Science Vs

REBROADCAST. The Supreme Court is set to rule on a major abortion case this year, and the court could decide to overturn Roe v. Wade. Already, places like Oklahoma, Texas and Idaho are rolling out major abortion restrictions. So today, we’re going back to the pre-Roe years, when one group of women got fed up and decided to take their health into their own hands. We talk to “self-helpers” Carol Downer and Francie Hornstein, who led a movement for safe abortions and education for women by women. Here’s the link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3v5d23E This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Editing help from Caitlin Kenney, Kaitlyn Sawrey, Sruthi Pinnamaneni, Jorge Just, Lulu Miller and Chris Neary. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard and Bumi Hidaka. Music by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Recording assistance from Anny Celsi. Protest tape courtesy of Pacifi

Russia attacked Ukraine more than a month ago — and the war has raged ever since. From the beginning, Russia has been pushing out propaganda and disinformation about what’s actually going on. So this week, we’re sharing parts of a podcast from independent journalists Pyotr Ruzavin and Natalka Gumenyuk, who have been covering what’s happening in Ukraine and what the people who live there are experiencing. Their show is called Fuck War.  Find Fuck War here: https://zona.media/podcast/fuck-war  Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HitRAGEqtOHygJwpgvjqs  English transcript of Episode 1, released March 15: https://bit.ly/FuckWarEp1 English for Episode 2, released March 17: https://bit.ly/FuckWarEp2 English for Episode 3, released March 21: https://bit.ly/FuckWarEp3 Here’s a link to our episode transcript: https://bit.ly/3wRhdmi    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

[REBROADCAST] Is it possible that the pyramids were built with a helping hand ... from aliens? If not, how did the ancient Egyptians build them without modern technology? To get to the bottom of this, we speak to author Erich von Däniken, paleoanthropologist Dr. Shelby Putt, Egyptologist Dr. Mark Lehner, and archaeologist Prof. David S. Anderson. Check out the transcript here: https://bit.ly/3LbPnoJ This episode was produced by Rose Rimler with help from Wendy Zukerman, along with Meryl Horn, Kaitlyn Sawrey, Michelle Dang and Odelia Rubin. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris and Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Emma Munger. Music by Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to the team at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, as well as Professor Pierre Tallet, Professor Roland Enmarch, Jens Notroff, Professor Erin L. Thompson and everyone else who spoke to us for this episode … thanks for your help. A special thanks to Sarah Hendricks, Jake Finnicum, Frank Lopez, Joseph

U.S. politicians are trying to keep trans kids from getting the medical care they need to transition — and states are banning them from playing on the sports teams that match their gender. So we’re looking at the science here, and asking: are the medical treatments for trans kids dangerous? And do trans folks have an advantage when it comes to sports? We talk to Florence Ashley, Dr. Jack Turban, and Joanna Harper to find out. UPDATE 5/24/24: We have removed identifying information about the trans children we interviewed. UPDATE 5/17/22: A previous version of this episode incorrectly summarized a study from Seattle. We said those who got gender-affirming healthcare "felt better" after getting the treatment. The study actually found that those who got this treatment felt better compared to those who didn't get the treatment. The episode has been updated. Note: in this episode we discuss suicide and self-harm. Please take care when listening to the show, and here are some resources: Trans Lifeline: A Trans pe

There’s tons of misinformation, fads and strong opinions floating around out there — but then there’s SCIENCE. Find it here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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