Probably Science

(Note: This episode was recorded before the Los Angeles fires) Comedian/actor Mary Lynn Rajskub (@marylynnrajskub) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about filming her upcoming show North of North in Nunavut, her new standup special Road Gig, how Roman air pollution lowered the IQ of Europe, long eggs, the thick ice of Europa, Matt's upcoming Australia shows and Andy's upcoming Arizona ones.

Comedian and physical therapist Laura Hayden (@LauraHaydenFun) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about her penile pictorial book What About Dick, a decrease in average body temperature, sciatica advice, the benefits of pooping before you exercise, Matt's upcoming Australia tour and Andy's upcoming Warsaw Poland Bros gigs.

Comedian Forrest Shaw (@forrestshaw) returns to the show to talk about stalking manatees with police helicopters, gambling addiction, his upcoming podcast I've Got a Problem, survival of the wittiest, a lost branch of humanity's family tree, Matt's upcoming comedy shows in Eureka and Medford and Andy's upcoming Warsaw Poland Bros shows in Santa Barbara and Los Olivos.

Comedian Matthew Broussard (@mondaypunday) returns to the show to chat with Jesse, Andy and Matt about Matthew's new special Hyperbolic, exaggerated accents, the CEO shooter, cyborg beetles, a quantum computing milestone, gray goo, online security in a post-quantum world, elliptic curves, conic sections, Fermat's Enigma and a super old bird mother.

Comedian Becky Braunstein (@beckyfromalaska) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about growing up Jewish in Alaska, eruv rules and topology, orcas bringing back the salmon hat fad, the dangers of squeezing limes in bright sunlight, and tiny vodka-propelled robots.

Comedian/writer/actress Laura Kightlinger (@KingKightlinger) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about spontaneous human combustion, Bourbon Room comedy shows in Hollywood, the story behind Andy's various bands, the Uranus story we don't want to cover, how one atom can change a parrot's color, blurb machine Peter Travers, peacock spiders, a blue whale that's been leaking oil for 26 years and a flu strain that we've basically beaten.

Screenwriter James Lamont joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about writing the upcoming Paddington in Peru, alcohol detox champion hornets, Shatner's double SPATS, memory not being confined to the brain, Jesse getting checked in on by local kids and Matt's oath to take up arms for the United States.

Comedian Benny Blue (@bennyblueeyes) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about brat summer transitioning into the fall of civilization, Benny's new special Live From My Mother's Funeral, Benny and Andy's Blue Lake connection, Anarchist Cookbook adolescent shenanigans, why humans are the perfect size for speed, Matt and Andy's show with the 2022-iest name ever, the best mural ever painted and its painter, Norm MacDonald's sketch artist sketch, how an asteroid got ants into farming fungi, Jesse's love of 90-Day Fiancee, Matt's upcoming comedy shows and Andy's upcoming ska shows.

Comedian and former Probably Science cohost Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan) joins Jesse and Andy to talk about his new special Alive In Alaska, Tony Hinchcliffe entering the election arena, cats beating babies at word association, Don't Wake Daddy, snake talk just for Brooks, the Teddy Roosevelt biography The River of Doubt, Chuck Klosterman's The Nineties, the ever-changing landscape of standup and Andy's upcoming gigs with Warsaw Poland Bros.

Comedian Jeffrey Jay (@heyjeffreyjay) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to discuss UnCertified Fresh, the Matt Walsh-iverse of awful movies, Earth gaining a second moon, the orbital path of that object, an octopus that punches fish to make them help it hunt and choceted EEG caps for cats.

DJ Qualls (@TheOnlyDJQualls) and Kelly Blackheart (@kellyblackheart) of the Locked & Probably Loaded podcast join Matt and Jesse to talk about DJ's upcoming movie Carved, Nashville dive bars, the Ark Encounter, the Ig Nobel prize for butt-breathing, extreme aging, re-creating Mars in a lab and resurrecting the woolly mammoth.

Comedian Maronzio Vance (@maronziovance) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about Andy's upcoming ska festival and Oktoberfest polka band gigs, Taipei's innovative trash system, dating Prince-obsessed women, dogs' incredible ability to remember the names of toys, the gut-first path of Parkinson's and comedy's legendary Tribble runs.

Comedian/actress/podcaster Helen Hong (@funnyhelenhong) joins Matt and Andy to talk about peeing in pools and reservoirs, male stripper shows, Helen's excellent quiz podcast Go Fact Yourself, pre-Darth Vader David Prowse PSAs, the dye in Doritos that can make mice transparent, a SpaceX rocket punching a hole in the ionosphere, mailing poo in a box and making pyrex invisible with vegetable oil.

