A Little Bit Of Science

A relaxing trip to Japan turns into an accidental run down a double black diamond, a mathematician solves “impossible” problems because nobody told him they were impossible, and missing scientists get pulled into UFO flavoured rumours. This week, Will and Rod bounce between snowboarding psychology, statistical legend, conspiracy culture, and the strange ways expectations shape what we think we can do.
We start on the slopes, where fear is sometimes just signage, then jump to George Dantzig, who solved famous unsolved statistics problems after mistaking them for homework. Same theme, different setting: not knowing the odds can be a weird kind of advantage.
Then things get darker with disappearances, military secrecy, and the internet’s favourite genre, plus a look at the gluten conundrum and why non coeliac gluten sensitivity is still messy science. Bodies are complicated, and belief can play a bigger role than people like to admit.
Finally, we head to the Marshall Islands, where a concrete dome covering radioactive waste from US nuclear testing sits in the Pacific like a “temporary” fix that has to survive storms, rising seas, and time.
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Science Snack Intro
00:43 Snowboarding The Hard Way
02:48 Expectations And Limits
03:16 Dantzig And The Simplex
06:02 Accidental Unsolved Problems
09:26 Never Tell Me The Odds
10:04 Missing General UFO Links
12:52 List Of Scientist Cases
16:28 Politics And FBI Probe
18:07 Conspiracy Dots And Anti Gravity
21:05 Flood The Zone Meteorology Tease
22:10 Hurricanes Go Backwards
23:02 Weather Control Conspiracies
25:02 Meteorologists Under Threat
27:47 Lessons From Misinformation
28:40 Nuclear Tests In Paradise
30:34 Inside The Runit Dome
34:20 Cracks Leaks And Sea Rise
36:57 Good Gluten News
40:19 Gluten Sensitivity Reality Check
42:35 Nocebo FODMAPs And Advice
46:16 Wrap Up And Listener Callout

SOURCES:
https://futurism.com/conspiracy-meteorologists-hurricanes
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/07/marjorie-taylor-greene-hurricane-helene
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/hurricane-milton-misinformation-meteorlogist-death-threats-1235130352/
https://futurism.com/space/fbi-investigating-deaths-disappearances-top-scientists
https://futurism.com/space/another-military-ufo-guy-died
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fbi-investigating-possible-links-between-deaths-and-disappearances-of-at-least-10-scientists/
https://www.sciencealert.com/this-infamous-radioactive-tomb-is-leaking-and-experts-are-worried
https://theconversation.com/your-gluten-sensitivity-might-be-something-else-entirely-new-study-shows-267098
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crystals have been fascinating humans for hundreds of thousands of years, chimpanzees might share the same shiny object obsession, and mushrooms may be sending electrical signals through their underground networks. This episode bounces between ancient archaeology, animal behaviour, and the weird possibility that fungi are doing more than just quietly existing in the forest.
We dig into evidence that early humans collected crystals long before cave paintings, then look at research showing chimps will pick crystals over plain pebbles and carry them around like prized possessions. It is either a shared cultural quirk or a shared ancestor who also could not walk past a sparkly rock without grabbing it.
Then we head to Japan, where scientists have been measuring mushroom electrical activity with electrodes to see how fungi respond to things like water and chemical signals. It is not “mushrooms are speaking English”, but it does hint at complex, responsive systems in the mycelium that we are only just starting to understand.
Finally, we get into the modern tech mess: AI powered toys like teddy bears that can be prompted into wildly inappropriate conversations, plus a brilliant detour where medieval Japanese poetry helps researchers track solar proton events using tree rings.


CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Introduction
00:42 Hippie Crystal Deodorant
01:59 Ancient Crystal Obsession
05:22 Chimpanzees Love Crystals
07:43 Crystal Plinth Experiment
09:55 Crystal Hoarding And Tradeoffs
11:41 Why Crystals Allure
13:30 Do Mushrooms Signal Pee
16:38 Urine Experiment Setup
18:48 Results And Dont Pee Dont Tell
20:17 Poetry Break And Limericks
21:25 Solar Proton Events Explained
22:23 Poetry Meets Space Weather
23:46 Kyoto Aurora Clue
24:07 Trees Confirm Proton Event
25:29 Trouble in Toyland Report
27:08 AI Toys Under Test
29:01 Guardrails Fail Over Time
35:49 Addictive Design Tricks
36:28 Privacy and Always Listening

SOURCES:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1633599/full?ref=404media.co
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-42673-y
https://publicinterestnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/TOYLAND-2025-11-14-7a.pdf
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/medieval-aurora-poetry-provided-clues-to-historic-solar-storms/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robot wolves are now being used to scare bears away from Japanese schools, scientists have grown mini Neanderthal brains and plugged them into little robots, and snakes are quietly topping the lethality leaderboard while everyone keeps blaming sharks. This week, Will and Rod bounce between wildlife deterrence, prehistoric brain tech, and a public health reality check that hits harder than any movie monster.
We start in Japan, where bears have been wandering into supermarkets and school grounds, and the solution is peak Japan: “monster robot wolves” with sensors, lights, and loud noises designed to scare bears off without harming them. They look like an 80s horror prop, but the goal is serious, keep people safe and avoid lethal control.
Then we head into the lab, where researchers have grown tiny Neanderthal brain organoids, nicknamed Neanderoids, and connected them to small crab like robots. It is fascinating, slightly unsettling, and a reminder that science will always find a way to make the past feel uncomfortably present.
Finally, we look at snakes as one of the world’s biggest killers, with India carrying a huge share of snakebite deaths, and we end with a cybersecurity story where a pen tester talked IT into handing over access on a phone call. Not ideal.


