Do penguins have flippers or wings? What’s up with pebble gifts? Are they squishy or dense? And why why why are they so cute?  We sit down with renowned penguinologist Dr. Tom Hart, a research fellow with Oxford University, to chat all about life on Antarctica, penguin cities, icy cuddle parties, ocean camouflage and how to become a flightless bird. Dr. Hart is your new favorite penguinologist.

How did these tree-hopping furry angels evolve to be the cutest thing in the world, objectively speaking? They have saucer eyes, wet noses, chunky tails, toe claws, matriarchies, a feature film starring role, and all the mystery of 100 species spending millions of years on a remote island. Wildlife ecologist and official Lemurologist Dr. Lydia Greene finally joins me to bust flim-flam straight out of the gate and talk about Madagascar, aye-ayes, ring tailed lemurs, Zoboomafoo, evolutionary...

Tunnels of light. Unconditional love. Visions of dead aunts. And a lot of questions. What happens when you die… or almost die? GOOD QUESTION. Dr. Bruce Greyson chats about about brain activity during death, accounts from patients, out of body experiments, time dilation, the Swiss Alps, deathbed visions, accidental morgue visits, neurotransmitters, party drugs, religion vs. spirituality, and what matters most in life. As a world-renowned and respected psychiatrist and neurobiologist, he’s...

Scorpions: the victims of undue shade. A handful of people on planet Earth have a PhD in scorpions and Dr. Lauren Esposito is one of them. She spills the beans on how venom works, what's up with the blacklight glow effect, how dangerous they *really* are, what all the movies get wrong, the best names for scorpions, where she's traveled to look under rocks, where a scorpion's butt is, if scorpions dance (SPOILER: YES), what good mothers they are, and how big they used to be millions of years...

He’s the guy pointing to a NASA launch behind him, in the most legendary shot in television history. He’s a science historian and Apollo Program correspondent. He’s the creator, host, and writer of the long-running program “Connections.” He is a science communication hero to millions and a global treasure. He is James Burke, and he chats about how connected historical events are, and how connection between humans is vital. We also talk about Napoleon’s toothpick, dog pee, shipworms, writer's...

You like Ologists. Ologists write books. You like books, so let’s dive into a new, curated sampler platter from your favorite guests’ books.. Fill your ears with dark carnivals, boney catacombs, Rocky Mountain bears and wolves, flies you should love, maggots that make you beautiful, fungus that might be evil, why you should not care what other people eat, queer dolphins, invisible moose, monkey facts, fitness/mental health tips, and how to save money at the salon. Let this melange of literary...

Cumulus! Lenticular! Venti sugar-free stratocumulus stratiformis translucidus undulatus! Those light and fluffy things that hang overhead weigh thousands of pounds and form under all kinds of conditions. Cloud doctor and nephologist Dr. Rachel Storer chats about why she loves clouds, the different varieties of them, what makes it rain, whether sailors delight at red skies at night, why clouds are never square and where we can find diamond rain.

Math wants to be friends. Let mathematician, author and Abstract Mathematologist Dr. Eugenia Cheng introduce you to a secret world: the artsy and emotional side of math. Dr. Cheng helps answer the age-old and (recently viral) question, “IS MATH REAL?” We chat about Fibonacci sequences, golden ratios, common core, loving thy neighbor, slide rules vs. calculators, imaginary numbers, the nature of zero, infinite cookies, and more. Turns out that math can change your relationships and permeate...

Deer in headlights! Alligators in crosswalks! A possum in the oven? If you love wildlife, this is a must-listen to avoid killing critters with your car. Ben Goldfarb wrote the book on road kill and we chat about: wildlife crossings, skunk smells, moose impacts, ocelot facts, what to do if you see roadkill, how to avoid making more of it, and whether it's okay to pick up a dead thing. Ben is an award-winning science journalist with a Masters in Environmental Management from the Yale School of...

Dig in for a bite-sized episode about how native foods aren’t just a part of a past, but an essential and exciting aspect of the future. We talk flower bulbs, acorns, sunflower butter popcorn, frybread debates, mushroom foraging tips, corn magic, puffball mythology, decolonized diets, Instapots and – most importantly – food sovereignty with the WONDERFUL Indigikitchen cooking show host and environmental scientist Mariah Gladstone.

November 6-12 is GAR WEEK! What is a gar, you ask? Picture: A long snout. Hundreds of teeth. Scales that could slice you. Should we fear it? Should we hug it? One of the world’s most passionate and knowledgeable experts on this ancient, mysterious fish joins to make you fall in love with these slimy longbois. Dr. Solomon David is affable, charming, enthusiastic and absolutely shameless when it comes to fish puns. Slip into some hip waders and jump in the muck to learn all about a creature...

What’s on your mind? ZOMBIES. The planet is full of mind-controlling foes, and “Plight of the Living Dead” author Matt Simon researched deep and traveled the world to document tales of fungus-controlled zombie ants, bellies and brains full of worms, wasp bunkers, decapitated ants, brutal stings, hapless cockroaches, the attraction of light, moonlit skinny dipping, and the philosophy of where I stop and you begin. The two of us also discuss the Last of Us, of course.

