Probably Science

Australian comedian/writer/performer Celia Pacquola (twitter.com/CeliaPacquola) and American comedian/writer/performer TJ Chambers (twitter.com/tjchambersLA) join Matt and Andy for a discussion of topics including: The current usefulness of Bunsen burners! The naval innovations of the Punic Wars! The asshole children of the Tetra Pak dynasty! Arizona State's party reputation! Nonsensical drinking age laws! Celia's Australian girls' school shenanigans! A brief further discussion of the Gallagher debacle! Mainlining oxygen! Defending the study of duck genitalia! A compelling case for the awesomeness of tungsten! Some asshole created a way to 3D print a gun! Forensic analysis of bullet cracks! Body farms! Firefighter arsonists! Phineas Gage and his asshole-inducing head injury! Gallagher's critique of Matt's act! Arctic foxes' death by mercury! The painted turtle that runs Big Oil!

Comedian, writer and Mr. Show alum Karen Kilgariff (twitter.com/karenkilgariff) joins returning guest and Chelsea Lately regular April Richardson (twitter.com/apey) for a Bridgetown wrap-up conversation with Andy, getting into: Brooks drinking in a park! The debacle that was the Gallagher episode! Defiantly failing chemistry! Quantum physics and Ramtha! Cheesy potatoes! First aid book illustrations! The worst emergency room story April's ever heard! Speeding up space travel with fusion! Who could you travel to Mars with? Oblivion's ripoff premise! April's obsession with guys in suits running! Andy and April fighting over Huey Lewis! Hookah pipes: Worse than cigarettes? The third-wave ska revival! Imaging an entire living brain! Would you want to live forever? April's Saved By The Bell podcast!

This week's episode was recorded live at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival (bridgetowncomedy.com) in Portland, and it's... well... it's something. Andy Wood and Matt Kirshen are still recovering from this recording, which Matt has come to call "My personal Vietnam." Peter Serafinowicz (twitter.com/serafinowicz) and Gallagher (gallaghersmash.com) joined them to discuss: James Randi! Gallagher holding court on the sidewalk! The hidden dangers of telephone poles! How to use the Internet to get smart! Al Gore-rhythms! Cutting the fat of chocolate in half! Gallagher's distaste for particle/wave duality, Cadillac trucks, spoon-forks and America's first bi-racial president! Coffee, chocolate and cocaine! Picture-winged flies dining on sperm! Earthquakes causing other earthquakes! Bridgetown's depression-based comedy! Erik the Red singlehandedly creating gingers! How stress can help red squirrels produce healthier pups! Gallagher's endorsement of dorsal breast implants! Beyonce's fake pregnancy! Gallagher's proposed dam to cut off Mexico's fresh water! A lengthy and very uncomfortable discussion of height and race! Gallagher's proposal to curb drunk driving! Gallagher's gubernatorial bid! Supernovae that are too big! Gallagher's proposal to get kids into gambling! Gallagher's many patents! Gallagher taking credit for the concept of splashing!

Comedians and Sklarbro Country hosts Randy and Jason Sklar (earwolf.com/shows/sklarbro-country) were kind enough to invite Matt and Andy over to Jason's Laurel Canyon abode for this week's episode, delving into: Keeping eagles in your basement! Randy's CERN-working nuclear physicist brother-in-law! The Lebron James of antimatter! Remembering when comedy was the hottest ticket in town! The official 1980s uniform of standup! The defense mechanisms of fans of Michigan athletics! When America was one giant Whole Foods! Scientific proof that women like broad-shouldered, large-penised men! Have we hit peak penis? The latest bird flu scare! Spending $100 million to lasso an asteroid! Jason produces a real-life space rock! Predicting people's ages based on their tweets! Gallagher's upcoming ProbSci appearance at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival! Using kidney bean leaves to trap bedbugs!

