Whats inside that boarded up house? Should you explore an abandoned mall? A vacant factory? And how much of an old house ends up in a landfill? The founder of Domicology, Dr. Rex LaMore of Michigan State Universitys Center for Community and Economic Development, is an expert on these things and answers any possible question you might have, from ghost towns to hidden house notes, arson, recycling wood, stealing metal and how to leave a better housing situation for future generations. Also: whale ...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ahh, Daylight Savings Time: does it mess up your brain? What time should you go to bed? Are you sleeping enough? Is shift work really that bad? How dark is dark enough? The wonderful and hilarious Dr. Katherine Hatcher got her PhD in hormones, sleep cycles and circadian rhythms, and helps Alie dissect her terrible sleep habits. We also chat about a tiny magical area in our brains that acts as your body's Big Ben. By the end of the episode, you'll be in footie pajamas eager to change your whole l...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast ANNOUNCEMENT: SMOLOGIES NOW HAS ITS OWN FEED! SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY THURSDAY. Subscribe to Smologies: https://pod.link/1746567248 Ichthyology is not easy to say, but fish are easy to love. Dr. Chris Thacker will get you so thrilled to stare into a pond or look up pictures of silvery sea serpent-looking fish friends. Hilariously charming fish expert and LA County Natural History Museum Curator of Ichthyology, Dr. Thacker took Alie to a basement full of several million jars of fish to c...
Mar 14, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why an episode on Detroit?! Its got a great story. Standalone, this episode is a fascinating look at a metropolis that swelled and thrived during the auto boom, then declined, and is navigating a rocky rebirth of sorts. Aaron Foley was Detroits first official City Storyteller and wrote the book How to Live In Detroit Without Being a Jackass. Ive wanted to have him on Ologies for five years, and we finally sat down to talk about MoTown, car culture, square pizza, $1000 houses, gentrification, urb...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Im at the airport and there are hundreds of brain scientists everywhere. So I swallowed my dignity/anxiety and approached strangers about the neuroscience they do. The result is a bushel of info on cravings, sleep, consciousness, addiction, dopamine, monogamy, Ozempic, toxins in your brain and so much more with: Georgia Kirkpatrick, Isabella Montana, Dr. Marissa Co, Chancey Garrett, Noah Millman, Pique Choi, Dr. Barbara Sorg and Elizabeth Plunk. Oops, we just made a bunch of new friends. All tha...
Mar 02, 2023•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chemical spills, historical disasters, water quality, airborne toxic events, clear gasses, White Noise, dead fish, dark clouds, chemistry tests, trench coats, PFAS, phthalates, and the Ohio train derailment that plumed vinyl chloride into the skies of a small Ohio town. The lovely and informative Environmental Toxicologist Dr. Kimberly K. Garrett works at the intersection of chemical safety, public health and environmental justice and she has cool science tattoos. Also: should I burn incense all...
Feb 22, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Skin color! Hair texture! Biological anthropology! The incredibly informed and infectiously funny Dr. Tina Lasisi joins to chat sunscreen, ashiness, redheads, light skin, dark skin, in-between skin, beards, UVAs, UVBs, shower habits, cultural colloquialisms, vitiligo, melasma, medical math, ocher, freckles and more. Dr. Lasisi is about to become your new favorite science communication and internet friend. Also: sunscreen, people. Follow Dr. Tina Lasisi on Instagram , TikTok , and Twitter Visit D...
Feb 16, 2023•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Its invisible. Its mysterious. Its all around us and no one knows what it is. Lets have a fun existential crisis by pondering Dark Matter! The worlds most affable and endearing theoretical particle physicist, Dr. Flip Tanedo of UC Riverside, makes the Large Hadron Collider, Higgs bosons, and neutrinos make sense. Also: Star Trek, space ghosts, vintage insults, supernovas and more. Youll leave with a newfound wonder and the desire to read physics journals for the secrets of life. Follow Dr. Taned...
Feb 08, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Part 2 is here! Pull up a seat for singing techniques, baby talk, baritones, whistle notes, stroke recovery, vibrato, Julie Andrews, crying jags, throat singing, accents and much more with your new favorite Laryngologist, Dr. Ronda Alexander. We just we love her so much. Listen to Laryngology Part 1 here Follow Dr. Alexander on Instagram and Twitter A donation went to Myeloma.org and to the Laryngology Education Foundation Health Equity Grant via this link More episode sources and links Other ep...
