Stay ConnectedA podcast about sharpening your curiosity through science, stories, and bold questions. With Astrophysicist Dr. Dakotah Tyler & STEM Educator Justin Shaifer.
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This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer teamed up with Science in the City hosts Ashley Christine and Kalpana Pot for a wild conversation that jumps from sci fi to short form science, flat earthers, and the internet brain rot we are all swimming in. It is messy, funny, and unexpectedly thoughtful. Equal parts science, culture, and unfiltered curiosity.
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This week on Questionable Content, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) break down Disney’s massive new partnership with OpenAI’s Sora and what it means for creators, the WGA, IP ownership, and the new wave of AI-driven media.
They discuss celebrity likeness exploitation, the decreasing leverage of creators in an AI-dominated landscape, and how authenticity might become the new currency of art.
Dakotah then explains the newest James Webb breakthrough: the first strong evidence of an atmosphere around a small rocky exoplanet, TOI-561 b. They explore the transit method, atmospheric signatures, rock vapor, volatile compositions, lava worlds, degeneracy in models, and the future of detecting Earth-like atmospheres.
The episode closes with a reaction to Juelz Santana’s viral claim that kids “don’t need to know how to read,” and why literacy still underpins human progress despite audio learning.
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Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shafer
Stay curious.
On this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) sit down with neuroscientist Lindsay Ejoh (@neuromelody) for a deep exploration into pain, gene editing, viral vectors, and the brain’s decision making machinery.
They break down how pain neurons work, how viruses modify DNA, what CRISPR allows us to change inside living tissue, and how empathy and fear circuits guide human behavior. They also tackle chronic pain, probabilistic reasoning, risk-taking behavior, and the ethical implications of future neurological interventions.
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Stay curious.
Are we the problematic generation?
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, astrophysicist Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and STEM educator and media producer Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) unpack how fast culture is shifting, why kids see Justin as “unk,” how generational labels get created, and whether Justin’s TEDx talk helped cement the term “Gen Z.”
Topics include:
• How social media has created five-year “micro generations”
• Young people using AI as an operating system
• Whether an algorithm could make better decisions than human leaders
• Dolphin communication, Zipf’s Law, and overlooked animal intelligence
• How future generations might judge factory farming and eating animals
• Plant and fungal networks and whether societies behave like living systems
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This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) break down a new research study showing that taking a break from social media does not reliably improve or worsen mental health.
They dig into why detox narratives are so popular, the placebo and expectation effects behind “feeling better,” and the actual psychological mechanisms affecting mood, anxiety, and attention online. They also unpack dopamine myths, algorithm design, comparison culture, and how to build a healthier digital relationship grounded in evidence, not trends.
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Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer
On this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) take you on a tour from ancient Mars to spiral galaxies to the trends moving through your social feeds.
We start with new NASA results and the possibility of life on Mars, unpack what counts as a real biosignature, and dig into ideas like panspermia and endosymbiosis to explain how life might start and how complex cells evolved.
Then we zoom out and connect the dots:
It is big picture, nerdy, practical, and philosophical all at once.
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Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer.
Stay curious
This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) sit down with Suh the Scholar (@suhthescholar) — a PhD stem-cell scientist — for a deep, funny, and inspiring conversation about the future of human biology.
They explore stem-cell breakthroughs, the ethics of replacing body parts, and whether open-sourcing scientific knowledge could accelerate discovery for everyone. They also dig into creativity in STEM, identity, and how curiosity connects science with culture.
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Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer
This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) unpack the rise of anti-intellectualism and the cultural war on science. From misinformation to AI ethics, they explore why people are losing trust in experts and sci-fi stories like Foundation and Alien Earth.
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This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Nick Jackson (@nick.immunologist), an immunologist and PhD candidate, to explore the incredible complexity of the immune system and what it reveals about life itself.
They talk about how immunity learns, adapts, and evolves; how viruses shape who we are; and what biology teaches us about chaos, order, and survival. It’s part science, part philosophy, and all curiosity.
