Curiosity Theory

This episode is brought to you by The End of Oak Street, in theaters August 14th.

In this special sponsored episode of Curiosity Theory, hosts Justin Shaifer and Dr. Dakotah Tyler break down the real science behind The End of Oak Street, in theaters August 14th.

The discussion moves from favorite dinosaurs and the basic premise of the film to the actual physics of what it would take to travel back in time, including the Kardashev scale, E=mc², and why you would need to convert roughly 50 Jupiters worth of mass into pure energy just to get started. From there they get into what prehistoric Earth actually looked like: a planet running hotter than today, with higher oxygen levels, no grass, and a North American interior that was completely underwater.

The conversation also covers what you would eat if modern food didn't exist, why the cycad plants that dominated the era would not exactly be a meal, why prehistoric insects could grow to the size of your arm, why a giant frog the size of a beach ball was a real animal, and why none of that is actually what would kill you. The biggest threat to any time traveler isn't the T-Rex — it's the bacteria your immune system has never encountered. They close on the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago and what the world might have looked like if it had missed entirely.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro and the premise of The End Of Oak Street
 00:01:00 Favorite dinosaurs and what we actually know about them
 00:03:02 North America used to be an ocean
 00:04:37 The energy physics of time travel and the Kardashev scale
 00:08:19 How long could you actually survive without modern technology
 00:09:41 Prehistoric climate: how much hotter was it really
 00:12:00 What water sources would even be safe to drink
 00:15:22 What food was available and why most of it would starve you
 00:21:23 Time travel mechanics in the film: wormholes and causality
 00:28:31 Why prehistoric insects were gigantic and how oxygen made it possible
 00:32:25 Beelzebufo: the giant frog that was very real
 00:33:42 Humans vs. prehistoric predators — we were at the bottom
 00:42:49 The bacteria and disease that would actually kill you first
 00:46:26 Would prehistoric plants make good bio weapons?
 00:49:00 Fire, survival skills, and your best chance of making it
 00:55:17 What if the asteroid never hit 66 million years ago?
 00:55:28 Birds are dinosaurs and why that matters
 00:57:50 Final thoughts and why you should go see The End Of Oak Street

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Sponsored by The End of Oak Street — in theaters August 14th.

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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, hosts Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Dr. Taylor Cummings, educational psychologist and founder of The Self-Love Doc, for a conversation about what Western science gets wrong about knowledge, healing, and the human experience.

The discussion moves from her dissertation, titled The Miseducation of Taylor Cummings, and how colonial frameworks shaped what we call legitimate science, to what happens when you strip emotion, language, and African-centered ways of knowing out of the picture entirely. From there they get into embodiment and why most people have never been taught to understand their own bodies, how K-12 education kills curiosity before it ever gets started, and what self-love actually means when you look at it through the lens of educational psychology rather than a motivational caption.

The conversation also dives into her personal story of misdiagnosis, going on and then coming off an SSRI, and finding her own path to healing through identity and consciousness. She breaks down why depression and mental illness might be better understood as systems problems rather than individual failures, what evolutionary mismatch tells us about modern life, how African-centered and Akan healing traditions offer frameworks Western psychology is only beginning to catch up to, and why carbon, stardust, and the cosmos have more to do with self-knowledge than most people realize.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro and meeting Dr. Taylor Cummings
 00:03:00 The Miseducation of Taylor Cummings: her dissertation explained
 00:04:20 How Western science stripped emotion and African knowledge from the picture
 00:13:25 Embodiment: why we don't know our own bodies
 00:14:17 How K-12 kills curiosity and what education gets wrong
 00:19:00 What self-love actually means from a psychology perspective
 00:22:00 Her personal journey: injury, community college, and trusted mentors
 00:26:05 What psychology gets wrong about grief and loss
 00:31:30 Her SSRI story: misdiagnosis, medication, and finding her own path
 00:34:06 African-centered healing traditions and the Akan
 00:42:14 Why depression might be a systems problem not a personal one
 00:47:49 Evolutionary mismatch: we were never meant to live like this
 00:56:00 Carbon, stardust, and what the cosmos has to do with consciousness
 01:12:51 Consciousness, energy, and collective connection
 01:25:13 The Decolonize Your Mind resource guide
 01:26:06 Where to find Dr. Taylor

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Guests
 Dr. Taylor Cummings | @theselflovedoc

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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, hosts Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Joshua Regis, co-founder and CEO of KritKarr, an AI-powered platform for auto repair, for a conversation about fixing one of the most broken industries in America, what the trades are actually worth, and who gets to write the future.

