Shots of Science Vs

A male birth control pill has been this big tease for decades. And today, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade … a male pill might matter more than ever. So we’re grabbing science by the balls to find out – where is it? Will it ever get to the shelves? We talk to physician Prof. John Amory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Essential Oils - people say they can make you smarter. But is it all hype, or is there something special about these little brown bottles? To get to the bottom of it, we dig through the studies and speak to psychologist Prof. Mark Moss.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A dead body turns up with a stolen identity. We tell the story of how a grandmother tracked down the truth — and helped create a whole new and controversial world of crime fighting. To tell this story, we talk to U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott and Dr. Margaret Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Buffalo. Uvalde. Highland Park. These mass shootings keep happening. One side says the problem is the guns, and the other side says the problem is the people. Who’s right? And what policies might actually work to stop mass shootings? We talk to NSSF spokesperson Mark Oliva, gun control researcher Prof. Mark Gius and criminologist Dr. Jillian Peterson.CN: This episode discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, in the U.S. you can call or text 988 to reach the government’s suicide and crisis help line. More mental health resources are available at spotify.com/resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's the greenest way to die? Some nerds are saying that our bodies should go the way of our veggie scraps — and become compost. But will people get on board with spreading Grandpa in the garden? To find out, we talk to Brie Smith, Micah Truman, Katrina Spade and Thomas Bass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Online dating can feel like drudgery... can science help you game the system? And do those matching algorithms actually work? To find out, we talked to psychologist Prof. Paul Eastwick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The EEG is an incredibly important medical tool — and it’s been failing Black patients for decades. So today we’ll hear from two young, Black scientists who teamed up with hairdressers to do something about it. We speak to neurologist Dr. Jessie Baity, engineer Arnelle Etienne, biomedical scientist Lietsel Jones, and hairstylist Nina Woodley.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do vegans have a right to be so smug? We’re finding out whether it really is better for the environment, and our bodies, to go vegan. We speak to environmental researcher Joseph Poore and historian Prof. Connie Hilliard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How much water do you need to drink… to be the best and brightest you? We speak to Professor Hollie Raynor and Professor Stavros Kavouras  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America's favorite pastime seems to be plagued by tragedy. Former NFL players have come forward to say they're suffering from a serious brain disease. Others have ended their lives. So we wanted to know: how risky is playing football? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices