KUED Programs

David Pogue, popular technology reporter for The New York Times, is the new host of this science magazine series. What are the secrets behind your favorite foods? Why are some treats -- like chocolate chip cookies -- delectable, while others -- like cookies made with mealworms -- disgusting? You might think you understand what makes something sweet, salty or bitter, but Pogue gets a taste of a much more complicated truth, as he ventures into labs and kitchens where everything from apple pie to Thanksgiving turkey to juicy grasshoppers is diced, sliced, dissected and put under the microscope. If scientists can uncover exactly what's behind the mouth-watering flavors and textures we take for granted every day, could they help us enjoy our food more -- without packing on the pounds?

Have you ever wondered what's going on inside an Animal's head? How do they see the world -- and us? Is your dog really feeling guilty when it gives you that famous "guilty look?" Do pigeon brains possess "superpowers" that allow them to find their way home across hundreds of unfamiliar miles? David Pogue meets -- and competes -- with a menagerie of smart critters that challenge preconceived notions about what makes "us" different from "them" expanding our understanding of how animals really think.

Mobile phones that read your mind? Video games that can cure cancer? Wearable robots that give you the strength of Ironman? David Pogue investigates which technologies are likely to transform daily life for you -- and your grandkids. They're already taking shape in laboratories around the world -- and gadgets that once were purely science fiction are on the verge of becoming as common as the iPhones and Androids Pogue reviews every day. What technological hurdles must engineers and computer scientists overcome before robots, mind-readers and holograms are all around us? And what will it mean to us as humans if we become even more entrenched in a 24/7 digital world?