Professional comedians with so-so STEM pedigrees take you through this week in science. Incompetently. Featuring hosts Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood (and sometimes Jesse Case or Brooks Wheelan) along with a rotating cast of special guests from the worlds of comedy and science.
Episode 522 - Wendy Liebman
Comedy legend Wendy Liebman (@WendyLiebman) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Wendy and Jesse's Letterman overlap, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Wendy's psychology background and transition into comedy, the evolutionary advantage of ADHD, bizarre AI rat genitalia, using AI to advance fusion research, OpenAI's amazing/terrifying Sora breakthrough and Will Smith actually eating spaghetti.
2/22/2024 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 521 - Jeffrey Baldinger
Comedian Jeffrey Baldinger (@Jeffbaldinger) joins Matt and Jesse to talk about earthquakes, Santa Claus' dad, a strange new type of star in the middle of our galaxy and distinguishing between earthquakes and nuclear tests.
2/10/2024 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 520 - Matt Knudsen
Comedian, actor and author Matt Knudsen (@mattknudsen) returns to the podcast to talk about his new book Have I Seen You In Anything?, working on soap operas, being in an iconic I Think You Should Leave sketch, going back to school, learning to tap dance, testosterone reducing the Audience Effect and a bat that uses its huge penis as an arm.
2/4/2024 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode 519 - Leah Bonnema
Comedian Leah Bonnema (@LeahBonnema) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Matt and Leah's road gig adventure, Jesse being snowed in, going to the bathroom outside, the science behind the munchies, Japan's Moon Sniper making contact with the lunar surface, Leah's love of Love Island, 45,000-year-old tools and bones found in eastern Asia, the Levallois technique and everyone's lack of awareness of Bill Knapp's.
1/21/2024 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 44 seconds
Episod 518 - Moshe Kasher
Comedian and author Moshe Kasher (@moshekasher) returns to the show to talk with Andy, Jesse and Matt about his upcoming book Subculture Vulture, chronicling his deep involvement in the seemingly disparate worlds of Hasidic Judaism, deaf culture, comedy, sobriety, rave culture and Burning Man, as well as digging into the possible de-extinction of the dodo.
1/12/2024 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode 517 - Kim McVicar
Comedian Kim McVicar (@KimMcVicar) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about famous hecklers, Kim's dancing background, musicals and their parodies, coin flips not being as 50/50 as you think, neanderthal early birds, Daylight Saving Time talk, holiday penile fractures and the crazy waves hitting the west coast right now.
12/30/2023 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 59 seconds
Re-release - AI Alignment with Dr. Stuart Russell
While the gang take a little holiday break, we thought it was worth revisiting Andy's conversation with AI researcher and UC Berkeley Professor of Computer Science Stuart Russell from wayyyyy back in 2019. Now that we're well into the era of generative artificial intelligence, it's interesting to look back at what experts were saying about AI alignment just a few years ago, when it seemed to many of us like an issue we wouldn't have to tackle directly for a long time to come. As we face down a future where LLMs and other generative models only appear to be getting more capable, it's worth pausing to reflect on what needs to be done to usher in a world that's more utopian than dystopian. Happy holidays!
12/23/2023 • 1 hour, 43 seconds
Episode 516 - Shane Torres
Comedian Shane Torres (@shanetorres) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his new special The Blue Eyed Mexican, his unique Covid experience, more SPATS chats, finding the lost space tomato, what happens when you take your gun into an MRI scanner, someone else who wasn't as lucky with the MRI, the most extreme rogue wave on record, and the sound that warns a tornado is coming.
12/18/2023 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 516 - Shane Torres
Comedian Shane Torres (@shanetorres) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his new special The Blue Eyed Mexican, his unique Covid experience, more SPATS chats, finding the lost space tomato, what happens when you take your gun into an MRI scanner, someone else who wasn't as lucky with the MRI, the most extreme rogue wave on record, and the sound that warns a tornado is coming.
12/18/2023 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 515 - Ryan Conner
Comedian and author Ryan Conner (@rconnercomedy) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his porn doppelganger, the process of researching and writing his new satirical novel The Party, an AI ProbSci ripoff, SpaceX rockets punching holes in the sky, deep brain stimulation to help TBI patients and a tree-dwelling shrimp found in the Cyclops Mountains.
12/7/2023 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 514 - Dustin Ybarra
Comedian Dustin Ybarra (@dustin_ybarra) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about the recent Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, Erdős–Bacon numbers, the first mammal embryos grown in space, space travel's effect on erectile dysfunction, trying to deter orcas with heavy metal, a message laser-beamed from 10 million miles away, the rise of 6G and the ouster and return of OpenAI's Sam Altman after a rumored AGI breakthrough.
11/28/2023 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode 513 - Jenny Zigrino
Comedian Jenny Zigrino (@jennyzigrino) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about skunks, the Vegas F1 race, smelling in stereo, the upside of anger in completing tasks, dominant eyes, Iceland volcanos and the ultra-creepy hamster test or sperm penetration.
11/18/2023 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 512 - Steve Benaquist
Comedian Steve Benaquist (@stevebenaquist) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about Halloween, Unversal Monsters, neck bolts, Frankenstein's Doug, sandbagging, goldbricking, carpetbagging and teetotaling, a radioactive toy from the 1950s, an unfortunate pig heart update, people who can't feel pain, Frozen Dead Guy Days, physics-defying sperm, a wind-powered car that goes faster than the wind, a tiny particle accelerator and Andy's Airbnb.
11/5/2023 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode 511 - Aparna Nancherla
Comedian Aparna Nancherla (@aparnapkin) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about her new book Unreliable Narrator, the ubiquity of impostor syndrome in Hollywood, childhood memories of carob, a new insanely hot pepper, roosters recognizing themselves in mirrors, a drunk dude fighting his reflection, and AI besting humans at Street Fighter.
10/28/2023 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 510 - Dave Hill
Comedian, musician and now author Dave Hill (@mrdavehill) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his lifelong love of hockey, his new book The Awesome Game, bowling lane oil patterns, figuring out how cats purr, bespectacled chickens, and the first-ever fine issued for space junk.
10/20/2023 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 509 with Kevin Kataoka and Brian Malow!
Andy's away, but Matt and Jesse are joined by Kevin Kataoka and returning guest Brian Malow to talk about pseudolegal grifts! Why you shouldn't talk to the police! Scientists who've grown a human embryo! Brian May side projects! Hedy Lamarr's inventions! Military subterfuge and ghost armies! And sailing a satellite out of orbit! You can join our Patreon to hear a bonus story about NFL jersey numbers.
10/11/2023 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 508 - Pallavi Gunalan
Comedian/biomedical engineer Pallavi Gunalan (@PallaviGunalan) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about her path from science to comedy, working on open-source ventilators, the oldest living skydiver, the oldest surfer, growing human kidneys in pigs, the surprising intelligence of jellyfish and a misread of one of Newton's laws.
10/6/2023 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 507 - Andy, Jesse and Matt
Andy's back from Burning Man to give the gang an update on how not big of a deal the rain was and to talk about Jesse's love of the band Ghost, middle-age music obsessions, the viral sensation "Sitting" by Brian Jordan Alvarez, debunking a Da Vinci tree rule (and figuring out what, exactly, bunk is), the greatest-ever opening line of a textbook, the risks of eating a single super-hot chip and how much you'd have to pay Jesse to do it.
9/27/2023 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 506 – Jesse Joyce!
Comedian, Kimmel writer and now author Jesse Joyce joins us to talk about his new book about the killer of Lincoln's killer! Plus live brain worms! The Indian moon landing! Unimpressive household robots! And who should go to Mars! Click here for a free trial of Scribd and read/listen to Jesse's book.
9/15/2023 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode 505 - John Fugelsang
Comedian, actor and host of The John Fugelsang Podcast and SiriusXM's Tell Me Everything John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about Prince's showstopping Beatles solo, reconciling science and the Bible, Russia crashing a lander into the moon, the steampunk LK lunar module, warnings of the submersible implosion, the 1970s SoCal Hurricane Kathleen, the reason it takes a while for a tan to show up and a view of Hurricane Hilary from the ISS.
8/22/2023 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode 504 - DeAnne Smith
Comedian DeAnne Smith (@DeAnne_Smith) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to talk about DeAnne's new special Chiweenie in a Tank Top, getting Canadian citizenship, advances in pig-human transplantation, the possibility of regrowing human teeth, the game Pizza Party and the Radiolab episode about Alpha Gal.
8/20/2023 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode 503 - Jamel Johnson
Comedian Jamel Johnson (@NonProfitComic), host of too many podcasts to count, joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to mourn Paul Reubens, discuss Amazing Larry and his deleted scene, the Cabazon dinosaurs, Sonic & Knuckles, Michael Jackson's Sonic connection, how to help striking film and TV workers, a tick bite that can cause a meat allergy, leprosy on the rise in Florida, Mars spinning (slightly) faster, crushing a design contest for kids and connecting old mice to young mice.
8/16/2023 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode 502 - Danny Lee "Nitro" Clark
American Gladiator Danny Lee "Nitro" Clark joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about the hit Netflix documentary Muscles & Mayhem, how his "raw meat" tryout ad-lib landed him the role of a lifetime, the analogies between management's treatment of the Gladiators and the current WGA/SAG strikes, the odd experience of seeing yourself as an action figure, nostalgia for the monoculture, Nitro's romance with Ellen Degeneres, the role genes play in determining your endurance ability, introducing height classes into basketball, and Tony Vainuku's other Netflix doc about Manti Te'o.
8/8/2023 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 501 - Bethany Dwyer
Comedian/writer/director Bethany Dwyer (@BethanyDwyer) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about her horror film Grandpa, self-repairing metal, action movie one-liners, why dolphins and orcas won't be returning to land, the resurrection of 46,000-year-old nematodes and the list of human evolution fossils.
7/31/2023 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 500 - Brooks, Jesse, Andy & Matt
Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan) returns to the podcast to celebrate 500 episodes of Probably Science and talk about Probarbenheimer, the demise of Summer Country, a new venomous snake, a solar telescope array that cost half as much as White Chicks, unlocking car doors with tennis balls and creating weather forecasts with AI.
7/21/2023 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode 499 - Karl Hess
Comedian Karl Hess (@karlhess) of the podcast Yelling About Pâté and the live show Amuse Bouche returns to the show to talk with Jesse, Matt and Andy about urban legends, ancient Chinese secrets, a possible bit of alien technology that crashed into the ocean, a Cuban lung cancer treatment, Kyle Kinane getting his van stuck in Joshua Tree, the poop-filled beaches of Texas, an extremely shiny exoplanet, and the handful of companies that control the world's beer.
7/14/2023 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode 498 - Dan Schreiber
Dan Schreiber of the podcasts No Such Thing as a Fish and The Cryptid Factor, as well as the new book The Theory of Everything Else, joins Matt and Jesse to talk about Nobelitis, using insects to turn beer waste into beef, an ancient slasher dolphin with weird teeth, using shopping cart sensors to identify stroke risk and Keith Alberstadt's bat attack.
7/6/2023 • 1 hour, 5 minutes
Episode 497 - Matt, Jesse and Andy
On a very special guest-less episode, Matt, Jesse and Andy talk about the fate of the OceanGate Titan, extreme undersea pressure, the curse of the Titanic, whether the Kursk could have been saved, the slightly dubious age-defying claims of a man who lived underwater for several months, the approval of lab-grown meat, Jesse and Andy's latest video game forays, what kangaroos did before they hopped, the problematic platform of RFK Jr. and Matt and Andy's wallaby encounter.
6/22/2023 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 496 - John Conroy
Comedian John Conroy (@ConroyFTW) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about Grimace's birthday, driving Ronald McDonald around, finding the building blocks of life on Enceladus, federal capital offenses, frog pants, how many people haven't tried ChatGPT and nanotattoos that don't need batteries or wires.
6/18/2023 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 495 - Anna Valenzuela
Comedian Anna Valenzuela (@annavisfunny) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about her myriad jobs including trolley operator and karate instructor, China's space monkey sex plans, why race car drivers blink at the same point on the track and why Michael Caine never blinks at all.
6/9/2023 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 494 - Izzy Salhani
Comedian and comic book author Izzy Salhani (@luckysalhani) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about bear-baiting, fighting a bunch of kids, a Renaissance fair accident, clay quality, octopus-inpired camouflage ink, Richard Branson's rocket plane taking to the skies again, orcas learning to attack boats and orca fads.
5/27/2023 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 45 seconds
Episode 493 - Liz Miele
Comedian Liz Miele (@lizmiele) returns to the show to talk about her tour documentary Jet-Lagged, growing up in a veterinarian household, Australian wildlife adventures, a koala chlamydia vaccine, aesthetic scrotal preferences, an Onion classic, Liz's book Why Cats Are Assholes, gymnastics limitations and exceeding astrophysics limitations.
5/16/2023 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode 492 - Dr. Heather Berlin
Neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Dr. Heather Berlin (@heather_berlin) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about hosting the upcoming PBS series Your Brain, the hard problem of consciousness, evolutionary mismatches, panic attack strategies, flow state performance, debating Deepak Chopra about god, the Stanford marshmallow experiment, impulse control, the downside of getting a hangry judge, debunking brain myths, creating consciousness in different substrates, the thermal grill experiment and the fact that we're all going to die.
5/13/2023 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode 491 - Jon Gabrus
Comedian and host of the podcasts High and Mighty and ActionBoyz Jon Gabrus (@Gabrus) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about his hilarious show 101 Places to Party Before You Die, the WGA strike, whether AI can write a 30 Rock scene, the shrinking middle class in entertainment, buffet memories, the benefits of an all-female Mars mission team, curing parrot loneliness with video calls, the insane number of pet birds in the US and advice for a precocious young listener.
5/5/2023 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode 490 - Andrew Weinberg
Longtime Conan writer and co-creator of Eagleheart Andrew Weinberg joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about his ridiculously funny new show Jury Duty, which follows the workings of a jury trial through the eyes of Ronald Gladden, a juror who is unaware the entire case is fake, the insane hoops they had to jump through to bring the show to life, the truth about weed and creativity, and the unsurprising link between arousal and a desire to have sex with a robot.
4/22/2023 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 489 - Andy Hendrickson
Comedian Andy Hendrickson (@andyhendrickson) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about magic tricks that only work on monkeys with opposable thumbs, how mirrors know where eggs are, a math formula for achieving orgasm, how quickly you can create false memories and Andy's neighbor Tony's commentary track on Birdemic 3.
4/12/2023 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 488 - Nate Craig
Comedian Nate Craig (@hypeman) returns to the podcast to talk about a deadly fungal infection, terrible maps, building cities on shaky ground, the history of plate tectonics, nanoplastics interfering with chicken embryos and a 3D-printed cake.
4/7/2023 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 1 second
Episode 487 - Noman Hosni
Comedian Noman Hosni (@NomanHosni) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Tunisia, bad fan art, hair transplants, a bad embryo swap, Paris' City of Science and Industry, a blood test for anxiety, storing carbon dioxide in the ocean as baking soda, how much lift the space shuttle lander can generate and mapping the brain of a fruit fly.
3/28/2023 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 486 - Sarah Lane
Host of Daily Tech News Show Sarah Lane (@sarahlane) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about ballerina doppelgangers, Tom Cruise stunts, Cocaine Bear, accidentally ending up on the air, bumblebees learning to solve puzzles by watching their friends, talkin' transoms, more medical tourism, Meta's VR play and DuckDuckGo's new AI-assisted search.
3/17/2023 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 485 - AI Talk with Kevin Roose
New York Times technology columnist and host of the Hard Fork podcast Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about his infamous, amorous encounter with Bing Chat/Sydney, Sydney's response to his story, getting backhanded compliments from John Oliver, how ChatGPT was dismissed by its own creators, generative AI and the future of deepfakes, AI's capability overhang, explaining LLMs' weirdness with the Waluigi effect, artists' lawsuits over training AI on their creations, whether we care how art is made, which jobs could soon be on the chopping block and Futureproof, Kevin's handbook for the weird times ahead.
3/8/2023 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 484 - Amanda Brooke Perrin
Comedian and writer Amanda Brooke Perrin (@brookeperrin) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to discuss haboobs, a Tony update, a 2200-year-old flush toilet found in China, DIY Poo-Pourri, how soft food gave us the F-word, Andy's consonant invention, ChatGPT developing a theory of mind, and dolphin handjobs.
2/24/2023 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode 483 - Erica Spera
Comedian Erica Spera (@Spericaa) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about almost going into dentistry, prehistoric teeth, Andy's Mexican dental tourism, what we're supposed to call mummies now, monster cereals, AI Seinfeld's heel turn, Roko's basilisk, mummy chemicals, ancient stone tools and more stone tools and Soylent.
2/13/2023 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 482 - Jo Rou
Comedian/filmmaker Jo Rou (@awkwardlyjazzy) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to discuss Santana's answer to Beats by Dre, the mystery of a gibbon immaculate conception solved, the tiny radioactive capsule that went missing in the outback, detecting cancer with customer loyalty cards, airbrushing Boris Johnson, Jesse's bad business ideas, the Snickers dick vein, World War I talk, the awful new show Power Slap and Jo's sitcom I Adore Dolores.
2/4/2023 • 1 hour, 16 seconds
Episode 481 - Misophonia with Dr. Jane Gregory and Steve Hall
Clinical psychologist and misophonia researcher Dr. Jane Gregory (@drjanegregory) and comedian Steve Hall (@astevehall) return to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about Jane's work studying misophonia, what to do if your spouse's breathing drives you insane, and what's on the horizon for treating the condition. Trigger non-warning: This episode contains NO examples of misophonia-triggering sounds. That we know of.
1/23/2023 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode 480 - Michael Magid
Comedian, goalkeeper and coach Michael Magid (@michaelmagid) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to discuss Michael's football (soccer) podcast Inside the 18, his new social network The Union, quitting your gym with the help of AI, a Tesla that caused a pileup, a Tesla that thwarted a triple murder-suicide, fires in electric vs. gas cars, a breakthrough in reversing aging in mice, ripped old guys, Matt Braunger's Weight Smashers sketch, lab-grown retinal eye cells to treat blindness and Matt and Andy's new favorite podcast If Books Could Kill.
1/16/2023 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode 479 - Christina Martin
Comedian turned author Christina Martin (@christinamartin) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about atmospheric rivers, shared names, Christina's book Ashes to Admin: Tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer, putting on funerals for unidentified decedents, the return of a comet after 50,000 years, Newton's madness, Heaven's Gate sneaker collection, reversing erectile dysfunction in pigs and a real horror show of a pig.
1/7/2023 • 55 minutes
Episode 478 - Sean Patton
Comedian Sean Patton (@mrseanpatton) returns to the podcast to talk with Andy, Jesse and Matt about his new special Number One, comedian affectations, paradox-free time travel, alternate Hitler histories, water pipe robots to deal with leaks and how the sun put water on the moon.
12/31/2022 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 477 - Katrina Davis
Comedian Katrina Davis (@katrinasivad) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to discuss gene-edited hens, baby dinosaurs running on the beach, snake clitorises and the correlation between vaccination status and car crashes.
12/22/2022 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode 476 - David Nihill
Comedian David Nihill (@davidnihill) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to discuss getting kicked out of science class, the potential impact of the release of OpenAI's mind-blowing ChatGPT, big news on the nuclear fusion front, Artemis 1 splashing down, Steve Aoki's upcoming trip to the moon, David Guetta's greatest moment and self-medicating great bustards.
12/13/2022 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode 475 - Mike Bridenstine
Comedian Mike Bridenstine (@brido) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about his podcast Hunk, a promising new HIV vaccine, the decline of key changes in popular music, the tyranny of the I V vi IV chord progression, how bin chickens learned to wash cane toads, a blast of light from a black hole, spurious correlations, how long we've known how far away the moon is, Andy's favorite dumb shirt IG account and the Nazi brothers who started competing shoe brands.
12/6/2022 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 474 - Billy Wayne Davis
Comedian Billy Wayne Davis (@BillyWayneDavis) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about his upcoming special TESTIFY (recorded at the International Church of Cannabis), learning how to grow weed, the woman who only eats cheesy potatoes, seismic waves on the surface of Mars, the recent northern California fireballs, very low frequency sound that makes you dance without knowing it, bodies moving after death and The Last Electric Knight.
11/12/2022 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 473 - Joel Stein
Journalist-turned-podcaster Joel Stein (@thejoelstein) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about his excellent new show Story of the Week, Elon charging for Twitter, out-of-touch billionaires, Joel's book In Defense of Elitism, why you shouldn't pick your nose, the Madagascan primate that eats its boogers, Tribble runs, smelly time travel, writing for Time magazine, meeting falconers, the problem with Halloween ghost costumes and Matt's upcoming tour with Sarah Millican.
11/1/2022 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode 472 - Susan Rogers
Record producer, audio engineer and professor Dr. Susan Rogers' remarkable recording career included working as a staff engineer for Prince in his Purple Rain heyday, not to mention projects with David Byrne, Barenaked Ladies and Crosby, Stills & Nash. After two decades in the business, she shifted her focus to the science of music cognition, and she brings her extensive knowledge of all things audio to the new book This Is What It Sounds Like: What The Music You Love Says About You, digging into concepts including beat deafness, authenticity, musical visualization, Prince's insane charisma, turning down Lou Reed, music and identity, the outsider magic of The Shaggs and Snowball the dancing cockatoo.
10/26/2022 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode 471 - Charles Greaves
Comedian Charles Greaves (@Greaves_Charles) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to discuss Jam In The Van, Nashville Armored Combat, chess boxing, spinlaunching a payload to 30,000 feet, how spinlaunching works, trying to solve the mystery of squirting, microwaving fish to make sustainable LEDs, and the dog Andy found on the road in Joshua Tree.
10/12/2022 • 1 hour, 35 seconds
Episode 470 - Harrison Greenbaum
Comedian/magician Harrison Greenbaum (@harrisoncomedy) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about doing comedy in Cirque du Soleil, the overlap between psychology, comedy and magic, men making riskier bets after a positive foretune-telling, dogs sniffing out stress in humans, successfully crashing DART into an asteroid and the heyday of vector graphics in the arcade.
10/1/2022 • 59 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 469 - Matt, Jesse and Andy
Matt, Jesse and Andy are back together to talk about Matt's wedding, the chess tournament anal bead rumors, how to cheat at roulette, batteries made from crab shells, finding organic matter on Mars, making super hot stuff, breakthroughs in carbon capture, the real story behind Catch Me If You Can's Frank Abagnale and where to find quaaludes these days.
9/23/2022 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode 468 - Auggie Smith
Auggie Smith joins Matt and Jesse to discuss his new Dry Bar special, Tasmanian Tigers, plants that love booze, finding a massive fossil in your garden and leaky rockets.
9/6/2022 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 467 - Shane Mauss
Comedian Shane Mauss (@shane_mauss) returns to the show to talk with Jesse, Matt and Andy about his upcoming Mind Under Matter science/comedy festival, Dan Ariely's study of pain, Peak-End Theory, advances in nuclear fusion and self-pleasure in space.
8/20/2022 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode 466 - JC Currais
Comedian JC Currais (@jcstandup) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to discuss using dead spiders as robots, returning samples from Mars, a chess-bot that broke a little boy's finger and the miracle of OpenAI's DALL-E and the more lightweight version that we used to generate way too many pictures based on text prompts.
8/5/2022 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 465 - Brian Keating
UC San Diego astrophysicist, podcaster and YouTuber Brian Keating (@DrBrianKeating) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about the inflation model versus the cyclic model of the universe, multiverses, how an astrophysicist conducts an experiment, working on BICEP at the South Pole, Brian's books Losing the Nobel Prize and Into the Impossible and joining Brian's mailing list for your chance to win an actual meteorite from SPACE.
7/22/2022 • 55 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 464 - Natalia Reagan
Anthropologist/comedian Natalia Reagan (@natalia13reagan) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to discuss her path from acting to the sciences, childhood fear of King Kong, primatology, a harrowing car accident, mites having sex on your face, rocket craters on the moon and spider monkey genitalia. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
6/30/2022 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode 463 - Andrew O'Neill
Comedian Andrew O'Neill (@destructo9000) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy just before Andrew and Matt head off to Glastonbury to talk about Andrew's new BBC Radio 4 sitcom Damned Andrew, summoning the writing gods, working with Alan Moore, the feasibility of breathing through your butt, reverse mermaids and a fluffy crab that wears a sponge as a hat.
6/23/2022 • 57 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 462 - Peter Baynham
Legendary comedy writer Peter Baynham (@peterbaynham) of the podcast Brain Cigar joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about sharks and megalodons, how bikes stay upright, another great collection of science article art and more, slinging a payload into the sky, discovering ancient Amazon settlements using lidar and some crazy cave art. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
6/16/2022 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode 461 - Science Friction with Emery Emery and Brian Malow
Emery Emery (@emeryemeryii) and Brian Malow (@sciencecomedian) return to the podcast to talk with Matt and Jesse about their recent movie Science Friction, images of a supermassive black hole, a reduction in pollution leading to more hurricanes, and insane depth-of-field on a record-breaking camera.
6/9/2022 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode 460 - Robin Ince
Comedian and co-host of The Infinite Monkey Cage Robin Ince (@robinince) returns to the podcast while on a North American tour to talk with Matt and Andy about the love of science, using stories and mythology to convey real concepts, the different levels of infinity, a James Webb telescope update, an illustration of how the universe's expansion affects our perception of galaxies, dolphins recognizing their friends by the taste of their pee and strange data coming from Voyager I and Robin's books The Importance of Being Interested and the upcoming Bibliomaniac.
6/1/2022 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 459 - Dave Foley
Comedy legend Dave Foley (@DaveSFoley) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to discuss Dave's painfully funny and woefully overlooked movie The Wrong Guy (available on YouTube and BluRay), early humans and their versions of movies, aphantasia updates, preserved blood vessels in dinosaur fossils, finding DNA and RNA bases in meteorites, and the upcoming reboot of Kids in the Hall, premiering May 13th on Prime Video.
5/6/2022 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 458 - Greg Berman
Comedian Greg Berman (@bermancomedy) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to discuss Greg's recent motorcycle accident, his meditation podcast, Yakov Smirnoff, Chinese action hero Kevin Lee, Twitter news, detecting aphantasia by looking at pupils, the lack of reliability of brain scan studies, and making Uranus a priority.
4/26/2022 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode 457 - Derrick Brown
Comedian, publisher and poet Derrick Brown (@derrickbrown) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to discuss gondola comedy, reality dating shows, the real meaning of the term fuckboy, cold spark machines, the speed of sound on Mars, a fossil of a dinosaur killed in an asteroid strike and splitting up T rex into three species. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
4/12/2022 • 57 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 456 - Tara Flynn
Returning guest Tara Flynn (@taraflynnirl) of the podcast Now You're Asking joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to discuss bad Uber drivers, Andy's new stargazing tour guide gig, the most boring person in the world, how close Big Bird was to being on Challenger, pizza dough that rises without yeast, the comedy of Ben Bailey, a new and better ink for your colon tattoos, using okra to filter microplastics out of water and a possible fifth state of matter.
3/28/2022 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode 455 - Wil Hodgson
Comedian Wil Hodgson (@WilHodgson) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to discuss professional wrestling in England, giant spiders invading the east coast, ants and microchips that can sniff out cancer, and a vulva-shaped concept spacecraft. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
3/22/2022 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 454 - Paul Silky White
Comedian Paul "Silky" White (@paulsilkywhite) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to discuss Matt's UK covid adventures, Learned League, cooperating magpies, how to salute magpies, a possibly furry snake, Paul's Seychelles money, the recent discovery of Shackelton's ship and the excellent book about said ship. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
3/11/2022 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode 453 - Maggie Rowe
Author and actress Maggie Rowe (@thismaggierowe) returns to the show to chat with Matt, Andy and Jesse about her new book Easy Street: A Story of Redemption from Myself, as well as a black hole igniting a star formation, the recent sale of the Full House/Manson House, progress on the James Webb telescope, the impending crash of the ISS in 2031, a SpaceX rocket crashing into the moon, a look at what a flat Earth would actually be like and the actual definition of a scientific theory. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
2/24/2022 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 452 - 10th Anniversary Special
Brooks joins Andy, Matt and Jesse in celebration of a decade of Probably Science, talking about Pam & Tommy, wrestlers getting funny, aluminum, blasting tardigrades to distant stars using lasers, Station Eleven, which celebs should quit social media and Brooks' enthusiasm about the new Jackass movie. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
2/5/2022 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode 451 - Ify Nwadiwe
Comedian and actor Ify Nwadiwe (@ifynwadiwe) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about VR games, dolphin genitalia, how ice changes the way water boils and China's artificial moon. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
1/29/2022 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 450 - Jordan Morris
Writer/podcaster Jordan Morris (@Jordan_Morris) returns to the show to talk with Andy, Jesse and Matt about Tucker Max, peacocking, getting omicron, pitcher plants that call bats to poop in them, teaching goldfish to drive, lickable TVs, organic molecules on Mars and Jordan's graphic novel Bubble.
1/11/2022 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode 449 - Kimberly Clark
Comedian Kimberly Clark (@ClarkKimberlyL) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about the 'cron, Yankee Candle Amazon reviews tanking whenever Covid spikes, sleeping bags to fix astronauts' squished eyeballs, a scent from babies' heads that makes men more docile, and Kimberly's recent appearance on Netflix's They Ready.
12/28/2021 • 58 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 448 - TJ Chambers
Comedian/writer TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) returns to the show to talk with Andy, Jesse and Matt about early covid days and The Great Debate, Viagra and Alzheimer's, not knowing how drunk you are and a new way to get ammonia. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
12/11/2021 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 12 seconds
Episode 447 - Matt Donnelly
Comedian/magician/podcaster Matt Donnelly (@sweetmattyd) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about getting into magic later in life, podcasting with Penn Jillette, doing some mind-noodling on Fool Us, new faces in magic to look out for, the fight over the blackest black, using mirrors to figure out if animals are self-aware, self-replicating xenobots, and Matt's magic insider podcast Abracababble. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped, offering Probably Science listeners 20% off and free shipping by using the promo code PROBABLY
12/5/2021 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode 446 - Double Asteroid Redirection Test with Dipak Srinivasan
Dipak Srinivasan (@dipaksrinivasan), the External Engagements Lead with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (and Andy's former college classmate and roommate) returns to talk with Andy, Jesse and Matt about tomorrow's launch of NASA's first planetary defense mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which will travel to the binary asteroid system Didymos over the course of next year to crash into the moonlet asteroid Dimorphos in an attempt to change its path and learn about how to prevent a real-life reboot of Armageddon and/or Deep Impact.
11/23/2021 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode 445 - Danielle Perez
Comedian and writer Danielle Perez (@DivaDelux) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about party lines, Russian space debris, the amazing volcano snail, checking on who's currently in space, a storm that brought out too many scorpions, Brazilian butt lifts, working on Curb Your Enthusiasm, TikTok tics and dancing mania.
11/18/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 444 - Andrew Orvedahl
Comedian, podcaster and tabletop game creator Andrew Orvedahl (@TheOrvedahl) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about the process of creating good games, orreries, more hidden passageways, cats tracking their owners' voices, a fungus that inspires necrophilia in flies, another fungus that turns ants into zombies and some neutrino news. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
11/14/2021 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode 443 - Lianna Carrera
Comedian Lianna Carrera (@LiannaC) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to discuss having a deaf parent, rebellious sign language, more hidden doors, planets outside of the Milky Way, dogs with ADHD, condor chicks born from unfertilized eggs, ZW chromosomes, and elephants evolving to lose their tusks due to poaching.
11/6/2021 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 442 - Jesse, Matt and Andy
Jesse, Matt and Andy get together for a spookily guest-less episode discussing TMNT live on stage, The Wombles, the broken technology of ghost-hunting, the overlooked vampire western Near Dark, Ding Dong School, attaching a pig kidney to a human and how we sense the lack of calories in fake sugar. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
10/25/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 15 seconds
Bonus Ep! Matt's going to Alameda.
Jesse joins Matt for a mini bonus episode to plug his shows in Alameda. Tickets here. But they get stuck into the "science" of ghosts! Vikings in America! And then they get very confused about atomic clocks.
10/22/2021 • 27 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode 441 - Julia Wilson
Comedian, book store owner and football player Julia Wilson (@julia__wilson) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to discuss being a bit of a unit, using augmented reality to tackle your fear of spiders, a building that melts cars, overcoming fear with Wondrium, where to look for life on Mars, the most books published by one author and Julia's past as a bouncer with an adrenaline superpower. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
10/16/2021 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 440 - Jim VanBlaricum
Comedian and barkeep Jim Van Blaricum (@crappycinemanyc) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about the final month of his outstanding bar Bernadette's, the other Jim VanBlaricum, new math and being old, more info on the whitest paint you know, meth pee, why you shouldn't swim away from a sea snake, the zookeeper who's common-law married to a crane, dolphin handjobs, so many paintball movies and an absolute chonker of a comet.
10/8/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 439 - Murray Valeriano
Comedian and host of the new music trivia show For What It's Worth Murray Valeriano (@murrayv) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to discuss extinctions, drugs in the water around Glastonbury, potty-training cows to save the environment, Andy's recent Judge John Hodgman appearance, a new Isle of Wight dinosaur and dinosaur artists.
10/2/2021 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode 438 - Charles Star
Comedian/lawyer Charles Star (@Ugarles) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about the magic of A Special Thing, multi-level marketing, entertainment and the law, a desktop gravitational wave detector that found something interesting, using bodily fluids to make concrete on Mars and capturing carbon dioxide from our cars. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
9/23/2021 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode 437 - Author Mary Roach
Mary Roach (@mary_roach), author of the new book Fuzz: When Nature Breaks The Law, returns to the podcast to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about traveling the world to investigate animal crimes, wily burglar bears, birds annoying the Vatican, plant toxins, The Great Emu War, and the lack of distinction between cougars, pumas, panthers and mountain lions. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
9/15/2021 • 56 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode 436 - Lisa Curry
Comedian Lisa Curry (@lisa_curry) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Balloon Boy (and his father and his band), royal memorabilia, Lisa's recent trip to Dubai, priest and pope selection, a star gulping down a black hole and exploding, the effects of hot dogs on life expectancy and a better way to produce ammonia.
