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Volcanoes. Trees. Drunk butterflies. Mars missions. Slug sex. Death. Beauty standards. Anxiety busters. Beer science. Bee drama. Take away a pocket full of science knowledge and charming, bizarre stories about what fuels these professional -ologists' obsessions. Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward asks smart people stupid questions and the answers might change your life.
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Slumber Party is an LGBTQ+ comedy podcast. Stand-Up comedian/musical theatre nerd Tim Murray invites his funny, famous friends over for games, gossip, and embarrassing stories of their childhood (AND ADULT!) Slumber Parties! It's an opportunity for LGBTQ+ people to say all the things they were afraid to express as kids with a fun adult re-do, honey!
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Coming soon... a new horror podcast I've created, produced and hosted. EERIE is an 8-episode anthology audio series of original horror stories from some of the most exciting contemporary voices in horror, pulled from literature, film & TV. Brand new original stories commissioned from authors Julia Armfield, Kirsty Logan and Alison Rumfitt, theatrem…
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Sweet! Salty! Umami? What’s up with MSG? Why do you like your coffee black? Come down to flavortown and let’s talk tongues. Gustologist Dr. Gary Beauchamp is a chemosensory scientist and an expert in taste. We chat about tastebud flim-flam, celebrity grade hot wings, MSG research, excitotoxins, weaning off sugar, the worst soup on the market, what …
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Dr. Mack returns with a new introduction and updates on… listener questions! The universe, dimensions, asteroid bags and cosmic vertigo with the amazing Astro Katie, AKA Dr. Katie Mack. Part 1 was a primer on all things cosmological, from particle physics to black holes, so listen to that first then hop to this episode to get all your questions ans…
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The Red Planet. A mysterious dusty orb millions of miles away. Our emergency escape bunker. Alie sits down with Dr. Jennifer Buz to talk about what Mars’s DEEEEAL is, why we send rovers there, the poetry of the moon Phobos, Martian sunsets and whether we could landscape Mars to look like a golf course. Jennifer is maybe the chillest areologist on t…
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Stars. Black holes. THE GAWDANG UNIVERSE. Astrophysicist and cosmologist Dr. Katie Mack (@astrokatie) re-introduces us to this 2017 episode along with some bonus updates on astrophysics, her career, and the book she’s published since we last heard from her. Katie also tells us her most embarrassing moments as a cosmologist, debunks some physicist m…
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Alie takes a teeny tiny break from her vacation to reintroduce you to this laid back, super helpful fan favorite episode. Listen in for: Pomodoro timers! Bullet journals! Apps, tips, tricks and philosophies. Also: the most mellow episode ever, recorded late at night in a guest room. Like a cozy duvet of wisdom, this one is full of life hacks for re…
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Yep. Here it is. A kid-friendly episode on… poop. Camel poop. Rhino poop. Dog poop. Cat poop. Your poop. The charming and informative Dr. Rachel Santymire -- aka Dr. Poop -- has a background in animal physiology and endocrinology and is elbow deep in dung as a research director at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Dr. Poop sits down with Alie to talk turds and…
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The brilliant and dazzling Helen Zaltzman pops in with some new asides in this encore episode of Ologies. Helen, host of the podcasts The Allusionist, Veronica Mars Investigations and Answer Me This, and a person who technically for a living researches the origins of language and thus is an etymologist, visits Alie's apartment to chat about various…
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Wrapping up our Diabetology 2 parter encore, diabetic diabetologist and wonderful person Dr. Mike Natter, MD is back with a little introduction covering some stuff that wasn't on the radar back in 2019, like what's the deal with this Ozempic stuff you've heard about, and then Natter from the past goes on to answer all of your questions about blood …
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Dr. Mike Natter hosts this encore episode of Ologies (hosted by Alie Ward), it's a classic 2 parter: Diabetology about the happy, moody-, sweaty-, unconscious-, and possibly even homicidal-making sugar in our blood. In this episode, Dr. Mike Natter dishes about how blood sugar works, what insulin does, and how prevalent diabetes is in all of its va…
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Listen, kids... give your father a break, okay? Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes Sponsors of Ologies Transcripts and bleeped episodes Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, masks, totes! Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram Editing by Merc…
