Lab Libs

For a special Pride Month episode of Lab Libs, Megan tells Debbie about the importance of learning queer history through the love story of two gender non-conforming lesbian artists from the 1920s whose work was forgotten for decades. Rediscovered years later, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore’s surreal photography, feminist writing, and rebellious art revealed how deeply they shaped both the Surrealis...

This episode, Megan and Debbie turn the tables and quiz each other on some of the wildest facts from past Lab Libs episodes. From the chaos of the Great Emu War, UFO conspiracies like the UMMO affair, bizarre medical mysteries, and other science-y stories that sound completely fake. The two will try to remember the facts but getting distracted by the absolute nonsense they’ve covered along the way...

This week on Lab Libs, Debbie tells Megan the absolutely unbelievable story of the Great Emu War of 1932. Yes, an actual military operation where Australia went to war against thousands of giant flightless bird and somehow struggled to win. What started as an attempt to protect wheat farms from massive emu invasions quickly turned into a chaotic disaster involving machine guns, missed shots, milit...

This week on Lab Libs, Megan tells Debbie the unbelievable true story of Joy Milne, the Scottish woman who discovered she could smell Parkinson’s disease before doctors could diagnose it. What started as her noticing a strange change in her husband’s scent eventually led researchers to realize that Parkinson’s may leave behind a unique odor signature on the skin. Meanwhile, Debbie dives headfirst...

This week on Lab Libs, Debbie takes Megan into one of the strangest UFO stories in European history. The story of the UMMO letters. It starts with mysterious typewritten messages in the 1960s turned into a decades long saga involving aliens, Ufologists, advanced physics, supposed secret landings, and a confession that may or may not solve the mystery. In true Lab Libs fashion, Megan had no idea wh...

In this episode of Lab Libs, Megan takes Debbie beneath the surface of the ocean to explore the race to save the world’s coral. From cute coral nurseries to heat-resistant super corals, she unpacks the real science behind how researchers are fighting bleaching and rebuilding fragile ecosystems. It’s hopeful, innovative, and way more intense than you’d expect from something that just appears like c...

In this episode of Lab Libs, Debbie takes Megan deep into one of America’s oldest cold cases, the disappearance of the settlers on Roanoke Island, better known as the Lost Colony of Roanoke. From the eerie “CROATOAN” clue to the long absence of governor John White, Debbie walks through what we actually know, what archaeology can (and can’t) prove, and how modern researchers like the team at the Fi...

In this episode, Megan pulls Debbie into the tangled world of DNA collection and tracking websites. What starts as a science-forward look at genetic testing, data storage, and how your spit ends up on the internet quickly spirals into questions about privacy, law enforcement, and whether your ancestors unknowingly signed you up for a lifelong surveillance program. Then, Debbie disappears down an u...

In this episode, Debbie takes Megan on a deep dive, two and a half miles beneath the Atlantic, to explore how the RMS Titanic is literally disappearing. The famous shipwreck isn’t just rusting, it’s being eaten by a metal-loving bacteria that bears its name. They are living inside bizarre formations. At some point, all scientific credibility is abandoned when Debbie tells Megan the official term f...

This episode of Lab Libs blasts off toward Mars. Megan tells Debbie about real Mars missions, with wild rovers, landers, orbiters, and billion-dollar robots doing science millions of miles from Earth. In true Lab Libs fashion, we take actual planetary science, mix it with ad-libs chaos, and see what happens when nerdy facts collide with improvised comedy. How do Mars rovers land without exploding?...

This week, Debbie tells Megan the strange and comical history behind Biosphere 2, a mars colonization project. Then Megan shares a rabbit hole that dives into secret Queer film festivals in Beijing.  Lab Libs A mode of transportation A state in the Southwest A commodity that may make someone super wealthy A huge amount of money A state in the Southwest A number less than 10 Three farm animals A pl...

This week, Megan tells Debbie a story about the woman who helped discover DNA, and you’ve probably never heard of her. Then Debbie takes Megan down a Naked and Afraid rabbit hole.   A famous scientist A type of art A number 1-50 A number 1-5 A common item in your living room A power in science fiction stories An animal found in a large city An author in the late 1800s A type of mental illness An e...

This episode Debbie takes Megan on a deep dive into the life and legacy of Tilikum the Killer Whale. Think you know the whole story? You never know. Then Megan takes Debbie down the rabbit hole into some super fun Japanese festivals.   Lab Libs   A marine animal A number less than 150 A number less than 3 A country in North America A number between 5-10 A number between 9000-13000 A Florida theme...

This episode Megan tells Debbie a story about Nikola Tesla, an inventor and engineer that we should know more about. Then Debbie will bring Megan down the rabbit hole that is the many food related disasters throughout history.   Lab Libs categories:  A famous scientist A type of art A number 1 to 50 A number 1 to 5 A common item in your living room A power in science fiction stories An animal foun...

In this episode Debbie tells Megan the unbelievable true story of the Great London Beer Flood, a tidal wave of ale that made history. Then Megan takes Debbie down the rabbit hole of her latest obsession, the intelligence and strange beauty of octopuses. From pubs to the deep sea, it’s a journey through chaos, curiosity, and creatures that might just outsmart us all.   Lab Libs A city in the UK An...

In this episode Megan tells Debbie a story about The Bone Wars, a paleontological rivalry that had the country captivated. Then Debbie tells Megan the rabbit hole she went down this week, about ancient relics that are being discovered as a result of climate change. An extinct animal  A number between 1-10 An Ivy League University A crime involving money A type of bone A negative emotion A building...

This episode Debbie tells Megan a story about Centralia, PA., a city that has been burning for decades. Then Megan will bring Debbie down the rabbit hole that is the many attempts on Fidel Castro’s life.   Lab Libs categories:    A northeastern state   A material that is mined A method of execution A Number less than 30 An Environmental crime A number less than 20 A number between 1 and 500 A larg...

  This episode Megan tells Debbie a science-y story about the battle scientists have been fighting with flies, that we know nothing about. Then Debbie tells Megan about her most recent rabbit hole into the world of non lethal warfare concepts that the military has considered. Lab Libs   A type of bug   A range of numbers in the hundreds A decade of the 1900s A state in the southeast US An exact nu...

This episode Debbie tells Megan a science-y story about that time Henry Ford tried to create a utopia in the Amazon. Then Megan tells Debbie about the animal phoresy rabbit hole she’s been down this week. Ad-lib categories: Type of Tree A part of a car A specific type of scientist A number less than 10 An “American” food A vice Dance style A number less than 10   Main Sources: Atlasobscura.com Dam...

Scientists Debbie and Megan present a new podcast. We share sciencey stories with a mad lib twist. Part science, part fun. Join us every two weeks for some wacky science stories!        Music created by Gwen Karabench @lakeworthfaeriebard