Science Vs

Tons of us are spending waaaayyy more time using screens these days — and it’s freaking us out. We’ve got all kinds of worries. Like, is all this screen time rotting kids’ brains? Is social media destroying our mental health? And then there’s our eyes. Our eyes!! Are all these screens ruining them too?! To find out, we speak to psychologist Dr. Brenna Hassinger-Das, communication studies researcher Dr. Natalie Pennington and optical physicist Dr. Maitreyee Roy.  

Check out the transcript here: https://bit.ly/2Rfp0I4

This episode was produced by Michelle Dang with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Nick DelRose and Taylor White. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Eva Dasher. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Haley Shaw, Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Professor Seang Mei Saw, Professor Mark Rosenfield, Dr. Cristian Talens Estarelles, Dr. Rebecca Brand, Professor Wallace Dixon and Dr. Deborah Kloska. And thanks to all of our wonderful listeners who sent us messages about their screen use! It was so lovely to hear from all of you! And special thanks to Khairi, KC, and Makai Williams, Christina Couch and Lillian Adams, and Connie and Sekwan Walker, Kendra Pierre-Louis, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Back in 2016, U.S. Embassy workers in Cuba were struck by a mysterious noise, followed by symptoms like headaches, dizziness and memory problems. This sent the U.S. scrambling to try to find the culprit. Could it have been an ear-piercing sonic weapon? Or something even sneakier — a device that could beam microwaves into your brain?? We speak to journalist Tim Golden, Prof. Douglas Smith, Prof. Fernando Montealegre-Zapata, Dr. Mitchell Joseph Valdés-Sosa, Prof. Chris Collins, and Prof. Alan Carson. 

Our instagram is: science_vs

Check out the transcript here: https://bit.ly/2Pf3jan

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This episode was produced by Nick DelRose and Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang and Taylor White. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Eva Dasher. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Translation help by Kristin Torres. A huge thanks to the researchers who helped us out for this episode -- we spoke to around two dozen experts to get their thoughts on many different parts of this -- from the brain studies to the possibility of microwave weapons. Many of them just wanted to talk on background - but thank you so much for your time. And special thanks to Ayo Oti, Navani Otero, Andrea B. Scott, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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REBROADCAST: This episode looks at how one of the worst ideas in science got a big push from a bad study… and intellectuals of the day lapped it up. We speak to science writer Carl Zimmer and Prof. J. David Smith, whose research helped get to the bottom of this messed-up story.

Check out the full transcript here: https://bit.ly/3sZ3m8P

This episode was produced by Kaitlyn Sawrey, Wendy Zukerman, and Romilla Karnick with help from Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, Shruti Ravindran and Nick DelRose. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell, extra editing help from Alex Blumberg and PJ Vogt. An extra thanks to Phoebe Flanagan as well as Emily Ulbricht for help with German translations. Fact checking by Michelle Harris and Nick DelRose. Mix and sound design by Emma Munger and Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Bobby Lord and Emma Munger. We also spoke to Professor Peter Visscher for this episode. Thank you. A huge thanks to all the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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UPDATE 4/13/21: Since this episode published, there has been some evidence linking the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to rare blood clots. As of April 13, there were six cases in the U.S. out of more than 6.8 million doses, and one person had died. The CDC and FDA have recommended pausing the vaccine while they learn more.

Details are here: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0413-JJ-vaccine.html 

Just as coronavirus vaccinations are ramping up, a bunch of new variants are here, threatening to muck everything up. So we’re wondering — will these jabs still work, or is this the pandemic that never ends? To find out, we talk to Dr. Ben Reis, biochemist Prof. Pei-Yong Shi, virologist Prof. Ann Sheehy, and infectious disease expert Dr. Katy Stephenson.

Check out the transcript here: https://bit.ly/3mbc0hQ

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Nick DelRose and Meryl Horn, with help from Michelle Dang and Taylor White. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell, editing help from Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Taylor White. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode as well as all the listeners who told us about their vaccine experience! And special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Venomous snakes entranced medieval Europe. And although bites were rare, this didn’t stop 14th century doctors from using everything but the kitchen sink to make snake bite treatments. We’re talking weasels, birds — even the pee of a young man. So was it all for snakes and giggles? Or is there something we’re missing in our treatments today? We speak to medieval animal expert Dr. Kathleen Walker-Meikle. 

