Is psychology doomed, or could the reproducibility crisis a good thing? How many senses do we really have? And what's the history behind all the pride flags you see? Check out: Maintenance Phase's Episode on Brian Wansink's Downfall Strange Aeons (on My Immortal Authors) Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: We’re already learning! god i hate the stanford prison experiment, the four horsemen of the reproducibility crisis, the file drawer effect, honestly th...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 57 min
Is immortality possible in humans or other animals? What was on Earth before trees? And what can we learn from emoji?🤔 Things we talk about: The First Emoticons Kurita's Emojis Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Halloween in January, stories of immortality, the epic of gilgamesh, MR BEAST GRANTS IMMORTALITY IF YOU STAY UP FOR 6 DAYS, the first story of facing AND accepting mortality, teen alexander the immortal, shooting down 9 suns, making your own imm...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 48 min
What's the story of how we successfully saved the ozone? Why and how can owls turn their heads around, and who else can? And can Ella convert Tom to the wonder that is Eurovision? Listen to Ella's Full Eurovision Playlist Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: defining ozone, not wrong but not right, the ozone layer is miles thick and not full of ozone, the sun is a deadly laser, tom feels stupid about the ozone, accidentally finding out about the ozone laye...
Jan 19, 2023•1 hr 52 min
To round out the year we learn about the most interesting thing: each other! We talk about the process of researching and writing an episode, future sciences and science fiction, and laugh and cry reflecting on our favorite things from 2022. Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: our favorite topics, this is why we don’t do topics on colors, topic lists, science ruining movies, science is just a job, anything goes as long as you don’t explain it to me, hacki...
Dec 29, 2022•1 hr 40 min
On a very special holiday episode, Tom, Caroline, and Ella give the gift of learning! We've wrapped up our favorite fun facts to give to each other, and even gotten a few presents from some special guests! Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: the the gin craze, no free gin advertisements, gin street and beer street, wrapping paper foley work, pumpkin toadlet balance, silly UK laws, yeah and maybebeallowedtoshootacrossbowatacathedral, keep your kite flying ...
Dec 15, 2022•1 hr 27 min
What is the science of scientific naming, and could it actually be life saving? How many cells are in a human body, and why is it important to know? And how exactly did the British Museum... "acquire" all these artifacts? Watch Tom's PowerPoint Comedy Show! Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: what does tom smell like? naming is hard for computer science, naming is a science, reading 12 million paper titles by hand, single use acronyms, polynomial naming, ...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 52 min
How can you study a brain without a brain? In what ways is a cat actually like a liquid? And why do we say The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread? Images we Discuss: Rat Brain Cats Sitting in Things Bread Crumbs --- Watch the SciShow Episode Ella Wrote! Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: brains are complex and hard to access, organoids, organettes, organittos, induced pluripotent stem cells are cool, Madeline Lancaster, DNA is amazing, scientific serendip...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 39 min
Today our guest Ashlen Campbell asks us: how do you stop a seagull from stealing your chips? And what can that teach us about the wild world of kleptoparasitism? Our Favorite Ash Videos: Erythrism, Blathers Exposed Ash's Kleptoparasitism List Ash's Follow Recommendations: @luccasbiohub @drkyliesoanes @zoe_kean_sci @sarawebbscience @astrokirsten Visit our NEW MERCH STORE! Support us with a Maximum Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Majored in zoology minored in chips, temperat...
Nov 03, 2022•1 hr 27 min
How do we define pain, and what animals can feel it? How similar are vampires to real vampiric animals? And what are penny dreadfuls and how were they actually... good? Visit our NEW MERCH STORE! Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: pain is bad, but pain is good, what animals can feel pain, if they can feel kink pleasure from pain they can feel pain, it’s time to define pain for you guys, ella swoops in on a Tom joke, pain is like art, the international as...
Oct 20, 2022•1 hr 48 min
It's the show's birthday! And we're going to celebrate with LEARNING! How much do we really know about the history of keeping time? When did human speech first arise, and how would we even figure that out? And when did the concept of birthdays have its birthday? Visit our NEW MERCH STORE! Support us on Maximum Fun! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Your favorite podcast on your favorite torso, the blind watchmaker, time technology is not like iphone upgrades, Ancient or Recent, France’s dec...
