Probably Science

Comedian Chris Crofton (@thecroftonshow) of The Chris Crofton Show and the column Advice King joins the festivities to talk about doing comedy in front of your parents, Andy and Jesse's next door neighbors moving out, the worst things to buy at the grocery store, greased watermelon pool games, the crazy creator of the Erector Set, getting rid of that white stuff on chocolate, more Sex At Dawn discussion, walrus poon, NASA's impossible EM space drive that may in fact be a reality, conspiracy theory talk, the reason why the same side of the moon always faces us, and the clouds of millions of baby spiders descending on Australia.

Dr. Christopher Ryan (@ChrisRyanPhD), author of the New York Times bestseller Sex At Dawn, joins Matt, Andy and comedian guests Caitlin Gill (@robotcaitlin) and Lisa Best (@lisabestcomedy) for a live installment of Probably Science recorded at the 2015 Bridgetown Comedy Festival (@bridgetown) in Portland, Oregon to talk about the prehistoric roots of modern sexuality, the devastating impact of agriculture on our species, why humans and bonobos are so horny and whether it's actually in our nature to be monogamous. Oh, and this was recorded on Mother's Day. With Andy's parents in the audience.

Comedian Rye Silverman (@ryesilverman) joins Jesse, Andy and eventually Matt to discuss the legendary Marty & Elayne, trans facts, the Riddick man, how to spot a ghost, Andy's Lasik surgery, Rye as ModCloth's first transgender model, the origins of life on earth, fracking and earthquakes, Yellowstone magma, Bitcoin vulnerablility, a shapeshifting frog, a catfish that looks like Greedo and Rye's new album Intimate Apparel.

Comedian Ryan Singer (@RySing) joins the proceedings this week to talk about Eskimos, heart-to-heart hugs, the origin of toasting, when to use questions to influence people, the return of brontosaurus, the head transplant volunteer and the fears about what could happen to him, deaf people sneezing silently, wiping memories and the need for reinforcement, Western Razor (use code "science" for $5 off), lip-synching and the death of comedy, the world's first battery rocket, a mesh that separates oil from water and Ryan's podcast Me & Paranormal You.

Comedian and Bone Zone podcast host Brendon Walsh (@brendonwalsh) joins the gang to talk about Better Than Ezra, things that track, most favored nation clauses, the ubiquity of problematic, the greatest voicemail Andy ever received, how to call in sick, Alzheimer's and Reagan, Brendon's Mike Tyson encounter, the problem with human cannibalism, cleaning your brain surgery tools, laser wound healing, Scientology vs. Christianity, drinking the Flavor Aid, toilet paper methods, Terminator 2-style 3D printing, Western Razor (use offer code "science" for $5 off) and Brendon's amazing pranks.

Professor of earth system science at UC Irvine and senior water scientist at NASA/JPL Jay Famiglietti (@JayFamiglietti) recently wrote an LA Times op-ed on the dire state of California's water supplies, catalyzing the nation and helping contribute to recent historic mandatory water restrictions from Governor Jerry Brown. Jay joins Matt, Jesse and Andy in an overly watered backyard to talk about California's drought, Jay's New York Times Quotation of the Day and his recent Real Time with Bill Maher appearance, using satellites to track water systems, forced acronyms in space programs, using surface water and reservoirs vs. dipping into groundwater reserves, agricultural vs. residential water consumption, why local rainfall doesn't help us get out of our water deficit, our antiquated water rights policies, peeing in the shower and the fact that Californians are going to have to get over their love of green grass from now on.

Mortician, author, blogger, YouTube personality and death advocate Caitlin Doughty (@TheGoodDeath) invites Matt, Jesse and Andy into her home to talk about all things death, including her book Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, The Order of the Good Death, death rituals around the world, the history of embalming in the US, what goes down in a crematory, why dead bodies aren't dangerous to be around, our society's disconnect with its dead, the Disneyland of Death and how to prepare yourself and your loved ones for that eternal dirt nap that's headed our way.

Comedian/actor/writer Robin Ince (@robinince) and physicist/host/musician Brian Cox (@ProfBrianCox), both of BBC Radio's The Infinite Monkey Cage, were kind enough to sit down with Matt and Jesse while they were stateside for a recent live performance, discussing David Lynch's America, why the queen is common, Alzheimer's being treated by ultrasound, Brian's pop group D:Ream, the silliness of What The Bleep Do We Know!?, NPR's survey of great podcast episodes, The EPR Paradox, manifest causality in quantum field theory, the Large Hadron Collider reboot, Brian's upcoming BBC television show Forces of Nature, being wrongfully accused of arson, Andy's obsession with The Jinx and The Staircase, getting to perform with Eric Idle and ELO's Jeff Lynne and Andy's anger about the success of the Matt and Jesse episode.

Comedian and host of Nikki & Sara Live Sara Schaefer (@saraschaefer1) joins the proceedings this week to talk about her debut album Chrysalis, denim facts, David Attenborough, phony pheromones, why adolescents are dumber, old nana orcas who help the pod, time travel plans and 9/11 tales, head transplants, Tiki bars, average penis size and the labia library.

