Listen Now

Have you ever experienced something so strange that you were convinced you were dreaming, crazy, or even living in a simulation? Did you think Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s? Do you think that we all died in a cataclysm and our consciousness transferred to an alternate dimension? This is the episode for you! We discuss the science behind the weird "glitches in the matrix" that can cause us to question our reality, as well as discuss some real experiments that show us how weird reality really is.

Monsters are a part of every culture in the world, but how can we link them to discoveries in science, and how do they evolve based on these discoveries? We talk about this, as well as play a monster game, in today's episode.

Ghosts are a supernatural phenomenon that has captured the imagination -- and fear -- of people for millennia. But are there scientific explanations for the creepy, shadowy figures that plague our peripheral vision? Continuing our series of spooky episodes, we talk about the science behind what we can interpret as ghosts!

We kick off our spooky science series starting with everyone's favorite flesh-eating ghouls, zombies! Did you know that there are lots of real examples in science that relate to these festering fiends? We talk about zombie-like cases including disease, mental illness, and parasites.

We are currently 100 seconds from midnight in 2020, but what exactly does that mean? In this episode, we talk about the Doomsday Clock, invented by scientists during the height of the nuclear arms race. How close is humanity to wiping itself out? How much time do we have left? Have we become death, destroyer of worlds? So much doom!

Dinosaurs fascinated all of us as children, but did you know how many connections are found between these giant ancient lizards and creatures of lore and mythology? Join us as we discuss our fine, ferocious feathered friends and their links to thunderbirds, griffins, and dragons!

We sit down with Trevor Motley to discuss organ and tissue recovery (or is it harvesting? Farming? Mining?), how tissues are recovered, and the organ donation process. We also discuss some common myths about being an organ donor. Neither of us woke up in a bathtub full of ice with no kidneys following recording, so we'll call it a win!

We finish up our two-parter on personality disorders by discussing Cluster B, such as narcissistic and borderline personality disorders, and Cluster C, such as dependent personality disorder. Joel also discovers a new type, known as puppy personality disorder. It's a real thing, and we're real scientists.

In the first of our two-part series on personality disorders, we discuss the differences between mood, psychotic, and personality disorders, the clusters of personality disorders, and also go over Cluster A types.

Reproduction: a favorite pastime for many creatures. We talk about the various forms of reproduction, including self-love (aka asexual reproduction), the crazy world of animal sexual behaviors, and some interesting mating rituals.

What are the solutions to our growing energy crisis? Where are we heading in both best- and worst-case scenarios in terms of energy, climate change, and conservation efforts? What needs to change? We sit down with Dr. Joe Merola, chemistry professor at Virginia Tech, to talk about sustainable energy, both in the present and future.

We're back for Season 2 with more interviews! Today, we talk with plasma physicist Petr Cagas about fusion energy, spacecraft thrusters, and the history of plasma physics.

We're back for a second season! More interviews from experts! Better equipment! And most importantly, more segments!

We talk about the dirty truth of soil conservation with Bill Keith, including composting, no-till farming, and the price of organics.

We talk with biologist Sam Freeze about the cutest flying death on the planet: bats! We learn about their behavior, their interesting courting styles, and how important bats are to the ecosystem.

We talk with Thomas Reilly about a topic sometimes considered a science, but sometimes considered an art -- finance -- and learn that the only real solution is to overthrow the system, eat the rich, and start our own religion/bank.

We speak with tracking expert Rob Speiden of the Search & Rescue Tracking Institute, Cybertracker Conservation, and Natural Awareness Tracking School, LLC, about the science of tracking both animals and humans.

Insects are cool. What more do you need? Completely different structures of society and different goals, the variety of these small creatures make them the masters of the world than us. Let’s take a look into the dark holes of the world and see what crawls around.

Ebola virus? Weak. Influenza? Child’s play. The plague? Small potatoes. At least, compared to one of the most terrifying categories of diseases known to man: prions. These ruthless misfolded proteins are unstoppable killing machines, responsible for such epidemics as Mad Cow Disease. In this episode, we discuss what prions actually are, how they spread, and go over some examples of prion diseases.

In this episode, we talk carnivorous plants. There’s more than one way to lure in sweet tasty treats. And what makes you more complete than traps to collect them all. Like a green still siren, we can look at the nectar that’s too deadly to not eat. The ultimate snack attack!