Probably Science

Science writer, educator, and artist Dr. Danna Staaf recently published her first book, Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods, and she joins Matt and Andy to talk about her dissertation on the reproduction and early life of Humboldt squid, penis fencing among hermaphroditic flatworms, the fact that calamari pre-date the dinosaurs, and why we should all have a lot more respect and awe for cephalopods in general.

Comedian/freestyle rapper Chris Turner (@ChrisPJTurner) joins Andy and Matt to talk about archeology, volcano-based Roman shit, old wine, old Amish people, gay evolution, monkeys playing chicken and the theory of mind. This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. For $30 off your first week of HelloFresh, visit hellofresh.com and enter "probably30" at checkout.

Comedian Raj Desai (@_rajdesai) almost makes himself late to his job writing for Sarah Silverman's I Love You, America to do a morning recording with Andy and Matt about his chromatography history, looking more closely at the placebo effect, and how the extinction of dinosaurs made way for mammals to come out during the day.

Comedian Jason Saenz (@jasonsaenz) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Jeff Foxworthy impressions, Saenz Signs, debunked early psychology experiments, oyster hearing, competition-grade oysters, squirrels and lepers, armadillo leprosy in Florida, gold and the documentary series Connections, a good moonbase location, Pluto's Cave, herbal meds and cancer, blood sweat and Jason's hilarious Comedy Central series Ya Killin' Me.

Comedian Galloway Allbright (@GalloWhy) joins Andy and Matt to discuss the death of expertise, extreme Michael Jackson fandom, that classic Encyclopedia Brittanica ad, the origin of bluegrass, in-flight death plans, channeling your inner Tea Leoni, a neutron star collision, the LIGO song, psilocybin for depression, genes for OCD, Cary Grant's crazy parental history and LSD, a fundraiser for Dipak's niece, an upcoming Chinese space lab crash, China's NASA and scorpions' toxic blend.

Original co-host Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan) and LA PodFest co-founder/The Dollop host Dave Anthony join Matt and Andy for a live Probably Science from the Millenium Biltmore hotel in downtown Los Angeles as part of the 2017 Los Angeles Podcast Festival.

Comedian and host of the Tea With Alice podcast Alice Fraser (@aliterative) joins Matt and Andy to discuss jet lag, breaking the seal, MS, a duck update (duckdate?) with video, a body clock Nobel Prize, Dr. Matt Walker's new sleep book, a LIGO Nobel Prize and Janna Levin's book on it, the downside of grass-fed beef, and cargo cults.

Comedian Sharon Houston (@sharon_houston) joins Matt and Andy to discuss flavor profiles, hurricane prep, Hemingway lookalikes, wolverines, duck dicks, finger phone contact, genes vs. alleles, the concept of zero, chisanbop counting, zapping people out of vegetative states, spider sacrifice and more duck dicks.

Comedian Casey Ley (@caseywley) joins Andy and Matt to talk about Andy's car, gay genes, gay face and AI, the first openly gay guy ever, snow leopards becoming less endangered, the end of Cassini, whether or not Saturn would float in water, the first live 4K video from space, the life of Sam Blackman, and Casey's podcast. This episode is brought to you by Hello Fresh. Visit hellofresh.com and use the promo code "probably30" to save $30 off your first week of deliveries.

Comedian and author of Real Artists Have Day Jobs (and three other books) Sara Benincasa (@SaraJBenincasa) invited Matt and Andy into her kitchen to talk about Burning Man, Woodstock '99, talking people down from drugs, creating cryptocurrencies, Space Camp vs. Space Academy, whiskey dilution, faces trained on Skype, Zika for brain tumors, and the secret messages contained in dogs' sneezes.

Applied Physics Laboratory engineer (and Andy's old college roommate) Dipak Srinivasan returns to the podcast to talk about his work on the Mercury MESSENGER mission, the Pluto New Horizons flyby (that'll also soon be visiting Kuiper belt object 2014 MU69), and most importantly, the upcoming Parker Solar Probe and a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, the most likely place in our solar system to find extraterrestrial life.

Comedy's Kara Klenk (@karaklenk) joins Matt and Andy to talk about why Trump isn't good for comedy, bad forensics, hungry thinky worms, penis biting, bleach enemas to cure autism, slugs, Canaanites who just won't die and The Goldwater Rule.

Comedian Heather Thomson (@CasualVelvet) joins Andy and Matt to discuss early email addresses, Woodboys, laws of mathematics that don't apply in Australia, why chimps are pussies, how humans can out-jog horses, antibiotic lies, reversing brain damage with oxygen, Moon water, and the avocado hand epidemic.

Comedian Jim Hegarty (@jimhegarty) joins Matt and Andy to talk about good and bad TV, the Up Series, fireworks contamination, dog domestication, junk DNA, the crazy fly book price, Brewster's Millions rules, egg shapes and egg refrigeration.

