Most Useful Podcast Ever

The managing culinary director of Serious Eats, J. Kenji  López-Alt, has some crazy ideas about tools you can use for cooking. Like, he uses actual tools that you might find in the garage. Also on this episode, tech editor Alex George does not get eaten by a shark, Peter Martin learns to sew on a button, and Roy Berendsohn rates instruction manuals.

What do you do when a fan sends a huge jar of honey to the office? You invite him on the podcast, of course! This week we interview our fan, Eric Rochow of Gardenfork.tv, about all his DIY hobbies, including beekeeping and making a pot of beans in the dirt. Later on, Kevin tries to find a stud in a plaster wall, and the staff tries out the first videogame that's supposed to give you a sixpack, instead of the other way around. 

It's that time of year again--football is coming back. Kevin tries to fix up a TV he found on the side of the road, and calls up technician from ShopJimmy.com for help. Meanwhile Peter Martin explains all the non-traditional ways to watch football this season, like with PlayStation, which doesn't require a PlayStation. Plus: Roy teaches us to clean our gutters, and Eleanor teaches us how to win at bocce (and other outdoor games).

Mosquitos suck, particularly in August, when people are still eating outside and the camping is just starting to get good. On this episode, we talk to Joe Conlon, technical advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association, about DEET, citronella, and how to avoid getting bit. Thus provisioned, we spend most of the episode out in Central Park, testing pedal-assist E-bikes on a huge hill, and getting Frisbee lessons from an editor who went to college in Vermont. 

Chris of Chrisfix.com and Popular Mechanics car editor Ezra Dyer join the cast of the Most Useful Podcast Ever to diagnose car sounds we found on the internet. We also talk about what to do if you find a lost baby bird, how to protect your home from falling trees, and the best way to move (Hint: Not on September first). 

Handy guy Steve Ramsey has almost 800,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel Woodworking for Mere Mortals, and yet he still found time to talk to the Most Useful Podcast Ever about the most necessary tools for a beginner's workshop. He even gives listeners a sneak peak at what's coming up next for his channel. Also on this episode, tech editor Alex George tells us the sneaky apps that are stealing your data when you're not looking; we test a crime-finding app called Citizen; and the hosts have a filter-off, to find out whose air conditioning system is the most disgusting.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ok, ok, we scared you guys with the threat of Lyme disease, and while we do have a neurologist on this episode to tell us how to catch the disease early, it's not the only topic we cover this week. Solutions to summer scourges abound on this episode: We tell you how to combat sunburn, mildew, and even international roaming charges.If you want to know even more about Lyme disease, visit Project Lyme or Dr. Elena Frid's website.

The summer has a habit of sneaking up on you. One day there are buds on trees, and the next, it's 95 degrees and almost July. This week, we've compiled a fantastic set of tips to smooth the transition: Wash your tent for the upcoming camping season, cool your beer in a hurry, give your lawn a summer touch-up, and invest in a pair of shoes designed to keep your feet cool and dry. 

Have you decided what to get your dad for Father's Day yet? Fear not: The Most Useful Podcast Ever has your back. Newly golf-obsessed executive editor Peter Martin and goods editor Matt Allyn both stop by the recording studio to tell us the coolest stuff they've found recently. We also talk to a log rolling expert and a New York City bartender, and we play an admittedly dark game called "Will It Kill You?"

Professional drone pilot Edward Kostakis stops by the studio to teach the staff of Popular Mechanics how to fly drones without crashing all the time. We also talk to Alex George about protecting your smart home via your router, and test out the brand new DJI Spark.

Roy, Peter, Jacqui and Kevin tell Steve Casner, NASA research psychologist and author of Careful: A Users Guide to Our Injury Prone Minds, stories of times we've made big mistakes to find out why humans do dumb stuff. We also try to make a phone call using an Amazon Echo, and test a commuter bike with a crazy gear shifter. 

Our guest on the podcast this week is a very smart, very adventurous dude named Brendan Leonard, a climber, ultrarunner and general outdoorsman who recently wrote a book called The Great Outdoors: A Users Guide. He gives us tips on how to survive everything that can go wrong while you're out on an adventure, from darkness to cold to rattlesnakes. We also test golf shoelaces, and the Curious Idiot gets into a fight with a scrolling webpage. 

With the latest installment of The Fast and The Furious out this weekend, Scott Eastwood, who plays a character named Little Nobody in the film, stopped in to the Popular Mechanics office to race the staff with remote control cars. But it turns out Eastwood has actual race experience, and he tells us all about it in this week's episode. Also this week: Roy Berendsohn talks saws, and we challenge editorial assistant James Lynch to a handyman's obstacle course. 

Peter and Kevin watched the show "Jungletown" on Viceland this week and wondered how the show's volunteers were doing such a poor job of running a PVC water system to their home site. So they asked Roy, who didn't pull any punches. Meanwhile, Kevin spent some time out in the woods testing weird new camp stoves, and Daniel Espinoza, the director of the new sci-fi horror flick Life, calls in to explain how horror movies scare you. Prepare to be shocked! Prepare to be entertained! Prepare to learn cool stuff from movies and TV shows!

To kick off today's show, we talk to PM Autos Editor, Ezra Dyer, who recently visited the NYPD Fleet Services Division—the guys responsible for keeping the department's 6,000 cop cars in good, running condition. Ezra explains what the average car owner could learn from watching how New York's Finest take care of their cars. Then, James Lynch and Matt Allyn stop by the studio to answer some of my questions about St. Patrick's Day. After that, we talk to Dr. Marvin Pritts, a plant expert from Cornell University, about what we can do to salvage our gardens after a winter of unpredictable weather. Finally, on today's testing table, Peter Martin shares a life lesson.

On today's show, we offer up helpful tips for three things that will likely be driving you mad this March. First up, we talk to Tim Chartier, professor of mathematics and computer science Davidson College, about "March Mathness," his statistically driven approach to mastering bracketology for this year's NCAA Basketball Championship. Then Alex George talks us through the latest home security devices, so you won't have to lose your mind worrying about your empty house on ski weekends (especially once you've stashed your tournament winnings). Finally, Peter Martin comes to the testing table with a new body fat testing device that not only tells you how out of shape you are, but also gives you a workout plan to get ready for warmer weather.

On today's show, in light of the emergency at the Oroville Dam in California, we talk to Rachel Sears, the director of FEMA’s Floodplain Management Division, to find out what to do if there's a flood risk near you. Then Katie Macdonald tries to get resident curmudgeon Peter Martin excited for Mardi Gras. Finally, Jacqui and Matt Allyn run wantonly around the office, but make sure to signal their turns.

On today's show we ask: Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya? First, we get the lowdown on all the prop bets for this year's Superbowl. Not who wins, or the number of points scored by the Falcons or the Pats, but the good stuff—how often will we see Beyonce? How long will the national anthem last? Then we talk Superbowl snacks with our friends at Delish. Finally, Jacqui, Kevin, and Peter try out a bag of Tostitos chips that can save you from driving drunk.

Popular Mechanics Senior Home Editor Roy Berendsohn is a font of mechanical knowledge. In this episode, we asked him to give us his top tips for winter, and ended up learning about physics, fans and tumblesnow. On the testing table, we try out an $8,000 camera.

Are you ready to turn some of our awesome life tips into full-time habits? Then check out this episode, which includes tricks for changing your life from Stanford researcher BJ Fogg, who studies the ways technology influences health habits and started the website tinyhabits.com. After that, we dig in deep with some Shop Notes for the New Year. And beer lover Matt Allyn tests a fitness tracker called THE BEAST.