In this edition, we learn about possible effects on men’s health as they shed some of their Y chromosome with age, with Lars Forsberg, American Journal of Human Genetics (00:00); how human learning strategy might enhance artificial intelligence in robots, with Jay McClelland, Trends in Cognitive Sciences (8:10); and how disease reservoirs lurk in the animals around us, with Barbara Han, Trends in Parasitology (15:25). We also have a chat about the new book Welcome to the Microbiome (22:30).