Feb 01, 2023•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast Voices! Singing! Anxiety busters! Breathing! The absolutely magnetic, charismatic Laryngologist and surgeon Dr. Ronda Alexander makes her long-awaited Ologies debut to chat about why we sound the way we do, hormones and voices, Elvis accents, opera singing, kid voices, turning back time vocally, coughing, sleep apnea, acid reflux, vocal fry, Mariah and more in this stellar two-parter. Come back next week when we answer so many burning questions. Follow Dr. Alexander on Instagram and Twitter A do...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lights! Cameras! Arachnids! And lizards and bees and beetles. Macro photography is like magic: curved glass gives an entirely new take on the world, from dust on a crickets brow to a curious mantid stare to the elegant symmetry of spider whiskers. Joseph Saunders is an Oklahoma-based wildlife photographer whose larger-than-life photos of bugs and reptiles will make you realize just how little we appreciate the creatures on our window sills and skittering up our porches. We talk shop about camera...
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Part 2 is here: Lucid dreaming! Teeth falling out! Medications and dreaming! The source of creativity! Even how to clean your brain. Dr. G. William Domhoff has studied dreams for decades and returns to answer an absolute deluge of questions with his wisdom and aplomb. By the end, youll know to sleep better, why its important, how to relax like a fish, if cheese alters your subconscious, why your dog flaps their paws during naps, and rejoice about a freshly discovered part of the brain. Ooooh, it...
Jan 11, 2023•2 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast WHY do we dream? What do dreams mean? What parts of our brain are working after-hours? We sought out UC Santa Cruz researcher and professor Dr. G. William Domhoff, a world expert on the topic, for this dream-come-true episode. Learn about historical dream research, dream researchers collect dream reports, how neurodivergence affects dreaming, why you should set an alarm to go to bed, how remembering dreams can help solve problems, and more about REM myths! Well be back next week to answer all yo...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Its a weird rambling bonus episode for the lonely week between the holidays and New Years! I thought Id serve up a mellow hang full of secrets, a retrospective of the things that kept me relatively sane this past year, life hacks, science-backed ways to improve your mood, and a jaunty Q&A from Patrons. Its not a normal episode, but just a little hello and check-in from your internet dad. Happy 2023, kiddos. Be good to yourself. Follow Alies TikTok: A donation went to the Trevor Project More epis...
Dec 31, 2022•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast ANNOUNCEMENT: SMOLOGIES NOW HAS ITS OWN FEED! SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY THURSDAY. Subscribe to Smologies: https://pod.link/1746567248 Another G-rated edit of a classic! This Smologies with Dr. John McCormack of Occidental College is all about evolution, Darwinism, birds, bacteria, natural selection and how our mutations can be our greatest strengths. Also: breaking down terms like genetic drift and Linnaean taxonomy and why Charles Darwin had to face haters under his own roof. (For the ad...
Dec 29, 2022•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Very special episode for a very special cat. The day after the legendary Los Angeles mountain lion P-22 took his last breath, we talked with Natural History Museum wildlife biologist Miguel Ordeana about his decade-long study of P-22 after discovering him in Griffith Park. Beth Pratt of #SaveLACougars and the National Wildlife Federation also shares how P-22 fueled her passion for saving this species from extinction and we hear what one animal meant to millions of Angelenos. Learn all about how ...
Dec 23, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bomb cyclones! Polar vortices! Atmospheric rivers! And rained out barbecues. One of the worlds leading Meteorologists, Dr. Marshall Shepherd a former NASA scientist and current Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia is here to field a downpour of questions. We chat about percentages in forecasts, hail, sleet, storm chasing, heatwaves, fluid dynamics, TV weather people, climate change delayism and his favorite weather-themed movies. Also: what not to do with ...
Dec 14, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Crosswords! Puzzles! Wordles! Magic? Ah yes, world-renowned Enigmatologist David Kwong drops in to chat about the intersection of sleight of hand and brain games, covering everything from Scrabble strategies to how to get away with a surprise party unsuspected. Also: crosswords and dementia, how puzzles are like hot sauce, a secret group of Hollywood magicians, his most clever clues, cryptic crosswords, international slang, Wordles many derivatives, and how to get over your intimidation of all t...
Dec 06, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast In celebration of Dr. Tom Volks life: Mushrooms! Psilocybin! Humongous fungus! Black mold! Foraging! The incredibly charming and warm Dr. Tom Volk, world-renowned mushroom expert, welcomes Alie into his office to dive deep into the underground world of fungal enthusiasts and touch on pathogens and medicinal therapies. Dr. Volk himself was a heart transplant patient, and shared how his life had been changed since a donor saved it. Also: Alie holds his old heart in her hands. Dr. Tom Volk passed a...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Soil! Dirt! Earth. Dr. Lydia Jennings, aka Native Soil Nerd, breaks down the stuff under our feet and explains everything from mining to why soil can be different colors. Also: medicine from microbes, giving back to the land after extractive processes, collecting samples in urban rivers, elders ecological knowledge, planting hot Cheetos, potting soil mysteries, lung fungus, the smell of rain and why gardening makes you happy. Oh and running hundreds of miles for your science. Follow Dr. Lydia Je...