Comedians and producers/hosts of the standup show and podcast Put Your Hands Together Cameron Esposito (twitter.com/cameronesposito) and Rhea Butcher (twitter.com/rheabutcher) join Matt, Andy and Jesse to discuss: Why spittoons make a dinging noise! Daft Punk and Cyberdyne Systems! Cockney rhyming slang! Photogravure! Severing underwater Internet cables! Solving the mystery of fairy rings! The Cloud Atlas leprechaun! The purple ink of a sea hare! The bacteria that solves obesity! Waste water-induced seismic events! The Bridgetown Comedy Festival is coming up April 18-21! (visit bridgetowncomedy.com for details)

Aparna Nancherla (twitter.com/aparnapkin) is a hilarious writer and performer on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, and she sits down with Matt and Andy this week to talk about: Magnet schools! The Elgin Marbles! Wilhelm Screams and the Milgram Experiment! Frogs that give birth through their mouths! Shepard Tones! Magic Johnson's T.G.I. Friday's! Retrieving rockets from the ocean floor! Unearthing plague pits! Fox hunting! Weather-themed songs about women!

Comedian, actor and Bridgetown Comedy Festival co-founder Matt Braunger (twitter.com/braunger) makes his first Probably Science appearance, joining Matt, Andy and Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) to get to the bottom of: Comedians in therapy! Misleading anthropomorphic ad animals! Filming with Civil War re-enactors! Birds evolving shorter wings to escape cars! Overfishing breeding smaller fish! New patent laws: Better start filing! Andy and Matt's inventions! ZZ Topless! Having three parents: Not as bad as everyone thought! Arnold Schwarzenegger documentaries! White rocks on Mars! Pro wrestler Philip K. Dick!

The head of Nerdist industries himself, comedian/podcaster/actor/musician/host Chris Hardwick (twitter.com/nerdist) is this week's guest, joining Matt, Andy and the returning Brooks Wheelan to discuss: The scientific study of Nicki Minaj! The dystopian future of Santa Cruz! Hoverboards! A scientific version of Trace Adkins! Bully nerds! Using iPhones to detect intestinal worms! Jury-rigging vs. jerry-rigging! Trustafarians! A new way to keep livers alive for transplantation! Talk show history! Bio-printing! Giving yourself a megahand! Hobo sapiens! Neanderthals' large eyes were their undoing! A horrifying bat-eating spider! Yet another Probably Science episode gets pre-empted by Lily Tomlin!

It's a packed house this week, with comedian Glenn Wool (twitter.com/glennwool) and songstress Lady Carol (facebook.com/theladycarolukulele) joining Auggie Smith (twitter.com/auggiesmith), Matt and Andy to talk about: Speedy deliveries from Mr. McFeely! Sniffing Bunsen burners! Auggie goes to Mike Tyson's one-man show! Screamin' Jay Hawkins and his ridiculously large brood! Whale mouth penises! The Island of Mel Gibsons! Does bee venom kill HIV? Caffeine-addicted bees! Sean Astin and the cast of ST:TNG on the same airplane! Mummies with heart conditions! Ancient wing nights! Private rockets just getting a teeny bit off the ground! The Philip K. Dick robot! Incompetent people are also unaware of their incompetence! Who wants to be president, anyway? Screamin' Jay Hawkins in space!

Comedians Mike Schmidt (twitter.com/The40YearOldBoy) and Wendy Wason (twitter.com/Wendy_Wason) join Matt and Andy this week to talk about: Testing for hairy feet! The results of Dr. Peter McGraw's E.T. experiment! Starting kitchen fires under the guise of Mr. Magic Show! Pulling your own eye in a Ziploc bag! The miraculously cured AIDS baby! Visiting a spice farm! Using poo to shield Mars mission astronauts from cosmic rays! Chimpanzees ladies pulling some Mean Girls antics! Meeting Jane Goodall! Harry Potter vs. Twilight! Herbal Viagra: Pretty much just Viagra!