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PODCAST

Rabbit Hole of Research

Jotham Austin, II PhD, Nick Elizalde, and Georgia Geis

Our goal is to have fun learning science through the lens of science fiction, fantasy, and pop-culture. We will start in one place and let the conversation lead us down the winding scenic road exploring the science in science fiction, separating the facts from the Handwavium. We’ll have a little fun and you’ll learn a few facts you can use to impress your friends at a party or use as a conversation starter to go down your own rabbit holes. jothamaustin.substack.com

science science fiction

All Episodes

19:50

Mini Recap of EP54 Love: What's Smell Got to Do With It?

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2026/02/11

In this mini recap of Episode 54: What’s Love Got to Do With It?, Joe, Nick, and Georgia recap their conversation with guest Joe Compton about the science and magic of love.Joe, as promised in the Episode 54, discusses human pheromones, the challenges of researching sex pheromones in humans, and the McClintock effect (menstrual cycle synchronization among women. The crew discusses the cultural obsession with masking natural body odors, and why aphrodisiacs might be more folklore than fact.Beyond the

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57:00

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2026/02/04

In the 54th episode of Rabbit Hole of Research, a special Valentine’s episode, Joe, Nick, and Georgia are joined by guest Joe Compton, independent author, filmmaker, and creator of Go Indie Now, for an exploration of love in all its forms.What is love, really? Strip away the poetry and you’re left with chemistry: dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin, and endorphins firing neural circuits in predictable patterns. But if love is just biology, why does it feel transcendent? Why does it reorganize our

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17:31

Space Arks episode recap

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2026/01/28

In this mini recap of Episode 53, Joe, Georgia, and Nick revisit their conversation with Roland Pitts, author of Salvation Protocol and former army officer turned cybersecurity expert, about the massive challenge of building a space ark and restarting civilization on a new world.The crew reflects on selecting 1,000 people and 1,000 resources for humanity’s survival, and discuss the practical realities of colonization, like surgeons needing to double as blacksmiths or teachers during year one, and

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63:30

Space Arks and Colonizing New Worlds

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2026/01/21

In this 53rd episode of Rabbit Hole of Research, Joe, Nick, and Georgia welcome guest Roland Pitts, author of Salvation Protocol, to discuss the monumental challenge of space arks and colonizing new worlds. Roland, a former army officer now working in cybersecurity, shares insights into his sci-fi thriller where aliens warn Earth of hostile forces, prompting a secret mission to select 1,000 people and 1,000 items to restart civilization on a new planet.The conversation ranges from the practical,

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18:00

Extreme Performance episode recap

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2026/01/14

In this mini recap of Episode 52, Joe and Nick return to the basement studio (Georgia’s feeling under the weather) to revisit the physics and biology of extreme performance and their chat with guest Hayley Reese Chow: author, ultramarathoner, retired Air Force engineer, and fencer. The crew clears up some episode questions: Yes, whales can get the bends (decompression sickness), despite their lung-collapsing adaptations that normally prevent nitrogen buildup. Turns out, sudden ascents caused by

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68:01

The Physics and Biology of Extreme Performance

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2026/01/07

In this 52nd episode of Rabbit Hole of Research, the first episode of season 3, Joe, Nick, and Georgia are joined by author, Air Force engineer, and ultramarathoner Hayley Reese Chow to explore the physics and biology of extreme performance. They discuss what the human body can endure, where it breaks, and why we keep trying to push past the red line anyway. From the “second wind” and the infamous invisible wall to pain tolerance, recovery, and the evolutionary logic of persistence hunting, the

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24:00

Season 2 recap and a Happy New Year

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/12/31

In this Season 2 recap, the Rabbit Hole of Research crew rings in the New Year from the Basement Studio while looking back on the ideas, guests, and moments that defined Episodes 26–50. The conversation ranges from a deep dive into the Die Hard Christmas movie debate—tracing it back to Roderick Thorp’s 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever—to favorite episodes like The Heart of a Superhero, Perception vs. Perspective, Godzilla and the Kaiju Genre, and The Thing. Along the way, they reflect on

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76:31

RHR Season 2 Finale: What Makes a Christmas Movie?...

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/12/24

In this lively Season 2 finale of Rabbit Hole of Research, hosts Joe, Nick, and Georgia are joined by returning guest Mary Schons and first-time guest Kathryn “Kat” Sterbenc to do two things at once: look back at a season spent separating science from handwavium—and finally tackle the perennial holiday argument, Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?Over the course of Season 2, the show explored science through the lens of fiction, asking how fast is too fast, what happens when time misbehaves, and what it

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12:01

Gremlins recap: A Mini Batch

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/12/17

In this mini recap of Episode 50, Joe, Georgia, and Nick revisit the chaos, science, and fuzzy destruction of Gremlins, Joe Dante’s 1984 holiday horror-comedy produced by Steven Spielberg. They unpack the speculative biology of the Mogwai one more time, diving into the infamous three rules: no bright light, no water, and never feed after midnight—especially not raw chicken.The crew adds fresh layers of science to the discussion: the real-life Turritopsis dohrnii immortal jellyfish challenges

