Science Vs

Microplastics have been turning up in our blood, our lungs, and even our balls! But exactly what are they doing to us? And what about all the chemicals in plastics — can they mess with our hormones? We talk to reproductive biologists Prof. Patricia Hunt and Prof. Fred vom Saal, and pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Anne-Simone Parent.  

Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsMicroplastics

Chapters: 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Pat’s mice

(06:26) Our plastic world

(08:03) What do microplastics actually do in our bodies?

(11:53) Plastics contain endocrine disrupting chemicals

(15:06) Endocrine disruptors and…obesity?!

(20:38) Are they funking up our junk?

(29:23) Are we really eating that much microplastic?

(32:50) What should we do?

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, along with Meryl Horn, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, and Peter Leonard. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke with for this episode, including Dr. Meiru Wang, Dr. Roger Kuhlman, Dr. Christopher Tubbs, Dr. Giusseppe Paolisso, Prof. Jerry Heindel, Dr. Laura Geer, Dr. Mohan Qin, Dr. Haoran Wei, Dr. Thaddeus Schug, Dr. Thava Palanisami, and Dr. Xiaozhong Yu. Special thanks to Miah Foster and Diana Kenney. 

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 group of teenagers and college kids were fed up with the lousy healthcare in their New York neighborhood. So they came together as a group, calling themselves the Young Lords, and fought the system head on — a fight that still resonates today. Sid Davidoff, Mickey Melendez, and Cleo Silvers share their story. [REBROADCAST]

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

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) David vs. Goliath

(05:01) The garbage offensive

(10:20) Taking on lead paint and hunger

(13:54) The tuberculosis offensive

(17:08) The fight for Lincoln Hospital

(28:39) The aftermath of the takeover 

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Michelle Dang and Lexi Krupp. Editing by Caitlin Kenney with help from Jorge Just. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord. The archive for this story came from Pacifica Radio Archive, and the documentaries: El Pueblo Se Levanta, and Palante, Siempre Palante!  A big thanks to Denise Oliver Velez, Dr. Darrel Wanzer-Serrano, Iris Morales, Walter Bosque Del Rio, Professor Jose R. Sanchez, and Professor Lloyd Novick. An extra thanks to Blythe Terrell, Amanda Aronczyk, 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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Headlines are screaming that the world is about to reach a climate tipping point, which feels like a point of no return where the climate is screwed and there's nothing we can do. But it turns out, that's wrong. These visions of a climate apocalypse don't align with the science. So what exactly is going on with our climate? What even is a tipping point? And are we really about to lose control of the climate? Comedian Michael Hing joins us for a journey with climate scientists Dr. Ed Doddridge, Dr. Seaver Wang, and Dr. Sarah Das, as well as Dr. Felicity McCormack, who's at the Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future at Monash University.

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

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Fire in the hole

(06:14) What is a tipping point? 

(11:04) Is Planet Earth "tipping"? 

(17:00) How do we know when the ice sheets tip?

(25:04) When will the ice sheets tip?

(27:34) Have we lost control of the climate? 

(31:58) Why tipping points are the distracted boyfriend meme

(35:30) The good news!

Send us your questions about How to Solve the Climate Crisis!! 

Insta: @science_vs

Tiktok: @wendyzukerman

Send a voicemail or video to [email protected]

Or! If you're in the U.S., you can call 774-481-1238 

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn Rose Rimler, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Bobby Lord, Sparse Movement, Bumi Hidaka and So Wylie. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to, including Professor Andrew Dessler, Professor Christina Hulbe, Dr David Armstrong McKay, Professor Tim Lenton, Aditya Lolla, Dr Elizabeth Maroon, Dr Jan Nitzbon, Professor Johannes Quaas, Dr Jonathan Leung, Dr Kirsten Schell, Dr Madi Rosevear, Michelle Dvorak, Dr Robin Lamboll, Dr Zeke Hausfather, Dr Sam Krevor, Flowra Zhang and others. And extra 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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Social media. Many of us don’t feel very good when we’re on it, and yet we sometimes spend hours a day scrolling, eyeballs glued to our screens. Some experts say that social media is causing a mental health crisis, and governments are even talking about banning social media for kids. So what’s going on — can social media really shorten our attention span, hurt our body image or make us feel depressed? To find out, we talk to psychologists Professor Gloria Mark, Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley, Professor Silje Steinsbekk, and Dr. Rachel Hogg. 