Check out the transcript here: https://bit.ly/3fqzNJp

This episode was produced by Taylor White with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Michelle Dang 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 Bumi Hidaka, Haley Shaw, Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. And special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Snake venom is a wily beast. It's packed with hundreds of toxins that can attack our blood vessels, muscles and nerves. That's why snake bites kill some 100,000 people each year. On today's show — dangerous snake bites and the bizarre way we make the only thing that can save you from them: antivenom. (Spoiler alert: it takes snake milkers and stables filled with horses.) We'll also look at the groundbreaking research that could eventually revolutionise all this. We speak to Captain Pete Bethune, snake venom researchers Dr. Christina Zdenek, Professor José María Gutiérrez, Dr. Laura Albulescu and snake milker Greivin Corales. 

To read more about Pete Bethune's work: https://www.earthrace.net/ 

Our instagram is: science_vs

Check out the transcript right here: https://bit.ly/3ffV8oE

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman with help from Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang, Nick DelRose, and Taylor White. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Professor Abdul Razaq Habib, Dr. Gavin Smith, Professor Abina Crean, Professor Nick Casewell, Dr. Jessicah Kurere, and Dr. Tarek Mohamed. And special thanks to Pia Gadkari, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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In 2017, a weird-looking space object called ʻOumuamua whipped past our sun. Now a Harvard scientist is suggesting it miiiight be an alien probe! So we’re revisiting this episode from a few years ago, where we ask: could aliens actually exist? Is there any chance they’ve visited Earth already? We talked to astronomers Dr. Jill Tarter, Dr. Seth Shostak, investigative journalist David Clarke, and physicist Prof. Jim Al Khalili.

Check out the transcript here: http://bit.ly/2QlCqSf

This episode was originally produced by Kaitlyn Sawrey, Wendy Zukerman and Rose Rimler with help from Shruti Ravindran and Meryl Horn. Nick DelRose helped produce the updated version. Fact Checking by Michelle Harris, Meryl Horn and Nick DelRose. Music by Bobby Lord and Emma Munger, mixed by Emma Munger and Bumi Hidaka. Editing by Blythe Terrell. Additional editing help from Caitlin Kenney. Also thank you to Dr. Ravi Kumar Kopparapu, Dr. Craig O'Neill, Dr. Jessie Christiansen, Dr. Cameron Hummels, Dr. Phil Hopkins, Dr. Avi Loeb, and the many other researchers who helped us on this.

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Parts of the U.S. are about to see a surge of cicadas — masses of flying bugs, popping up all over the place. After 17 years underground, a crap ton of Brood X cicadas will emerge for a giant chorusing orgy — and it’s all for sex and drugs. So what does this cicada storm mean for us? Should we be bugging out? We speak to biologist Dr. John Cooley, ecologist Dr. Louie Yang, mycologist Dr. Matt Kasson, and evolutionary biologist Prof. Chris Simon. 

Check out the transcript right here: http://bit.ly/3cnpD95

This episode was produced by Michelle Dang with help from me, Wendy Zukerman, as well as, Nick DelRose, Taylor White, Meryl Horn, and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Haley Shaw, Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. DeAnna Beasley, Prof. Donald Steinkraus, and Prof. Marten Edwards. And to all folks we spoke to about their cicada experiences: Martin, Carrie Engel, Maureen Hoffmann, Ryan Hampel — and thanks to Brad Bolton for the cicada recording. And special thanks to Emmanuel Dzotsi, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Internet influencers have been pushing “immune boosters” during the pandemic — claiming they’ve got just the pill, berry or brew to rev up our body’s defenses. But is there really a way to boost our immune system? We’re finding out whether these vitamins and supplements truly work as a shield against colds and viruses. We speak to public health Prof. Tim Caulfield, nutrition Prof. Carol Johnston, immunologist Shiv Pillai, and immune aging researcher Niharika Duggal. 

UPDATE 3/12/21: An earlier version of this episode overstated the evidence that starting to exercise leads to fewer colds and flus. While we do have lots of evidence that suggests exercise is good for our immune system, the research around starting an exercise program is more mixed. We've updated the episode.

Check out the transcript right here: http://bit.ly/3cjIe6f

And find more rhymes from Shiv on TikTok: profpillaipoet

Credits: 

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler with help from Wendy Zukerman, as well as Taylor White, Nick DelRose, Meryl Horn, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Brian Crucian, Dr. Harri Hemila, Dr. Wendy Weber, Dr Shai Shen Orr, Dr. Ravindra PV, Prof. Philip Calder, Dr. Oveta Fuller, Dr. Kate Edwards, Dr. Hawley Kunz, Prof. Graham Rook, Prof. Emily Ho, Dr. Dayong Wu, Prof. David Nieman, Dr. Byron Quinn, Dr. Allison Kelliher, and Prof. Adrian Martineau. And special thanks to Willa Rubin, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Season 10 starts March 4!

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