Two Brad For You

Whether or not you think bugs (including spiders) are gross or awesome you probably have some bias about these animals. This episode we talk with Dr. Catherine Scott ( @Cataranea ) about black widows specifically and how our biases influence the way we think about and research species like spiders and bugs more generally. Catherine studies black widow mating strategies and was featured in an upcom...

We’ve all seen The Last of Us right? The hit franchise is based on the real life Cordyceps fungus, but did you know the fungus doesn’t take over the brain? The true mechanism behind the zombie fungus is perhaps more terrifying. Also, there is actually a more compelling example of zombie parasites that receives shockingly little attention. In response to listener messages about The Last of Us, Brad...

Patent law is not front of mind for most people with an interest in psychedelics it is an important story to follow. Just like cannabis before it or pharmaceuticals like painkillers and insulin, companies are looking to patent not only psychedelic molecules but peripheral technologies like delivery methods and in some extreme cases therapy protocols too. Graham Pechenik is a registered patent atto...

Friend of the show and go to source for weird internet stuff, Jared Cuthbertson, is back for our last episode of the year. This episode started as an experiment in Brad joining Tik Tok and seeing where the algorithm would take him. The guys chat about all things Tik Tok and social media. What is the future of content creation? Will Tik Tok replace YouTube? What are the most annoying social media s...

Play. We all do it and we all know it when we see it. But what is play and why is it so crucial for brain development in a select group of animals (humans included) that do it? Dr. Sergio Pellis has studied play and specifically 'rough and tumble play' for decades and joins us to break down exactly what play is, how you study it and how it affects development. The question of nature versus nurture...

Brad is solo this month and digging into his favorite topic...infectious disease! There is a report of possible 'herd safety' for COVID-19, a debate on the transmission route for monkeypox (is it sexually transmitted or just transmitted during sex and why that matters), plus a few interesting tidbits regarding hemorrhagic fevers Ebola and Marburg virus. Also, the show is now available on the Newsl...

Jonathan Pettit, professor at the University of Aberdeen joins to discuss the amazing story of how C. elegans, a rotting plant eating worm, changed biology. This is a story of an intrepid group of researchers who set out to "tame a metazoan" and ended up with one of the most important model systems for developmental biology, genetics and more! You can find Jonathan on Twitter @genotripe WE WANT TO...

The great Jay Ingram, author, broadcaster, and science communicator returns to talk about the latest season of Anthropomania, his fascinating podcast that explores the weird and complex ways humans interact with wildlife. Brad and Jay discuss a range of topics that come up on season 2 of Anthropomania, from our relationship with chickens, to the coming insect apocalypse. They spend a lot of time m...

Surprise, surprise, the latest big, well controlled, credible trials of ivermectin for COVID-19 found no effect. But this episode isn't about the illogical and frankly wrong arguments of the ivermectin for COVID booster club. Instead Brad and veterinarian / research scientist Dr. John Gilleard are here to restore the reputation of the anti-parasitic wonder drug by recounting the amazing story of i...

Marvin Däumichen from the Mind Foundation joins to talk about uniMIND, an international network of journal clubs discussing all things related to psychedelic research and the uniMIND Symposium 2022 Synergies & Crossroads taking place Friday April 9th 2022 in Maastricht. Marvin also gives his take on the importance of the scientific approach for investigating the complicated topics of conscious...

Brad is joined by Ethan Brown, founder and host of the funniest podcast about climate change, The Sweaty Penguin. They discuss using humor as an approach to serious topics like climate change, how honesty and nuance need to be embraced for truly honest discussion and some specifics about climate change and climate change solutions that show it's not all bad news. Check out The Sweaty Penguin where...

The panel of regular, everyday citizens reconvenes to discuss the ridiculousness that is the protest/occupation in the capital city of Ottawa. Why are they there? What are the many reasons this protest cannot be taken seriously? How worrisome is it that conservative politicians both provincial and federal seem ready to embrace this madness and attempt to use it for their own political gains? All s...

