Science Vs

Molly, ecstasy, MDMA: whatever you call it, this drug is blowing up. Some say MDMA can be a legitimate medicine to treat conditions like PTSD. But others reckon it's a dangerous drug that can fry your brain, and even kill you — from just one bad pill. Who's right? That's what we're snorting up today. We talk to psychiatrist George Greer, public health researcher Prof. Joseph Palamar, former DEA special agent James Hunt, and neuroscientist Prof. Harriet de Witt.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsMDMA2023 

This is an updated version of our MDMA episode from a few years ago. 

Chapters: 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Chapter 1: Cops and club kids

(05:02) Chapter 2: Therapists try MDMA

(09:05) Chapter 3: Your brain on MDMA

(15:34) Chapter 4: Can MDMA cure racism? 

(20:32) Chapter 5: Can MDMA Cure PTSD? 

(23:13) Chapter 6: Is the MDMA comedown real? 

(26:40) Chapter 7: Can MDMA damage your brain? 

(30:04) Chapter 8: Can MDMA kill you? 

(33:23) Chapter 9: Buying MDMA on the street

(37:01) Chapter 10: Conclusion

This episode was produced by Heather Rogers and Wendy Zukerman, with help from Shruti Ravindran, Kaitlyn Sawrey, Rose Rimler, Joel Werner, Nick DelRose and Michelle Dang. Edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, Ben Kuebrich and Diane Kelly. Sound design by Martin Peralta, Haley Shaw and Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, So Wylie and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we reached out to for this episode, including Prof. Jerrold S. Meyer, Prof. Niamh Nic Daéid, Dr Brian Earp, Dr. Carl Roberts and Dr. Matthew Baggott. An extra thanks to Lucy Little, Johnny Dynell, Jesse Rudoy, Joseph Lavelle Wilson, and the Zukerman family. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.

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We all know gossip can be bad — but some of us still can’t seem to get enough of it. So today we’re digging into the science of gossip to answer questions like: who really gossips? And why do we love it so much? We spill the tea with sociologist Dr. Stacy Torres and neuroscientist Professor Josep Marco-Pallarés.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsGossip

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Gossip has a bad rap

(06:21) Who gossips?

(17:13) Your brain on gossip

(24:14) Can gossip be good?

(32:27) How to fight nasty gossip

Check out Tuck Woodstock’s podcast, “Gender Reveal,” a podcast that centers nonbinary, transgender, and queer folks. The show interviews LGBTQ+ artists, activists, and educators; answers listener questions; analyzes current events; and gets a little bit closer to understanding what the heck gender is.

Find us on instagram: @science_vs

This episode was produced by Nick DelRose with help from Wendy Zukerman, Joel Werner, Rose Rimler, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, So Wiley, Peter Leonard, and Bumi Hidaka. Thank you to all the researchers we spoke to, including Dr. Megan Robins, Dr. Jan Engelmann, Dr. Konrad Rudnicki, Dr. Alex Karan, and Dr. Julie Wargo Aikins. Recording assistance from Jaz Williams. Special thanks to the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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A dead man with a bitten penis and perplexing DNA, a terrifying syndrome where everything around you appears in miniature, and the big lie we all believe about lemmings: Wendy and Joel tell three science stories about times when things were not what they seemed, recorded live at the Beaker Street Festival in Tasmania. 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsLIVE 

Chapters: 

(00:00) Welcome to Science Vs LIVE!

(02:08) The Case of the Missing Penis

(17:55) Alice In Wonderland Syndrome

(31:35) The Big Lemming Lie

This episode has been produced by Wendy Zukerman, Joel Werner and Austin Mitchell, with help from Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang, and Nicholas DelRose. Our original version of lemmings was helped into the world by Kaitlyn Sawrey, Ben Kuebrich, Heather Rogers, and Shruti Ravindran. 

Edited by Blythe Terrell and Annie-Rose Strasser. Fact Checking by Carmen Drahl. Mix and Sound Design by Bobby Lord and Bumi Hidaka. Scoring by Bobby Lord, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka, and Emma Munger. Thanks to all of the researchers we spoke to including… Dr. Malte Andersson, Dr. Anders Angerbjörn, Dr. Rolf Anker Ims, Dr. Charles J. Krebs, and others. As well as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for the use of Cruel Camera. And special thanks to Barbara and Paul Werner, Tegan Taylor, Joseph Lavelle Wilson and the Zukerman family.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 

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Not sleeping enough turning you into a monster? In one of our most popular episodes, we bring you the cutting-edge science that helps us understand why. And we sort through the fads to find out, what really works to get more ZZZs. We speak with lab coordinator Pam DeYoung, sleep researcher Dr. Brady Riedner, and circadian scientist Prof. Russell Foster. 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsSleep2023

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Not sleeping sucks

(03:00) What does lack of sleep do to us?

