Lab Libs

In this episode, Megan pulls Debbie into the tangled world of DNA collection and tracking websites. What starts as a science-forward look at genetic testing, data storage, and how your spit ends up on the internet quickly spirals into questions about privacy, law enforcement, and whether your ancestors unknowingly signed you up for a lifelong surveillance program. Then, Debbie disappears down an urban exploration rabbit hole, abandoned houses, theme parks, and hospitals, and the very real science of decay. And they will examine the mystery about abandoned houses. Along the way, they connect the dots between forgotten places, forgotten data, and the unsettling fact that once something is collected, it rarely stays lost.

Join Debbie and Megan in this ad-lib riddled science comedy podcast.

Don’t forget to use the Lab Libs, and create your own answers!

Lab Libs

A percentage to one decimal, between 90%-100%

A step required before publishing a scientific study

A type of family member

A type of insurance

A reason for couples to break up

A number between 1 and 1000

A continent

A type of legal process for a company

A number between 1 and 10

A common government employee

A type of survey

https://www.nist.gov/how-do-you-measure-it/how-do-companies-measure-dna-discover-your-ancestry

https://www.ancestry.com/c/dna-learning-hub/ancestrydna-test-accuracy

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/dtcgenetictesting/dtcrisksbenefits/

https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/07/06/535767665/why-you-should-think-twice-about-those-dna-by-mail-results

https://www.reddit.com/r/MyHeritage/comments/18hjz68/palestinian_results/

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/1/28/18194560/ancestry-dna-23-me-myheritage-science-explainer

https://nulawreview.org/forum-posts/2022/8/23/law-enforcements-use-of-dna-ancestry-websites-and-why-your-consent-may-not-matter

https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2021/05/ancestry-tests-affect-race-self-identification

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00118-y.epdf?no_publisher_access=1&r3_referer=nature

https://www.medicalrepublic.com.au/commercial-dna-tests-are-unreliable-and-risky/8569

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/30/nx-s1-5451398/23andme-sale-approved-dna-data

In this episode, Debbie takes Megan on a deep dive, two and a half miles beneath the Atlantic, to explore how the RMS Titanic is literally disappearing. The famous shipwreck isn’t just rusting, it’s being eaten by a metal-loving bacteria that bears its name. They are living inside bizarre formations. At some point, all scientific credibility is abandoned when Debbie tells Megan the official term for these formations is rusticles, and they absolutely refuse to act mature about it. Debbie will break down the science behind Titanic’s deterioration, from deep-sea pressure and corrosion to iron-metabolizing microbes accelerating the ship’s collapse. And how the Titanic has become an unexpected deep-sea ecosystem. Part maritime history, part microbiology, and part chaotic science comedy, this episode of Lab Libs will explain how one of history’s most famous disasters is slowly being recycled by nature, one rusticle at a time.

Then in this episode rabbit hole, Megan takes Debbie on a surprisingly chaotic tour of animals with jobs. From police-trained seals that absolutely should not have been trusted with guns, to crows in Sweden getting paid in seeds to clean up cigarette butts, Along the way, they spiral into how smart animals really are, and how we somehow taught crows to pick up litter before teaching people not to throw it on the ground.Join Debbie and Megan in this ad-lib riddled science comedy podcast.

Don’t forget to use the Lab Libs, and create your own answers!

Lab Libs:

A year in the early 1900s

A number less than 10

A number between 60-100

A number less than 4

A metal

A microorganism

A number 1-15

A gas

A recent year

A year in the near future 

A number less than 10

Sources:

https://www.dal.ca/news/2006/08/08/titanic.html

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240903-the-titanic-why-is-it-disintegrating-and-how-long-will-it-take-to-disappear

https://titanicfacts.net/titanic-timeline/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-photographs-reveal-decay-of-the-titanic-and-collapse-of-its-iconic-railing-180985011/

https://www.britannica.com/story/timeline-of-the-titanics-final-hours

Sánchez-Porro C, Kaur B, Mann H, Ventosa A. Halomonas titanicae sp. nov., a halophilic bacterium isolated from the RMS Titanic. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2010 Dec;60(Pt 12):2768-2774. doi: 10.1099/ijs.0.020628-0. Epub 2010 Jan 8. PMID: 20061494.