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Machine poets. ChatGPT fails. Neurological surveillance. Brain implants that treat depression. Is it scary? Cool? Let’s firehose some questions at Duke Law professor, neuro and bioethicist, author and TED speaker Dr. Nita Farahany. She explains the history of AI, the dawn of chatbots, what’s changed recently, the potential for good, the possible pe…
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Flying squirrels. Fox squirrels. Giant squirrels. Tiny ones. Grey ones. Black ones. Fluorescent ones? Alie is losing her mind talking to dream guest and Sciuridologist, Dr. Karen Munroe. This Baldwin Wallace University professor has studied squirrels for decades and addresses where they sleep, how many babies they have, if they bite each other’s ju…
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Hi! I’ve been in the hospital with pneumonia! But enjoy this banger of an encore about: Serotonin! Dopamine! Norepinephrine! Neurotransmitters: what's their deal? Dr. Crystal Dilworth, aka Dr. Brain, stops by to have a spirited discussion about how chemical messengers change our moods and behaviors. We chat about depression, anxiety, what chemicals…
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It’s a kid-friendly episode on … thunder and lightning: very, very frighteningly interesting! Wildfire researcher and lightning scientist Chris Giesige answers questions about thunderclaps and lightning flashes in a laid back way that will put him at the top of your Fulminologist list. He explains everything from clouds to positive and negative cha…
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The thrilling conclusion of all-things-emoji! Eggplants, peaches, jumping ska dudes, gray hearts, family emojis, what NOT to text your Southern Italian friends, yellow hands, red hair, the birth of the smiley face and how to celebrate World Emoji Day on July 17 with Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge, designer Jennifer Daniel, and the world’s first em…
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Thumbs up? Thumbs down. Skulls of joy. And so many expressions of pain and comfort. This, my babies, is the -ology that sparked this whole podcast. Curiology means “writing with pictures” but will certified emoji experts agree that they are curiologists? Listen in for behind-the-scenes drama, origin stories, stats on usage, trends and global contex…
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Grab your stuff and hop in our van full of weirdos to check out Boise Idaho’s finest attraction: a 580 acre preserve of land that is absolutely flush with raptors who could eat your eyeballs. We’re back with another field trip episode, this time visiting The Peregrine Fund’s World Center For Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho. We got a tour from Vice Pr…
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Ahoy matey, we’ve we’ve brought ye another ensmol’d episode of Ologies (which just means cleaned of filth and cut for brevity) this time on: Shipwrecks. We get to talk with maritime archaeologist and wreck nerd Chanelle Zaphiropoulos about her experiences with Shipwrecks, treasure, carbon dating, admirals worth admiring, ancient technology recovere…
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Honeybees get all the attention, but native bees are the underbugs to root for. Photographer, author, and National Geographic Explorer Krystle Hickman shows us the wonders of indigenous bees through her lens focused on conservation of bees and their habitats. She covers their lifecycles, tunnels, turrets, fuzzy butts, frat house cuddling, and sexua…
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They clap. They swim. They have dozens of eyes and 2 million babies. They are scallops. Pectinidologist Dr. Samantha Lynch climbs aboard to share stories of theft on the brackish seas, gossip about scallops vs. oysters, ponderings on Disney bras, months without Rs, bay scallops, sea scallops, filter feeders, shellfish volunteering, curious baby biv…
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Here we are with the smol (shorter, cleaner, kid-friendly) version of another Ologies classic, in this case: Mammals. You’re one. Your dog is one. So are giant rats. What do we have in common? I promise you’ll find out the answer from the incredible Southern Illinois University professor, researcher, science communicator and mammalogist Dr. Daniell…
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Once again: the world is on fire. As wildfires burn across Canada and their smoke pours down the continent, we thought it would be a good time to encore these Fire Ecology episodes. First, Dr. Gavin Jones brings the heat talking about what fire is, how hot it burns, fire trends, tinderboxes, lots and lots of forest fire flim-flam, tolerant wombats,…
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What’s the difference between Southern cooking and “soul food?” Is there a correct type of mac and cheese? And whose business is it what you eat? (Hint: no one’s). Culinary historian, scholar of African American life and culture critic Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson is a professor at University of Maryland College Park and department chair in the Depar…
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Jump in, we’re going to the Valley to talk to cool, funny screenwriters about ... Artificial intelligence-drafted scripts! Trillion-dollar companies pretending they’re broke! Emmy-nominated writers with side hustles! Teamster bosses dropping mics! What an exciting time to gossip about Hollywood… labor unions! Listen, we all love watching our Progra…
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It’s 2-for-1! Ticks AND Lyme: together in one helpful, disgusting, gossipy, empowering episode. This pair of episodes is about tiny, thirsty ticks and the diseases they spit into you is wall to wall wisdom from Dr. Neeta Pardanani Connally of the West Connecticut State University Tick Lab and Dr. Andrea Swei of SFSU’s Swei Lab cover how to remove a…
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An exclusive spoiler-free interview with the author of The Power, Naomi Alderman, and Raelle Tucker, showrunner of the TV series based on the book, streaming now on Prime Video. Watch The Power on Prime Video. A full review of The Power can be found on our Patreon. Produced and presented by Anna Bogutskaya *** Music: "Slasher" by Karl Casey @ White…
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Invisibility cloaks. Transparent frogs. Stealth bombers. Gorilla mischief. Theoretical optical physicist and Invisible Photologist Dr. Greg Gbur joins Alie to chat about light, illusions, secret technology, science fiction inspiration, terrible camouflage, great movies, historical mishaps, and even a few great household life hacks – and why you sho…
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How do our bodies build our bodies? What does a stem cell look like? How do they know what to do? What diseases could stem cells cure? And why is Canada such a hot place for research? Dr. Samantha Yammine – known by many as Science Sam – is a stem cell biologist and science communicator and takes us back to the discovery of stem cells, chats ethica…
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This shorter, kid-safe edit of the classic Herpetology episode features frilly gills, frog tornadoes, legless lizards, and reasons to appreciate snakes. Also, why you shouldn’t kiss one. Dr. David Steen is a beloved herpetologist and wildlife conservationist and his answers are full of facts and flim-flam busters. Dr. David Steen’s website, Twitter…
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A bonus episode interview with the author of Death of a Bookseller, Alice Slater. We discuss Alice's love of horror films, true crime fandom, unlikeable protagonists and the process of writing the book. There will be spoilers for the book in the last section of the book that are clearly signalled (spoilers from 00:33:51) Death of a Bookseller is ou…
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Wow. It gets weirder. Military dolphins, dolphins on drugs, sensory deprivation, deciphering dolphin language, the search for alien life, and more with the affable and knowledgeable Delphinologist Dr. Justin Gregg. Should you cuddle a dolphin? Can one kill you? Should you hire dolphins as midwives? Why do they follow boats? And what’s Drake got to …
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Giant brains! Communication mysteries! Infamous sensuality! Dolphins are here to blow your relatively tiny mind with their squeaks, clicks, cliques, history, lore, zany evolutionary path, psychedelic experiences, and so much more. Learn why some dolphins are pink, why NASA poured cash into groovy research, what it’s like to touch a dolphin, if they…
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Come check out my butt with me! 1 in 16 people in the U.S. will have colon cancer, and 0 in 16 want to talk about getting a camera up your guts to check things out. I am one of them, but after losing loved ones to colon cancer – and staring down the barrel of my first-ever colonoscope — I recorded tips, tricks, taste tests, foggy drug hazes, bar ro…
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Welcome to Dead By Dawn, a limited podcast series exploring the depth of the Evil Dead franchise, from the original cult movie to the upcoming Evil Dead Rise. Hosted by horror fans and podcasters Mike Muncer, Anna Bogutskaya and Chris Hewitt Listen and subscribe to Dead By Dawn: An Evil Dead Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. -- Watch Evil Dea…
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We’re back for Part 2! If you missed Part 1, start there for the chicken basics and then come back for the weird stuff like chickens eating chickens, why chickens bother laying unfertilized eggs, rooster gossip, fairy eggs, nest abominations, bird grief, beak accessories, soft burbling chicken sounds, spicy chicken feed, safe corners of the interne…
