Probably Science

Matt and Andy go on location to the campus of Caltech this week to welcome PhD candidates, actors (phdmovie.com) and science communicators (phdcomics.com/tv) Crystal Dilworth (twitter.com/PolycrystalhD) and Alexandra Lockwood (twitter.com/AlexCLockwood) to the show, delving into: Dancers moonlighting as scientists! The myth of tryptophan! Preferential treatment for doctors and lords! Penguins gett...

You've seen the very funny John Roy on Conan, Leno and Ferguson, and he joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to discuss: Daft Punk's new album! Edmonton's giant mall! Waterslides and skydiving! Tweets from space! Guided By Voices on Mars! Height inflation in professional wrestling! Youtube and Wikipedia holes! 480,000,000 needles in space! An explanation of orbits! Space insanity! The military eff...

Australian comedian/writer/performer Celia Pacquola (twitter.com/CeliaPacquola) and American comedian/writer/performer TJ Chambers (twitter.com/tjchambersLA) join Matt and Andy for a discussion of topics including: The current usefulness of Bunsen burners! The naval innovations of the Punic Wars! The asshole children of the Tetra Pak dynasty! Arizona State's party reputation! Nonsensical drinking...

Comedian, writer and Mr. Show alum Karen Kilgariff (twitter.com/karenkilgariff) joins returning guest and Chelsea Lately regular April Richardson (twitter.com/apey) for a Bridgetown wrap-up conversation with Andy, getting into: Brooks drinking in a park! The debacle that was the Gallagher episode! Defiantly failing chemistry! Quantum physics and Ramtha! Cheesy potatoes! First aid book illustration...

This week's episode was recorded live at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival (bridgetowncomedy.com) in Portland, and it's... well... it's something. Andy Wood and Matt Kirshen are still recovering from this recording, which Matt has come to call "My personal Vietnam." Peter Serafinowicz (twitter.com/serafinowicz) and Gallagher (gallaghersmash.com) joined them to discuss: James Randi! Gallagher holding...

Comedians and Sklarbro Country hosts Randy and Jason Sklar (earwolf.com/shows/sklarbro-country) were kind enough to invite Matt and Andy over to Jason's Laurel Canyon abode for this week's episode, delving into: Keeping eagles in your basement! Randy's CERN-working nuclear physicist brother-in-law! The Lebron James of antimatter! Remembering when comedy was the hottest ticket in town! The official...

Comedians and producers/hosts of the standup show and podcast Put Your Hands Together Cameron Esposito (twitter.com/cameronesposito) and Rhea Butcher (twitter.com/rheabutcher) join Matt, Andy and Jesse to discuss: Why spittoons make a dinging noise! Daft Punk and Cyberdyne Systems! Cockney rhyming slang! Photogravure! Severing underwater Internet cables! Solving the mystery of fairy rings! The Clo...

Aparna Nancherla (twitter.com/aparnapkin) is a hilarious writer and performer on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, and she sits down with Matt and Andy this week to talk about: Magnet schools! The Elgin Marbles! Wilhelm Screams and the Milgram Experiment! Frogs that give birth through their mouths! Shepard Tones! Magic Johnson's T.G.I. Friday's! Retrieving rockets from the ocean floor! Unearthing...

Comedian, actor and Bridgetown Comedy Festival co-founder Matt Braunger (twitter.com/braunger) makes his first Probably Science appearance, joining Matt, Andy and Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) to get to the bottom of: Comedians in therapy! Misleading anthropomorphic ad animals! Filming with Civil War re-enactors! Birds evolving shorter wings to escape cars! Overfishing breeding smaller fish!...

The head of Nerdist industries himself, comedian/podcaster/actor/musician/host Chris Hardwick (twitter.com/nerdist) is this week's guest, joining Matt, Andy and the returning Brooks Wheelan to discuss: The scientific study of Nicki Minaj! The dystopian future of Santa Cruz! Hoverboards! A scientific version of Trace Adkins! Bully nerds! Using iPhones to detect intestinal worms! Jury-rigging vs. je...

It's a packed house this week, with comedian Glenn Wool (twitter.com/glennwool) and songstress Lady Carol (facebook.com/theladycarolukulele) joining Auggie Smith (twitter.com/auggiesmith), Matt and Andy to talk about: Speedy deliveries from Mr. McFeely! Sniffing Bunsen burners! Auggie goes to Mike Tyson's one-man show! Screamin' Jay Hawkins and his ridiculously large brood! Whale mouth penises! Th...

Comedians Mike Schmidt (twitter.com/The40YearOldBoy) and Wendy Wason (twitter.com/Wendy_Wason) join Matt and Andy this week to talk about: Testing for hairy feet! The results of Dr. Peter McGraw's E.T. experiment! Starting kitchen fires under the guise of Mr. Magic Show! Pulling your own eye in a Ziploc bag! The miraculously cured AIDS baby! Visiting a spice farm! Using poo to shield Mars mission...

After too long of an absence, Probably History returns with a lively discussion of Pompeii and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Comedian Mark Agee (twitter.com/markagee) joins Jesse Case, Andy Wood and Richard Bain to talk about life in first-century Rome, pyroclastic flows and the importance of knowing when to evacuate.

Comedian and writer Jeff Klinger ( twitter.com/jeffklinger ) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to talk about: Malfunctioning Segways! Andy's HP laptop woes! Two-saucer setups! Expensive anatomical models! Figuring out when man's anscestors developed a tolerance for booze! Getting slightly racist about alcoholism! Stealing liquor from your parents! Matt touched living legend Buzz Aldrin! The abu...

Comedy writer Michael James Nelson (michaeljamesnelson.com) has worked on Betty White's Off Their Rockers and many other shows in spite of the fact that as a young man he was convinced he would pursue a career in science and work on the Space Shuttle. He joins Matt, Andy and return guest Robert Buscemi this week to talk about: Magnet schools: How do they work? Growing up with multiple learning dis...

David Huntsberger (twitter.com/huntsbergerjunk) from Professor Blastoff (professorblastoff.com), a podcast that Probably Science in no way plagiarizes, joins Matt and Andy this week to discuss: Getting deputized to substitute teach under Texas educational martial law! Narrowly avoiding dating minors! Trash-talking Bear Grylls! Ill-fitting letter jackets! High school rodeo teams! The redundancy of...

Dr. Peter McGraw (twitter.com/petermcgraw) heads the Humor Research Lab (HuRL) at UC Boulder, and he joins Matt, Andy and returning guest Baron Vaughn (twitter.com/barvonblaq) for a special episode devoted entirely to the science of why things are funny. Peter's Benign Violation Theory is a robust, empirically testable explanation of humor in all its forms, and it's the basis of Peter and Joel War...

Probably Science completes the Austin Stories trifecta this week with comedian/writer guest Laura House (twitter.com/imlaurahouse), who joins Matt and Andy in discussing: Valley celebrity encounters! Pissing off Jamie Foxx! Chili competitions! Drinking and guns! Shooting pesky mink! Russell Crowe's crappy Twitter feed! Getting an adult ego check from your parents! Making your own bullets! Detecing...

Pride of Australia Wil Anderson (twitter.com/wilanderson) delivers in a big way this week as he joins Matt and Andy this week to get to the bottom of: US/Australia alliances! The unavoidable presence of Yahoo Serious! Ned Kelly's branding prowess! Ozploitation! Adding a new color to Australia's temperature charts! Climate change denial! Karl Kruszelnicki's study of belly button fluff! Being laughe...

Comedians Dan Telfer (twitter.com/dantelfer) and Hannah Gansen (twitter.com/hannahgansen) join Matt and Andy this week to chat about: Getting a fake baby at age 18! Brussel Sprouts! Bobak Ferdowski, the NASA mohawk guy! Making origami cranes as astronaut training! Shoulder hair! The tiger quoll! Blowing up dollhouses! Fingers and toes wrinkle underwater for better grip! Debunking ridiculous lesson...

As promised, Jesse Case (twitter.com/jessecase) brings the first installment of Probably History, in which he, Jack Robichaud (twitter.com/jackrobichaud), Richard Bain (twitter.com/dickbain) and Andy Wood (twitter.com/andytwood) discuss the history of Christmas. Enjoy, and be on the lookout for a new episode of Probably Science next week!

Matt and Brooks are still out of town, so Andy sat down with Jesse Case this week for a special holiday bonus episode that's light on science, but heavy on the discussion of World War II bunker dogs, Jelly Bellies, porn, hospice situations, home videos from the 1980s, Beatles fandom, sleep-eating roommates and failed attempts to reach subglacial lakes. Enjoy, and we'll be back soon with full episo...

Troy Conrad (troyconrad.net) is a comedian, writer, director and producer, and he's the man behind the hilarious improvised standup comedy show Set List. He joins Matt, Andy and Jesse Case on this week's episode to talk about: Breaking Bad spoilers! Improvised debate! House/career dysmorphia! Hot tub clothing regulations! Comedy Jesus! Troy's Scientology experience! Probably History! Religions wit...

Matt, Brooks, and Andy celebrate the 50th episode of Probably Science with their first repeat guest! Kyle Kinane, fresh on the heels of his Comedy Central special "Whiskey Icarus," sat down with the ProbSci crew to talk about: Brooks's love woes! Convincing housekeeping to let you watch a space jump! Free Jacuzzi! Public boners! Peeing in the shower! The cotton gin! Young Einstein! The deadliest b...

Comedian Tom Sibley (twitter.com/TheTomSibley) joins Matt, Brooks, and Andy to talk about: Advent calendars! Alternate endings to The Grey! Tom's secret robot teacher! Being sent to the bathroom during science class! Throwing your milk in a locker! Almost Live! Deep Blue Sea! Brooks travels to Hawaii! Matt's close encounter with a pod of killer whales! Instagram-iquette! Robotic snakes! Matt puts...