Science Vs

The internet tells us that narcissists are everywhere — and that the problem is only getting worse. It’s like narcissism is oozing out of our celebrities, politicians, partners, parents, maybe even ourselves?? So today, we’re taking a long look in the mirror to find out: are we all a bunch of narcissists? And what should we do if we think someone in our life is a narcissist? We find out by talking...

Raw milk is having a major moment, with fans claiming it’s a gut-healing superfood that can prevent everything from asthma to allergies. But others are like HOLD ON — we pasteurize milk to make it safe! Drinking raw milk can kill you. So, who’s right? Could there be some benefits to guzzling milk straight from the teat? Or is it a terrible idea? We talk to food science Prof. John Lucey and pediatr...

Today we’re revisiting caffeine. It’s a drug that tons of us take every day. So, is that a bad thing?? What is it really doing to our bodies and our brains? Plus — if we get it in the form of energy drinks, is that super dangerous? We talk to Dr. Astrid Nehlig, Prof. Gregory Marcus, and Prof. Sachin Shah. [REBROADCAST] Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsCaffeine In this episode...

A group of scientists meet a very unusual woman. A key part of her brain isn’t working: the amygdala. This is the part of the brain that we think is responsible for feeling fear. And in fact, this woman does seem pretty fearless. Researchers test her fear response using some very unconventional methods, but she takes everything in stride. Then, finally, they stumble onto the one thing that makes t...

Peptides are huge right now. Influencers are telling us they can work wonders for all sorts of stuff. Struggling with an annoying injury that won't heal?? Belly fat that's pissing you off? Low energy? Gut issues?? There’s a peptide out there for you. People are buying peptides off the internet and injecting themselves with them, saying it's life changing. But away from the internet hype, there is...

The Trump administration is rolling back restrictions on air pollution in the U.S., and some experts say this could affect the health of millions of people. And what makes air pollution especially dangerous is that we often can’t see it at all.  So today, we’re going back to the story of Ella Kissi-Debrah, a little girl who suddenly got sick and landed in the hospital. In this episode, her mom, Ro...

Ibogaine. Fans say this psychedelic is a game changer for treating a bunch of mental health conditions — that even a single trip to your friendly ibogaine clinic could cure you of lifelong struggles with addiction. And recently President Trump signed an executive order fast-tracking research into this psychedelic drug. But how well does it really work? And is it safe?? To find out, we talk to clin...

A weird virus has popped up on a cruise ship, and it’s making a bunch of us nervous. It’s a type of hantavirus called Andes virus, and scientists think that it’s infected almost a dozen people so far — three of them have died. And now people are getting off the boat, some of them going into government quarantine, but some of them traveling home. And people are like, wait … this all sounds VERY fam...

Tons of us are inked — one in three American adults has a tattoo — but lately, we’ve been hearing that tattoos are actually bad for us. We’re told that they mess with our immune system and could even lead to cancer. Can that be true?! Plus, are there any upsides to having a tattoo? We talk to immunologist Dr. Santiago González, epidemiologist Dr. Christel Nielsen, and psychologist Prof. Viren Swam...

We keep hearing that we need to be BORED more, with people online swearing that boredom can work magic — restoring your mind, and even supercharging your creativity. So, is boredom secretly good for us? We talk to cognitive neuroscientist Prof. James Danckert and organizational psychologist Prof. Guihyun Park to find out.  Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsBoredom In this epis...

Headlines have been screaming about a new study suggesting that vaping could cause cancer — and that vaping could be just as dangerous as cigarettes. And if this were true, it would be a HUGE deal. We’ve been hearing for years that vaping is a safer option — and can help you quit ciggies. But the new paper has run up against angry criticisms from other scientists, with some calling the paper "misl...

Lots of us love — or love to hate — running. And we do it because it’s supposed to be healthy, right?! But then we hear tons of stories about runners getting hurt — sometimes so badly that they have to hang up their sneakers. And there are people on social media going even further, claiming it’s one of the worst things we can do for our bodies. So IS running secretly bad for us? And could too much...