Resources to help with disordered eating:

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

Gloria Mark’s book, Attention Span: https://gloriamark.com/, and Substack: https://gloriamark.substack.com/ 

Vote for the New Zealand Bird of the Year here: birdoftheyear.org.nz — we are supporting the tawaki piki toka!

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Our love/hate relationship with social media

(06:36) Is social media ruining our attention spans?

(14:04) Why is it so hard to stop looking at social media?

(18:39) Is social media making us feel depressed?

(25:56) Can social media affect your body image?

(34:02) Tips for getting off social media.

This episode was produced by Meryl Horn, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, Bumi Hidaka and So Wylie. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to, including Professor Hunt Allcott, Dr. Jacqueline Nesi, Professor Patricia Conrad, Dr. Robert Kraut, Dr. Andrew Westbrook, and Dr. Niklas Ihssen. A big thanks to everyone who talked to us about social media in Washington Square Park! And thanks to Lori Segal, Ally Settelmayer and Whitney Potter. And extra thanks to Christopher Suter, Beverly, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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We will be BACK with brand-new episodes in just one week! Join us for pun-packed science romps on microplastics, social media, climate tipping points, narcissism, fiber, lucid dreaming — and a ton more. Fact you Sept. 12!

Video production by Bobby Lord. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord and Sam Bair.

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 asked you all: Do you have questions for Wendy and the Science Vs team? And oh boy, did you have questions. Hundreds of questions from all across the globe. Today on the show, senior producer Rose Rimler gets the goss on Wendy's personal life, finds out what happened when Wendy got hypnotized, and spills the tea on Science Vs. 

Watch this episode as a video on Spotify.

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

(00:00) Ask Wendy Anything!

(02:20) Wendy’s bad date

(04:05) Wendy gets hypnotized

(10:45) Wendy and Rose’s Roman Empires

(12:53) Behind the scenes at Science Vs

(21:10)  How doing Science Vs has changed Wendy’s behavior

(23:42) Wendy’s hair care routine

(25:53) Wendy gets trolled by her sister

This episode was produced by Blythe Terrell and Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. Edited, mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord, So Wylie and Peter Leonard. Thanks to Evan Munro-Smith at Stupid Old Studios; Kevin Cureghian, Mark Amber, Nick Johnson, T Cruz and Paige Ransbury. 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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Since the beginning of women’s sports, there has been a struggle over who qualifies for the women’s category. So this week, we're sharing an episode of a new podcast we love, called Tested. Tested follows the unfolding story of elite female runners who have been told they can no longer race as women because of their biology. As they work toward the Olympics, they face hard choices: take drugs to lower their natural testosterone levels, give up their sport entirely, or fight. This episode asks: Would you alter your body for the chance to compete for a gold medal? You’ll meet runner Christine Mboma and hear about the difficult choice she faces. 

Find more episodes of Tested at https://link.chtbl.com/XReiimtO

Tested is from CBC, NPR’s Embedded, and Bucket of Eels. The show is written, reported, and hosted by Rose Eveleth.

Editing by Alison MacAdam and Veronica Simmonds. Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman, Andrew Mambo, and Rhaina Cohen. Additional reporting, producing, and editing by Lisa Pollak. Sound design by Mitra Kaboli. Our production manager is Michael Kamel. Anna Ashitey is our digital producer. This series was mixed by Robert Rodriguez. Fact checking by Dania Suleman. Our intersex script consultant is Hans Lindahl. Archival research by Hillary Dann. Legal support from Beverly Davis. Mixed for Science Vs by Bobby Lord.