The discussion moves from Josh's path out of traditional school and into automotive work, how he discovered that a car contains every trade skill in existence, and how the flat rate pay system exploits the mechanics who keep the industry running. From there they get into what KritKarr is building, how AI diagnostics and mobile mechanics can bring trust and transparency back to auto repair, and why skilled trades are a six-figure opportunity that almost nobody is talking about.

The conversation also dives into whether robots will replace mechanics and why the human touch still matters, how automation is set to widen the wealth gap, the SpaceX IPO and what commercializing space actually means for regular people, whether we should be trying to colonize Mars before fixing things on Earth, and what Afrofuturism has to say about who controls the narrative of the future. It opens on the Tulsa Race Massacre and the question of what Black Wall Street could have become, and that thread runs underneath everything.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro and meeting Joshua Regis
 00:03:00 Black Wall Street, the Tulsa Race Massacre, and what could have been
 00:07:28 Sci-fi, anime, and the Tony Stark effect
 00:14:50 How Josh went from struggling in school to becoming a mechanic
 00:15:44 Why a car contains every trade skill in existence
 00:20:35 Flat rate vs hourly: how the auto industry underpays mechanics
 00:27:42 What KritKarr is and how it works
 00:29:55 Skilled trades as a six-figure career opportunity
 00:35:00 Will robots replace mechanics? The human touch debate
 00:41:56 Automation, the wealth gap, and universal basic income
 00:50:56 The SpaceX IPO and what commercializing space actually means
 00:57:08 Mars colonies: who benefits and at what cost?
 01:00:18 Solar panels in space and the future of energy
 01:07:50 Should we fix Earth before trying to leave it?
 01:14:18 Afrofuturism, Black culture, and who controls the future's narrative
 01:17:00 Where to find Josh and KritKarr

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Guests
 Joshua Regis

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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, hosts Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, astrophysicist, cosmologist, writer, and author of Disordered Cosmos and the new The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry and the Cosmic Dream Boogie, for one of the most wide-ranging conversations the pod has had yet.

The discussion moves from how a blog post at Perimeter Institute became the seed of her first book, to what neutrinos actually are, why they are among the strangest particles in the Standard Model, and why they may have played a quiet but essential role in making life on Earth possible. From there they get into Population III stars, how the first heavy elements ever got made, and the surprisingly contested question of what separates a galaxy from a globular cluster.

The conversation also dives into the philosophy of science and Dr. Prescod-Weinstein's concept of white empiricism, the idea that white supremacy and patriarchy shape what counts as legitimate knowledge and who gets treated as a credible scientist. She talks about what her new book offers readers who are skeptical that physics is for them, why the cosmos is a Black aesthetic, how hip hop and Big K.R.I.T. ended up in a physics book, and why access to a dark night sky is a social justice issue, not just an astronomy one.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro and meeting Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
 00:02:30 How a blog post became Disordered Cosmos
 00:04:50 Blue Sky, Threads, and whiteness in online spaces
 00:09:00 Being one of few Black women at the frontier of physics
 00:11:45 Science communication, community accountability, and the book-before-tenure risk
 00:15:27 What are neutrinos? Three flavors and oscillation explained
 00:25:00 Why neutrinos may be essential to life on Earth
 00:30:00 Population III stars and the origin of every heavy element
 00:35:00 What makes a galaxy? Globular clusters, dark matter, and contested definitions
 00:44:55 Neanderthal DNA and an unexpected dental tangent
 00:49:40 Philosophy of science and the concept of white empiricism
 00:52:00 How white supremacy and patriarchy shape what counts as valid science
 01:02:30 The Edge of Spacetime: what readers can expect
 01:04:48 Poetry, hip hop, and the cosmos as a Black aesthetic
 01:08:40 Objectivity, mythology, and storytelling in science
 01:14:00 Dark sky access as a social justice issue
 01:19:52 Who science is written for and to
 01:23:14 On courage, haters, and Kat Williams
 01:25:18 Where to find Dr. Chanda and her books

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Guests
 Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, hosts Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Dr. Naia Butler-Craig, a newly minted aerospace engineer and NASA electric propulsion researcher, for a conversation about rocket science, how we actually move through space, and where humans are headed next.

The discussion moves from her path through grad school and into NASA to how electric propulsion works and why it beats chemical rockets on efficiency, what it would really take to get people to the Moon and Mars, and what living and working at the agency is like from the inside. Along the way, she breaks down what is happening inside a Krypton Hall effect thruster and why plasma, not combustion, is the future of deep space travel.