Brad and Brad reconvene in 2022 to discuss the many ethical questions surrounding the first ever pig to human heart transplant. Brad also calls attention to a deadly virus and the hope of a vaccine against it (no not that one). They also pay tribute to the humble old magnet and give a quick update on fusion technology. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe...

The usual end of year episode is hear and the Brads unite to talk about their picks for the big stories of 2021 and some quick thoughts on what's in store for 2022. Thanks everyone for the listens and support. Have a happy new year!! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send a...

Malaria is quite possibly the deadliest infectious agent of all time, possibly playing a major role in human history and quietly killing half a million people a year. Finally, a vaccine has been developed to help fight this parasite. To explain why it's been so hard to develop a vaccine for malaria and just how this one works Brad spoke with immunologist and parasitologist Dr. Constance Finney fro...

Brad once again travelled to Berlin for the MIND Foundation conference on psychedelic research, Insight 2021. Through a series of interviews with speakers at the conference he explores what we actually know about the benefits of psychedelic's for society as whole, meaning outside of clinical applications. And asks what are psychedelics and what aren't they, what should we expect from altered state...

Brad decided to lay out some thoughts on the COVID vaccines once again. Yes, they are safe and they are working but you may not know it from some of the coverage regarding breakthrough cases. Brad discusses the flaws in this coverage, ponders the looming question of what to do with the unvaccinated and offers a more positive perspective regarding the need for and availability of COVID vaccines. WE...

The panel of regular, ordinary guys talking politics was down a man this episode but the boys still delivered some in-depth discussion on the awful discoveries of unmarked children's graves at the sites of former residential schools, the reopening of Alberta from COVID lockdowns and why the federal Conservatives can't seem to gain any ground. There was a prediction too of another wave, not of COVI...

The long-awaited return of co-founder/co-host British Brad is here. The Brad’s catch up with some chat about Flash needing to give his son medication via the bum and asshole football fans in the UK. Things turn serious though with a discussion about COVID vaccine rollouts, hesitancy, and messaging. The guys also discuss the billionaire space race, what is it good for? And finally touch on another...

After being called a shill and a leech on Twitter Brad took to the microphone to heal his wounded ego and provide some context around the ivermectin brouhaha. In doing so the episode touches on the regulatory process, why we have a regulatory process (ahem...thalidomide) and what makes one study better than another. Brad also offers up some tips on how to avoid some of the internet BS surrounding...

Science broadcaster extraordinaire Jay Ingram is back! As always our chat covers many topics. Can people benefit from watching science unfold in real time? The importance of context when delivering and receiving science based info. The real reasons people decide on "scientific debates". We also talk at length about humanities relationships with animals and Jay's new podcast Anthropomania which exp...

Quick message from your host Brad, aka Flash, to you the loved and valued listener. Where we've been, where we are going and how happy we are to have you along for the ride. Plus, the launching of our donations page https://www.buymeacoffee.com/twobradforyou As always please rate and subscribe wherever you get podcasts and get in touch on Twitter or Instagram . You can also send us an email at two...

My guest author David Poses has an incredibly important message, our entire system of drug prevention, policy and treatment needs to be blown up and rebuilt. David brings us this message in his upcoming book The Weight of Air which details his double life struggling with mental illness and heroin addiction. Through his experience and story the failures of the current shame based ways we deal with...

Brad, aka Flash, is here to answer questions from the mail feed and bring you some weird science regarding tiny lab grown brains, tiny human/monkey chimeras and folks that are volunteering to be re-infected with SARS 2. As always please rate and subscribe wherever you get podcasts and get in touch on Twitter or Instagram . You can also send us an email at twobradforyou@gmail.com or leave a voice m...

Stephen Doyle is a molecular and computational biologist who uses whole genome sequencing to study how parasites evolve resistance to drugs. He was also able to explain how genome sequencing works and just how powerful that technology and data can be, especially in the context of the ongoing coronavirus situation. You've heard of corona variants, well Stephen helps sort out what this means and how...