SciShow Tangents

SciShow Tangents is the lightly competitive knowledge showcase from the geniuses behind the YouTube series SciShow. Every other Tuesday, join Hank Green, Ceri Riley, and Sam Schultz as they try to one-up and amaze each other with weird and funny scientific research... while not getting distracted. There will be tangents about video games, music, weird smells, surprisingly deep insights about life, and of course, poop, but it always comes back to the science.

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Episodes

Parasites with Sally Le Page

This week, we’re joined by evolutionary biologist and science communicator Dr. Sally LePage to talk all about parasites! How did we deal with them before modern medicine? Are there any parasites bigger than their hosts? And is parasite-ception a thing!? Sources: [Fact Off] Fruit fly fungus: Frog flatworm: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/02/13/a-flurry-of-frog-legs/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4330773/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00436-0...

Dec 25, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7

Advertising

From website banners to scratch-and-sniff magazine spreads, you’ve probably been the target of thousands of ads. Like, you’re even going to hear one during this podcast—we gotta eat! At this point, you might feel like you’re immune to advertising, because there’s no way a ridiculous infomercial could make you want a reusable juice box. But the psychology behind advertising has always been powerful. So this week, we’re diving into the science of when ads work, when they don’t, and when they’ve le...

Dec 18, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Eggs

Eggs have tons of different sizes, textures, and protective shells, from giant ostrich eggs to squishy fish egg clusters. But, scientifically, they all boil down to the same thing: an egg is just a reproductive cell that can be fertilized by a sperm to make an embryo. This week, we’re cracking the science of eggs wide open! [Truth or Fail] Brown trouts: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150214-fake-orgasms-and-other-sex-lies https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347200915859?via%...

Dec 11, 2018•28 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Taste

Have you ever wanted to lick the Moon and find out what that grey dust tastes like? If so, you’re in luck. This week, we’re sampling the science of taste, from the Apollo 16 mission reports to how the flavor compounds in amniotic fluid may affect babies’ food preferences. Apparently, it can get garlicky in there. But can non-human animals develop a sense of taste? And is “pine mouth” a real thing, or is it just what happens when Hank eats mysterious seeds he finds in the forest? Hosted by Simple...

Dec 04, 2018•33 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Satellites

What do the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station, and the Moon have in common? They’re all satellites that orbit the Earth! This week, we’re going extraterrestrial to talk about the dreams, discoveries, and debacles that went into Mir and other weirdly cool human-made satellites. Plus, we dig into burning questions, like whether the Sun can be considered a satellite. And we’re big enough space nerds that we try to explain some celestial mechanics. Sources: [Truth or Fail] http...

Nov 27, 2018•34 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Flightless Birds

With American Thanksgiving around the corner, turkey is on everyone’s mind! So this week, we’re taking a closer look at flightless birds of all shapes and sizes! What prevents some birds from using their wings to fly? Did Australians really start a war against emus? Plus, we’ll answer your burning questions about the sex lives of many, many different kinds of birds! Wow! Sources: [Truth or Fail] Inaccessible Island rail: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790318301763?via%3Di...

Nov 20, 2018•31 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Science Hoaxes

We’re delving into the complicated world of scientific hoaxes. Some are just goofs that went a little too far, but others have had serious negative impacts on public health. Welcome, traveler, to the first episode! This is Sam from December of 2020. I can't believe, more two years later, we're still playing this goofy game! If you're starting here, you have a long and grand adventure ahead of you. It only gets way better from here! If you're working your way backwards... well, you did it! Hopefu...

Nov 13, 2018•36 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Introducing: SciShow Tangents

Introducing the lightly competitive knowledge showcase from the geniuses behind the YouTube series SciShow . Every Tuesday, join Hank Green , Ceri Riley , Stefan Chin , and Sam Schultz as they try to one-up and amaze each other with weird and funny scientific research... while not getting distracted. There will be tangents about video games, music, weird smells, surprisingly deep insights about life, and of course, poop, but it always comes back to the science. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz c...

Nov 02, 2018•3 min

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