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PODCAST

Ologies with Alie Ward

Volcanoes. Trees. Drunk butterflies. Mars missions. Slug sex. Death. Beauty standards. Anxiety busters. Beer science. Bee drama. Take away a pocket full of science knowledge and charming, bizarre stories about what fuels these professional -ologists" obsessions. Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward asks smart people stupid questions and the answers might change your life.

science

All Episodes

01:40:25

Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD) Part 1...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/12/24

Focus. Productivity. Relationships. Distraction. Neurodiversity. How do you know if you have ADHD? How can you get others to understand your ADHD brain? What are your treatment options and how can they help? In this encore of our wildly popular Part 1 episode, we talk racing thoughts, brilliant brains and the causes and effects of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with the world’s leading expert, Dr. Russell Barkley who is A BIG DEAL. Psychologist, retired professor of clinical psychiatry,

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01:09:28

Ornithorhynchology (PLATYPUSES) with Tahneal Hawke

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/12/18

Duck bills. Beaver tails. Underground lairs. Eggs. Milk. Venom? A platypus has it all. Scholar, conservationist, and Ornithorhynchologist Dr. Tahneal Hawke is here to run through the baffling anatomy and answer all of our WHAT’S THE DEAL, WHAT EVEN *ARE* THEY questions, and chat about field work, evolution, how to spot a platypus, why you can’t have one in your bathtub, and myths about platypus espionage. Also, a platypus might be sexier than you. Follow Dr. Hawke on Instagram and Google ScholarA

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00:48:21

Bonus Episode: Nutritional Microbiology (GUT HEALTH &...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/12/15

The microbiome is back! In 2018, we chatted with Dr. Elaine Hsiao - a UCLA microbiome researcher– and learned all about the hot cauldron of your guts. In this 2025 update bonus, we chat again with Dr. Hsiao to get updates on the last 7 years of her research. We also stop by White Plains, New York to hang out with Dr. Miguel Freitas, lead nutritional microbiologist and director of the non-profit Danone Institute North America, and ask a million questions about good vs bad microbiota, how they

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01:11:05

Astrobromatology (SPACE FOOD) with Maggie Coblentz

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/12/10

Dehydrated eggs. Airborne tortillas. Pouches of chicken. Tang. Work up an appetite for space food with artist, designer and Astrobromatologist, Maggie Coblentz. She shares how the intersection of design and science led her skyward, doing experiments on zero G flights, and shipping miso into space. We also talk Martian gardening, stinky roommates, booze bans, contraband corned beef, velcro fatigue, the ethics of space tourism, how to make barbecued wings in orbit, and addressing the conspiracy of

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01:03:33

Pteridology (FERNS) with Fay-Wei Li

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/12/03

Fronds. Forest dwellers. Spores. Houseplants. Queer icons. We’ve got ferns. The charming and hilarious professor and author of “Ferns: Lessons in Survival from Earth’s Most Adaptable Plants,” Dr. Fay-Wei Li, tells me all about fern evolution, what ferns not to have in your house, the most expensive ferns, the tastiest ferns, mathematical mysteries, and a genome that makes no sense, to me or a lot of Pteridologists. Also, can Between Two Ferns save science? This episode is, in Fay-Wei’s words,

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01:11:40

NEW 2025 Interview: Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY)...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/11/27

Note: if you haven’t already heard it, please start with our original, May 2024 episode with Dr. Moses: Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY) Part 1A lot has happened since then, and author, scholar and genocide expert Dr. Dirk Moses was kind enough to return for a 2025 episode. We cover how public and legal sentiment has changed since our first episode, and discuss his recent paper, “Introduction: Gaza and the Problems of Genocide Studies,” which includes a roundtable discussion with dozens of experts

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01:29:41

Bisonology (BUFFALO) Encore with various bisonologists

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/11/19

Bison bison! Not just something to holler into the sky, but also the scientific name for North America's majestic wild bovines. In this encore, we explore a beast that once roamed the plains in the tens of millions. What's up with their humps? On what occasion do they wear capes? What noises do they make? How many are out there? What are the best ways to help them? In this special episode, you get 4x the usual number of ologists as we talk to archeologist Dr. Ken Cannon, wildlife biologist Dr. Dan

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01:11:12

Strigiformology (OWLS) Part 2 with R. J. Gutiérrez

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/11/13

We’re back with Dr. R.J. “Rocky” Gutiérrez to answer listeners’ questions on owls. How much wisdom lies behind those big, immovable eyes? Are owls good or bad omens? What’s their proclivity for snatching hats? Is The Staircase owl theory plausible? Is it ok to hoot back at them? What do you mean one of their toes is reversible? This episode’s got the answers, plus info on owl migration, conservation, burrowing, disco dancing, and more.Follow Dr. Gutiérrez on Google ScholarDonations went to the

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00:55:22

Strigiformology (OWLS) Part 1 with R.J. Gutiérrez

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/11/05

OWLS. FINALLY. In no particular order: what’s up with their eyes, legs, hoots, feathers, silent flight, nests, folklore, necks, barfs, conservation status, and omens? Go take a walk or sit on a porch in the dusk and make friends with Rocky. Dr. R.J. “Rocky” Gutiérrez is a celebrated researcher, Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, a legend in the owl world, and simply one of the loveliest ologists. He’ll take us on a trip next to a river, scrambling up some trees, over rocky terrain

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01:14:13

Historical Toxicology (OLD TIMEY POISONS) with...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/10/29

Metal poisons. Odorless ones. Toxic plants. Iocane powder, arsenic, old lace, poisons as self-defense, black mirrors, Aqua Tofanas, movie myths, and the start of testing for that which ails or kills you: we’ve got Historical Toxicology with Pulitzer Prize-winning science author & chemistry connoisseur Deborah Blum. She wrote the beloved “Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York” and takes us through a spooky walk in time, when chemistry was magic and

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01:03:36

Critical Ponerology (WHAT IS “EVIL”?) with Kenneth...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/10/22

What is evil? Who is evil? Does evil exist? Who decides? Can we scream over turkey at grandma’s house? Let’s chat Critical Ponerology with scholar, professor, author of Evil: A Critical Primer, and a gem of a person, Dr. Kenneth MacKendrick of the University of Manitoba. He’s been teaching courses on the notion of evil for 25 years and it’s a much deeper rabbit hole than you’d ever expect. So rub your fingers together and enjoy a discussion about different cultural approaches to evil, if your

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00:27:51

Bonus Episode: COCKROACH MILK with Joshua Benoit and...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/10/20

Cockroach milk for Spooktober. STAY HERE. Don’t tell me you like haunted houses and slasher films but can’t listen to a lovely conversation about how cockroaches make milk to feed their young. It’s one of the most nutritious substances on Earth, and I own some. Sort of. Coem along for a brief and enthralling discussion from two researchers, Dr. Joshua Benoit and Dr. Sinead English, all about why and how some insects give live birth and nurse their young. What does it taste like? Will we replicate it

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01:08:10

Blattodeology (YES, COCKROACHES) with Dominic...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/10/15

Dazzling colors. Remote habitats. Gentle parenting. Fantastic genitalia. And yeah, swimming through sewers to surprise you. It’s cockroaches and I promise you will find something to love about them in this chat with cockroach evangelist and Blattodeologist Dr. Dominic Evangelista. Which are the prettiest? Are roaches better at raising kids than you? How do roach scientists feel about the ones in kitchens? How does one catch a cockroach in a dark rainforest? Can roaches pull a Ratatouille and steal