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NASA is planning to land a nuclear reactor on the Moon — but what does that mean for humanity’s future in space? Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer break down nuclear fusion, stellar explosions, the origins of gold, pulsar planets, black holes, and even the first possible moments when life could have existed in the cosmos.
They explore how civilizations might rise and fall over billions of years and what “galactic fossils” ancient beings could have left behind.
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In this episode, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer dig into a wide range of topics and break in the new studio that Justin built from the ground up for Curiosity Theory!
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In this episode, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer take on the timeless question: what is life? They explore infinite systems, humans as part of larger structures, the debate over artificial life, and why adaptation may be the clearest marker of being alive. This wide-ranging conversation blends science, philosophy, and curiosity to tackle one of the deepest questions of all time.
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Audience Q&A: Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer go deep on cosmic questions. They explore theories about whether the universe already died, cycles of cosmic birth and death, the future of life, astrobiology and evolution, the search for exoplanet biosignatures, and how AI and technology shape the way we learn. It’s a wide-ranging, curiosity-driven conversation about life, the universe, and everything in between.
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In this episode, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer unpack the tricky process of career transitions. They talk about how to recognize misalignment, the importance of transferable skills, the power dynamics that hold people back, and how to find the courage to make a change. This conversation is part strategy, part therapy session, and full of practical insight for anyone thinking about their next move.
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This episode of Curiosity Theory with Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) first covers the science of finding life: alien communication strategies, the idea of a galactic Goldilocks zone where intelligent life may arise, biosignature searches in small exoplanet atmospheres, and what scientists are learning from the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas currently in our solar system.
Then we switch gears to talk about Meta and the ethics of AI after their disturbing internal ethics document leaked.
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This week on Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer open up about pressure, family, and resilience. Dakotah talks about his own mental health journey and how curiosity became a lifeline From personal stories to practical tools, to a mind-bending thought experiment about being a smaller species, this episode blends lived experience with curiosity and imagination.
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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer ask what happens when AI meets Dr. Doolittle. Could we actually talk to dolphins and other animals with machine learning? From animal communication to OpenAI’s for-profit turn, billion-dollar projects like Stargate, and the strange power games of modern oligarchs, we explore how technology, money, and ambition collide in shaping the future.
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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer take on your questions. From exoplanets to the far future of humanity, to which sci-fi ideas are actually realistic, this conversation bounces across science, imagination, and curiosity at its best.
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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate) put Justin’s original sci-fi ideas under the microscope. They walk through first contact, gaseous life, hive minds, solar system sized parties, atmosphere engineering, uploaded ancestors, and the economics of a cloud afterlife.
From physics to biology to society, we ask: what works, what doesn’t, and what could maybe happen one day?
🎙 Hosted by
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid)
Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate)
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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer talk openly about the challenges men face when it comes to mental health.
A lot of conversations about men’s mental health swing between two extremes. One says toughness is all you need. The other says toughness is the problem. The truth is more complex than that, because men are more complex than that. In this episode we explore building a real toolkit: discipline, vulnerability, purpose, movement, philosophy, and community, to meet life’s challenges with the right tool at the right time.
Paper Links:
Testosterone Paper:
Not giving up: Testosterone promotes persistence against a stronger opponent -
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453021000883
A Positive Affective Neuroendocrinology Approach to Reward and Behavioral Dysregulation - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4489099/
Exercise and Depressions Paper:
Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews - https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/18/1203
Analytical Rumination Hypothesis Paper:
Testing the Analytical Rumination Hypothesis: Exploring the Longitudinal Effects of Problem Solving Analysis on Depression - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32714239/
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid)
Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate)
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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Maynard Okereke (aka @hiphopmd) to talk about what it means to lead with curiosity in a world full of noise and how to leverage ambition and drive without burning out.
From fighting misinformation to raising curious kids, this episode explores how science, skepticism, and storytelling come together.
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid)
Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate)
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Why does astrology still hold so much power in the age of science?
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid) and Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate) break down the surprising psychological and cultural forces behind astrology’s popularity. They unpack how it differs from astronomy, how belief systems spread through algorithms, and what science communicators can do to meet people where they are without compromising truth.
