Spooky Science Lab

In this episode, Nick details two of the weirdest and wildest ways the Earth could be destroyed. Not the end of humankind or civilization as we know it--the end of the planet itself! Then, Dave reveals early Homo sapiens were not the only intelligent life on Earth. In fact, they shared the planet with at least seven other species of hominids. But what happened to them? This episode was recorded be...

In this episode, Nick tells the tale of hunters in Iowa in 1933 catching rabbits with strange black horns. Horned rabbits were seen again in Colorado in 2025. What's happening, and what do these horned rabbits have to do with the American myth of the jackalope? Then, Dave examines what keeps galaxies from breaking apart. The answer is gravity from dark matter. But where does dark matter come...

In this episode, Nick reveals the shocking surprise explorers discovered in a cave on the Greece-Albania border: the world's biggest spiderweb, home to over 100,000 spiders and part of a fascinating and bizarre ecosystem. Then, Dave examines the origin of the inner planets of the solar system and the very real possibility that there might have been life on other planets than Earth. But if the...

In this episode, Nick introduces us to a rare and unusual caterpillar, one that's carnivorous, cannibalistic, hides in spiderwebs, and makes armor out of the bones of its prey. Then, Dave reveals the origin of the moon. If you think you already know how the moon formed, the truth is weirder and wilder than you thought! Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab Hosted by Nichola...

In this episode, Nick takes a look at the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 and the string of untimely deaths among those present that immediately followed. Was it a supernatural curse or was something else to blame? Then, Dave introduces us to NASA's Parker Solar Probe, an incredible but little-known feat of engineering built to withstand millions of degrees as it passes through the...

In this episode, Nick takes us on a roundup of newly discovered deep-ocean life. New marine species are being discovered all the time. Here are three of the strangest examples. Then, Dave talks about antimatter. What is it, where does it come from, and perhaps most importantly, what really happens when it comes in contact with ordinary matter? Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-l...

In this episode, Nick reports on a rare hallucinogenic mushroom from southwestern China that, impossibly, gives everyone who eats it the exact same hallucination: the sudden appearance of hundreds of tiny grinning, dancing human beings! Then, Dave explores the fascinating scientific concept of space tunnels, lanes of hot, sparse plasma that connect vast areas of empty space into a gigantic network...

In this episode, Nick relates the real-life horror that befell the villages around Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1986. Without warning, over 1,700 people died mysteriously in the night, while simultaneously the lake's water turned blood red. What caused this bizarre tragedy? Then, Dave probes the surprising existence of planets in stable orbits around black holes, known as "blanets." Cou...

In this episode, Nick explores the mystery of how a parasitic worm makes amphipods change their color and behavior, and more importantly, why they do it. In true Spooky Science Lab fashion, the answer is deeply disturbing. Then, Dave examines the legends of lost continents throughout history. Did any of them, including Atlantis, really exist? Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-la...

In this episode, Nick shares what might be Spooky Science Lab's most disturbing medical mystery yet, the story of a woman in Beijing who went to the hospital for what she thought was common eye irritation. What they discovered was anything but common: tiny worms living and laying eggs just beneath her eyelid! Then, Dave examines the theory that posits our universe exists inside a black hole....

In this episode...spiders! Whether you love them or are creeped out by them, you can't deny they're fascinating creatures. But did you know they're smart, too? Nick introduces us to a species of sheet-web spider that has developed a very interesting trick to lure prey, one that indicates a more sophisticated level of intelligence than we thought. Then, Dave takes us on a journey to...

In the Season 3 premiere, Nick takes a deep dive into what actually happens inside your body when you get a tattoo. Think it's just ink being injected into your skin? Think again! There's a wild, desperate battle raging just beneath your epidermis that plays a bigger part in getting a tattoo than you can imagine. Then, Dave updates us on the search for extraterrestrial life. With the dis...

In the Season 2 finale, Nick explores the chilling (in more ways than one) world of ice mummies. From Beechey Island in the Arctic to the summits of the Austrian Alps, the bodies of the dead lay frozen and preserved, including one "iceman" discovered to be 5,300 years old! Then, Dave examines the difference between perception and reality. Are we seeing the world around us as it really is...