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01:13:12

Haunted Hydrology (SPOOKY LAKES) with Geo Rutherford

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/10/08

Mudbank bones. River wrecks. Salty seas. Pink ponds. Poison dust devils. Steamy streams.. It’s Haunted Hydrology with your favorite Spooky Lakes ambassador, the artist and author Geo Rutherford who is widely known as Geodesaurus. Geo covers the dark history of The Great Lakes, a stump that controls the weather, the what and why of a good lagoon, the field excursions she’s been on for research, the lakes she wants to see the most, and how a drought can shiver your spine. It’s a Spooktober

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01:09:30

Serpopsychology (WHAT’S CREEPY?) with Frank McAndrew

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/10/01

Are you creepy? How would you know? What’s “creepy” as opposed to scary or eerie? We talk to the pioneer of this research, Serpopsychologist, Dr. Frank McAndrew, a professor emeritus at Knox College. We chat: dates that give you the willies, Weary Willie the Clown, haunted dolls, college goths, dark alleyways, evolutionary neurobiology, what NOT to get Oprah, the line between horror and comedy, the phobia of balloons, dating tips, and why you should re-evaluate your bathmat. Welcome to Spooktober

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01:30:26

Revolutionology (REBELLIONS & SOCIAL CHANGE) with...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/09/24

Storming the Bastille. Facing off with tanks. Canceling a streaming subscription. We’re talking protests, boycotts, insurrections, and demonstrations. Scholar, professor, and actual real life Revolutionologist Dr. Jack Goldstone lays out the whys – and the hows. What revolts have been the gold standard? How has social media impacted social change? What happens when you install the wrong new leader? Does non-violent protest work? And how does one go about orchestrating big social change? Also:

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00:57:48

Human Technomorphology (SWAPPING OUT BODY PARTS) with...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/09/17

Pigs with human kidneys. Iron lungs. Bionic prostheses. And bendable genitals. Mary Roach is here, and Alie is freaking out. Over the last two decades, this science icon has written seven New York Times bestsellers, including Stiff, Bonk, Gulp, and Packing for Mars. Her latest release, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy is all about Human Technomorphology. Prep your flesh for getting to 4th base in a lab, bugs on drugs, elective amputation, gene-tweaked farm animals, vacuum chambers,

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01:12:52

Ceramology (POTTERY) with Potted History’s Graham...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/09/10

Porcelain. Earthenware. China. Archaeology. Stoneware. Anthropology. Amphora. Throwing wheels. We got it all. Master potters, history aficionados and Potted History’s icons Sarah Lord Taylor and Graham Taylor are here for our 8th anniversary episode. We get the dirt on ceramics versus pottery, where clay comes from, if there’s enough in the world, how can you spot clay in the wild, how long have humans being making pots, what were the first ceramics, what is glaze exactly, why did your pots explode,

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01:37:01

Neuropathoimmunology (MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS) with Aaron...

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/09/03

Neurons. Immune systems. MRIs. Weed gummies? One of the greats in neurology, Dr. Aaron Boster, takes time to chat all about Multiple Sclerosis, a neurological autoimmune disease close to our hearts. Alie’s mom, your grammapod a.k.a. Fancy Nancy, was diagnosed with MS over two decades ago, and this episode explores in depth the factors that can cause MS, therapies that do – and don’t – show promise, how diet, exercise and mindfulness actually can help folks who have MS, the oftentimes agonizing

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01:02:42

Lutrinology (OTTERS) Encore with Chris J. Law

Ologies with Alie Ward ·

2025/08/27

YOU’RE NOT READY. But it’s time. Otters. Sea otters. River otters. Big beefy otters. Tiny otters. Giant river otters. Otters chasing you down the street. Dr. Chris J. Law, a professional Lutrinologist, shares tales about coastal vs. inland otters, otter terrorism, magical teeth, lustrous fur, rock pockets, kelp naps, otter terrorism, cautionary motherhood, toxic relationships, hand holding and why otters make you trust them, despite the fact that you should perhaps not trust an otter. Visit Dr

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