This episode of Lab Libs blasts off toward Mars. Megan tells Debbie about real Mars missions, with wild rovers, landers, orbiters, and billion-dollar robots doing science millions of miles from Earth. In true Lab Libs fashion, we take actual planetary science, mix it with ad-libs chaos, and see what happens when nerdy facts collide with improvised comedy. How do Mars rovers land without exploding? Why is Mars red? What are we actually looking for? This science comedy podcast breaks down Mars exploration in a way that’s funny, chaotic, and accidentally educational, from early missions that failed spectacularly to modern rovers quietly doing incredible science.

Then Debbie takes Megan down a rabbit hole exploring ambitious theme park ideas that didn’t survive contact with reality. We start with Walt Disney’s original EPCOT vision, a real city powered by automation, including vacuum-based trash collection, and how that idea quietly died after Walt’s death in 1966, turning into something much safer and much less weird. From there, we branch into other failed, abandoned, or deeply questionable theme park experiments: rides that never opened, attractions that closed almost immediately, and futuristic concepts that sounded great in meetings but disastrous in practice. Think over-engineered transportation, experimental technology, and attractions that asked guests to trust way too much machinery. Use the Lab Libs and fill in your own answers to see how close you get!

Lab Libs:

A planet in our solar system

An extremely cold temperature in Fahrenheit

An obscure location on Earth

A number below 20

A famous scientist on television

A radioactive element

An object used to land safely from a fall

A common chemical on Earth

A number between 1-100

A modern digital camera feature

A hand tool found at home improvement stores

A ride that spins

A country in Asia

A mythological being

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO5CTBBgtXs

https://science.nasa.gov/universe/search-for-life/the-hunt-for-life-on-mars-and-elsewhere-in-the-solar-system/

https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/every-mars-mission

https://spacecenter.org/meet-our-solar-system-mars/

https://www.planetary.org/articles/life-on-mars-your-questions-answered

https://lithub.com/a-brief-history-of-sci-fis-love-affair-with-the-red-planet/2/

https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/50-years-ago-a-forgotten-mission-landed-on-mars/

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking/

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-pathfinder/

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/mars-pathfinder-mini-rover-full-scale-model/nasm_A20020297000#:~:text=Images%20were%20taken%20and%20experiments,for%20the%20rover%20as%20well

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover)

https://www.newsweek.com/nasa-mars-opportunity-rover-new-york-daily-news-jet-propulsion-laboratory-1334615

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/science/

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/the-extraordinary-sample-gathering-system-of-nasas-perseverance-mars-rover/

https://www.powermag.com/the-nuclear-battery-aboard-perseverance-the-next-gen-mars-rover/

https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/tianwen-1

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-says-mars-rover-discovered-potential-biosignature-last-year/

This week, Debbie tells Megan the strange and comical history behind Biosphere 2, a mars colonization project. Then Megan shares a rabbit hole that dives into secret Queer film festivals in Beijing. 

Lab Libs

A mode of transportation

A state in the Southwest

A commodity that may make someone super wealthy

A huge amount of money

A state in the Southwest

A number less than 10

Three farm animals

A planet

A number less than 10

A number less than 5

A type of scientist

Two gases

A medical profession

A fruit

A gas

A four letter government agency

An existential threat

Sources:

https://www.history.com/articles/biosphere-2-spaceship-earth

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/launching-spaceship-earth

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jul/13/spaceship-earth-arizona-biosphere-2-lockdown

Life Under Glass: The Inside Story of Biosphere 2

Book by Abigail Alling, Mark Nelson, and Sally Silverstone

This week, Megan tells Debbie a story about the woman who helped discover DNA, and you’ve probably never heard of her. Then Debbie takes Megan down a Naked and Afraid rabbit hole.

