Supermindstretchers

Deane on Hey Hey It's Saturday

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 17:02:05 +1030

It's a Brendan and Ben duo episode with an electric deep dive into Dick Smith Electronics, MacGyver's take on car phones, and a glimpse at the magical and terrifying time capsule of Hey Hey It's Saturday clips on YouTube.

Exploring Your World

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 12:23:12 +1030

The trio reunites to dissect (not literally) The Mighty Ducks, deconstruct (not literally) modern advertising, and demonstrate (literally) why callbacks don't work if you didn't record the thing being called back to. Oh, and there's a bit of The Curiosity Show in there too!

Mexican Jumping Beans

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:31:35 +1030

It's a Pod Full of Beans with Brendan and Ben, but not Tom, because his name does not share enough letters with the multifaceted legume. We talk jumping beans (both real and matchbox-tumbled foil), breaking bags of Bag-Of-Beans branded bean bag beans, a book full of beans by Richard Fowler, and zippers. And MacGuyver.

The Mystery of the Stolen Sheep

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 09:11:49 +0930

It finally happened, a Ben solo episode (not referring to Kylo Ren's given name, but maybe that'll be good for the algorithm?). Alone on a deserted highway at night outside of Litchfield in the Top End of Australia, experience the fairly low-fi ramblings of a parent whose baby has finally fallen asleep and is left to ponder the stars, the deep cuts of Harrison Ford's filmography, and a peculiar coffee table in the Mystery of the Stolen Sheep clip from The Curiosity Show.

Egg In A Bottle

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:05:33 +0930

We're going into the musical mind of Brendan this week as he and Ben celebrate the taste and fashion of a couple of budding dorks. If Tom was there it would be much trendier. And Deane shows us how to get a boiled egg into an old-fashioned milk bottle, and some talk of Full House for good measure.

Spin Dryer and The Book

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 22:56:09 +0930

The Prodigal Dubs is back with Tom and Ben to unsheathe a vintage copy of the titular book, as well as reminisce over top-loader washer-dryer combos, the truth behind centrifugal force, and of course more thoughts about The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Mona Lisa Smile

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:50:31 +0930

It's the Crisp brothers, Ben and Tom, sans the amazing Brendan and his amazing microphones, debating whether or not Mona Lisa is smiling, what happens when someone breaks the internet for real, and quantum computers. Oh and Muppets.

Expansion and Contraction

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 18:36:09 +0930

We're back! After Tom's travels to Japan and the U.S.A., the Mind Stretchers reunite to discover the joys of Fuji Rock Festival '25 and capsule hotels, debate which part of the dishwasher you'd prefer to get washed in, and learn how metal and rubber reacts to heat.

Homemade Thermometer

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 12:20:51 +0930

We're back! From the disruption of flu and music tours, Ben and Brendan reconnect to discuss Deane's homemade thermometer experiment, Superman and the film music of John Williams, and how rainbows work.

Ames Room

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 12:53:55 +0930

Brendan has props! Steve Mould's Assassin's Drink Bottle and its wandering knight cosy, Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections, and we return to the work of Adelbert Ames Jr as Rob and Deane shrink and grow inside his strange room.

Paper Clips and Puppet Heads

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 11:51:40 +0930

Brendan and Tom talk Mission Impossible, Deane shows us a topological treat with jumping paper clips and Rob crafts Punch-and-Judy-style papier mache puppets.

Mr Aphantasia and Simple Boot Jack

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 15:06:54 +0930

Brendan goes north by north-north at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we get a call from Mr Aphantasia himself to tell us how it feels, and Dr Rob makes a simple boot jack that makes de-booting so simple.

Ship Around The Earth Puzzle

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:58:59 +0930

We did our homework about the Magic Potato Trick from last episode, and try to crack (or smoosh?) the puzzling question about which part of a ship travels furthest on a trip around the Earth.

The Magic Potato Trick

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 08:18:24 +0930

A magic trick with a potato, a knife, and a newspaper, gives more than enough food for thought - and a menu full of wireless transmission and cutting down into the quantum realm.

Nature's Bulldozer and Sultan's Rings

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 06:00:00 +0930

An outdoor examination of insects by Rob leads to discussion of shrinking, and Deane's magic trick involving Möbius strips unravels into the world of acoustics.

Ames Window and Folding Paper

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 27 May 2025 12:33:50 +0930

We discover the much lauded Ames window optical illusion, with help from nephew Oscar, and our first clip of Deane and Rob's chemistry together as they banter over the impossibility of folding paper in half 10 times.

Three Hats and Mother Of Pearl

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 20 May 2025 13:47:46 +0930

In this particularly laid-back episode, we take our time chatting about logic puzzles, zero knowledge proofs, and the surprising smoothness of balls. Plus, we encounter a moustache-less Deane Hutton, and watch our first Rob Morrison clip from The Curiosity Show, to see how the two legends compare.

Optical Illusions

Ben Crisp, Tom Crisp, and Brendan Williams — Tue, 13 May 2025 16:31:07 +0930

In our first episode, we try to pin down what this podcast is actually about while watching a clip from The Curiosity Show on optical illusions. Things quickly go off track as we end up talking about ER, a South African comedian who also teaches finance, and whether we even know what we’re doing. It’s a loose start, but we’re having a good time figuring it out.