Writer/producer Sam Pasternack (@sampasternack) returns to the podcast to talk with Matt, Andy and Jesse about awful bar trivia, Sam's new book "Walker," the history of pedestrianism, Land's End to John o' Groats, Andy's Burning Man updates, the dilemma of trombone utility and using massive python meals to help develop new human heart medicines.

Mystery Science Theater alum, comedian and author Frank Conniff (@FrankConniff) joins the crew to talk about his new audiobook Dark Apnea. Plus horoscope doubts! Carl Sagan predicting the future! And where dinosaur killing asteroids came from! In the patreon bonus ep we talk about saving the banana from extinction. Sign up here!

Comedian Mark Cohen (@mark_coco_cohen) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to discuss the two aging bursts humans experience, restoring Tonka trucks, weaning crocodiles off of cane toads, Mark's video game creations, using slime mold to help map dark matter, and stock photo artists who play Lawn Mowing Simulator. and Mark's possible record-breaking stint at The Comedy Cellar in Las Vegas.

Neuroscientist-turned-comedian Isak Allen (@isakallen) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about smashing flies, using fMRI to study brain activity as it relates to music and comedy, tonal languages, the Dong Song, Neuralink, dystopian futures and Isak's new Dry Bar special Culturally Unavailable.

We've got just the prescription for everyone out there with Olympic fever: A re-release of a 2013 episode in which Matt and Andy interview David Epstein, a Sports Illustrated journalist and the author of the outstanding book The Sports Gene, along with college basketball player-turned-comedian Paul Morrissey, to discuss the field of sports genetics research and try to get to the bottom of how elite athletes are made. Enjoy!

Comedy legend Cathy Ladman (@cathyladman1) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about creepy Foundation for a Better Life billboards, cancer battles, 1970s acid, the CrowdStrike software crash, how propofol tips your brain into chaos, the merits of comedy classes, Brazilian cocaine sharks and Cathy's September 7th Vegas show.

Producer David Brown joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about creating entertaining science programming, the new Peacock show The Hungry Games: Alaska's Big Bear Challenge that David produced, Rhys Darby narrated and Matt and Andy worked on, the Emmy-winning pop-science show Could You Survive The Movies?, Andy's Top Gun cameo, Fat Bear Week, Goro's pecs, a south-of-the-border Orson Welles experience, using AI to figure out the sperm whale phonetic alphabet, Larry the cat and Boris Johnson and The Higgins Boys & Gruber.

Comedian Todd Barry (@toddbarry) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to talk about his new special Domestic Shorthair, an FDA ban of a citrus soda ingredient, ginger ale vs. ginger beer, the quackery of Dr. Idz, new images of an asteroid that just whizzed by Earth, Jesse's air force base food poisoning story, whether toxoplasmosis causes crazy cat lady syndrome and Jackson Galaxy's Cat Camp.

Comedian Sid Singh (@mrsidsingh) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about being a Brexit and Biden bellwether, Mozart the millenial, weird tunings, 432 Hz bullshit, old-ass Washington cherries, SPATS updates, a clever way to curb rhino horn poaching, meat rice, debunking Novi's etymology and ant surgeons.

Writer/podcaster Jordan Morris (@Jordan_Morris) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his upcoming graphic novel Youth Group, the YA genre, hawk tuah, breakdancing in the Olympics, elephants calling each other by name, wartime magicians, GPT-4 passing the Turing Test, using AI to cancel customer anger, a new stab at AI alignment and creating plasma fireballs in the lab.

Matt and Andy host a live installment of the podcast from To 29 and Beyond in Twentynine Palms featuring guests Bobcat Goldthwait, Rhys Darby, Dr. Farah Alibay and Natalia Reagan, digging into topics including indoor rocketry, opening for Nirvana, projectile bibles, the Cryptid Factor podcast, Bobcat's Bigfoot movie, 10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty, Robin Williams and Koko the gorilla, Mars landers, returning samples to Earth, and Dr. Alibay's work on the upcoming NASA/JPL all-sky spectral survey project SphereX.

Comedian, quizzer, doctor, chaser and now author Paul Sinha (@paulybengali) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt about his new memoir One Sinha Lifetime, training for quiz shows, underperforming on Taskmaster, Paul's Parkinson's diagnosis, how he transitioned from medicine to comedy, being outed decades after coming out, this weekend's To 29 and Beyond, the 29 Palms scavenger hunt that Andy developed, James Webb spotting the birth of some very early galaxies, Charles Dickens the performer, what really happened with that stingray virgin birth and how to figure out the best time to take your meds.

Comedian, actor and host of The Tomorrow Show Ron Lynch (@ronlynch1) checks in with Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about the groundbreaking show Home Movies, Ron's geology degree, microplastics in your balls, Terrence Howard's magnificent bullshit, reducing the carbon footprint of cement, using the Sun as a giant telescope and of course To 29 and Beyond, coming to Outpost 29 June 7-8.