Special thanks to Yeezir for letting us use his song Silent Hero, and Keith Houston, Amir Nakhjavani, and Damon Papadopoulos. French translation by Vanessa Nicolai. Special thanks also to CBC Licensing. Additional audio from World Athletics and Warner Brothers.

At CBC, Chris Oke and Cesil Fernandes are Executive Producers, Tanya Springer is the Senior Manager, and Arif Noorani is the Director of CBC Podcasts.

At NPR, Katie Simon is Supervising Editor for Embedded. Irene Noguchi is Executive Producer. NPR’s senior vice president for podcasting is Collin Campbell. We got legal support from Micah Ratner. And thanks to NPR’s Managing Editor for Standards and Practices, Tony Cavin.

This series was created with support from a New America fellowship.

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[REBROADCAST] Celebs and wellness blogs treat water like a magic elixir that will make us the most attractive and healthiest version of ourselves. But do these claims hold water? And how much do we really need to be drinking to stay healthy? We speak to Professor Hollie Raynor, Professor Stavros Kavouras and Dr. Tamara Hew-Butler to find out.

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

We’re doing an “Ask Wendy Anything” episode! To ask Wendy a question, get in touch on Instagram: Science_Vs; Tiktok: @wendyzukerman. If you want to send us a voicemail you can email us on [email protected]. If you're in the US, you can call us at 774-481-1238.

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Nick DelRose, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn, Courtney Gilbert, Rose Rimler and Disha Bhagat. Editing by Blythe Terrell with help from Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord, So Wylie and Peter Leonard. Thanks to the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Andrew Brown, Dr. Jason Lee Kai, Dr. Jodi Stookey, Dr. Vincent Ho, Dr. Tristan Struja, Dr. Stephen Goodall, Dr. Ekua Annobil, Professor Barbara Rolls and Dr. Krista Casazza. Special thanks to Rasha Aridi, Eric Mennel, The Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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We’re hearing stories of people having amazing, cosmic orgasms. So what buttons are they pressing to do this?? Well, it's just one. The “male G spot,” also called the “P spot,” because that P stands for prostate. Word on the street is that if you touch your prostate in just the right way — BAM — one helluva orgasm. But is that really true? And if you don't have a prostate (ahem, me): are you stuck with your garden variety orgasms? To get to the bottom of this, Science Vs surveyed almost 16,000 people about anal sex and masturbation! We also speak with Dr Dan Dickstein, Dr Tom Gaither and Neuroscientist Dr Nan Wise.

Have an idea for a Science Vs episode? Let us know! On Instagram we're Science_Vs, Wendy's Tiktok is @wendyzukerman and our email is [email protected]

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsMind-BlowingOrgasms

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Absolutely cosmic orgasms

(04:47) Anal sex is big right now

(08:52) What makes the prostate special

(12:02) The hole story. The butthole story.

(20:19) How to get a cosmic orgasm

(29:19) Tips and tricks for great anal sex

(34:54) The real G spot

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, Bumi Hidaka and Peter Leonard. A huge thank you to Sam Levang for her help analyzing our data. And Professor Caroline Pukall and Dan Dickstein for your help with our survey questions. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to including Dr Devon Hensel. Thanks to Jack Weinstein, Hunter, 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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Protein influencers are big right now, telling us that we're probably missing out on the protein we need — and giving us a bunch of hacks for getting it. Why? They say that eating extra protein helps us build muscle, feel full, and lose weight. So is that true? We talk to kinesiology professor Stuart Phillips and nutrition professor Faidon Magkos. 

Find our transcript here: bit.ly/ScienceVsPROTEIN

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Protein is all the rage right now

(02:53) Why protein matters

(05:32) How much protein is enough?

(11:33) Do you need more protein if you’re working out?

(15:06) Is it risky to eat a LOT of protein?

(18:46) Should you pound protein right after a workout?

(23:09) Protein and weight loss

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler and Michelle Dang, with help from Wendy Zukerman and Meryl Horn. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks so much to all the researchers we spoke with for this episode, including Prof. Brad Schoenfeld and Dr. Nicholas Burd. 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. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices