Curiosity Weekly

 Language has always evolved but it seems like technology has sped that process up to a staggering degree. Memes, algorithms, AI, and social media are altering the words we use and the way we use them. To speak more about the phenomenon, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Adam Aleksic, an etymologist and author of the book Algospeak. Sam also explores a new search engine that’s being called the Google o...

Climate change is one of the most powerful forces shaping our world today. With an uptick in extreme weather events, it’s time to focus on how to adapt to this new normal from a public health perspective. Senior Producer Teresa Carey speaks with Dr. Georges C. Benjamin about the health impacts of climate change and how people can support their communities during climate events. Then, host Dr. Samantha Yammine explore...

We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, so you’d think we’d know more when it comes to understanding what is going on in our bodies and brains when we’re doing it. But studying sleep is surprisingly complex and there are a lot of ideas trying to untangle why we need sleep. This episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Jeffrey Iliff from the University of Washington School of ...

Meteorologist and storm chaser Dr. Reed Timmer doesn’t just study extreme weather, he drives straight into it with a custom build, storm proof vehicle. Host Dr. Samanthat Yammine talks with him about the science of surviving the planet’s increasingly volatile storms, the data he’s able to collect up close, and what it takes to study a storm system from the inside. Watch him put science to the test on Discovery’s In the Eye of the S...

Will eating mint cancel out the feeling of spice in your mouth? How do you manipulate aroma compounds to mimic the taste of lemon? When it comes to the science of flavor, there is no shortage of questions to ask. On this episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by renowned flavor scientist, author, and co-founder of Noma’s Fermentation Lab, Dr. Arielle Johnson. Together, they discuss how food and science intersect and the ...

If sitting down to solve a math problem is your personal nightmare, you’re not alone. On this episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by drag queen and math communicator Kyne Santos to talk all things math and how it fuels our everyday lives. Sam also digs into how caffeine can make us persist in impossible tasks and, thanks to listener submissions, she follows up on a previous story about micropl...

We all know that science shapes science fiction, but what happens when the opposite is also true? This episode, senior producer Teresa Carey speaks with legendary science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson about the intersection of science and science fiction and how the latter allows us to think about the effects of scientific advancement. Host, Dr. Samantha Yammine also digs into what happens in the brain in the moments after de...

Humans and nature have always coexisted. But, human intervention makes our modern world look very different than it once did. This episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine digs into how humans are reshaping the wild. Sam speaks to Dr. Harland Patch about the decline of insect populations around the world and how we can provide better environments for pollinators. She also dives into the world of CRISPR gene editing among Argentinian polo...

GPS runs our world, but the system is far from perfect and much more fragile than people believe. This episode, GPS expert Logan Scott speaks with senior producer Teresa Carey about the past, present, and future of GPS and how to avoid catastrophe when something goes wrong. Host, Dr. Samantha Yammine also explores the first new potential treatment for Huntington’s disease and how queen ants are creating clones of other species.&nbs...

As the climate shifts into a new normal, plenty of questions are being asked about the state of urban planning around the world. Mainly: how can we better adapt our cities to climate change? What does it mean to create a climate-resilient city? This episode, Senior Producer Teresa Carey is joined by Jesse M. Keenan, an expert in climate adaptation and sustainable urban development, to discuss how we can adjust the current systems i...

Whether you call it citizen science, participatory science, or community science, research conducted by everyday people has led to major discoveries across a wide range of fields. This episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Caren Cooper to discuss the benefits and mechanics when it comes to public participation in science. Dr. Cooper is an expert in the field and the author of Citizen Science: How Ordinary People are C...

Some of society’s greatest scientific achievements were made based on research that might sound silly or bizarre to the average person. But curiosity-driven exploration is just as important to science as research that starts out with clear-cut applications in mind.  

So, this episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Carly Anne York. Dr. York wrote The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog: And Other Seriou...

Understanding exactly how the billions of neurons and trillions of connections in our brains could be one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in history. And, surprisingly, we’re not as far off from that as you might think. In episode 2 of our brain series, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Forrest Collman who helped create the most detailed brain diagram ever made. Sam also digs into how much microplastic is really i...

Neuroscience is tricky… to say the least. Dedicated scientists have been exploring the organ since ancient times but there is still so much we don’t know about what goes on between our ears. In part 1 of our brain series, host Dr. Samantha Yammine speaks with neuroscientist Dr. Daniel Toker about his research on consciousness through experimenting with lab-grown organoids. He explains what we can learn about the brain from better u...

There’s no real replacement for traditional medicine, but what if there was an intuitive way to prevent the effects of things like depression, anxiety, and chronic pain? Social prescription is the act of being prescribed activities that center around connection with community, art, and nature. And it’s backed by science! Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by author Julia Hotz to talk about the ins and outs of social prescription and ho...

Our attention spans are… not doing so great these days. With copious amounts of technology, apps, news articles, and social media posts at our fingertips, it makes sense that a lot of people are noticing how much more difficult it is to get into a state of deep reading. On part two of our literacy series, editorial correspondent Teresa Carey speaks with two experts on the subject: Dr. Maryanne Wolf and Dr. Daniel Willingham. They d...

Literacy is murkier than we think. This episode, as a part one of our literacy series, we explore recent research related to one of the most important milestones in our academic lives: learning to read. Host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Emily Wood, a speech language pathologist who studies the methods we use for testing literacy in kids. She speaks with Sam about how we can better address gaps in reading among children and wha...

Every parent has wondered if their baby’s crying is normal at some point or another. While there is no “normal,” evidence shows that genetics might actually have a part to play in how long babies cry for. And another universal experience, harking back to “the good old days” in pop culture and our personal lives. Senior Producer, Teresa Carey, speaks with Dr. Clay Routledge about the good feelings - and sometimes sad memories - that...

Los Angeles is home to the only place in the world where ancient fossils are being actively excavated in the middle of the city: The La Brea Tar Pits. Today, host Dr. Samantha Yammine speaks to the deputy director and assistant curator of the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Dr. Regan Dunn. They talk about what makes this site so fascinating and what we can learn from what we find hidden in the tar. Sam also explores a recent study on ...