After hearing that Oculus Rift is retreating from almost half of its Best Buy locations, we were wondering if VR was a fading fad. We invited MIT Technology Review's Rachel Metz to chat with us. And here's the article she wrote about this:http

The 9 best movies you've never seen (with guest Christian Toto)

Feb 22nd, 2017 41m 40s

With the Oscars around the corner and after recently talking about streaming services and cable cutting, this week we welcome special guest film critic Christian Toto for a roundtable discussion of our 9 favorite, underrated movies. These are g

6 essential productivity tools

Feb 14th, 2017 19m 29s

THis week Dave and Rick share their three favorite producivity tools (and why they love them). Here are the various apps and services discussed on this show:LastPasshttps://www.lastpass.com/Dashlanehttps://www.dashlane.com/OneNotehttps://www

Do you need a fancy router to fix your home's Wi-Fi?

Feb 7th, 2017 18m 52s

This week, we discuss mesh wifi routers like the Eero, Google Wifi, and Netgear Orbi. They have some real advantages over traditional wifi routers, but a huge downside: They're a lot more expensive. Dave recently tested Eero and he discusses th

Can you save money by cutting cable TV?

Feb 1st, 2017 21m 30s

This week, we take a hard look at cord cutting -- can you save money by cutting cable and just subscribing to streaming services? Or is there more ere than meets the eye?

Fake news: Where it lives and how to avoid it

Jan 25th, 2017 22m 34s

Fake news seems to be everywhere these days, so how do you tell when something is fake? And is it possible to avoid it to begin with? That's the subject today. Some of the tools we talked about in this episide:Web of trusthttps://www.mywot.c

CES 2017 wrapup!

Jan 11th, 2017 25m 13s

Recording our second CES epsiode "amost live" from CES, we wrap up the show this week with conversations about Circuit Scribe, Lego Boost, the Sevenhugs universal remote, Plantronics headphones, the terrifying iPal family robot, and some utterl

The best and worst of CES (so far)

Jan 6th, 2017 25m 28s

Reporting almost live from CES, we talk about the most interesting things we've seen on the show floor this year, including great stuff (like VR, drones, and smart home gadgets) and some head scratchingly misguided gadgets like "smart" hairbrus

Download movies from Netflix (and the frustrating glut of streaming services)

Dec 20th, 2016 20m 52s

Joining us once again this week: Special guest tech journalist Melissa Perenson. We talk about downloading movies from Netflix for offline viewing. We also talk about the glut of streaming sites (did you know YouTube has its own premium subscri

Last minute holiday tech shopping (with special guest)

Dec 13th, 2016 29m 23s

Christmas and Chanukah are just 2 weeks away--so with the urgency that only comes from being out of time, we offer a slew of tech-y gift ideas for all the people on your shopping list. We also lament toys of old that were seemingly designed to

Download movies to your phone with PlayOn

Dec 7th, 2016 13m

Just this week, Netflix started to allow users to download movies for offline viewing. But did you know there's a way to download video from ANY service--Netflix, Hulu, HBO, whatever--and watch it on a phone or tablet where there's no Internet

Kickstarter: The best and worst thing ever.

Nov 29th, 2016 26m 7s

Kickstarter is where you go for your $200 cooler with a built-in blender, your battery-powered umbrella, and your gyroscopically stabilized one-wheeled skateboard. It's a hotbed of innovation, it's a wild west where you can lose a lot of money

Tech toy and gadget gift suggestions for kids of every age

Nov 22nd, 2016 23m 42s

With the holidays approaching like a highly tinseled freight train, Dave and Rick make tech toy recommendations for kids of all ages. They recommend an awesome artifically intelligent robot, a few inexpensive stocking stuffers, subscription box

Google Auto prevents your phone from trying to murder you when you drive

Nov 15th, 2016 17m 19s

Since the dawn of the smartphone age, your phone has actively tried to murder you while you drive. Last week, Google made an app called Android Auto available, and it's a real game changer -- it tames your phone so it's safe to use your phone w

Set your cash on fire, digital credit cards are here

Nov 8th, 2016 19m 37s

It's a contentious day at One Cool Thing as Dave tries to convince Rick and guest tech journalist Melanie Pinola that using digital credit solutions -- like Coin, Plastc, Android Pay, and Apple Pay -- are better than tried-and-true credit cards

Monkeys and dolphins are stealing our iPads

Nov 1st, 2016 20m 57s

Motivated by YouTube videos of animals making off with iPads, this week we discuss if tablets are worthy replacements for laptop computers--and if not for you and me, what about for our parents? We're joined by special guest Sarah Jacobsson Pur

Why your smartphone battery might explode (and should you worry?)

Oct 25th, 2016 19m 12s

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is just the latest in a line of gadgets that have batteries with a tendency to explode. With guest Melanie Pinola, we talk about the real risk of exploding batteries, laptops that cause house fires, Star Trek phasers o

One Cool Thing goes to Mars!

Oct 19th, 2016 25m 22s

Last week, President Obama gave an important speech about sending Americans to Mars. Elon Musk unveiled his own plan to populate the red planet. So this week, let's take a break from the usual topics and chat about going to Mars, with special g

Alexa tells terrible jokes (but is otherwise awesome)

Oct 11th, 2016 21m 37s

This week we have a special in-studio guest: Amazon Echo, otherwise known as Alexa. She tells us trivia, makes jokes, and starts a timer, all while Dave and Rick discuss the past, present, and future of in-home artificially intelligent assistan

If you don't want Snapchat Spectacles, your kids probably do

Oct 4th, 2016 21m 6s

Are Snapchat Spectacles just Google Glass for people who don't learn from history? This week, Dave and Rick talk about Snapchat's new sunglasses that shoot 10-second video, whether they're right for you, and how its predecessor, Google Glass, s

Fitness bands, jogging, fitness, and sex

Sep 28th, 2016 24m 2s

Fitbits. Apple Watches. Misfits. They're everywhere, and people use them to track everything from running to sex. But how accurate are they? Does a band on your wrist really help make you healthier? This week we're joined by the lovely Sarah Ja

Drones are a very cool thing

Sep 21st, 2016 20m 37s

Drones! They're cool, they're fun, they're contentious, they're scary. They deliver pizzas and shoot video over your fence into your backyard. They might be a risk to airliners but, did we mention that they can deliver pizza? This week, Dave an

You Might Need Courage to Buy the iPhone 7

Sep 14th, 2016 24m 31s

We take a hard look at what, exactly, you're getting if you buy the iPhone 7 -- is it all hype, or is Apple all hat and no cattle this year? Plus, we discuss the risk from Samsung's exploding smartphones. Hosted by Techwalla editor-in-chief Da

Welcome to One Cool Thing

Sep 1st, 2016 50s

What do drones, robots, wireless kitchen thermometers, self-driving cars, and automatic litter boxes have in common? They're all cool things, and they're all stuff we're going to talk about on One Cool Thing, a weekly podcast that features inte