Comedian Omid Singh (@omid_singh) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about Omid's Lil Special, the recent additions to the To 29 and Beyond lineup, including Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero's Endless Honeymoon podcast and Rhys Darby, southern indifference to northern lights, Omid's dream song, Dubai construction projects, The Line in Saudi Arabia, red flags in the AI world, repurposing coffee grounds for construction projects, supercapacitors and the future of energy storage and the photoplayer mechanical orchestra.

Comedian Shane Mauss (@shane_mauss) returns to the podcast in the midst of his A Better Trip tour to talk with Matt and Andy about having his van broken into, his new line of plant activated products, the connection between Amanita muscaria mushrooms and Mario and Santa, the trendiness of ketamine, a psychedelic toad venom that may have therapeutic uses (and that, of course, Shane has already tried), a wounded orangutan using a plant as medicine, and discount presale passes for To 29 and Beyond that are available until the May 10th announcement of some big lineup additions!

Comedian Sierra Katow (@sierrakatow) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about her new standup special Funt, the upcoming appearance on Roots of Comedy with Jesus Trejo, the underrated Earth to Ned, Sierra's computer science background and childhood obsession with Neopets, Andy's head-scratching interaction with Anthropic's Claude AI, deadly pathogens that are attracted to human blood, the importance of robot insurance, the security issues raised by quantum computing, online Oregon Trail, a black hole lurking surprisingly close to Earth and To 29 and Beyond, coming to Outpost 29 on June 7-8, with Bobcat Goldthwait, NASA's Farah Alibay, stargazing, trivia, live music, karaoke and more, sponsored by Visit 29, Merch Kitchen and Sky Watcher Star Tours. For 15% off a Sky Watcher stargazing tour, use the code "29BEYOND".

Comedian Bec Hill (@bechillcomedian) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about What3Words, Bec sneaking dicks into things, a surprise from decades-old cans of salmon, ghost particles, a possible Stonehenge moon connection, ancient Stonehenge feasts, Willy's LA Chocolate Experience, A Problem Squared, Enemy In Paris and of course To 29 and Beyond, coming to Outpost 29 on June 7-8, with Bobcat Goldthwait, NASA's Farah Alibay, stargazing, trivia, live music, karaoke and more, sponsored by Visit 29, Merch Kitchen and Sky Watcher Star Tours. For 15% off a Sky Watcher stargazing tour, use the code "29BEYOND".

Comedian Joshua Snyder (@nerdyvirgin) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Bobcat Goldthwait headlining To 29 and Beyond, Jesse's love life, building a guitar, a lack of solar eclipse whimsy, the Star Trek punk on a bus, toxic epi-pens in space, a mouse with legs instead of genitals, dog comprehension, the great podcast Free With Ads and a SPATS update.

Comedian Carmen Morales (@TheFunnyCarmen) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about Matt's chipped tooth, the pros and cons of home dentistry, a nuclear fusion record, CRISPR and HIV, Andy's friend's Pioneertown-to-Big Bear breakdown, a million mice eating seabirds alive, letdowns from CBD, Carmen on HBO, updates from the Large Hadron Collider and our live event To 29 and Beyond, taking place June 7th and 8th.

Comedian/juggler Marcus Monroe (@marcusmonroe) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about inventing the knorch, siteswap juggling notation, getting banned from Delta Airlines, a Montana man pleading guilty to creating massive franken-sheep, getting helium from the moon and To 29 and Beyond, now taking place June 7th and 8th.

Actress/writer Tara Flynn returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about having no sense of smell, Renaissance Faires, the magic of the Irish, fake Scottish Wikipedia, fake grunge slang, a death ray science project, a fish as loud as an elephant, boiling water to remove microplastics, a 13,000-year-old sand dune, Liver King, Oscar talk, To 29 and Beyond coming to 29 Palms on June 1st and Tara's podcast Now You're Asking.

Comedian/musician Adam Newman (@adam_newman) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about sweep picking, Antarctic scientists developing their own accent, Adam and Jesse's dreadlock pasts, Adam's upcoming special Jew Versus The Volcano, Purim talk, how humans lost their tails, the Willy Wonka AI experience debacle in Glasgow and its insane script, Wake Up and Smile, the upcoming live event To 29 and Beyond and Adam's podcast PuzzyBoyz.

Comedy legend Wendy Liebman (@WendyLiebman) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Wendy and Jesse's Letterman overlap, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Wendy's psychology background and transition into comedy, the evolutionary advantage of ADHD, bizarre AI rat genitalia, using AI to advance fusion research, OpenAI's amazing/terrifying Sora breakthrough and Will Smith actually eating spaghetti.