9/11/2021 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 435 - Caitlin Gill
Comedian and fellow desert-dweller Caitlin Gill (@robotcaitlin) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to discuss Mt. Etna growing 100 feet, 9,000 Covid cases from Euro 2020 games and ants using soil physics to excavate tunnels that last decades. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
8/28/2021 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 434 - David B. Lyons and Jesse Case
Jesse returns to the show to help welcome David B. Lyons (@david_b_lyons), a podcaster and film location manager who not only co-created Yacht Rock but also has the inside scoop on Norbit and why Eddie Murphy loves fat suits. David and the gang also discuss three volcanoes erupting simultaneously, curbing methane emissions, wandering mammoths, a T. Rex selling at auction, the crazy story behind the Twilight Zone movie and Matt's show Memory Hole on Roku. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
8/19/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode 433 - Nato Green
Comedian Nato Green (@natogreen) joins Andy and Matt to talk about his work as a labor organizer, his appearance in Sorry To Bother You, bird-eating centipedes, ancient trigonometry, cranking it to prevent prostate cancer and whales benefitting from covid. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
8/7/2021 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 432 - Brian Kiley
Comedian and writer Brian Kiley (@kileynoodles) joins Matt and Andy to discuss Andy's new injury, a very reasonable argument for getting vaccinated if you were on the fence about it, Australian cockatoos teaching each other to dumpster dive, a dancing cockatoo, how to bank your voice for others to use, Alex Trebek on Conan, a Russian module mishap on the ISS, Andy's obsession with Olympic swimming and the greatness of Caeleb Dressel, petrified wood and a sponge fossil that's almost a billion years old.
8/2/2021 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode 431 - Sean Devlin
Comedian Sean Devlin joins Matt and Andy to talk about his new album Airports, Animals, magic eye posters and Brian May stereoscopy, failed flower making floral fractals, converting brain waves to speech, and dogs ignoring liars and helping out in courtrooms. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
7/22/2021 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 430 - Jordan Morris and Sarah Morgan
Jordan Morris (@Jordan_Morris) and Sarah Morgan (@sarahlmorgan) return to the podcast to celebrate the release of their new graphic novel Bubble and talk about fish brains that grow when they think, bendy ice, Richard Branson kind of going to space and extreme temps in Siberia. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a 14-day free trial with unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
7/17/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 1 second
Episode 429 - Justin Decloux
Comedian and podcast host Justin Decloux (@DeclouxJ) joins Matt and Andy to discuss how Tasmanian devils get their face cancer, the benefits of mixing vaccines, the dragon man who isn't much of a dragon, figuring out when the first stars shone, and using CRISPR to treat a genetic disease. and Andy's latest writing project, Season 2 of Could You Survive The Movies? This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a 14-day free trial with unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
6/28/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode 428 - Atsuko Okatsuka
Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka (@AtsukoComedy) joins Andy and Matt to discuss Andy's summer of pyromania, a hiccup-curing doohicky, a newly discovered plant organ, that $24 million book on Amazon, Tasmanian devils eating too many penguins, Benedict Cumberbatch's penglings, ineffective spider makeup and Atsuko's latest album But I Control Me. This episode is brought to you by Wondrium, offering Probably Science listeners a 14-day free trial with unlimited access by visiting Wondrium.com/probably
6/23/2021 • 59 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 427 - J Elvis Weinstein
Writer/performer J. Elvis Weinstein (@JElvisWeinstein) joins Matt and Andy to talk about being in the original cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000, figuring out which of the echidna's numerous penises get erect, invasive species hitching rides on ocean litter, Australia's largest dinosaur, pupil size as an intelligence marker, first views of a giant moon rocket, the anonymous rich person hitching a brief ride into kind-of space with Bezos and Matt's upcoming live shows in Fort Collins and Boulder, Colorado.
6/18/2021 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 426 - Caimh McDonnell
Comedian and novelist Caimh McDonnell (@Caimh) joins Matt and Andy to talk about his new book The Stranger Times, a Trojan Horse method to fight cancer, the cast of Friends doing a Windows 95 promo, laser-based communication for the next lunar mission and tossing a frisbee to a dog on the moon.
6/10/2021 • 56 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 425 - Colt Cabana
Professional wrestler Colt Cabana (@ColtCabana), host of The Art of Wrestling and Wrestling Anonymous, joins Matt and Andy to discuss Andy's recent Jeopardy Tournament of Champions appearance, pigs breathing through their butts, robotic third thumbs, Colt's merchandise, turtles also joining in on the butt-breathing, tardigrades surviving being shot and psychedelic fungi making Brood X cicada's butts fall off. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access PLUS 20% off when you sign up for an annual plan by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
5/29/2021 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 424 - Dara Ó Briain
Comedian, theoretical physics grad and mathematics enthusiast Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) joins Matt and Andy to discuss stages of mathematical rigor, Évariste Galois, Catalina bison, Dara's new obsession with astrophotography from his London garden (examples of which are here and here), Andy's crappy cell phone moon pic and this podcast's new mission to help Dara get to Bortle 1. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a 14-day free trial with unlimited access PLUS 20% off when you sign up for an annual plan by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
5/13/2021 • 1 hour, 37 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode 423 - Brian Malow
Science comedian Brian Malow (@sciencecomedian) joins Matt and Andy to discuss dressing up with Mitch Hedberg, stoned cavemen creating high art, Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, the world's first wooden satellite and a promising malaria vaccine. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a 14-day free trial with unlimited access PLUS 20% off when you sign up for an annual plan by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
4/27/2021 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode 422 - Bethany Black
Bethany Black (@beffernieblack) joins Matt and guest host Nick Doody (@nickdoody) to talk about buying fireworks in France, being banned from all school trips, growing teeth everywhere, surprisingly useful destructive asteroids, the Chicxulub crater, a possible new force of nature and Stephen King books set near us.
4/19/2021 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode 421 - The God Equation with Michio Kaku
Theoretical physicist, futurist and author Michio Kaku (@michiokaku) joins Andy and Matt to talk about his new book The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything and its look at the fascinating history of humanity's attempts to merge the realms of the very big and the very small into one theory explaining all of existence. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a 14-day free trial with unlimited access PLUS 20% off when you sign up for an annual plan by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
4/7/2021 • 53 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode 420 - Vulcanologist Jess Phoenix
Jess Phoenix (@jessphoenix2018), author of the new book Ms. Adventure: My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava, and Life joins Matt and Andy to talk about all things volcano-related, her education and outreach organization Blueprint Earth, lava tubes, her upcoming show about Atlantis... and whether Dante's Peak is better than Volcano. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access PLUS $30 off when you sign up for an annual plan by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
4/3/2021 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode 419 - Dana Eagle
Comedian Dana Eagle (@DanaEagleTweets) joins Matt and Andy to discuss the latest on Desert Tony's health, the world's oldest computer, mechanical gears found in nature, sea slugs that survive self-decapitation, a change of heart from a former head/body transplant candidate and Dana's book How To Be Depressed. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access PLUS $30 off when you sign up for an annual plan by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
3/17/2021 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 418 - Dave Gorman
Comedian, author and now cryptic crossword setter Dave Gorman (@DaveGorman) joins Matt and Andy to discuss the world of cryptic crosswords, standup about math(s), cuttlefish that pass the marshmallow test, words that are their own antonyms, testing the efficacy of psychedelic microdosing, creativity testing, Andy's favorite Tracey Ullman sketch, glow-in-the-dark sharks, the New Zealand tsunami that wasn't, counter-illumination, a swarm of earthquakes under Mt. Hood, and Dave's many shows including Modern Life Is Good-ish. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access PLUS $30 off when you sign up for an annual plan by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
3/11/2021 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode 417 - Sarah Dorfman
Comedian and analytics consultant Sarah Dorfman (@SarahPDorfman) joins Andy and Matt to discuss asking a ton of whys, magnetic pole flips and killing neanderthals, trees showing pole flips, India's lake of skeletons, the first photograph ever, the hidden message in Perseverance's parachute, AI conquering '80s video games, and little Jack Black in an ad for Pitfall.
3/6/2021 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 416 - Wayne Federman
Comedian, podcaster and author of the upcoming book The History of Standup Wayne Federman (@Federman) joins Matt and Andy to discuss the original location of Stonehenge, why its construction might not have been that hard, transparent wood that's stronger than glass, whether glass is a liquid or not, training pigs to use joysticks and what the future holds for standup comedy. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free 14-day trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
2/21/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 415 - Brandie Posey
Comedian and podcaster Brandie Posey (@Brandazzle) returns to the show to talk about hosting celebrity karaoke and ending up on TMZ, more details on how wombat poop ends up cubed, a quick refresher on platonic solids, Brexit and bees, Wandavision, the insane amount of power consumed by Bitcoin and quantum encryption in space.
2/11/2021 • 1 hour, 24 minutes
Episode 414 - April Richardson
Comedian April Richardson (@apey) of the podcast Why Do I Like This? returns to the show to chat about moving to England, the smallest reptile on Earth, hibernation in early humans, teaching spinach to send emails, Tiny Elvis and the Wilhelm Scream. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free 14-day trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
2/7/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 413 - Eli Braden
Comedian/musician Eli Braden (@EliBraden) returns to the show to discuss stonks, the Robinhood fiasco, PredictIt.org, The Hustler, Psycho Goreman, more dinosaur butthole developments, Colgate University, Perseverance's upcoming Mars landing and evidence of multiple Mars ice ages.
1/29/2021 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode 412 - Marcus Brigstocke
Comedian and actor Marcus Brigstocke (@marcusbrig) joins Andy and Matt to discuss blowing things up in school, puckle guns, coordinated electric eel attacks, solving the mystery of butterfly flight, separating dire wolf fact from fiction and giving shrooms to pigs.
1/23/2021 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 411 - Frank Wilczek
Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek (@FrankWilczek), author of the new book Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality, joins Matt and Andy to talk about the work that earned him a Nobel Prize, as well as his book, which delves into the essential concepts that form our understanding of how the universe works, digging into fundamental ideas like time, space, matter, energy, complexity and complementarity. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free 14-day trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
1/15/2021 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 410 - Ed Byrne
Comedian Ed Byrne (@MrEdByrne) joins Matt and Andy to discuss spiteful octopuses punching fish, using AI to solve protein structures, why recycling doesn't happen as much anymore (and Taiwan's amazing waste turnaround), and Europe's plan for a space claw to capture orbiting junk. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free 14-day trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
1/7/2021 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode 409 - Dr. Peter McGraw
Author, podcaster and behavioral economist Dr. Peter McGraw (@PeterMcGraw) returns to the show to talk with Matt and Andy about behavioral economics, cognitive biases, hellish comedy gigs, the science of humor, The Philadelphia Incident, Peter's new book Schtick to Business, stigmas surrounding unmarried life, flaws in happiness studies, how to support an aging populace that isn't being replaced, the new social media platform Clubhouse, Andy's recent shingles bout and Peter's latest podcast project Solo: The Single Person's Guide to a Remarkable Life.
12/18/2020 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 408 - Alex Schmidt
Returning guest Alex Schmidt (@AlexSchmidty) of the podcast Secretly Incredibly Fascinating joins Andy and Matt to swap Jeopardy stories and discuss Doug the cat ruining equipment, grapefruit facts, The Ray Cat Solution to use glowing cats to warn future humans about radioactive waste, the monolith in Utah, Europa's mysterious glow and a beetle you can run over with a car. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free 14-day trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
12/10/2020 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 407 - Megan Gailey
Comedian Megan Gailey (@megangailey) joins Matt and Andy to talk about honeybees flying sideways, acoustic camouflage on earless moths, new moon rocks, meatless diets and brittle bones, the coolest dinosaur skeletons ever, fossil-hunting laws and Megan's podcast The Greatest.
12/5/2020 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 406 - Charlie Fonville
Producer and current Jeopardy champion Charlie Fonville (@charliefonville) joins Matt and Andy, whose four-day Jeopardy streak Charlie put an end to just yesterday, to talk about sharing the stage with the legendary Alex Trebek, the game theory of Jeopardy, including Daily Double and Final Jeopardy betting strategies, the Two-Thirds Rule, and Andy's odd-seeming bet when facing Stratton's Dilemma, then diving into stories about the return of a rocket from 54 years ago, the launch of a doghouse-shaped satellite, mapping bees, more election fraud claims debunked with math, making diamonds at room temperature in minutes and Charlie's podcast Unremembered Hollywood.
11/21/2020 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 405 - Alex Falcone
Comedian Alex Falcone (@alex_falcone) of the podcast Read It and Weep (and a great NASA rejection letter) joins Andy and Matt to talk about why Benford's Law doesn't apply to election data, Hamburglar voting irregularities, Andy's upcoming Jeopardy appearance (this Monday, November 16th), whether or not Alex Falcone was named after Alex Trebek, some good news on using psilocybin to treat depression, British soldiers on acid , a ridiculously named new Covid-19 drug and Canada's top science prize recognizing work on gels that mimic human tissues. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
11/11/2020 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 404 - James Austin Johnson
Comedian James Austin Johnson (@shrimpJAJ) returns to the podcast after a seven-year hiatus to talk about dinosaur butts, water on the moon, cell phone networks on the moon, shocking your tongue to cure tinnitus... and for some reason President Donald J. Trump happens to call in to give his take on Sega Genesis reboots and lame duck hunts.
10/29/2020 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode 403 - Michael Marshall
Author Michael Marshall (@m_c_marshall) joins Matt and Andy to talk about his new book The Genesis Quest, which explores the century-long effort to understand how life began on Earth and the many interesting characters who dedicated themselves to solving this massive scientific puzzle. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
10/24/2020 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 402 - John Hastings
Comedian John Hastings (@thejohnhastings) joins Andy and Matt to talk about the questionable comedy of Roy Chubby Brown, neanderthal genes and covid-19, water bodies under the surface of Mars, and using balanced rocks to increase nuclear safety. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
10/17/2020 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 401 - Gene Pompa
Comedian Gene Pompa (@genepompa) joins Matt and Andy to discuss methanol-fueled robot beetles, super long words, methylated alcohol, why the moon is rusting, smartphones knowing when you're drunk-walking and corn that makes its own mucus.
10/10/2020 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode 400 - Brooks Wheelan and Jesse Case
The gang's back together to celebrate 400 episodes of Probably Science! Erstwhile hosts Jesse Case (@jessecase) and Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan) join Matt and Andy to discuss counting magicians, Jesse's proximity to train tracks, Ig Nobel prizes for alligators on helium and narcissist eyebrows, detecting phosphine in the clouds of Venus, finding super old sperm in amber, an earthquake hack to measure ocean warming and podcast recommendations including Our Fake History, Entry Level and Jesse vs. Cancer. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
9/26/2020 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode 399 - Kat Arney
Jesse Case rejoins the show for a cancer special with science writer Dr. Kat Arney (@Kat_Arney), author of Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution, and the New Science of Life's Oldest Betrayal. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
9/17/2020 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode 398 - Jen Burton
Comedian Jen Burton (@jensburpin) joins Matt and Andy to discuss Africa getting rid of wild polio, painting turbine blades to save birds, a Jeopardy furry champ, an uncuttable material and Idyllwild's very good boy Mayor Max.
9/1/2020 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 397 - Mia Jackson
Mia Jackson (@miacomedy) join Matt and Andy to talk about old-time casino heists, asteroids that are the greatest basketball player of all time, ancient Americans, songbirds warming up and 100-million-year-old microbes that are still alive. Check out Mia’s performances on Unprotected Sets on Epix, and her Comedy Central half hour. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
8/29/2020 • 1 hour, 6 seconds
Episode 396 - Adam Cayton-Holland
Despite a technical glitch, the excellent Adam Cayton-Holland (@CaytonHolland), star of Those Who Can’t, the new podcast The Grawlix Saves The World, and his new album Semblance of Normalcy, talks with Andy and Matt about the word stentorian, Earth’s magnetic anomaly, scientific collaborations and X shapes in the galaxy, finding out there's more than one foot, the threat of swooping magpies and what, exactly, ropey means. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
8/22/2020 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 6 seconds
Episode 395 - Lynn Ferguson
Writer, actress and story coach Lynn Ferguson (@lynnfergy) joins Matt and Andy to talk about house snooping and fountain misuse, chickens, wasps in figs, coyote melons, spying on penguin poop, Andy's hiking discovery, painting eyes on cow butts and whether hot water freezes faster than cold. Check out Michelle Biloon’s album Permanent Hat and Sara Schaefer's book Grand!
8/15/2020 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode 394 - Jon Reep
Matt’s Last Comic Standing buddy (and Season 5 winner) Jon Reep @jonreep joins Matt and Andy to talk about getting COVID, meteors and moons, Shazam for spiders, anus-escaping water beetles, unusual places to grow a penis, medieval antibiotics, Jon's new podcast Country-ish and this totally independent, unbiased ranking of podcasts that we hope to break. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
8/6/2020 • 58 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode 393 - Mike McShane
Improv and comedy acting legend Mike McShane (@thismikemcshane) joins Matt and Andy to talk about the funniest kind of nudity, cognitive impairment tests, the limits of human eating, the star that's hurtling across the universe, a sperm robot story we've done before, and mathematicians boycotting the police. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
7/26/2020 • 59 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode 392 - Jonah Ray
Comedian Jonah Ray (@jonahray), host of Jonah Raydio and co-guest with Matt on TONIGHT'S episode of The Great Debate on Syfy, talks about his great Seeso show Hidden America, taking over MST3K (and his favorite episode), how flying snakes fly, hungry hungry black holes, Twitter hacks and Bitcoin scams, talking to prairie dogs and the coming population crash. This episode is brought to you by StartAPod, providing our listeners with a special offer by visiting StartAPod.com/probably
7/16/2020 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode 391 - Steph Tolev
Comedian Steph Tolev (@StephTolev) joins Andy and Matt from Toronto to discuss quarantining and TikTok-ing with her family, the history of sled dogs, a black neutron star discovery, putting sheep in K-holes and a $23 million space toilet.
7/10/2020 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 390 - Chris Garcia
Comedian and host of the outstanding podcast Scattered Chris Garcia (@_chrisgarcia) joins Matt and Andy to discuss getting a little too much parental help with science fair projects, dolphins using tools, 3D printing inside the body and how burning coal 250 million years ago led to climate change. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
7/4/2020 • 55 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode 389 - Matthew Broussard
Comedian, swimmer and math major Matthew Broussard (@mondaypunday) joins Andy and Matt to talk about linear algebra, swimming, neanderthal DNA, DNA degradation, Alex Falcone's NASA career, ancient Irish one-percenters, twins marrying twins and twin paternity tests. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
6/26/2020 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 388 - Jake Johannsen
Comedian Jake Johannsen (@Jakethis) of the podcast Jake This joins Andy and Matt to discuss an herbal would-be COVID-19 remedy out of Madagascar, why men and women experience alcohol differently, alcohol's lack of protection against COVID-19 and appearing on Dr. Katz.
6/16/2020 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode 387 - Dan Oster
Comedian and actor Dan Oster (@dernerster) joins Matt and a normally voiced Andy to discuss pantomime dwarves, a desert update, neutron stars showing their cores, a porn star and a toad-venom death, psychological pain treatments, tripping on nutmeg and Dan's A Podcast, But Evil. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
6/6/2020 • 1 hour, 40 seconds
Episode 386 - Sarah Morgan and JJ Whitehead
Friends of the show Sarah Morgan (@sarahlmorgan) and JJ Whitehead (@JJWhitesnake) return to talk with Matt and a strangely deep-voiced Andy about a USB stick to protect you from the evils of 5G, controlling monkey minds via ultrasound, a super-deep octopus and monkeys stealing coronavirus samples. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
5/30/2020 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 385 - Carlos Alazraqui
Comedian, actor and voice performer extraordinaire Carlos Alazraqui (@carlosalazraqui) joins Matt and Andy to talk about what you can learn from hundreds of skydiving jumps, mud flows on Mars, laughing gas from penguin poop, a worm that survived being frozen for 41,000 years and Carlos' new movie Witness Infection.
5/24/2020 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 384 - Kristin Key
Comedian Kristin Key (@thekristinkey) joins Matt and Andy to talk about her new album Keeper of Feelings, the importance of moths, illicit surfing in bioluminescence, neon dolphins, Pluto's haze, SOFIA, thirsty koalas licking trees and rain caused by nuclear testing. This episode is brought to you by StartAPod, offering our listeners 50% off the first year of a monthly or annual subscription by visiting StartAPod.com/probably
5/18/2020 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 383 - Scott Vrooman
Writer Scott Vrooman (@mescottvrooman) joins Matt and Andy to discuss watching rocket launches, Trident missile tests, what it actually takes to make a ventilator, murder hornets, how to give CPR, the psychological health of vegetarians and meat-eaters, girlfriends' effects on risk-taking and the new Quibi show Memory Hole. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering our listeners a free trial by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably This episode is brought to you by StartAPod, offering our listeners 50% off the first year of a monthly or annual subscription by visiting StartAPod.com/probably
5/10/2020 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 1 second
Episode 382 - Jesse Case
Erstwhile Probably Science cohost Jesse Case (@jessecase) of Jesse vs. Cancer fame returns (remotely) to discuss everyone's new living situations, what the old Bluebell house looks like now, Andy's neighbor's text, a new LIGO discovery, bird brain sizes, a black paint that somehow cools buildings and analyzing whether farts can spread coronavirus. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering our listeners a free trial by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably This episode is brought to you by StartAPod, offering our listeners 50% off the first year of a monthly or annual subscription by visiting StartAPod.com/probably
4/28/2020 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 381 - Sam Pasternack
Writer Sam Pasternack (@SamPasternack) of The Podcasternack joins Matt and Andy while riding his quarantine exercise bike to discuss the real toilet paper problem, bomb tests and whale shark ages, a VERY personalized toilet, an unexpected downside of planting trees, a Mercury mission that just got underway and a five-year time lapse of its path to Mercury orbit. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners three months of unlimited access for only $30 by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
4/12/2020 • 1 hour, 2 minutes
Episode 380 - Danny Jolles
Comedian/actor Danny Jolles (@DannyJolles) joins Andy and Matt to discuss celebrity centers, political science, the astrophysicist who got magnets stuck up his nose, arm hickeys, mouse emotions, finding Clooneys when stressed, neanderthal fishing, ancient Australian fossils, wrestler Mae Young, Danny's podcast Everything But The Scores and Brooks' ridiculous one-man hungover marathon. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners three months of unlimited access for only $30 by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
4/4/2020 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 379 - Grant Lyon
Comedian Grant Lyon (@grantlyon1) returns to the podcast on the heels of the release of his new album "Scheduled Fun Time" to talk about "Imagine" parodies, a Mars lander hitting itself with a shovel, NASA accepting applications, genetically modified neurons and implants, Earth's tiny new moon, Grant's astronaut neighbor and an animal that doesn't need oxygen to survive.
3/30/2020 • 55 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode 378 - Dr. Barry Fox
Dr. Barry Fox is a Clinical Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He also teaches An Introduction to Infectious Diseases on The Great Courses Plus, which turns out to be a very timely lecture series right now. Dr. Fox talks with Matt and Andy about infectious disease in general, and COVID-19 in particular, while helping clarify what we do and don't know about the pandemic in which we find ourselves. For up-to-the-minute coronavirus information, Dr. Fox recommends the CDC, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably to access Dr. Fox's course and hundreds of others.
3/20/2020 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 377 - Langston Kerman
Comedian/actor Langston Kerman (@LangstonKerman, Insecure, South Side, Bless This Mess) joins Matt and Andy for a COVID-19 quarantine edition of the podcast, discussing oceanography, subterranean chlamydia, raining molten iron, bike speed records, tiny dinosaurs, mammoth bones, forbidden fruit and insect butter. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
3/18/2020 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode 376 - Sharon Mahoney and Byron Bertram
Comedians Sharon Mahoney (@sharonmahoneyca) and Byron Bertram (@byronbertram) join Matt and Andy to discuss glowing amphibians, COVID-19, Pence's spotty record, the Halifax Explosion and molecular oxygen being found beyond the Milky Way. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
3/13/2020 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode 375 - Barry Rothbart
Barry Rothbart (@barryrothbart) returns to Probably Science eight years after his last appearance to discuss Scorcese films, Mad Mike Hughes, an autism apology, COVID-19, relative risks and vaccines, expensive cars and being a dick, electricity from thin air, seatbelt laws and lives saved and bomb-sniffing locusts.
3/2/2020 • 57 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode 374 - Rob Yescombe
Video game writer/narrative director and VR advocate Rob Yescombe (@robyescombe) joins Matt and Andy to discuss 90s computer games on TV, Gamesmaster with Take That, Oculus Quest, inside-out tracking, parallax, light field cameras, volumetric video capture, Surinder Rattan's The Lick, making the VR whodunit The Invisible Hours and the game RiME. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
2/20/2020 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 373 - Krister Johnson
Writer/producer Krister Johnson (@KristerJohnson) joins Matt and Andy to discuss his hilarious new Netflix show Medical Police, God's Pottery, Matt LeBlanc and a very specific accent, virus-naming, radiation-eating fungi, autism and myelin, extreme knitting and walking sharks.
2/11/2020 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode 372 - Ed Salazar
Comedian Ed Salazar (@edasalazar) joins Andy and Matt to talk about the new Goop show, Marianne Williamson's disease theories, yoga scammers, Catholic workouts, Einstein being right again, Mercury retrograde explained, YouTube Wired experts, dorking out on musical intervals, more giant horrendous creepy-crawlies, the upcoming show The Great Debate and koala balls. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners three months of unlimited access for only $30 by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
2/7/2020 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode 371 - Tiffany Stevenson
Comedian Tiffany Stevenson (@tiffstevenson) joins Matt and Andy to talk about loads of Australian spiders and how to catch them, more drop bear nonsense, Vesuvius turning brains to glass, alcoholic spines, eating too many Australian cakes, Dr. Heimlich and cuttlefish VR.
2/1/2020 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 370 - Richard Vranch and Alice Fraser
Alice Fraser (@aliterative, Tea With Alice, The Last Post) sits in as guest co-host for this chat with Comedy Store Players veteran and Whose Line Is It Anyway cast member Richard Vranch (@richardvranch), who more importantly for us is Dr. Richard Vranch, former physicist, for talk about the early days of UK comedy, and his experiments with silicon chips and radiation.
1/22/2020 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 369 - Dr. Damian King
While on the road, Matt talks to Dr. Damian King about his work as the head of Neutral Beam Injection for the JET (Joint European Torus) at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy and why heating things to 30 million degrees isn't nearly enough. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners three months of unlimited access for only $30 by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
1/14/2020 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 368 - Kate Kennedy and TJ Chambers
Comedians Kate Kennedy (@TheOGKennedy) and TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) join Andy to discuss physics for poets, Feynman memoirs, family trips and home movies, record-breaking geysers, blood waterfalls and freezing water at its boiling point. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
1/6/2020 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode 367 - TJ Chambers and Jordan Morris Talk 2010s
Writer/comedians TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) and Jordan Morris (@Jordan_Morris) return to the podcast to wrap up the decade that was the 2010s, covering things along the way including penis fish, the cat that says "well, hi!", the biggest scientific happenings of the decade, Karen Gillan's box office dominance, the book Orange World and the podcast Bubble.
1/1/2020 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 366 - Cecil and Vincent Castellucci
Author of books, graphic novels and comics including DC's Batgirl Cecil Castellucci (@misscecil) joins Matt, Andy and her neuroscientist father Vincent to talk about her new graphic novel memoir Girl on Film, which intertwines the story of her life in the arts and schooling at Laguardia High School of the Performing Arts with sidebars on the neuroscience of memory and a look at Vincent's life's work in that field.
12/19/2019 • 53 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 365 - Louis Katz
Comedian Louis Katz (@louiskatz) of the podcast Road Heads joins Andy and Matt to discuss robot deliveries, semen shocks (and overly detailed pictures), honking dinosaurs, the Jurassic Park melodica cover, plants making noises, Mort Garson's music for plants, Brazil's museum that burned down, browncardigan.com, a robot space hotel and who's in space right now.
12/12/2019 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 364 - Bil Dwyer
Comedian and game show-hosting veteran Bil Dwyer (@BilDwyer) returns to the podcast 7 1/2 years after his last appearance to talk about Dirty Rotten Cheater, more reasons to hate paper straws, the greatest prank call ever, BLEVEs, frozen dogs, shrinking birds, tattooed mummies, audiophile coral reefs and a possible fifth force of nature.
12/6/2019 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 1 second
Episode 363 - Matthew D. LaPlante
Matthew D. LaPlante (@mdlaplante), author of the new book Superlative: The Biology of Extremes, joins Matt and Andy to talk about all creatures great and small (and fast and slow and strong and old and deadly...) and look at the many surprising things to be learned from nature's outliers.
11/28/2019 • 55 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 362 - Chris Mancini
Comedian/writer/podcaster Chris Mancini (@chrisjmancini) of Comedy Film Nerds joins Andy and Matt to talk about the good Kickstarter for his graphic novel Rise of the Kung Fu Dragon Master (and a less-good one for this dumb wine thing), what the deal with Pez is, toilet stickiness, Ohio religion laws, L’Hopital’s rule, supernova blobs, pigeon bones, antibiotics resistance and why you may not have to finish taking all of yours, pig organs, tonight's northern lights, Andy's Guilty Treasure show tomorrow, suspended animation and Michael Moschen’s Labyrinth juggling. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
11/21/2019 • 1 hour, 27 minutes
Episode 361 - Noah Gardenswartz
Comedian Noah Gardenswartz (@noahgcomedy) of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel joins Andy and Matt to discuss left-handed women’s smell, cannibal ants, cg mustaches, an ebola vaccine, anti-vax Facebook ads, mouse deer and Mars air. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free trial with unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
11/17/2019 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode 360 - Chris Duffy
Comedian and host of the radio show/podcast You're the Expert Chris Duffy (@youretheexpert) joins Matt and Andy to talk about rats driving cars, why measles is bad, the book Antisocial, fake news in Argentina, beavers on the moon, eagles racking up roaming charges, a thermal camera that spotted cancer, Google's quantum supremacy and the guy who coined the term, brewing beer in your stomach and why breathalyzers aren't to be trusted.
11/4/2019 • 58 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 359 - Dr. Stuart Russell
Artificial intelligence researcher and UC Berkeley Professor of Computer Science Dr. Stuart Russell joins Andy to talk about his new book Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control, which explores the concept of intelligence in humans and machines, what the benefits and drawbacks of creating superhuman intelligence are, and what AI researchers can do now to help usher in a future that's more utopian than dystopian.
10/31/2019 • 1 hour, 43 seconds
Episode 358 - Daniel Dominguez
Comedian-turned-writer Daniel Dominguez joins Matt and Andy to talk about his new animated Netflix series Seis Manos, Nobel Prize announcements in physics, medicine and chemistry, Ursula K. Le Guin, people with Goodenough names and implanting false memories in birds. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
10/23/2019 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 357 - Troy Walker
Comedian Troy Walker (@troywalkeresq) joins Matt and Andy to discuss erector sets, owl pellets, scientists growing tooth enamel, aspen sunscreen, a Milky Way explosion, Dr. Magma, too many wallabies, university ripoffs and antibiotic resistance. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
10/16/2019 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode 356 - Matt Monroe
Comedian Matt Monroe (@heymonroe) joins Andy and Matt to discuss retirement community shows, Sandler on Netflix, the Salton Sea, the toilet water scale, Terence Howard science, lizard womb babies, lady rabbit orgasms, Sarah Morgan's web series, a tooth bird fossil, Matt Monro and Born Free.
10/9/2019 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 355 - Nick Turner
Comedian Nick Turner (@NicksTurners) returns to the show seven years after his last appearance to talk about his podcasts Get Rich Nick and Recently Added, walking dogs, very slow zombies, a herpes vaccine, fun math with 3s, a new blackest black, Instant Hotel, cooking with ostrich eggs, Instant Hotel, Fastest Car and Hyperdrive, spiders flying with electricity and a play with a very controversial name. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
9/24/2019 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 354 - Dr. Ria Lina
PhD-having comedian Ria Lina (@rialina_) joins Matt and Andy to talk about bioinformatics, her research in viruses, specifically the herpes family of viruses, predicting this year's flu, the definition of life, the other kind of beach bodies, pathology, terrorism hypotheticals, herd immunity, viral ontology and Ria's ukulele song for Alabama. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
9/19/2019 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 353 - Nick Vatterott
Comedian Nick Vatterott (@vatterott) of the new podcast Get Rich Nick joins Andy and Matt to discuss trivia, trypophobia, obscenity trials, mouthwash vs. exercise, vape deaths, Stackenblocken, a skull discovery, Lucy and whether there is a gay gene.
Cartoonist/author/engineer Randall Munroe of the Hugo Award-winning webcomic xkcd joins Matt and Andy to talk about his new book How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, in which he gives novel, ridiculous and technically correct tips on doing everything from digging a hole to winning an election. You can catch Randall in person on his book tour running through September 19th.
9/5/2019 • 40 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode 351 - Chris Martin and Hanna Stanbridge
Comedians Chris Martin (@ChrisMcomedy) and Hanna Stanbridge (@HannaStanbridge) join Andy and Matt to talk about our Wired video, soap on a rope, some scientist listeners’ corrections, burp-free cows and seaweed, July being the hottest month ever, how tongue rolling isn’t fully genetic, vaccine-delivering Congo drones, asparagus pee, boney boners, Will Smith’s penis, water-powered space craft and peeing in space. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
8/29/2019 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode 350 - Pollyanna McIntosh
Actor/director Pollyanna McIntosh (@PollyAMcIntosh) of The Walking Dead, Lodge 49 and her directorial debut Darlin' joins Matt and Andy to discuss Dennis dentists, human-sized penguins, gay penguins with an egg, an ebola cure, good environmental news, bad environmental news and tails for old people. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
8/22/2019 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 349 - Joyelle Johnson
Comedian Joyelle Johnson (@joyellenicole) joins Andy and Matt to talk about doctor rules, chlamydia vaccines, AI that can spot bad food, our surprisingly old moon and an excellent Fidel Castro conspiracy theory.
8/19/2019 • 46 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 348 - Jordan Doll
Comedian Jordan Doll (@razorlou) joins Andy and Matt to discuss old UK comedy, field archaeology, being a shovel bum, King Arthur’s various swords, massive parrots, the periodic table of Jeopardy!, tardigrades on the moon, disinfecting Mars, water-filtering wood, toxic Paris, Maya Angelou ads, problematic pics and The Mechanical Turk. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
8/12/2019 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 347 - KT Tatara
Comedian KT Tatara (@kttatara) joins Matt and Andy to talk about a CRISPR sickle cell cure, a mysterious radiation leak linked to Russia, Mr. Wizard, Bob Lazar and UFOs and bees' sense of the electric fields of flowers. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
8/2/2019 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 31 seconds
Episode 346 - Francisco Ramos
Comedian Francisco Ramos (@FranciscoRamos) joins Andy and Matt to discuss thermos technology, socialism, whether canned laughter works, an asteroid close call, quantum teleportation and an HIV cure for mice.
