Science Vs

Recently, Joe Rogan aired an interview that scientists are up in arms about — with Dr. Robert Malone. Malone talked smack about the Covid-19 vaccines, talking about scary side effects and implying that the vaccines are a risk to our fertility. Enter Science Vs. We fact check the bejesus out of it and zoom out to talk about the bigger picture: what to watch for if you’re worried about getting sucked in by misinformation online. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3rqgRjy UPDATE 2/11/22: When we first published this episode, we said that in more than 60 papers we'd gone through, we'd found only one reported case of someone dying from myocarditis after a Covid-19 vaccine. Some listeners questioned this, and we re-checked our work and found several more deaths. The episode has been updated — and thanks to the listeners who picked this up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The moon race is back! Countries — and billionaires — are lining up to take a crack at returning to the moon. But why are we really going? Some say this is a lunar gold rush, that countries want to mine the moon for resources. Others are saying the real reason to go to the moon today is that it’ll help us get to Mars. To find out, we talk to engineer Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid, physicist Prof. Nicolle Zellner, and astronomer Prof. Gregg Hallinan.  Check out our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3oC5kMx  This episode was produced by Meryl Horn and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Tom Simko, Professor Jack Burns, Dr. Paul Byrne, Dr. Martin Elvis, Dr. John Mather, Dr. Jennifer Whitten, Dr. Ian Crawford, Dr. Simon J Loc

Dr. Anthony Fauci sits down with us to talk about omicron, how this pandemic actually ends — and how he’s fighting back against the haters.  Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3Djq9jX Science Vs is produced by Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Michelle Dang, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Daniel Ramirez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welp, the pandemic has served up yet another poop sandwich, and it’s called omicron. This variant is popping up in dozens of countries across the world, and scientists are racing to get a handle on it. So how bad could this be? And could it sneak past our vaccines? To find out, we talk to virologist and immunologist Professor Ann Sheehy, Prof. Art Wallace, epidemiologist Dr. Barbara Cohn, immunologist Dr. Ali Ellebedy and virologist Dr. John Tembo. UPDATE 12/6/21: A previous version of this episode incorrectly said that genes tell our bodies how to make amino acids -- it’s been corrected to say that genes tell our bodies how to string together amino acids. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/31rpKit This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Michelle Dang, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Nick DelRose. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researche

This week we’ve got a spicy treat for you: a show called Gastropod. Hosts Nicola Twilley and Cynthia Graber dig into the world of food and serve up a forkful of science, plus a dash of history. In this episode: chili peppers! Why do we love spicy things when they set our mouths on fire? Plus, where did chilis come from — and how did they take over the world? Find more Gastropod here: https://gastropod.com/ Gastropod thanks: the Somerville, Mass., store Christina’s Spices, which ships all around the country—they have the best selection of chiles Cynthia has found anywhere online, even compared to places that specialize in chiles. And if you want to do a tasting, you’ll want the New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute chile tasting wheel, which Danise helped develop. It’s got heat profile notes and flavor notes and it’s a lot of fun to use. Thanks also to Maricel Presilla, Danise Coon, Harold McGee, Pam Dalton, and Edward Wang.  Science Vs is hosted and executive produced by Wendy Zukerman; our pr

Could our dreams for a real Jurassic Park come true? Headlines say scientists are closer than ever to resurrecting prehistoric animals like the woolly mammoth. But is this for real!? Can we really bring back long-gone animals from the dead … maybe even the dinosaurs? We speak to paleontologists Professor Jack Horner and Professor Mary Schweitzer, and biologists Professor Beth Shapiro and Robyn Bortner.  Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/30IpnQm  This episode was produced by Michelle Dang and Wendy Zukerman with help from Nick DelRose, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Eva Dasher. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Joseph Frederickson, Dr. Phil Bell, Dr. David Button, Dr. Andrew Farke, Professor Steve Brusatte, Professor Philip Currie, and Dr. Kenneth Carpenter. Special thanks to