Nov 23, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast ANNOUNCEMENT: SMOLOGIES NOW HAS ITS OWN FEED! SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY THURSDAY. Subscribe to Smologies: https://pod.link/1746567248 Kid-friendly and quick! Its another Smologies G-rated cut of a classic episode. Loosen your belts and tuck a napkin under your chin because feasting season is here. Katherine Spiers -- journalist, food anthropologist, editor of HowtoEatLA.com and host of the culinary history podcast Smart Mouth -- lets Alie belly up for a buffet of questions about winter ga...
Nov 22, 2022•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Its November and you need chill vibes. And Native American Heritage Month is the perfect time to encore this classic. World-renowned author, botanist, Indigenous ecology professor and bryologist Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Gathering Moss and Braiding Sweetgrass, talks about her passion for moss. Cozy up for the most beautifully doled-out information about hidden worlds, overlooked mysteries, botanical drama, forests in miniature, Native peoples uses for moss and philosophies about science...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Landfills! Treasures in the trash! Corporate conspiracies! Composting! An instantly classic conversation with the incredibly knowledgeable, frank and wonderful Dr. Robin Nagle of New York Universitys Liberal Studies! She is a clinical professor, author, TED speaker and former New York City sanitation worker and truly the best person on Earth to trash talk with. We cover what you can and cant actually recycle, sticky mustard bottles, drugs in the trash, Swedish Death Cleaning, mobsters and landfi...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast ANNOUNCEMENT: SMOLOGIES NOW HAS ITS OWN FEED! SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY THURSDAY. Subscribe to Smologies: https://pod.link/1746567248 A kid-friendly, shortened version of our classic episode on flags! E. Tory Laitila, a textile expert who has also handled Honolulu's flag protocol, gives the skinny on the oldest flags, skull and crossbone Jolly Rogers, his favorite state flag, Scandinavian simplicity, the hardest flags to draw, who designed our modern American flag and how you too can have...
Nov 08, 2022•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Start with Part 1 for all the folkloric history, superstition, and Dracula basics. And then this Part 2 has vampire finches, fang straws, vegan bloodsuckers, threshold invites, horniness, grain alcohol, garlic breath, psychic vampires and all our questions answered by Dr. Jeff Holdeman, professor and Vampirologist in Indiana Universitys Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures department. Also: I think you should write a novel. Part 1: alieward.com/ologies/vampirology Donations went to My...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fangs! Capes! Undead bloodlust! Are vampires soul-draining ghouls or a hot prom date? No better person to ask than Indiana University professor of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures," Dr. Jeff Holdeman, who teaches the course The Vampire in European and American Culture. In Part 1, its a deep dive into the HISTORY. Jeff breaks down the folkloric purpose of vampire stories and how they morphed into novels and hit the silver screen. Plus: why every generation reinvents its monsters. P...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast ANNOUNCEMENT: SMOLOGIES NOW HAS ITS OWN FEED! SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY THURSDAY. Subscribe to Smologies: https://pod.link/1746567248 We're back with another shorter, cleaner, edition of an Ologies classic. Today it's all the way back from 2018: INSECTS, just straight up buuuugs. Quite likely Alie's favorite subject ever with an ologist who quite likely also dramatically shifted her life. That would be Lila Higgins, with passion more powerful than a Goliath Beetle's "especially large slic...
Oct 24, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lets get spooky. Venture below Parisian streets and into the catacombs: hundreds of miles of subterranean tunnels housing millions of human skeletons, some fashioned into sculpture. Alie tracked down Dr. Erin-Marie Legacey author of Making Space for the Dead, professor of French history and one of the worlds foremost experts on this eerie place. We chat about everything from miasmas to sinkholes, boggling cemetery history, smells, skulls, hidden chambers, (very) underground parties, and how we v...
Oct 20, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Consider this an audio postcard from my first vacation in 13 years. I travel a lot for my other job (as a science correspondent on Innovation Nation for CBS) so I am out of practice on jet-setting for the sake of pure fun. But Jarretts family was headed to France so we cashed in some points and tagged along. Join me for some weird stuff I googled on the road, from pastry wars to royal cosplay, wax death masks, angry mobs, filming locations, things you cant collect in a park and eat, how to get a...
Oct 15, 2022•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Whats the customary 5th Anniversary gift? Apparently WOOD! So we wrangled our favorite sawmill owner/operator of LAs Angel City Lumber, Jeff Perry who rescues downed street trees from the chipper and turns them into beautiful planks, boards, stumps and chonks. We cover everything from forest management to 2x4s, wood grain, burls, bog logs, sawdust, tree disease, asparagus tips, salvaged lumber, kiln drying, Westward expansion, Indigenous forest management, cedar whiff, and how working with wood ...
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
