Shows / Science Vs
Science Vs
There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Science Vs is the show from Spotify Studios that finds out what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between. We do the hard work of sifting through all the science so you don't have to and cover everything from 5G and ADHD, to Fluoride and Fasting Diets.
Episodes
- Science Vs
Presenting Gastropod: How Chilis Conquered the World
This week we’ve got a spicy treat for you: a show called Gastropod. Hosts Nicola Twilley and Cynthia Graber dig into the world of food and serve up a forkful…
- Science Vs
Jurassic Park: Hold On to Your Butts
Could our dreams for a real Jurassic Park come true? Headlines say scientists are closer than ever to resurrecting prehistoric animals like the woolly mammoth…
- Science Vs
Killer Asteroids: NASA Strikes Back
[REBROADCAST] Asteroids! In just two weeks, NASA plans to launch a first-of-its-kind mission to try to move an asteroid off its path. If it works, this could…
- Science Vs
Monkey Say What? LEOPARD!!
Science isn’t always dressed up in fancy lab coats and goggles — sometimes it goes undercover! In this episode, we go behind the scenes in the Congolese…
- Science Vs
Chronic Pain: Can Our Brains Fix It?
People with chronic pain often struggle with it for years while doctors scour their bodies for the cause. But are we looking in the wrong spot? For some of us…
- Science Vs
The Legendary Condom Queen
Dr. Joycelyn Elders is a total badass. She grew up in poverty in rural Arkansas, but in 1993 she rose to become the surgeon general of the United States —…
- Science Vs
Burnout: Can We Fix Work?
Work can really suck. And for lots of us, burnout has been feeling especially terrible. This week, we dive into how burnout messes with our brains and bodies…
- Science Vs
Blue Balls: You're Wrong About Them
We join forces with Sarah Marshall from You’re Wrong About to dive into a question for the ages: Blue balls — are they real? We’ve heard that for people with…
- Science Vs
True Love: Is Monogamy Unnatural?
[REBROADCAST] Are humans built for monogamy? Or is the idea of having one partner forever just a myth forced on us by tired old love songs? We revisit the…
- Science Vs
The Secret World of Plants
Plants aren’t just sitting around looking cute; they’re doing all sorts of stuff, like defending themselves, and even warning other plants about danger. Today…
- Science Vs
Childbirth: Are Doctors Messing It Up?
Childbirth seems to be getting more and more medicalized, with C-sections and other interventions out the wazoo. But childbirth isn’t a disease! So is all this…
- Science Vs
Weight: Is Fat Unhealthy?
We’re hearing nonstop chatter about the “quarantine 15.” But should we really care if we put on weight? Is fat bad for us? We talk to Prof. Henry Blackburn…
- Science Vs
Therapy: Does It Work?
Our mental health has taken a turn for the worse the past couple of years. We keep hearing that therapy can help, but it can be a big investment of time and…
- Science Vs
Let’s Do Science Again!!
There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Season 11 starts Sept. 9! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
- Science Vs
Presenting Not Past It: The Vax That Got Axed
Today, we’re sharing an episode of a show we love: Not Past It. Did you know there was almost an AIDS vaccine? On June 3, 1998, AIDSVAX VAX004 reached the…
- Science Vs
The Delta Variant: How Bad Is It?
This delta variant of the coronavirus seems to really be screwing us over. Cases are spiking in the U.S., and we keep hearing about vaccinated people getting…
- Science Vs
Pet Food: How Fancy Should They Feast?
There are soooo many options for what to feed your dog or cat, from the cheap stuff at the supermarket to fresh food delivered straight to your door. So what’s…
- Science Vs
The G Spot: Come Again?
We’re heading into a big summer, with more places and — ahem — people opening up. So we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes about feeling good. Maybe…
- Science Vs
Back From the Dead
Today we're telling tales that push life to the ultimate limit. We're bringing things back from the dead, diving into the mysteries of immortality and asking…
- Science Vs
A Seedy, Late-Night Adventure
Today, under cover of darkness, we're hunting buried treasure. This is a wild romp through one of the oldest science experiments in the world. And at first…
- Science Vs
Screens: Are They Ruining Our Brains and Mental Health and Eyes and
Tons of us are spending waaaayyy more time using screens these days — and it’s freaking us out. We’ve got all kinds of worries. Like, is all this screen time…
- Science Vs
Havana Syndrome: Did a Secret Weapon Fry Diplomats' Brains?
Back in 2016, U.S. Embassy workers in Cuba were struck by a mysterious noise, followed by symptoms like headaches, dizziness and memory problems. This sent the…
- Science Vs
How Science Created Morons
REBROADCAST: This episode looks at how one of the worst ideas in science got a big push from a bad study… and intellectuals of the day lapped it up. We speak…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: How Scary Are the Variants?
UPDATE 4/13/21: Since this episode published, there has been some evidence linking the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to rare blood clots. As of April…
- Science Vs
Snake Bite Cures: Weasels, Pigeons, Pee
Venomous snakes entranced medieval Europe. And although bites were rare, this didn’t stop 14th century doctors from using everything but the kitchen sink to…
- Science Vs
SNAKES!!!
Snake venom is a wily beast. It's packed with hundreds of toxins that can attack our blood vessels, muscles and nerves. That's why snake bites kill some…
- Science Vs
UFOs: Through the Wormhole Again
In 2017, a weird-looking space object called ʻOumuamua whipped past our sun. Now a Harvard scientist is suggesting it miiiight be an alien probe! So we’re…
- Science Vs
Brood X: A Drug-fueled Cicada Orgy
Parts of the U.S. are about to see a surge of cicadas — masses of flying bugs, popping up all over the place. After 17 years underground, a crap ton of Brood X…
- Science Vs
Immune Boosting: Is It a Bust?
