Spooky Science Lab

In this episode, Nick tells the tale of hunters in Iowa in 1933 catching rabbits with strange black horns. Horned rabbits were seen again in Colorado in 2025. What's happening, and what do these horned rabbits have to do with the American myth of the jackalope? Then, Dave examines what keeps galaxies from breaking apart. The answer is gravity from dark matter. But where does dark matter come from, and if we can't see it, ...

In this episode, Nick reveals the shocking surprise explorers discovered in a cave on the Greece-Albania border: the world's biggest spiderweb, home to over 100,000 spiders and part of a fascinating and bizarre ecosystem. Then, Dave examines the origin of the inner planets of the solar system and the very real possibility that there might have been life on other planets than Earth. But if there was, what happened to it?

Merch: ...

In this episode, Nick introduces us to a rare and unusual caterpillar, one that's carnivorous, cannibalistic, hides in spiderwebs, and makes armor out of the bones of its prey. Then, Dave reveals the origin of the moon. If you think you already know how the moon formed, the truth is weirder and wilder than you thought!

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufmann and David Wellin...

In this episode, Nick takes a look at the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 and the string of untimely deaths among those present that immediately followed. Was it a supernatural curse or was something else to blame? Then, Dave introduces us to NASA's Parker Solar Probe, an incredible but little-known feat of engineering built to withstand millions of degrees as it passes through the sun's corona.

Merch: https://w...

In this episode, Nick takes us on a roundup of newly discovered deep-ocean life. New marine species are being discovered all the time. Here are three of the strangest examples. Then, Dave talks about antimatter. What is it, where does it come from, and perhaps most importantly, what really happens when it comes in contact with ordinary matter?

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufm...

In this episode, Nick relates the real-life horror that befell the villages around Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1986. Without warning, over 1,700 people died mysteriously in the night, while simultaneously the lake's water turned blood red. What caused this bizarre tragedy? Then, Dave probes the surprising existence of planets in stable orbits around black holes, known as "blanets." Could they support life, and if so, wh...

In this episode, Nick reports on a rare hallucinogenic mushroom from southwestern China that, impossibly, gives everyone who eats it the exact same hallucination: the sudden appearance of hundreds of tiny grinning, dancing human beings! Then, Dave explores the fascinating scientific concept of space tunnels, lanes of hot, sparse plasma that connect vast areas of empty space into a gigantic network. Can they be used for interstellar...

In this episode, Nick explores the mystery of how a parasitic worm makes amphipods change their color and behavior, and more importantly, why they do it. In true Spooky Science Lab fashion, the answer is deeply disturbing. Then, Dave examines the legends of lost continents throughout history. Did any of them, including Atlantis, really exist?

Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/spooky-science-lab

Hosted by Nicholas Kaufma...

In this episode, Nick shares what might be Spooky Science Lab's most disturbing medical mystery yet, the story of a woman in Beijing who went to the hospital for what she thought was common eye irritation. What they discovered was anything but common: tiny worms living and laying eggs just beneath her eyelid! Then, Dave examines the theory that posits our universe exists inside a black hole. Is such a thing even possible? Surp...

In this episode...spiders! Whether you love them or are creeped out by them, you can't deny they're fascinating creatures. But did you know they're smart, too? Nick introduces us to a species of sheet-web spider that has developed a very interesting trick to lure prey, one that indicates a more sophisticated level of intelligence than we thought. Then, Dave takes us on a journey to the center of the galaxy to explore...

In the Season 3 premiere, Nick takes a deep dive into what actually happens inside your body when you get a tattoo. Think it's just ink being injected into your skin? Think again! There's a wild, desperate battle raging just beneath your epidermis that plays a bigger part in getting a tattoo than you can imagine. Then, Dave updates us on the search for extraterrestrial life. With the discovery of distant worlds that have ...

In the Season 2 finale, Nick explores the chilling (in more ways than one) world of ice mummies. From Beechey Island in the Arctic to the summits of the Austrian Alps, the bodies of the dead lay frozen and preserved, including one "iceman" discovered to be 5,300 years old! Then, Dave examines the difference between perception and reality. Are we seeing the world around us as it really is? The answer will blow your mind!

Me...

In this episode, Nick takes us back in time to the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions in modern history. Not only did it kill tens of thousands and lead to unimaginable devastation, it also changed the Earth's climate in ways that still affect us over one hundred years later. Then, Dave drops us off on Io, Jupiter's innermost moon and one of the deadliest spots in the solar system...

In this episode, Nick brings us back to the ocean to visit one of its most bizarre inhabitants, the jellyfish. Some have tentacles over 100 feet long, others have a sting that can kill a human being in under five minutes, but most fascinating of all are the ones who've achieved immortality. Then, Dave asks one of the most difficult questions in science: If a catastrophic, world-ending event was on the way, who would you choose...

In this episode, Nick takes us to the deepest ocean depths to meet the alien-looking anglerfish and its bizarre, disturbing mating habits. Think you've been on weird dates? You haven't seen anything yet! Then, Dave ponders what teleportation would be like in the real world. Star Trek makes it look easy, but what would it entail to break you down into atoms and reassemble you somewhere else? Provided you survived the exper...

In this episode, Nick introduces listeners to the horrifying horsehair worm, a water-dwelling parasitic organism whose brutal lifecycle puts its insect host through hell, culminating in the worm's unique ability to compel its host to drown itself. Then, Dave asks the question, "How many planets are there in our solar system?" The answer might seem simple to you, but throughout history the number has fluctuated wildly...

In this episode, Nick explores Lazarus Syndrome, a rare occurrence where people who are declared dead suddenly and mysteriously wake up hours later, sometimes just minutes away from being embalmed. The dead are rising, but this isn't a zombie movie, it's real life! Then, Dave introduces us to cerebral organoids, lab-grown living human brain cells in petri dishes. These mini-brains are capable of learning, including how to...

In this episode, Nick shrinks Dave to the size of a bacterium and sends him into the savage battlefield of the human immune system, a breathtaking biological enterprise that's second in complexity only to the human brain. Then, Dave takes us to the very edge of the universe, where something unknown lurks beyond observable space, emitting such an immense gravitational pull that this mysterious celestial body is believed to be t...

In this episode, Nick gets too close for comfort to a tree the Guinness Book of World Records called "the deadliest tree in the world." With poisonous fruit, toxic bark, and lethal sap, there's no doubt the manchineel tree wants you dead. Only one creature can survive in its branches, but you'll never guess what it is. Then, Dave takes a deep dive into the deep Earth, where there's no light, intense pressur...