Naturalish

Legends of Greek mythology and... real? Not real? Chimera lore runs deep: monsters with head of lions, wing of eagle, and tail of snakes. In truth, though, there's nothing impossible about the idea of a chimera — Ben and Alex get to the truth behind these abominations on a journey through history, language, psychology, and all the science in between. 

Also, IN THE NEWS we tackle brunch, bellinis, and BEES! Join Naturalish every week for your one-stop-shop in all things science. Maybe science. Probably science. 

Find us on Medium @Naturlaish or on Twitter @ItsNaturalish. Emails, criticism, and million dollar checks go to [email protected]

Life on Mars?! Talking animals?! Well... maybe, but that's all before Alex and Ben delve into the disturbing biological implications of Pokemon evolution. Where do these "pocket monsters" come from, and why do they "evolve" as they do? Can we even call what they do evolution? We also explore Alex's inability to recognize criticism and Thing We Like. It's all Naturalish!

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Special thanks to The Pokemon Company, Game Freak, Wizards of the Coast, Nintendo, the makers of Pokemon: The Series, and of course Baldo's Armory. Apologies to all the nerds that cringed every time we mispronounced Raichu.

(No cats or pokemons were harmed in the making of this podcast)

Alex is perturbed by the Disney film Flubber's cavalier attitude toward its title character's sentience. This week on Naturalish, Alex and Ben get to the bottom of what the eponymous green goo is neurologically and physically capable, as well as the significance of Robin Williams's robotic assistant Weebo's artificial intelligence. Why must all of this cinematic masterpiece's characters be focused on the potential financial ramifications of Flubber and not the intrinsic implications of its very existence? We also take a stab at creating a collective animal noun and Science in the News is wary about cures for cancer on the radio.

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Thanks to Disney, Robin Williams, everyone that worked on Flubber, and everyone that works in the name on scientific discovery.

Though Jurassic Park is well-equipped to educate the masses about genetics and dinosaurs, it is less so to prevent the masses from becoming dino-chow. This week, with the help of Mr. DNA, Alex and Ben unlock the dino DNA trapped within the amber of Steven Spielberg's Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. We also discover why Alex lies and we profess to like such things as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (including Infinity War) and Star Wars movies (including Solo)! Science in the News takes a look at coffee, vamping, and pig brains. It's all Naturalish!

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Alex is quite concerned about a missing mechanical horse in Westworld! In order to calm his nerves, he guides Ben through the symbolism of mechanical horses and the history of biomimicry attempts at Equus caballus.

This week, Science in the News covers birds causing gravitational waves, free diving with larger spleens, and getting smarter via hand strength. Alex & Ben also talk about all the great science fiction and fantasy they are consuming right now. It's all Naturalish!

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This week Alex and Ben tackle a divisive topic in the main segment: he's a tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff and a willy silly nilly old bear and his name is Winnie the Pooh! But what if that fluff were instead muscle, sinew, blood, and bone? How would this 'the Pooh' fair then? Do bears really eat that much honey? Should they?! How does Winnie's life compare to that of his more wild brethren?

But before jumping down the Pooh hole - Have you thought of a giraffe today? - in science in the news we cover the latest on giraffes in the fake news and birds with a sixth sense. It's all Naturalish!

You may THINK you know The Lion King...and you almost certainly do, which is why we feel like the science deserves an ounce of scrutiny. Do lions really have uncles? Could Simba have actually survived by eating bugs? And coolest off all: Where is Pride Rock?! This podcast has all the answers, PLUS your weekly updates on cool science news. We discovered a new human organ, a new tool for combating mosquitoes, and new discoveries about dark matter. All cool, all science, all Naturalish.

Harry Potter. Star Wars. Game of Thrones... What do these top media franchises all have in common? Well, it might be humans. This week on Naturalish, Alex and Ben test out theories of whether the characters from our favorite fantasy and sci-fi stories are, in fact, Homo sapien. Even in the most far-off and fantastical worlds, has our species made its mark? Also this week, newsworthy stories about bathwater, asteroids, and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. As the saying goes,  "No news is good news, but SOME news is science news." 

Welcome to Naturalish the Podcast! A new series about absurdist science inspired by fiction, fantasy, media, and overall non-science things. On this episode, let's get intimate with the biology of the Marc Brown's ARTHUR universe: Can love exist in an anthropomorphizesd animal culture? We'll soon find out! We also recap the latest science IN THE NEWS; from penguin colonies to Amelia Earhart's remains, this 'cast has it all, folks. Look no further for your go-to science debrief, week by week.

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