Original SNL cast member and founding member of The Groundlings Laraine Newman (@larainenewman) joins the show this week to tell tales of the early days of Saturday Night Live, not to mention her myriad voice acting roles, smoking mimes, Tiki pioneers, teachers with wet lower lips, Dan Aykroyd's house, SNL40, frog dissection and horror movies, spider painkillers, worms that crawl in and out, ancient twins, DNA-rendered faces, Subway Jared sightings, coffee and MS, and Delancey Place.

Original Probably Science co-host Brooks Wheelan (@brookswheelan) returns to the show after spending a year on Saturday Night Live, not to mention appearing on Girls, Conan, and Late Night with Seth Meyers, to give the inside scoop on what it's like to join the cast of the most iconic sketch comedy series ever, RHCP tattoos, Terry Crews and David Prowse, handshake-smelling, Juggalos and tattoo removal creams, bird strikes, New York stories, Brooks's new album, why bubbles don't spill, the shovel video and urban legends about celebrity stomach-pumpings.

Nikki Glaser (@nikkiglaser) of Nikki & Sara Live!, Conan, @midnight, I Am Comic and much more joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to talk about her love of ASMR, the threat of peak phosphorus, gerbils and rats and plagues, oh my!, Genghis Khan, NYC subway deaths, cheating fingers, parasitic zombie wasp beetles, naughty aphids ruining symbiosis for everyone, light slowed down, a teaser announcement about the Bridgetown Comedy Festival and the recently re-launched LA PodFest Podcast.

British comedian and actor Barry Castagnola (@BarryCastagnola) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to discuss Midwest cold, royal warrants and drugs, Mick Jagger, chicks and number lines, lefthanded people, musicians and music stands, mudsharks and Who jackets, rodents of unusual size with giant teeth, high-speed lasers that can see molecules, an even larger reboot of the Large Hadron Collider, the doomsday list, a new Earthlike planet and TV apologies.

Comedian Jackie Gold (@iamjackiegold) joins the crew this week to talk about Barbie dolls, Jackie's genetics, pheromone parties, Broken Heart Syndrome, over-the-counter meds linked to dementia, Matt's fake foreign accent, bad BICEP/good BICEP, UK lawmakers approving three-parent babies and how exactly those are made, and the wonders of J-Date.

Comedy legend, podcasting pioneer and author Todd Glass (@ToddGlass) helps Andy, Matt and Jesse celebrate the 150th episode and the new identities they’ve been assigned by discussing stalagmites and stalactites, Jesus painting restoration, anonymous donors, a guy with endless déjà vu, ketamine and anesthetics, boners and massages, bouncing water, sex education, unboiling an egg, getting paid to donate your poo, hookworms vs. gluten, wiping vs. bidets, Gaye vs. Thicke, and why you shouldn't hit your kids.

Former psychology major and tight end-turned-comedian Patrick Keane joins the proceedings this week to talk with Jesse, Andy and Matt about Chinese diaper trains, Wims and Pims, the video of Stefan Pop's visit to Bluebell Ranch, celebrity photographs and autographs, snow shoveling and heart attacks, polar bear wangs and pollution, some annoying truth-stretching in The Imitation Game, Alan Turing stories from the first and fifth episodes of Probably Science, Jesse's squirting update, listener Anderson Jones's recently published paper, PTSD in the ancient world, false crime memories, finding the space Beagle, the speech Nixon would have given if the moon landing had gone wrong and Patrick's adventure chaffeuring Buzz Aldrin around town.

Television's Tone Bell finally makes his Probably Science debut this week to help the gang with topics including Ted Bundy's jello woes, Tone's cat restructuring, a punk rock Joe Strummer snail, weird shipwreck metal, ancient milk drinking, how Facebook likes can predict personality, ketamine's depression uses, Andy's Uber/Lyft tales, an unbeatable poker computer and things Jesse would do for $500,000.

Comedian and co-host of The Dollop Gareth Reynolds joins Jesse, Andy and Matt this week to talk about Hollywood tourists, Gareth's important moss experiments, airborne farts, the point of the narwhal's point, an antibiotic breakthrough, what self-tickling tells us about brains, materiAl vs. materiEl, why lady jizz ain't jizz, why lady jizz may in fact be jizz, HIV getting milder and Native American art.

Matt, Jesse and Andy haven't seen each other in about a month, so this week's episode is a guest-free chance for everyone to catch up on each other's December goings-on, including Andy's Nicaraguan war stories and Jesse's bro-lesque competition, along with updates on SpaceX's aborted launch, Elon Musk's Reddit AMA, a British effort to send a probe to the moon (and how you can add your DNA to the mission), the slurred singing of drunk birds, the complexity of music as it relates to popularity, carnie scams and whether or not Earth's water came from comets.

The ProbSci gang aren't all back in town together just yet, so to hold you over until our next new episode, please enjoy Jesse's interview with Lizard Case, a Nashville songwriter and tavern proprietor who also happens to be his father. Happy New Year!