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Ever poked at roadkill? Watched videos of whales exploding? Drooled over a curio cabinet full of claws & bones? Peered into a jar with a pickled toad? Then this one is for you. Arguably the world's most famous comparative anatomist (and pretty-much-also functional morphologist) Dr. Joy Reidenberg pulls up a chair at Mt. Sinai Hospital to talk about her fascinating backstory, exploding whales, taxidermied chipmunks, dead toadfish, animal's weird anatomy and its function and how it might help human health. She is absolutely amazing and you will become obsessed with her work.
Dr. Joy Reidenberg on Twitter & Facebook
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Support Ologies on Patreon for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Music by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Cult-leader queens. Bullet ant stings. Kitchen pest hacks. The dynamics of a billion-sister megacolony. Dr. Terry McGlynn sits down to have a BIG discussion about itty-bitty creatures. Learn about tropical ants, urban ants, how they walk on water, which ones are picky eaters, which ones make weird sounds, what ant movies are bunk, and some self-help takeaways. Also: sniffing your relatives before deciding to kill them.
Dr. Terry McGlynn's website and Twitter
More episode sources and links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
After a decade of fandom, Alie finally meets famed Egyptologist Dr. Kara Cooney -- and forgets her equipment. They meet again for a spirited history lesson on ancient Egypt: the pyramids, the monarchs, the dynasties, the cats, the corpses, the curses. Kara also lays out the history of female kings and their parallels to modern Western politics, what it's like to talk to a mummy, and why we should stop overworking. Also: lost dongs and transparent toilets. This episode is one for the ages.
Dr. Kara Cooney's on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Order "When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt," released Nov. 6 2018
More episode sources and links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
THIS IS UPLIFTING, I PROMISE. And it might just make you switch careers. As a bookend to last week's Oceanology episode, Conservation Technologist Shah Selbe chats about saving the planet with some well-intentioned technology. Wind turbines, solar cars, and all the ways in which sensors, drones, recycled smartphones and real-time data reporting can help conserve species, spaces and communities that are threatened. Hear inspiring tales of travel, art, adventure and putting engineering to good use from a former rocket-science turned professional do-gooder.
Also discussed: crocodile astrology, fishing vests and hippo power displays.
Conservify.org
Shah Selbe on Twitter and Instagram
More episode sources and links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Are plastic straws really that bad? What's the oldest message in a bottle? Any scuba vs. snorkel strategies? Does sunscreen kill coral? Can we reverse ocean warming in our lifetime? In a conversation with ocean and policy expert Dr. Ayana Johnson, Alie struggles with finding a balance between the wonders and the bummers. For the first 15-20 minutes, learn weird ocean trivia, why we love the sea, and facts about the ocean's depths and beauty. Then, we get to the sad stuff: ocean health, climate change, acidification, pollution, policy and what we can all do.
If you've been feeling helpless, this episode gives you all the tools you need to understand and help our friend, the World Ocean.
Also: some great information about whale pee.
Dr. Johnson's OceanCollectiv.co
Dr. Johnson's website, Twitter and Instagram
More episode sources and links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Trains. Locomotives. Choochoos. Bullet trains. Hyperloops. Subways. How fast can they go? How did they change American history? Why do people love them? What should we do with all that abandoned track? Can you marry a train? What's it like to shovel coal into a steam engine?
Alie went off the rails at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan talking to an official ferroequinologist and curator Matt Anderson -- who confessed to some youthful railroad mischief, delivered a succinct slice of U.S. History, has train movie recommendations and discussed cars vs. trains in the great transportation debate. Also, why transporting isn't always about the trains.
The Henry Ford Museum Railroad Exhibit
More episode sources & links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
As a companion to Kalology (BEAUTY STANDARDS) Alie reads your thoughts about appearance and beauty culture in this, a bonus minisode. You wrote in about how make-up is a creative outlet, how beauty standards can be an oppressive time suck, about hairy pits and culture clashes, money burdens, appearances in different professions, trans and non-binary perspectives, and what you wish the next generation did differently. Y'all made Ol' Ward tear up more than once, and it's an honor to share your stories.
Dr. Renee Engeln's work
"Beauty Sick," the book
Dr. Crystal Dilworth's TEDx Talk
More episode sources & links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We love it. We hate it. BEAUTY CULTURE.
Looking good can make us feel decorated, empowered and more confident -- but why?
And why are certain groups subtly told to "make-up" for their appearance?
What's the line between self-care and oppression?
Psychologist and beauty-researcher Dr. Renee Engeln shines a huge bright floodlight on the sometimes ugly machinery of the billion-dollar beauty and "fitness" industry. This is an episode for make-up lovers, haters and the millions of us confused about being both at once. It's also an opportunity for dudes to learn just how how skewed the standards are. Buckle up -- this ologist will change the way you see the world, others and hopefully, yourself.
Dr. Renee Engeln's work
"Beauty Sick," the book
More episode sources & links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The biggest eggs! The smallest eggs! The people arrested for stealing the most eggs! Oologist Dr. John Bates gave Alie a tour of the egg vault at the Field Museum of Chicago and it was a barrage of beautiful sights and shocking facts about bird butts. Get ready for speckly eggs, falcon tales, delicate treasures, pigeon mysteries, modern research with old artifacts, Easter bullshit, and whether or not you can hatch chickens from grocery store eggs. Also the carnival ride Alie will never ever ever go on.
Field Museum of Chicago
The Book of Eggs
More episode sources & links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
75% of adult Americans have wonky vision of some kind, your host included. Longtime pal and real-life eye surgeon, Dr. Reid Wainess answers all the questions that you never bring up during appointments. He and Alie chat about how eyes are just little cameras in your skull, glasses vs. contacts, Lasik, why we cry, some boggling ER stories, how marijuana effects eyeballs, floaters, cataracts, eye color, dogs in goggles and more. Also: what happens if you choke under pressure and pick the wrong options in an eye exam? HOW SCREWED ARE YOU?
Dr. Reid Wainess's practice
If you're in LA and and want Dr. Wainess to be your eye doc: 1-800-898-2020
More episode sources & links
Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month
OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!
Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram
Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram
Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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