The moon race is back! NASA’s Artemis II mission just sent four astronauts around the moon. And other countries — and billionaires — are lining up to take a crack at returning to the moon too. But why are we really going? Some say this is a lunar gold rush, that countries want to mine the moon for resources. Others are saying the real reason to go to the moon today is that it’ll help us get to Mar...

The apps on our phones do an amazing job of sucking us in. In fact, a big court case just found that some of these companies should be held responsible for basically designing products to be addictive. And that might not be shocking for lots of us, who feel the pull of these algorithms every day. So, is there anything we can do to help us put down our phones?? Tons of solutions are bandied about:...

Today, best-selling author and nerd Mary Roach joins us to talk all about sex. We’ll uncover the secrets of the female orgasm (does “upsuck” exist?), detail the bizarre methods of pioneering sex researchers like Masters and Johnson (including a famous penis camera), and get into the nitty-gritty of how to sexually stimulate a pig in Denmark. Plus, Mary tells us what it's like to have sex while get...

Colorectal cancer has long been thought of as a disease of older folks. But that's changing — fast. Rates in older people are actually going down, and more and more people under 50 are getting this disease. And a surprising number of them are dying from it. So what’s going on here? We dig into why young people are getting hit harder. Plus, we often hear that you should watch out for changes in you...

People are reporting a very strange phenomenon: They say that when their nipples get touched, they feel this weird sinking feeling. People describe it like being homesick, or hung over. Some feel anguish and despair, others call it dread. The condition has a name: "Sad Nipple Syndrome." But how could just touching a nipple set off all of these feelings?? To get to the bottom of this booby baffler,...

UPDATE [June 30, 2026]: If we had our time again we would have produced this episode differently. We got carried away with the wildness of the story, from a scientific perspective, and didn't take time to really think about the fact that this is the story of a 15-year-old, who would have been going through a really difficult time. Many of our listeners rightly pointed this out, and we appreciate i...

We’ve all been there. Feeling stuck with a problem because no one in our life can relate. Or because the one person we need to talk to … won’t. Or can’t. Enter Yowei Shaw and the show Proxy. Proxy is built on a simple idea: no one is ever as alone with their problem as they think. So Yowei brings in a proxy, a perfect stranger, to help her guests work through their dilemma. Today we’re sharing the...

Forget the questionable relationship advice from internet influencers. Today, we’re diving into the science of lasting love, fighting, and "red flags” to find out what really matters for a healthy relationship. We’ll find out what it means to fight well with your partner. And we’ll also look at the signs that a relationship might become dangerous or abusive. For all this, we speak with Professor B...

Federal agents have descended on Minneapolis in the U.S., and things have gotten chaotic — and deadly. The Trump administration says the agents are there to enforce immigration law, but officers have shot three people so far, killing two, and are using tear gas and smoke on protesters. So today, we’re looking at the potential health impacts of tear gas. We’ll talk about what we do — and don’t — kn...

There's claims out there that all kinds of things can make us happy in life, from making money to having kids to buying your dream home. But what actually works?? What does it take to have a happy life??  Professor Bob Waldinger is a psychiatrist at Harvard who has spent more than two decades as the director of this amazing study. It has tracked hundreds of people for decades and is the world's lo...

The U.S. just made a big change to its vaccine recommendations, cutting back on the number of shots it will routinely recommend for kids. The government says it wants to "better align" with countries like Denmark. But is following Denmark’s lead a fairy tale come true — or a nightmare in slow motion? Plus, we find out what this new schedule could mean for kids’ vaccines in the U.S. We hear from Pr...

AI tools like ChatGPT have taken the world by storm, with tons of people saying they use them regularly. This is especially true for students, many of whom say they use AI to get their schoolwork done. And this is freaking some of us out — we're hearing that jumping on the AI train could be a terrible idea, partly because of claims that these tools could be bad for our brains. So — are we outsourc...

Influencers are out in full force, telling us how we can “manifest” anything we want using only the power of our thoughts. Want that dream car, dream boyfriend, or dream house? Act as if you already have it, and the universe will respond. And we know our thoughts can be powerful … so, could this be legit? We go on the hunt for a manifestation method that has the science stamp of approval. We talk...