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67:01

Gremlins and Holiday Science

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/12/10

In this episode of Rabbit Hole of Research, Joe, Nick, and Georgia team up with special guest Chris Guzman to unwrap one of the weirdest holiday phenomena in film history: Gremlins (1984). What starts as a gift from a Chinatown curio shop turns into a full-blown creature-feature apocalypse—and the team wants to know: how do the rules actually work?They break down the film’s infamous care instructions—no bright light, no water, and never feed them after midnight—through the lens of speculative

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11:00

Heart to Heart

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/12/03

In this mini recap of Episode 49, Joe, Nick, and Georgia return to the wild intersection of cardiac science and superhero world-building, revisiting their conversation with bioengineer Rengasayee “Sai” Veeraraghavan. They also clean up a few nerdy misfires from the full episode, including the adrenal-versus-pituitary mix-up and the moment Joe accidentally described the origins of life using a term that actually refers to radioactive decay. That detour opens the door to panspermia, radiopanspermia,

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73:01

The Heart of a Superhero

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/11/26

n this episode of Rabbit Hole of Research, Joe, Nick, and Georgia team up with special guest Rengasayee “Sai” Veeraraghavan, professor of biomedical engineering at The Ohio State University and head of a nano-cardiology lab, to ask a deceptively simple question: what kind of heart could a superhero actually have? Starting from the nanoscale structure of heart cells and the way electrical signals orchestrate each beat, Sai walks us through how real hearts move blood, adapt to stress, and sometimes

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18:30

Is Your Brain Lying to You?

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/11/19

In this mini recap of Episode 48, Nick, Georgia, and Joe reflect on the themes of perception and perspective that shaped their conversation with Katie from the DC Punk Archive. They revisit how shifting realities, sensory limits, and narrative framing influence what we believe is true. They discuss the listener-suggested film, Inception, and its infamous spinning top. The discussion turns toward real-world implications, from the disorienting landscapes of Alzheimer’s and dementia to the tension

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64:00

EP 48: Perception vs Perspective

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/11/12

In this episode of Rabbit Hole of Research hosts Joe, Nick, and Georgia joined by librarian Katie Lichtle-Mullenix from the DC Punk Archive for a deep dive into the strange, slippery territory between perception and perspective. Together, they untangle how the brain builds its own version of reality. Asking what we truly “see” versus what we merely believe we see.From optical illusions and VR experiments to The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, and the time-bending logic of Kurt Vonnegut, the crew explores

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17:31

47.1: The Thing Thawed out

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/11/05

In this mini recap of Episode 46: Slashers, we crawl back through masks, myths, and the psychology of fear—revisiting our night at Reed’s Local with Jesse and Alana from Slasher Sauces and Melissa from Reed’s. From Avondale barstools to basement banter, we trace the science behind serial killers and why their numbers have fallen since the blood-soaked heyday of the 1980s.Along the way, we unravel the strange relationship between horror and humanity: why predators fascinate us, how cameras and

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81:01

EP 47: Who Goes There? The Thing and The Shape of...

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/10/29

This episode of Rabbit Hole of Research finds hosts Joe, Nick, and Georgia joined by Todd Thyberg and Bill Halliar for a deep freeze descent into the paranoid world of The Thing. Together, they dissect the tangled origins of this iconic alien menace—tracing its evolution from John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella Who Goes There?, through 1951’s The Thing from Another World, to John Carpenter’s bleak 1982 masterpiece and its 2011 prequel.But this isn’t just film history. The crew drills into the

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14:31

46.1: Slashing Slashers

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/10/22

In this mini recap of Episode 46: Slashers, we crawl back through masks, myths, and the psychology of fear—revisiting our night at Reed’s Local with Jesse and Alana from Slasher Sauces and Melissa from Reed’s. From Avondale barstools to basement banter, we trace the science behind serial killers and why their numbers have fallen since the blood-soaked heyday of the 1980s.Along the way, we unravel the strange relationship between horror and humanity: why predators fascinate us, how cameras and

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61:30

EP 46: Slashers

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/10/15

Recorded live at Reed’s Local in Avondale, Chicago, this episode of Rabbit Hole of Research finds hosts Joe, Nick, and Georgia joined by Jesse and Alana from Slasher Sauces—a boutique hot sauce brand—and Melissa, co-owner of Reed’s Local. Together they carve into the slasher film genre, tracing its bloodline from early cinematic roots to modern reinventions. The crew explores the psychology of fear, predator–prey instincts, and the science behind why we love to be scared. They wander through the

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9:31

45.1: Ghosts Revisited

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/10/08

In this mini recap of Episode 45: Ghosts and Graveyards, we return to Chicago’s Horror House with Moses and Vinny to revisit a conversation that wandered through haunted spaces, spectral science, and the psychology of belief. We unpack the weird intersections of folklore and neuroscience—from sleep paralysis and sleepwalking killers to crows that teach each other faces and the surprising genetics we share with bananas.Along the way, we revisit our favorite ghost stories and friendly spirits—Casper

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67:00

EP 45: Ghost, Graveyards and Cats

Rabbit Hole of Research ·

2025/10/01

In this special October episode, the Rabbit Hole of Research crew takes the show on the road to Chicago’s Horror House. Joined by co-owners Moses and Vinny, the conversation drifts through ghosts, graveyards, and the supernatural, blending personal stories with science, folklore, and a dash of pop culture.From sleep paralysis and memory to cats staring into the void, from reincarnation theories to favorite ghost movies, the crew explores how cultures imagine the dead and why graveyards loom so large

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97 results

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