Ologies with Alie Ward

Fronds. Forest dwellers. Spores. Houseplants. Queer icons. We’ve got ferns. The charming and hilarious professor and author of “Ferns: Lessons in Survival from Earth’s Most Adaptable Plants,” Dr. Fay-Wei Li, tells me all about fern evolution, what ferns not to have in your house, the most expensive ferns, the tastiest ferns, mathematical mysteries, and a genome that makes no sense, to me or a lot of Pteridologists. Also, can Betwee...

Note: if you haven’t already heard it, please start with our original, May 2024 episode with Dr. Moses: 

Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY) Part 1

A lot has happened since then, and author, scholar and genocide expert Dr. Dirk Moses was kind enough to return for a 2025 episode. We cover how public and legal sentiment has changed since our first episode, and discuss his recent paper, “Introduction: Gaza and the Problems of Genocide Stu...

Bison bison! Not just something to holler into the sky, but also the scientific name for North America's majestic wild bovines. In this encore, we explore a beast that once roamed the plains in the tens of millions. What's up with their humps? On what occasion do they wear capes? What noises do they make? How many are out there? What are the best ways to help them? In this special episode, you get 4x the usual number of ologists as...

We’re back with Dr. R.J. “Rocky” Gutiérrez to answer listeners’ questions on owls. How much wisdom lies behind those big, immovable eyes? Are owls good or bad omens? What’s their proclivity for snatching hats? Is The Staircase owl theory plausible? Is it ok to hoot back at them? What do you mean one of their toes is reversible? This episode’s got the answers, plus info on owl migration, conservation, burrowing, disco dancing, and m...

OWLS. FINALLY. In no particular order: what’s up with their eyes, legs, hoots, feathers, silent flight, nests, folklore, necks, barfs, conservation status, and omens? Go take a walk or sit on a porch in the dusk and make friends with Rocky. Dr. R.J. “Rocky” Gutiérrez is a celebrated researcher, Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, a legend in the owl world, and simply one of the loveliest ologists. He’ll take us on a ...

Metal poisons. Odorless ones. Toxic plants. Iocane powder, arsenic, old lace, poisons as self-defense, black mirrors, Aqua Tofanas, movie myths, and the start of testing for that which ails or kills you: we’ve got Historical Toxicology with Pulitzer Prize-winning science author & chemistry connoisseur Deborah Blum. She wrote the beloved “Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York” and takes ...

What is evil? Who is evil? Does evil exist? Who decides? Can we scream over turkey at grandma’s house? Let’s chat Critical Ponerology with scholar, professor, author of Evil: A Critical Primer, and a gem of a person, Dr. Kenneth MacKendrick of the University of Manitoba. He’s been teaching courses on the notion of evil for 25 years and it’s a much deeper rabbit hole than you’d ever expect. So rub your fingers together and enjoy a d...

Cockroach milk for Spooktober. STAY HERE. Don’t tell me you like haunted houses and slasher films but can’t listen to a lovely conversation about how cockroaches make milk to feed their young. It’s one of the most nutritious substances on Earth, and I own some. Sort of. Coem along for a brief and enthralling discussion from two researchers, Dr. Joshua Benoit and Dr. Sinead English, all about why and how some insects give live birth...

Dazzling colors. Remote habitats. Gentle parenting. Fantastic genitalia. And yeah, swimming through sewers to surprise you. It’s cockroaches and I promise you will find something to love about them in this chat with cockroach evangelist and Blattodeologist Dr. Dominic Evangelista. Which are the prettiest? Are roaches better at raising kids than you? How do roach scientists feel about the ones in kitchens? How does one catch a cockr...

Mudbank bones. River wrecks. Salty seas. Pink ponds. Poison dust devils. Steamy streams.. It’s Haunted Hydrology with your favorite Spooky Lakes ambassador, the artist and author Geo Rutherford who is widely known as Geodesaurus. Geo covers the dark history of The Great Lakes, a stump that controls the weather, the what and why of a good lagoon, the field excursions she’s been on for research, the lakes she wants to see the most, a...

Are you creepy? How would you know? What’s “creepy” as opposed to scary or eerie? We talk to the pioneer of this research, Serpopsychologist, Dr. Frank McAndrew, a professor emeritus at Knox College. We chat: dates that give you the willies, Weary Willie the Clown, haunted dolls, college goths, dark alleyways, evolutionary neurobiology, what NOT to get Oprah, the line between horror and comedy, the phobia of balloons, dating tips, ...

Storming the Bastille. Facing off with tanks. Canceling a streaming subscription. 

We’re talking protests, boycotts, insurrections, and demonstrations. Scholar, professor, and actual real life Revolutionologist Dr. Jack Goldstone lays out the whys – and the hows. What revolts have been the gold standard? How has social media impacted social change? What happens when you install the wrong new leader? Does non-violent protest work? An...

Pigs with human kidneys. Iron lungs. Bionic prostheses. And bendable genitals. Mary Roach is here, and Alie is freaking out. Over the last two decades, this science icon has written seven New York Times bestsellers, including Stiff, Bonk, Gulp, and Packing for Mars. Her latest release, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy is all about Human Technomorphology. Prep your flesh for getting to 4th base in a lab, bugs on drugs, e...

Porcelain. Earthenware. China. Archaeology. Stoneware. Anthropology. Amphora. Throwing wheels. We got it all. Master potters, history aficionados and Potted History’s icons Sarah Lord Taylor and Graham Taylor are here for our 8th anniversary episode. We get the dirt on ceramics versus pottery, where clay comes from, if there’s enough in the world, how can you spot clay in the wild, how long have humans being making pots, what were ...

Neurons. Immune systems. MRIs. Weed gummies? One of the greats in neurology, Dr. Aaron Boster, takes time to chat all about Multiple Sclerosis, a neurological autoimmune disease close to our hearts. Alie’s mom, your grammapod a.k.a. Fancy Nancy, was diagnosed with MS over two decades ago, and this episode explores in depth the factors that can cause MS, therapies that do – and don’t –  show promise, how diet, exercise and mindfulne...

YOU’RE NOT READY. But it’s time. Otters. Sea otters. River otters. Big beefy otters. Tiny otters. Giant river otters. Otters chasing you down the street. Dr. Chris J. Law, a professional Lutrinologist, shares tales about coastal vs. inland otters, otter terrorism, magical teeth, lustrous fur, rock pockets, kelp naps, otter terrorism, cautionary motherhood, toxic relationships, hand holding and why otters make you trust them, despit...

Train tracks. Split decisions. And a philosophy humdinger worth debating. Dr. Joshua Greene is a Harvard Psychology professor, neuroscientist, and *actual* Trolleyologist. The moral humdinger that has been used in everything from Supreme Court decisions to board games looks at: What makes you a good person? How do you reason with people who make you scream into a jar like Yosemite Sam? How far would you go to save others? Which cha...

The info storm continues! Part 1 covered the anatomy of a cyclonic storm, the bizarre histories behind the category system, and where hurricanes come from, but this week’s conclusion with Matt Lanza and Dr. Kim Wood gets you covered on emergency preparation for any disaster occasion, climate change trends and despair, the latest on the government funding drama, if you should trust a waffle house more than a weather person, and lite...

Hurricanes. Typhoons. Cyclones. Tropical storms. Tropical depressions. What does it all MEAAAN? Let’s dive in. Career meteorologists Dr. Kim Wood of the University of Arizona and Space City Weather’s Matt Lanza join for a two-guest two-parter to address the “deadlier” female-named hurricanes, why hurricane season happens, the category system, where hurricanes come from, why they have eyes, and how we track cyclones’ paths so we can...