Probably Science

Actor and comedian Guy Branum (guybranum.com) of No Strings Attached and Chelsea Lately joins Matt, Andy, and guest co-host Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) this week as they discuss: Rural sociology! Wasting a law degree! Calling out Guns, Germs and Steel! Quinoa: Not just for Incans anymore! What makes us fat: diet or lack of exercise? Andy's swimming past! Acai, antioxidants, and free radical...

Pride of Chicago Robert Buscemi (robertbuscemi.blopspot.com) guests with Matt, Brooks, and Andy this week as they dig into: Recording Set List in the UK! Space has a strange smell! Why is there vodka in space? Finding Pharaohs with missing fractals! Benford's Law! Those silly Microsoft programmers and their  0xB16B00B5!  Measuring a river's meander! Oxbow lakes! Billabongs! Is impersonating a beek...

Comedian and star of The Sarah Silverman Program, Steve Agee, sits in with Brooks, Andy and Matt to talk about: Alan Jackson's Summer Country betrayal! Bedroom ceiling star stickers! Brooks is a PR shill for Starbucks! The dark side of cornstarch! Non-Newtonian bullet-proof vests! An actual Columbia physics lecturer writes in re: the Higgs boson! Hunting elephants might not be the best idea if you...

It's Probably Country! You may have seen the very funny Nick Turner (twitter.com/itsmenickyt) on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and he joins the gang this week to talk about: Brooks almost stepping on a rattlesnake! What's on YOUR Instagram? Brooks's pickup lines! Bill Nye vendettas! Robots that walk like humans! Neurological wiring predicting chronic pain! What's the worst pain you've ever felt? P...

Comedian and author of the memoir Kasher in the Rye Moshe Kasher (moshekasher.com) joins Brooks and Andy to get to the bottom of: Credit inflation among comedians! Selling fake pot! The proliferation of Genghis Khan DNA! Saving baby beluga whales! The genius of John Prine! Preventing hearing loss with AMPK proteins! Growing up with two deaf parents! Working as a sign language interpreter! Drinking...

Jordan Morris of the long-running podcast Jordan, Jesse, Go! (maximumfun.org) and Fuel TV's The Daily Habit sits in with Brooks and Andy to dig even deeper into Summer Country while discussing: Awkward moments with Yao Ming! Papercraft ProbSci hosts! Brooks's creepy mustache! The world's biggest crocodile! Detroit's future Juggalo mayor! Male contraceptives! Replacing Maury Povich with Brooks's gr...

TV's Bil Dwyer (twitter.com/bildwyer) of Battlebots fame, among countless other projects, joins us in welcoming Matt back to the states with a week's worth of science news!

Comedian and former molecular and marine biology major Tony Sam (tonysam.com) helps us celebrate ProbSci's silver anniversary by delving into meaty topics including:  Birkenstock memories! Brooks’s Summer of Country! Stealing boomboxes from crappy comedy shows! Brooks is going to see That’s My Boy for some reason! Andy’s Pacific Northwest comedy adventures! Tony’s work as a Caribbean aquarium biol...

Talented comedian/actress/musical improv coach/science enthusiast Eliza Skinner (elizaskinner.com) sits in with Andy and Brooks to talk about: Playing a hooker on Conan! Rocket scientist family members! The Patriot missile test launches! Hands-on science museums! More Wisconsin Dells memories! Being a woman who likes Cronenberg movies! Brooks hasn’t seen Aliens! Buy a space poster, win a trip to s...

Last Comic Standing finalist and Guys With Feelings host Jason Nash (guyswithfeelings.com) joins Brooks and Andy to try to figure out where Matt is, and to dig into some of life's meatiest quandaries, including: Does Andy have a weird voice? Brooks does an awful Matt impression! Jason recruits a neighborhood six-year-old to help him beat Wii games! Rob Dyrdek moves into Jason’s neighborhood! More...

Comedian, philosopher and host of the Duncan Trussell Family Hour podcast (duncantrussell.com) Duncan Trussell invites us into his home for a far-reaching discussion of topics including:  Tarot card Rorschach tests! Chuck Klosterman Canadian Football League thought experiments! America tells the world: Don’t touch our moon shit! Lunar landing conspiracy theories! Preparing to break the free-fall w...

It's our first-ever live episode! We're joined by special guest Eddie Ifft of the Talkin' Shit podcast with Jim Jeffries ( http://jimandeddietalkshit.com ), and we get into topics including: Rocks for Jocks! Global warming denial campaigns! Mormon-backed niceness initiatives! Trampoline Peeping Toms! Shark attacks: Don’t worry about ‘em! Re-routing apocalypse asteroids with pebbles! Roundabout pro...

We've made it to the big 2-0 with the help of writer/comedian extraordinaire Blaine Capatch (@blainecapatch)! Topics discussed include: Roller Darby O'Gill and the Little People! Blaine’s spelling bee prowess! The Yellowstone supervolcano! Messier gigs! Seeing the Smothers Brothers at an insurance convention! Young Blaine’s first onstage appearance with Red Skelton! Revisiting the airborne version...

