Featured Episodes
Golden Spiral Media Podcasts
(View Full Catalog)
Recent Episodes
640- Is the Resurrection Reliable?
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell. The Romans created the word excruciare to describe the intense pain of crucifixion. The pain was so severe that the Romans needed a...
639- Monday Mailbag
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell. The first email was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, a computer engineer, to himself using a program called SNDMSG, which allowed...
Criminal Justice
The Twilight Zone can be a cruel adjudicator doling out ironic punishments to characters whose desires ultimately become their undoing. Greed, short-sightedness, and the notion that "heaven" and...
S4E1 Neither Here Nor There
After a bit of a break between seasons, we are back for season 4, cortexifans! Join us for our premiere episode in which we discuss “Neither Here nor There,” the episode that finally makes Seth...
638- Seize the Adventure
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, the Disney character Goofy was originally called Dippy Dawg and first appeared in the animated short “Mickey's Revue” on May 25,...
637- Do Great Stuff
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, I only wear Converse Chuck Taylor shoes, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. I gotta be honest with you. I...
636- Transitioning to Willoughby
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, I find it fascinating that Donkey Kong, Mario, Star Fox, Pikmin, and The Legend of Zelda were all created by the same person,...
635- The Truth Exposed
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, the average person has between 90,000 and 150,000 hairs on their head, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living....
Epitaphs
In the shadowy realm of the Twilight Zone, "Night Call" and "Mr. Garrity and the Graves" present haunting narratives where the boundary between life and death blurs with terrifying results. Both...
Latest Episodes
S4E6 And Those We’ve Left Behind
We are joined by Erin for this episode as we discuss the episode “And Those We’ve Left Behind,” or, as Darrell calls it, “The Stephen Root Episode.” We talk about why this episode remains so...
648- The God Behind the Curtain
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, the scarecrow is my favorite character from The Wizard of Oz , and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. Like...
Face Off
What price would you pay to change your appearance, and what happens when the power to transform yourself becomes a curse? This month we look at two epsodes where identity and the consequences of...
647- I Think Therefore I Am
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell. Many philosophers were referenced in the TV show LOST, including Descartes, who was referenced on the blast door map in season 2....
S4E5 Novation
It’s just us this episode as we take on “Novation,” Peter’s first full episode this season. We reflect on some of the theories that we had back in the day about who was behind the Shapeshifters 2.0...
646- The Year of Breakthrough
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, The Venetian is my favorite Las Vegas hotel, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. My wife and I love the...
Golden Spiral Media Podcasts
Latest Episodes

652- Monday Mailbag
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:40 — 15.1MB) | Embed
Thanks to Jeff and Ruthie for sharing their stories. I found both of these stories to be incredibly inspiring and I appreciate each of them being willing to be vulnerable enough to share these raw moments from their lives. These stories represent the true heart of this podcast and the best of what community looks like.

651- What’s Better Than Money
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:35 — 8.2MB) | Embed
In 2017 I received an email from a podcast associate of mine named Shawn. I reached out to Shawn to learn more about the mission and determine how much I could donate to make maximum impact. Shawn was great with answering my questions, but the conversation didn’t go as I expected. Rather than simply taking my money, Shawn repeatedly emphasized that the best impact I could make was not in purchasing multiple stoves and floors. Instead, he insisted the biggest impact would be made if I joined him in Guatemala.

S4E7 Wallflower
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:02:42 — 112.8MB) | Embed
Helen joins us all the way from Germany this week to discuss this episode of Fringe. Listen in as we discuss the rich character moments from this episode that we love and how Eugene’s story and conflict parallels both Olivia and Peter.

650- Pitfalls of a Thor Complex
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:45 — 8.3MB) | Embed
You could say that nobody steals Thor’s thunder. He is the god of thunder, after all. But perhaps he’s the only one who is immune to having their thunder stolen. It took me years to see this fault in myself. To be honest, I’m still not convinced I’m capable of realizing that I’ve stolen someone’s thunder until a great deal of time has passed. That scares me a little. And that’s the lesson for today. If you’re like me, you love the thrill of getting set free to take an idea and run with it. That’s a great feeling and often comes with rewarding outcomes. Just don’t take off without first taking a look around you.

649- Understanding Your Why
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:13 — 8.5MB) | Embed
As we stood there on the shore of San Diego Bay taking in the sights of Comic-Con, Clint looked at me and asked, “Darrell, why do you do all of this?” I took a moment and gave him an answer I wasn’t happy with then and I’m not happy with now. I told him that I enjoyed being around the celebrities and learning about all the new stuff that’s coming out on TV this season. He looked at me with a dissatisfied expression. I’ve thought a lot about it since then, and here’s the truthful answer he deserved that day. I wanted the recognition. I wanted the notoriety. I was motivated heavily by selfish ambitions.