In this episode, Nick takes us back in time to the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions in modern history. Not only did it kill tens of thousands and lead to unimaginable devastation, it also changed the Earth's climate in ways that still affect us over one hundred years later. Then, Dave drops us off on Io, Jupiter's innermost moon and one of the...

In this episode, Nick brings us back to the ocean to visit one of its most bizarre inhabitants, the jellyfish. Some have tentacles over 100 feet long, others have a sting that can kill a human being in under five minutes, but most fascinating of all are the ones who've achieved immortality. Then, Dave asks one of the most difficult questions in science: If a catastrophic, world-ending event w...

In this episode, Nick takes us to the deepest ocean depths to meet the alien-looking anglerfish and its bizarre, disturbing mating habits. Think you've been on weird dates? You haven't seen anything yet! Then, Dave ponders what teleportation would be like in the real world. Star Trek makes it look easy, but what would it entail to break you down into atoms and reassemble you somewhere el...

In this episode, Nick introduces listeners to the horrifying horsehair worm, a water-dwelling parasitic organism whose brutal lifecycle puts its insect host through hell, culminating in the worm's unique ability to compel its host to drown itself. Then, Dave asks the question, "How many planets are there in our solar system?" The answer might seem simple to you, but throughout histo...

In this episode, Nick explores Lazarus Syndrome, a rare occurrence where people who are declared dead suddenly and mysteriously wake up hours later, sometimes just minutes away from being embalmed. The dead are rising, but this isn't a zombie movie, it's real life! Then, Dave introduces us to cerebral organoids, lab-grown living human brain cells in petri dishes. These mini-brains are ca...

In this episode, Nick shrinks Dave to the size of a bacterium and sends him into the savage battlefield of the human immune system, a breathtaking biological enterprise that's second in complexity only to the human brain. Then, Dave takes us to the very edge of the universe, where something unknown lurks beyond observable space, emitting such an immense gravitational pull that this mysterious...

In this episode, Nick gets too close for comfort to a tree the Guinness Book of World Records called "the deadliest tree in the world." With poisonous fruit, toxic bark, and lethal sap, there's no doubt the manchineel tree wants you dead. Only one creature can survive in its branches, but you'll never guess what it is. Then, Dave takes a deep dive into the deep Earth, where the...

In this episode, Nick recounts the true story of a young Australian man in the peak of health who, in 2010, ate a common garden slug on a dare. What followed was a swift and brutal physical deterioration, eventually putting him into a coma. But slugs aren't poisonous, so what happened? The answer will shock you! Then, Dave takes us on a guided tour of several fascinating and spooky exoplanets...

In this episode, Nick recounts the bizarre events that befell the small coastal city of Capitola, California in 1961, when thousands of seabirds attacked the city, an incident eerily similar to Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie The Birds , yet this happened two years before the movie. What caused the birds to swarm Capitola and peck madly at its residents, and could it happen again? Then, Dave...

In this episode, Nick leads us deep into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to the remains of the deadly reactor itself, where a most unexpected organism has made its home. Not only is it resistant to the radiation bombarding it, it appears to be feeding on radiation to grow and reproduce. Then, Dave takes us on a journey to the Phoenix Cluster, a massive and beautiful collection of galaxies billions of...

In this episode, Nick explores the strange and spooky phenomenon of bog mummies in northern Europe. How are they so well preserved after thousands of years, and what dark, deadly secret do they share? Then, Dave examines what intelligent alien life might look like should we ever encounter them. The answer might surprise you! This episode was recorded before a live audience at the Flying Fox Tavern...

In the final episode of Season 1, Nick tells the story of a massive herd of earthworms discovered in the shape of a perfect spiral on the ground--a "wormnado"--and examines what could have caused this seemingly impossible phenomenon. Does it have anything to do with a rare phase of the moon known as the "Worm Moon"? Then, Dave looks into the "Dark Forest Hypothesis,"...