Jason Reich (@jasonmreich), the head writer of The Jim Jefferies Show, joins Matt and Andy to discuss eating street apples and syringes, Vegas strategy, an HIV cure, why job interviews are bullshit, old dads with geeky sons follow-up, gonorrhea vaccines, vaquitas, fireworks technology, Alex Jones before and (redder) after and what Goop has in common with Infowars.

Cognitive behavior therapist Dr. Jane Gregory joins Matt and Andy to talk about her work and how she helps people suffering from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and more, along with her fantastic blog Cognitive Behave Yourself in which she puts her money where her mouth is and subjects herself to some of the techniques that she asks her patients to use.

Comedy's Maggie Maye (@Maggiemayehaha) joins Matt and Andy to discuss first TV bed-sharers, rival Amarillo songs, coconut oil, why it's too hot to fly, heat-based reptile sex swapping, older dads and geeky sons, neutron decay, lying chatbots and wobbling suitcases.

Writer and comedic actor Lucas Kavner (@lucaskavner) joins Andy and Matt to talk about rebooted shows, reporting on robots, dog and wolf sharing, how breakfast affects benevolence, Einstein's impossible experiment finally performed, gut bacteria and dinosaur sex.

Comedian Curtis Cook (@Curtis_Cook) writes with Matt on The Jim Jefferies Show, and he sits down to discuss fancy premiere parties and imposter syndrome, catapult-making, how depressing the first Peanuts comic strip is, how AI will beat humans at everything by 2060, Moravec's paradox, dino feathers and scales, getting re-upped on your vaccines, rust getting unfairly blamed for tetanus and parasitic worm healing.

Renee Colvert (@ReneeColvert) of the hit podcast Can I Pet Your Dog? joins Matt and Andy to discuss Paris disagreements, dog podcasting, universal healthcare, Savage/Soundgarden, Australian healthcare, another LIGO victory, Janna Levin's book, the Parker Solar Probe, the monkey mafia who steal your stuff and sell it back to you for a cracker, measuring sheep pain, and hand-washing rules.

Comedian and Jim Jefferies Show writer Subhah Agarwal (@Subhah) joins co-writer Matt and Andy to talk about actuarial tables and suicide, copying comics, asteroid timing, river meandering, a perfect dino, stable flamingos, Italian vaccines, mussel gloop for scarring, pretty pics of Saturn's rings and a puffy styrofoam planet.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson), astrophysicist, science communicator and author of the fantastic new book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, joins Matt and Andy for a Definitely Science episode, discussing, well, the entire universe: Its origins, the forces that govern it, general relativity, the multiverse, dark matter, dark energy, the fact that the universe is under no obligation to make sense to you, and the questions that Neil would ask a physicist in the year 2317. This episode is brought to you by Parachute; visit parachutehome.com/science for free shipping and returns and a no-risk 60-night trial.

Live from the 10th annual Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Oregon, Matt and Andy welcome Reed College professor and cultural anthropologist specializing in health and medicine in southern Africa Dr. Betsey Brada, anthropologist specializing in bardic song in contemporary Russia Dr. Brian Horne, and the voice of Crow on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return Hampton Yount (@hamptonyount).

Comedy powerhouse Russell Howard (@russellhoward) joins Matt and Andy to chat about unintentional rudeness, new spider species, birds of paradise dances, Catalina and gerbil smuggling, more spiders, scaring off mice, artificial wombs and throwing things.

Matt and Andy traveled to downtown LA's Pershing Square and City Hall to take part in the March for Science, along the way speaking with various groups who had set up booths for the event, and even a neuroscientist listener who took the time to chat about her work giving cocaine to mice. Don't forget that Probably Science (and Andy and Matt individually) will be performing live at Portland's Bridgetown Comedy Festival on May 7th. Get your festival passes now at bridgetowncomedy.com

Married comedians Mary Mack (@marymackcomedy) and Tim Harmston (@timharmston) sit down with Andy and Matt to talk about Frog rockets, orchestral doubling, Army band status, Guy Fawkes, accidentally melting science, dinobirds, kids with beaks, triple yolks, yogurt toppings economics, the book-stacking problem and why shoelaces come untied.

Comedians Bryan Vokey (@BryanVokey), Carmen Morales (@thefunnycarmen) and TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) join Andy and Matt to discuss Georgia creationism, sperm-delivered drugs, erogenous T-Rex noses, geological Brexit, Segways on boats, Andy's mathematics puzzle, hamsters on Viagra and how memories are made.

Returning guest Henry Phillips (@henlips) of Punching Henry fame sits down with Matt and Andy to discuss graphene water filtration, a real-life (sort-of) Iron Man, funny foreign names, CT scan risks, CTs vs. MRIs, biologics, dumb/smart interview questions and the probability of rude names happening randomly.