7/28/2019 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 345 - Caitlin Weierhauser and TJ Chambers
Comedian and recent Portland transplant Caitlin Weierhauser (@UncleCait) joins returning guest TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) to talk about the surprisingly extensive history of McDonaldland characters, how dogs' eyes evolved to appeal to humans, a notably droopy dog breed, a recently scrapped Indian space mission, female jockeys being underestimated by the betting public , a recent study critical of psychiatric diagnosis and a magical island where the koalas are free of chlamydia. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
7/17/2019 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode 344 - Earthquake Talk with Jacob Margolis
Jacob Margolis (@JacobMargolis), KPCC science reporter and host of the podcast The Big One, talks with Andy about the two recent major California earthquakes, what they mean for those living on nearby faultlines, what to do to prepare yourself for future quakes, FEMA's earthquake safety checklist, Jacob's supply shopping list and and his podcast detailing the repercussions of a hypothetical catastrophic earthquake in Los Angeles. This episode is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus, offering Probably Science listeners a free month of unlimited access to thousands of lectures by visiting TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/probably
7/11/2019 • 51 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 343 - Dr. Alex Platt
Population geneticist Dr. Alex Platt joins Matt and Andy to discuss the complex world of genetics and its role in shaping humans the world over, also dealing with the many misconceptions and blind spots people have about genetic diversity and the history of the human species.
7/4/2019 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode 342 - Susy Kane
Actress/writer Susy Kane (@kusysane) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Stan & Ollie, eating a credit card's mass in plastic, a dubious claim about plastic straws, Canada's plastic ban, ISS tourism, InSight news, ladybug swarms and pterodactyls flying from birth.
6/24/2019 • 45 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 341 - Bri Pruett
Comedian Bri Pruett (@bripruett) joins Andy and Matt to discuss the invisible world, witchy things, a mosquito-killing GM fungus, saving the wasps, anxiety and gut bacteria, making kombucha, real plastic recycling and the resilience of tardigrades. See Matt in NYC next week. This episode is brought to you by Green Chef. For $75 off your first three orders, visit greenchef.us/psp75. Come and see Matt in NY next week!
6/12/2019 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode 340 - Ismo Leikola
Comedian Ismo Leikola (@ISMOcomedy) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Finland, language family trees, university physics, snails, LIGO news, a giant Australian meteor, chimps cracking open tortoises, generating power on ships and the fact that Ismo is the first thing that comes up when you do a video search for "ass."
6/5/2019 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode 339 - Michelle Biloon
Comedian Michelle Biloon (@biloon) joins Andy and Matt to talk about RFK's assassination, credit card rules, Michelle’s coding past, more cocaine in British sealife, living with MS, how kidney donor chains work and drones delivering organs.
5/16/2019 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 338 - Tommy Johnagin
Comedian Tommy Johnagin (@tommyjohnagin) joins Matt and Andy to discuss Last Comic Standing, finding your passion, why farts are funny, Marsquakes, crazy expensive houses, soil damage fueling climate change and a few ships polluting more than millions of cars.
5/8/2019 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode 337 - Zach Reino
Zach Reino (@zachreino), actor/writer/host of the improvised musical podcast Off Book, joins Matt and Andy to discuss ancient Chinese medicine’s surprisingly recent history, Germany’s weird Chinese tradition, Arthur C. Clarke’s three laws, reactivating dead pigs’ brains, a brain implant that produces speech, HIV curing a bubble boy, why vitamins from pills don’t work and the Galileo Fallacy.
4/25/2019 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode 336 - Dave Waite
Comedian Dave Waite (@davewaitecomedy) joins Matt and Andy to talk about khaki diaper butt, geography pride, a black hole image, the video Janna sent about said black hole, world records for rabbit fur and big pizzas, Stonehenge builders, measles and chicken pox and smiling.
4/17/2019 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 335 - Doug Mellard
Comedian Doug Mellard (@dougmellard) joins Andy and Matt to talk about All Space Considered, asteroid fossils, the Thatcher Effect, upside-down viewing, Tom Cruise's middle tooth, Catalina, earthquake prep podcasts, octopus attacks and octopus wrestling, the rules of kabaddi, eye bees, a four-legged whale fossil, Matt and Andy becoming parasite-famous, a Japanese bomb on an asteroid and India fucking up space.
4/11/2019 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 334 - Nick Doody
Writer/comedian friend of the show Nick Doody (@NickDoody) returns to discuss linguistics, space herpes, atoms and the strong force, the reason for zebra stripes or maybe not, a physics theory as to why time flies more as we age, the first female Abel prize winner, famous Norwegians, lady strokes from lady strokes, the Citizens of Nowhere podcast and Bigipedia.
4/3/2019 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 333 - Sarah Morgan and Brendon Burns
Returning guests Sarah Morgan (@sarahlmorgan) and Brendon Burns (@brendonburns) join Matt and Andy to talk about air travel, SpaceX’s new not-quite-manned flight, monkey peril, the Mars mission that may not be, rare semi-identical twins and a lot of talk about Brendon’s stonefish encounter. Listen to Brendon’s Dumb White Guy podcast and Sarah’s show The Fear.
3/27/2019 • 1 hour, 37 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode 332 - Live from Portland with Cannabis Educator Emma Chasen and Marcus Coleman
Cannabis educator Emma Chasen (@echasen) and comedian Marcus Coleman (@MrMarcusColeman) join Matt and Andy for a live show in Portland as part of the Listen Up! festival, discussing the complex science of the effects of cannabis, the difficulties in researching it, and the many hard-to-dispell myths surrounding it.
3/21/2019 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 331 - Live from Melbourne with Wil Anderson and Sheree Marris
The final stop of the Probably Science Australia tour brings Andy and Matt to Melbourne on Valentine’s Day, where they welcome Sheree Marris (@shereemarris), author of Kama SEAtra, and returning guest Wil Anderson (@Wil_Anderson) to discuss the sex lives of aquatic creatures, male seahorses who birth thousands of babies, necking sea slugs, barnacle penises, cross-dressing cuttlefish and the fact that the city of of Melbourne was almost called Batmania. This episode is brought to you thanks to the generosity of Inspiring Australia and The Australian Society for Parasitology.
3/14/2019 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 330 - Live from Brisbane with Liz Miele and Samuel Hinton
Andy and Matt welcome comedian Liz Miele (@lizmiele) and astrophysicist/software engineer Samuel Hinton (@samreay) to the stage in Brisbane to talk about Brewsvegas pool parties, Australia's most retweeted tweet, the fun of e-scooters, lax Australian airport security, the various ways Matt has broken teeth, dyslexic comedians, Liz's veterinarian parents, resume padding, being on Australian Survivor, dark matter and dark energy, proving Einstein right time after time, criticism of LIGO data analysis, the vacuum catastrophe, meeting Destruction Lane, Bayesian modeling, Roko's Basilisk, the plot of Annie 2, Andy meeting an AC/DC offspring, arXiv vs. viXra and Samuel's upcoming PhD thesis. This episode is brought to you thanks to the generosity of Inspiring Australia and The Australian Society for Parasitology.
3/6/2019 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 329 - Live from Sydney with Callum Ormonde and Jen Carnovale
Matt and Andy descend upon Sydney for the third leg of the Australian tour, welcoming Ig Nobel Prize-winning researcher Callum Ormonde and comedian Jen Carnovale (@Jen_Carnovale) to talk about living down your sister's reputation, what to put in a microwave, the Ig Nobel Prize itself, how Callum accidentally unboiled an egg, past Ig Nobel nominees and winners who studied things like how a Moroccan emperor managed to father almost a thousand children, magnetically levitating a frog, why old men have big ears, how contact with a crocodile affects gambling decisions, using a didgeridoo to fix snoring, CEOs escaping natural disasters, putting a stick on a chicken's butt to make it walk like a dinosaur, human diet drugs satiating mosquitoes' bloodlust and Callum's TEDx talk. This episode is brought to you thanks to the generosity of Inspiring Australia and The Australian Society for Parasitology.
2/26/2019 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 328 - Live from Perth with Carey Marx
The second stop of the Probably Science Australia tour brings Andy and Matt to Perth to talk with Carey Marx (@careymarx) about watching the Super Bowl in Australia, the Perth's Fringe World Festival, working as a magician, drop bears, when kangaroos learned to hop, the correct population of Perth, vanadium mining, global warming making the oceans bluer, how America's colonization cooled Earth's climate, Australia's slow Internet, GOOP's upcoming Netflix show, Carey demonstrating spoon-bending with a fork (which Patreon subscribers can see the unintended consequences of), punching an asteroid, a USB stick found in frozen seal poo and what makes you cringe. This episode is brought to you thanks to the generosity of Inspiring Australia and The Australian Society for Parasitology.
2/19/2019 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 327 - Live from Cairns with Drs. Michael Smout and Claudia Cobos
Matt and Andy make the first stop of their Australian tour in Cairns thanks to the generosity of Inspiring Australia and The Australian Society for Parasitology to talk to Dr. Michael Smout about the healing power of worm spit and Dr. Claudia Cobos about peptides found in sunflowers that can be used to treat diseases of the gut. And thanks to James Cook University for the tour of their Eduquarium to see gorgeous marine life, a lot of which can kill you. Portlanders can come and see Probably Science live this Sunday, February 17th at 5pm at The Commune PDX as part of the Listen Up festival.
2/13/2019 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 326 - Live from SF Sketchfest with Laurie Kilmartin, Dr. Judy Melinek and Dr. Jen Gunter
Andy and Matt travel to SF Sketchfest to be joined by the hilarious Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16), Dr. Judy Melinek (@drjudymelinek) and Dr. Jen Gunter (@DrJenGunter) and discuss autopsies, forensic pathology, debunking GOOP, Twitter being a dick to Laurie, doctors taking on the NRA, reproductive rights and Dr. Melinek's book Working Stiff. Click here for Australia tour dates and click here to donate to Tuesday's Children, a charity for those impacted by 9/11.
2/5/2019 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 325 - Bridget Phetasy
Writer/comedian/podcaster Bridget Phetasy (@BridgetPhetasy) joins Andy and Matt to discuss Australia, Monopoly game study, the big data book Everybody Lies, homespun back pain cures, weed towns, conspiracy theories that are wrong but fun, China plants on the moon, a meteorite hitting the super blood wolf moon and Marie Kondo according to a psychologist. This week's episode is brought to you by the new educational comedy podcast Creature Feature.
1/22/2019 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 324 - Seth Herzog
Comedian Seth Herzog (@Thezog) joins Andy and Matt to talk about being part of the Roots, his mom’s Maury impression, Andy being accosted by Bridget Everett, the Ultima Thule flyby and what New Horizons found on Pluto, mysterious radio bursts, silent speaking, expensive ugly shoes, David Avocado Wolfe, Derren Brown and pigment in a very old artist's teeth. This week's episode is brought to you by the new educational comedy podcast Creature Feature.
1/17/2019 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 323 - Henry Phillips and Auggie Smith
Returning guests Henry Phillips (@Henlips) and Auggie Smith (@AuggieSmith) join Andy to discuss rebel honeybees, trying to guess the twist in this trailer, presidential poo, a retinal link to SAD, the craziest thing a human's ever coughed up, gambling tips, ridiculous FAQs, the new Henry's Kitchen Master Class and the (sort of) fastest animal around. This week's episode is brought to you by the new educational comedy podcast Creature Feature.
1/9/2019 • 1 hour, 35 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode 322 - Harith Iskander
While Matt's on the road, he sits down with Malaysia's Godfather of Stand-up Comedy Harith Iskander (@HarithIskander) in his home country to talk about Voyager going interstellar, New Horizon's latest flyby, X-chromosome life-expectancy, wasp-based antibiotics, early feathery fossils, computer-tested BO and armpit bacteria.
1/3/2019 • 1 hour, 19 seconds
Episode 321 - Karl Chandler
Little Dum Dum Club podcast host Karl Chandler (@KarlChandler) joins Matt to talk about shitting Lego, the dying arctic, hiding coins in food, old racist sayings, bee rebels, Ireland's bee man and Adelaide's space scene.
12/26/2018 • 59 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode 320 - Asif Ali and Holly Burn
Comedian/actors Asif Ali (@alicomedy) and Holly Burn (@hollyburncomedy) join Matt and Andy to talk about having a name that's offensive to fire victims, the new sketch special Goatface, the perils of shooting Wrecked in Fiji, the most populous cities, a lucky Mars landing spot, ants who collect the heads of their enemies, the reason behind spider silk strength, going without cell phones and why screen time disrupts sleep. This week's episode is brought to you by the new educational comedy podcast Creature Feature.
12/18/2018 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode 319 - Steve Brett Young
Writer/comedian Steve Brett Young (@stevebrettyoung) joins Andy and Matt to talk about his friend the Studio City Life Coach, Mary Mary quite contrary, unicorns, El Niño, salmon-tossing for plants, Robert De Niro surprises and birth canals around the world. This week's episode is brought to you by the new educational comedy podcast Creature Feature.
12/11/2018 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 318 - Delaney Yeager
Writer Delaney Yeager (@delaney_yeager) joins Matt and Andy to discuss Mac and Me, Bill Gates pranks, Mars landers and Mars bars, The Seinfeld Podcast, ion drive planes, why wombats poop cubes and CRISPR-edited Chinese babies. This week's episode is brought to you by the new educational comedy podcast Creature Feature.
12/4/2018 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 317 - Myq Kaplan
Comedian Myq Kaplan (@myqkaplan) returns to the show to talk about Ramin Nazer, non-flushable wipes, breathing Hitler, downwind ninjas, medical mushrooms, paradoxical drug reactions and paradoxical UK legal drug responses, big holes under Greenland, regrowing frog legs and Probably Science appearing live at SF Sketchfest.
11/28/2018 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode 316 - Phil Nichol
Comedian Phil Nichol (@philnichol) joins Matt and Andy to talk about how to stand, the safety of dropping pennies, sniffer bees, devout parents, Matthew Herbert's One Pig, Podtune whale music, the first domestic dogs, the new kilogram, the new Probably Science Patreon, 3D-printed sound, Teslas vs. smoke, tuskless elephants, 99 Ice Cream, scientists on money, Phil's show Your Wrong and Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
11/21/2018 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode 315 - Sarah Bennetto and Josh Richmond
Comedian Sarah Bennetto (@sarahbennetto) and Earwolf producer Josh Richmond (@radiotfb) join Matt and Andy to discuss 3D-printed audio jewelry that Andy definitely didn't invent, AI scares and deepfakes, Lyrebird software, Aussie synchrotrons, wine bottle particle accelerators, more Yahoo Serious talk, newly elected STEM politicians, scientists in Washington, whether Oumuamua is or isn't an alien spacecraft, whether the human life span is genetic, whether Parkinson's comes from the appendix and whether Alzheimer's comes from herpes.
11/15/2018 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode 314 - Marcus Ryan
Globetrotting comedian Marcus Ryan (@itsmarcusryan) joins Matt and Andy to discuss losing money internationally, optimistic condoms, Nobel Prize winners and Nobel limitations, exoplanets and moon moons, Superman films and piss-crazed goats.
11/6/2018 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode 313 - Kiefo Nilsson
Dunking vegan bassist (and Son of Schmilsson) Kiefo Nilsson (@kiefonilsson) joins Andy and Matt to discuss his upcoming live performance of Harry Nilsson's album/animated special The Point (Sunday, November 4th at Dynasty Typewriter), his collaboration on a Tim Heidecker song to raise money for HIAS, the science of microphone patterns, Kiefo's citizen science wildlife tracking (and others doing similar work), the Fermi Paradox, the Parker Solar Probe's recent milestones and the demise of the Kepler space telescope.
10/31/2018 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 312 - Wendi Starling and Megan Rice
Comedians and co-hosts of the Jammerz podcast Wendi Starling (@wendistarling) and Megan Rice (@_meganrice_) join Matt and Andy to discuss robot microwaves, cat penises, the GATE program, Japanese asteroid rovers, mosquitos, BEES, deadliest animals, panda dating, weed making people shower and puke, sandalwood-induced hair growth and ironic purchases.
10/24/2018 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 311 - Daniel Sloss and TJ Chambers
Fresh on the heels of the release of his two new Netflix specials, comedian Daniel Sloss (@Daniel_Sloss) returns to the show, joined by ProbSci regular and Twinsies co-host TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA), to talk with Matt and Andy about Menudo, daddy taxonomy, druggy octopodes, fake early memories, Spicey and The Juice, overrated probiotics, alien conspiracy theories, and a tire reef that's poisoning the sea.
10/15/2018 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 310 - Shane Mauss
Comedian and host of the Here We Are science podcast Shane Mauss (@shanecomedy) returns to Probably Science to talk with Andy and Matt about psychedelics, his upcoming Stand-Up Science tour and being institutionalized when he nearly lost his mind. If you or a loved one are in distress, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's number is 1-800-273-8255.
10/4/2018 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 309 - Whitney Chitwood and Carly Ballerini
Comedians Whitney Chitwood (@WhitneyChitwood) and Carly Ballerini (@ballca) join Matt and Andy to talk about Nazi boots, the ghost of Cole Porter, Carly’s very interesting transplant, goats and happy people, this year's Ig Nobel Prize winners, billionaires in space, a Soyuz hole, lucid dreams through meds (and the old-fashioned way), have you ever had a dream like this?, man’s egg mishap and Whitney and Carly's tour.
9/28/2018 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode 308 - How To Invent Everything author Ryan North
In addition to being a programmer and computational linguist, Ryan North (@ryanqnorth) is the writer behind Dinosaur Comics, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, the Adventure Time comic book series, and Romeo and/or Juliet, and he joins Andy and Matt to discuss his new book How To Invent Everything, a survival guide for stranded time travelers who need to figure out where they've landed in time, and how to get civilization back to the present by inventing everything from writing and farming to buttons and birth control.
9/18/2018 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 307 - Dipak Srinivasan
Dipak Srinivasan of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory makes his third Probably Science appearance to give the inside scoop on a number of current and upcoming projects and missions including, but not limited to, the Parker Solar Probe, New Horizons checking out Ultima Thule, the Space Launch System, NASA's STEREO and the Dragonfly Titan rotorcraft lander.
9/7/2018 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 306 - Jordan Morris
Creator of the hit podcast Bubble Jordan Morris (@Jordan_Morris) returns to the show to talk with Andy and Matt about bad accents, why the earliest galaxies are local, Andy's tail, the big toe evolving last, The Lottery, the recipe for mummies revealed, The Core, dolphin hybrids, Patton Oswalt and David Byrne on the Wholphin DVD and the Bermuda Triangle mystery possibly being solved.
8/20/2018 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 305 - Brandie Posey
Comedian and co-host of the Lady to Lady podcast Brandie Posey (@Brandazzle) joins Andy and Matt to talk about her aphantasia, science museums, ska daddies, lazy homo erectus, phone-induced blindness, cheating bots, There's Waldo, the Arabian sand boa, yeast radiation alarms, an aphantasia support group on Facebook, a software engineer's aphantasia experience, and Brandie's album, podcast and tour.
8/16/2018 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 304 - Thomas Patterson
Thomas Patterson (@thomasdynamic), music supervisor for the new AMC series Lodge 49 (@Lodge49), joins Andy and Matt to discuss the heat, will.i.am's Future, Lodge 49 and its soundtrack, Andy's initiation into the Fraternal Order of Eagles, why baby talk is good, plastic causing a greenhouse nightmare, how sleep clears the brain of toxins, a supercomputer modeling one second of brain function, how we forgot how to swim, The Dollop episode on swimming pools, modified mosquitoes and why Earth is definitely fucked.
8/8/2018 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 303 - Sarah Albritton and Josh Cheney
Comedians Sarah Albritton (@SarahAlbritton) and Josh Cheney (@joshcheeeneee) join Matt and Andy to discuss Sleeping With Sarah, narcolepsy, narcoleptic dogs, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, the 100 prisoners problem, massive sloth tunnels, weight on various planets, drinking Mars and trippy cicadas.
8/6/2018 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 302 - Lisa Curry
Comedian Lisa Curry (@lisa_curry) joins Matt and Andy to discuss Olympiads, the other Lisa Curry, reservoir shade balls, Bruce Lee as Kato, secret snakes, skiffs, car vibrations, prison experiment problems and old bread.
7/26/2018 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 301 - Guy Branum
Comedian, TV host and author of the upcoming memoir My Life as a Goddess Guy Branum (@guybranum) returns to the podcast to talk with Andy and Matt about shipping stories, his knowledge of international law, legal murders in Yellowstone, how dingos changed shrubs, shark pathogens, Nanaimo bars, dogs in fMRIs, Matt in an fMRI, 19th Century female mathematicians, senior wranglers and British TV shows you should be watching on YouTube.
7/19/2018 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 300 - Brooks Wheelan, Jesse Case, Andy Wood and Matt Kirshen
The gang's all back together again to celebrate 300 episodes of Probably Science while discussing barely any science at all, instead reminiscing about the last six years, getting nostalgic for Country Summer and trying to figure out which actors have achieved the coveted SPATS (piloting a spacecraft, plane, automobile, train and sea ship on film).
7/12/2018 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 299 - Neuroscientist Dean Burnett
Dean Burnett (@garwboy) is a neuroscientist, comedian, blogger and author of the new book Happy Brain: Where Happiness Comes From, and Why, and he Skyped in with Matt and Andy to talk about the book, delving into the complex relationship that happiness and human brains have with work, love, fame, home, humor, aging and much more.
7/6/2018 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 298 - Alex Schmidt
Comedian, writer and host of The Cracked Podcast Alex Schmidt (@alexschmidty) joins Matt and Andy to talk about 3D printing, Gategate, phone facts, the English Larval Progression, Andy and Matt's recent Cracked appearance, eels on coke, black holes eating stars, cane toad sausages and lonely radiation bacteria.
6/29/2018 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode 297 - Mitch Burrow
Comedian Mitch Burrow (@MitchBurrow) joins Andy and Matt to talk about boot camp morning alarms, blueprint-building and 3D thought, deaf schizophrenia, Moshe Kasher’s book, exploding head syndrome, cold water calorics test update, the unluckiest guy in Pompeii, why Guatemala’s volcano is more dangerous than Hawaii's, all life on Earth by mass (and what we did to destroy it), The Cove documentary and Mitch’s podcast “We’re With Them."
6/21/2018 • 57 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 296 - Astrobiology with Adam Frank
Astrophysicist and professor at University of Rochester Adam Frank (@AdamFrank4) joins Matt and Andy to talk about his new book Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth, a look at the history of scientific discoveries on planetary environments and the prospect of alien life, what the very high likelihood that extraterrestrial civilizations have existed in our universe can teach us about the fate of human life on Earth, how an inevitable growing pain of any civilization is climate change and what to do with that information to ensure that our civilization survives its cosmic adolescence.
6/14/2018 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 295 - Vana Dabney and Deborah Etta Robinson
Comedians and hosts of the upcoming Good Job You Failed podcast Vana Dabney (@vanawrite) and Deborah Etta Robinson (@deborah_etta) join Andy and Matt to discuss human echolocation, marsupials fucking themselves to death, death by fart smell, nerve regeneration (or lack thereof), the longest paths on Earth, non-detectable neutrinos, Deborah and Vana's podcast and bodybuilding goals. Watch Matt's clip on The Jim Jefferies Show here or here.
6/5/2018 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 294 - Jesse Joyce
Comedian and writer Jesse Joyce (@jessejoyce) joins Andy and Matt to talk about taxidermy, muskoxen, takins, red panda poop glitter, Qinling pandas, Gavin Webster's pandas, Bitcoin's energy usage, Jesse's dislike of live music, pouring warm and cold water in your ears, bad company names, patent trolls, discovering animals, Snoop's pinecone and the mysterious return of ozone.
5/24/2018 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode 293 - Robyn Morrison
Comedian Robyn Morrison (@RobynSomething) joins Andy and Matt to discuss concert height etiquette, the best sciences on drugs, more aphantasia, snail memory, science trivia questions, sitcom tropes, Korean nukes, thermal tasters, hippo shit and drowning wildebeest.
5/17/2018 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode 292 - Ori Amir
Neuroscientist/comedian Ori Amir (@OriAmir) joins Matt and Andy to talk about putting Matt in an fMRI, how your brain constructs jokes, prosopagnosia and aphantasia, politics and the brain, what computers find easy and hard, AI and game-solving, and more about Uber's bad driving. Plus, fill out this survey and we might go on a cruise together!
5/10/2018 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode 291 - Brett Erickson
Comedian Brett Erickson (@iBrettmypants) joins Matt and Andy on location at the Jim Jefferies Show offices to talk about meeting Slayer's guitarist Kerry King, Oliver Sacks' book An Anthropologist on Mars, Temple Grandin and her hug machine, aphantasia, penis transplant updates, New York water updates, DNA findings leading to the Golden State Killer, caterpillar danger, Globetrotters facts, an instrument to help reveal faint exoplanets, the Retro Encabulator, The Freeze, and large spleens.
5/3/2018 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 290 - Emily Fleming
Comedian/actor/writer Emily Fleming (@FlemilyEming) joins Matt and Andy to discuss bad AI, gastro doctoring, constidar, Andy’s phone getting stolen mid-show, the smell of Uranus, New York water, penis transplants, David Reimer, ravens ruining science, why privacy on the internet isn't privacy and kids bouncing back from bouncing.
4/26/2018 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 289 - Jono Zalay
Comedian/neuroscientist Dr. Jono Zalay (@JonoZalay) joins Matt and Andy to discuss coke rats, accidental rat ejaculation, ibogaine for opiates, ketamine for depression, rodent cocktail, animal popularity, a daring baboon escape, pronouncing science words, endangered charismatic animals, chili head, the Scoville scale and Jono's licenses.
4/18/2018 • 1 hour, 15 minutes
Episode 288 - David Smalley
Comedian and podcaster David Smalley (@davidcsmalley) joins Matt and Andy to talk about bullying bullies, different names, Texan science, why meth is bad, paints for self-driving cars, herpes, 3D printing with space poop, what we should have printed, and women who lost their hair after eating bitter squash.
4/11/2018 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 287 - Shane Torres
Comedian and Guy Fieri apologist Shane Torres (@shanetorres) makes his first appearance on the show, joining Andy and Matt to talk about horse herpes and rodeo adaptation, the #DickTracyChallenge, super gonorrhea, acupuncture studies, cocaine and Parkinson's, spray-on skin update and HVAC and Legionnaires' disease.
4/4/2018 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 286 - Ian Abramson
Comedian Ian Abramson (@ianabramson) joins Andy and Matt to talk about the death of Jim Jefferies, the Inland Empire, Roger Bannister, how fast the average person can run, Dick Tracy, a rocket man and the flat earth conspiracy conspiracy, Andy's connection to a waterslide tragedy, Grantland's article about said waterslide, magic skin spray, dirty rubber duckies, the forensic mystery behind Legionnaires' disease, essential oils for boy boobs, California’s silly Prop 65 cancer warning, Uber still sucking, Ian's Conan appearance and the #DickTracyChallenge.
3/28/2018 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode 285 - Charlie Clausen
Actor and TOFOP co-host Charlie Clausen (@CXClausen) joins Matt and Andy to discuss Aussie soaps, dental nightmares, Mask vs. The Mask, Eric Stoltz, Daylight Saving Time and koalas, smell-the-fart acting, political reasons for slow clocks, pizza innovation and The Noid, space twins and DNA, Dolph Lundgren gym run-ins and self-driving car risks.
3/24/2018 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode 284 - Jena Friedman
Comedian/writer/producer/host of Adult Swim's Soft Focus Jena Friedman (@JenaFreidman) joins Matt and Andy for an on-location recording talking about Cannibal Cop, Jena's cold fusion-seeking grandfather, acupuncture and opioids, how the Sackler family are murderers, Hitler's art, new battery technology, Tesla's megabattery, Dinorwig, the political economy of Chicago’s improv scene and Jena’s thesis, the ethnographic method, the Comedy Cellar podcast and rape statistics, female emotional labor and millions of penguins. This episode is brought to you by Hello Fresh. For $30 off of your first week, visit hellofresh.com and use the code "probably30"
3/12/2018 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 8 seconds
Episode 283 - James Fritz
Comedian James Fritz (@fritzisdead) joins Andy and Matt to discuss Kentucky science, Oscars theories, magic mushrooms, neanderthal art, turkey history and Ben Franklin on birds, airplane air, soldier terminology, the early universe, scientists running for office and Matt's recent Star Talk appearance with Stephen Hawking, Janna Levin and Michio Kaku.
3/8/2018 • 59 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode 282 - Sarah Morgan
Writer and friend of the show Sarah Morgan (@sarahlmorgan) returns to talk with Matt and Andy about the prey defines the chase, vampire bats, memory wire, bismuth, robo-bees, playing HQ Trivia (and using the referral codes "andytwood" or "Mattbk"), Uber scams, plants and anesthesia, motherland vs. fatherland, curing Alzheimers in mice, pervy Koko the gorilla and reading too much into animal communication.
2/24/2018 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 281 - Zabeth Russell
Actress Zabeth Russell (@zabsters) joins Matt and Andy to discuss Tom hanks killing a dog, placebo boobs, monkey sex workers, eye worms, fast and slow colors (and more color experiments), and dinosaurs overstretching. This episode is brought to you by Hello Fresh. For $30 off your first week of HelloFresh, visit hellofresh.com and enter PROBABLY30.
2/14/2018 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 280 - Valerie Tosi
Comedian/actor/voiceover artist Valerie Tosi (@valerie_tosi) joins Andy and Matt (and Roo) to discuss Andy’s dogsitting business, whale dissection, Boston accents and pirate accents, Cheddar Man the early Brit, when humans first left Africa, potholing/spelunking, kids performing better when they're Batman, oil patterns on bowling lanes, SpaceX success, and blowing up their near misses, vaping risks and clove cigarettes.
2/9/2018 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode 279 - Lauren Flans
Actor/improviser Lauren Flans (@laurenflans) of Another Period, Wild 'n Out and the new podcast Tell Us We're Funny and We'll Go Away joins Matt and Andy to discuss travel credit cards and Mexican drugs, Orphan Black, anti-abortion teachers, legislating numbers, different infinities, '70s poison toys, radioactive Fiestaware, Gerrymandering and its origins, a fake RHCP song, lasers that can rip apart empty space, whales that talk, elephant painting, Svengali and Machiavelli, poisonous toad-eating crows and quokka pics.
2/1/2018 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 278 - Kiran Deol
Comedian/actor/writer Kiran Deol (@shitfromkiran) joins Matt and Andy to help celebrate the six-year (iron) anniversary of the podcast and discuss crashing astronomy conferences, shooting Prince Rupert’s drops, breathing oxygen at depth, predator/prey turning, chalk and cheese, monkey clones, celebrity pet adoption, crow hooks, space lungs and yucca injuries.
1/25/2018 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 277 - Ben Roy
Comedian, star of Those Who Can't and frontman of the band SPELLS Ben Roy (@benroy00) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Andy’s accessibility, Poison songs, evolutionary psychology, the books The Mating Mind and The Righteous Mind, space growth, living underwater, cell phone risk, bats melting in Australia, frozen alligators, gila monster saliva helping diabetes, and bonobos liking jerks.
1/12/2018 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 276 - Ricky Carmona
Comedian Ricky Carmona (@RickyCarmona) of the podcast Who Shot Ya? joins Andy and Matt to talk about when to say Happy New Year, Weird Science vs. Real Genius, how to stop superbugs, raw water, the other John Snow, laser eagles, slowing down light, power plant mirrors that explode birds, things deadlier than sharks and parking mathematics.
1/10/2018 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode 275 - TJ Chambers and Auggie Smith
Friends of the show TJ Chambers (@TJChambersLA) and Auggie Smith (@AuggieSmith) return to kick off 2018 with TJ and Andy's new podcast Twinsies (@twinsiespod), space beer, monkeys bonin’ deer, the recent SpaceX launch, traveling salesbees, sleeping jellyfish, Matt Walker on sleep (and on Probably Science), how to keep your exercise resolution, and Tommy Wiseau’s surprise tenant.
1/3/2018 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 274 - Environmental Science and Sustainable Food with Dr. Pete Newton
Matt’s on the road in Colorado and meets up with his old university friend Dr. Pete Newton (@newton_pete) who's now an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder to talk about his TEDx Talk on why "food miles" are aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, his journey away from and back to academia, safari tours in Botswana, hunting pangolins, anaconda attacks in the field, the perils of ruminants, changing our behavior, changing a whole country’s behavior, and whether you’d eat lab-grown meat.
12/26/2017 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 273 - Jim Jefferies
Matt and Andy make a visit to the home of Jim Jefferies (@jimjefferies) to talk about a very British car accident, self-driving cars, Ted Danson's amazing face, feeding spiders graphene, a new space tire, Mars temperatures, cricket commentary, onion ubiquity, Dubai space agriculture, business class from the ground, and upsetting rock stars.
12/5/2017 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode 272 - Pat Francis
Host of the Rock Solid podcast Pat Francis (@pat_francis) joins Matt and Andy to talk about donating medals, miming phones, teen brains that can't tell what's important, homeless etiquette, Voyager I firing up again, coffee and health, grammar rules and beard posturing.
12/5/2017 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode 271 - Eli Braden
Comedian/musician Eli Braden (@EliBraden) joins Andy and Matt to discuss jazz addicts, the flat-earth rocket guy and his earlier flight, conspiracy theories, not a head transplant, prehistoric women's strength, why boning is heart-safe, mnemonics, grossing out chimps, health codes and California D.
11/30/2017 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode 270 - Dr. Danna Staaf
Science writer, educator, and artist Dr. Danna Staaf recently published her first book, Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods, and she joins Matt and Andy to talk about her dissertation on the reproduction and early life of Humboldt squid, penis fencing among hermaphroditic flatworms, the fact that calamari pre-date the dinosaurs, and why we should all have a lot more respect and awe for cephalopods in general.
11/21/2017 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 269 - Chris Turner
Comedian/freestyle rapper Chris Turner (@ChrisPJTurner) joins Andy and Matt to talk about archeology, volcano-based Roman shit, old wine, old Amish people, gay evolution, monkeys playing chicken and the theory of mind. This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. For $30 off your first week of HelloFresh, visit hellofresh.com and enter "probably30" at checkout.
11/17/2017 • 55 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 268 - Raj Desai
Comedian Raj Desai (@_rajdesai) almost makes himself late to his job writing for Sarah Silverman's I Love You, America to do a morning recording with Andy and Matt about his chromatography history, looking more closely at the placebo effect, and how the extinction of dinosaurs made way for mammals to come out during the day.
11/9/2017 • 41 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 267 - Jason Saenz
Comedian Jason Saenz (@jasonsaenz) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Jeff Foxworthy impressions, Saenz Signs, debunked early psychology experiments, oyster hearing, competition-grade oysters, squirrels and lepers, armadillo leprosy in Florida, gold and the documentary series Connections, a good moonbase location, Pluto’s Cave, herbal meds and cancer, blood sweat and Jason's hilarious Comedy Central series Ya Killin' Me.