[REBROADCAST] Asteroids! In just two weeks, NASA plans to launch a first-of-its-kind mission to try to move an asteroid off its path. If it works, this could be a huge breakthrough in protecting us from runaway space rocks. So we’ve updated this episode from a few years ago, where we talked about how serious this asteroid threat is — and some of the other ways we might fight back. We speak with asteroid researcher Dr. Alan Harris, astrophysicist Dr. Sergey Zamozdra, computational physicist Dr. Cathy Plesko, and physicist Dr. Andy Cheng.  Check out our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3CZfThv  This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman and Lexi Krupp, with help from Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Caitlin Kenney and Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard and Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka and Emma Munger. Recording assistance from Verónica Zaragovia, Sofi LaLonde, Lawrenc

Science isn’t always dressed up in fancy lab coats and goggles — sometimes it goes undercover! In this episode, we go behind the scenes in the Congolese rainforest to show you just how down and dirty scientists are willing to get to answer their questions. We find out how the putty-nosed monkey might be chattier than we thought — and what all that monkey gab could mean. Researcher Frederic Gnepa Mehon gives us the scoop. Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3jM6EtC This episode was produced by Ekedi Fausther-Keeys and Taylor White with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Nick DelRose, Michelle Dang, and Meryl Horn. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Our voice actor is Shaka Mali. Interpreting by Dania Suleman, written translation by Ngofeen Mputubwele. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord and Bumi Hidaka. A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Claudia Ste

People with chronic pain often struggle with it for years while doctors scour their bodies for the cause. But are we looking in the wrong spot? For some of us, could an answer — and the solution — actually be in our brains? To find out, we talked with Professor Lorimer Moseley, Dr. Javeria Hashmi, and psychologist Alan Gordon. Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3jHBvYb To learn more about Alan’s therapy, check out his new book, “The Way Out.” This episode was produced by Nick DelRose with help from Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Michelle Dang, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Our executive producer is Wendy Zukerman. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Professor Akiko Okifuji, Dr. Emma Guymer, Kajal Patel, María Villarreal Santiago, Dr. Massieh Moayedi, Dr. Peggy Compton, Dr. Ramakrishnan Man

Dr. Joycelyn Elders is a total badass. She grew up in poverty in rural Arkansas, but in 1993 she rose to become the surgeon general of the United States — appointed by President Bill Clinton. Joycelyn wanted to put sex education front and center, to help teenage girls avoid getting pregnant. Decades ago, she was saying things that could be ripped out of the headlines today. But America wasn’t ready for this, and after just over a year, she was fired.  Today on the show: a conversation with Dr Joycelyn Elders. We'll take you inside the room when Clinton fired her, and we’ll find out what it takes to get America's politicians to talk about sex education. Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3prfvnR  This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman with help from Michelle Dang, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, and Nick DelRose. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Eva Dasher. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Bobby Lord and Bumi Hidaka. And a bi

Work can really suck. And for lots of us, burnout has been feeling especially terrible. This week, we dive into how burnout messes with our brains and bodies, and we find out whether working from home is making things worse. Plus: Could the four-day workweek be the key to fixing our jobs? We speak to neuroscientist Professor Wendy Suzuki, economist Professor Nick Bloom, and Dr. Alex Pang. Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3FPO90w  Check out Wendy Suzuki’s book, Good Anxiety, and Alex Pang’s book, Shorter. We also talked to Professor Heejung Chung about the downsides of working from home. Her book is The Flexibility Paradox. This episode was produced by Meryl Horn with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Nick DelRose, Michelle Dang, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord and Bumi Hidaka. A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with

We join forces with Sarah Marshall from You’re Wrong About to dive into a question for the ages: Blue balls — are they real? We’ve heard that for people with balls, if you get aroused but don’t ejaculate, it can be incredibly painful. But is that true? Or is it a ball-faced lie, something that men make up to pressure women to have sex with them? Join us for a ball-busting episode that puts blue balls to the ultimate test-es, reaching a gripping conclusion as we ask: If blue balls is in fact real — can people with vaginas get it too?  Our guests include Sam Pierstorff, Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, Professor Caroline Pukall and Dr. Jonathan Chalett. Our transcript is here: https://bit.ly/3uQsujH This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman with help from Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Meryl Horn, Nick DelRose, Michelle Dang and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Eva Dasher. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord and Bumi Hidaka. A huge thanks to

