NETFLIX | The term "hacking" has highly technological (often negative) connotations. Leave it to TED to flip that idea on its head in their TED Talks: Life Hack. Ranging from two to 20 minutes, each of the eight videos in this collection teach you small tricks you can use to "hack" and improve your everyday life. Since they're speeches, you can treat them like audio books and listen while you do things around the house, taking an occasional glance at the visual aids on-screen.
STORY | We all hate 'em. Besides ruining our otherwise perfect summer outings, mosquitoes have wreaked medical havoc on humanity. Not only that, but scientists find themselves hard-pressed to find a redeeming biological quality for these insects. With that in mind, Radiolab's "Kill 'Em All," a 21-minute podcast, explores these questions. Is it possible to completely obliterate mosquitoes from the planet? And if we could, should we? Impressively visceral and pleasing to the ear, it's a fun listen with the lights out.
APP | Plain and simple, Flipboard is a beast. It lets you compile news articles on virtually any subject into personalized magazines centered around your favorite interests. True to its name, the app relies on fun finger-flicking as a way for users to navigate the interface and flip through articles. More comprehensive than a Facebook feed, much more gratifying than scrolling on Twitter, it's a great approach to personalized news gathering. Also, it's free.