Justin Ian Daniels, comedian and co-host of the Rough House Podcast (theroughhousepodcast.com), joins us for a lively discussion of topics including: Members of Slipknot! Dee-Dee Ramone rapping! The Southern Gentlemen of Wrestling! Top-shelf bag-drainings! The origins of the Secret Service! The Find Brooks' Publicity Photo Listener Challenge! The Supermoon! Vibrating suits for Olympians! Learning...

Comedian and host of the podcast The Dork Forest (thedorkforest.com) Jackie Kashian makes her long overdue debut on Probably Science to talk with the gang about: The legacy of Armenian comedy! Tweeting at Margaret Atwood and R.L. Stine! It’s gettin’ hot in here, if by “here” you mean “on wind farms”! Hercules Meets the Three Stooges! Brooks wants to know everyone’s takes on animals! The Wisconsin...

Brilliant comedian and master of characters James Adomian (jamesadomian.com) has returned from the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, as have Matt, Brooks and Andy, and they've got stories to tell! Bridgetown tales abound this week, but the gang also get around to discussing: Harry Potter names! Jesse Ventura! Skeletons in hot air balloons! Wrestling moves and pesticides! Particles that are their own ant...

Last Comic Standing winner Alonzo Bodden joins us this week, and it turns out he's got more science cred than the average comic, having been an aircraft mechanic for years before getting into comedy. We get into lots of fun stuff, including: Last Comic Standing challenges! Doing comedy for college kids! Fixing crashed airplanes! 600 mile-per-hour tape! Trying Gushers before the general public! Bik...

Funnyman Dave Holmes of the podcast A Drink with Dave (adrinkwithdave.com) joins us this week to talk about: Andy’s idiotic attempt at the Master Cleanse! Dave’s half-marathon training! Embarrassing high school stories! Involuntary boners! Diet soda: Maybe it *doesn’t* make you fat? Velveeta Cheesy Skillets! Do antibiotics cause weight gain? Could bacteria cause OCD? The effects of caffeine and sp...

Comedian Paul Jay of the podcast The Biggest Mistake (thebiggestmistake.net) sits in with the boys to talk about: Armchair astronomy! Getting Robert Plant to guest on the podcast! Pronouncing Led Zeppelin song titles! More horrible segues! How much would you pay to go to space with Tom Cruise? Sub-orbital streaking! Vibrating tattoos! Checking off items on Paul’s Probably Science bucket list! Grow...

Chris Franjola (@ChrisFranjola) of Chelsea Lately, After Lately and Are You There, Chelsea? may not have studied much science, but he has some great takes on topics including: Being a theater nerd! Midwest tubing adventures! KISS-brand deodorant! Dave Grohl and the Heartbreakers! Catching a NASA spy Chris Hansen-style! Audition tips from Brooks! Figuring out why shock therapy works! Does Chris bel...

Auggie Smith (auggiesmith.com), winner of the Seattle and San Francisco International Comedy Competitions, sits down with the boys in Andy’s backyard to talk about: Auggie and Andy trying out for Jeopardy! Matt explains what “gunged” means! Guiding lightning with lasers! Matt’s Dickensian childhood! Babies are smarter than computers! Is Carl Weathers a poor man’s Clark Gable? Who’s your favorite p...

“Who Charted?” host Howard Kremer (@howardkremer) is our guest this week as we discuss: Jim Cameron’s adventures under the sea! Solar Flares acting up again! Old memories interfering with new ones! Cockfosters and Crouch End! Andy's Andrew WK/Iggy Pop/Bob Seger connection! The Cleveland Volcano in Alaska is acting up again (and that's not a sex joke)! Summah solidarity! Giant insects found on a pa...

You’ve seen comedian Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) on Last Comic Standing and this season of Parenthood. Oh, and he’s Andy’s roommate, and the creator of our theme music! Jesse joins Matt, Brooks and Andy to talk about: Breakups! Andy and Jesse’s strange living situation! Asteroids ending the world in 28 years! Plans for the apocalypse! Microchip fraud! Tutoring software that responds to emot...

Brody Stevens (brodystevens.com, @BrodyIsMeFriend) of both “Hangover” films, “Due Date” and general awesomeness, joins the gang to discuss: Favorite HBO Shows! Erotic thrillers! PG-13 boobs! The government’s “Avatar” ripoff! Prancertron-2000! Who’s worse at a party -- the guitar guy or the magic guy? Partying with Dane Cook and Jerry Cantrell! Listener feeback: Whales are delicious!, Resurrecting...

Chelsea Lately's April Richardson (aprilrichardson.com) sits in with the boys to talk about: Brooks making his own "Drive" lab gloves! Ryan Gosling & Tom Brady: attractive? Science proves that booze makes you smarter! Brooks got some eyeball pieces in his mouth! Should all scientists just work on cancer? April hates space, went to Space Camp! Robot camel jockeys! And that's not racist! Swiss space...