Science Vs

Latest Episodes:

Here’s What’s Coming Up! Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

There’s tons of misinformation, fads and strong opinions floating around out there — but then there’s SCIENCE. Find it here!

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Misinformation: What Should Our Tech Overlords Do? Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

After Joe Rogan was accused of spreading Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on his podcast, Spotify landed in the hot seat. People (including us!) wanted to know what the platform was doing to stop it. In this episode, we look into how tech platforms are fighting misinformation — and find out what actually works. To find out we speak to Professor David Rand, Professor Hany Farid, Laura Edelson and evelyn duoek.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3BOEsOo

This episode was produced by Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler, and Wendy Zukerman with help from Meryl Horn, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, and Rasha Aridi. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell, with help from Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Nick DelRose. Thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr David Broniatowski, Dr. Alice Marwick, Dr. Anna Zaitsev, Dr. Homa Hosseinmardi, Dr. Kevin Munger, Manoel Ribeiro, Dr. Rachel Kuo, Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor, and Nick Nguyen. Very special thanks to Max Green, Casey Newton, Courtney Gilbert, Dr Karl, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Joe Rogan: The Malone Interview Feb 05, 2022

Show notes

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.

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The Moon: Why Are We Really Going Back? Dec 10, 2021

Show notes

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 Lock, and Dr. Greg De Temmerman. Special thanks to Chris Suter, Jack Weinstein, the Zukerman family, the Fausther-Keeys family, and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Fauci on How This Ends Dec 04, 2021

Show notes

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.

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Omicron: Do You Need to Freak Out? Dec 03, 2021

Show notes

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 researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Prof. Paul Bieniasz, Katarina Grande, and Prof. David O'Connor. Special thanks to Mia Malan, Musa Malaza, Hunter, Jack Weinstein, the Zukerman family Rachel Ward and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Presenting Gastropod: How Chilis Conquered the World Nov 25, 2021

Show notes

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 producers are Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. Editing by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord.

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Jurassic Park: Hold On to Your Butts Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

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 the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Killer Asteroids: NASA Strikes Back Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

[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, Lawrence Lanahan, and Kevin Caners. Translation help from Andrew Urodov and Dmitriy Tuchin. A big thanks to all the scientists we spoke to: Dr. Carrie Nugent, Dr. Mark Boslough, Dr. David Kring, Dr. Daniel Durda, Dr. Kelly Fast and the other Dr. Alan Harris. And thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Monkey Say What? LEOPARD!! Nov 04, 2021

Show notes

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 Stephan, Professor Klaus Zuberbühler and Dr. Kate Arnold.

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