machines...all of these important inventions have one thing in common, Gar...

  • Added: Feb 21, 2021
  • Length: 05:57
150: The Amazing Shrew
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Who knew a tiny animal could contain such a multitude of cool facts? For our 150th episode we dive into the life of the shrew. It's a phenomenal cr...

  • Added: Feb 21, 2021
  • Length: 05:00
149: History of Bandanas
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Originating in India, the western version of the red bandana began in 1800s England with the use of snuff. Over the years the pattern has changed s...

  • Added: Feb 21, 2021
  • Length: 04:55
148: Algae Farming Fish
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
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We catch you up with an update on fluorescing animals and then jump right into new research on Long Fin Damsel fish that use Mysid shrimp to farm a...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 02, 2021
  • Length: 04:56
  • Purchases: 1
147: Knitting Spies
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
In WWI and WWII women were super sneaky and ingenious using their yarn and knitting needles to covertly transport coded messages. That's right, tod...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Feb 02, 2021
  • Length: 04:45
  • Purchases: 1
146: Snail Knights
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
There are over 70 examples of knights fighting snails in illuminated manuscripts from the 1300s. But why? First meme? A silly inside joke? A weird ...

  • Added: Jan 20, 2021
  • Length: 04:47
145: Can't Find the Beat
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
When music comes on, can you clap along or do you struggle to find the beat? If you have a hard time keeping up with the rhythm, there's a reason a...

  • Added: Jan 20, 2021
  • Length: 04:12
144: The Tree that Owned Itself
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
Piece image
Col. William H Jackson had a favorite tree. So, somewhere around 1832, Colonel Jackson gave the white oak tree to itself (and the city of Athens, G...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: Jan 07, 2021
  • Length: 04:42
  • Purchases: 1
143: Hogmanay
From: Trace Kerr
Series: Brain Junk
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Help us lean into the New Year with the many Scottish traditions surrounding Hogmanay! There are wee drams of whiskey and balls of fire and cleanin...

Bought by WTIP


  • Added: Dec 23, 2020
  • Length: 04:53
  • Purchases: 1

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