We welcome back special guest Madicken because this episode is about more nuclear nonsense in The Flash. Madicken and Caitlin (Nicole is absent due to sad, boring work reasons) discuss how hmm, yeah, no, combustion is not the same thing as a nuclear explosion. Madicken and Caitlin also rant about Nicole’s favorite ridiculous science moment in The Flash: Cisco making a three-dimensional hologram based on the night Barry’s mom died (and only that night) imprinting on an old silver mirror...

Okay, we were on a hiatus due to boring work reasons/Caitlin being (kinda) useless when it comes to editing, but we are back, baby! We discuss the next two episodes of The Flash with Michael, who has returned from his off-the-grid life in [redacted] for reasons due to [redacted]. We start by talking about cochlear implants and tinnitus, which Nicole and Michael discovered that they both have! You’d think being siblings they would’ve figured that out before this episode! We also discuss...

Our guest this episode is not a scientist. In fact, you might say that he’s the reverse. We talk about the next two episodes of The Flash with Nicole’s brother, who is studying economics but who Nicole and Caitlin, in their desperation for guests, were able to con into appearing on this podcast. First, we discuss tachyons and how it’s pretty difficult to build a device with particles that we haven’t proven exist. Then the ice man cometh. That’s right, folks—it’s Captain Cold, part 2! And...

Get excited, it’s the quantum episode! If we’ve learned anything from Ant-Man and the Wasp it’s that putting “quantum” in front of a word makes it “extra sciencey.” We talk about the quantum science in Ant-Man and the Wasp and how, weirdly, despite it being so far from reality, it doesn’t bother us all that much. We also discuss the bizarre density of the Ant-Man and Wasp suits and the even more bizarre fact that Scott Lang can somehow afford to live by himself in San...

Let them fight! That’s right folks, this week we are covering the 2014 version of Godzilla. Even more exciting, we feature an actual, real-life nuclear physicist to discuss all of the problems with nuclear power plants, nuclear bombs, nuclear radiation, nuclear banana bread, nuclear breath, nuclear sense of smell, and nuclear kung fu in the movie. Okay, it’s possible we may have made some of those up. There are so many problems with the science in this movie that it’s hard to keep track. ...

We open on an electricity vampire. What? You haven’t heard of electricity vampires? They’re the black sheep of the Dracula family, obviously. We talk about how current and voltage can be used to kill a person. (NSA, Nicole promises that this is all theoretical science. Please, don’t put her on a no-fly list.) And then it’s the crossover episode of Flash v. Arrow! We know, you’re all shocked. In all fairness, this episode is way better than the Batman v. Superman movie, except for...

Bomb Chicka Wow Wow! We first discuss bombs and how they cause damage through overpressure. Cool fact: When the writing team of The Flash writes down a number, there is a 92% chance they made it up. Then we discuss the physics of fighting and go through a bunch of calculations related to supersonic punches. Hey! Don’t tune me out now! It’s fuuuuun math about puuunches, okay, listeners. Fun math. Articles: Here's the Wired article about running up buildings:...

The four states of matter are solid, liquid, gas, and DNA that can sublimate into a gas, right? We discuss the probability that a person could turn himself into a gas cloud and how difficult it would be to cure hydrogen cyanide poison. Then we segue into talking about Nicole’s favorite villain, Captain Cold, and what we like to call (and this is the scientific term) “absolute zero nonsense.” Articles: What Happens At Absolute Zero:...

It’s the origin story of our favorite red speedster, the Flash! First, we talk about the real-life effects of lightning strikes on the body (spoiler: you probably won’t get superpowers, but you might get psychic powers?) and tornadogenesis. Then we discuss the fascinating field of therapeutic organ cloning, as well as the less fascinating field of employment contracts. Article links: Hit by Lightning: Tales from Survivors:...