
Shots of Science Vs
Quick hits of Science Vs, where we take on fads, trends, and the opinionated mob to find out what's fact, what's not, and what's somewhere in between. Want more fun? Go to Science Vs on Spotify.
Latest episodes

Sep 26, 2020 • 10min
Orgasms: Pleasure in the Brain
There’s this idea that the female orgasm is a complicated riddle, but for a man with a penis, getting off is easy peasy. Is there really an orgasm gap? And if so — can what's happening in our brains during an orgasm help explain it? To learn more, we talk to neuroscientist Dr. Nan Wise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 19, 2020 • 14min
Juice Cleanses: Can They Help You Lose Weight?
Juice cleanses – are they a scientifically proven way to up your metabolism and help you lose weight? We dig in deep to the science of detox and turn ourselves into guinea pigs for a juicing experiment. We talk to nutrition researcher Prof. Stella Volpe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 10, 2020 • 15min
Schools: Is Generation Zoom Doomed?
Last spring, millions of kids got tossed into remote learning and were stuck at home. What did all this chaos do to their education — and mental health? We speak to education researcher Dr. Megan Kuhfeld and child clinical psychologist Prof. Karen Bierman.Here’s a link to the transcript: https://bit.ly/2ReuWxuThis episode was produced by Michelle Dang, with help from Wendy Zukerman,and Nick DelRose. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Marcus Bagala, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. Thanks to Gaelle Carpio. And special thanks to Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sep 5, 2020 • 9min
Astrology: Is it Lying Taurus All?
For centuries, people have been looking to the stars to tell us all kinds of things — what our future holds, who we should date. But where did it come from? And is your sign REALLY your sign? We speak to astronomer Prof. Caty Pilachowski to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 29, 2020 • 7min
Probiotics: Gut Superheroes?
Kombucha, kefir and other probiotic-crammed foods are marketed as charmers of the human microbiome — and the key to immune, gut and brain health. But how much does the microbiome actually matter? To learn more about the bugs in our gut, we speak with biomedical engineering professor Ilana Brito. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 22, 2020 • 7min
Amoebas: A Tale from the Petri Dish
We bring you a story about survival and teamwork from one of the smallest organisms... with no brain! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 15, 2020 • 6min
Vitamin D: Should You Be Popping It?
Some say there's a global epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency. So should we taking Vitamin D supplements? We talk to nutritional epidemiologist Prof. Katherine Tucker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 8, 2020 • 9min
Fasting: Can it Help You Live Longer?
Fasting diets are all the rage right now and health-fluencers claim it can help you live longer and fight cancer. So what does the science say? We speak to nutrition researchers Dr. Krista Varady and cancer researcher Professor Valter Longo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aug 1, 2020 • 13min
How to Stop A Killer Asteroid
This week — asteroids. Could a space rock really slam into us and destroy the world? We speak with asteroid researcher Dr. Alan Harris, astrophysicist Dr. Sergey Zamozdra and computational physicist Dr. Cathy Plesko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 25, 2020 • 8min
Birth Control: Does 'Pulling Out' Work?
Everyone’s got a myth or two about birth control they want cleared up. We take a closer look into 'pulling out' AKA the withdrawal method with gynecologist Dr. Amita Murthy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices