After School Science Club

Double, double, toil and trouble – we’re taking a trip back in time to the infamous witch trials. Katherine Howe tells us about the influences that gave rise to beliefs in witchcraft – and why villagers thought even their next door neighbors might have been witches.

Did people’s belief in witchcraft have some scientific basis? What led to the inevitable decline of witch hunts in the late 17th century? And how have the witch trials influenced pop culture today?

Learn more about witchcraft and science through the ages with Katherine Howe and After School Science Club – we hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes

• Katherine Howe is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning historian and novelist. Find out more about Katherine’s work and her new book, A TRUE ACCOUNT – out now!

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In this episode of Spooky Scary Science Club, we return with a look into parapsychology and the scientific basis of the supernatural.

Can people really predict the future? Though a controversial piece of research has claimed that we can, many others have refuted the idea. But that leads us to ask – how do psychics really know so much about our lives? We dive into how tricks of psychology can convince you that someone knows all about you and what your future holds.

We also talk about ghostly encounters and how scientific phenomena may actually provide rational explanations for them. From evolutionary mechanisms to protect you from harm to the entirely normal experience of seeing faces and patterns in otherwise random and ambiguous stimuli, we ain’t afraid of no ghost!

Show Notes

• The controversial paper on precognition
• The effect of individual differences on paranormal beliefs
• Why we see patterns and faces everywhere
• Awake or asleep? Your body thinks it’s both

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October is arguably one of the best times for movie lovers. Whether you’re into classic monster stories, psychological thrillers, or more wholesome tales, there’s something for everyone.

Though we may prefer cozy spooky films (Hocus Pocus, anyone?), we’re still scientists, so we asked horror and literature expert Jon Greenaway how horror gets inside our heads – and why some people actually enjoy their visceral reactions.

Is the science in horror movies actually any good – or just scarily bad? How has Hollywood manipulated the science to create effective experiences for audiences? And what real-world events and phenomena inspired our most iconic horror tales?

Grab your popcorn and get settled in for the second episode in our Spooky Scary Science Club seasonal special!

Show Notes

• Jon Greenaway has a PhD in literature and is an expert in horror from the late 18th century to the present. He is the author of multiple books including the forthcoming Capitalism: A Horror Story.
• Listen to Jon’s podcast: Horror Vanguard on Apple Podcasts

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Halloween is almost upon us – and so, for the next four weeks, we’re turning the podcast into Spooky Scary Science Club! We’ll bring you a month of special episodes filled with monsters, aliens, witches, ghosts, and more from the strangest and most spine-chilling corners of science.

In this week’s episode, we investigate earthquake lights, what might cause them, and the weird theories they’ve inspired. We ask, are we truly alone in the universe? And what’s scarier – the thought that we might be… or the thought that we might not?

We also explore the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster. Does Nessie really reside in the dark, peaty waters of the loch? Many have tried to prove her existence using scientific methods, but what did they actually find?

Show Notes

• Fracto-mechanoluminescence – what is it?
• The Fermi Paradox
• The Great Filter hypothesis
• The Surgeon’s Photo scandal
• Is Nessie just a giant eel?

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Do “lie detectors” really live up to their name – or is the truth of polygraph testing a little different than Hollywood would have us believe? Joined by expert guest Coral Dando, a Professor of Forensic Psychology and an expert on how and why humans tell lies, we take a deep dive into the psychology of lies and the science of distinguishing truth from falsehood.

So how good are humans at knowing when someone is lying to them? Can polygraphs really use science to issue a verdict on “true or false?” And why does lie detector testing look so easy – and so certain – on the big screen? These are just some of the questions we explore with Coral, so join us on a journey through the human mind and its ability to discern fact from fiction!

Show Notes

• Follow Coral on X

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Nature is trying to kill you – whether it’s animals, the environment, or your own body – so you might as well learn about it before it does!

In this bite-sized episode, we discover a new spider in Australia that has been named after Tom Hardy and his Marvel character Venom, explore deadly spiders in the country, and find out that the ugliest ones are sometimes (but not always!) the friendliest.

We also explore how jellyfish can learn without a brain, new hope for a vaccine against autoimmune diseases, and how viruses and autoimmunity are related.

Show Notes

• The spider named after Tom Hardy and Venom
• Turns out, jellyfish can learn without a brain
• New hope for a vaccine against autoimmune diseases
• Research into the link between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis

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Find out how humans first made it to the moon, the risks involved in being there, and why we haven’t gone back in person. Interested in space travel or sustainable exploration of our solar system? Join our hosts and guest Yoav Landsman, moon expert, for a conversation about humans’ relationship with Earth’s nearest neighbor – and what happens next.

Show Notes

• Yoav Landsman is Business Development Manager at ClearSpace and founder and former CEO of Moonscape
• Find out more about Yoav and his work on X or LinkedIn

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In the first episode of the series, Liv and Mick kick things off by covering some of the latest science stories you may – or may not – have seen in the news. Ever wondered about how black holes eat stars, what mysterious creatures live at the bottom of the sea, where dinosaurs lived, or why there are 96 bags of poop on the moon? Then this episode of After School Science Club is for you!

Show Notes

• Did we kill life on Mars?
• Mysterious “golden orb” discovered on the ocean floor
• A new leggy, birdlike dinosaur
• Research into Black Holes burping out stars
• Who owns Neil Armstrong’s moon poop?
• How the immune system changes in space
• Herpes virus reactivates during spaceflight

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