Oct 06, 2022•1 hr 42 min
What are the pros and perils of self experimentation? What archaeological clues do we have to the first human amputation? And why should we actually learn to love PowerPoint? See Tom Perform PowerPoint Comedy on October 4th at Caveat NYC! (or stream it!) Go to Ella's Women in Science Photography Exhibition in London October 25th! Support us on Maximum Fun! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Santorio Santorio, sitting in a chair for 30 years, two pieces of toast, 1500s diet culture, insensibl...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 44 min
What is the history of plastic, and what could the future hold? Why is perfect pitch, not so perfect, and do any animals have it? And how on Earth did we end up with these meaningless names for generations? Support us on Maximum Fun! Join our Discord! Catch Sidney Gish on Tour! We also learn about: what is plastic? plastics are an invasive species, natural plastics, explosions are at the root of a lot of science, guncotton, oops we made it explosive, should have bought those 666 horses, patent d...
Sep 08, 2022•1 hr 47 min
A very special announcement! Episodes we recommend for new listeners: 1: Time Illusions, Electric Bees, and Fakespeares 5: The History of Pregnancy Tests, The Middlest Size, and FanFiction 19: The Science of Gay, How Many Songs Fit in DNA, and Niche Sports Support us on Maximum Fun!
Sep 06, 2022•7 min
How do animals sense magnetic fields? Why was the first Trolley Problem written? And who was Hitchbot? Images we talk about: - Hitchbot with Santa Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: the first compasses, captain McDonalds, “epistemologically unacceptable”, magnetic bacteria, magnetic dip, pooping north, the table of good boys, let’s do a study, it’s more intersting that dogs Sometimes poop north, alignment during excretion, I’d rather study dogs than leop...
Aug 25, 2022•1 hr 42 min
How old did Aristotle think the Earth was? What makes a dinosaur a dinosaur? And how did our guest get into paleontology? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: getting started in paleontology, shooting lasers at fossils, artistotle thought the earth was infinitely old, getting the 6,000 number from bible family tree math, it’s infinitely old because because, melting rocks is science, Lord Kevlin’s real name was William Thompson??? every big name in science ...
Aug 11, 2022•1 hr 12 min
What happens when you gives bugs drugs? How many digits of pi do we actually need? And what is the drama behind the blackest black? Images we talk about: - Spider Webs on Various Drugs - Graph of Pi Approximations Across History - The Redemption of Vanity, MIT's Blackest Black Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: how do you give a bee cocaine? cocaine is a natural insecticide, the waggle dance, actually im not going to dance it’s embaressing, “I want to be...
Jul 28, 2022•1 hr 11 min
If all these conspiracy theories were real, what are the statistical odds they'd be kept secret? Why did Pluto get demoted from planethood? And can animals make art? Images we talk about: - Pierre’s Brassau’s Art - Erased Dekooning Drawing - Sean Thomas’ “Case Study” - Monkey Selfie Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: planes fly over Ella’s house? coincidence??, the conspiracy leak formula, gish gallop, the Tom & Caroline Show conspiracy, moon landing pho...
Jul 14, 2022•1 hr 46 min
What is the nuanced science behind homosexuality in animals and humans? Is there a single gay gene? No. No absolutely not. But how many songs could you fit into a gram of DNA, and why would you want to? And what are some of the most niche sports and why are they still so great? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Tom is an ally, 1500 observed gay animals from shrimps to apes, the adelie penguin story hidden for 100 years, dynamic region translation, dolph...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 58 min
You've probably heard of Carbon Dating, but how are Astronomy, Biology, and Nuclear Physics involved? What are the problems with having babies in space, and how many animals have had babies in space? (surprisingly more than you'd think!) And what is the history of nail polish, and more importantly, our relationship with painting nails? Videos we talk about: - Mice in Space Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: counting the rings in a carbon atom, Dendrochro...
Jun 16, 2022•1 hr 58 min
What exactly are cosmic rays and how do they affect us? Why do humans have so many different eye colors? And why does everyone hate the triangle so much? Images we talk about: - The Sistrum - The Angel Battle of the Bands - The Triangle in the Painting Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: pions and tiny particles with delightful names, see the rave of space, OMG particle or the What What What particle, galactic cosmic rays, anomalous cosmic rays, shower of...
