Exciting news! We’ve announced a bunch of new tour stops for this spring! Learn more about the show and get tickets here!

Mar 7............MILWAUKEE

Mar 8..................ST PAUL

Mar 28..............ATLANTA

Mar 29.....FT LAUDERDALE

Apr 11......CHATTANOOGA

Apr 12.................DURHAM

Apr 25.....SAN FRANCISCO

Apr 26.............PORTLAND

May 30...............BUFFALO

May 31..............TORONTO

Jun 6.............ANN ARBOR

Get tickets at brainson.org/events -- hope to see you there!!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

HARVEY, our omnipresent virtual voice assistant, gets a software update that makes him go bananas for bananas. And if we talk about anything except bananas, he turns the microphones off! We talk to geneticist Dr. Janina Jeff about how much DNA we share with a banana, find out why bananas make other fruits ripen, how bananas grow, and where that slipping on a banana peel joke came from. Speaking of jokes, we'll hear a bunch of banana jokes from listeners too! Plus: The Moment of Um answers the question: "Why are peaches fuzzy?"

You can hear more from Dr. Jeff on her podcast In Those Genes.

Silent film expert Lea Stans has a wonderful blog post about the history of the banana peel joke that you can read right here. You can see some of those early comics that featured the joke!

https://www.youtube.com/watch/RMDgmHB4znc

Want to support Brains On and all of the shows in the Brains On Universe? Sign up for Smarty Pass. You'll get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus content, virtual hangouts, discounts on merch and more!

Want to see Brains On live?!? We are probably coming to a city near you. For a complete list of shows and links to tickets head to our events page. More shows announced soon!

March 7 - Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI

March 8 - Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul, MN

March 28 - Center Stage, Atlanta, GA

March 29 - Amaturo Theater, Fort Lauderdale, FL

April 11 - Walker Theater, Chattanooga, TN

April 12 - Carolina Theater, Durham, NC

April 25 - Marines Memorial, San Francisco, CA

April 26 - Newmark Theater, Portland, OR

May 30 - Electric City, Buffalo, NY

May 31 - Royal Theatre, Toronto, ON

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re all part of a generation, that’s a large group of people born around the same time as us. These generations have names too, like Gen X, Baby Boomers or Gen Alpha. Who came up with these generations and why do we have them? We’ll speak to experts and learn what makes each generation unique. Plus, what if you could rename your generation? Plus, Mr. Bonejangles can’t remember his birthday so he has no idea what generation he’s part of! All this and a timeless mystery sound. Enjoy!

Guests:Dr Jean Twenge: Professor of psychology at San Diego State University, and author of iGen, Generations, and 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World.

Kim Parker: Director of social trends research at Pew Research Center.

Corey Seemiller: Professor of leadership studies in education and organizations at Wright State University, and author of Generation Z.

Want to support Brains On and all of the shows in the Brains On Universe? Sign up for Smarty Pass. You'll get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus content, virtual hangouts, discounts on merch and more!

Want to see Brains On live?!? We are probably coming to a city near you. For a complete list of shows and links to tickets head to our events page. More shows announced soon!

Feb 21 - Just for Laughs Festival, Vancouver, BC

Feb 22 - The Neptune, Seattle, WA

March 7 - Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI

March 8 - Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul, MN

March 28 - Center Stage, Atlanta, GA

March 29 - Amaturo Theater, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Click here for a transcript of this episode

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.