We Can Be Weirdos

Mary Roach is a bestselling science writer and explorer of the the odd corners of science that most people wouldn’t dare to investigate. Cadavers, sex labs, space junk, you name it.Her new book, Replaceable You, takes that curiosity inside the body itself, exploring the world of prosthetics, organ printing, regenerative medicine, and the scientists trying to rebuild (or upgrade) the human parts we lose. From stem-cell “hair nurseries” to xeno-pig organ farms, Roach uncovers the strange, brilliant future of becoming a “new” you.Host: Dan SchreiberGuests: Mary RoachProducer: Cassie MerrittHead of Podcasts: Al Riddell

Today’s episode is a two-for-one feast of mystery. First, the curious gems that keep washing up on the river Thames. What are they? Who put them there? And why? Historian Ellery Weil joins Café del Weirdo to dig into the leading theories and the world of Thames mudlarks.Next, we slip into the shadowy woods to visit Baba Yaga, the legendary Slavic witch-grandmother who may help you, may eat you, and definitely lives in a house with chicken legs. Author Kris Spisak tells us why this ancient figure still hooks us today.Host: Dan SchreiberGuests: Ellery Weil and Kris SpisakProducer: Cassie MerrittHead of Podcasts: Al Riddell

Adam Riches is an award-winning comedian and actor known for his wild characters and brilliantly unhinged live shows. You’ll have seen him popping up in Detectorists, Horrible Histories, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown doing his beloved Sean Bean character. His brand new tour 'The Twelve Beans of Christmas' is on now, get tickets here.Host: Dan SchreiberGuest: Adam RichesProducer: Cassie MerrittHead of Podcasts: Al Riddell

Ben Machell is a journalist-turned-literary explorer of the uncanny. After writing 'The Unusual Suspect' a true-crime story about a modern Robin Hood-style bank robber, he’s returned with 'Chasing the Dark: Encounters With The Supernatural.' The new book is a complete history of psychic and paranormal phenomena. Through forgotten case files, firsthand accounts, and long-buried investigations, Ben explores ghostly encounters, psychic mysteries, and the people who devoted their entire lives to chasing proof of the impossible.Host: Dan SchreiberGuest: Ben MachellProducer: Cassie MerrittSenior Producer: Ben TullohHead of Podcasts: Al Riddell

This month on Lazy Code, Dan teams up with Halina Brooke and Leon “Buttons” Kirkbeck to swap eerie doppelganger encounters, and wonder whether look-alike humans are just copy-pasted assets from a lazy cosmic developer. Leon does his best to keep the quantum-adjacent nonsense from imploding into metaphysical spaghetti, while Dan and Helena chase down the big question: are doppelgangers evidence of a glitch in the Matrix…or just proof that humans come in dangerously similar templates?