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Episodes from Science Vs
How To Stop Scrolling
The apps on our phones do an amazing job of sucking us in. In fact, a big court case just found that some of these companies should be held responsible for basically designing products to be addictive. And that might not be shocking for lots of us, who feel the pull of these algorithms every day. So, is there anything we can do to help us put down our phones?? Tons of solutions are bandied about: Buy this special device to stay off your phone! What we really need to do is up the friction! Or go hardcore — just ge...
The Great Mysteries of Sex with Mary Roach
Today, best-selling author and nerd Mary Roach joins us to talk all about sex. We’ll uncover the secrets of the female orgasm (does “upsuck” exist?), detail the bizarre methods of pioneering sex researchers like Masters and Johnson (including a famous penis camera), and get into the nitty-gritty of how to sexually stimulate a pig in Denmark. Plus, Mary tells us what it's like to have sex while getting an ultrasound — all in the name of science. Mary’s new book, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, is out now. Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com...
Colon Cancer: Should Young People Worry?
Colorectal cancer has long been thought of as a disease of older folks. But that's changing — fast. Rates in older people are actually going down, and more and more people under 50 are getting this disease. And a surprising number of them are dying from it. So what’s going on here? We dig into why young people are getting hit harder. Plus, we often hear that you should watch out for changes in your poo. But what changes?? We’ll find out. We talk to gastrointestinal medical oncologist Dr. Michael Foote and cancer biologist Prof. Ludmil Alexandrov. </p...
Sad Nipple Syndrome: A Booby Baffler
People are reporting a very strange phenomenon: They say that when their nipples get touched, they feel this weird sinking feeling. People describe it like being homesick, or hung over. Some feel anguish and despair, others call it dread. The condition has a name: "Sad Nipple Syndrome." But how could just touching a nipple set off all of these feelings?? To get to the bottom of this booby baffler, we go deep into the mysteries of anatomy and through a world of hormones and nipple erections. You might never look at your nipples the same way again! Distinguished Professor...
How Do You Get Pregnant With No Vagina?
It's 1988 in Lesotho, and doctors at a hospital see something they thought was impossible. A 15-year-old girl shows up pregnant and in labor, but she's missing something pretty crucial to her delivery: a vagina. So — how did this happen?? We go on a roller-coaster ride through the reproductive system with Dr. Neel Shah to find out. Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/sciencevsnovagina In this episode, we cover: (00:00) A small war (04:12) How do you get pregnant without a vagina? (14:37) The final unbelievable chapter This...
Brian Can’t Stop Fact-Checking His Mother-in-Law
We’ve all been there. Feeling stuck with a problem because no one in our life can relate. Or because the one person we need to talk to … won’t. Or can’t. Enter Yowei Shaw and the show Proxy. Proxy is built on a simple idea: no one is ever as alone with their problem as they think. So Yowei brings in a proxy, a perfect stranger, to help her guests work through their dilemma. Today we’re sharing the case of Brian, a journalist whose mother-in-law has Alzheimer's. Even though Brian knows she can’t help misremembering things, he c...
Is Your Relationship … OK?
Forget the questionable relationship advice from internet influencers. Today, we’re diving into the science of lasting love, fighting, and "red flags” to find out what really matters for a healthy relationship. We’ll find out what it means to fight well with your partner. And we’ll also look at the signs that a relationship might become dangerous or abusive. For all this, we speak with Professor Ben Karney, Dr. Megan Haselschwerdt, Dr. Elizabeth McLindon and Matt Brown. U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799.7233 or www.thehotline.org Find international resources and more at spotify...
What Do Tear Gas and ICE Raids Do to People?
Federal agents have descended on Minneapolis in the U.S., and things have gotten chaotic — and deadly. The Trump administration says the agents are there to enforce immigration law, but officers have shot three people so far, killing two, and are using tear gas and smoke on protesters. So today, we’re looking at the potential health impacts of tear gas. We’ll talk about what we do — and don’t — know about potential long-term effects of this stuff. And we’re also looking into research on the mental health effects of immigration raids. We speak to Dr. Jennifer Brown, Dr. Car...
The Secret to Happiness?
There's claims out there that all kinds of things can make us happy in life, from making money to having kids to buying your dream home. But what actually works?? What does it take to have a happy life?? Professor Bob Waldinger is a psychiatrist at Harvard who has spent more than two decades as the director of this amazing study. It has tracked hundreds of people for decades and is the world's longest scientific study into happiness. So we're gonna find out what a lot of us get wrong in searching for the good life. Where w...
Vaccines: Does Europe Do Them Better?
The U.S. just made a big change to its vaccine recommendations, cutting back on the number of shots it will routinely recommend for kids. The government says it wants to "better align" with countries like Denmark. But is following Denmark’s lead a fairy tale come true — or a nightmare in slow motion? Plus, we find out what this new schedule could mean for kids’ vaccines in the U.S. We hear from Professor Jens Lundgren and pediatrician and researcher David Higgins. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsVaccineSchedules In this episode, we cover:<...
Is AI Making Us Stupid?
AI tools like ChatGPT have taken the world by storm, with tons of people saying they use them regularly. This is especially true for students, many of whom say they use AI to get their schoolwork done. And this is freaking some of us out — we're hearing that jumping on the AI train could be a terrible idea, partly because of claims that these tools could be bad for our brains. So — are we outsourcing too much of our thinking to the bots?? Will our brains turn to mush? Or can we use AI to boost our brainpower? To find...
Manifesting: How Powerful Are Our Thoughts?
Influencers are out in full force, telling us how we can “manifest” anything we want using only the power of our thoughts. Want that dream car, dream boyfriend, or dream house? Act as if you already have it, and the universe will respond. And we know our thoughts can be powerful … so, could this be legit? We go on the hunt for a manifestation method that has the science stamp of approval. We talk to psychologists Prof. Laura King and Prof. Gabriele Oettingen. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsManifestation Ch...