Internet influencers have been pushing “immune boosters” during the pandemic — claiming they’ve got just the pill, berry or brew to rev up our body’s defenses…
- Science Vs
Bringing the Science Back, Baby!
There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Season 10 starts March 4! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
- Science Vs
Butterflies Are Secret Monsters
Butterflies flit through life as the pride and joy of the insect world. But when we saw photos of butterflies swarming the eyes of turtles, we wondered if…
- Science Vs
Presenting Coronavirus: Fact Vs. Fiction
This week, we’re sharing an episode of Coronavirus: Fact Vs. Fiction, a podcast from CNN. This episode is The Hunt for Disease X: As human activity ventures…
- Science Vs
Magic Mushrooms: Trip Through the Science
Magic mushrooms have hit the headlines, with people saying that shrooms cured their depression and anxiety. But is this for real? How can taking a trip on…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: More Scared or Less Scared?
MINI EPISODE! Tons of new science means fresh answers on a few things that really freaked us out at the start of the pandemic: coronavirus on surfaces…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Shots! Shots! Shots!
There’s a ton of hoopla over these new coronavirus vaccines. But given that they’ve been produced at warp speed — can we trust them? We also find out what’s…
- Science Vs
Did the CIA do it? Part II
When a deadly pig virus hit Cuba in 1971, some claimed the CIA was behind it all. But could it be true? In part two of our investigation into the outbreak, we…
- Science Vs
Did the CIA Plant a Virus in Cuba?
When the Cuban government rounded up and killed thousands of pigs in 1971, people were angry and confused. Castro claimed they were trying to stop an outbreak…
- Science Vs
Platypuses Get a Glow Up
The eccentric platypus has always turned heads, and now it’s got something else up its sleeve. We talked with mammalogist Dr. Paula Anich to get the scoop…
- Science Vs
Reparations: How Could It Work?
The idea of paying Black Americans reparations for slavery has been around for a long time, but it’s starting to get more support than ever. So we ask: If the…
- Science Vs
Supervolcanoes: Is Yellowstone Gonna Blow?
We keep hearing that a Yellowstone supervolcano could blow at any moment — and possibly wipe us all out. So is Yellowstone overdue for the BIG ONE, and if it…
- Science Vs
Science Vs Presents: How to Save a Planet
We’re sharing another great Gimlet show, How to Save a Planet. On this episode: It started with students walking out of school to demand more action on climate…
- Science Vs
Lab-Grown Meat: We Grill It
Silicon Valley seems to be constantly pumping out "solutions" to fix our broken food system. The latest and greatest: cell-cultured meat — meat that's grown in…
- Science Vs
Hunting an Invisible Killer
An adventuring Swedish doctor takes on a decades-long medical mystery: What exactly was the 1918 flu? We talk to Dr. Johan Hultin, Eileen Hultin, Dr. Jeffery…
- Science Vs
Orgasms: Come for the Science
There’s this idea that the female orgasm is a complicated riddle, but for a man with a penis, getting off is easy peasy. Is there really an orgasm gap? And if…
- Science Vs
SHARKS!!! Sink Your Teeth in Again
NOTE: This episode first published 6/13/19. Are sharks the super-predators we think they are? Or have we been baited with great white lies? To find out, we…
- Science Vs
Astrology: Are Geminis the Worst?
For centuries, people have been looking to the stars to tell us all kinds of things — what our future holds, who we should date. So what does the science say…
- Science Vs
Mini Mask Update
MASKS. Since the early days of the pandemic, it’s been tough to nail down how much they can really do to slow down the spread of the virus. We speak to…
- Science Vs
Probiotics: Scam or Superfood?
Kombucha, kefir and other probiotic-crammed foods are marketed as charmers of the human microbiome — and the key to immune, gut and brain health. But how much…
- Science Vs
New Season! Time for Non-Coronavirus Content
Science Vs is back August 27th. Fact you next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Are We Back Where We Started?
We’re six months into this coronavirus pandemic, which has shaken the world and stunned scientists. What have we learned? Where are we headed? To find out, we…
- Science Vs
Fauci! He’s Back!
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and America's…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Dude, Where's My Vaccine?
All through the pandemic, we’ve been waiting for a possible silver bullet: a vaccine. How soon could we actually get one? To find out, we talk to…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Weirdest Virus Ever?
The coronavirus seems to cause symptoms all over our body, from nose to toes. So how can one virus do so many strange things? To find out, we talk to…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Protesting in a Pandemic
Hundreds of thousands of people have joined the global protest movement sparked by the death of George Floyd. And a lot of doctors and public health experts…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Labs Go Dark
Life is on pause for many of us right now. But scientists don’t want to stop! Researchers have had to figure out how to keep experiments going and keep lab…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Sweden Goes Rogue
While a lot of countries have put in strict measures, like lockdowns, to stop the coronavirus, there’s been a conspicuous outlier: Sweden. The country has…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: The Mask Wars
When the pandemic started, we were told not to bother with masks. But now it looks like experts have done a 180 here, and a lot of us are being told to cover…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Pregnant in a Pandemic
How bad is the coronavirus for pregnant people and babies? Producer Meryl Horn is digging into this question for today’s episode. And it’s personal, because…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: How Many Silent Spreaders Are There?
We’re learning that people can spread the virus when they don’t have symptoms. But how often does that actually happen? We talk to Mark Jorgensen…
- Science Vs
Coronavirus: Was It Made In a Lab?
Since the outbreak started, we’ve been hearing that this coronavirus came from bats before jumping to humans. But recently, claims that the virus escaped from…