The conversation also dives into why astrology is not astronomy, how to think about trust and misinformation in science, the engineering and people behind the missions we take for granted, and the surprising ways space tech is advancing medicine on Earth through Avatar tissue chips. It closes on the sci-fi and the curious childhood that set her on this path in the first place.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro and meeting Dr. Naia Butler-Craig
 00:01:15 Her path into NASA and life inside the agency
 00:11:43 Electric propulsion vs chemical rockets explained
 00:17:23 Getting humans to the Moon and Mars
 00:24:04 Why astrology is not astronomy
 00:31:50 Trust, misinformation, and relying on science
 00:37:00 Is NASA still competent? The engineering behind spaceflight
 00:46:01 Avatar chips: how space tech advances medicine
 00:58:50 How sci-fi and a curious childhood shaped her
 01:03:34 Inside a Krypton Hall effect thruster
 01:11:37 Where to find Naia and final thoughts

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Guests
 Dr. Naia Butler-Craig

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In this episode of Curiosity Theory, hosts Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with KeShawn Ivory, a soon-to-be PhD astrophysicist who studies the large-scale structure of the universe, for a deep conversation about dark matter, cosmology, and the invisible stuff that holds the universe together.

The discussion moves from what dark matter actually is to how the universe became clumpy and lumpy instead of smooth, why the first atoms appeared minutes after the Big Bang, and how primordial black holes (a mountain's worth of mass packed into the size of a proton) became one of the more compelling candidates for what dark matter might be. Along the way, they get into how scientists detect something they can't see, what counts as evidence, and how scientific consensus actually moves.
The conversation also dives into the hunt for dark matter through detection experiments, the role of skepticism in good science, what it means to know something, and KeShawn's favorite idea of all: that dark matter works as a framework for any force that is deeply impactful but hard to see, from race and systemic disparities in sociology to genomic dark matter in biology and trauma in art.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro and meeting KeShawn Ivory
00:02:30 The PhD as a credential and the path to science communication
00:08:55 What dark matter actually is
00:10:00 Why the universe is clumpy: large-scale structure
00:11:30 The early universe and the first atoms
00:20:30 The cosmic microwave background and the universe's baby picture
00:30:00 How we know dark matter is really there
00:33:30 Primordial black holes as a dark matter candidate
00:40:00 Dark stars and other exotic candidates
00:47:40 Healthy skepticism and how scientific consensus moves
00:53:00 Science, truth, and what it means to know something
00:59:00 The hunt for dark matter: WIMPs, axions, and detectors
01:08:00 How theory predicts the particles we look for
01:17:50 Astrosociology: dark matter as a lens on race and systemic forces
01:24:10 Dark matter as a storytelling tool in biology and art
01:26:18 Where to find Kishan and Black Space Week
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Guests
Kishan Ivory (Dark Mattering)
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Dakotah and Justin revisit the original idea behind Curiosity Theory: curiosity as a North Star. That quickly turns into an argument over whether wanting to know what is in someone’s fridge counts as curiosity or just being nosy.

The conversation eventually gets more serious. They talk about the courage required to question beliefs, why scientific progress often threatens ideas people consider sacred, and the difference between an old belief being useful and actually understanding why it works.

Then they get into aging, genetic engineering, designer babies, and immortality. If we eventually learn how to extend human life dramatically, who gets access first? And would society become better, or would the most powerful people simply hold power for even longer?

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Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer

Stay curious.

In this collaboration episode of Curiosity Theory and Grits & Eggs Podcast, Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Deante Kyle and Big Ice Kup Kat for an unfiltered conversation about AI, capitalism, social media, internet culture, and the future of humanity.

They discuss the rise of artificial intelligence, billionaires and wealth inequality, the psychology of social media addiction, and whether modern technology is actually improving human life. The conversation also dives into online culture, work, relationships, movies, internet misinformation, and the increasingly strange direction society seems to be heading.

This episode is more explicit and unfiltered than a typical Curiosity Theory episode, but we wanted the conversation to remain authentic and uncensored.

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Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer

Stay curious.

Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer sit down with Toby from Epic Spaceman, the YouTube creator known for using cinematic animations to make the scale of the universe easier to understand.

They talk about cosmic scale, visual storytelling, interstellar travel, whether future humans would still be human, what telescopes actually see when we look at stars, Betelgeuse going supernova, why UFOs are probably not alien spacecraft, and where microbial life might exist in our own solar system.

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Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer

Stay curious.

Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer talk through media literacy, scientific literacy, and why people can watch the same piece of content and walk away with completely different interpretations.

They discuss misunderstood clips, fluoride and the naturalistic fallacy, AI water usage, statistics without context, confirmation bias, AI-generated media, satire, comment sections, and why curiosity has to include the ability to slow down and ask what is actually being said.

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Hosted by Dr. Dakotah Tyler and Justin Shaifer

Stay curious.