Also featuring a conversation about Justin & Dakotah's zodiac signs
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🔗 Referenced video: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT6yYPNc8/
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer open up about what happens when your curiosity fades — and how to get it back.
They reflect on burnout, rediscovery, and why staying curious is more than a mindset. It’s a survival strategy. From childhood documentaries to academic setbacks, this episode is packed with real talk, personal stories, and unexpected laughs.
If you’ve ever felt lost, uninspired, or stuck in the algorithm, this one's for you.
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid)
Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate)
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🎧 Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get audio
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer go deep into the science (and speculation) of alien life.
They break down how we search for exoplanets, what biosignatures NASA is actually looking for, and why life doesn’t need to look anything like what we expect.
From Venus to Alpha Centauri to unknown surprises, this episode is for anyone who’s ever looked up and wondered: are we the only ones out here?
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid)
Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate)
📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube: @CuriosityTheoryPod
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🎧 Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get audio
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer break down the science of thinking clearly — especially in an online world full of misinformation, pseudoscience, and expert denialism.
They talk about how to spot bad logic, why expertise is under attack, and how to stay grounded when even basic truths are constantly questioned.
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid)
Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate)
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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer break down the promises and pitfalls of artificial intelligence.
From the tension between hype and reality to expert disagreements and a little solar physics just because, this is an honest, nuanced, and human conversation about a technology shaping everything.
*In this episode Dakotah said there were 1 million automobile accident deaths in the US annually, but that is a global figure, not just the US*
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@Dr.Starkid)
Justin Shaifer (@Mr.Fascinate)
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🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get your audio. Check out the video component on YouTube!
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with comedian Manny (@delamomanny) to talk about identity, creativity, and how much (or how little) people really change over time.
They dig into ambition, self-esteem, neurodivergence, streaming culture, and the challenge of balancing hustle with staying grounded.
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@dr.starkid)
Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate)
👤 Guest: Manny (@delamomanny)
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🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get your audio.
In this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer are joined by Ashley Christine — better known online as @modernday_eratosthenes — to unpack the challenge of staying true in a world made for noise.
We discuss vulnerability in writing, the tension between internet freedom and regulation, voter confusion, and the art of grabbing attention with meaning.
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@starkidphd)
Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate)
👤 Guest: Ashley Christine (@modernday_eratosthenes)
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🎧 Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you get audio.
n this episode of Curiosity Theory, Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@starkidphd) and Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate) are joined by comedian and content creator Jazmyn W (@jazmynw) to explore how comedy, creativity, and chaos intersect in the digital age.
We talk about pre-show rituals, growing an audience online, navigating perception, and how to stay authentic when you're constantly being watched.
It’s funny, thoughtful, and real — and it pulls back the curtain on the pressures and possibilities of life in the spotlight.
🎙 Hosted by:
Dr. Dakotah Tyler (@starkidphd)
Justin Shaifer (@mr.fascinate)
👤 Guest: Jazmyn W (@jazmynw)
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Welcome to the very first episode of Curiosity Theory — where we explore the questions that drive us and the stories that shape us.
In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Dakotah Tyler (astrophysicist & former D1 football player) and Justin Shaifer (science communicator & media producer) kick things off with a raw and real conversation about how curiosity has changed their lives.
We talk about:
The spark that led us to science
Turning pain into purpose
Overcoming fear and self-doubt
Why curiosity is essential for growth — in life and in society
If you’ve ever felt stuck, aimless, or just hungry to know more, this episode is for you.
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Curiosity Theory is built on the belief that curiosity isn’t just a personality trait. It’s a vital human force. In ancient times, it helped us survive. Today, it helps us stay engaged, connected, and sane in a world that often numbs us out.
We see curiosity as a muscle. When we train it—through science, ideas, stories, and questions—we grow. When we ignore it, we drift into apathy and disconnection.
This podcast is for the intellectually hungry, the dreamers, the critical thinkers, and the culturally curious.
Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer
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