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Yes, Chickenology is a real word. And we have questions. Such as: should you get a chicken?! Chicken-haver and author of “Under the Henfluence” Tove Danovich stops in to recall how her casual backyard chicken experiment turned into an obsession, a lifestyle, and then a book. We chat about junglefowl, chicken competitions, egg prices, chicken statue…
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A G-rated, kid-safe Smologies edit all about getting your Zzzzzs. Neurologist and somnologist Dr. W. Chris Winter is an expert on sleep, and since his first interview, he’s released a book called “The Rested Child” all about sleep and kiddos! So parents, kids and anybody else can dive in to learn about different sleep stages, what sleep does to the…
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What’s inside that boarded up house? Should you explore an abandoned mall? A vacant factory? And how much of an old house ends up in a landfill? The founder of Domicology, Dr. Rex LaMore of Michigan State University’s Center for Community and Economic Development, is an expert on these things and answers any possible question you might have, from g…
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Ahh, Daylight Savings Time: does it mess up your brain? What time should you go to bed? Are you sleeping enough? Is shift work really that bad? How dark is dark enough? The wonderful and hilarious Dr. Katherine Hatcher got her PhD in hormones, sleep cycles and circadian rhythms, and helps Alie dissect her terrible sleep habits. We also chat about a…
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Ichthyology is not easy to say, but fish are easy to love. Dr. Chris Thacker will get you so thrilled to stare into a pond or look up pictures of silvery sea serpent-looking fish friends. Hilariously charming fish expert and LA County Natural History Museum Curator of Ichthyology, Dr. Thacker took Alie to a basement full of several million jars of …
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Why an episode on Detroit?! It’s got a great story. Standalone, this episode is a fascinating look at a metropolis that swelled and thrived during the auto boom, then declined, and is navigating a rocky rebirth of sorts. Aaron Foley was Detroit’s first official City Storyteller and wrote the book “How to Live In Detroit Without Being a Jackass.” I’…
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I’m at the airport and there are hundreds of brain scientists everywhere. So I swallowed my dignity/anxiety and approached strangers about the neuroscience they do. The result is a bushel of info on cravings, sleep, consciousness, addiction, dopamine, monogamy, Ozempic, toxins in your brain and so much more with: Georgia Kirkpatrick, Isabella Monta…
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Chemical spills, historical disasters, water quality, airborne toxic events, clear gasses, White Noise, dead fish, dark clouds, chemistry tests, trench coats, PFAS, phthalates, and the Ohio train derailment that plumed vinyl chloride into the skies of a small Ohio town. The lovely and informative Environmental Toxicologist Dr. Kimberly K. Garrett w…
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Skin color! Hair texture! Biological anthropology! The incredibly informed and infectiously funny Dr. Tina Lasisi joins to chat sunscreen, ashiness, redheads, light skin, dark skin, in-between skin, beards, UVAs, UVBs, shower habits, cultural colloquialisms, vitiligo, melasma, medical math, ocher, freckles and more. Dr. Lasisi is about to become yo…
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It’s invisible. It’s mysterious. It’s all around us – and no one knows what it is. Let’s have a fun existential crisis by pondering Dark Matter! The world’s most affable and endearing theoretical particle physicist, Dr. Flip Tanedo of UC Riverside, makes the Large Hadron Collider, Higgs bosons, and neutrinos make sense. Also: Star Trek, space ghost…
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Part 2 is here! Pull up a seat for singing techniques, baby talk, baritones, whistle notes, stroke recovery, vibrato, Julie Andrews, crying jags, throat singing, accents and much more with your new favorite Laryngologist, Dr. Ronda Alexander. We just… we love her so much. Listen to Laryngology Part 1 here Follow Dr. Alexander on Instagram and Twitt…
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Voices! Singing! Anxiety busters! Breathing! The absolutely magnetic, charismatic Laryngologist and surgeon Dr. Ronda Alexander makes her long-awaited Ologies debut to chat about why we sound the way we do, hormones and voices, Elvis accents, opera singing, kid voices, turning back time vocally, coughing, sleep apnea, acid reflux, vocal fry, Mariah…
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Lights! Cameras! Arachnids! And lizards and bees and beetles. Macro photography is like magic: curved glass gives an entirely new take on the world, from dust on a cricket’s brow to a curious mantid stare to the elegant symmetry of spider whiskers. Joseph Saunders is an Oklahoma-based wildlife photographer whose larger-than-life photos of bugs and …
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