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 [ SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW - PODCAST ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=399)

#  Why Parking Your Car Is Such a Pain & How Invisible Microbes Shape Your World

May 17 2023

Written by Mike Carruthers.

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SYSK - Drinking coffee in the morning is a pleasant habit for many of us. However, this episode begins by explaining why you might want to smell your coffee as well as drink it to help you think better and be more [productive.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6881620/)

In many metropolitan areas, parking is the number one land use. The U.S. has 4 parking spaces for every car on the road! So why is it so hard to find a spot when you need one? That is what Henry Grabar is here to explain and discuss. Henry is a staff writer at Slate, and author of the book [Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World. ](https://cms.megaphone.fm/organizations/9a190366-c5b4-11e9-9f29-5fe1099cfbf1/podcasts/c24d0a5a-b25b-11ea-bef6-ef68671ea875/episodes/317311dc-7b17-11ed-92d4-dff4b62bbf0f/%20https://amzn.to/3HG2xLg)Listen and you will understand why parking is a much bigger deal than you ever realized.

Microbes are those little tiny organisms that you can’t see without a microscope -things like germs, bacteria, fungi. We have a tendency to think of them as dangerous or things that cause illness and disease. Yet, actually most of them don’t cause any harm and some are even good for you. And by the way, you have trillions of microbes on you and inside of you. Here to take us on a tour into the invisible world of microbes is Jake Robinson Jake is a microbial ecologist and author of the book [Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape our Lives and the World Around Us.](https://amzn.to/44pGRwR)

While some people do have food allergies, there aren’t as many as you might think. A lot of people who claim to be allergic to certain foods actually have an intolerance to the food. But that is not an actual allergy. Listen as I [explain the difference](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/food-allergy/expert-answers/food-allergy/faq-20058538).

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