(06:07) Our beer vs. sleepiness experiment

(10:56) What happens in a sleepy brain

(17:45) How circadian rhythm affects sleep

(21:19) Does melatonin help with sleep?

(23:50) Does blue light keep us awake?

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler and Lexi Krupp with help from Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn and Kaitlyn Sawrey. Editing by Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Diane Kelly and Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard and Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord, and Bach. Recording assistance from Dave Drexler, Tim Peterson, Zoe Sullivan, and Martin Wiggins. Sonification of EEG data came from Dr. Gerold Baier and Dr. Thomas Hermann. A huge thanks to Dr. Amandine Valomon, Prof. James Krueger, Dr. Ari Shechter, Dr. Jade Wu, Dr. Bei Bei, Dr. Connor Sheehan, Dr. Jennifer Ailshire, Dr. Agostinho Rosa, and everyone else we spoke to for this episode, especially our frustrated sleepers. Thank you so much for all the voice messages! And special thanks to Chuma Ossé, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 

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We’ve been told that foods like butter and bacon are bad for us — because they're packed with saturated fats. And top dogs in nutrition say that a better option is vegetable oil, like canola oil. But there’s a trend popping off claiming that these top dogs are barking up the wrong tree. They say that butter is better and that those vegetable oils, aka “seed oils,” are incredibly dangerous. So — who’s right? Is canola oil really killing us? Or is butter the bad boy?

To find out, we speak to author and physician Dr Cate Shanahan, professor of nutrition science Jason Wu, professor of endocrinology David Schade, and Dr David Iggman.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsSeedOils 

A new Season of Heavyweight is out now! Find them here: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/heavyweight 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Seed oils are the devil

(05:35) Is saturated fat killing you?

(12:25) Does cholesterol cause heart attacks? 

(22:02) Do seed oils cause inflammation?

(28:00) Are seed oils killing you?

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Joel Werner, Rose Rimler, Nick DelRose and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Carmen Drahl. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, Peter Leonard, and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Dr Lorena Pacheco, Dr Qi Sun, Dr Tetsumori Yamashima, Dr Idrees Mughal, Professor Rashika Ahmed, Dr Hatem Tallima, Dr Heidi Silver, Professor Ronald Krauss, Dr Yutang Wang, Dr David Sullivan, Professor Peter Clifton, Dr Lee Hooper and others. And a big thank you to Morgen Rockel, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.

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A whistleblower claims that the U.S. government is covering up what it knows about aliens on Earth, and several military pilots recently testified to seeing strange objects in the sky. It kinda feels like the tide is turning on UFOs — even NASA is taking these sightings seriously. So what’s going on here? Have aliens visited? And will we ever find alien life somewhere … out there? We speak to astrophysicists Prof. Kevin Knuth, Dr. Sara Webb, and Prof. Adam Frank. 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsUFOs2023 

Check our previous episode on UFOs here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/60oChXf4TK7dN4NZslVUpx

Prof. Adam Frank's new book, The Little Book of Aliens, comes out October 24.

Chapters: 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Chapter 1: Congress takes on aliens 

(03:04) Chapter 2: Why is Rose Muldering? 

(05:44) Chapter 3: The ‘Tic-Tac’ incident

(13:54) Chapter 4: We need a Scully

(26:45) Chapter 5: The new science on searching for alien life

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, as well as Michelle Dang, Joel Werner and Nick DelRose. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, Peter Leonard, and So Wylie. Special thanks to Matt Shilts and Walter Rimler. An extra special thanks to researchers we spoke to for this episode – including Prof. Seth Shostak and Julio Plaza Del Olmo. 

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Andrew Huberman is a skate punk turned neuroscientist, and he hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the U.S.: The Huberman Lab. Today, we talk to him about his unlikely path to becoming a scientist, his fascinating research into regrowing neurons, the Covid-19 lab leak theory, and some of the criticism he's gotten for promoting certain supplements.

Coronavirus: Was It Made In a Lab? https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs/dvheexn 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsHuberman 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Chapter 1: Andrew Huberman: Skater Kid to Scientist

(10:35) Chapter 2: Huberman's favorite study: Regrowing neurons

(16:38) Chapter 3: Learning to Optimize

(21:59) Chapter 4: Covid Lab Leak Theory

(26:45) Chapter 5: Criticism for Promoting Certain Supplements 

(35:06) Chapter 6: Huberman's favorite TV show: Love Island (jking)

(36:33) Chapter 7: Life Advice

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman and Joel Werner, with help from Rose Rimler, Nick DelRose, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.

