Something Offbeat

It’s cicada-mania! For the first time in more than two centuries, two broods of North American cicadas will emerge from the Earth at the same time. One hasn’t been up in 13 years and the other has been underground for 17 years, and they are both different from the typical cicadas we hear every summer. “Something Offbeat” host Mike Rogers caught up with Tom Tiddens of the Chicago Botanic Garden to learn more about the broods and explore some of the mystery around cicadas. Mysteries like what they are doing for all those years underground.

Two weeks ago, much of the country stopped for a few minutes in the middle of the day to watch at least a partial solar eclipse. And in the path of totality, researchers were keeping an eye on animals to see how four minutes of darkness changed their behaviors. This week on Something Offbeat, Dr. Adam Hartstone-Rose, a professor of biological science at North Carolina State University, joined Mike Rogers, to discuss his findings from April 8.

Lexington, Ky., recently started something it calls “the world’s first interstellar tourism campaign,” trying to attract extraterrestrials to the city, and the Associated Press wrote about it. Roswell, N.M., has long been a destination for UFO tourism, and “Something Offbeat” talked with Dennis Balthasar of the International UFO Museum and Research Center there about why people love aliens.

This week on Offbites, Lauren and Chris break down which city's remote work relocation package is the most appealing (hint: Lauren may soon be a Rochester resident), discuss the ethics of a gas station hack, and hear the heartwarming story of a community that came together to support a young girl.

Last month, the New Orleans police superintendent told the city council that police headquarters needed a lot of upgrades. But one comment stuck out: "They're all high." It had nothing to do with anyone in the city, but with rodents in the department's evidence room. This week on Something Offbeat, Audacy's Mark Menard, a Louisiana native, joined Mike Rogers to discuss the saga at the New Orleans Police Department.

Glass has been around for more than 35 centuries, but the process to make it can still boggle our minds. Humans use their own lungs to breathe life into glass pieces such as those seen on the Netflix show “Blown Away”. The fourth season of the show just premiered, and a collection of the pieces featured on the program are on display at the Corning Museum of Glass. “Something Offbeat” host Mike Rogers talked with Eric Meek – the senior manager of hot glass programs at the museum and is a longtime glassblower.

This week on Offbites, Lauren and Chris discussed a story sent in about a nude cruise, a gym fight that resulted in a man getting stabbed in the butt, a lost structure found on the sea floor and a rocket launcher found hidden in a car.

The biotech company Loyal is working to develop drugs that would slow the process of aging in dogs, aiming to extend the healthy lifespan of our four-legged friends. Dr. Brennen McKenzie, Loyal's director of veterinary medicine, joined Mike Rogers to discuss how the drugs would work and how he'd answer people who question whether Loyal is tampering with nature.

Late last year, a UFO journalist released previously-unseen photo and video of two different unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs, captured in the Middle East. One was called the chandelier and the other was called the jellyfish. To get the latest on the search for extraterrestrial life and UAPs seen from Earth, Mike Rogers visited with Harvard's Dr. Avi Loeb, the founder of the Galileo Project, which he established in 2021 to search for this very thing.

Something Offbeat host Mike Rogers makes his long-awaited debut on Offbites. He joins Lauren and Chris to check in on the results of the Florida Man Games, discuss why the Philadelphia Phillies are doing away with dollar hot dog night, and break down the challenge of sprinting while holding a frying pan.

On an October day last year, people living in apartment blocks located in a coastal area of south Athens in Greece were evacuated. Near their homes, work on a huge urban development was underway. It was stalled after a frightening discovery. According to the Associated Press, it was a 500-pound bomb dating back to World War II. Matthew Osborne of the FBI joined the show to talk about bombs left over from wars. They can be found all over the world, from Europe to Asia and even the U.S.

Millennial beige -- the color has become so associated with that generation that it’s become a social media trend to make fun of it, particularly by Gen Z. This week "Something Offbeat" host Mike Rogers spoke with Charmaine Wynter – a repeat guest on the podcast – about those millennials, their bland taste and the future of color in interior design.

Lauren and Chris welcome Kieran back to the podcast this week! They discuss rats taking selfies, a Hawaii lake's Oscar protest, and parrots that parents with young children might want to avoid.

Almost every four years, an extra day scoots into calendars: Feb. 29, or Leap Day. It’s coming up this Thursday. Many people know that the shortest month of the year gets a little longer on occasion because the solar year doesn’t quite line up with our calendar. Still, the podcast team had some questions. Tim Goodwin, associate editor of the Old Farmer's Almanac, joined the show to help.

For years, millennials have been accused of killing chain restaurants. Now, it looks like they might be bringing them back. This week, the “Something Offbeat” podcast takes a look at Applebee’s internet-breaking” date night pass – offering 52 meals for just $200 – and how it fits in to the chain restaurant resurgence. Eater’s Amy McCarthy has had her eye on the trend since October. She joined the show to explore why more people are heading to spots like Olive Garden and Quizno’s lately.

On this week's Offbites, Lauren and Chris wonder how scammers have convinced people to send them billions of dollars, discuss why the sound of airplanes overhead comforts them, and how to avoid getting into a barfight on an airplane.

Americans are drinking less beer than they have in nearly a quarter century. According to a report by Beer Marketer’s Insights, beer shipments fell below 200 million barrels in 2023 for the first time since 1999. NBC News reports the drop in beer sales is due in part to consumers shifting to other forms of alcohol, or cutting it out completely. Tyler Ashe, a senior trends analyst at consumer research agency GWI, joined Mike to discuss declining beer consumption and other wellness trends.

On this week's Offbites, Chris and Lauren get into whether or not they're afraid of shark attacks, a diet consisting strictly of baby food, and companies offering unique Valentine's Day gifts.

This week's Offbites are dedicated to Super LVIII! Chris and Lauren discuss performer safety during the halftime show, the most outrageous Super Bowl prop bets, why they're not into the commercials anymore, and of course, whether the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship is real.

The Federal Highway Administration announced new guidelines for Changeable Message Signs a few weeks ago. Those are the message boards on the side of the highway that display things like, "Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late." The new guidelines strongly discourage states’ departments of transportation from using “punny” messages on signs. To discuss the story, Dr. Tripp Shealy, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Virginia Tech, and the lead author of a report commissioned by the Virginia Department of Transportation titled “Driver Response to Dynamic Message Sign Safety Campaign Messages," joined host Mike Rogers on this week's Something Offbeat.