Invisible but stronger than steel. Complex architectural marvels. Things that stick to your face. Spiderwebs are much more than just Halloween decor or something to feather dust from your corners. Spider silk expert Dr. Randy Lewis of Utah State University not only coined the word "spidroin" for the proteins comprising the many types of silk, but he is considered one of the foremost experts on the wonders of spiderwebs. Alie visits his lab and chats about how spiders weave them, what the silk...

Frankenstein’s Monster! Hungry ghosts! Moaning bloodsuckers! Goat draining goblins. Babadooks. Gorilla-whales. Slasher films. Body horror… and what these folk stories, films, and fandoms have to do about our hopes and fears. Also yes, you can watch monster movies as a job. Just ask the wonderfully charming and deeply informed Dr. W. Scott Poole, College of Charleston professor and author of “Monsters in America,” who teaches multiple courses on history and monster lore. We also cover:...

Green, yellow, striped, red, shiny, russet. Tart, sweet, sour, crunchy. Big, small, wild, heirloom, cultivated. How will you like them apples? Very much, once you hear all about the fascinating backstory of how an apple got into your lunch with one of the world’s finest pomologists and geneticists, the incredibly knowledgeable and charming Dr. Susan K. Brown, a professor at Cornell University's AgriTech division. Fill your baskets with apple picking tips, genetic mash ups, taste test...

PUMPKIN PUMPKIN! Not only a thing to scream while passing a patch, but also the name of the book by author and human delight Anne Copeland. Yes, she's so charmed by pumpkins that she dedicated a whole book to exploring their folklore, history, planting protocol, care, and cooking. Alie stops by her house in the rural hamlet of Yucaipa, California to chat about everything from creation myths surrounding pumpkins to the secret medicinal properties of pipitas, loving pumpkins (warts and all),...

More witches! History! Lore! Wardrobes! Movie trivia! And some advice from your elders? Part 2 is here with the wonderful, informed, and charming writer, speaker, spirit-worker, witch, and witchologist, Fio Gede Parma, who has most recently authored the book “The Witch Belongs to the World.” We chat cats, commercialization, witch trials, environmentalism, fashion, hallucinogenic tinctures, broomstick legends, sex positive witchery, celebrity witches, science history, cosmological ghost...

IT’S HERE. Witches. Not just a witch expert, but also a witch. Author Fio Gede Parma has been a practicing witch and highly respected writer, speaker and teacher, and they cover witch history, different types of witches, intersectional witchcraft, forest covens, teen movies, witch trials, witch fashion, midnight myths, lunar pratfalls, spells, cheerful nudists, awkward Uber rides and more. Also: how does one… become a witch? And just a warning: we touch on some stigmas and physical and...

How long can we live? How much of aging is genetics vs. environment? How old are your cells? What can we learn from the world’s oldest people? World-renowned aging expert and biogerontologist Dr. Caleb "Tuck" Finch takes a quick break from his prolific research at USC to answer Alie's sometimes basic questions about everything from molecules to Blue Zones.

Weird little mouths! Hairy skin tubes! Demon nematodes! Antarctic explorer and Nematologist Dr. Holly Bik charms us into loving deep sea (benthopelagic) worms in a way you never thought possible. We also cover tiny worm brains, the smell of Antarctic mud, first-generation Ph.Ds, the research workhorse C. Elegans, deep sea mining machines, moisturizers, submersibles and more with a worm lady who has literally traveled to the ends of the Earth to ask: what’s in that mud? We love her.

Sweet! Salty! Umami? What’s up with MSG? Why do you like your coffee black? Come down to flavortown and let’s talk tongues. Gustologist Dr. Gary Beauchamp is a chemosensory scientist and an expert in taste. We chat about tastebud flim-flam, celebrity grade hot wings, MSG research, excitotoxins, weaning off sugar, the worst soup on the market, what countries have salt restrictions, why you lost your taste with Covid, how much taste is smell, artificial sweeteners, acquiring a taste for foods,...

Dr. Mack returns with a new introduction and updates on… listener questions! The universe, dimensions, asteroid bags and cosmic vertigo with the amazing Astro Katie, AKA Dr. Katie Mack. Part 1 was a primer on all things cosmological, from particle physics to black holes, so listen to that first then hop to this episode to get all your questions answered.

The Red Planet. A mysterious dusty orb millions of miles away. Our emergency escape bunker. Alie sits down with Dr. Jennifer Buz to talk about what Mars’s DEEEEAL is, why we send rovers there, the poetry of the moon Phobos, Martian sunsets and whether we could landscape Mars to look like a golf course. Jennifer is maybe the chillest areologist on this planet and an absolute gem.

Stars. Black holes. THE GAWDANG UNIVERSE. Astrophysicist and cosmologist Katie Mack (@astrokatie) re-introduces us to this 2017 episode along with some bonus updates on astrophysics, her career, and the book she’s published since we last heard from her. Katie also tells us her most embarrassing moments as a cosmologist, debunks some physicist myths and gives us the nuts + bolts of everything form particle physics to gravitational waves and existential mysteries. Walk away with cocktail party...

Alie takes a teeny tiny break from her vacation to reintroduce you to this laid back, super helpful fan favorite episode. Listen in for: Pomodoro timers! Bullet journals! Apps, tips, tricks and philosophies. Also: the most mellow episode ever, recorded late at night in a guest room. Like a cozy duvet of wisdom, this one is full of life hacks for remaining productive & healthy during distracting times. I asked Ologites their best strategies for keeping their brains less burdened and...