It's our first Best Of episode! We sat down to listen to and talk about the topics YOU told us were your favorites! Temporal Illusions! Eurovision! Dodos, and so much more! Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: The handsome Dr. Ella Hubber, if a friend recommended this to you they’re amazing and didn’t start that orphanage fire, declaring Tom’s love for Carly in the first episode, the first “Comedy”, Tom’s Eurovision indoctrination, the grim Holiday Episode...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 32 min
What are some of the wildest ways that eyes have evolved? What would happen if we got rid of all mosquitos, and how would we even do it? And how on Earth did some Canadians come to love bagged milk? Images we talk about: The Picture Tom had on his Dorm Wall The Sheep Video Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:05:15) Eyevolution (00:44:03) Eliminating Mosquitos (01:18:11) Bagged Milk (01:41:18) Outro We also learn about: Ella you’ve made it! it’...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 47 min
Who is the most recent human we all share our DNA with? How can CRISPR be used to help the climate crisis? And what do telephones have to do with music? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:22) Mitochondrial Eve (00:39:21) Climate Change CRISPR (01:14:15) Telephone Music (01:47:15) Outro Images we talk about: Early Headphone Advertisement We also learn about: Dartboard topics, Most recent common female ancestor, that’s actually the topic! en...
May 31, 2023•1 hr 51 min
Tom threw out his voice screaming about the new Zelda game (not actually) so we're delaying the next episode. But! We're not shifting the release schedule so the next episode will still come out the Thursday after! In the meantime, check out the episode of Veritasium that Tom researched and wrote! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMQbHMgK2rw
May 25, 2023•2 min
What are the myths and facts around the hormonal birth control pill? Why are there two highest points on Earth, and does that teach us about our planet? And what are all the ways period products affect the world we live in? Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:04) The Pill (00:52:01) The 2 Highest Points on Earth (01:28:28) Period Products (01:49:10) Outro We also learn about: Now that’s a rabbithole I can go down, taking half the pill makes...
May 11, 2023•1 hr 53 min
Special guest Ellen Weatherford joins us to ask: just how interesting can water and fish be? And are there any pokemon inspired by strange but real animals? Check out Ellen's podcasts "Just the Zoo of Us" and "Spellbound and Gagged" Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: defining fish, “just be cool about it”, defining drowning, Ellen and Caroline teach Tom and Ella about where water oxygen comes from, history of breathing, where we’re going we don’t need bo...
Apr 27, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Is there more to learn than to fear from toxic animals? How would we warn future humans about present dangers? And what are better ways for us to be buried? Things we mention: WIPP Mock Up Images Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: This ant can kill 1 million elephants, haven’t found a venomous mushroom… yet, a lot of my friends are toxic frogs, nom nom nom I eat poison, don’t touch shit, from none to death, the schmidt sting index, I want the data not th...
Apr 13, 2023•2 hr
Apologies all, Ella's computer kicked the bucket, so we'll be back next week with a fresh episode!
Apr 06, 2023•2 min
IT'S THE MAX FUN DRIVE!!! See our Game Night Livestream Monday March 27th at 5pm EST! Get cool drive rewards and listen to our special bonus episode! Can Large Language Models be used for good in scientific fields? Could space smell... good? And what olympic events have we tried, abandoned, and completely forgotten about? Things we mention: Compulsory Figures Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: Using ChatGPT to break up with your partner, it’s all very dr...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 58 min
Today we're rebroadcasting our appearance on Just the Zoo of Us as we prepare for an episode coming NEXT week for the MaxFunDrive! On this episode we combine our shows formats to bring you a full Topic, Question, and misc, all about one of the most misunderstood, intelligent, and rascally animals: the rat! Join Tom at a MaxFunDrive Meetup! Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord!...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Is it really possible to bring back the Dodo, and what even really happened in the first place? Are there any games left that humans can beat computers at, and why might that be okay? And what can art forgery tell us about art and the art world? Images/Videos we Mention: The TinkerToy Tic Tac Toe Computer The Rock Paper Scissors Robot Support us with a Max Fun Membership! Join our Discord! We also learn about: The Cherished Dodo, tinction, what does a dodo taste i mean look like, dodo art teleph...
Mar 02, 2023•2 hr 2 min
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...
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
