The trees are talking about us… but not the way you think. Almost thirty years ago, Dr. Suzanne Simard discovered a vast network of fungal threads beneath the forest floor that functions as a complex communication network. This episode, Dr. Simard joins Dr. Samantha Yammine to discuss how trees connect with one another and how that discovery changed the way we think about forest ecosystems. Sam also looks into an Austrian cow who’s learned how to use tools and a new study that claims to be able to regrow cartilage.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. Terms apply.

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It’s hard to imagine just how much misinformation lives online and it turns out that people are only able to identify it a fraction of the time. To speak more on developing the essential skill of recognizing misinformation online, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Professor Timothy Caulfield. Sam also investigates a new study on motivation that might help us all tackle tasks we’ve been avoiding and explains how artificial snow is made.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. Terms apply. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They say it’s better down where it’s wetter… but is it really? Aquanauts have more in common with astronauts than they do with singing marine life. In fact, NASA conducts research into the biological and psychological effects of space on the ocean floor. This episode, Sam is joined by Dr. Dawn Kernagis, an aquanaut and neuroscientist who spent 16 days living underwater for NASA’s NEEMO 21 Mission. Sam also digs into the recent updates on NASA’s Artemis Mission and how AI is being used to standardize pain classification.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If everyone wants happiness, why does it so often seem hard to achieve? This episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by psychologist Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky to talk about positive psychology and what science tells us about how to be happy. Sam also explores a new study that says swearing can give you a physical boost and, to celebrate the Olympics, she digs into the physics behind curling.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s not a stretch to say that everyone suffers from unwanted body odor from time to time. Whether it’s stress, exercise, or heat, there are plenty of reasons why we sweat and there is a lot to learn about our bodies from the odors they create. To learn more about the science of body odor, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Chris Callewaert, aka Dr. Armpit. Before that, Sam also digs into a new skin patch that might help out our friends with peanut allergies. Then, she explores a new theory into how the Black Death pandemic was able to spread so easily way back in the 1300s.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s easy to think that every major scientific breakthrough in history was met with acceptance and enthusiastic fanfare, but that is not the case. Many modern scientific truths were discovered by researchers who were punished for their ideas at the time. To discuss this topic, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Matt Kaplan, author of the book I Told You So: Scientists Who Are Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned For Being Right.  

Then, Sam takes a look into a new study that may have cracked the code on why women are more likely to experience symptoms of IBS. And, just in time for Valentine’s Day, she also explores the history and anthropology of kissing.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exploring the science behind pet ownership is a more complicated process than you might think. This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by the author of The Science of Pets, Jay Ingram. They talk about the relationship between animals and humans and how we may not always see eye to eye when it comes to interpreting certain behaviors. Sam also looks into the history of species variation in dogs and how human emotions make it difficult to decipher dog emotions.  

Puppy Bowl XXII simulcasts across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, TruTV, HBOMax, and Discovery on Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 2PM ET/11:00AM PT.  

Watch it after on HBOMax and Discovery+.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know that the health of the planet affects human health but what about the other way around? This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Kaylee Byers to discuss how human and animal health is interconnected, particularly in urban environments. Sam also investigates new research that looks into the largest spider colony in the world and the biology of addiction.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are always constraints when it comes to conservation. Finances, logistics, population dynamics, medicine, and general care all need to be considered when asking: how do we best care for our planet? This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Forrest Galante, a wildlife conservationist and biologist to discuss his new series Vantara: Sanctuary Stories, now streaming on HBOMax and Discovery+. Sam and Forrest talk about the peaks and valleys of modern conservation and how the animal sanctuary Vantara is unique in the way it cares for the hundreds of thousands of animals that live there. Sam also explores a new study that provides evidence that helping others slows cognitive decline and recent research on how elite performers reach the pinnacle of their fields.  

Link to Show Notes HERE 

Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.