Comedian Jeffrey Baldinger (@Jeffbaldinger) joins Matt and Jesse to talk about earthquakes, Santa Claus' dad, a strange new type of star in the middle of our galaxy and distinguishing between earthquakes and nuclear tests.

Comedian, actor and author Matt Knudsen (@mattknudsen) returns to the podcast to talk about his new book Have I Seen You In Anything?, working on soap operas, being in an iconic I Think You Should Leave sketch, going back to school, learning to tap dance, testosterone reducing the Audience Effect and a bat that uses its huge penis as an arm.

Comedian Leah Bonnema (@LeahBonnema) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Matt and Leah's road gig adventure, Jesse being snowed in, going to the bathroom outside, the science behind the munchies, Japan's Moon Sniper making contact with the lunar surface, Leah's love of Love Island, 45,000-year-old tools and bones found in eastern Asia, the Levallois technique and everyone's lack of awareness of Bill Knapp's.

Comedian and author Moshe Kasher (@moshekasher) returns to the show to talk with Andy, Jesse and Matt about his upcoming book Subculture Vulture, chronicling his deep involvement in the seemingly disparate worlds of Hasidic Judaism, deaf culture, comedy, sobriety, rave culture and Burning Man, as well as digging into the possible de-extinction of the dodo.

Comedian Kim McVicar (@KimMcVicar) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about famous hecklers, Kim's dancing background, musicals and their parodies, coin flips not being as 50/50 as you think, neanderthal early birds, Daylight Saving Time talk, holiday penile fractures and the crazy waves hitting the west coast right now.

While the gang take a little holiday break, we thought it was worth revisiting Andy's conversation with AI researcher and UC Berkeley Professor of Computer Science Stuart Russell from wayyyyy back in 2019. Now that we're well into the era of generative artificial intelligence, it's interesting to look back at what experts were saying about AI alignment just a few years ago, when it seemed to many of us like an issue we wouldn't have to tackle directly for a long time to come. As we face down a future where LLMs and other generative models only appear to be getting more capable, it's worth pausing to reflect on what needs to be done to usher in a world that's more utopian than dystopian. Happy holidays!

Comedian Shane Torres (@shanetorres) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his new special The Blue Eyed Mexican, his unique Covid experience, more SPATS chats, finding the lost space tomato, what happens when you take your gun into an MRI scanner, someone else who wasn't as lucky with the MRI, the most extreme rogue wave on record, and the sound that warns a tornado is coming.

Comedian and author Ryan Conner (@rconnercomedy) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his porn doppelganger, the process of researching and writing his new satirical novel The Party, an AI ProbSci ripoff, SpaceX rockets punching holes in the sky, deep brain stimulation to help TBI patients and a tree-dwelling shrimp found in the Cyclops Mountains.

Comedian Dustin Ybarra (@dustin_ybarra) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about the recent Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, Erdős–Bacon numbers, the first mammal embryos grown in space, space travel's effect on erectile dysfunction, trying to deter orcas with heavy metal, a message laser-beamed from 10 million miles away, the rise of 6G and the ouster and return of OpenAI's Sam Altman after a rumored AGI breakthrough.

Comedian Jenny Zigrino (@jennyzigrino) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about skunks, the Vegas F1 race, smelling in stereo, the upside of anger in completing tasks, dominant eyes, Iceland volcanos and the ultra-creepy hamster test or sperm penetration.

Comedian Steve Benaquist (@stevebenaquist) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about Halloween, Unversal Monsters, neck bolts, Frankenstein's Doug, sandbagging, goldbricking, carpetbagging and teetotaling, a radioactive toy from the 1950s, an unfortunate pig heart update, people who can't feel pain, Frozen Dead Guy Days, physics-defying sperm, a wind-powered car that goes faster than the wind, a tiny particle accelerator and Andy's Airbnb.

Comedian Aparna Nancherla (@aparnapkin) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about her new book Unreliable Narrator, the ubiquity of impostor syndrome in Hollywood, childhood memories of carob, a new insanely hot pepper, roosters recognizing themselves in mirrors, a drunk dude fighting his reflection, and AI besting humans at Street Fighter.

Comedian, musician and now author Dave Hill (@mrdavehill) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his lifelong love of hockey, his new book The Awesome Game, bowling lane oil patterns, figuring out how cats purr, bespectacled chickens, and the first-ever fine issued for space junk.

Andy's away, but Matt and Jesse are joined by Kevin Kataoka and returning guest Brian Malow to talk about pseudolegal grifts! Why you shouldn't talk to the police! Scientists who've grown a human embryo! Brian May side projects! Hedy Lamarr's inventions! Military subterfuge and ghost armies! And sailing a satellite out of orbit! You can join our Patreon to hear a bonus story about NFL jersey numbers.