00:00 Japan Bear Surge
01:20 Meet the Hosts
02:58 Robot Wolf Deterrents
06:37 Upgrades and Risks
08:27 Neanderthal Mini Brains
12:03 Brains Wired to Robot Crabs
13:31 Fascism and Underlings
15:51 Torture Battalion Data
21:46 Animal Killers Teaser
22:35 Mosquitoes Kill Indirectly
23:30 Snakes Top the List
23:40 Floods and Snake Spikes
24:13 India Snakebite Mystery
25:07 Verbal Autopsies Explained
26:51 Antivenom Access Problem
28:22 Next Deadliest Animals Rundown
28:56 Parasites and Kissing Bugs
31:07 Elephants and Hunter Karma
33:15 Bears Sharks and Big Cats
35:06 Social Engineering Hack Story
38:40 Phone Calls Beat Security
39:05 Podcast Wrap and Callouts

SOURCES:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/japan-robot-wolves-high-demand-075406454.html
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/japan-built-robot-wolves-to-thwart-bear-attack-and-theyre-flying-off-the-shelves/
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01533-8/abstract
https://theconversation.com/your-gluten-sensitivity-might-be-something-else-entirely-new-study-shows-267098
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/489067/snakebite-antivenom-deaths
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schistosomiasis
https://elifesciences.org/articles/54076
https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-neanderthal-minibrains-grown-dish
https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/05/14/to-gain-root-access-intruder-just-had-to-ask/5239853
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/world/americas/actually-democracy-dies-in-hr.html
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A 1960s mouse utopia that collapsed into a vanity-obsessed apocalypse, a global database of 150,000 enthusiastic stool photos, and a scientific quest to help humans regrow limbs like a salamander. This week, we bounce between rodent dystopias, AI-powered gut tracking, regenerating toes, and international idioms for absolute chaos.
We start in the late 1960s with Universe 25, an experiment that gave mice everything they wanted and accidentally proved that absolute perfection leads to a total social meltdown and a faction of self-obsessed, grooming-addicted rodents. Then, shifting gears with a violent jerk, we check in on a health app that has amassed a staggering database of 150,000 human poo images to train AI to analyse gut health.
From there, we look to the future, where scientists are trying to steal a trick from the salamander to see if mice and eventually humans can regrow missing limbs. And to end the episode, we take a quick detour into international linguistics to look at how different cultures describe things going completely wrong, from Swedish blue cupboards to vivid Brazilian panic.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
02:20 Why Universe 25 Happened
04:58 Building Mousetopia
08:43 Utopia Turns Violent
11:53 Behavioural Sink Theory
14:04 Misuse And Critiques
18:45 Poop App Citizen Science
24:58 Sharing Stool Online
25:44 Selling Poo Data
27:25 AI Data Hunger
28:23 Elvis Toilet Death
29:43 Constipation Studies
35:02 Mouse Toe Regrowth
41:17 Cactus And Sayings

SOURCES:
https://www.404media.co/ai-poop-analysis-app-offered-to-sell-me-access-to-its-users-poops/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-72066-8
https://bsky.app/profile/adamcsharp.bsky.social/post/3mlqozoour22z
https://theconversation.com/constipation-increases-your-risk-of-a-heart-attack-new-study-finds-and-not-just-on-the-toilet-237209
https://www.mamamia.com.au/elvis-constipation/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-38068-y
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32873621/
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/nov/21/the-mad-egghead-who-built-a-mouse-utopia-john-b-calhoun
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A poll has asked people if they could win in a fist fight against Donald Trump, a survey on female orgasms has wandered into yawning, crying, and hallucinations, and vulture nests are quietly operating as accidental museums of human history. This week, Will and Rod bounce between political fantasy, private biology, and birds that apparently have a better archive system than most institutions.
We start with the poll that turned politics into Fight Club, which is less about combat and more about confidence, identity, and how people relate to power. Then we get into the science of female orgasms, and why the data is far stranger than the usual “fireworks” story, with reports ranging from tears to yawns to hallucination like effects.
Finally, we head to the vultures, whose nests can preserve scraps and artefacts for decades, creating accidental time capsules for archaeologists. And to end on a rare positive note, we’ve got some good climate news: renewable energy is still surging in the US, despite all the noise.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Political Science Milestones
00:44 Poll Who Beats Trump
01:56 Meet the Hosts
02:50 Science Missed Female Biology
04:00 Mapping the Clitoris
05:49 Surveying Orgasm Effects
08:47 Peri Orgasmic Symptoms
14:08 Taboo and Medical Framing
15:20 Case Report Finger Cure
19:38 Altruism Games
21:38 Resenting Do Gooders
24:05 Tainted Altruism
27:07 Academic Award Hoax
30:49 Self Made Medals
34:11 Vulture Nest Time Capsules
40:07 Climate News Uplift
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.