10/31/2017 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 266 - Galloway Allbright
Comedian Galloway Allbright (@GalloWhy) joins Andy and Matt to discuss the death of expertise, extreme Michael Jackson fandom, that classic Encyclopedia Brittanica ad, the origin of bluegrass, in-flight death plans, channeling your inner Tea Leoni, a neutron star collision, the LIGO song, psilocybin for depression, genes for OCD, Cary Grant’s crazy parental history and LSD, a fundraiser for Dipak's niece, an upcoming Chinese space lab crash, China's NASA and scorpions' toxic blend.
10/23/2017 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 265 - Live from LA PodFest with Brooks Wheelan and Dave Anthony
Original co-host Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan) and LA PodFest co-founder/The Dollop host Dave Anthony join Matt and Andy for a live Probably Science from the Millenium Biltmore hotel in downtown Los Angeles as part of the 2017 Los Angeles Podcast Festival.
10/13/2017 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode 264 - Alice Fraser
Comedian and host of the Tea With Alice podcast Alice Fraser (@aliterative) joins Matt and Andy to discuss jet lag, breaking the seal, MS, a duck update (duckdate?) with video, a body clock Nobel Prize, Dr. Matt Walker’s new sleep book, a LIGO Nobel Prize and Janna Levin’s book on it, the downside of grass-fed beef, and cargo cults.
10/5/2017 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode 263 - Sharon Houston
Comedian Sharon Houston (@sharon_houston) joins Matt and Andy to discuss flavor profiles, hurricane prep, Hemingway lookalikes, wolverines, duck dicks, finger phone contact, genes vs. alleles, the concept of zero, chisanbop counting, zapping people out of vegetative states, spider sacrifice and more duck dicks.
9/27/2017 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 262 - Casey Ley
Comedian Casey Ley (@caseywley) joins Andy and Matt to talk about Andy's car, gay genes, gay face and AI, the first openly gay guy ever, snow leopards becoming less endangered, the end of Cassini, whether or not Saturn would float in water, the first live 4K video from space, the life of Sam Blackman, and Casey's podcast. This episode is brought to you by Hello Fresh. Visit hellofresh.com and use the promo code “probably30” to save $30 off your first week of deliveries.
9/15/2017 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 261 - Sara Benincasa
Comedian and author of Real Artists Have Day Jobs (and three other books) Sara Benincasa (@SaraJBenincasa) invited Matt and Andy into her kitchen to talk about Burning Man, Woodstock '99, talking people down from drugs, creating cryptocurrencies, Space Camp vs. Space Academy, whiskey dilution, faces trained on Skype, Zika for brain tumors, and the secret messages contained in dogs' sneezes.
9/8/2017 • 54 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 260 - Dipak Srinivasan
Applied Physics Laboratory engineer (and Andy's old college roommate) Dipak Srinivasan returns to the podcast to talk about his work on the Mercury MESSENGER mission, the Pluto New Horizons flyby (that'll also soon be visiting Kuiper belt object 2014 MU69), and most importantly, the upcoming Parker Solar Probe and a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, the most likely place in our solar system to find extraterrestrial life.
8/21/2017 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode 259 - Kara Klenk
Comedy's Kara Klenk (@karaklenk) joins Matt and Andy to talk about why Trump isn't good for comedy, bad forensics, hungry thinky worms, penis biting, bleach enemas to cure autism, slugs, Canaanites who just won’t die and The Goldwater Rule.
8/12/2017 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 258 - Heather Thomson
Comedian Heather Thomson (@CasualVelvet) joins Andy and Matt to discuss early email addresses, Woodboys, laws of mathematics that don’t apply in Australia, why chimps are pussies, how humans can out-jog horses, antibiotic lies, reversing brain damage with oxygen, Moon water, and the avocado hand epidemic.
8/2/2017 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode 257 - Jim Hegarty
Comedian Jim Hegarty (@jimhegarty) joins Matt and Andy to talk about good and bad TV, the Up Series, fireworks contamination, dog domestication, junk DNA, the crazy fly book price, Brewster’s Millions rules, egg shapes and egg refrigeration.
7/20/2017 • 50 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode 256 - Jason Reich
Jason Reich (@jasonmreich), the head writer of The Jim Jefferies Show, joins Matt and Andy to discuss eating street apples and syringes, Vegas strategy, an HIV cure, why job interviews are bullshit, old dads with geeky sons follow-up, gonorrhea vaccines, vaquitas, fireworks technology, Alex Jones before and (redder) after and what Goop has in common with Infowars.
7/12/2017 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode 255 - Dr. Jane Gregory
Cognitive behavior therapist Dr. Jane Gregory joins Matt and Andy to talk about her work and how she helps people suffering from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and more, along with her fantastic blog Cognitive Behave Yourself in which she puts her money where her mouth is and subjects herself to some of the techniques that she asks her patients to use.
7/4/2017 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 254 - Maggie Maye
Comedy's Maggie Maye (@Maggiemayehaha) joins Matt and Andy to discuss first TV bed-sharers, rival Amarillo songs, coconut oil, why it's too hot to fly, heat-based reptile sex swapping, older dads and geeky sons, neutron decay, lying chatbots and wobbling suitcases.
6/26/2017 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode 253 - Lucas Kavner
Writer and comedic actor Lucas Kavner (@lucaskavner) joins Andy and Matt to talk about rebooted shows, reporting on robots, dog and wolf sharing, how breakfast affects benevolence, Einstein's impossible experiment finally performed, gut bacteria and dinosaur sex.
6/16/2017 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 252 - Curtis Cook
Comedian Curtis Cook (@Curtis_Cook) writes with Matt on The Jim Jefferies Show, and he sits down to discuss fancy premiere parties and imposter syndrome, catapult-making, how depressing the first Peanuts comic strip is, how AI will beat humans at everything by 2060, Moravec’s paradox, dino feathers and scales, getting re-upped on your vaccines, rust getting unfairly blamed for tetanus and parasitic worm healing.
6/8/2017 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode 251 - Renee Colvert
Renee Colvert (@ReneeColvert) of the hit podcast Can I Pet Your Dog? joins Matt and Andy to discuss Paris disagreements, dog podcasting, universal healthcare, Savage/Soundgarden, Australian healthcare, another LIGO victory, Janna Levin's book, the Parker Solar Probe, the monkey mafia who steal your stuff and sell it back to you for a cracker, measuring sheep pain, and hand-washing rules.
6/2/2017 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 250 - Subhah Agarwal
Comedian and Jim Jefferies Show writer Subhah Agarwal (@Subhah) joins co-writer Matt and Andy to talk about actuarial tables and suicide, copying comics, asteroid timing, river meandering, a perfect dino, stable flamingos, Italian vaccines, mussel gloop for scarring, pretty pics of Saturn's rings and a puffy styrofoam planet.
5/25/2017 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 10 seconds
Episode 249 - Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson), astrophysicist, science communicator and author of the fantastic new book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, joins Matt and Andy for a Definitely Science episode, discussing, well, the entire universe: Its origins, the forces that govern it, general relativity, the multiverse, dark matter, dark energy, the fact that the universe is under no obligation to make sense to you, and the questions that Neil would ask a physicist in the year 2317. This episode is brought to you by Parachute; visit parachutehome.com/science for free shipping and returns and a no-risk 60-night trial.
5/17/2017 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode 248 - Live from Bridgetown Comedy Festival with Dr. Betsey Brada, Dr. Bryan Horne and Hampton Yount
Live from the 10th annual Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Oregon, Matt and Andy welcome Reed College professor and cultural anthropologist specializing in health and medicine in southern Africa Dr. Betsey Brada, anthropologist specializing in bardic song in contemporary Russia Dr. Brian Horne, and the voice of Crow on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return Hampton Yount (@hamptonyount).
5/12/2017 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 247 - Russell Howard
Comedy powerhouse Russell Howard (@russellhoward) joins Matt and Andy to chat about unintentional rudeness, new spider species, birds of paradise dances, Catalina and gerbil smuggling, more spiders, scaring off mice, artificial wombs and throwing things.
5/5/2017 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 37 seconds
Bonus Episode from the March for Science
Matt and Andy traveled to downtown LA's Pershing Square and City Hall to take part in the March for Science, along the way speaking with various groups who had set up booths for the event, and even a neuroscientist listener who took the time to chat about her work giving cocaine to mice. Don't forget that Probably Science (and Andy and Matt individually) will be performing live at Portland's Bridgetown Comedy Festival on May 7th. Get your festival passes now at bridgetowncomedy.com
4/28/2017 • 41 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode 246 - Mary Mack and Tim Harmston
Married comedians Mary Mack (@marymackcomedy) and Tim Harmston (@timharmston) sit down with Andy and Matt to talk about Frog rockets, orchestral doubling, Army band status, Guy Fawkes, accidentally melting science, dinobirds, kids with beaks, triple yolks, yogurt toppings economics, the book-stacking problem and why shoelaces come untied.
4/19/2017 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 245 - Bryan Vokey, Carmen Morales and TJ Chambers
Comedians Bryan Vokey (@BryanVokey), Carmen Morales (@thefunnycarmen) and TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) join Andy and Matt to discuss Georgia creationism, sperm-delivered drugs, erogenous T-Rex noses, geological Brexit, Segways on boats, Andy's mathematics puzzle, hamsters on Viagra and how memories are made.
4/14/2017 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode 244 - Henry Phillips
Returning guest Henry Phillips (@henlips) of Punching Henry fame sits down with Matt and Andy to discuss graphene water filtration, a real-life (sort-of) Iron Man, funny foreign names, CT scan risks, CTs vs. MRIs, biologics, dumb/smart interview questions and the probability of rude names happening randomly.
4/5/2017 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode 243 - MK Paulsen
Comedian MK Paulsen (@mkpaulsen) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Crazy Frog, public policy, October Sky, RIP radioactive boy scout, a heart of spinach, German fake suns, beating cancer and stopping aging, corrections corner, Andy's new swim teammate, strep, the Ten Commandments, tits on Nazis and chimp death rituals.
3/28/2017 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 1 second
Episode 242 - Phoebe Bottoms and TJ Chambers
Comedian Phoebe Bottoms (@phoebebottoms) and returning guest TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) join Andy and Matt to discuss the Boaty McBoatface submarine, sirens and pigs, breaking up with your physics teacher, naughty snooping dildos, microphones in your pocket, why avoiding gluten might hurt you, unvaccinated Australians, OCD, which animals you can't keep as pets, why plastic is still bad, why licking video games is no fun anymore, Egg-wina and pee danger.
3/18/2017 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode 241 - Candice Thompson
Hot on the heels of her recent Tonight Show appearance, comedian Candice Thompson (@jokesbyCandice) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Punching Henry, the movie Matt is in with Henry Phillips, ASMR, Richard Simmons, anti-Brit racism, what zoo animals taste like, Neanderthals’ medication, mini-pigs and films about them, iCondoms, 3D printing medical supplies and pizzas, swimming pool pee and dog fMRIs.
3/10/2017 • 58 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode 240 - Johnny Pemberton
Comedian and actor Johnny Pemberton (@johnnypemberton) of Son of Zorn joins Matt and Andy to discuss water shortage solutions and Indiegogo lies, pipe bombs, ulcerative colitis, money you can piss on, a better way to crowdsource, training bees to play with balls, chiropractic, more opinions on cats and toxo, saving polar ice and eating da poo-poo.
3/3/2017 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode 239 - Kate Willett
Comedian Kate Willett (@katewillett) joins Andy and Matt to talk about NASA's big exoplanet announcement and Episode 70 of our show discussing exoplanet research, the twin paradox, twin astronauts, fake Twitter accounts, a study showing that cats may not make you crazy, and a chiropractor's creative menstrual invention.
2/22/2017 • 50 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode 238 - Ever Mainard and Deborah Etta
Comedians Ever Mainard (@evermainard) and Deborah Etta (@deborah_etta) join Andy and Matt to talk about scientific weirdos and Galois, starfish and STDs and regrowing dicks, finger regrowth, Matt’s awful ex, why whales jump, unethical kitten experiments, science fairs gone wrong, more blood and shit stuff, moon stuff and monkeys and dogs judging cooperation in humans. This episode is brought to you by Audible. For a free 30-day trial, visit audible.com/psp.
2/13/2017 • 1 hour, 12 minutes
Episode 237 - Simon Talbot
Danish comedian Simon Talbot (@simontalbot_) recently relocated to the US, and he joins Matt and Andy to talk about Andy's cold apartment, Jehovah's witnessing, Simon’s weird blood, our no-butthole ancestor, dinosaur protein, Danish traditions, time crystals, ask-a-sociopath, talking viruses and a possible way to reverse antibiotic resistance.
2/6/2017 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 236 - James Acaster
British comic James Acaster (@JamesAcaster) stopped by to talk with Matt and Andy about city rivalries, science marches, conga/flute/didgeridoo combos, Jerusalem Syndrome and Paris Syndrome, human/pig chimeras, cats possibly being as intelligent as dogs, Matt not knowing how big an otter is, giant otter fossils, slowing down light, a light speed sonic boom and James' band Luna Dott Raids the Bee Pigeon.
1/30/2017 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode 235 - Andrew Ti
Podcaster Andrew Ti (@ANDREWTI) of the popular show (and blog) Yo, Is This Racist? joins Andy and Matt to talk about injecting frog neurotoxins in eyes, unethical self-experiments, the EPA vs. Trump, fake news inoculation, a free course on critical reasoning, poop stuff, mouse lasers, dumb psychopaths and who is, in fact, racist.
1/26/2017 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode 234 - Laura Willcox and Andy Peters
Comedy writer and improviser Laura Willcox (@Laura_Willcox) and comedian Andy Peters (@andy_peters) join Matt and Andy to talk about famous and not famous namesakes, failing low-level tests, sharks reproducing asexually, dud rockets, rhino shit as social media, cat marking and the parasites in it, a massive Venus wave, the truth about lemmings and other potentially dodgy kids' films, plus alchemy.
1/18/2017 • 1 hour, 33 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode 233 - Maggie Rowe
Actor/author Maggie Rowe (@ThisMaggieRowe) has written for Arrested Development and produced both Hollywood Hell House and Hollywood Purity Ball, and her new book Sin Bravely: A Memoir of Spiritual Disobedience chronicles her early experiences as a born-again Christian and her time spent in an Evangelical psychiatric facility. Maggie joins Matt and Andy to discuss entropy and evolution, false memory and sleep, synaesthesia and lightning strikes, icebergs and global warming, the antimatter story we didn’t cover, the origins of Stouffer's french bread pizza, and radio bursts from a galaxy billions of light years away.
1/10/2017 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode 232 - Steve Hall
British standup and sketch comic Steve Hall (@stevehallcomedy) happened to be stateside for the holidays, so he stopped by to talk with Matt and Andy about pamphlets and Thomas Paine, the passing of dark matter-discoverer Vera Rubin, ants using tiny sponges to carry honey, new evidence that suggests an iceberg didn't cause the Titanic to sink, why sustainable fishing might not be the best, molten underground rivers, Bill Gates and an effective Ebola vaccine, Dr. Jane Gregory's Cognitive Behave Yourself, inverted farting, Eric Cantona's goal, a pretend city for kids and First Kiss by Steve's sketch group We Are Klang.
1/3/2017 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 231 - The Secret Life of Fat with Dr. Sylvia Tara
Sylvia Tara (@SylviaTaraPhD) holds a PhD in biochemistry, and in her new book The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body's Least Understood Organ and What It Means For You she examines the function and behavior of fat, why it's essential to our lives, how our genetics, gender, hormones and microbiomes affect it and much more. Her book is on sale December 27th, and you can pre-order it here or visit thesecretlifeoffat.com for more information. This episode is brought to you by Curiosity Box by Vsauce. To get your mystery box full of geeky science toys and gear along with a FREE Vsauce beanie, visit curiositybox.com/probablyscience.
12/20/2016 • 46 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 230 - Forrest Shaw
Comedian and former marine biologist Forrest Shaw (@forrestshaw) joins Matt and Andy to discuss face painting and Mexican fireworks and lax laws, manatee preservation and their removal from storm drains, a bid to save the smallest porpoise, Chinese appetites for rare animals, a feathery dinosaur tail encased in amber, SSREs and the bees of the ocean.
12/17/2016 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 1 second
Episode 229 - Bryan Olsen and Dominic Harris
Comedy Central Roast writer Bryan Olsen (@olsen__) and comedian Dominic Harris (@DomComedy) sit down with Matt (@mattkirshen) and Andy (@andytwood) to talk about battery pigs, Dom's lost episode, Saint Bernard and Air Bud, Buzz and Antarctica, Dominic the debutante, dog memory, gut Parkinson’s, fecal transplants again, new elements, the chemistry helpline, uncombable hair syndrome, platypus venom that can help diabetes and Dominic's new album. This episode is brought to you by Curiosity Box by Vsauce. To get your mystery box full of geeky science toys and gear along with a FREE Vsauce beanie, visit curiositybox.com/probablyscience.
12/5/2016 • 1 hour, 23 minutes
Episode 228 - Cecily Knobler and Auggie Smith
Comedian and movie reviewer Cecily Knobler (@Cecilysaysstuff) joins returning guest Auggie Smith (@auggiesmith) and Andy (@andytwood) to discuss hospice humor, intervention critiques, Andy Dick stories, sex addiction getting depathologized, Auggie's issues with addicts, Cecily's neuropsychology background, Myers-Briggs personality types, high school kids undercutting Martin Shkreli's expensive drugs, Google's AI that can lip read better than humans, SNL's Trump responsibility, naming Secretaries of State, Cecily's book and Andy's swim meet.
12/1/2016 • 1 hour, 37 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 227 - Eric Lampaert and JJ Whitehead
Comedian Eric Lampaert (@EricLampaert) and returning guest JJ Whitehead (@JJWhitesnake) join Matt and Andy to discuss NASA's Space Poop Challenge, paper bike helmets, an end to zika's global health emergency, the hanging of a shipwrecked monkey and a circus elephant, JJ's new album and two moose found locked together in ice. This episode is brought to you by Curiosity Box by Vsauce. To get your mystery box full of geeky science toys and gear along with a FREE Vsauce beanie, visit curiositybox.com/probablyscience.
11/23/2016 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode 226 - Toby Muresianu
Comedian, engineer and outspoken moderate Toby Muresianu (@tobymuresianu) joins Andy and Matt to discuss President-Elect Trump on vaccines, Vice President-Elect Pence on smoking, Macedonian Facebook clickbait, polling methodologies, the supermoon, dog domestication, brain wifi that reverses monkey paralysis and a new type of bond.
11/15/2016 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode 225 - Grant Lyon
Comedian and former environmental scientist Grant Lyon (@grantlyon1) joins Matt and Andy to talk about the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, naked cow science, why reservoirs aren’t all good, surgery farts, nightmare machines, sentencing algorithms, a third hominid and Patient Letter O. This episode is brought to you by Curiosity Box by Vsauce. To get your mystery box full of geeky science toys and gear along with a FREE Vsauce beanie, visit curiositybox.com/probablyscience.
11/11/2016 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 224 - Moshe Kasher
Comedian, podcaster and author Moshe Kasher (@moshekasher) returns to the show, inviting Andy and Matt over to his place to talk about playground games, Moshe’s entomologist stepdad, stealthy spider eaters, mice fall for the same tricks as humans, the rise of renewables, vaccine deniers who accidentally proved the counterargument, conspiracy theories, the AIDS denial mom, the Duesberg hypothesis, an accidental discovery of a way to slow aging in the brain and porn theaters.
11/2/2016 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 223 - Greg Behrendt
Comedian, musician and bestselling author Greg Behrendt (@gregorybehrendt) joins Matt and Andy to talk about the joys of riding bikes, Laird Hamilton shooting the pier in Malibu, teachers’ penises, cod accents, Nazis on meth, Provigil and sleep, black widow spider viruses, a correction to the intelligence story, Alan Turing music and Dr. Strange.
10/25/2016 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 222 - Lizzy Cooperman
Writer/comedian extraordinaire Lizzy Cooperman (@lizzycooperman) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Invisalign, fan death, having Lyme disease, Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physics and medicine, self-eating boobs and the end of Rosetta.
10/17/2016 • 1 hour, 33 minutes
Episode 221 - Shawn Pearlman
Comedian Shawn Pearlman (@shawnpearlman) joins Andy and Matt to talk about Shawn’s early movie effects, budgie rules for not colliding, boning young spiders, amateur turtle surgery, getting intelligence from your mother, a baby with three parents and the most accurate (and adorable) dinosaur renderings yet.
10/10/2016 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode 220 - Steele Saunders
Steele Saunders (@SteeleSaunders), host of I Love Green Guide Letters and Steele Wars, joins Matt and Andy to talk about mice and apologies, more body (not head) transplants. smoke bombs, weed vs. opioids in car crashes, bumper sticker flashing, Australians origins, and giraffes actually being many giraffes.
9/30/2016 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 219 - Shane Mauss Returns
Matt sits down with returning guest comedian Shane Mauss (@shanecomedy) to talk about his podcast Here We Are, his new tour all about psychedelics called A Good Trip, his early days as a more straightforward standup, his dalliances into evolutionary biology, the state of scientific research into recreational drugs, simulated near-death experiences, and the differences between trying ayahuasca and DMT.
9/16/2016 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 218 - Christian Duguay and Emily Maya Mills
Comedians Christian Duguay (@christianduguay) and Emily Maya Mills (@emilymayamills) join Matt and Andy at Andy's new apartment to talk about screaming at roommates, burning ants, Hitler's disguises, bank robbery, infant simulators that actually increase teen pregnancy, Lucy’s death, a miraculous new painkiller, ecstasy/MDMA, Tasmanian devils developing cancer resistance and the ban on antibacterial soap.
9/6/2016 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode 217 - Ahmed Bharoocha and Auggie Smith
Comedians Ahmed Bharoocha (@ahmedbharoocha) and Auggie Smith (@auggiesmith) join Matt and Andy for the final recording from Bluebell Ranch, which happens to coincide with an apocalyptic forest fire in the area, and the crew discuss topics including bouncy castle economics, zorbs in Russia, a new hard material, the Mohs hardness scale, Pliny the Elder, the Randi paranormal challenge, new brain areas, listening to music while drinking, a new biohybrid creature, a Mars laser with free will, artwork damagers and what to call Ahmed’s album.
8/15/2016 • 1 hour, 38 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 216 - Al Jackson
Science teacher-turned-comedian Al Jackson (@aljackson) joins Matt and Andy for one of the final Bluebell recordings (also video streamed on Facebook here) to talk about ball-boiling as contraception, why flossing may not help you, steroids in sports, Al's research, stomach taps, old cars vs. new cars, firefighting equipment sharing and fire in space.
7/28/2016 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 215 - Dr. Farah Alibay
Dr. Farah Alibay, a systems engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, invited Matt and Andy to her home in Highland Park to talk about her work on a real-world Armageddon mission to redirect an asteroid, CubeSats, giant geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus, the importance of planetary protection and upcoming solar system exploration missions.
7/19/2016 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode 214 - Derek Sheen and Sean Jordan
Pacific Northwest comics Derek Sheen (@dereksheen) and Sean Jordan (@SeanSJordan) join Andy and Matt back at Bluebell to talk about going to a Scientology boarding school, non-ice cream heir Tony Robbins, amateur Australian ball surgery, Juno's pics of Jupiter, AIDS ceasing to be an epidemic in Australia, good news on the ozone hole's healing, and even more good news about finding new reserves of helium.
7/14/2016 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode 213 - Professor Sophie Scott and Nick Doody
Professor Sophie Scott (@sophiescott) of University College London's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience welcomes Matt and past guest Nick Doody (@NickDoody) to her office to discuss her research on the neural basis of human speech processing, and specifically her study of laughter.
7/4/2016 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 212 - Alie Ward
Podcaster, host and science communicator Alie Ward (@alieward) appears with Matt and Andy on Science Channel's upcoming How To Build Everything (premiering June 22nd at 10pm) and she makes her first appearance on the podcast to discuss supernumerary nipples, McNuggetinis, owl pellet mouse skeletons, a third lizard sex, an inflatable space station room, Alie’s aeronautic training, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, MRSA, wrestling bugs and swimming pool pee.
6/21/2016 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode 211 - John Eric Hoffman
Software engineer and Google employee John Eric Hoffman welcomes Matt and Andy to his house (next door to Todd Glass's, coincidentally) to talk about machine learning, neural networks, Maxwell's Demon, DeepDream, natural language processing and the recent short sci-fi film written by AI (and co-starring past guest Humphrey Ker).
6/15/2016 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 210 - Ella Gale and Sarah Mirk
This episode was taped live at the 2016 Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Oregon, with Matt and Andy welcoming comedian/environmental engineer Ella Gale (@hellakale) and author/podcaster/@BitchMedia editor Sarah Mirk (@sarahmirk) to discuss gender biases in science reporting, women in science (and comedy) and why it's hard to make bagels when it's hot outside.
6/8/2016 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode 209 - Mary Roach
Popular science author Mary Roach's (@mary_roach) books have tackled a wide variety of topics including sex, the afterlife, digestion and space travel. In her soon-to-be-released book Grunt, she takes on the curious science of humans at war, delving into combat medic training, stink bombs, genital transplant surgery, the war on heat, shark repellant and diarrhea as a threat to national security. Pre-order your copy of Grunt now!
5/25/2016 • 56 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode 208 - Zach Sherwin
Comedian/rapper/writer Zach Sherwin (@ZachSherwin) can be seen on Epic Rap Battles of History, among many other places, and he joins Matt and Andy to talk about writing a JAP battle rap battle on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, p-branes, playing Einstein, the new Ghostbusters script, Andy’s bidet, magician hacks and Joel Hodgson's ventriloquism mask invention, Shy Tony, silver underwear, John Oliver’s science story, a teen's Mayan discovery that may not be what it seems, everyone yells air ball at the same pitch, diving robots, being bepenised, and long-lasting batteries.
5/11/2016 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 207 - Fahim Anwar
Fahim Anwar (@fahimanwar) recently made his first appearance on Conan as well as the Tina Fey movie Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and he joins Matt and Andy to discuss birthday escape rooms, engineering degrees to subsidize comedy, bringing people back from the dead, more head transplant news, archaeology vs. paleontology, another EM Drive debunking from Sean Carroll, tons of oral spider sex, enzyme corrections, 3D-printed fake rhino horns, breast cancer gene mapping and where to find Fahim Anwar performances.
5/4/2016 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 206 - Andrew Michaan
Comedy's Andrew Michaan
(@AndrewMichaan) joins Matt and Andy to talk about
Andy's Lemonade ignorance, celebrity deaths, Catholic aliens, black holes, the Large Hadron Collider, bed
bugs, a penis spider bite, IUDs in space and jellyfish stings.
4/28/2016 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 205 - April Richardson
April Richardson (@apey) of Almost Genius, Go Bayside and @midnight joins Matt and Andy to talk about living next door to The Flash, Johnny Depp's Aussie apology, Orson Welles' Paul Masson ad, Dyson face, Andy’s possible bidet purchase, a dung-based clue to Hannibal’s crossing route, a paralyzed man (sort of) playing guitar, dinosaurs and their eggs and a real-time re-creation of the sinking of the Titanic.
4/19/2016 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 204 - Jon Huck and Sunah Bilsted
Comedian/actors Jon Huck (@jonhuck) and Sunah Bilsted (@thesunah) join Matt and Andy to talk about showering techniques, new pets, that Warner Bros. frog, chemistry on acid, a Carl Sagan tribute act, the historic SpaceX landing, hyperhidrosis, antiperspirant conspiracies, a too-stealthy sea vessel, the upcoming book Grunt, Hawking and the Russians sending a tiny craft to Alpha Centauri, a bullshit paper on creepiness, and antimemories.
4/13/2016 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 203 - Jason Belleville
Jason Belleville (@bigbelleville) has written for Ground Floor and Angie Tribeca, among many other shows, and he joins Matt and Andy to discuss mustaches and tattoos, academic papers, encyclopedias, Stan and Donavan Freberg, using giant lasers to hide from aliens, grammar correction and being an asshole, Andy getting a thing wrong, growing skin and nude mice, a battery-operated salty fork, flavors on planes and the greatest number of digits of pi we'll ever really need.
4/6/2016 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 1 second
Episode 202 - Jessica Michelle Singleton and Christina Walkinshaw
Comedians Jessica Michelle Singleton (@JMScomedy) and Christina Walkinshaw (@walkinsauce) join Matt and Andy to discuss bachelor parties, dating, Alaska, super coffee, Google’s April Fools, Microsoft AI, a scientifically impossible Indiegogo, Edx.org's free learning, Vasalgel in rabbits, butt stuff, bunnies in wine glasses, rabbit kidneys, long term good drug effects and fracking-induced earthquakes.
4/2/2016 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 201 - Tom Bell
Tom Bell (@tombellforever) of The Leisure Class/Project Greenlight and comedy duo Tommy and the Weeks joins Matt and Andy for a bedroom recording involving a call from a private investigator, Boaty McBoatface, Diana and Mother Teresa, Bob the Robot and Horrible Science, following our robot overlords to disaster, unscrambling eggs to cure cancer, an academic paper that cites The Creator, a video game ProbSci shoutout, eagles vs. drones, Janna Levin's new book and spider boners in amber.
3/24/2016 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode 200 - Jesse Case and Brooks Wheelan
Original Probably Science co-hosts Jesse Case (@jessecase) and Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan) return to the show to celebrate Episode 200!
3/17/2016 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode 199 - Rick Rosner, the Man with the Second-Highest IQ in the World
Rick Rosner (@dumbassgenius) has the second-highest IQ score in the world, and his resume includes stints as a bouncer, a stripper, a nude art model and a writer on numerous TV shows. Rick joins Matt, Andy and returning guest Dax Jordan (@daxjordan) to discuss What3Words, xkcd's take on passwords, IQ tests, Rick's Errol Morris interview, spending ten years in high school, stupid California tax rules, Rick's informational theory of the universe, Olbers’ Paradox, The Singularity, Ray Kurzweil, being Borg-ed up, Alcor freezing heads, taking 70 vitamins per day, Rick's gym obsession, writing for MTV's Remote Control, doing nude art modeling with shingles, Rick's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire controversy and his books on Amazon.
3/9/2016 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode 198 - Alice Wetterlund
Alice Wetterlund (@alicewetterlund) of Silicon Valley and Girl Code joins Matt and Andy to discuss Equinox, aliens, Star Trek, why humans have chins, navigating in Ghana, space lasers and exploding e-cigarettes.
3/2/2016 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 197 - Dr. Chiara Mingarelli
Dr. Chiara Mingarelli (@gravitate_to_me), a Marie Curie Fellow in gravitational wave astrophysics at Caltech, joins the proceedings to talk about low-frequency gravitational waves, pulsar timings arrays and black hole binary systems with masses that are billions of times that of the Sun. This episode was recorded before LIGO's recent announcements confirming the detection of gravitational waves.
2/25/2016 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 33 seconds
Gravitational Wave LIGO Spectacular!
One of the biggest scientific breakthroughs of our time calls for an emergency special episode featuring returning guests Dr. Jamie Rollins and Dr. Larry Price, both of whom worked on LIGO, the device that for the first time in history confirmed the existence of gravitational waves, along with theoretical astrophysicist and black hole expert Dr. Janna Levin. Topics discussed include Matt's surprising illness, science fluff, Marco Drago's discovery?, How LIGO works, 30 solar mass black holes, test signals, the actual paper explaining the recent gravitational wave findings, Janna's new book, Relativity 101, BICEP's failure, new black holes, Scorpion!, our T-shirts, Apple vs. the FBI and what the point of all this is.
Visit LIGO.org or LIGO.caltech.edu for all your gravitational wave needs!
2/19/2016 • 1 hour, 57 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 196 - Ingrid Oliver
Ingrid Oliver (@ingridoliver100) of Watson & Oliver and Doctor Who joins Matt and Andy to discuss pengwings, Germans who can't pronounce squirrel, umlaut words, plastination, bees and weather, sniffer bees, a stupid new drug law, first class flight, anti-aging, the Zika virus, how we’ll all die, and ball-packing and avalanches.
2/16/2016 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 195 - Maude Garrett
Maude Garrett (@maudegarrett) of SourceFedNERD and Geek Bomb joins Andy (@andytwood) and Matt (@mattkirshen) to discuss the weather, Marge, the rains are here, Foley artists, weird childhood memorization, geek vs. nerd diagrams, the ending of Grease and Jurassic Park, a computer that beat a Go champion, E-sports, a new planet, a new HIV treatment, how quickly conspiracies would reveal themselves, and a monkey head transplant. Also, we realize sound cuts out intermittently in the last half of the episode and for that we apologize!
2/1/2016 • 51 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode 194 - Maria Shehata and Nick Dixon
Matt and Andy welcome comedy's Maria Shehata (@MariaShehata) and Nick Dixon (@nickdixxon) to the show to talk about the discovery of penicillin, vaginal steaming, poop transplant pills, autism and gut flora, standing on escalators, man/woman flu, why hangovers get worse as you age, and bringing a tortoise species back to life.
1/28/2016 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 193 - Adam Savage and Paul and Storm live from SF Sketchfest
MythBusters' Adam Savage (@donttrythis) and musical comedy duo extraordinaire Paul and Storm (@paulandstorm) join Matt (@mattkirshen) and Andy (@andytwood) for a live performance at the California Academy of Sciences (@calacademy) as part of SF Sketchfest (@SFSketchfest), discussing science myths that won't die, Billy Joel videos, our overeducated audience, soaking kiwis and the wet strength of Charmin. This episode is brought to you by 1Password. Simplify your online life and stop worrying about remembering dozens of passwords by visiting https://agilebits.com/store?d=science for 25% off of your 1Password purchase.
1/19/2016 • 59 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode 192 - Ryan Conner
Matt and Andy are back from a holiday hiatus to welcome Last Comic Standing alum Ryan Conner (@rccomedy) to the podcast, delving into topics including the passing of David Bowie, Alvin Stardust, British pantomimes, American and British Gladiators, computer programming, Andy Sidaris movies, a mountain lion with horrifying teeth growing out of its head, praying mantises in 3D glasses, wine story corrections, types of drunks, sperm switches, bone foam, Ryan's family and adult industry namesake and Ryan's podcast Caligula's Grotto.
1/14/2016 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 48 seconds
2015 Recap Bonus Episode
With Jesse and Matt still out of town, Andy invited friends of the show TJ Chambers, Rylee Newton, Travis Clark, Karl Hess, Laura House, Jackie Kashian and Mitch Burrow to give recommendations on things from 2015 that are worth checking out. Enjoy this attempt at positivity and please forgive the poor sound quality and near-constant crosstalk. We'll be back with new episodes soon! Happy 2016!
1/3/2016 • 1 hour, 50 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 191 - Cole Stratton
SF Sketchfest co-founder and Pop My Culture co-host Cole Stratton (@colestratton) joins Andy and Matt to discuss the upcoming Probably Science SF Sketchfest show on January 14th with Adam Savage, academic decathlons, bringing spoiled wine back to life, Phineas Gage, Strange Bedfellows and Chuck and Larry, Hogan vs. Sandler, the Amber neighbor mystery, an old satellite that came back to life, red mercury, letterboxing and summer births.
12/17/2015 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 190 - Daniel Van Kirk
Daniel Van Kirk (@danielvankirk) of The Wahlberg Solution, Hindsight, Sklarbro Country and much more joins Matt and Andy to talk about Wahlberg and sleeping, cow insemination, memory games, who can’t be president, Cruz behind the scenes, the Trump petition, outrage culture, the climate and smoking, Merchants of Doubt, profound bullshit, David Avocado Wolfe, the surprising appearance of the far side of the Moon, TV quality, Bubbli, blindness and multiple personalities, movies based on the 10% of the brain idea and a Venus probe hack.
12/9/2015 • 1 hour, 38 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 189 - Yan Zhu
Technology fellow at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Yan Zhu (@bcrypt) joins Matt and Andy to dig deep into online security, privacy, encryption, HTTPS Everywhere, podcast patent trolls, Privacy Badger, the Tor browser, the future of online ads, Edward Snowden, the Silk Road, the upcoming Probably Science live show at SF Sketchfest on January 14th and a bonus audio snippet about Yan's legendary landlord.
11/30/2015 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode 188 - Travis Clark, Dax Jordan and TJ Chambers
The hilarious Travis Clark (@thatguytravis) joins returning guests Dax Jordan (@daxjordan) and TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) to form the first episode with a Space Camp alumni majority and talk about Andy’s UFO sighting that *may* have been a Trident missile test, breaking the blood brain barrier, 24 as a 90s show, GPS versus sextants, DARYL and what it stands for, jet packs, rocket belts, wing things and personal helicopters, Norm at brunch, Dr. Dick’s blood, dementia and Dr. Demento and Margaret Thatcher on Yes Minister.
11/18/2015 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 187 - Sofie Hagen and Sarah Morgan
Danes and Brits come together this week in the form of Sofie Hagen (@SofieHagen) and Sarah Morgan (@sarahlmorgan), both lending their expertise to discussions on the Hollywood sign, Halloween, the emergency wizard costume, Danish science, rice pudding traditions, useful German words, being thrown free, a chimera twin baby, new ghosts, a new bat, spider bites, China’s space plans, eyesight, face blindness, the bacon cancer scare, Andy’s comedy doppelgänger, Danish TV, the hilarious Klown, WKD and crocodile eyes.
11/11/2015 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 186 - Kerry Godliman
Hilarious actor/comedian Kerry Godliman (@KerryAGodliman) is stateside to film a new Christopher Guest film, and she chatted with Matt and Andy about science vs. art, cadaver fists, the persistence of the plague, embarrassing bodies, a clickbait generator, Doug Stanhope's feud with Matt and bee farmers.
11/6/2015 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 185 - Kelly Carlin
Kelly Carlin wears a lot of hats as a monologist, actress, radio host, producer and author of her new memoir A Carlin Home Companion, and she invited Matt and Andy over to her place to talk about calculus, mind-body connections, right answers in math, whether snake fear is hard-wired, monkeys balls, Hurricane Patricia that may or may not be climate change-related, science and the Canadian election, the editor of the BMJ slamming David Hunt, magnetic brain control, the Gripsholm Lion, Ken M, the world's greatest troll, orange peels to clean up mercury, Marie Curie and Mabel Normand.
This episode is sponsored by Harrys.com - use the code PSP at checkout for $5 off your first order.
10/28/2015 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 184 - Johann Hari
Author Johann Hari (@johannhari101) was stateside recently to return as a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher, and he invited Matt and Andy over to his hotel room to talk about the emotional deafness of the rich, his book Chasing The Scream and the failed 100-year war on drugs, the government's persecution of Billie Holliday, new theories of addiction, Rat Park, Portugal's radical policy changes and the way to sell America on drug decriminalization.
10/21/2015 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 183 - Jacob Sirof
Comedy's Jacob Sirof (@jacobsirof) joins Matt and Andy to talk about new jobs, orgasm fungi, Star Wars science, Andy's nephews singing Weird Al, Wales and fake waves, a Chinese telescope on the moon, cheating Jews, converting vaccine skeptics and pig genes.
10/15/2015 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 182 - Dave Anthony
Dave Anthony (@daveanthony) of The Dollop, Walking The Room and Maron fame joins Matt and Andy to talk about navigating LA by satellite dishes, penis-at-twelve children in the Dominican Republic, mothers of boys gaining Y chromosomes, why we want to squeeze cute stuff, Rodney Stanger, the apparently kid, look at that horse, the mountain lion on a pole, the epidemic of Netflix documentaries like Cowspiracy, anti-burp compounds, fixing brain cancer with antidepressants and blood thinners, cannabis not causing schizophrenia, the hotel of the future, a double comet situation, 3D-printed hearts and dicks.
10/8/2015 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 181 - Tim Batt and Guy Montgomery
New Zealand's Tim Batt (@Tim_Batt) and Guy Montgomery (@guy_mont), hosts of The Worst Idea of All Time Podcast, join Matt and Andy to discuss Grown Ups 2, T-shirt cannon injuries, monkey selfies, urinal science and the best toilets in NZ, AIDS news, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the climate change “lawsuit”, a 1000-year-old treatment for styes that may generate new drugs, a new target for New Horizons, new Pluto pics, and the Apollo 13 stage show. To watch video of Probably Science, The Worst Idea of All Time and the other 30+ shows recorded live from LA PodFest, click here and use the code "science" to get $5 off of the video archive.
9/29/2015 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 180 - Patton Oswalt, Sean Carroll and Brooks Wheelan Live from LA PodFest
This week's episode was recorded live from the Audible Los Angeles Podcast Festival, with Andy Wood (@andytwood) and Matt Kirshen (@mattkirshen) welcoming original third host Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan), along with comedy legend Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) and Caltech theoretical physicist/cosmologist Dr. Sean Carroll (@seanmcarroll). To support Probably Science and LA PodFest while getting a free 30-day trial and a free audiobook download, visit audible.com/lapodfest.
9/23/2015 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode 179 - Josie Long and Stuart Goldsmith
British comedy phenoms Josie Long (@JosieLong) and Stuart Goldsmith (@ComComPod) join Matt and Andy to discuss how condensation works, what voltage is, Josie’s foray into community college, magnetic wormholes, debunking spinach debunking, psych experiments that can't be reproduced and a brand new hominid. Catch Probably Science this Saturday at noon PDT at the Los Angeles Podcast Festival (@lapodfest) with special guests Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) and Dr. Sean Carroll (@seanmcarroll). Use the code "science" to get $5 off of the live video stream at lapodfest.com.
9/17/2015 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 178 - Amber Preston
Pride of Fargo Amber Preston (@PrestonParty) joins Matt and Andy to talk about midwest accents, farmers and fake interview pick-up techniques, whether video games produce violent people or not, smoking birds, violent ancient farmers, books that purify water, the most electric place on earth, and whether swimming in lightning dangerous.
8/18/2015 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode 177 - Matt Knudsen
Comedian/actor extraordinaire Matt Knudsen (@mattknudsen) joins Matt and Andy to discuss Home Alone sequels, Ghostbuster, pseudoscience and snake oil, Coca Cola skeptics, merchant marines, Brian and Dolph, space elevators, LED light pollution, why global warming is good for the rich and the incredible octopus.
8/18/2015 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 176 - David Huntsberger and Jesse Case
Past guest and current host of Syfy's Reactor David Huntsberger (@huntsbergerjunk) joins the proceedings to welcome a Skyped-in Jesse Case and talk about rodeo facts, the awakeness drug Provigil, buff babies, cheating in war, Chinese fire drills, Korean pears for hangovers, neanderthals' massive eyes that may or may not have caused extinction, tiny new unafraid dwarf lemurs and official Probably Science T-shirts.
8/18/2015 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 175 - Matt Braunger and Auggie Smith
Friends of the show and past guests Matt Braunger (@braunger) and Auggie Smith (@auggiesmith) return to the show to talk with Matt and Andy about Toblerone sizes, early detection cancer urine tests, shirtcocking, the EPA’s river fuck-up, arsenic and widows, why women are always cold, dumb kids and money-raising, using shade balls to protect reservoirs, the web’s too-weak random numbers, Benford’s Law, beauty myths and contagious hotness and tiger calls.
8/18/2015 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 174 - Jesse Popp
The hilarious Jesse Popp (@JessePopp) joins Matt and Andy to talk about his former life as a blackjack card-counter, a newly discovered tessellating pentagon, Penrose tiling, Fermat's Last Theorem, space lettuce, giant marrows, angry people in local newspapers, pumpkins smashing cars, a goat-throwing festival, dreamy eye movements, brain-scanning software, Hannibal's mask prototypes, brain dipsticks and trepanning. Don't forget to visit LAPodFest.com to get tickets to watch Probably Science in person in Los Angeles on September 19th, or buy access to the festival's live video stream and save $5 with the code SCIENCE.
8/12/2015 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode 173 - Drennon Davis
Multi-talented comedian/musician Drennon Davis (@DrennonDavis) is coming off of a breakout performance on Conan with friend of the show Karen Kilgariff, and he joins Matt and Andy to talk about why Macs suck, past guest Matt Faulkner's latest Tesla coil project, Drennon's inventor/cold fusion proponent grandfather and his many projects, earthquake-jumping and rock-balancing, old mice with young blood, more fantastical EM drive stuff, chatting bonobos, 3D-printed drugs, David Lynch impressions and an Ebola vaccine.
8/5/2015 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 19 seconds
Episode 172 - Hampton Yount
The hilarious Hampton Yount (@hamptonyount) returns to the show to talk with Matt and Andy about Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival, corny jet boat guides, paying for a Pluto probe or an NFL stadium, slowing air travel, Ant-Man science, colonizing the moon, the XFL, anti-piss walls, bacon-flavored kale, being controlled by semen, a malaria vaccine and the LA PodFest live video stream - use the code “science” for $5 off.
7/31/2015 • 57 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 171 - Pluto Flyby with Dipak Srinivasan
Dipak Srinivasan of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University played a pivotal role in the New Horizons mission whose probe just passed by Pluto, and since he was also Andy's roommate back in their college days he was kind enough to talk with Andy and Matt about his work on the project. Launched in 2006, New Horizons traveled over three billion miles to gather the most comprehensive data about Pluto that mankind has ever seen, including stunning imagery of mountains and frozen plains, and en route it got a boost by slingshotting around Jupiter, becoming the fastest-moving probe in history. Dipak also gives the inside scoop on other projects he's been involved in, including the MESSENGER Mercury orbiter and the upcoming Solar Probe Plus mission to scrape the surface of the Sun. For more detailed information on New Horizons, visit the Johns Hopkins APL New Horizons official site.
7/20/2015 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 170 - Eddie Pepitone
You've seen and heard funnyman Eddie Pepitone (@eddiepepitone) on Community, Maron, Bob's Burgers, Old School, his podcast Pep Talks and the documentary The Bitter Buddha, and he joins Matt and Andy to talk about being self-critical, an upcoming mini-ice age that might not be upcoming, animal testing and monkey mind melds, Mike Myers movies and Andy's giant head, athletes in movies, the hilarious sci-fi comedy Other Space, citrus and cancer, toothy fish and fairy fossils, mockingbirds tormenting Andy and how we're cleaning up space. This episode is sponsored by Audible - visit http://audible.com/psp for a free audiobook and a one-month trial.
7/14/2015 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 169 - Jackie Kashian, TJ Chambers and Mark Agee
The Dork Forest host Jackie Kashian (@jackiekashian) returns to the show along with fellow former guests Mark Agee (@markagee) and TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) to talk with Andy about Jurassic World, Terminator: Genisys and problematic scenes in Top Five, the actual reason why swimming pool water irritates your eyes, Kage Baker's The Company book series, Wisconsin-born nerds, plants react to the sound of being eaten alive, Gandhi's letter to Hitler, Billy Joel marrying his fourth Christie Brinkley, left-handed kangaroos, the Pluto probe suffering a glitch, a creepy Google AI chatbot getting philosophical and cats controlling mice with chemicals in their urine.
7/6/2015 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode 168 - Bryan Safi
Throwing Shade co-host Bryan Safi (@BryanSafi) joins Matt and Andy to talk about science fair cheating, sex and alcohol vs. religion and kids vs. actual science, Daily Mail and buff kangaroos, Vernon Chatman’s essay-cheating book, the Philae comet lander waking up, time-traveling wave-particles, chimps that cook and sauerkraut's effect on anxiety.
6/17/2015 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode 167 - Sean Patton
Jesse gives another update on his health situation from back in Nashville, revealing that he'll be starting up a podcast of his own titled Jesse Vs. Cancer in the near future, before Matt and Andy welcome pride of New Orleans Sean Patton (@mrseanpatton) to the show to talk about the payoff of the daffodil tea bit from last week, Sean's mom dressing as a hipster for Halloween, the normcore movement, Sean's underage Jesse memories, trucker hats, the fake black lady in Spokane, Roderick on the Line's excellent take on out-underdogging, Sean's science TV show, testing bacteria in surfer asses, the Point Break remake, Hans Rosling's different angle on overpopulation, immaculate conception among sawfish, Crocodile Dundee III, Sean assuming friend of the show Mark Agee was gay, wheelchair comedy, putting kill switches in genetically modified organisms, what baby traits you should be allowed to edit, where to get real New Orleans food in LA and the middle class of comedy.
6/16/2015 • 1 hour, 58 minutes, 58 seconds
Minisode - Jesse Update
Matt, Andy and returning guest Auggie Smith get together to give a brief update on Jesse's health (while being very rudely interrupted by a leafblower) and go through story corrections and thank-yous. If listeners want to send well-wishes Jesse's way, feel free to email probablyscience@gmail.com and/or tweet @jessecase.
6/10/2015 • 38 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 166 - Erin Gibson
Throwing Shade co-host and Gay of Thrones director/writer Erin Gibson (@gibblertron) joins the gang to talk about Arnie at Starbucks, working at Gap, oil men and Texas textbooks, a chocolate science scam, herpes-based skin cancer therapy, Jesse's high school crack day, dementor wasps and zombie cockroaches, charismatic megafauna and the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, Erin's parallel universe Morrissey theory, autism and MDMA, more shit transplants, Corrections Corner and Menu4Mars.
6/3/2015 • 1 hour, 54 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 165 - Kira Soltanovich
The hilarious Kira Soltanovich (@kiracomedy) returns to Probably Science to chat with the gang about naming her upcoming comedy special (and her upcoming daughter), Jesse's Smother Party and his big gay Irish following, hippie schools with cartoons and kissing teachers, a naked roommate appearance, Kira's fundraiser, Was That Science?, Corrections Corner: Wagga Wagga edition, getting attacked by a bug, how to say places, badly named bars, Alzheimer's and video games (and a debunking), jacking off to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, Jesse's health corner, magical doctors, washing dishes with a dishwasher or by hand, and Kira's allergy experiment.
5/27/2015 • 1 hour, 33 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode 164 - Chris Crofton
Comedian Chris Crofton (@thecroftonshow) of The Chris Crofton Show and the column Advice King joins the festivities to talk about doing comedy in front of your parents, Andy and Jesse's next door neighbors moving out, the worst things to buy at the grocery store, greased watermelon pool games, the crazy creator of the Erector Set, getting rid of that white stuff on chocolate, more Sex At Dawn discussion, walrus poon, NASA's impossible EM space drive that may in fact be a reality, conspiracy theory talk, the reason why the same side of the moon always faces us, and the clouds of millions of baby spiders descending on Australia.
5/19/2015 • 1 hour, 37 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode 163 - Sex at Dawn Author Dr. Chris Ryan, Caitlin Gill and Lisa Best at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival
Dr. Christopher Ryan (@ChrisRyanPhD), author of the New York Times bestseller Sex At Dawn, joins Matt, Andy and comedian guests Caitlin Gill (@robotcaitlin) and Lisa Best (@lisabestcomedy) for a live installment of Probably Science recorded at the 2015 Bridgetown Comedy Festival (@bridgetown) in Portland, Oregon to talk about the prehistoric roots of modern sexuality, the devastating impact of agriculture on our species, why humans and bonobos are so horny and whether it's actually in our nature to be monogamous. Oh, and this was recorded on Mother's Day. With Andy's parents in the audience.
5/12/2015 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 162 - Rye Silverman
Comedian Rye Silverman (@ryesilverman) joins Jesse, Andy and eventually Matt to discuss the legendary Marty & Elayne, trans facts, the Riddick man, how to spot a ghost, Andy's Lasik surgery, Rye as ModCloth's first transgender model, the origins of life on earth, fracking and earthquakes, Yellowstone magma, Bitcoin vulnerablility, a shapeshifting frog, a catfish that looks like Greedo and Rye's new album Intimate Apparel.
4/28/2015 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode 161 - Ryan Singer
Comedian Ryan Singer (@RySing) joins the proceedings this week to talk about Eskimos, heart-to-heart hugs, the origin of toasting, when to use questions to influence people, the return of brontosaurus, the head transplant volunteer and the fears about what could happen to him, deaf people sneezing silently, wiping memories and the need for reinforcement, Western Razor (use code "science" for $5 off), lip-synching and the death of comedy, the world's first battery rocket, a mesh that separates oil from water and Ryan's podcast Me & Paranormal You.
4/20/2015 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 160 - Brendon Walsh
Comedian and Bone Zone podcast host Brendon Walsh (@brendonwalsh) joins the gang to talk about Better Than Ezra, things that track, most favored nation clauses, the ubiquity of problematic, the greatest voicemail Andy ever received, how to call in sick, Alzheimer's and Reagan, Brendon's Mike Tyson encounter, the problem with human cannibalism, cleaning your brain surgery tools, laser wound healing, Scientology vs. Christianity, drinking the Flavor Aid, toilet paper methods, Terminator 2-style 3D printing, Western Razor (use offer code "science" for $5 off) and Brendon's amazing pranks.
4/14/2015 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 159 - Water Crisis with Jay Famiglietti
Professor of earth system science at UC Irvine and senior water scientist at NASA/JPL Jay Famiglietti (@JayFamiglietti) recently wrote an LA Times op-ed on the dire state of California's water supplies, catalyzing the nation and helping contribute to recent historic mandatory water restrictions from Governor Jerry Brown. Jay joins Matt, Jesse and Andy in an overly watered backyard to talk about California's drought, Jay's New York Times Quotation of the Day and his recent Real Time with Bill Maher appearance, using satellites to track water systems, forced acronyms in space programs, using surface water and reservoirs vs. dipping into groundwater reserves, agricultural vs. residential water consumption, why local rainfall doesn't help us get out of our water deficit, our antiquated water rights policies, peeing in the shower and the fact that Californians are going to have to get over their love of green grass from now on.
4/7/2015 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 158 - Caitlin Doughty
Mortician, author, blogger, YouTube personality and death advocate Caitlin Doughty (@TheGoodDeath) invites Matt, Jesse and Andy into her home to talk about all things death, including her book Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, The Order of the Good Death, death rituals around the world, the history of embalming in the US, what goes down in a crematory, why dead bodies aren't dangerous to be around, our society's disconnect with its dead, the Disneyland of Death and how to prepare yourself and your loved ones for that eternal dirt nap that's headed our way.
3/31/2015 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 157 - Robin Ince and Brian Cox
Comedian/actor/writer Robin Ince (@robinince) and physicist/host/musician Brian Cox (@ProfBrianCox), both of BBC Radio's The Infinite Monkey Cage, were kind enough to sit down with Matt and Jesse while they were stateside for a recent live performance, discussing David Lynch's America, why the queen is common, Alzheimer's being treated by ultrasound, Brian's pop group D:Ream, the silliness of What The Bleep Do We Know!?, NPR's survey of great podcast episodes, The EPR Paradox, manifest causality in quantum field theory, the Large Hadron Collider reboot, Brian's upcoming BBC television show Forces of Nature, being wrongfully accused of arson, Andy's obsession with The Jinx and The Staircase, getting to perform with Eric Idle and ELO's Jeff Lynne and Andy's anger about the success of the Matt and Jesse episode.
3/25/2015 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode 156 - Sara Schaefer
Comedian and host of Nikki & Sara Live Sara Schaefer (@saraschaefer1) joins the proceedings this week to talk about her debut album Chrysalis, denim facts, David Attenborough, phony pheromones, why adolescents are dumber, old nana orcas who help the pod, time travel plans and 9/11 tales, head transplants, Tiki bars, average penis size and the labia library.
3/10/2015 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode 155 - Laraine Newman
Original SNL cast member and founding member of The Groundlings Laraine Newman (@larainenewman) joins the show this week to tell tales of the early days of Saturday Night Live, not to mention her myriad voice acting roles, smoking mimes, Tiki pioneers, teachers with wet lower lips, Dan Aykroyd's house, SNL40, frog dissection and horror movies, spider painkillers, worms that crawl in and out, ancient twins, DNA-rendered faces, Subway Jared sightings, coffee and MS, and Delancey Place.
3/9/2015 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode 154 - Brooks Wheelan Returns
Original Probably Science co-host Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan) returns to the show after spending a year on Saturday Night Live, not to mention appearing on Girls, Conan, and Late Night with Seth Meyers, to give the inside scoop on what it's like to join the cast of the most iconic sketch comedy series ever, RHCP tattoos, Terry Crews and David Prowse, handshake-smelling, Juggalos and tattoo removal creams, bird strikes, New York stories, Brooks's new album, why bubbles don't spill, the shovel video and urban legends about celebrity stomach-pumpings.
3/3/2015 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode 153 - Nikki Glaser
Nikki Glaser (@nikkiglaser) of Nikki & Sara Live!, Conan, @midnight, I Am Comic and much more joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to talk about her love of ASMR, the threat of peak phosphorus, gerbils and rats and plagues, oh my!, Genghis Khan, NYC subway deaths, cheating fingers, parasitic zombie wasp beetles, naughty aphids ruining symbiosis for everyone, light slowed down, a teaser announcement about the Bridgetown Comedy Festival and the recently re-launched LA PodFest Podcast.
2/25/2015 • 1 hour, 51 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 152 - Barry Castagnola
British comedian and actor Barry Castagnola (@BarryCastagnola) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to discuss Midwest cold, royal warrants and drugs, Mick Jagger, chicks and number lines, lefthanded people, musicians and music stands, mudsharks and Who jackets, rodents of unusual size with giant teeth, high-speed lasers that can see molecules, an even larger reboot of the Large Hadron Collider, the doomsday list, a new Earthlike planet and TV apologies.
2/18/2015 • 1 hour, 38 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 151 - Jackie Gold
Comedian Jackie Gold (@iamjackiegold) joins the crew this week to talk about Barbie dolls, Jackie's genetics, pheromone parties, Broken Heart Syndrome, over-the-counter meds linked to dementia, Matt's fake foreign accent, bad BICEP/good BICEP, UK lawmakers approving three-parent babies and how exactly those are made, and the wonders of J-Date.
2/12/2015 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 150 - Todd Glass
Comedy legend, podcasting pioneer and author Todd Glass (@ToddGlass) helps Andy, Matt and Jesse celebrate the 150th episode and the new identities they’ve been assigned by discussing stalagmites and stalactites, Jesus painting restoration, anonymous donors, a guy with endless déjà vu, ketamine and anesthetics, boners and massages, bouncing water, sex education, unboiling an egg, getting paid to donate your poo, hookworms vs. gluten, wiping vs. bidets, Gaye vs. Thicke, and why you shouldn't hit your kids.
2/4/2015 • 2 hours, 3 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode 149 - Patrick Keane
Former psychology major and tight end-turned-comedian Patrick Keane joins the proceedings this week to talk with Jesse, Andy and Matt about Chinese diaper trains, Wims and Pims, the video of Stefan Pop's visit to Bluebell Ranch, celebrity photographs and autographs, snow shoveling and heart attacks, polar bear wangs and pollution, some annoying truth-stretching in The Imitation Game, Alan Turing stories from the first and fifth episodes of Probably Science, Jesse's squirting update, listener Anderson Jones's recently published paper, PTSD in the ancient world, false crime memories, finding the space Beagle, the speech Nixon would have given if the moon landing had gone wrong and Patrick's adventure chaffeuring Buzz Aldrin around town.
1/26/2015 • 1 hour, 44 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 148 - Tone Bell
Television's Tone Bell finally makes his Probably Science debut this week to help the gang with topics including Ted Bundy's jello woes, Tone's cat restructuring, a punk rock Joe Strummer snail, weird shipwreck metal, ancient milk drinking, how Facebook likes can predict personality, ketamine's depression uses, Andy's Uber/Lyft tales, an unbeatable poker computer and things Jesse would do for $500,000.
1/14/2015 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode 147 - Gareth Reynolds
Comedian and co-host of The Dollop Gareth Reynolds joins Jesse, Andy and Matt this week to talk about Hollywood tourists, Gareth's important moss experiments, airborne farts, the point of the narwhal's point, an antibiotic breakthrough, what self-tickling tells us about brains, materiAl vs. materiEl, why lady jizz ain't jizz, why lady jizz may in fact be jizz, HIV getting milder and Native American art.
1/13/2015 • 1 hour, 33 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode 146 - The Gang Returns
Matt, Jesse and Andy haven't seen each other in about a month, so this week's episode is a guest-free chance for everyone to catch up on each other's December goings-on, including Andy's Nicaraguan war stories and Jesse's bro-lesque competition, along with updates on SpaceX's aborted launch, Elon Musk's Reddit AMA, a British effort to send a probe to the moon (and how you can add your DNA to the mission), the slurred singing of drunk birds, the complexity of music as it relates to popularity, carnie scams and whether or not Earth's water came from comets.
1/8/2015 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 25 seconds
Holiday Bonus Episode with Jesse and Lizard Case
The ProbSci gang aren't all back in town together just yet, so to hold you over until our next new episode, please enjoy Jesse's interview with Lizard Case, a Nashville songwriter and tavern proprietor who also happens to be his father. Happy New Year!
1/1/2015 • 42 minutes
Episode 145 - Janet Varney
Actor/podcaster/improv master/festival producer Janet Varney (@janetvarney) sits down with the crew on this week's episode to talk about voicing the hero of The Legend of Korra, the hilarious Bachelor parody Burning Love, Janet's first LA acting gig on Catwoman, growing up near Biosphere 2, Janet's award-winning science fair project on burning stuff, trash-eating seagulls, Radiolab's look at violence in baboons, Andy and Janet's Serial obsession, a corpse flower bloom, new evidence on human/neanderthal breeding, obscene gestures in various cultures, Matt cowering from the sun, spider sex and hairy mouthparts, the brilliant comedy of Kasper Hauser and their book SkyMaul, Janet's incredible festival SF Sketchfest, the largest genetic analysis of gay brothers, an email from a sex worker listener and a detailed account of Jesse's most humiliating moment ever.
12/23/2014 • 1 hour, 42 minutes, 1 second
Episode 144 - Dr. Christina Campbell
Anthropologist and spider monkey expert Dr. Christina Campbell joins the gang this week to get an update on Jesse's kidney stones and talk about her field of expertise, including research on Barro Colorado Island, the snubbing of Darwin contemporary Alfred Russel Wallace, Jesse trying to adopt a wallaby, Chris Burke’s Eating Is Fun/Eating Is Serious, Dr. Campbell's book on spider monkeys, the torture tape experiment, wombats and wallabies, barrel of monkeys vs. barrel of apes, chimps catching bushbabies with spears, the relative intelligence of Koko vs. Kanzi, the 1980s orangutan movie Link, spider monkey trivia, why you shouldn't use sign language in front of primates, why you shouldn't tickle a slow loris, spider monkey sexual rendezvous and the drunken monkey hypothesis.
12/16/2014 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode 143 - Mike Phirman
Shop Amazon for the holidays and enjoy comedian and musician Mike Phirman (@phirm) as he joins the crew to talk about kidney stones and Jesse's trip to urgent care, Mike's iodine allergy, the millenial malady of text neck, a man who can sort of hear wifi, the sound of Comet 67P and Philae, Hard 'n' Phirm's ode to the numerical value pi, Chicken Monkey Duck, Build-a-Song, Trace Elements, the bluegrass mashup Rodeohead, more Vomit Comet talk, why we need to be done with fossil fuels by 2100, the link between gut bacteria and mental health, a vaginal Crocodile Mile and the clearest-ever image of planetary formation.
12/9/2014 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 142 - Alison Haislip
As you shop using the Probably Science Holiday Gift Guide, listen to the wonderful Alison Haislip of Attack of the Show fame as she talks with Andy, Jesse and Matt about world peace, annoying parkour people, the daily life of Valley Villagers, finding a 26-year-old letter to Tony Hawk in the garage, Matt's recommended gentle comedy The Castle, Alison's four-year stint at Space Camp, getting serenaded by wannabe Top Gun pilots, Charles Manson's nuptials, organic molecules discovered on Comet 67P, Lego vs. Legos, screener season, why blue things are rare in nature, the man who turned himself into Papa Smurf, how to learn synesthesia, seals humping penguins, centaurs vs. minotaurs vs. fauns, Zoothe movie about the Enumclaw sex farm, and storing 5.5 petabits of data in a single gram of DNA.
12/2/2014 • 1 hour, 35 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode 141 - Michael Kosta
It's time for the first Probably Science Holiday Gift Guide! While you're taking care of all your seasonal shopping needs there, you can enjoy this week's episode with former tennis pro and current comedy pro Michael Kosta, who joins the gang to talk about Matt turning into a real boy, being a good samaritan with a lost phone, the horror of found comedy notebooks, hippie journals, Michael and Andy's Ann Arbor roots, impending earthquakes, Jesse's survival kit, British army surplus stores, being the 864th best tennis player in the world, gender parity in the professional darts world, ridiculously fast tennis serves coming from women, the age-accelerating effects of milk, contagious yawning in wolves and Michael's Sports. Kosta. Basement. web series.
11/25/2014 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 140 - Emily Gordon
Producer of The Meltdown, co-host of The Indoor Kids podcast and former couples therapist Emily Gordon joins the festivities this week to talk about rage oranges, webcams, Jesse making three Subway trips in a day, why rocket science is so damn hard, co-ed fraternities, people trying to get free therapy at parties, Emily's blog, decorating your house with Dave Kloc posters, astronomy sleuths uncovering the origins of Monet paintings, Brooks being cast in an upcoming movie, schizophrenia actually being eight different disorders, dating the person in front of you, algae that makes us idiots, the films of Dwight Yoakam, the Magnolia scene filmed in our neighborhood bar, out-of-date Philae comet-landing news, a robot that makes you think there's a ghost behind you, the Third Man Factor experienced by mountain climbers, British accents vs. American Southern accents, Jesse and Andy's counseling breakthrough, working with your spouse, the video game nostalgia of Ready Player One, and game recommendations including Splatoon, Unfinished Swan and Spirits.
11/18/2014 • 1 hour, 33 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 139 - Tim Lee
This week's guest is that rarest of Probably Science breeds: A comic with a PhD. Scientist-turned-comedian Tim Lee joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about crispness, anadromous fishes, California water subsidies, Australia's Big Banana, the problem with butt implants, next-generation CubeSats using iodine propellant, working in financial dark pools, The financial exposé Flash Boys, Jesse getting tricked by a prostitute, the lack of free speech in academia, the horror of bad seminars, the 10-year Rosetta mission landing Philae on a comet, the astounding number of proteins in testes, incorrect childhood assumptions about making and delivering babies, financial advice from Andy, the investment book A Random Walk Down Wall Street, our dwindling helium supply due to party balloons, rapidly evolving Floridian lizards, a great Johnny Carson biography, height classes in basketball leagues, why women and men don't play darts together, evolution misconceptions, homosexuality correlation among identical twins and the podcast's recent spike in German listenership.
11/12/2014 • 1 hour, 40 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 138 - Holly Walsh
British comic par excellence Holly Walsh (twitter.com/wiggywalsh) joins the proceedings this week to talk with Matt, Andy and Jesse about British podcasting wigs, courtroom caricature artists, a dog that looks like Frederick Douglass, bum-to-bum golden retriever humping, the Pope's bold stance on evolution and the Big Bang, Matt's Bloodhound Gang fandom, Pussy energy drink, the love hormone that controls sexual behavior in mice, the science of blue balls, oxytocin parties, pheromone parties, Jesse's Nearderthal roots, a recently identified fragment of Amelia Earhart's plane, New Order vs. Joy Division, chopping the arachnophobia out of a man's brain, the tragic crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, celebrity space tourists, weightlessness vs. a lack of gravity and a dinosaur with giant, hairy arms.
11/5/2014 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode 137 - TOFOP's Wil Anderson Returns
Time-traveling Aussie comedy phenom, TOFOP host and all around great guy Wil Anderson returns to the show on a spooky Halloween week to talk with the gang about: Bungee jumping pranks! Grown-ass adults who believe in ghosts! Presidents lying about their religion! Wil being sent back from the future to save this podcast! The depressingly high percentages of Americans who believe in haunted houses, Atlantis and Bigfoot! Seatbelt conspiracy theorists! Incorrect bible quotes in We Are The World! The Antares rocket blows up! CubeSats! There can be only one Highlander movie! Old topical jokes! Matt gets fooled by a fake haunted house corpse story! The origin of copulation! Penis-measuring injuries! More info on cold pasta and the retrogradation of starches! Relieving your boredom with electrical shocks! Cola-flavored genitals! The surprisingly healthy gums of ancient Romans!
10/29/2014 • 1 hour, 39 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode 136 - Henry Phillips
Comedy and music virtuoso Henry Phillips (twitter.com/HenLips) visits with Matt, Jesse and Andy on the heels of recording his upcoming Netflix special to talk about: Bad comedy introductions! Walking miracles! Being an awkwardness magnet! Elvis fandom! Physics and free will! Listener theme songs! Guitar worship! Disrespecting the legacy of Eddie Van Halen! Revisionist comedy and music history! The awesomeness of Jellyfish! Reheated pasta may be less fattening! Henry's Kitchen! The music of Jose Suicidio! How cooking videos capture your attention! The G-spot doesn't exist! Jesse is responsible for every wet dream! The allure of a stranger's breasts! Nudism and boners! Yawning isn't contagious for autistic people! Spiders burrowing through appendectomy scars! A puppy-sized spider! The closing of the Cat & Fiddle! Accidentally wearing a Morrissey shirt! Henry's Netflix special! Henry's hilarious film Punching the Clown and its upcoming sequel!
10/21/2014 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 135 - Jeff Richards
Saturday Night Live/Mad TV Alum Jeff Richards (tastyjeff.com) pops in to talk to Andy and Jesse about: Why school sucks! Freddie Mercury's jacket! Lost cities revealed by lasers! Crystals that let us breathe underwater! Facebook's experimenting apology! Silence of the Lambs impressions... a lot of them! Why fat guys are better lovers! Stu's attempts at home improvement! Lab-grown genitals!
10/14/2014 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 134 - Astronaut and Former Commander of the ISS Colonel Chris Hadfield
Colonel Chris Hadfield (twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield) is a highly decorated Canadian astronaut, test pilot, engineer and former commander of the Internation Space Station, and on his most most recent mission became famous for his thousands of photographs and hundreds of videos shot on the ISS, including a music video cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity that has been viewed hundreds of millions of times. Matt, Jesse and Andy were honored to be able to talk with Col. Hadfield about his experiences in the space program and his books An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth and You Are Here.
10/8/2014 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 133 - Live from LA PodFest with Tim Minchin and bonobo expert Dr. Amy Parish
Visit lapodfest.com/live to watch the video archive of this episode and dozens of other podcasts and panels recorded live at LA PodFest and use the offer code "science" for $5 off. You can also visit probablyscience.com for more background on the show and email questions, corrections and story suggestions to probablyscience@gmail.com. This week's episode was recorded live from the third annual Los Angeles Podcast Festival, where Matt, Jesse and Andy welcomed musician/comedian/actor/skeptic Tim Minchin and bonobo expert/Darwinian feminist Dr. Amy Parish to the program to talk about: Probably Science T-Shirts! Mini Queen! Fixed-gear microphones! Honorary degrees! Dr. Bill Cosby! Embarrassingly valeting your Saturn at Sofitel Beverly Hills! Bonobos as a model for human feminism! DIY OB/GYNs! Soap opera-obsessed apes! Primates who get mad at unfairness! Swollen bonobo genitals! Matriarchies in nature! Social constructs of gender! Not telling your friends your baby's gender! Darwin's interesting views of females! Female bonobos ganging up on males! The female orgasm! Disregarding data that doesn't match your view of the world! Hiding ovulation! Animals who mate face-to-face! World Vasectomy Day!
10/1/2014 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode 132 - Burning Man with Jordan Morris and Dr. Matt Faulkner
Returning guest Jordan Morris (twitter.com/Jordan_Morris) of Jordan, Jesse, Go! and @midnight fame joins Matt, Jesse and Andy this week to share stories about Burning Man and to pick the brain of Caltech computer scientist Dr. Matt Faulkner, who built an insanely awesome musically controlled Tesla Coil at this year's burn. Topics discussed include: Deciduous breasts! Googling with Bing! Lying about your Burning Man car rental! Refilling your pudding phallus! Dollywood! Eighty-dollar car washes! Camp HeartNSoul! Safety third! Naked people everywhere! Unbearable levels of EDM! The sweet release of Thunderdome heavy metal! Showing your cock to get a snowcone! Tesla coil hobbyists! How to create duophonic music with lightning! Angering the gods with technology! Electrical storms in the desert! Machine learning and distributive systems! The Phage camp in The Institute village! Picking up your transformer at the railyard! Two-Bit Circus and the Steam Carnival! Dr. Brainlove! Welding while listening to Rush! Algebraic properties!
9/23/2014 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode 131 - Roisin Conaty
British comedy phenom Roisin Conaty (twitter.com/roisinconaty) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy this week to talk about: The oppressive Los Angeles heatwave! Bits and bobs! The vastly underrated music of Cheap Trick! An amazing listener-created theme song! Send us your space questions for an upcoming guest! Growing up believing eyelashes were autonomous organisms! The Forer Effect explaining how psychics and astrology dupe people! Using psychedelic mushrooms to quit smoking! A woman with no cerebellum! Scorpions that live in your books and have weird sex! A decades-old fetus found inside a woman's abdomen! Jurassic squirrels! Andy's high school water polo teammate Andrew WK! The benefits of having your baby sleep on a sexy animal fur! Skipping breakfast might be correlated with diabetes! Off-brand Halloween costumes! Superfluid helium vortices! What's the greatest invention of all time? The LA Podcast Festival!
9/16/2014 • 1 hour, 43 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 130 - Daniel Sloss
Rising comedy star and pride of Scotland Daniel Sloss (twitter.com/Daniel_Sloss) returns to the show to chat with Andy, Jesse and Matt about: Bill Nye's comedy roots! Daniel's mother's Twitter activity (twitter.com/drles)! Semen's state of matter! The Jack The Ripper story everyone's talking about! Extreme haunted houses! Brain-to-brain communication! A testicular meeting of the minds! The purpose of monocles! The surprisingly early invention of telegraphy! Fake Victorian robot Boilerplate! A newly discovered dinosaur that's heavier than a 747! Buzz Lightyear's Flying Tossers! Pedo-tumors! Deep-sea mushrooms that defy classification! Andy and Jesse's roommate wants the new, hip psychedelic drug! The ash that'll cover us all when Yellowstone blows! An amazing new video of a volcanic shockwave!
9/9/2014 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode 129 - Bethany Dwyer
Comedian/writer/producer Bethany Dwyer (twitter.com/BethanyDwyer) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to talk about: Internet indignation over leaked celeb nudes! Burning Man stories! A moment of silence for the dead space geckos! Self-love in space! The effects of breastfeeding on depression! Dead stars reigniting! Solving the paradoxes caused by traveling back in time! Getting angry at time-travel movies! Happy beginnings on massages! Nurses who care get burned out faster! Peeing in the yard! The language of deceit that tips you off to scientific fraud!
9/3/2014 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode 128 - Adrian Poynton
Matt is back from his travels abroad, and he welcomes British writer/actor/producer Adrian Poynton (twitter.com/AdrianPoynton) to the podcast to talk about: The listener-made country/western re-imagining of the ProbSci theme! Getting kicked out of chemistry class! A pseudo-scientific look at the history of shoe sizes! Secret codes for elevators! Salmon cannons! Right-wing Internet comments! Getting your body freeze-dried! Jesse's naked haircut! The effect of exercise on pain tolerance! A study of British bum sex! Capturing audio from silent videos of bags of chips! Luring audience members to your hotel room!
8/22/2014 • 1 hour, 47 minutes
Episode 127 - Kulap Vilaysack and Mark Agee
Actress, Who Charted? host and documentary director Kulap Vilaysack (twitter.com/kulap) joins returning guest Mark Agee (twitter.com/markagee) to talk with Andy and Jesse about: Andy's Burning Man address (it's 5:30 and A)! The fact that no one knows about this podcast! Comic book jocks! Discovering your parents aren't who you thought they were! Kulap's upcoming documentary Origin Story (originstorydoc.com)! The Laotian Civil War! Bo penh nyang! Dealing with gambling addiction in your family! Bacteria that survive on electricity! Repeating previous stories on the podcast! Female snakes that save sperm for later! Jesse and Andy's awful attempts at Australian accents! Hack comedians doing Robin Leach impressions! How many dogs could you defeat? Removing 232 teeth from an Indian boy's head! Kulap's DC Comics alter-ego Katharsis! Studying the best way to avoid urine splashback! Jesse's ball problems! Squatting toilets! Letting your kids eat things off the floor! No one lets their kids walk home from school anymore! 11-year-old Kulap working as a waitress!
8/21/2014 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 1 second
Episode 126 - Matt Champagne and Auggie Smith
Comedian/actor Matt Champagne (twitter.com/remainchampagne) and frequent ProbSci guest Auggie Smith (twitter.com/auggiesmith) join Jesse and Andy this week for a somewhat somber episode remembering the great Robin Williams before getting into discussions about: Jesse's tiki music obsession! Harry Potter corrections! Blair Witch Project disappointments! Kilobots! Vibrating football games! An impossible space engine! The magic of Guido Fetta! The solar storm that almost rocked our world two years ago! A tick bite that makes you allergic to meat! Jesse and Auggie's groin issues!
8/16/2014 • 1 hour, 33 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode 125 - Brent Schmidt and Zach Pugh
Up-and-coming comedians Brent Schmidt (twitter.com/IAmBrentSchmidt) and Zach Pugh (twitter.com/ZachPugh) join Jesse and Andy this week to talk about: The Pickathon music festival! More headboard talk! Growing up in Sturgis, South Dakota! Re-purposing coal mines for science! Teenage nervous breakdowns! Falling off the wagon for a podcast sponsor! Losing your religion via the Internet! When did Hogwarts abandon muggle technology? The majesty of the apparently kid! Jesse's creepy nipple text from the sleep-eating roommate! Feathered dinosaurs! Forgetting about Hiroshima! The theory of humors! Tyrannosaurs hunted in packs! Growing up in a Chik-Fil-A family! Pizza Hut grease! Thinspiration! Making your body's organs transparent! Hidden biker girly magazines!
8/7/2014 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 124 - Beth Stelling
Comedian Beth Stelling (twitter.com/BethStelling) joins Matt and Andy this week for a special late-night recording in Andy's bedroom, covering: Mirrored headboards! Google's mapping of the human body! Slim Goodbody! Bats navigating via polarized light! Real 3D vs. fake 3D! Stella Luna and megabats! Gecko orgies in space! The cancer-fighting effects of cat poop! The Nobel Peace & Quiet Prize!
7/29/2014 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 123 - Jordan and Ben Brady
Comedian/director Jordan Brady (iamroadcomic.com) and his rapping, backflipping son Ben join the festivities with Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to discuss: Gangta rap historians! Jordan's invention of "bow-chicka-wow-wow"! Filming I Am Comic at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival! Matt's Last Comic Standing experience! Living like a road comic! Lacerta lizard people! Pluto possibly getting reinstated as a planet! The magic of British World Cup commentators! Suspended animation for gunshot victims! Fish-eating spiders! Grolar bears! Improving your sense of smell with the help of booze! Good news and bad news about AIDS! A new way for the Chinese to extract sperm!
7/22/2014 • 1 hour, 35 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 122 - TJ Chambers
Friend of the show and past guest TJ Chambers (twitter.com/tjchambersLA) rejoins the festivities this week to help Matt, Jesse and Andy get to the bottom of: Listener-made indie video games! Brooks news! Holland vs. The Netherlands! Delicious Lagunitas IPA! The TJs of porn! The origin of gangsta rap! Recording the podcast at the Gathering of the Juggalos! Chimpanzee fads! The short films of TJ Chambers! Bear fellatio! The origin of Winnie the Pooh! The Marginot Line! A massive ocean inside Earth! Volcano diamonds! An invisibility cloak for the sense of touch! The debatable cancer-prevention effects of farts! Testing for the seminal taste effects of pineapple! A real-world warp drive! Time tacos! What to do when traveling back in time! The upcoming Los Angeles Podcast Festival!
7/18/2014 • 1 hour, 40 minutes, 54 seconds
Probably History Episode 004 - Video Games with David Cope
Probably History is back! This week Jesse, Richard and Andy welcome the very funny David Cope (davidcope.flavors.me) to take a stab at covering over 60 years of video game history. Enjoy!
7/9/2014 • 2 hours, 10 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode 121 - Renee Gauthier and Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson
Comedian Renee Gauthier (twitter.com/Nenegooter) and nuclear physicist/comedian Kevin Peter Hickerson (twitter.com/kphickerson) join Matt and Andy this week to talk about: Matt's inability to wink! The actual cost of going to the moon! Renee's dance lessons! Working near CERN! Studying neutrinos! Shielding your experiments with the lead from sunken Roman ships! The end of the latest season of Ridiculousness! Debunking the story about the computer that passed the Turing test! The mysterious death of Alan Turing! A massive ocean inside the earth! The tongue strength of a horned frog! Singles sites for science enthusiasts! The upcoming PhD Movie sequel (phdmovie.com)!
7/1/2014 • 1 hour, 29 minutes
Episode 120 - Dr. Christopher Schmitt
Dr. Christopher Schmitt (evopropinquitous.net) is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics at UCLA, and his research in primatology focuses on primate development and life history. He joins Jesse, Matt and Andy this week to talk about his high school experiences with field work in Argentina, primate infanticide, collecting howler monkey urine, capucin monkeys sticking their fingers in each others eyes to chill out, the risks of taking selfies with dead hippos when there are lions nearby, floating vegetation islands that transport animals, old world/new world ape divergence, why certain primates are getting obese, Koko the gorilla's nipple obsession, competing brands of chimp-taggin RFID chips and how to get involved in field work right where you live.
6/24/2014 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 119 - Adam Buxton
British comedian, actor, writer and radio personality Adam Buxton (twitter.com/AdamBuxton) joins the proceedings this week to chat about: Messing up comedians' introductions! Sci-fi coverage of the papal inauguration! The history of the Shriners! Deciding on a uniform for an evil empire! Jaundice Shitstone! The counting skills of black bears! Whittling your fingers to type on a Blackberry! A digression on areolar Montgomery glands! Are female-named hurricanes killing more people than male-named ones? Working with Edgar Wright! Chimps beat humans at game theory! Adam's childhood tours of the USA with his travel writer father! Astronomers discover a mega-Earth 560 light years away! Jesse's incredible Rocky impressions! Adam's hilarious show Bug!
6/18/2014 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode 118 - Jason Nash
Comedian/podcaster/director/writer/producer/Viner Jason Nash (twitter.com/Jason23Nash) returns to the podcast this week just ahead of the release of his first feature film to talk with the gang about: Who gets credit for living at Bluebell? Jason’s Ron & Fez appearance! The upcoming movie JASON NASH IS MARRIED that Andy produced! Shooting scenes with Andy Richter and Jon Benjamin at Bluebell! Matt’s frustration with check-obsessed America! Jason’s reaction to Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover! Erasing memories and bringing them back! Explaining binary information to Jason! New research showing how sleep is good for your memory! Jason’s upcoming appearance on Funniest Wins! New information on how the Moon was formed! Would listeners contribute to help us record the podcast in zero gravity? A debate on parabolic flights! New research on why Facebook bums you out! Jesse’s decision to leave Facebook! Shitty comedy club introductions! The discovery of the largest dinosaur ever! How changing your facial expression changes first impressions!
6/12/2014 • 1 hour, 35 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 117 - Sarah Morgan
British comedy writer Sarah Morgan (twitter.com/sarahlmorgan) found herself stateside this week for MaxFunCon and was kind enough to join Matt, Andy and Jesse to talk about: What constitutes The Holidays! Teaching British comedy! Americans rooting for bro heroes! Jesse overhearing Andy's ukulele rendition of Tiny Dancer! The lyrical prowess of Boynie Toypin! Head trauma that created a math savant! A defense of common core math! Children's natural skepticism of circular arguments! Jesse's nightmarish stuffed animals! Turning light into matter! Maybe no one knows how static electricity works! Matt chipping his teeth in a children's science museum! The protein that unites sperm and egg! Updates on male birth control! Our first on-air earthquake!
6/4/2014 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 116 - Myq Kaplan
Comedian and literal master of linguistics Myq Kaplan (twitter.com/myqkaplan) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy this week to discuss: Birthday shenanigans! Plug 'n' chug! John Lennon's true assassin Stephen King! A defense of puns! Competing against a computer in a joke-off! A smartphone app that detects bipolar mood swings by the sound of your voice! Paul Simon's recent arrest! The origin of the country suffix -stan! Robot laws! Why octopuses don't stick to themselves! Holding a hot beverage makes you cooperative! Andy's continuing laptop woes! Making sperm precursors from the skin cells of infertile men!
5/30/2014 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 115 - Live from Bridgetown Comedy Festival with Paul Provenza and Amber Case
Matt and Andy venture to Portland this week for a live Probably Science from the seventh annual Bridgetown Comedy Festival featuring comedian/director/actor Paul Provenza (twitter.com/PaulProvenza) and cyborg anthropologist Amber Case (twitter.com/caseorganic) who join together to discuss: Jesse's sitcom success! Confusing The Aristocrats with The Aristocats! Paul giving Dave Chappelle his first TV appearance! The Wild West days of early Comedy Central! Alan Dershowitz consulting on Kids Court! The economics of renting clowns vs. clown costumes! Why we're all actually cyborgs! Going through second-self adolescence! Computer-induced junk sleep! Andy's shocking discovery about the house he owned in Portland, aka the Gaytown Academy! Writing a thesis on cell phones! Digital hoarding! Being consumers vs. producers! Royal portraits as proto-Internet dating profile pics! People who brag about not watching TV!
5/18/2014 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode 114 - Matt and Jesse
Andy's in Portland, our planned guest is drunk, so Matt and Jesse fly alone on this one, as we talk about: Jesse's successes! Peeing outdoors! Hitler's disabilities! Stephen Hawking's worries! Building pyramids! Rock Paper Scissors! New elements! Nervous mice!
5/7/2014 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode 113 - Auggie Smith
Comedian and past Probably Science guest host Auggie Smith (twitter.com/auggiesmith) returns to the show this week, joining Matt, Andy and Jesse to talk about: Craziness in Valley Village! Listening to police scanners! Reinventing the axe! A study that reveals the best way for men to dance! Being goofy-footed! A correction about Jesse's boneless, featherless chicken! A hacky plant that copies other plants! Jesse's vast typewriter knowledge! Making graphene in a blender! Babies that cry to keep from having siblings! Prison goofs! Glow-in-the-dark roads in the Netherlands! Playing the electric shock quick reflex game!
4/29/2014 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 112 - Bryan Bishop
Radio personality, author, trivia whiz and cancer survivor Bryan Bishop (twitter.com/baldbryan) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to talk about his experience battling an inoperable brain tumor en route to discussing: Bryan's upcoming book Shrinkage! Tumor tips! Changing doctors! Jumprope failures as cancer symptoms! Going through chemo and radiation therapy while planning your wedding! Getting (and giving) horrible news! Deciding which douchebags get fake names in your memoir! Doctors with less-than-perfect bedside manner! Pooping yourself because of cancer! Alternative medicine and the placebo effect! The tumor-shrinking magic of Avastin! MRIs vs. CT scans! The lunacy of David Arquette! Ringo Starr songs that may have been written by George Harrison! Jesse's crazy Oasis story! Solo pub trivia victories! Taking home $100,000 on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire! The evolutionary reason why beards are over!
4/22/2014 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 111 - Cara Santa Maria
Science communicator, teacher and podcaster Cara Santa Maria (twitter.com/CaraSantaMaria) lends her actual science pedigree to the proceedings this week, discussing: The Cosmos reboot! The unlikely funder of Karen Gillan's Oculus! Comparing goofy holidays! A listener's complaint about on-air eating that may relate to misophonia! Bath salts: They don't actually make you hungry for faces! Andy's first kiss being arrested for throwing a shoe at Hillary Clinton! The percentage of neurons vs. glial cells in your brain! A Cornell grad students letting a bee sting every part of his body! A generous listener hooking us up with Lagunitas beer! Growing up LDS! The puritans and their obsession with buckles! Lab-grown vaginas and edible meats! Futuristic cars without side-view mirrors!
4/14/2014 • 1 hour, 48 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 110 - Beth Donahue
Comedian Beth Donahue (twitter.com/bdonahueweedman) recently relocated from Nashville to Los Angeles, and she joins Jesse, Matt and Andy this week to get to talk about: Finding $600 and spending it on a shirt! Red flags in the form of KISS paraphernalia! Taking four-hour acid! Using 12-step meetings to work out comedy material! Former child sitcom stars who turn to standup! The truth about the stem cell acid bath story! Carrot Top's track record with the ladies! Matt's idea for revolutionizing a plane's black box! The possibility of a topical fat-burning cream! One of Saturn's moons might have liquid water! Jesse's butt problems! Women who are night owls are big risk-takers! Beth's sleep apnea pacemaker!
4/8/2014 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 109 - Tara Flynn
Irish comedian, actress and voice artist Tara Flynn (twitter.com/TaraFlynn) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy this week to discuss: Fleet Week! Sex workers in the Pacific Northwest! Sharing a name with a porn star! Jesse spraying himself with urine before a callback! The Shewee! Saving the government $400 million by changing fonts! Ink cartels! Debunking St. Patrick! Carving off a sliver of Irish Spring soap! A MacGyver microscope that only costs fifty cents! The possibly bullshit phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response! A 3D-printed skull! Tara's lack of a sense of smell! The influence of CK1 (not the perfume) on our circadian rhythms! Graphene contact lenses that let you see in the dark! Andy's almost revolutionary inventions!
4/1/2014 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 108 - Drs. Larry Price, Jamie Rollins and Janna Levin
To help us make sense of the biggest cosmology story of recent years, we invited three of our favorite physicists back to the show. Matt and Jesse are joined by an in-studio Dr. Larry Price, and, thanks to technical wizardry, NYC-dwelling Prof. Janna Levin and a Washington State-based Dr. Jamie Rollins, as they talk us through The Big Bang, what Inflation means, what this BICEP2 experiment did, whether it's important, what the Asian guy with the champagne meant when he said “It's five sigma at point two” to the Russian man and woman in that viral video, what was going on with that colder-than-absolute-zero story we didn't understand last week, whether academic journals are glory hunters, how multiverses fit in with this Inflation thing, and what we should take away from the whole story. And Andy missed all this to make sure a TV show about skaters getting hit in the testicles got made.
3/27/2014 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode 107 - Stefan Pop and Rylee Newton
We're going Dutch on this week's episode, as Netherlands-based comedian Stefan Pop (twitter.com/stefan_pop) joins American writer/comedian Rylee Newton (twitter.com/ryleenewton) to chat about: Dutch insults! Buying a goat for charity! Working at Microsoft! A Dutchman going to an American university in Spain! Stefan's cadaver dissections! HP Lovecraft movies! A more in-depth look at the drug Narcan! The Netherlands' speed skating dominance! Probably Eugenics! Orange light that resets circadian rhythms! Jesse’s upcoming appearance in the coffee table book Bums! A prediction of the multiverse that dates back 700 years! The first episode of Cosmos! Lightning that predicts earthquakes! Temperatures below absolute zero! Australians shooting space debris out of orbit with lasers! A person’s voice as a predictor of their personality! How neanderthals might have yelled! Stefan’s unique take on saying hello!
3/18/2014 • 1 hour, 46 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode 106 - Jimmy Shubert and Matt Davis
Veterans of stage and screen Jimmy Shubert (twitter.com/JimmyShubert) and Matt Davis (twitter.com/mattdavis) join Jess, Matt and Andy this week to chat about: Performing for troops overseas! Rubbing strange lamps you find on the beach! Phillbillies! the Civil Rights Museum! Brooks Wheelan's 12 Years a Slave sketch on SNL! Baby tumors that have teeth! Unnecessary remakes! Dark matter that may have killed off the dinosaurs! Rumspringa! A drug that cures heroin overdoses! Nick Doody opening for Bill Hicks! Judging our furry listeners! Italian robots that can tell when you lie! Another AIDS baby who's been cured!
3/10/2014 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 105 - James Bachman and Danny Lobell
Comedian/writer James Bachman (twitter.com/MrJamesBachman, That Mitchell and Webb Look) and comedian/podcaster Danny Lobell (twitter.com/dannylobell) join Matt, Andy and Jesse to talk about: Almost failing physics and math at Cambridge! Nude women with flamethrowers at Burning Man! Sexy biology teachers! Having a Jewish-themed wedding! Jesse's high school friend dressing in blackface! Group theory! Danny's work medicating giant sea turtles! A recently unearthed 30,000-year-old megavirus! A polio-like outbreak in California! Older dads are more likely to have messed-up kids! Jesse as the spokesman for sober Taco Bell! The powerlessness of positive thinking! Turing machines! Could black holes be breaking the Eddington limit? A 3D-printed electronic glove for your heart! Danny Lobell's philosophy-themed podcast! Finding out that James wrote the hilarious Numberwang sketch!
3/4/2014 • 1 hour, 33 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 104 - Andrew Solmssen
Comedian and IT professional Andrew Solmssen (twitter.com/solmssen) joins the crew this week for a discussion of: Rating the podcast's hosts on Lulu! Getting matched with a comedian/prostitute on Tinder! Howmanypeopleareinspacerightnow.com! Gilbert chemistry sets! The Radioactive Boy Scout! Hacking the payphones in your dorm and the parking on your campus! Remembering 80MB hard drives that sold for $2,200! The severity of Apple's SSL security flaw! Jesse quitting Facebook! The illusion of digital privacy! A recent visible space rock crash on the surface of the moon! Looking at clips of severe Russian accidents as a profession! Doing IT for one-named pop stars! Holding Marlee Matlin's Oscar! Andrew's gadget recommendations! Facebook's $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp! Being a sysadmin vs. a programmer! Virtual machines! The discovery of a 4.4 billion-year-old crystal! Andrew and Andy's favorite iPhone game: Letterpress!
2/25/2014 • 1 hour, 39 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode 103 - Wendy Wason
The hilarious and charming Wendy Wason (twitter.com/wendy_wason) makes her second appearance on the podcast to talk with Matt, Andy and Jesse about: Andy's swim meet! Jesse and Matt shaving their legs! Matt's serial killer neighbor! How John Wayne Gacy got caught! Beautiful equations that mathematicians appreciate as art! A computer-generated math proof that's bigger than all of Wikipedia! The statistics of celebrity infidelity! A correction to our stem cell story! Edward Snowden's election as rector of Glasgow University! Early animals that didn't need oxygen! Wendy's dinner with Bryan Adams! New developments in fusion technology! Phone phreaking! Mitch Hedberg's final shows!
2/19/2014 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode 102 - Live from SF Sketchfest with Professor Matthew Walker, Kurt Braunohler and Daniel Van Kirk
This week's episode was recorded live at SF Sketchfest, with guests including sleep expert Professor Matthew Walker of UC Berkeley's psychology department, comedian Kurt Braunohler (twitter.com/kurtbraunohler) and a surprise drop-in from a Hollywood superstar!
2/12/2014 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 101 - Graham Elwood
Comedian and host of the Comedy Film Nerds podcast Graham Elwood (twitter.com/grahamelwood) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to discuss: Volunteer firefighters! Squarespace's Super Bowl ad! The Ear Buds podcasting documentary! Jesse's multimedia promise for the upcoming live Probably Science! Suing NASA for not looking hard enough for aliens! Negotiating with scalpers! Marijuana lowering suicide rates! Bill Nye debating a creationist! Jesse finds out that Squarespace sponsors the podcast! The reason sloths leave the trees to drop a deuce! The sum of all positive integers is -1/12! Andy's grudge match swim meet!
The delightful Karen Gillan (twitter.com/karengillan2) of Doctor Who and the upcoming films Oculus and Guardians of the Galaxy returns to the program this week to help Matt, Jesse and Andy celebrate the 100th episode of Probably Science, covering a wide range of topics including: Matt’s electrical problems! Andy's sugarfree gum-loving rats! The wonders of the number 100! Ab inflation! A message from Brooks Wheelan! Why does no one remember that Jesse lives at Bluebell? Karen hanging outside with the cool kids! Karen’s upcoming horror film Oculus! Sheltering child actors from the terrifying movies they’re in! Children’s innate belief in immortality! The excommunication of Halley’s Comet! Matt and Andy’s trip to the trampoline park! Early humans picking up bad genetic traits by mating with Neanderthals! The Scottish royal mental asylum! Jonas Salk’s 100th birthday and the history of the polio vaccine! Rutherford’s atomic discoveries of 1914! The 100th anniversary of the gun synchronizer! Dipping blood cells in acid to make stem cells! Non-hormonal, reversible, cheap male birth control! The Addams Family electric shock game! Karen’s stint in a Coney Island freak show! Karen’s horror movie scream abilities! The chart of English larval progression! Competing listener donations! Stephen Hawking’s black hole update! Our upcoming live show on the topic of sleep! Greatest hits from our first 100 episodes!
1/31/2014 • 1 hour, 41 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 099 - Dwayne Perkins
The hilarious Dwayne Perkins (twitter.com/funnydp) joins the crew this week to talk about: Piscopo-ing and Carrot Topping! Texting parents! Depressing 99 cent store purchases! Dogs aligning themselves with the earth's magnetic field to poop! The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island! A computer 1,500 years ahead of its time! Learning to drive as an adult! Squarespace's Care Bear Lair! Gigantopithecus brought down by sweet, sweet fruit! Dying carnivores changing the courses of rivers! Jesse's attempts at getting real jobs! Baiting a rat trap with almond butter! A black hole sucking up a giant gas cloud! Composing a song based on auditory hallucinations!
1/21/2014 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode 098 - Dr. Peter McGraw and Caleb Bacon
Science and comedy collide once again this week as Dr. Peter McGraw (twitter.com/petermcgraw), author of the upcoming book The Humor Code, and Man School podcast host Caleb Bacon (twitter.com/CalebEatsBacon) join Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about: Jesse’s near death polar vortex experience! Whatever the Fahrenheit scale is based on! Pre-ordering The Humor Code! Michael McDonald’s Probably Science backing vocals! An audiophile rendition of Probably Science! Ramona Quimby’s street! Recording an album in Guitar Center! The Dennis Miller reference generator! Peter McGraw: Wanted: Dead or Alive! Japan’s comedic oligarchy! Tanzania’s laughter outbreak! PBA: The laughing disease! Comedy in the West Bank! Homonyms and homophones! The comedy terrorist! Humor in Auschwitz! Comedy as a thermometer vs. a thermostat! Democrats vs. Republicans as comedy audiences! The Benign Violation Theory! The Seinfeld vs. Silverman approach! Becoming immunized to comedy!
1/14/2014 • 1 hour, 35 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode 097 - Emily Heller and Auggie Smith
Comedians Emily Heller (twitter.com/MrEmilyHeller) and Auggie Smith (twitter.com/auggiesmith) join Matt and Andy on the first episode of the new year, discussing: Suck My Dick, New Yorker! Two and one half dollars! Cheat sheets! Eighth grade listeners and science fairs! Making belly button cheese! The polar vortex! Throwing boiling water in the air! The lack of great comedy sequels! Eclipsing binary asteroids! Cliche dorm room posters! The unicycling guy on campus! River blindness! Doing comedy for a glass company! One-in, one-out social networks! Upworthy spoilers! Quitting Facebook! The Dennis Miller Reference Generator! Probably Science at SF Sketchfest February 8th!
1/8/2014 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode 096 - Lee Billings and Dr. Bjoern Benneke
This week Matt, Jesse and Andy are joined by Caltech Planetary Science Postdoctoral Scholar Bjoern Benneke and author Lee Billings to talk about the many topics covered in Lee's new book, Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search for Life Among the Stars, including: Hunting for exoplanets! Dating sites for farmers! The Drake equation! Earth's recent trend toward radio silence! Oxygen: The first great pollution crisis! Harold Urey's pessimistic time capsule predictions! Energy-hungry alien civilizations creating Dyson spheres! Competition in the exoplanet field! The philosophical reasons for searching for extraterrestrial life!
12/26/2013 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 095 - Dr. Ainissa Ramirez and Sarah Tiana
This episode kicks off two weeks in a row of real science, as Matt, Jesse and Andy welcome Dr. Ainissa Ramirez, author of Newton's Football, and comedian/football fan Sarah Tiana (twitter.com/sarahtiana) to discuss Dr. Ramirez's new book, and more specifically: Footballs in humidors! Football suicide pools! Andy's football ignorance! The brutal early days of the sport! Football's concussion epidemic! A new style of safer tackling! Refrigerator Perry's rapping prowess! Desperation giving rise to the A-11 offense! Vince Lombardi's background as a science teacher! Choosing plays based on game theory! Waffle House waiters who are like quarterbacks! Risk-averse monkeys! The toe-less placekicker! Greg Cook's injury giving rise to the West Coast offense! The origin of the no-huddle offense! The reasons for the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry! Compulsory pep rallies! Andy's football announcer grandfather Bob Ufer!
12/17/2013 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 094 - Daniel Sloss
Scottish comedy wunderkind Daniel Sloss (twitter.com/daniel_sloss) is here in the US to perform on Conan, and he stopped by Bluebell Ranch to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about: British comedian intros! Doing comedy at a rave! Scottish pride! Upkilt photographs! Ben and Jerry-inspired homophobic slogans! Bot Out Of Hell: Daniel and his father's Robot Wars competitor with a diamond sawblade! A new drug that fixes bent boners! Everyone's fingers connect! Adolescent mice that drink alcohol because of peer pressure! Where humans really sit on the food chain! Eating animals to teach them a lesson! Throwing pennies away! The nuts and bolts of being hanged, drawn and quartered!
12/10/2013 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 093 - Jason John Whitehead
This episode is a complete shambles. With Andy out of town, Canadian/British comedian Jason John Whitehead (twitter.com/jjwhitesnake) drops in on Matt and Jesse attempting to make a Thanksgiving bonus episode in Jesse's bedroom. Topics include: Birthright trips to Israel! Thanksgiving stuff! Jesse's typewriter collection! Mighty hunters! Genetic inheritence of fears! Seahorse fluid dynamics! Illegal koala handling! Goosing!
12/3/2013 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 092 - Andi Osho
British comedian/actor/writer Andi Osho (twitter.com/andiosho) now lives here in the US, where she's recently appeared on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and @midnight, and she joins Matt, Jesse and Andy this week for a listener-centric episode focused on topics sent in by our lovely fans, including: The speed of gravity waves! How to pronounce Trygve! Andy's Nicaraguan rental car! Jesse and Andy's roommate's iTunes woes! Jesse's dad was a mall Santa! The gray area of children's photos! Ridiculously fast LED-based Li-Fi internet connectivity! A fluid dynamics discussion of fart dissipation! A scientific analysis of urinal splashback! Dogs reacting to the directions of fellow dogs' tail wags! Why spoilers might increase your enjoyment of a story! Junk DNA corrections!
11/25/2013 • 1 hour, 44 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 091 - Samm Levine and Susan Burke
Actor Samm Levine (twitter.com/SammLevine) who made a name for himself on Freaks and Geeks and Inglourious Basterds and comedian Susan Burke (twitter.com/ThatSusanBurke) who's received rave reviews for writing the film Smashed join Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to discuss: All-night comedy shows at UCB! Halloween robot costumes! Samm's Short Circuit 2 nostalgia! Samm playing doctor as a kid! Losing to Jon Hamm in the Leonard Maltin game! Monkeys who are hardwired to be scared of snakes! Hotel living! Jesse's fake Zagat binder for solo dining! The perks of priesthood! The secret to sneaking into things! Using levitating droplets of water to create nanoparticles! Samm's gold-collecting dentist father! Using teeth to make replacement eye lenses! Actress Hedy Lamarr's frequency-hopping spread-spectrum invention! The early days of Jim Jones! Asteroid-hunting space telescopes!