[REBROADCAST] Are humans built for monogamy? Or is the idea of having one partner forever just a myth forced on us by tired old love songs? We revisit the science of love in one of our favorite episodes, hearing from Dr. Helen Fisher, Professor Larry Young and Dr. Dieter Lukas. Find the transcript here: https://bit.ly/3meWcuN  This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman with Heather Rogers, Kaitlyn Sawrey, Ben Kuebrich, Shruti Ravindran and Rose Reid. Editing by Annie Rose Strasser and Blythe Terrell. Extra editorial help from Alex Blumberg. Production assistance from Stevie Lane. Fact checking by Ben Kuebrich, Taylor White and Rose Rimler. Music production and original music written by Bobby Lord. Special thanks to Joseph Lavelle Wilson, Austin Mitchell and to Professor Karen L Kramer, Professor Garth Fletcher, Dr. Alexander G. Ophir, Professor David Barash, and Richard Bethlehem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plants aren’t just sitting around looking cute; they’re doing all sorts of stuff, like defending themselves, and even warning other plants about danger. Today, we’re talking all about the weird and wily world of plants with Professor Beronda Montgomery from Michigan State University. She has a new book out called “Lessons From Plants.”  Transcript: https://bit.ly/3kQ2bHg  This episode was produced by Taylor White, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Nick DelRose, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn and Michelle Dang. Fact checking by Taylor White and Nick DelRose. Mix and sound design by Catherine Anderson and Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka and Peter Leonard. Special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Childbirth seems to be getting more and more medicalized, with C-sections and other interventions out the wazoo. But childbirth isn’t a disease! So is all this medical meddling really necessary, or are doctors too trigger-happy with the scalpel? To find out, we talked to obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Sarah Osmundson, doula Shala Konomi, clinical scientist Dr. Sarah Stock, and obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Crystal Berry-Roberts. Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3kxPO2j  Check out Shala’s instagram here: Sajeandluna  This episode was produced by Meryl Horn with help from Wendy Zukerman, as well as Nick DelRose, Taylor White, Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell with help from Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Angely Mercado and Taylor White. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to all the experts and we got in touch with for this episode, including Tam

We’re hearing nonstop chatter about the “quarantine 15.” But should we really care if we put on weight? Is fat bad for us? We talk to Prof. Henry Blackburn, Assoc. Prof. Laura den Hartigh, and Assoc. Prof. A. Janet Tomiyama.  Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/2XxewHo Note: In this episode we discuss weight, weight loss, and weight stigma. Please take care when listening, and here are some resources: U.S. helpline for the National Eating Disorders Association: 800-931-2237 SAMHSA's National Helpline US: 800-662-HELP (4357) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255), or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741).  Find other resources at: spotify.com/resources This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Michelle Dang, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Meryl Horn, and Nick DelRose. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Our executive producer is Wendy Zukerman. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emm

Our mental health has taken a turn for the worse the past couple of years. We keep hearing that therapy can help, but it can be a big investment of time and money. So is it worth it? How often does therapy really help people? To find out, we talked to Jacquelyn Revere and psychologists Dr. Jonathan Shedler, Professor Bunmi Olatunji and Dr. Nancy McWilliams. Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/2X9Ylzp  Note: in this episode we discuss mental health. Please take care when listening to the show, and here are some resources: SAMHSA's National Helpline US: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741).  International mental health hotlines: https://unitedgmh.org/mental-health-support  Check out Jacquelyn Revere’s tiktok and Instagram accounts.  This episode was produced by Meryl Horn with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Nick DelRose, Michelle Dang, Taylor White, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edite

There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Season 11 starts Sept. 9! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we’re sharing an episode of a show we love: Not Past It. ​​Did you know there was almost an AIDS vaccine? On June 3, 1998, AIDSVAX VAX004 reached the final stage of trials before widespread approval. Not Past It host Simone Polanen gets the facts on the vax and why it never made it to the masses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This delta variant of the coronavirus seems to really be screwing us over. Cases are spiking in the U.S., and we keep hearing about vaccinated people getting Covid. So how worried should we be? And what is it about delta that makes it so sneaky? We talk to public health supervisor Katarina Grande and virologist and immunologist Professor Ann Sheehy to find out. Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/37Cn9la  UPDATE 8/25/21 : In a previous version of this episode, we used the word "infected" when it would have been more accurate to use the phrase "get sick." The episode has been updated. This episode was produced by Meryl Horn with help from Rose Rimler, along with Nick DelRose, Michelle Dang and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Michelle Dang and Nick DelRose. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, inclu