Hello, Sam here. Before we begin, I wanted to remind you just how much we appreciate you as our listeners because we wouldn't be able to make this show without you.

Now, if you've got a second, we'd love it if you could leave a review or comment on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

We do read all the reviews, and if you leave a question, we'll try to answer it on an upcoming show.

But those genuine reviews help spread the word about Curiosity Weekly, and ultimately,

they help keep us going. So don't forget, leave a review. Thanks so much.

Greetings science seekers. Welcome back to Curiosity Weekly. I'm Dr. Samantha Amin.

Lately, there's been a lot of talk about social media and how much time we should spend on it.

On the flip side, we talked about the analog movement in our last episode. What's the right balance,

how much, and what kind of socializing is actually good for our brains? Well, in this episode, we'll get some answers from neuroscientist and science communicator Dr. Ben Ryan.

He literally wrote the book on Why Our Brains Need Friends, like that's the actual title.

And then later, tardigrades, those cute little microorganisms that look like a cross between

a caterpillar and a cuddly bear.

You may have seen them in science textbooks and know them as water bears.

But if not, just trust me, they're super cute.

They're also incredibly tough, and it turns out that may come at a price.

We'll find out, but first, raccoons.

If you ever walk around the night before garbage day, you might just pass some raccoons scaling garbage bins and scheming how to get

inside and feast. I've always known they're cunning, but a new study published in the journal

Animal Behavior found that their skills aren't just about finding food. Turns out, they just really

love a good puzzle, and they're pretty good at them too. The researchers were collaborators from

the University of British Columbia and the National Wildlife Research Center in Colorado. They designed

a custom puzzle box made from clear plexiglass and three removable panels, each with different locking mechanisms.

...