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Can plunging into an ice bath make us feel happier? What about gratitude journaling? We’re digging into some of the quirkiest self-care hacks around the internet to find out what the science says — and whether you should add them to your routine. We talk to environmental physiologist Dr. Heather Massey, counseling psychologist Prof. Joel Wong, and social psychologist Dr. Juliana Schroeder. 

This episode does mention depression. Here are some crisis hotlines: 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsSelfCare

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Chapter 1: Trendy self-care hacks

(02:13) Chapter 2: Ice baths: How our body reacts

(07:40) Chapter 3: Can cold plunges help with depression?

(12:41) Chapter 4: The risks of ice baths

(16:24) Chapter 5: Does gratitude journaling make us happier?

(20:39) Chapter 6: How does gratitude work?

(26:29) Chapter 7: When self-care isn’t just about yourself …

This episode was produced by Michelle Dang, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Nick DelRose, Joel Werner, and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Carmen Drahl. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, Peter Leonard, and So Wylie. Thanks to everyone we spoke to for this episode – especially Professor Megan Azad. And special thanks to the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 

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The smash hit Netflix documentary “Unknown: Cave of Bones” has kicked off an all-out science brawl. The film makes extraordinary claims about a strange ape-like creature that lived hundreds of thousands of years ago — claims that rewrite what it means to be human. But some scientists are pushing back, saying that at this point, these extraordinary claims aren’t backed up by extraordinary evidence. So, what’s going on? Is “Cave of Bones” a Cave of Lies? We chat to the man at the center of the controversy, National Geographic Explorer In Residence Lee Berger, as well as a couple of the scientists pushing back against his work: Professor Andy Herries and Associate Professor Jamie Hodgkins.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVSCaveOfBones 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) ‘Cave of Bones’ is a hit!

(02:55) Lee Berger, Explorer in Residence

(07:10) Meet Homo naledi

(14:09) Extraordinary claims

(20:54) The media campaign and the backlash

(25:16) The evidence for burial

(32:00) The evidence for rock art

(40:54) Cave of Insufficient Evidence?

This episode was produced by Joel Werner, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler, and Nick DelRose. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, Peter Leonard, So Wylie, and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Dr Bridget Alex, Professor Michael Petraglia, Dr Kimberly Foecke, Dr Sven Ouzman, Dr Elizabeth Grace Veatch, Dr Flint Dibble, Professor Tim White, and Professor Bernard Wood. And a big thank you to Lindsey Cherner, Jill Harris, Jack Weinstein, Katie Vines, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. 

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More and more people are puffing on vapes — but some governments are making moves to ban them. So how dangerous is vaping, really? And as we inhale that sweet cherry flavor into our lungs, could we also be changing our brains? To find out, we talk to tobacco researcher Dr. Michael Chaiton, inhalation toxicologist Professor Ilona Jaspers, and pharmacology researcher Melissa Herman.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsVaping 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) The fears around vaping

(03:41) Could vaping make you sick?

(09:45) Are vape flavors dangerous?

(20:17) Nicotine and depression

(32:03) Is vaping worse than smoking?

This episode was produced by Nick DelRose with help from Wendy Zukerman, Joel Werner, Rose Rimler and Michelle Dang. Our original vaping episode was produced by Kaitlyn Sawrey with help from Lexi Krupp and Meryl Horn. Editing by Caitlin Kenney and Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka and Peter Leonard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Bobby Lord, So Wylie, Bumi Hidaka, and Emma Munger. A huge thanks to all the people we spoke to for this episode including: Dr Jamie Harmann-Boyce, Prof Charlotta Pisinger, Prof Neal Benowitz, Dr Emily Stockings, Dr Mohammed Al-Hamdani, Prof Nancy Rigotti, Dr Elizabeth Stevens, Dr Matt Springer, Prof Paul Kenny, Dr Yasmeen Butt, Dr Sean Callahan, Dr Travis Henry, Professor Irfan Rahman, Christopher Harvel, Alex Sandorf, Dr James Pankow, Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos, Professor Lorraine Martin, Professor Moon-Shong Tang, Dr. Kevin Davidson and Myron Ronay. Extra thanks to Conor Duffy, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Follow the show and tap the bell to receive new episode notifications.

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