11/19/2013 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 090 - Scotty Landes and Heather Thomson
Hilarious writers/comedians/producers Scotty Landes (twitter.com/MarylandMudflap) and Heather Thomson (twitter.com/CasualVelvet) join Matt, Andy, and Jesse this week for the show. Man about town James Austin Johnson (twitter.com/JAustinJohnson) sits in for color commentary! Together, they dive deep into: Pepto Bismol! Scientific Hippie poetry! Sitting in the shower! Women are better multitaskers! Self-pleasuring in cars! Rubbernecking! Professional hugging! The science of Captchas! Second rate sex parties! Selling your own blood! Robotic dogs! Facial recognition software! Animals doing math! Sam Elliott! India's space program! Scratch-off tickets and champagne!
11/12/2013 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode 089 - Dr. Larry Price and Dr. Jamie Rollins
Caltech and LIGO physicists Jamie Rollins and Larry Price (www.ligo.caltech.edu) join Andy, Jesse and Matt to up the Science:Probably ratio for just one week as they discuss: Why we don't go straight through tables! What's inside an atom! Why chemistry isn't their forté! Dark matter and WIMPS! Gravity waves and what LIGO actually is! How to measure something that's smaller than the smallest thing you can think of! Putting experiments in space! What inspired Einstein to come up with relativity (hint - the two of them didn't agree on it)! How scientists fake getting a result to test each other! The feebleness of gravity!
11/5/2013 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode 088 - Brendon Burns
Edinburgh Comedy Award-winner Brendon Burns (twitter.com/brendonburns) sits in with Matt, Jesse and Andy this week to dig into: Worrying about your Google-ability! LA streets named for celebrities! Orange people in the Australian outback! Making "Be a Lady" T-shirts! Naked children on giant slip-n-slides! Underwear that filters your flatulence! Learning how to pronounce "awry"! Finding bombs with dolphin-inspired radar! The four-disc Flaming Lips experimental album! Whatever killed the dinosaurs wiped out a load of bees, too! Personality trends across the US! Junk DNA that shapes your face! Perthans!
10/29/2013 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 1 second
Episode 087 - Nate Craig
You've seen comedian Nate Craig (twitter.com/NateCraig1) on truTV's World's Dumbest and Comedy Central's Mash Up, and he joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to discuss: Jesse's new co-host status! Lowball podcast donations! Exchanging a million pennies! Fake IDs! Figuring out what Yetis actually are! Farting into tissues! Ancient human ancestry! Youtube videos of Danny Devito cuddling with Michael Jordan! Los Angeles coyotes! Flushing out brain toxins while you sleep! Matt's experience with colonics! Andy's Jack In The Box confession! Our upcoming live video stream of the show! Using static electricity to dispose of space debris! Rapidly aging breast tissue! Ironing your jeans! A possible cure for baldness! Toupee stories! Ironic combovers!
10/22/2013 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode 086 - Karen Gillan
Star of Doctor Who and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Karen Gillan (twitter.com/KarenGillan2) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to talk about: Being on the cusp of superstardom! Andy and Jesse's rat problem! Growing up as a Scottish serf! The parade of bad accents! Kaisers of the Cosmos! Dealing with nerdy fans! Criticizing the physics of the movie Gravity! Closed captioning for grandparents! Alfred Nobel's personal ad! Karen's Carmina Burana funeral plans! This year's Nobel Prize winners! What's your go-to charity? Karen's freshly shaven head! Fruit bat fellatio! Androgen-insensitive supermodels! Parents tracking your career via Google! Metallic 3D printing! Karen's Twitter nemesis!
10/16/2013 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode 085 - Live from LA PodFest with Rhys Darby and Brandon Fibbs
This week's episode comes to you from the second annual LA Podcast Festival (lapodfest.com), with Matt and Andy welcoming Rhys Darby of Flight of the Conchords and Brandon Fibbs of New Race For Space and the reboot of Cosmos, to discuss: An explanation of winglets! Rhys's knowledge of Morse Code! The technological prowess of the New Zealand Army! The Cryptid Factor podcast! Sea serpents: The guardians of Atlantis! Rhys Darby: Sasquatch Whisperer! The upcoming return of Cosmos with Neil deGrasse Tyson! Elon Musk's Mars plans! Space sex! Astronaut reality shows! Harvesting Helium-3 from the moon! Space lawyers! Giving birth in space! New Zealand's lack of awesome Australian animals! The intricacies of the Welsh language! Rhys sells the audience some raffle tickets!
10/9/2013 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 084 - Keith and The Girl
Matt, Andy and Jesse welcome podcasting pioneers Keith Malley and Chemda of Keith and The Girl fame to the show this week, covering a variety of topics including: Brooks's debut performance on SNL! The LA Podcast Festival! The wild west days of podcasting! Fan tattoos! Peter McGraw's upcoming Humor Code book! Estranged parents! What is clean comedy? The perfect musical ending to Breaking Bad! Having an intern clean the DNA off of your keyboard! Messing up the scientific studies of KATG! The hellscape that is Yahoo Answers! Monkeys that whisper! The government shutdown! Matt's perpetually happy face! The progression of British street youth! Jesse's undercover genius! Tomato/potato hybrids! The new ProbSci logo courtesy of Sally Grosart! Mastering self-pleasure in 10,000 hours! Jesse helps Stu buy a computer! Post-menopausal babies! Dancing with Buzz Aldrin and Bill Nye! The Apollo 11 contingency speech!
10/2/2013 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode 083 - David Epstein and Paul Morrissey
It's sports week here at Probably Science HQ, as Matt and Andy welcome to the show Sports Illustrated journalist and author of The Sports Gene David Epstein, as well as comedian Paul Morrissey, who played and coached college basketball, to dig into the meaty topics that David's excellent books discusses, including: Major league hitters who can't touch a 60mph softball! Being a short, white hustler at Venice Beach pickup basketball games! The excellence of Jamaican sprinters and Kalenjin distance runners! Being compared to Jimmy the Greek! What other sports could Lebron James have played? The anatomy of great pitchers! Getting critiqued by Malcolm Gladwell! Debunking the 10,000 hour rule! The genetics of wanting to train hard! The link between elite athletes and ADHD! The dangers of all-male stock trading! Andy's swimming career! The heart condition that claims the lives of many athletes! David's training advice for Matt!
9/24/2013 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode 082 - Kathleen Ritterbush
Matt, Andy and Jesse welcome paleontology PhD candidate Kathleen Ritterbush to the show this week to discuss: Being the third man on The Dating Game! Roommate update: Stu's birthday is 9/11! Falling for the testicle-biting fish hoax! PhD superstitions and paperwork! Using fossils to determine skin and hair color! Teaching science to a boatload of evangelical kids! Thinking dinosaurs and humans coexisted! Paleontologists with Indiana Jones props! Kathleen comes bearing gifts of fossils! How fossils form! Chambered nautilus: The first submarine? The near-extinction of the amenites! What do we learn about marine ecology from mass extinctions? Studying the hydrodynamics of shells! Figuring out if you're looking at the fossil of a sponge! The bad science in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening! Jesse gets compared to a schlubby squid! Cephalopod cosplay! Getting your wedding ring made out of snail fossils!
9/17/2013 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 081 - Humphrey Ker and Bryan Cook
Matt and Andy are back together this week, welcoming British writer/comedian Humphrey Ker (twitter.com/thehumphreyker) and American writer/comedian Bryan Cook (twitter.com/bryancooking) on the program to discuss: Going on strike against Joan Rivers! Fallacious labor dispute arguments! The hilarious Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction show! Moving someone else's hand with your mind! Swedish fish -- not the candy ones, the testicle-biting ones! The Sharknado finale! Asylum movies! Andy's summer adventures with fleas and nearly dead roommates! Being able to listen to and/or tune out your spouse's voice! The curse of having a posh accent! British comedians learning to ski! Attributing Hitler quotes to Taylor Swift! The new Kit Kat-named Android OS! American Gladiators! A lengthy explanation of pantomimes!
9/10/2013 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 080 - Nick Doody
Matt's still out of the country, but luckily he was able to record a remote episode with the very funny Nick Doody (twitter.com/nickdoody), his co-writer on the BBC Radio show Bigipedia. We'll be back soon with more new episodes!
9/1/2013 • 49 minutes, 1 second
Summer Bonus Episode
Matt's been in the UK and Andy's been in Portland, so rather than leave the audience twisting in the wind for a few weeks, they decided to record some remote bonus interviews. These weren't supposed to be very science-y, but in the course of talking with Jesse Case, Dr. Richard Flower, Dr. Anna Collu, Jeff Mounts and Emily Mounts, the discussions actually ended up having a fair amount of legitimate science, and a bit of history as well. Keep your standards low, and enjoy!
8/13/2013 • 52 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 079 - Hank and Chris Thompson
Hank Thompson is a comedian and producer at The Young Turks (youtube.com/TYTComedy), and his brother Dr. Chris Thompson is a post-doctoral fellow at Scripps Research Institute in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. This powerful comedy/science sibling duo join Matt and Andy this week to discuss: Sibling rivalry! Vocal communication in animals! Learned vocalization! Dolphins who know their own names! Inverted commas! Everything you ever wanted to know about songbirds! Chicago ladies! 3D syrinx models! Burning out parts of bird brains! Terrible Hunger Games writing! Taxi drivers' enlarged hippocampi! Axons, neurons, dendrites and synapses! The effect of Prozac on birds' songs! Getting harrassed by amateur birders! Albino African clawed frogs! Inheriting the chess team captain crown! Andy's upcoming 1,000-mile road trip with a Belgian stranger! The Jimmy Dore Show on TYT Comedy!
8/6/2013 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 078 - Dr. Sean Carroll
Theoretical cosmologist at Caltech, author and blogger Dr. Sean M. Carroll invited Matt and Andy to his Pasadena office this week to lend some insight into his areas of expertise, including: Being the house cosmologist on a paleontologogical dig! Dark matter! Defying what you thought you knew about the conservation of energy! The fixed density of dark energy! What happens a quadrillion years from now! Boltzmann brains! You might not have existed before this very instant! The arrow of time! Entropy! The second law of thermodynamics! We are the creamy tendrils in a universal cup of coffee! Consulting on movies like Thor and Tron: Legacy! Imposing boundaries on superheroes! Another blow to new age-y quantum BS! Multiple universes!
7/28/2013 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 077 - Virginia Jones and Auggie Smith
Comedian Virginia Jones (twitter.com/badiniadones) made a name for herself in Portland before heading to Los Angeles, and she joins fellow Portland transplant Auggie Smith (twitter.com/auggiesmith) this week to help Matt and Andy dive headfirst into: More vegan goth discussion! Punctuating your punchlines! The world's worst comedy show sound guy! A stranger interrupts the show to take a shower! Academic decathlons! Virginia and Andy's trivia prowess! Making things levitate using sound waves! The Flaming Lips parking lot experiment! Is Brooks a hickster? A blue planet that rains glass! David Bowie's waist size! The Hot Jupiters dance troupe! Controlling stem cells with magnets! A new Neptune moon!
7/22/2013 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 076 - Colleen Watson and Charlene Conley
San Francisco-based comedian Colleen Watson (@colleen_watson) and Portland-based festival producer/podcaster Charlene Conley (@PatiohPatino) herald Matt's triumphant return from Convergence Con, digging into meaty topics including: The vegan/goth Venn diagram overlap! Portland-based Sasquatch clubs! Choosing to major in biopsychology to spite an ex-boyfriend! Hoods in the woods! Married guys have less AIDS! High-definition porn: Too much definition! Cutlery's affect on perceived flavor! Pineapple and cheese hedgehogs! Charlene's psychic family history! Making igloos! Sharknado! More dolphin rape talk! Marrying buildings! Unlimited teeth for future humans! 3D printing a rocket engine injector! The bullshit time travel rules of the Terminator franchise!
7/16/2013 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode 075 - Live from Convergence Con
Matt Kirshen takes Probably Science on the road this week for a live taping at Convergence Con (convergence-con.org) featuring The Physics of Superheroes' own Dr. James Kakalios, Minneapolis comedian Tommy Ryman (@tommyryman) and Dan Schlissel from Stand Up Records (@StandUpRecords). Dr. Jim is a professor of experimental physics at the University of Minnesota, and was both a scientific consultant, and a DVD extra feature on the Watchmen movie. This week's episode gets into superconductors, solid state physics, things with "nano" in the title, telescopic eyes, quantum computing, and how to transport science on a boat.
7/6/2013 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 074 - David Angelo
Comedian and Emmy-nominated writer David Angelo (twitter.com/dwangelo) made a name for himself on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon before moving out west in 2012, and he joins Matt, Andy and Jesse Case this week to discuss: Fiscal responsibility! eEconomics! Apprenticing as a sandwich artist! Martial arts legend Benny The Jet Urquidez! Yngwie Malmsteen! The effects of light and darkness on cabbage! Curing cancer! A listener microwaves grapes! Science advances courtesy of Denny's! Traveling to Mars via nuclear propulsion! The social contagion of applause! Playing remedial viola! Dick Bright's SRO! Andy and Jesse's roommate writes a screenplay! Andy's jury duty! Advencements in wooden batteries! David gets out of a ticket using a photo of his doppelganger!
6/26/2013 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode 073 - Janna Levin
Theoretical physicist, author and Barnard College of Columbia University professor Janna Levin (jannalevin.com) invited Matt and Andy to her temporary Venice home where she resides while working at Caltech, and she helped this installment of Probably Science have perhaps the most actual science of any episode yet, delving into: Andy's house troubles! The mathematical basis of theoretical physics! Einstein's explanation of Mercury's odd orbit! Black holes orbiting in three-leaf clovers! Building a device to detect the sounds of oscillating space-time! Black holes banging on the drum of space! Trying to wrap your head around what's actually in a black hole! An explanation of Hawking radiation! Tooling on the pseudo-science movie What The Bleep Do We Know! Chalkboards vs. whiteboards! Andy finally (sort of) understanding relativity! How a black hole could theoretically evaporate! The Large Hadron Collider: Nothing to worry about! The music of Warren Malone! Janna's Moth talk!
6/19/2013 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 072 - Brooks Wheelan
Probably Science prodigal son Brooks Wheelan is back! It's been too long, but the Matt-Andy-Brooks triumvirate has reformed, at least for an episode, to get to the bottom of: Apple Records! Hipster Zunes! What Brooks will steal from your awful party! Craig's newfound fame! A Probably Science ripoff! The new Journey singer! Brooks getting a motorcycle! Brooks's ProbSci Rumspringa! Woolly mammoth blood! How much does North Korea really believe? Cockroaches getting too smart for our tricks! Jon Bon Jovi makes an appearance! Light shows with microwaved grapes! Seratonin's impact on sexual preference! Charles Dorner's Hangover manifesto shoutout! Too much radiation to go to Mars! Motion sickness in space! Smarter people don't pick up things in the background! Would you give up intelligence for happiness? Cheating with beta-blockers! Brooks on Adam Devine's House Party! Camping in Joshua Tree!
6/11/2013 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 071 - Rory Scovel
You can see the hilarious Rory Scovel (twitter.com/roryscovel) on the upcoming TBS comedy Ground Floor, and he joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to discuss: Amazon pilots! Small towns with character! Eating in silence! The secret lives of parents! Live-streaming improvised standup! More mosquito news! Saving a baby with a 3D printer! Using avatars to shut up the voices in your head! People with bendy chimp feet! Creepy barefoot pictures of Brice Beckham! Measuring almost absolute zero! Playing guitar while getting brain surgery!
6/4/2013 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 18 seconds
Probably History Episode 003 - The Borgias
Probably History is back! Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) welcomes Andy Wood (twitter.com/andytwood), Richard Bain (twitter.com/dickbain), Matt Kirshen (twitter.com/mattkirshen) and special guest comedian/sociologist Pat Reilly (twitter.com/reallypatreilly) to take a look at the infamous House of Borgia, the Renaissance family that brought us Pope Alexander VI, incest, murder and the Banquet of Chestnuts!
5/28/2013 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 070 - Crystal Dilworth and Alexandra Lockwood
Matt and Andy go on location to the campus of Caltech this week to welcome PhD candidates, actors (phdmovie.com) and science communicators (phdcomics.com/tv) Crystal Dilworth (twitter.com/PolycrystalhD) and Alexandra Lockwood (twitter.com/AlexCLockwood) to the show, delving into: Dancers moonlighting as scientists! The myth of tryptophan! Preferential treatment for doctors and lords! Penguins getting knighted in Denmark! The PhD Movie! More 3D printer talk! Staring at the night sky! How to search for exoplanets! Hot Jupiters! Requiem for the Kepler telescope! The military importance of figuring out Earth's spherical harmonics! Shocking people's brains to make them better at math! How a damaged brain repairs itself! Male strippers: Turn-on or source of comedy? Empathetic enjoyment of lesbian porn! One-eyed enervation! Why kids make dumb choices! Babies like eyes that are far apart! Malaria mosquitoes are more attracted to humans! Defending your dissertation!
5/22/2013 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode 069 - John Roy
You've seen the very funny John Roy on Conan, Leno and Ferguson, and he joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to discuss: Daft Punk's new album! Edmonton's giant mall! Waterslides and skydiving! Tweets from space! Guided By Voices on Mars! Height inflation in professional wrestling! Youtube and Wikipedia holes! 480,000,000 needles in space! An explanation of orbits! Space insanity! The military efforts of Archimedes! Our favorite listener's penis! A working cocaine vaccine! The mystery of the Stevie Nicks coke urban legend! Polio vaccines that create more polio! Chicken pox parties: Bad idea! Human ancestors who couldn't hear well! Juggalo scientists! Soup-conducting hos! An affordable 3D printer! Maron in Space!
5/14/2013 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode 068 - Celia Pacquola and TJ Chambers
Australian comedian/writer/performer Celia Pacquola (twitter.com/CeliaPacquola) and American comedian/writer/performer TJ Chambers (twitter.com/tjchambersLA) join Matt and Andy for a discussion of topics including: The current usefulness of Bunsen burners! The naval innovations of the Punic Wars! The asshole children of the Tetra Pak dynasty! Arizona State's party reputation! Nonsensical drinking age laws! Celia's Australian girls' school shenanigans! A brief further discussion of the Gallagher debacle! Mainlining oxygen! Defending the study of duck genitalia! A compelling case for the awesomeness of tungsten! Some asshole created a way to 3D print a gun! Forensic analysis of bullet cracks! Body farms! Firefighter arsonists! Phineas Gage and his asshole-inducing head injury! Gallagher's critique of Matt's act! Arctic foxes' death by mercury! The painted turtle that runs Big Oil!
5/7/2013 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 067 - Karen Kilgariff and April Richardson
Comedian, writer and Mr. Show alum Karen Kilgariff (twitter.com/karenkilgariff) joins returning guest and Chelsea Lately regular April Richardson (twitter.com/apey) for a Bridgetown wrap-up conversation with Andy, getting into: Brooks drinking in a park! The debacle that was the Gallagher episode! Defiantly failing chemistry! Quantum physics and Ramtha! Cheesy potatoes! First aid book illustrations! The worst emergency room story April's ever heard! Speeding up space travel with fusion! Who could you travel to Mars with? Oblivion's ripoff premise! April's obsession with guys in suits running! Andy and April fighting over Huey Lewis! Hookah pipes: Worse than cigarettes? The third-wave ska revival! Imaging an entire living brain! Would you want to live forever? April's Saved By The Bell podcast!
4/30/2013 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode 066 - Peter Serafinowicz and Gallagher
This week's episode was recorded live at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival (bridgetowncomedy.com) in Portland, and it's... well... it's something. Andy Wood and Matt Kirshen are still recovering from this recording, which Matt has come to call "My personal Vietnam." Peter Serafinowicz (twitter.com/serafinowicz) and Gallagher (gallaghersmash.com) joined them to discuss: James Randi! Gallagher holding court on the sidewalk! The hidden dangers of telephone poles! How to use the Internet to get smart! Al Gore-rhythms! Cutting the fat of chocolate in half! Gallagher's distaste for particle/wave duality, Cadillac trucks, spoon-forks and America's first bi-racial president! Coffee, chocolate and cocaine! Picture-winged flies dining on sperm! Earthquakes causing other earthquakes! Bridgetown's depression-based comedy! Erik the Red singlehandedly creating gingers! How stress can help red squirrels produce healthier pups! Gallagher's endorsement of dorsal breast implants! Beyonce's fake pregnancy! Gallagher's proposed dam to cut off Mexico's fresh water! A lengthy and very uncomfortable discussion of height and race! Gallagher's proposal to curb drunk driving! Gallagher's gubernatorial bid! Supernovae that are too big! Gallagher's proposal to get kids into gambling! Gallagher's many patents! Gallagher taking credit for the concept of splashing!
4/23/2013 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 065 - The Sklar Brothers
Comedians and Sklarbro Country hosts Randy and Jason Sklar (earwolf.com/shows/sklarbro-country) were kind enough to invite Matt and Andy over to Jason's Laurel Canyon abode for this week's episode, delving into: Keeping eagles in your basement! Randy's CERN-working nuclear physicist brother-in-law! The Lebron James of antimatter! Remembering when comedy was the hottest ticket in town! The official 1980s uniform of standup! The defense mechanisms of fans of Michigan athletics! When America was one giant Whole Foods! Scientific proof that women like broad-shouldered, large-penised men! Have we hit peak penis? The latest bird flu scare! Spending $100 million to lasso an asteroid! Jason produces a real-life space rock! Predicting people's ages based on their tweets! Gallagher's upcoming ProbSci appearance at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival! Using kidney bean leaves to trap bedbugs!
4/16/2013 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode 064 - Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher
Comedians and producers/hosts of the standup show and podcast Put Your Hands Together Cameron Esposito (twitter.com/cameronesposito) and Rhea Butcher (twitter.com/rheabutcher) join Matt, Andy and Jesse to discuss: Why spittoons make a dinging noise! Daft Punk and Cyberdyne Systems! Cockney rhyming slang! Photogravure! Severing underwater Internet cables! Solving the mystery of fairy rings! The Cloud Atlas leprechaun! The purple ink of a sea hare! The bacteria that solves obesity! Waste water-induced seismic events! The Bridgetown Comedy Festival is coming up April 18-21! (visit bridgetowncomedy.com for details)
4/9/2013 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 063 - Aparna Nancherla
Aparna Nancherla (twitter.com/aparnapkin) is a hilarious writer and performer on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, and she sits down with Matt and Andy this week to talk about: Magnet schools! The Elgin Marbles! Wilhelm Screams and the Milgram Experiment! Frogs that give birth through their mouths! Shepard Tones! Magic Johnson's T.G.I. Friday's! Retrieving rockets from the ocean floor! Unearthing plague pits! Fox hunting! Weather-themed songs about women!
4/2/2013 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode 062 - Matt Braunger
Comedian, actor and Bridgetown Comedy Festival co-founder Matt Braunger (twitter.com/braunger) makes his first Probably Science appearance, joining Matt, Andy and Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) to get to the bottom of: Comedians in therapy! Misleading anthropomorphic ad animals! Filming with Civil War re-enactors! Birds evolving shorter wings to escape cars! Overfishing breeding smaller fish! New patent laws: Better start filing! Andy and Matt's inventions! ZZ Topless! Having three parents: Not as bad as everyone thought! Arnold Schwarzenegger documentaries! White rocks on Mars! Pro wrestler Philip K. Dick!
3/26/2013 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode 061 - The Nerdist's Chris Hardwick
The head of Nerdist industries himself, comedian/podcaster/actor/musician/host Chris Hardwick (twitter.com/nerdist) is this week's guest, joining Matt, Andy and the returning Brooks Wheelan to discuss: The scientific study of Nicki Minaj! The dystopian future of Santa Cruz! Hoverboards! A scientific version of Trace Adkins! Bully nerds! Using iPhones to detect intestinal worms! Jury-rigging vs. jerry-rigging! Trustafarians! A new way to keep livers alive for transplantation! Talk show history! Bio-printing! Giving yourself a megahand! Hobo sapiens! Neanderthals' large eyes were their undoing! A horrifying bat-eating spider! Yet another Probably Science episode gets pre-empted by Lily Tomlin!
3/19/2013 • 53 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode 060 - Glenn Wool and Lady Carol
It's a packed house this week, with comedian Glenn Wool (twitter.com/glennwool) and songstress Lady Carol (facebook.com/theladycarolukulele) joining Auggie Smith (twitter.com/auggiesmith), Matt and Andy to talk about: Speedy deliveries from Mr. McFeely! Sniffing Bunsen burners! Auggie goes to Mike Tyson's one-man show! Screamin' Jay Hawkins and his ridiculously large brood! Whale mouth penises! The Island of Mel Gibsons! Does bee venom kill HIV? Caffeine-addicted bees! Sean Astin and the cast of ST:TNG on the same airplane! Mummies with heart conditions! Ancient wing nights! Private rockets just getting a teeny bit off the ground! The Philip K. Dick robot! Incompetent people are also unaware of their incompetence! Who wants to be president, anyway? Screamin' Jay Hawkins in space!
3/12/2013 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode 059 - Mike Schmidt and Wendy Wason
Comedians Mike Schmidt (twitter.com/The40YearOldBoy) and Wendy Wason (twitter.com/Wendy_Wason) join Matt and Andy this week to talk about: Testing for hairy feet! The results of Dr. Peter McGraw's E.T. experiment! Starting kitchen fires under the guise of Mr. Magic Show! Pulling your own eye in a Ziploc bag! The miraculously cured AIDS baby! Visiting a spice farm! Using poo to shield Mars mission astronauts from cosmic rays! Chimpanzees ladies pulling some Mean Girls antics! Meeting Jane Goodall! Harry Potter vs. Twilight! Herbal Viagra: Pretty much just Viagra!
3/5/2013 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 51 seconds
Probably History Episode 002 - Pompeii
After too long of an absence, Probably History returns with a lively discussion of Pompeii and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Comedian Mark Agee (twitter.com/markagee) joins Jesse Case, Andy Wood and Richard Bain to talk about life in first-century Rome, pyroclastic flows and the importance of knowing when to evacuate.
2/28/2013 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode 058 - Jeff Klinger
Comedian and writer Jeff Klinger (twitter.com/jeffklinger) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to talk about: Malfunctioning Segways! Andy's HP laptop woes! Two-saucer setups! Expensive anatomical models! Figuring out when man's anscestors developed a tolerance for booze! Getting slightly racist about alcoholism! Stealing liquor from your parents! Matt touched living legend Buzz Aldrin! The abuses of management consulting! Jesse going to school in a white tuxedo! Curing acid reflux by clamping your esophagus! Mole penises! Space water corrections!
2/26/2013 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 057 - Michael James Nelson
Comedy writer Michael James Nelson (michaeljamesnelson.com) has worked on Betty White's Off Their Rockers and many other shows in spite of the fact that as a young man he was convinced he would pursue a career in science and work on the Space Shuttle. He joins Matt, Andy and return guest Robert Buscemi this week to talk about: Magnet schools: How do they work? Growing up with multiple learning disabilities! The varying definitions of nerd-dom! The awesomeness of Betty White! Nice pranks! Last week's asteroid close-call! Fox News and their assessment of the value of space water! Drilling into the surface of Mars! Space cats! Using color patterns to search for extraterrestrial life! The bones of Richard III! The uncertainty principle demonstrated on a (somewhat) grand scale! Literal pecking orders! How to get alpha eggs at your local grocery store!
2/18/2013 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode 056 - David Huntsberger
David Huntsberger (twitter.com/huntsbergerjunk) from Professor Blastoff (professorblastoff.com), a podcast that Probably Science in no way plagiarizes, joins Matt and Andy this week to discuss: Getting deputized to substitute teach under Texas educational martial law! Narrowly avoiding dating minors! Trash-talking Bear Grylls! Ill-fitting letter jackets! High school rodeo teams! The redundancy of assless chaps! Team roping! A monkey midwife! Are there more types of otters than bears? The importance of giant prime numbers! The loneliness of Google Street View team members! The uselessness of Yelp reviews! The unintentional upside of oceanic pollution!
2/11/2013 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode 055 - Dr. Peter McGraw
Dr. Peter McGraw (twitter.com/petermcgraw) heads the Humor Research Lab (HuRL) at UC Boulder, and he joins Matt, Andy and returning guest Baron Vaughn (twitter.com/barvonblaq) for a special episode devoted entirely to the science of why things are funny. Peter's Benign Violation Theory is a robust, empirically testable explanation of humor in all its forms, and it's the basis of Peter and Joel Warner's upcoming book The Humor Code. For more information on Peter's work, visit humorcode.com and humorresearchlab.org.
2/4/2013 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode 054 - Laura House
Probably Science completes the Austin Stories trifecta this week with comedian/writer guest Laura House (twitter.com/imlaurahouse), who joins Matt and Andy in discussing: Valley celebrity encounters! Pissing off Jamie Foxx! Chili competitions! Drinking and guns! Shooting pesky mink! Russell Crowe's crappy Twitter feed! Getting an adult ego check from your parents! Making your own bullets! Detecing the dark matter all around us! Flu shots during pregnancy are safe! The history of vaccines! Vibrating steering wheels to help drunks! Trilogy's dot com-era recruiting practices! Light that travels faster than light!
1/30/2013 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode 053 - Wil Anderson
Pride of Australia Wil Anderson (twitter.com/wilanderson) delivers in a big way this week as he joins Matt and Andy this week to get to the bottom of: US/Australia alliances! The unavoidable presence of Yahoo Serious! Ned Kelly's branding prowess! Ozploitation! Adding a new color to Australia's temperature charts! Climate change denial! Karl Kruszelnicki's study of belly button fluff! Being laughed at vs. being laughed with! Testing 18 molar sulfuric acid on your arm! Exploding ATVs! Fetuses need light, too! Mark McGrath's Ark! Being lonely lowers your immune system! Comedians: Braver than Navy Seals! Crustaceans can feel pain! Pubic lice becoming extinct! Getting crabs in your eyelashes!
1/21/2013 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode 052 - Dan Telfer and Hannah Gansen
Comedians Dan Telfer (twitter.com/dantelfer) and Hannah Gansen (twitter.com/hannahgansen) join Matt and Andy this week to chat about: Getting a fake baby at age 18! Brussel Sprouts! Bobak Ferdowski, the NASA mohawk guy! Making origami cranes as astronaut training! Shoulder hair! The tiger quoll! Blowing up dollhouses! Fingers and toes wrinkle underwater for better grip! Debunking ridiculous lessons from teachers! Sending secret messages via Skype! Ancient eye medicine!
1/14/2013 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 7 seconds
Probably History Episode 001 - Christmas
As promised, Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) brings the first installment of Probably History, in which he, Jack Robichaud (twitter.com/jackrobichaud), Richard Bain (twitter.com/dickbain) and Andy Wood (twitter.com/andytwood) discuss the history of Christmas. Enjoy, and be on the lookout for a new episode of Probably Science next week!
1/11/2013 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 28 seconds
Holiday Bonus Episode with Jesse Case
Matt and Brooks are still out of town, so Andy sat down with Jesse Case this week for a special holiday bonus episode that's light on science, but heavy on the discussion of World War II bunker dogs, Jelly Bellies, porn, hospice situations, home videos from the 1980s, Beatles fandom, sleep-eating roommates and failed attempts to reach subglacial lakes. Enjoy, and we'll be back soon with full episodes and maybe even some Probably History!
12/31/2012 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode 051 - Troy Conrad
Troy Conrad (troyconrad.net) is a comedian, writer, director and producer, and he's the man behind the hilarious improvised standup comedy show Set List. He joins Matt, Andy and Jesse Case on this week's episode to talk about: Breaking Bad spoilers! Improvised debate! House/career dysmorphia! Hot tub clothing regulations! Comedy Jesus! Troy's Scientology experience! Probably History! Religions with boats! Beetles with handles! Howard Bloom! Tracking space debris! Inappropriate cell phone conversation volume! Keeping bread from growing mold! The Grand Canyon: Older than we thought?
12/17/2012 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode 050 - Kyle Kinane Returns!
Matt, Brooks, and Andy celebrate the 50th episode of Probably Science with their first repeat guest! Kyle Kinane, fresh on the heels of his Comedy Central special "Whiskey Icarus," sat down with the ProbSci crew to talk about: Brooks's love woes! Convincing housekeeping to let you watch a space jump! Free Jacuzzi! Public boners! Peeing in the shower! The cotton gin! Young Einstein! The deadliest bird! Brooks touched Bruce Springsteen! Undercover Boss! Log Cabin Republicans! Karaoke guitar solos! Barenaked Ladies cruises! Comedians opening for bands! Macy Gray! The physics of a halfpipe! Catfish eating pigeons! Japanese rollercoaster commuter trains! A parasite that makes mice fearless! A giant Texas meteor! Spending almost a billion dollars to go to the moon! Seeing extra colors! An attempt at historical science!
12/10/2012 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 049 - Tom Sibley
Comedian Tom Sibley (twitter.com/TheTomSibley) joins Matt, Brooks, and Andy to talk about: Advent calendars! Alternate endings to The Grey! Tom's secret robot teacher! Being sent to the bathroom during science class! Throwing your milk in a locker! Almost Live! Deep Blue Sea! Brooks travels to Hawaii! Matt's close encounter with a pod of killer whales! Instagram-iquette! Robotic snakes! Matt puts Miracle Balance energy bands to the test! Matt and Andy compare their Movember takes! Saturn's rings: A moon factory? Vernor's Herzog! Ice on Mercury! Alcoholic fly larvae! Doing comedy in Vegas!
12/3/2012 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode 048 - Marianne Sierk
Comic/actress Marianne Sierk (@MarianneSierk) of Tru TV and the upcoming reboot of Best Week Ever joins Matt, Andy and Jesse Case this week to discuss: The surplus of exposition in Lincoln! Impressions of Breaking Bad characters! Historical spoilers! The downside of co-education! Marianne's wiccan phase! The OCD nature of religion! D'Nealian and mumblety-peg! Finding your mother's diaphragm! Insects with giant testicles! Bug doctoring! Small-town sex! The lack of women in science jobs depicted in TV and movies! Girls who want to be princesses! Smother parties! Un-discovering an island! Chemtrails! Matt's kosher house! Making more rational decisions in a second language! Art therapy! Bees and birds solving the traveling salesman problem! Gus, the Kato Kaelin of dogs! Love You, Mean It with Whitney Cummings! The last week of Movember!
11/26/2012 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 047 - TJ Miller
Comedian and actor TJ Miller (twitter.com/nottjmiller) hosts Comedy Central's new show Mash Up, co-hosts the hilarious podcast Cashing In with TJ Miller, and has been a scene-stealer in movies and TV shows too numerous to mention. Matt, Brooks, and Andy venture to his loft this week to talk about: Being a fan of high school theater productions! Andy and Matt's competing Movember 'staches! Dad teachers! Name-dropping famous meals! Utica circuses! Major League pseudo-nudity! Mastering the art of sushi! John Stamos's parallel universe version of Full House! Matt's Hogwarts education! George Clooney's penis! TJ's brother Dennis! Growing your own balsa wood! Charles Darwin getting 4,000 write-in votes! Congressmen who don't believe in evolution! Hollywood billboards that aren't kid-friendly! Nic Cage's dinosaur skull! A wandering planet! TJ's fear of astronomy! Stephen Hawking using his mind to kick you in the dick! The great white shark isn't descended from megashark! TJ's juggling audition to become a member of the Magic Castle! Diseases of aging! Brooks's attempt at making a bloomin' onion! Which part of the brain helps you freestyle rap? TJ's arteriovenous malformation and subsequent brain surgery! Going crazy while making Yogi Bear 3D! Talking your friends and family into being ok with your possible death! Being a government-sponsored junkie! Belly button biodiversity! Prosthetic navels! The thrill of having your own Comedy Central page! Pick your favorite Probably Science mustache and donate to Movember!
