Shots of Science Vs

Recently, Joe Rogan aired an interview that scientists are up in arms about — with Dr. Robert Malone. Malone talked smack about the Covid-19 vaccines, talking about scary side effects. Enter Science Vs. We fact check the bejesus out of it and zoom out to talk about the bigger picture: what to watch for if you’re worried about getting sucked in by misinformation online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russia attacked Ukraine more than a month ago — and the war has raged ever since. From the beginning, Russia has been pushing out propaganda and disinformation about what’s actually going on. So this week, we’re sharing parts of a podcast from independent journalists Pyotr Ruzavin and Natalka Gumenuyk, who have been covering what’s happening in Ukraine and what the people who live there are experiencing. Their show is called Fuck War. Find Fuck War here: https://zona.media/podcast/fuck-war Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HitRAGEqtOHygJwpgvjqs English transcript of Episode 1, released March 15: https://bit.ly/FuckWarEp1English for Episode 2, released March 17: https://bit.ly/FuckWarEp2English for Episode 3, released March 21: https://bit.ly/FuckWarEp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Joe Rogan was accused of spreading Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on his podcast, Spotify landed in the hot seat. People (including us!) wanted to know what the platform was doing to stop it. In this episode, we look into how tech platforms are fighting misinformation — and find out what actually works. To find out we speak to Laura Edelson and evelyn duoek.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People are claiming that most of the trans kids coming out these days aren't really trans ... that it's just part of a trend. So, why are all these kids coming out as trans now — could this really be a bit of a fad? We talk to Florence Ashley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is love? With half of first time American marriages ending in divorce by the 20th anniversary, and infidelity being widespread, Science Vs asks: have we been lied to by our love songs? On today’s episode we explore: What happens to the brain when we fall in love? Is the compulsion to stay together biological? We talk to Dr. Helen Fisher and Professor Larry Young. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Could a space rock really slam into us and destroy the world? And if we did spot one heading straight for us, is there anything we could do to stop it? We speak computational physicist Dr. Cathy Plesko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is fat really that bad for us? We talk to Assoc. Prof. Laura den Hartigh to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The "Dark Ages" of the Universe ... could help explain why we exist at all. But in order to study it — scientists need to put a giant souped-up telescope on the back of the moon! To learn more, we talk to astronomer Prof. Gregg Hallinan.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We join forces with Sarah Marshall from You’re Wrong About to dive into a question for the ages: Blue balls — are they real? We’ve heard that for people with balls, if you get aroused but don’t ejaculate, it can be incredibly painful. But is that true? Or is it a ball-faced lie, something that men make up to pressure women to have sex with them? Join us for a ball-busting episode that puts blue balls to the ultimate test-es, reaching a gripping conclusion as we ask: If blue balls is in fact real — can people with vaginas get it too? We talk to Dr. Jonathan Chalett and Professor Caroline Pukall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The black-footed ferret is an endangered species, so scientists have been trying to find creative ways to save them. We talk to biologist Robyn Bortner about how she’s doing this, with the help of one special ferret who died decades ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices