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Bite-sized bursts of knowledge to make you smarter. Five minutes at a time.
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S1E48 Route 66
A hundred years ago, Congress authorized the creation of an uninterrupted highway that stretched for 2400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. And for 100 years, Americans have hit Route 66 in search…
S1E47 D-Day
82 years ago this week, the Allied forces of World War II launched the largest seaborne invasion in history. Code-named Operation Neptune, it would mark the turning point of the war in Europe. How…
S1E46 Einstein's Theory of Relativity
In 1905, a Swiss patent clerknamed Albert Einstein published a paper that upended our entire understanding of the universe. It explained supernovas, black holes, and even time travel. It also gave us…
S1E45 Dadaism
The early twentieth century was a time of massive upheaval. Between World War 1, the Soviet Revolution, and Albert Einstein, everything we thought we knew about the world was suddenly gone. Into that…
S1E44 Mother's Day
Mother's Day is one of the most important holidays in America, and not just because we love our moms. Billions of dollars in flowers, greeting cards, and restaurant brunches make Mother's Day an…
This...is...a show about Sparta!
Imagine building an entire society around the idea of fighting people. That, in a nutshell, was Sparta. For over three millenia, the Spartans have been source of fascination for their military…
S1E42 Seas, Gulf, Bays, Coves, Sounds, and Fjords: When Geographers Go Wild
Why call something an ocean when you can call it a sea? Why call it a sea when you can call it a gulf? Why is Long Island Sound a body of water and not a rock band? If you've ever looked at a map of…
S1E41 Five Minute Lit: The Stranger
History is full of restless, ambitious overachievers who wanted to make some difference in the world. But what if our idea of the world is wrong? What if life is nothing more than a dumb accident of…
S1E40 From White Dwarfs to Supernovas: When Stars Collapse, Part 2
When stars die, they don't go quietly. They can shrink, expand, explode, and everything in between. How does a star know what to do when it's done? We're covering all that in the conclusion of our…
S1E39 Black Holes: When Stars Collapse, Part 1
Black holes have been a reliable source of inspiration in science fiction and made astrophysicists like Stephen Hawking into household names. On this week's show, we follow how the idea of black…
S1E38 The Impressionist Art Movement
Impressionism was a 19th century art movement borne out of an insult, but quickly became one of the most popular and enduring art forms in history. Legendary painters like Claude Monet,…
S1E37 A Drink To Go With The Food: The Molotov Cocktail
The Molotov cocktail is not a drink and the person it's named for didn't invent it. Yet there is perhaps no more iconic symbol of resistance in the world than a flaming bottle being thrown at a…
S1E36 Earth's Time Machine: The International Date Line
If you want to turn today into tomorrow, you don't need to wait for science to invent something. You can just go west until you cross 180 degrees longitude. That's where the International Date Line…
S1E35 All About the Oscars
The 98th Academy Awards are right around the corner, so we thought we'd tackle some burning questions about the Oscars. Like who...or what...is Oscar? And has anyone named Oscar ever won an…
S1E34 Five Minute Lit: Wuthering Heights
For over a hundred years, Hollywood has been making movie adaptations of Wuthering Heights. And for over a hundred years, they've been controversial. The latest one starring Jacob Elordi as…
S1E33 Uh...Is Anyone Eating Anything?? Ramadan and Lent
This year, the Islamic month of Ramadan and the Catholic observance of Lent both started on the same day. Both faith traditions are characterized by fasting, spiritual devotion, and personal…
S1E32 Biggest, Tallest, Highest: Of Course We're Talking About Mountains
Which mountain is the biggest on Earth? The answer is surprisingly a little complicated and it depends on what you mean by biggest. Join us this week as we go into the sky, the oceans, and to the…
S1E31 The Superbowl's Favorite Half-Time Act
Only six football teams have been to more Superbowls than Up with People. The relentlessly upbeat performing group starred in five Superbowl halftime shows as well as the Indy 500, the Macy's…
S1E30 Things You Didn't Know Were Named For Real People
Sara Lee, Mr. Clean, and Mrs. Butterworth are not real people, but Ignacio Anaya, John Montagu, and Charles Boycott were. Who were they? Only the namesakes of two of the greatest foods ever invented…
S1E29 Australia Wages War Against Itself: The Great Emu War of 1932
The emu is a national symbol of Australia. The large, flightless bird appears on Australia's coat of arms and its fifty-cent piece. So why did Australia declare war against emus in 1932? And how did…
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Five Minute Trivia has published 48 episodes since July 2025, covering topics in Education, Games.
Five Minute Trivia is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 6m.