11/19/2012 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode 046 - Taylor Williamson
Comedian Taylor Williamson (taylorwilliamson.com) of Last Comic Standing joins Matt and Andy this week to talk about: Election results! Bad presidential impressions! The historic Alex Theatre! Jeopardy! Novelizations of Jim Carrey movies! Acid rain experiments! Fake anti-Semitism! Beakman's World! Grapple forks and rock buckets! Watching Simon Pegg movies with subtitles! Show-off sharks! Aladdin sequels! Math anxiety creates actual pain! High school Republicanism! The diabetes/flu link! Doubling down on jokes that don't work! Being poor causes bad decision-making! Bar mitzvah DJ sets! Cybersquatting! Shia LaBeuof naked! Growing charity facial hair!
11/12/2012 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode 045 - Mike Siegel
Actor/comedian and host of the Travel Tales podcast Mike Siegel (funnymike.com) joins Matt, Brooks and Andy on a lovely November afternoon to discuss: Favorite Boogie Nights scenes! Brooks Skywalker! Matt's Movember mustache! The Iowa wrestling legacy! Pick-up grappling! The unifying power of soccer! Mike's scientist parents! The venomous, egg-laying, otter-footed, beaver-tailed, duck-billed platypus! Australia: penal colony for all species! Mike's world travels! Winnipeg's giant teepee! Felix Baumgartner is anti-space exploration! Self-fixing concrete! Red Bull Flugtag mishaps! A planet made of diamond! Andy's Pioneertown zombie prom! The health impact of drying your clothes! Psychic powers disproved! Brooks Wheelan selected as one of Comedy Central's Comics to Watch for 2012!
11/5/2012 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode 044 - Chip Pope
Writer/comedian Chip Pope (Austin Stories, Beavis & Butthead, Last Comic Standing) joins Andy, Brooks, and Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) for this week's Probably Science, with a spook-tacularly unnecessary intro courtesy of the built-in effects on the mixing board. Topics discussed include: Working with Mike Judge! Luke and Owen Wilson: Actually brothers? The upcoming Probably History spinoff! R. O. Manse! Rabbits overtaking Australia! Steely Dan: Not just for dads! The Texas town that busts tour buses! Vote "no" on all ballot propositions! The degree symbol comes from hieroglyphics! Decoding the oldest-known writing system! The Wachowski siblings! Probably Science Blind Items! Moving asterozone hole! oids with paintballs! The incredible shrinking ozone layer hole! The Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in Brooks's neighborhood! The obsolescence of representative democracy! Hermit crab key parties! The Milky Way munching on star clusters! Jesse pays for $40 worth of gas and drives away! Rugrats conspiracy theories! First Internet experiences! Chris Brown beating up an Avid!
10/29/2012 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode 043 - Josh Cheney and Dax Jordan
Comedians Josh Cheney (twitter.com/JoshCheenee) and Dax Jordan (twitter.com/DaxJordan) join Andy and Brooks this week to talk about: King Tuff vs. Pearl Jam! The Hot House comedy show! Josh's role as Professor Kelp on The Homework Show! Dax vs. Josh in Weird Al fandom! Watching Armageddon and grabbing boobs! Celery-based science fair projects! Dax's disappointing attempt at crossbreeding carrots! Comparing Christmas gift-opening traditions! Felix Baumgartner's record-setting jump! Ball lightning: What is it? How long would it take for something to fall to the center of the earth? A commitment ceremony for the smashing-together of two galaxies! Is anything really bad for the planet? Should we protect polar bears? Tickling baby penguins! Traumatizing mice, then trying to fix said trauma! Brooks finally unveiling his Red Hot Chili Peppers tattoo! What memory would you erase if you could? A rogue climate hacker dumping 100 tons of iron sulfate into the ocean for science!
10/22/2012 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode 042 - Emery Emery
Emery Emery, host of the podcasts The Ardent Atheist (ardentatheist.com) and Skeptically Yours (skepticallyyours.net), makes his first Probably Science appearance with a full cast of Matt, Andy, and Brooks to talk about: The origin of Probably Science! Andy putting his foot in his mouth on Emery's podcast! Neil Young burying the Skynyrd hatchet! Blowing up a rat with 8 M-80s! The Bogdanov Affair! Trusting expertise! Brooks giving himself nicknames! Pegged jeans! Andy's ukulele project! Cheating yo-yos with mechanical clutches! Robot bee brains! Emery gets revenge on Andy via Shane Battier!
10/14/2012 • 57 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode 041 - Richard Bain
The gang's all here! Pride of Portland and recent Los Angeles transplant Richard Bain joins Matt, Brooks, and Andy to talk about: Scaring Dave Chappelle! The greatness of Undeclared! Matt and Andy trying to convince Richard and Brooks to vote! Brooks gets his tattoo covered to host Comedy Central's upcoming Retro Weekend! The aphrodisiac effects of Troll 2! What if Hitler was into troll dolls? Blowing up a rollerblade with a propane tank! Brooks has a bone to pick with the old woman who lived in a shoe! Insects with mechanical brains! Latino mechanics who pit black widows against bees! Hiring a green exterminator! Brooks hosting toddler fight clubs! Bees that make blue and green honey! Niels Bohr's birthday! The discovery of a dwarf vampire porcupine dinosaur! Brooks loves New York City! A Nazi Buddha made from a meteorite! Papa John's car! Bears and tigers moving to the city! Baboon burglars!
10/8/2012 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode 040 - Hampton Yount
Matt and Brooks are out of town, so we're bringing you a lost episode with Hampton Yount (hamptonyount.com) recorded in December of 2011. Enjoy this glimpse into the not-to-distant past... A simpler time... A time when we only had one microphone. Seriously, though, it's a good episode, even if the science stories are a bit out of date. Enjoy!
10/1/2012 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode 039 - Andy Haynes
Andy Haynes (imandyhaynes.com) came up in the Pacific Northwest comedy scene before making his mark on Fallon and Conan, and he joins Brooks, Andy, and guest co-hosts Auggie Smith (auggiesmith.com) and Alice Wetterlund (alicewetterlund.com) to talk about: Getting the star treatment for late night sets! Andy Richter's cartoonist brother-in-law Tony Millionaire! The sobering effects of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival! Powering through the Human Centipede sequel! Andy confusing Mengele, Mendel, and Mendeleev! Haynes's fear of zombies! Walking out of movies! Stealing 100,000 miniature airplane liquor bottles! Brooks's lack of callbacks! More dry ice bombs! Grilling burgers: Worse for the environment than driving a diesel truck? Vegetarianism! Studying Central American revolutionaries and their relationship to the Catholic church! Bands with semen-related names! Dead baby pandas! Favorite bears! The Space Shuttle flyover! Challenger street jokes! Bane impressions! International Observe The Moon Night! Finally figuring out what a harvest moon is! Ritalin makes the ladies go all-in! Don't drive drunk unless you're driving for Brooks! Exploding animals! Historical baby names! Andy's season tickets to the XFL!
9/24/2012 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode 038 - Mark Agee
You've seen the very funny Mark Agee (twitter.com/MarkAgee) on Last Comic Standing, and he makes his Probably Science debut this week, joining Andy and a fresh-off-the-plane Matt Kirshen to talk about: Performering at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! Taking Brooks's grown-up appliances! Living in comedian squalor! Putting a wrench in the works of conversations! Nash equilibria! Game theory! Why do people keep working after making their fortunes? Heisenberg -- not as uncertain as we'd thought? Matt's jet lag! Don't drink on planes! Getting paid in drink tickets! King Tut's girlish figure! Could epilepsy have saddled human civilization with monotheism? John Wayne Gacy's head injury! Pedophilia sympathy! Studying the innate clocks of mice! The concept of second sleep! Go-go juice! The evolutionary explanation of the placebo effect! The high cost of turning on our immune systems! Cocktails vs. mixed drinks! Computing with water droplets!
9/17/2012 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 037 - Power Violence
LA-based comedy team Power Violence (facebook.com/powerviolencecomedy) host one of the best weekly comedy shows in town, and they're now Brooks's roommates as well. Andy and Brooks do an on-site recording at the new residence to talk with Whitmer, Rodney, Budd, and Clay about: The magic of Andrew WK! Living down the street from Booger from Revenge of the Nerds! Hurricane preparedness! Setting your house on fire! Voyager I reaching the edge of the Solar System! The golden space record! Whit’s family Challenger connection! Dead fish in Lake Erie! Bowling balls of hardened BP oil! Time actually does slow down for elite athletes! Tigers and humans working in shifts! Andy getting charged by a moose! Discovering a new species of stick bug! Pilot whales getting moved to Sea World! Animal abuse on the set of The Adventures Milo and Otis!
9/10/2012 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode 036 - Shane Mauss
Comedian Shane Mauss (shanemauss.com), as seen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Conan, joins Brooks and Andy on a lovely Labor Day weekend afternoon to discuss: Summer surfing! Comedy about time travel! Evolutionary psychology, A.K.A. science about dicks! Wisconsin's extreme drinking claims! Michio Kaku, the less-optimistic Ray Kurzweil! Dumbing-down the science portions of your standup act! Blowing up mailboxes! Soliciting advice on keeping birds and bats out of wind turbines! The science refuting Todd Akin's mind-bogglingly stupid statement about rape and pregnancy! Shane throwing away his whole act to write comedy about sexual selection! Finding 40,000 Euro worth of whale vomit! Forming smell/sound associations while sleeping! The upcoming LA Podcast Festival, October 12-14 (lapodfest.com)!
9/3/2012 • 59 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 035 - Baron Vaughn
Baron Vaughn (baronvaughn.com) of Fairly Legal, Conan, and Fallon makes his first Probably Science appearance as he helps Brooks, Andy, and guest co-host Jesse Case figure out: Ways to straighten teeth! Which parts of Des Moines are New Jack City! 50 Shades of Dorian Gray! Oppenheimer/Bhagavad Gita quotes! OJ Simpson chase memories! Super-fertility causing miscarriage! Brooks scares off Mumford & Sons! Andy pisses off Ed Norton while surfing! Brooks cries his eyes out at Beasts of the Southern Wild! Bill Nye stands up to creationists! Misrepresenting evolution! Determining hair and eye color of crime suspects from DNA! Baron's deleted scene with Will Ferrell! HD format wars! Raising funds for a Nikola Tesla museum! Brooks goes to SummerSlam! Ray Kurzweil and the technological singularity! Fixing a century-old Spanish fresco the Mr. Bean way!
8/27/2012 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 034 - Julian McCullough
It looks like Summer Country has drawn to a premature close, and we bring Julian McCullough, co-host of the upcoming E! show Love You Mean It with Whitney Cummings, along to help us come to terms with that. Auggie Smith also guest co-hosts, helping Brooks and Andy get to the bottom of: Lies told on This American Life! Hitting on girls in chemistry class! Andy recants his anti-Cornell statements! Julian tells his personal story of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake! The moment you realize that not all British people are better than you! Denmark's kickass penal system! The awesomeness of Jack White! "Green" cremation! Turning your loved ones into a water bottle! Endangered sharks! The golden ratio: Now in uteruses! Ultrasound mischief! Mars pictures! Julian's near-death experience on a scooter! Using DNA to encode the contents of a book! Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction!
8/20/2012 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode 033 - Kira Soltanovich
As seen on Last Comic Standing and Girls Behaving Badly, comedian Kira Soltanovich (kiracomedy.com) joins Matt, Andy, and guest host Auggie Smith to talk about: Shift workers are at risk for heart attacks! Heckles worse than "Too soon!" Siphoning out the contents of Rod Stewart's stomach! Auto-erotic self-asphyxiation! Fixing the hellmouth hot tub! The mysteries of Branson, Missouri! What does Perestroika mean? Pussy Riot! Tracking people's eye movements to predict what they'll say! Bodily changes brought on by pregnancy! Why do dogs wear bandanas? Would you give up your arms and legs to be able to unhinge your jaw? Chewbacca's Russian etymological origins! Going as a low-rent mummy for Halloween! Matt's wizard onesie! Strobe goggles can improve your memory! Auggie can summon death upon unruly audience members!
8/13/2012 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 2 seconds
Episode 032 - Guy Branum
Actor and comedian Guy Branum (guybranum.com) of No Strings Attached and Chelsea Lately joins Matt, Andy, and guest co-host Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) this week as they discuss: Rural sociology! Wasting a law degree! Calling out Guns, Germs and Steel! Quinoa: Not just for Incans anymore! What makes us fat: diet or lack of exercise? Andy's swimming past! Acai, antioxidants, and free radicals! Fake Einstein quotes about bees! Anna Chlumsky! Suicide-bombing termites! Cornell's former College of Home Economics! The UK's nationalized virginity-loss system! Fooling iris-recognition scanners! Guy outs some closeted celebrities! Andy's snail mail Nigerian scam!
8/6/2012 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode 031 - Robert Buscemi
Pride of Chicago Robert Buscemi (robertbuscemi.blopspot.com) guests with Matt, Brooks, and Andy this week as they dig into: Recording Set List in the UK! Space has a strange smell! Why is there vodka in space? Finding Pharaohs with missing fractals! Benford's Law! Those silly Microsoft programmers and their 0xB16B00B5! Measuring a river's meander! Oxbow lakes! Billabongs! Is impersonating a beekeeper a crime? Robert's cheerleading Hippocratic oath! Creating a complete computer model of an organism! Playing God: The sincerest form of flattery! What's an aquifer? Ethanol levels in the atmosphere are rising! Michael Winslow's work as a Prius voiceover artist! Why is every La Cucaracha car horn so wrong? Matt's science museum tooth loss!
7/29/2012 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 030 - Steve Agee
Comedian and star of The Sarah Silverman Program, Steve Agee, sits in with Brooks, Andy and Matt to talk about: Alan Jackson's Summer Country betrayal! Bedroom ceiling star stickers! Brooks is a PR shill for Starbucks! The dark side of cornstarch! Non-Newtonian bullet-proof vests! An actual Columbia physics lecturer writes in re: the Higgs boson! Hunting elephants might not be the best idea if you're the president of a conservation group! Is the CEO of godaddy.com the worst person alive? Building a jellyfish out of rat hearts! Steve's reality TV background! The first-ever Science Speed Round! Steve's failed adolescent Molotov cocktail! Brooks trying to give himself the nickname "Reptile"! Dolphins using nonlinear math to see through air bubbles! Andy doing the Alcatraz swim! The first spiral galaxy in the universe! Open call for LA-area science-types to guest on the show! Brooks losing his phone to Summer Country! Dean Cain: Not a fan of Batman!
7/23/2012 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 1 second
Episode 029 - Nick Turner
It's Probably Country! You may have seen the very funny Nick Turner (twitter.com/itsmenickyt) on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and he joins the gang this week to talk about: Brooks almost stepping on a rattlesnake! What's on YOUR Instagram? Brooks's pickup lines! Bill Nye vendettas! Robots that walk like humans! Neurological wiring predicting chronic pain! What's the worst pain you've ever felt? Pictures of Mars! How much does a rover cost? Impressions of sea creatures! The real reason for the 2012 Mayan apocalypse! Flea movies! Gay snakes! A robot that can do Brooks's job! Verbot vs. Furby! Help Brooks pick a #SummerCountry ringtone! Sunburns are red due to RNA damage! Nick doesn't believe in sunscreen!
7/15/2012 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 028 - Moshe Kasher
Comedian and author of the memoir Kasher in the Rye Moshe Kasher (moshekasher.com) joins Brooks and Andy to get to the bottom of: Credit inflation among comedians! Selling fake pot! The proliferation of Genghis Khan DNA! Saving baby beluga whales! The genius of John Prine! Preventing hearing loss with AMPK proteins! Growing up with two deaf parents! Working as a sign language interpreter! Drinking a bottle of vinegar to pass a drug test! Being stuck in Hawaii drinking a space diet for four months! The dude stuck in a transparent house at Burning Man! How much money would it take to make you quit comedy? Are any jobs worthwhile? The Higgs boson -- do any of us understand its significance? Killing wolves in Yellowstone!
7/9/2012 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode 027 - Jordan Morris
Jordan Morris of the long-running podcast Jordan, Jesse, Go! (maximumfun.org) and Fuel TV's The Daily Habit sits in with Brooks and Andy to dig even deeper into Summer Country while discussing: Awkward moments with Yao Ming! Papercraft ProbSci hosts! Brooks's creepy mustache! The world's biggest crocodile! Detroit's future Juggalo mayor! Male contraceptives! Replacing Maury Povich with Brooks's grandpa! The return of Tony Clifton! Super-old pottery! Leap seconds! The Wood Brothers 100-Yard Dash Challenge! Rock-scissors-paper robots! Stars Wars tourist traps! The final chapter of Captain Cook's life!
7/2/2012 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode 026 - Bil Dwyer
TV's Bil Dwyer (twitter.com/bildwyer) of Battlebots fame, among countless other projects, joins us in welcoming Matt back to the states with a week's worth of science news!
6/25/2012 • 1 hour, 23 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 025 - Tony Sam
Comedian and former molecular and marine biology major Tony Sam (tonysam.com) helps us celebrate ProbSci's silver anniversary by delving into meaty topics including: Birkenstock memories! Brooks’s Summer of Country! Stealing boomboxes from crappy comedy shows! Brooks is going to see That’s My Boy for some reason! Andy’s Pacific Northwest comedy adventures! Tony’s work as a Caribbean aquarium biologist! Giving HIV to humanized BLT mice! Hiding at work! Protecting the ocean surrounding Australia! The Parrothead epidemic! Getting asked to leave Margaritaville! Six-pack summer! Cerveza Caguama! Staying in a youth hostel at 35! Brooks is going to Europe! Speech-learning robots! Colonizing Mars! Magic kits! The first female Chinese astronaut! More borderline-racist Asian accent impressions! You have-a dis-a-respected-a my daughter-a! A secret Air Force plane has landed! Captain Cook’s awesome story! The Probably Science book club!
6/18/2012 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode 024 - Eliza Skinner
Talented comedian/actress/musical improv coach/science enthusiast Eliza Skinner (elizaskinner.com) sits in with Andy and Brooks to talk about: Playing a hooker on Conan! Rocket scientist family members! The Patriot missile test launches! Hands-on science museums! More Wisconsin Dells memories! Being a woman who likes Cronenberg movies! Brooks hasn’t seen Aliens! Buy a space poster, win a trip to space! Andy trying to reunite the band Wilco in the style of Parent Trap! DC Hardcore music! Eliza’s punk inclinations! Krishna-core! Favorite modes of mass transit! Brooks is heading to Europe! Hard Rock Cafe Auschwitz? Why can’t you use your phone on a plane? Andy’s love/hate relationship with sports! More moon size debates! Confusing Sams Neil, Shepard, and Elliott! Brooks loves Tennessee Williams! Kickass seagrass! The Sesame Street sassy clam! The sitcom Dinosaurs! Professor Brooks Seven Wheelan leaves his ferret at a hotel! Poorly thought-out prank phone calls! Prosthetic robot arms! Sci-fi prognostication!
6/11/2012 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode 023 - Jason Nash
Last Comic Standing finalist and Guys With Feelings host Jason Nash (guyswithfeelings.com) joins Brooks and Andy to try to figure out where Matt is, and to dig into some of life's meatiest quandaries, including: Does Andy have a weird voice? Brooks does an awful Matt impression! Jason recruits a neighborhood six-year-old to help him beat Wii games! Rob Dyrdek moves into Jason’s neighborhood! More weirdness about Andy’s roommates! Are we The Avengers of comedy and science? The science of superheroes! Bruce Jenner and The Hulk! Private spaceflight! The eclipse! Co-ed future showers in Paul Verhoeven movies! Parenting advice from Jason! Hippie houseguests! DNA tests of Bigfoot specimens! Favorite mythical creatures! The “Exotic Becomes Erotic” theory of sexual orientation! Prostate screening: Not as fun as it sounds? A Mongolian T. Rex skeleton goes up for auction! Visiting the dystopia that is LG's headquarters in Gumi, South Korea! The science behind toy envy! Tobey Maguire tries to rally the crowd at a Roger Waters concert!
6/4/2012 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode 022 - Duncan Trussell
Comedian, philosopher and host of the Duncan Trussell Family Hour podcast (duncantrussell.com) Duncan Trussell invites us into his home for a far-reaching discussion of topics including: Tarot card Rorschach tests! Chuck Klosterman Canadian Football League thought experiments! America tells the world: Don’t touch our moon shit! Lunar landing conspiracy theories! Preparing to break the free-fall world record! Spiteful skydiving! Astronaut tail! Vic Morrow’s Twilight Zone movie death! Deadly Peruvian bats! Favorite Vlad the Impaler stories! Therapeutic psychedelic mushrooms! Taking drugs at church! Top ten coolest new species!
5/28/2012 • 55 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 021 - Eddie Ifft
It's our first-ever live episode! We're joined by special guest Eddie Ifft of the Talkin' Shit podcast with Jim Jeffries (http://jimandeddietalkshit.com), and we get into topics including: Rocks for Jocks! Global warming denial campaigns! Mormon-backed niceness initiatives! Trampoline Peeping Toms! Shark attacks: Don’t worry about ‘em! Re-routing apocalypse asteroids with pebbles! Roundabout proof that there may have been water on Mars! Freeing whales, breaking laws! People only skated on ponds in the 1950s! Every animal is a rapist! Happy old people make bad decisions! Lasik surgery – thumbs up or thumbs down? Using sparklers at the gas pump! Special thanks to The Mint (themintla.com) for letting us record in their beautiful venue!
5/21/2012 • 46 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode 020 - Blaine Capatch
We've made it to the big 2-0 with the help of writer/comedian extraordinaire Blaine Capatch (@blainecapatch)! Topics discussed include: Roller Darby O'Gill and the Little People! Blaine’s spelling bee prowess! The Yellowstone supervolcano! Messier gigs! Seeing the Smothers Brothers at an insurance convention! Young Blaine’s first onstage appearance with Red Skelton! Revisiting the airborne version of bird flu! Freaky Friday body switches! Tracking writers’ influences based on content-free words! Color-changing artificial muscles! Racist babies! Titan’s conditions: kind of good for creating life! Venus goes in front of the Sun! Lucha VaVOOM!
5/14/2012 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode 019 - Justin Ian Daniels
Justin Ian Daniels, comedian and co-host of the Rough House Podcast (theroughhousepodcast.com), joins us for a lively discussion of topics including: Members of Slipknot! Dee-Dee Ramone rapping! The Southern Gentlemen of Wrestling! Top-shelf bag-drainings! The origins of the Secret Service! The Find Brooks' Publicity Photo Listener Challenge! The Supermoon! Vibrating suits for Olympians! Learning from heathens! Super-fast wi-fi with common laser pointers! The decline of dinosaurs! New lizard species discovered! Can someone please get Dolph Lundgren to be a guest on our show? Ancient red blood cells! How exactly did Stevie Nicks get cocaine blown up her ass? Accidentally dropping nukes on South Carolina! Justin getting a 50-caliber pantload!
5/7/2012 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode 018 - Jackie Kashian
Comedian and host of the podcast The Dork Forest (thedorkforest.com) Jackie Kashian makes her long overdue debut on Probably Science to talk with the gang about: The legacy of Armenian comedy! Tweeting at Margaret Atwood and R.L. Stine! It’s gettin’ hot in here, if by “here” you mean “on wind farms”! Hercules Meets the Three Stooges! Brooks wants to know everyone’s takes on animals! The Wisconsin Dells! Working a summer job in a lame cave! Stalactites vs. stalagmites! Birds with GPS neurons! Donald Trump and his asshole offspring! The Unicorn Song! Number lines: learned or instinctual? Brooks sitting on the beach reading about Magellan! Jackie sells the boys on a new comic book! Are we scaring sharks away from their reefs? Fake DNA! Ghost-finding apps! C.S. Lewis’s *other* books! Andy was almost an extra in Twilight! Venus traipses in front of the Sun! “Drunken helpers” at comedy shows!
4/30/2012 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 017 - James Adomian
Brilliant comedian and master of characters James Adomian (jamesadomian.com) has returned from the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, as have Matt, Brooks and Andy, and they've got stories to tell! Bridgetown tales abound this week, but the gang also get around to discussing: Harry Potter names! Jesse Ventura! Skeletons in hot air balloons! Wrestling moves and pesticides! Particles that are their own antiparticles! Too much free time makes you feel too busy! Giant sharks! Eggless chickens! Asteroid mining with Jim Cameron! Adomian's famed academic grandfather!
4/23/2012 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode 016 - Alonzo Bodden
Last Comic Standing winner Alonzo Bodden joins us this week, and it turns out he's got more science cred than the average comic, having been an aircraft mechanic for years before getting into comedy. We get into lots of fun stuff, including: Last Comic Standing challenges! Doing comedy for college kids! Fixing crashed airplanes! 600 mile-per-hour tape! Trying Gushers before the general public! Bikers on scooters! Brooks' rollerblading past! Smart sand! Measuring snake strength in units of grandpa shakes! The first use of fire! The refusal of ignorance! Space elevators! Getting stuck in the White House bathtub!
4/18/2012 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode 015 - Dave Holmes
Funnyman Dave Holmes of the podcast A Drink with Dave (adrinkwithdave.com) joins us this week to talk about: Andy’s idiotic attempt at the Master Cleanse! Dave’s half-marathon training! Embarrassing high school stories! Involuntary boners! Diet soda: Maybe it *doesn’t* make you fat? Velveeta Cheesy Skillets! Do antibiotics cause weight gain? Could bacteria cause OCD? The effects of caffeine and speed on a rat’s work ethic! Cheaters at Draw Something! Dolphin gangs! Jeff Bezos digging up spacecraft engines! Dave’s surfing therapist! Matt owes his career to Saved By the Bell! Screech’s standup career!
4/8/2012 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode 014 - Paul Jay
Comedian Paul Jay of the podcast The Biggest Mistake (thebiggestmistake.net) sits in with the boys to talk about: Armchair astronomy! Getting Robert Plant to guest on the podcast! Pronouncing Led Zeppelin song titles! More horrible segues! How much would you pay to go to space with Tom Cruise? Sub-orbital streaking! Vibrating tattoos! Checking off items on Paul’s Probably Science bucket list! Growing new body parts! The search for Amelia Earhart! Venice is sinking! Brooks asks German kids the tough questions! Hydrogen-powered robotic jellyfish! The theory of circulation! Lobotomies! The Bridgetown Comedy Festival!
4/2/2012 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode 013 - Chris Franjola
Chris Franjola (@ChrisFranjola) of Chelsea Lately, After Lately and Are You There, Chelsea? may not have studied much science, but he has some great takes on topics including: Being a theater nerd! Midwest tubing adventures! KISS-brand deodorant! Dave Grohl and the Heartbreakers! Catching a NASA spy Chris Hansen-style! Audition tips from Brooks! Figuring out why shock therapy works! Does Chris believe in depression? Our phone-obsessed culture! Comedy: Chris’s anti-drug! Have we found the cause of baldness? Tim McGraw and Dwight Yoakam: Two cowboy hats away from being Radio Shack managers! Brooks get a #1 Arthur Fonzarelli haircut for $6! Don’t judge a movie by seeing it on a plane! Why hasn’t the Segway conquered the world? Using lasers to see around corners! Laserdisc nostalgia! Brooks’s racist pet names! Hollywood Boulevard superheroes! Holding a gun makes you think everyone else is, too! Drunk Steven Adler buying Top Ramen! Sean Young crashes Andy’s comedy show! How did we discover mass extinction? Chris’s love of Theodore Rex! Wolfmother intros!
3/26/2012 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode 012 - Auggie Smith
Auggie Smith (auggiesmith.com), winner of the Seattle and San Francisco International Comedy Competitions, sits down with the boys in Andy’s backyard to talk about: Auggie and Andy trying out for Jeopardy! Matt explains what “gunged” means! Guiding lightning with lasers! Matt’s Dickensian childhood! Babies are smarter than computers! Is Carl Weathers a poor man’s Clark Gable? Who’s your favorite painter? Did Bill Murray think “Garfield” was a Coen Brothers movies? Brooks and Andy’s juvenile “Into the Wild” fixations! What do you do when your island ends up underwater? Setting the 3-D nanoprinting speed record! Going to space: Bad for your eyes? Chuck Yeager: Bigger badass than Buzz Aldrin? Thumbs up or thumbs down on foreskins and motorcycles? Isaac Newton’s apocalyptic predictions! Has anyone turned down being knighted?
3/18/2012 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode 011 - Howard Kremer
“Who Charted?” host Howard Kremer (@howardkremer) is our guest this week as we discuss: Jim Cameron’s adventures under the sea! Solar Flares acting up again! Old memories interfering with new ones! Cockfosters and Crouch End! Andy's Andrew WK/Iggy Pop/Bob Seger connection! The Cleveland Volcano in Alaska is acting up again (and that's not a sex joke)! Summah solidarity! Giant insects found on a patch of dirt on Skull Island! The Clap: Now drug-resistant! The history of anesthesia!
3/12/2012 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode 010 - Jesse Case
You’ve seen comedian Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) on Last Comic Standing and this season of Parenthood. Oh, and he’s Andy’s roommate, and the creator of our theme music! Jesse joins Matt, Brooks and Andy to talk about: Breakups! Andy and Jesse’s strange living situation! Asteroids ending the world in 28 years! Plans for the apocalypse! Microchip fraud! Tutoring software that responds to emotion! The T. Rex: It bit even harder than we thought! Solving our energy crisis with poop! Eulogy for a surrogate sea otter! Andy the cat hitman! Magellan’s magical mystery tour!
3/5/2012 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode 009 - Brody Stevens
Brody Stevens (brodystevens.com, @BrodyIsMeFriend) of both “Hangover” films, “Due Date” and general awesomeness, joins the gang to discuss: Favorite HBO Shows! Erotic thrillers! PG-13 boobs! The government’s “Avatar” ripoff! Prancertron-2000! Who’s worse at a party -- the guitar guy or the magic guy? Partying with Dane Cook and Jerry Cantrell! Listener feeback: Whales are delicious!, Resurrecting a 30,000-year-old plant! Vegan dogs! Tarzana: Actually named for Tarzan! Census-designated places! Russian gangster accents! ASU baseball! Brody’s 91 mph fastball! The world’s longest kidney chain! "Human Centipede": Not that good! The “Troll 2” dentist! A "Mythbusters" cannonball pulls a Family Circus through the 'burbs! Firing ranges with racist targets! Boozy fruit flies! Babies learn faster than we thought! Will the Hangover baby be traumatized? Poorly researched name-dropping! Calling out your friend’s "ALF" lies! The magic healing power of magnets! John Glenn’s historic space flight! Buzz Aldrin: Ultimate badass!
2/26/2012 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode 008 - April Richardson
Chelsea Lately's April Richardson (aprilrichardson.com) sits in with the boys to talk about: Brooks making his own "Drive" lab gloves! Ryan Gosling & Tom Brady: attractive? Science proves that booze makes you smarter! Brooks got some eyeball pieces in his mouth! Should all scientists just work on cancer? April hates space, went to Space Camp! Robot camel jockeys! And that's not racist! Swiss space janitors! Which Batman is your generation's Batman? Salman Rushdie's Red Shoe Diaries! April: class clown or class heckler? Brooks gives everyone 100%! Don't judge flying 'til you've tried it! $23 million textbooks! Dueling mathematicians! Fermat's last theorem! Brooks had too much positive reinforcement!
2/20/2012 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode 007 - Kyle Kinane
Comedian Kyle Kinane (kylekinane.com) joins Matt, Brooks and Andy to discuss: Sexy snakes! C. Everett Koop dissecting cats! Pangaea 2: Tokyo Drift! Aliens and atheists! Human hypersleep! How the zebra got its stripes! War dolphins! Loose shakers! Deadly farting lakes!
2/13/2012 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode 006 - Johnny Pemberton
21 Jump Street's Johnny Pemberton (www.johnnypemberton.com) talks with us about: Subliminal science projects! Fallback jobs! Using monkeys to measure radiation! Who would last in a zombie apocalypse? Shutting down Occupy LA! Chimp attacks! Brooks’ helper monkey! Warmest cold year on record? 2011: not so good for weather catastrophes! The Bill of Rights! Brooks and Johnny love guns! The God particle! Old Testament science! First humans to leave Africa! Mnemonic devices! 100th anniversary of reaching the South Pole! Johnny loves Antarctica!
2/9/2012 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode 005 - Matt Kirshen Returns
Matt's back, and we discuss: Horror movie bird flu! Are the Japanese whaling addicts? Brooks' borderline racist accents! Russian scientists disappear searching for prehistoric lake! Own your own drone! How big is that ice chunk? Turing's gayness pardoned!
2/6/2012 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode 004 - Barry Rothbart
What killed all those New Zealand whales? Shooting nudist colony videos! What’s your worst job? World’s lightest substance! Extraterrestrial real estate! A vacuum is not nothing? Barry’s Conan suit! We're gonna be astronauts! Space Camp! Galileo!
2/1/2012 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode 003 - Mike Burns
Comedian Mike Burns of the podcast Gentleman Scumbags (http://www.pantswise.com/scumbags/) Joins us to discuss: iPhone anger! It’s official: no secret government aliens! Why is Mike scared of quinceañera aliens? Spontaneously obese monkeys! Bob Seger! Squeezing into Air Jordans! Mike got stabbed in the back! Literally! Naming new elements! Dr. Guillotine!
1/26/2012 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode 002 - Nick Rutherford
Nick Rutherford (goodneighborstuff.com) joins us to discuss: Favorite dinosaurs! Land Before Time: documentary? Predicting gang violence with math! Fake Mars missions in Russian parking garages! The logic of gambling! Sending gold records to space! Arm wrestling documentaries! Did we find Scrat from Ice Age?
1/25/2012 • 54 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode 001 - Matt Kirshen, Brooks Wheelan, Andy Wood
Matt, Brooks and Andy take on the week in science, delving into important matters including:
Comet close calls! Speeding neutrinos! Turing test -- is Matt a robot? How about Andy? Space junk! Seals and kangaroos: cute or a nuisance? Did Columbus's arrival cool the earth? The Glassblower's Oath: Thou shalt not make a bong. Murderers for science!