A famous scientist

A type of art

A number 1-50

A number 1-5

A common item in your living room

A power in science fiction stories

An animal found in a large city

An author in the late 1800s

A type of mental illness

An extended family member

Sources:

https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/discovery-of-dna-structure-and-function-watson-397/

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01313-5

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04966-w#:~:text=Exclusion%20from%20authorship%20is%20common,effect%20size%20=%20%E2%88%920.0984

https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/scientific-biographies/francis-crick-rosalind-franklin-james-watson-and-maurice-wilkins/

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/rosalind-franklin-dna-structure-watson-crick

https://historycollection.com/women-who-had-their-work-stolen-from-them-by-men/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/06/the-secret-of-life-by-howard-markel-review-science-and-misogyny

This episode Debbie takes Megan on a deep dive into the life and legacy of Tilikum the Killer Whale. Think you know the whole story? You never know. Then Megan takes Debbie down the rabbit hole into some super fun Japanese festivals.

Lab Libs

A marine animal

A number less than 150

A number less than 3

A country in North America

A number between 5-10

A number between 9000-13000

A Florida theme park

A large amount of money

An awesome frozen snack

A number between 1 and 21

A number between 1 and 21

A number between 1 and 21

A number between 50 and 150

A mental disorder

An important date, month and day, to both Debbie and Megan

A time less than an hour

A government agency for safety

A former Supreme Court Justice

A former Attorney General

A current Supreme Court Justice

A national sports league

A type of film, or movie

An illness that can lead to death

Sources

https://medium.com/@carlsafina/tilikum-8d8c40f74108 

https://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/tilikum.htm

https://www.livescience.com/57421-legacy-of-tilikum-killer-whale.html  

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/killer-pool/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324400512_The_Blackfish_Effect_Corporate_and_Policy_Change_in_the_Face_of_Shifting_Public_Opinion_on_Captive_Cetaceans

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/17/seaworld-to-stop-breeding-killer-whales-orcas-blackfish?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7RQD0ryp3U 

https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/

This episode Megan tells Debbie a story about Nikola Tesla, an inventor and engineer that we should know more about. Then Debbie will bring Megan down the rabbit hole that is the many food related disasters throughout history.

Lab Libs categories: 

A famous scientist

A type of art

A number 1 to 50

A number 1 to 5

A common item in your living room

A power in science fiction stories

An animal found in a large city

An author in the late 1800s

A type of mental illness

An extended family member

Sources:

teslasciencecenter.org

US Department of Energy energy.gov

Britannica.com

Forbes.com

Pivotint.com

Realclearscience.com

Goodreads.com (quotes)

LinkedIn article by Danijela Milic

Thevintagenews.com

Wordpress article by Todd Johnson

In this episode Debbie tells Megan the unbelievable true story of the Great London Beer Flood, a tidal wave of ale that made history. Then Megan takes Debbie down the rabbit hole of her latest obsession, the intelligence and strange beauty of octopuses. From pubs to the deep sea, it’s a journey through chaos, curiosity, and creatures that might just outsmart us all.

Lab Libs

A city in the UK

An English novelist in the 19th century

A number less than 5

An alcoholic beverage

A building material

A number between 600-800

A number between 10-20

A number less than 30

A type of Metal

A number 30-40

A type of metal

A government department regarding safety 

Sources

https://www.thecollector.com/the-london-beer-flood-how-did-it-happen/

https://www.historicmysteries.com/history/london-beer-flood/36791/

iflscience.com/in-1814-london-was-terrorized-by-a-320000-gallon-tsunami-of-beer-76882 

https://www.history.com/articles/london-beer-flood

Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel

In this episode Megan tells Debbie a story about The Bone Wars, a paleontological rivalry that had the country captivated. Then Debbie tells Megan the rabbit hole she went down this week, about ancient relics that are being discovered as a result of climate change.

An extinct animal 

A number between 1-10

An Ivy League University

A crime involving money

A type of bone

A negative emotion

A building/sculpting medium

A thinking task, a skill of your mind

A number between 1-50

A name of a dinosaur

An error made while writing

Something you might do out of anger (Verb)

A section of a newspaper

A type of metal

A deadly illness

Resources:

BBC- The Bitter Dinosaur Feud at the Heart of Paleontology

PBS- O.C. Marsh and E.D. Cope: A Rivalry

I know Dino- The Bone Wars That Made Dinosaurs So Popular

EBSCO-(a research database) Bone Wars research starters

Bone Wars wikipedia