In April 2025, the James Webb Space Telescope made a groundbreaking discovery: a distant exoplanet, K2-18b, showed signs of dimethyl sulphide. A chemical that, on Earth, is only produced by life. The media went wild with the news that we had finally found a "fart planet," the first real biosignature of alien life. But then, as quickly as it appeared, the confidence began to fade.
Join Tristan and Scott as they investigate what really happened with the planet of alien farts. First, they dive into the incredible science of how we study distant worlds, from the mind-bending coolness of transit spectroscopy to the statistical nitty-gritty of "three sigma" confidence. Then, they pull back the curtain on the systemic pressures that create these cycles of hype and retraction, exploring everything from the "publish or perish" culture in academia to the perverse incentives that cause university press offices to overstate research. This isn't just a story about a potential discovery; it's a crucial lesson in scientific literacy and a look at how the messy, brilliant, and deeply human process of science actually works.
Stuff mentioned in the episode:
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
Cambridge University's original press release about the discovery
The MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) on JWST
The COLd Scale (Confidence of Life Detection scale) from NASA
Phosphine on Venus controversy
Andrew Wakefield vaccine study
Science communication outlets mentioned: The Conversation, Science X, Tech Explore, Medical Xpress, Phys.org
Sodium vapor process (Mary Poppins special effects)
Get new episodes early and support the show on Patreon and Nebula!
Subscribe to It's Probably (not) Aliens for weekly episodes about cool ancient history! And give us a 5-star review if you have the time. It really helps us out!
Tristan Johnson Bluesky |
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com