Ologies with Alie Ward

Volcanoes. Trees. Drunk butterflies. Mars missions. Slug sex. Death. Beauty standards. Anxiety busters. Beer science. Bee drama. Take away a pocket full of science knowledge and charming, bizarre stories about what fuels these professional -ologists' obsessions. Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward asks smart people stupid questions and the answers might change your life.

Last refreshed: June 28th, 2026 at 6:43 AM

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Episodes

BONUS EPISODE Creating Music with Jarrett Sleeper and David Bashwiner

The promised follow up bonus episode to our biomusicology episode with theoretical, neuro- and biomusicologist Dr David Bashwiner. This one is guest hosted by Podmother Jarrett Sleeper and we steer the discussion more toward the process of creating music, where creativity comes from, the relationship between theory, technique, and creativity, how to unleash or access one’s own creativity, synthesizers, whether new sounds are possible, emulation vs simulation, music as it exists in nature, whethe...

Jun 28, 2026•55 min•Ep. 515

Biomusicology (OUR MUSICAL NATURE) with David Bashwiner

Music. Emotion. Brain waves. Whale songs. Toadfish. Distant moons. Loud apes. And why it’s worth it to practice piano. Brilliant and warm musician and assistant professor at Albuquerque's University of New Mexico, Dr. David Bashwiner is a theoretical, neuro- and biomusicologist. Settling into his office (with a baby grand) we covered everything from bird songs to aquatic echolocation, how scales work, major vs. minor keys and their impact on the brain, music therapies, white noise, binaural beat...

Jun 25, 2026•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 514

Cnidariology (CORAL) Encore with Shayle Matsuda

Will changing your sunscreen save coral reefs? What even IS a coral? Where do they grow and what do they eat and why are they so pretty? Is it reefs or reeves? The wonderful and charming coral biologist and cnidariologist Shayle Matsuda takes time out of his busy schedule during a coral spawning event to chat about how magical and beautiful coral can be and why reef health is important. Also: whether or not "Finding Nemo" got coral right, making transitions during grad school, and how to pursue ...

Jun 17, 2026•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 513

Paternology (FATHERHOOD) with Darby Saxbe

DADS. What makes a good one? What if you had a bad one? And how can fatherhood turn the tides on toxic masculinity? Also: diapers. The brilliant USC research psychologist, fatherhood expert, and thus Paternologist Dr. Darby Saxbe covers everything from prehistoric family systems to social media expectations as we chat about male hormones during and after pregnancy, division of labor, dad bods, gorillas, TV dads, seahorses, trans dads, oxytocin, gender reveals, and how it truly takes a community ...

Jun 10, 2026•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 512

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