Jun 02, 2022•1 hr 25 min
This week we're releasing our very first test episode of the podcast! What are neural networks? Do butterflies remember being caterpillars? And what is Love Island? Content Warning: Mentions of suicide in the Misc Topic Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: what is a dog? stem cell hotel, the giant squid axon, neural networks will be walking and talking soon, why is it called deep learning? Deep blue and Watson, love island AI, Amazon’s biased hiring AI, bl...
May 19, 2022•1 hr
Follow Ella's new job's tiktok! When we say save the bees, which bees are we talking about? What happens when you repeat a word and it loses meaning? And how could you design an experiment to figure that out? And what is speed running and why do we all love it? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: solitary bees dance in their spare time, 25000 species of bees, send your enemies bees in the post, Bombus terrestris, human centric beekeeping, the billion poun...
May 05, 2022•1 hr 43 min
What is the Turing Test, what has it become, and what can we learn from it? How many of Ella's weird bodily quirks do you have? And how did the pub quiz come about? For the next month only, use code "Everything" to save 60% off your first month of MEL Science! https://melscience.com/sBGM/ Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: the imitation game, performative gender, the alignment problem, It’s not blade runner, artifical stupidity, have you heard about euge...
Apr 21, 2022•1 hr 49 min
Could you domesticate a fox, and what even IS domestication? What is the oldest potted plant, and, wait, what does Caroline mean by that question? And how did Tom go from hating crosswords to loving them? The photo we mention of Mecta the Fox Pup Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: the first domesticated animals, one of Darwin’s sequels, floppy ears, domestication syndrome, the fox bachelor, the neural crest cell hypothesis, our version of Behind the Bast...
Apr 07, 2022•1 hr 34 min
What happened to the golden toad? How many things did we leave on the moon, and what are they? And what is the oldest recorded bar joke? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: The World Wildlife Fund/World Wresting Federation, Agatha Christie’s Mystery of the Golden Toad, publication smackdowns, the amphibian apocalypse, outside my jurisdiction, double callback, the african clawed frog (from ep 5!), on this podcast we stan… Michael Collins, moon poop, moon s...
Mar 24, 2022•1 hr 40 min
What do heat and temperature have to do with biology? (It turns out, a lot!) We know what periods are, but why do humans have them? And stickers are delightful but how did they come about? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: what is heat? endotherms ectotherms homeotherms heterotherms and poikilotherms, being warm blooded evolved twice, heat generating plants, naked mole rats are weird, the podcast's stable of strange animals grows, kleptothermy, everyone...
Mar 10, 2022•1 hr 26 min
Special guest Steve Rathje ( @StevePsychology ) asks us, do insects have consciousness? What, empirically, makes things go viral on social media? And what are the scientific effects of live theatre? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Outgroup effects on social media, subjective experience and qualia, except for mosquitos, we share genes with bananas are they conscious? the emotional dog and the rational tail, over-anti-anthropomorphism, tiktok survey of ...
Feb 24, 2022•1 hr 9 min
What can a video game teach us about pandemics? What are the different things a sneeze can smell like? And what makes game jams so magical? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Hakkar the Soulflayer, npc asymptomatic carriers, just reset the world and change the code!, a disease model with real people, death isn’t temporary, show us the patch notes, self protection fatigue, pandemics are complicated, “look for the helpers, you will always find people who a...
Feb 10, 2022•1 hr 25 min
What are the benefits of reintroducing a species after 400 years? Why do we make rats solve mazes, and can slime molds solve mazes? What is ASMR, and how did it become such a thing? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Beavery introductions, vanilla flavor usually isn’t castorium, beavers support everyone in the wetlands, Tom’s gonna make a joke, The Scottish Beaver Trial, impatient beavers, international legal beaver issues, failed reintroductions are bea...
Jan 27, 2022•1 hr 45 min
To start the new year we learn about the science and history of recording sound, consider whether people with Prosopagnosia experience Pareidolia, and relive what it was like for Caroline to meet the one and only Sir David Attenborough. Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: The Phonoautograph, unplayable recordings, “drop the auto, just, Phonograph”, did you write that joke down tom, debunking Edison’s first recording, someone pretending to be a pigeon, Bef...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 34 min
