Ask Us Anything by Popular Science
Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions—from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Join our editors as they explain it all, with new episodes every other Wednesday. Submit a question for a future episode at https://popsci.com/ask
Episodes
September 16, 2026 • 18 mins
Note: Our show has grown a LOT recently and a ton of new listeners have joined us, so we decided it’d be fun to share one of our favorite episodes since we relaunched, which ALSO happens to be among the most-popular questions we’ve ever answered - ENJOY!
After a lifetime of trying to put things in the right bin, we all eventually arrive at the ultimate recycling dilemma: what to do with our bodies after we die? PopSci ...
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September 2, 2026 • 18 mins
Dog behavior exploration incoming! PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert talk through their personal dog experiences before lolling their heads through the scientific explanations for why dog's often look like they're REALLY trying to understand what we're trying to tell them
Read the Popular Science stories that inspired the episode:
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August 19, 2026 • 19 mins
It's volcano time, as PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert dig deep into the structure of the Yellowstone Caldera to figure out what's brewing beneath it, and just how much devastation it could unleash if it ever woke up..
Read the Popular Science stories that inspired the episode: https://www.popsci.com/environment/what-if-yellowstone-volc...
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August 5, 2026 • 17 mins
It's time to separate facts from fiction about sunscreen, as PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and News Editor Laura Baisas take us through the four most common misconceptions people have about suncreen and how it should be used. Plus, did you know that e.coli bacteria has been created that can manufacture organic sunscreen????
Read the Popular Science stories that inspired the episode...
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July 22, 2026 • 18 mins
Welcome back to our show! PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert had a little time off, but they return to figure out just how passengers ended up with barely enough room on airplanes for bodies to fit, and what it might mean for passenger safety.
Read the Popular Science story that inspired the episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/why-a...
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June 25, 2026 • 16 mins
We're talking hands, and that's no jive, as PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert gesture wildly through a conversation about why roughly 90% of humans have right-hand dominance. Also a special conversation with archaeologist Dr. Anna Goldfield about right and left-handedness in humanity's ancient ancestors.
Read the Popular Science story that in...
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June 10, 2026 • 17 mins
It's summer and the days are just packed, as PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert dig deep through their memories to figure out why summers stretched seemingly forever as kids, but go by in a flash as adults.
Read the Popular Science story that inspired the episode:
https://www.popsci.com/science/why-childhood-summers-felt-longer/
Learn all about cogn...
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May 28, 2026 • 21 mins
You've seen Twister AND Twisters, now let PopSci Editors Sarah Durn and Laura Baisas clue you into what storm chasing is life in the real world, through an eye-opening conversation with meteorologist, storm chaser and author Cyrena Arnold, who's also host of the Storm Front Freaks Podcast.
Read the full story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/real-storm-chasers-tornadoes/
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May 13, 2026 • 15 mins
There's more than a little bathroom talk in this episode, as PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and News Editor Laura Baisas laugh and learn all the ins, outs, and ugly secrets of airplane toilets.
Read the Popular Science story that inspired the episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/how-do-airplane-toilets-work/
If you have a question for a future episode, go to https://p...
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April 30, 2026 • 15 mins
So many shouting and singing birds in this episode, as PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert flap their way to an explanation for why birds learn to mimic human speech.
Read the Popular Science story that inspired the episode: https://www.popsci.com/environment/why-birds-talk/
Learn more about how parrots use names to talk to each other: https://www...
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April 16, 2026 • 18 mins
Plumbing the depths of their childhood memories, PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert explain why almost no humans remember infancy or early childhood.
Read the Popular Science story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/why-dont-i-remember-being-a-baby-study/
If you have a question for a future episode, go to https://popsci.com/as...
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March 31, 2026 • 17 mins
Chomping right through the history of orthodontics and human bone development, PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert investigate why human ancestors never needed braces, but so many modern humans do.
Read the Popular Science story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/why-need-braces/
And make sure you check out our guests Erin & Erin on their...
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March 18, 2026 • 18 mins
Digging deep into the fossil record, PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert investigate whether there really were venomous dinosaurs, like the Dilophosaurus depicted in the first Jurassic Park movie.
Read the Popular Science story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/venomous-dinosaurs/
And make sure you check out the I Know Dino podcast, co-hosted by o...
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March 4, 2026 • 16 mins
After a lifetime of trying to put things in the right bin, we all eventually arrive at the ultimate recycling dilemma: what to do with our bodies after we die? PopSci Editors Sarah Durn and Laura Baisas go on exploration to find out what is the most environmentally friendly option for handling human remains? Despite all the new technology, experts say there’s one clear answer, and it’s surpri...
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February 18, 2026 • 15 mins
From ancient deserts to kittenhood lessons, PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert (PLUS SPECIAL FELINE GUESTS) dive into why most cats are so averse to water.
Read Sarah's story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/why-cats-hate-water/
And make sure you read all about Simon the cat, heroic member of the British Navy: https://www.popsci.com/environment/navy...
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February 5, 2026 • 14 mins
Humans are homeotherms, meaning that our core body temperature stays roughly constant, but what happens when conditions drive that body temp down? PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert bundle up to get to the bottom of just how cold humans can get and still survive.
Read the full story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/coldest-temperature-humans-can-survive/
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January 21, 2026 • 14 mins
Are you as tired as we are of winter weather? Well, at least it helps to know how it works! PopSci Editors Sarah Durn and Laura Baisas go on a wintry expedition through all our least favorite types of precipitation.
Read the full story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/environment/chance-of-precipitation-explained/
If you have a question for a future episode, go to https://popsci.com/ask...
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January 8, 2026 • 20 mins
In a world without people, how fast would NYC fall apart and nature take over? PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert go through the timeline for re-wilding America's densest city.
Read the full story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/environment/abandoned-nyc-what-would-happen/
If you have a question for a future episode, go to https://popsci.com/ask
Learn more about...
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December 17, 2025 • 16 mins
Every fall, squirrels hide thousands of acorns—but how do they find them again in the winter? PopSci Editor Sarah Durn and Editor-in-Chief Annie Colbert get a little nutty to find the answer.
Read the full story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/science/how-squirrels-find-nuts/
To learn more about Tommy Tucker, visit: https://www.popsci.com/environment/famous-ww2-squirrel-tommy-tucker/
If you ha...
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November 26, 2025 • 16 mins
Each year, roughly 500 MILLION bags are checked at U.S airports, with only 0.4% getting lost - so how DO airlines move your bags around and keep track of them. PopSci Editors Sarah Durn and Laura Baisas go on a journey to explain it all.
Read the full story that inspired this episode: https://www.popsci.com/technology/what-happens-to-your-checked-bag/
If you have a question for a future episode, go to https://popsci.co...
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