Comedian MK Paulsen (@mkpaulsen) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Crazy Frog, public policy, October Sky, RIP radioactive boy scout, a heart of spinach, German fake suns, beating cancer and stopping aging, corrections corner, Andy's new swim teammate, strep, the Ten Commandments, tits on Nazis and chimp death rituals.

Comedian Phoebe Bottoms (@phoebebottoms) and returning guest TJ Chambers (@tjchambersLA) join Andy and Matt to discuss the Boaty McBoatface submarine, sirens and pigs, breaking up with your physics teacher, naughty snooping dildos, microphones in your pocket, why avoiding gluten might hurt you, unvaccinated Australians, OCD, which animals you can't keep as pets, why plastic is still bad, why licking video games is no fun anymore, Egg-wina and pee danger.

Hot on the heels of her recent Tonight Show appearance, comedian Candice Thompson (@jokesbyCandice) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Punching Henry, the movie Matt is in with Henry Phillips, ASMR, Richard Simmons, anti-Brit racism, what zoo animals taste like, Neanderthals' medication, mini-pigs and films about them, iCondoms, 3D printing medical supplies and pizzas, swimming pool pee and dog fMRIs.

Comedian and actor Johnny Pemberton (@johnnypemberton) of Son of Zorn joins Matt and Andy to discuss water shortage solutions and Indiegogo lies, pipe bombs, ulcerative colitis, money you can piss on, a better way to crowdsource, training bees to play with balls, chiropractic, more opinions on cats and toxo, saving polar ice and eating da poo-poo.

Comedian Kate Willett (@katewillett) joins Andy and Matt to talk about NASA's big exoplanet announcement and Episode 70 of our show discussing exoplanet research, the twin paradox, twin astronauts, fake Twitter accounts, a study showing that cats may not make you crazy, and a chiropractor's creative menstrual invention.

Comedians Ever Mainard (@evermainard) and Deborah Etta (@deborah_etta) join Andy and Matt to talk about scientific weirdos and Galois, starfish and STDs and regrowing dicks, finger regrowth, Matt's awful ex, why whales jump, unethical kitten experiments, science fairs gone wrong, more blood and shit stuff, moon stuff and monkeys and dogs judging cooperation in humans. This episode is brought to you by Audible. For a free 30-day trial, visit audible.com/psp.

Danish comedian Simon Talbot (@simontalbot_) recently relocated to the US, and he joins Matt and Andy to talk about Andy's cold apartment, Jehovah's witnessing, Simon's weird blood, our no-butthole ancestor, dinosaur protein, Danish traditions, time crystals, ask-a-sociopath, talking viruses and a possible way to reverse antibiotic resistance.

British comic James Acaster (@JamesAcaster) stopped by to talk with Matt and Andy about city rivalries, science marches, conga/flute/didgeridoo combos, Jerusalem Syndrome and Paris Syndrome, human/pig chimeras, cats possibly being as intelligent as dogs, Matt not knowing how big an otter is, giant otter fossils, slowing down light, a light speed sonic boom and James' band Luna Dott Raids the Bee Pigeon.

Podcaster Andrew Ti (@ANDREWTI) of the popular show (and blog) Yo, Is This Racist? joins Andy and Matt to talk about injecting frog neurotoxins in eyes, unethical self-experiments, the EPA vs. Trump, fake news inoculation, a free course on critical reasoning, poop stuff, mouse lasers, dumb psychopaths and who is, in fact, racist.

Comedy writer and improviser Laura Willcox (@Laura_Willcox) and comedian Andy Peters (@andy_peters) join Matt and Andy to talk about famous and not famous namesakes, failing low-level tests, sharks reproducing asexually, dud rockets, rhino shit as social media, cat marking and the parasites in it, a massive Venus wave, the truth about lemmings and other potentially dodgy kids' films, plus alchemy.

Actor/author Maggie Rowe (@ThisMaggieRowe) has written for Arrested Development and produced both Hollywood Hell House and Hollywood Purity Ball, and her new book Sin Bravely: A Memoir of Spiritual Disobedience chronicles her early experiences as a born-again Christian and her time spent in an Evangelical psychiatric facility. Maggie joins Matt and Andy to discuss entropy and evolution, false memory and sleep, synaesthesia and lightning strikes, icebergs and global warming, the antimatter story we didn't cover, the origins of Stouffer's french bread pizza, and radio bursts from a galaxy billions of light years away.

