NO SUCH THING – Details, episodes & analysis

This week, we take a deep dive into the frustrating conundrum of the kids menu. Why would a restaurant show me they’re capable of making a delicious and adorably small offering of chicken nuggets, only to restrict it to those fortunate to be 12 years old or younger? Are these restrictions an economic necessity, a moralizing judgment, or something else? We speak with a few industry insiders to learn the history of the kids menu and put these limits to the test. 

Our guest this week is Kate Lindsay, longtime sufferer at the hands of Big Kids Menu, host of Slate’s internet culture podcast ICYMI and writer of the newsletter Embedded. Thank you to our restaurant industry expert Lori Rakoczy from Technomic, and our anonymous movie theater server. 

If you liked this episode, check out Ep. 11: Can you cure picky eating? (w/ Search Engine)

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On this episode, we discuss the fatigue people have been feeling around franchise movies, particularly the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But where did franchise movies come from, and how did virtually all of Hollywood become so fixated on this kind of film? Walt Hickey, author of You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything, walks us through the weeds on this, and gets to the bottom of our questions. Walt is also the author of Numlock News.

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NO SUCH THING is a production of Kaleidoscope Content, executive produced by Kate Osborn and Mangesh Hattikudur.

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We just got back from a little weekend trip, which got us thinking once again about how confusing and terrible it is to deal with the TSA. Despite all their yelling—the TSA does not make it clear about what you can or cannot bring on a plane, or what items you actually have to take out of your bag. So I spoke with Darryl Campbell, an aviation safety writer for The Verge and author of Fatal Abstraction, who did a deep dive on The Humiliating History of the TSA.

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Original music for this episode produced by Zeno Pittarelli!

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This week, we tackle movie theater photographers, black coffee, dirty jeans, trebuchets, and more as we answer questions submitted by listeners.

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We’ll be off next week, so take advantage of the free time by leaving us a five-star rating wherever you listen to podcasts and sharing the show with your friends!

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This week, we investigate a shocking conspiracy theory that might explain why Dasani stands out among the titans of bottled water, with the help of water sommelier Martin Riese and Tap Score CEO Johnny Pujol. 

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It’s been known for years now that men aren’t the best at asking follow-up questions on dates with women. But a more specific version of this phenomenon has emerged: men aren’t even asking other men follow-up questions, even their good friends! With the help of “mindful masculinity” expert Liz Plank, we get to the bottom of why men don’t know anything about their male friends, and we put our own friendship to the test.

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This week, we look into why car headlights seem like they've gotten so much brighter in recent years than they used to be. And, is there any hope for a shift back to a more reasonable brightness level? Our guest today is Daniel Stern, a lighting expert and chief editor of Driving Vision News.

Additional music by Certain Self.

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This week, we take a look into a rather divisive issue: school cell phone bans. With more and more states introducing legislature to ban mobile devices in schools, we take a look at the cases for and against the restrictions. Our guests today are Sabine Polak from the Phone-Free Schools Movement and Keri Rodrigues from the National Parents Union.

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In collaboration with our friends at Search Engine, we seek to find a cure for Manny's deep aversion to seafood, for the sake of our friendship.

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This week, we bravely interrogate the male practice of standing while peeing. Why do we do it? And why stand when you can sit? We speak with urologist Gerald collins to find out if there are any hidden benefits to sitting while peeing.

For more, visit www.nosuchthing.show. If you have a question you'd like us to answer, feel free to email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com.

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