British standup and sketch comic Steve Hall (@stevehallcomedy) happened to be stateside for the holidays, so he stopped by to talk with Matt and Andy about pamphlets and Thomas Paine, the passing of dark matter-discoverer Vera Rubin, ants using tiny sponges to carry honey, new evidence that suggests an iceberg didn't cause the Titanic to sink, why sustainable fishing might not be the best, molten underground rivers, Bill Gates and an effective Ebola vaccine, Dr. Jane Gregory's Cognitive Behave Yourself, inverted farting, Eric Cantona's goal, a pretend city for kids and First Kiss by Steve's sketch group We Are Klang.

Sylvia Tara (@SylviaTaraPhD) holds a PhD in biochemistry, and in her new book The Secret Life of Fat: The Science Behind the Body's Least Understood Organ and What It Means For You she examines the function and behavior of fat, why it's essential to our lives, how our genetics, gender, hormones and microbiomes affect it and much more. Her book is on sale December 27th, and you can pre-order it here or visit thesecretlifeoffat.com for more information. This episode is brought to you by Curiosity Box by Vsauce. To get your mystery box full of geeky science toys and gear along with a FREE Vsauce beanie, visit curiositybox.com/probablyscience.

Comedian and former marine biologist Forrest Shaw (@forrestshaw) joins Matt and Andy to discuss face painting and Mexican fireworks and lax laws, manatee preservation and their removal from storm drains, a bid to save the smallest porpoise, Chinese appetites for rare animals, a feathery dinosaur tail encased in amber, SSREs and the bees of the ocean.

Comedy Central Roast writer Bryan Olsen (@olsen__) and comedian Dominic Harris (@DomComedy) sit down with Matt (@mattkirshen) and Andy (@andytwood) to talk about battery pigs, Dom's lost episode, Saint Bernard and Air Bud, Buzz and Antarctica, Dominic the debutante, dog memory, gut Parkinson's, fecal transplants again, new elements, the chemistry helpline, uncombable hair syndrome, platypus venom that can help diabetes and Dominic's new album. This episode is brought to you by Curiosity Box by Vsauce. To get your mystery box full of geeky science toys and gear along with a FREE Vsauce beanie, visit curiositybox.com/probablyscience.

Comedian and movie reviewer Cecily Knobler (@Cecilysaysstuff) joins returning guest Auggie Smith (@auggiesmith) and Andy (@andytwood) to discuss hospice humor, intervention critiques, Andy Dick stories, sex addiction getting depathologized, Auggie's issues with addicts, Cecily's neuropsychology background, Myers-Briggs personality types, high school kids undercutting Martin Shkreli's expensive drugs, Google's AI that can lip read better than humans, SNL's Trump responsibility, naming Secretaries of State, Cecily's book and Andy's swim meet.

Comedian Eric Lampaert (@EricLampaert) and returning guest JJ Whitehead (@JJWhitesnake) join Matt and Andy to discuss NASA's Space Poop Challenge, paper bike helmets, an end to zika's global health emergency, the hanging of a shipwrecked monkey and a circus elephant, JJ's new album and two moose found locked together in ice. This episode is brought to you by Curiosity Box by Vsauce. To get your mystery box full of geeky science toys and gear along with a FREE Vsauce beanie, visit curiositybox.com/probablyscience.

Comedian, engineer and outspoken moderate Toby Muresianu (@tobymuresianu) joins Andy and Matt to discuss President-Elect Trump on vaccines, Vice President-Elect Pence on smoking, Macedonian Facebook clickbait, polling methodologies, the supermoon, dog domestication, brain wifi that reverses monkey paralysis and a new type of bond.

Comedian and former environmental scientist Grant Lyon (@grantlyon1) joins Matt and Andy to talk about the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, naked cow science, why reservoirs aren't all good, surgery farts, nightmare machines, sentencing algorithms, a third hominid and Patient Letter O. This episode is brought to you by Curiosity Box by Vsauce. To get your mystery box full of geeky science toys and gear along with a FREE Vsauce beanie, visit curiositybox.com/probablyscience.

Comedian, podcaster and author Moshe Kasher (@moshekasher) returns to the show, inviting Andy and Matt over to his place to talk about playground games, Moshe's entomologist stepdad, stealthy spider eaters, mice fall for the same tricks as humans, the rise of renewables, vaccine deniers who accidentally proved the counterargument, conspiracy theories, the AIDS denial mom, the Duesberg hypothesis, an accidental discovery of a way to slow aging in the brain and porn theaters.

Comedian, musician and bestselling author Greg Behrendt (@gregorybehrendt) joins Matt and Andy to talk about the joys of riding bikes, Laird Hamilton shooting the pier in Malibu, teachers' penises, cod accents, Nazis on meth, Provigil and sleep, black widow spider viruses, a correction to the intelligence story, Alan Turing music and Dr. Strange.

Writer/comedian extraordinaire Lizzy Cooperman (@lizzycooperman) joins Matt and Andy to talk about Invisalign, fan death, having Lyme disease, Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physics and medicine, self-eating boobs and the end of Rosetta.