Love! Romance! Intimate relationships! Marriage! Divorce! Remarriage! Clowns! This episode has it all. The wonderfully warm Dr. Benjamin Karney of the UCLA Marriage lab has been studying romance and intimate relationships for 20 years and sits down to chat about being single and the mechanisms behind finding a partner, what behaviors foster intimacy, why some couples stay together vs. splitting up, some bananas proposals, wedding budgets, how parenting affects marriage, historical problems with matrimony and his own experiences with marriage and divorce. These behaviors are also so applicable to friendships, work partnerships and as it turns out...professional clowns.Dr. Ben Karney at the UCLA Marriage LabThis week's donation was made to Care.org, which works to end gender-based violence.Sponsor links: TheGreatCourses.com/ologies, Linkedin.com/ologies, TrueandCo.com/ologiesMore links at alieward.com/ologies/matrimoniologyBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray Morris & Jarrett SleeperTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

How long can we live? How much of aging is genetics vs. environment? What does oral hygiene have to do with brain health? What causes Alzheimer’s? How do turtles and naked mole rats live so long? Are there any proven strategies for living a longer life? What's up with whiskey and eggs? World-renowned aging expert and biogerontologist Dr. Caleb "Tuck" Finch takes a quick break from his prolific research at USC to answer Alie's sometimes stupid questions about everything from molecules to movies. And she only has like, 3 life-altering epiphanies during the episode.This week's donation was made to CureALZ.orgMore links at www.alieward.com/ologies/biogerontology"I don't have time for bullshit" pen by Cole ImperiBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray Morris & Jarrett SleeperTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

If you think you like sea turtles, get ready to become wildly obsessed with them. Cheloniologist Dr. Camryn Allen met up with Alie on a tropical island (ok, in a hotel room on a tropical island) to chat about flipper slappings, turtle rodeos, nesting BBs, current surfing, endangered statuses, field work, sleeping under water, world records, boopable noses, male:female ratios, mind-boggling navigation, what you can do to help them, and the many mysteries that still remain. Take a deep dive into the world of seartles. Or is it surtles? Follow Dr. Camryn Allen on TwitterThis week's donation was made to Hawaii Marine Animal ResponseSponsor links: kiwico.com/ologies, zola.com/ologies, & trueandco.com/ologies More links at www.alieward.com/ologies/cheloniologyBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray Morris & Jarrett SleeperTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

What's a tortoise? What's a turtle? Why do they live so dang long? What's up with their junk? Wildlife biologist and testudinologist Amanda Hipps studies gopher tortoises and dishes about turtle nomenclature, cliques, dicks, behavior, burrows, evolution, habitats and more. If you don't dig tortoises yet, you're about to fall deep into a turtle tunnel in love with them.Follow Amanda Hipps on Instagram or TwitterThis week's donation was made to AlongsideWildlifeFoundation.orgSponsor link: www.thegreatcourses.com/ologies More links at www.alieward.com/ologies/testudinologyBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray Morris & Jarrett SleeperTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

It's tiny! It's beautiful! It's cold! It can kill you. Snow and avalanche expert Dr. Ned Bair meets up on a bench during a layover to chat about the beauty of snowflakes, the best ammo for snowball fights, firing cannons at mountainsides, avalanche flam-flam, the dangers of snow patrolling, a lifesaving goat-antelope, the best and worst ski movies and a mentor that changed his life. Also: bomb cyclones and some tips on excavating your car. Or just staying inside.More on Dr. Ned Bair's workThis week's donation was made to ESAvalanche.orgSponsor links: www.kiwico.com/ologies, www.thegreatcourses.com/ologies, www.linkedin.com/ologiesMore links at www.alieward.com/ologies/snowhydrologyBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray Morris & Jarret SleeperTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

A few things are changing in the world of Ologies and I just wanted to take a few minutes in this bare-bones minisode to lay 'em out. Transcripts and bleeped versions will be available in the next month or two, donations are going to specific Ologist-chosen charities per episode, and finally, Ologies puts on big pants and has sponsors. Will I call you and talk to you about a bra? I just might. Thank you for listening, for being Ologites and friends and Patrons. I love making this podcast and I'm excited to bring you another whole year. Support the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

We love them. We live with them. We are mystified by them. Alie hunted down professional cat behavior expert Dr. Mikel Delgado who dishes on everything from toilet training to feral taming to neonatal kittens to cats eating our dead bodies to domestication, toxoplasmosis, litter box strategies, cats on leashes, why they want to sit on your laptop, how to play with cat toys the right way, why cats drool, if tigers make biscuits, catnip stupors and so much more. Get inside the head of your favorite, furry enigmas and you'll love them even more. Also: scoop that box.Dr. Mikel Delgado's Twitter, website, and business FelineMinds.comA donation was made to www.KittenCentralofPlacerCounty.orgSponsor links: trueandco.com/ologies, www.thegreatcourses.com/ologies, www.careof.com (Code: Ologies50)More links at www.alieward.com/ologies/felinologyBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray Morris Theme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

DO YOU CARE ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE? Okay cool. No matter what your diet, get this episode in your ears. Entomophagy Anthropologist Dr. Julie Lesnik -- an enthusiastic expert on bug eating -- breaks down the human past, present and future of insect cuisine for our surging population. If you're considering cutting back on meat, or if you're a vegan helping others explore more sustainable options, Dr. Lesnik will get you pumped as hell for changing mindsets. We talk about grasshopper tacos, ant omelettes, the nature of life, humane bug slaughter, water conservation, deep-fried scorpions, at-home mealworm farming, cricket chips, protein needs and the cultural biases that are literally killing us. Also: termite farts.Dr. Julie Lesnik's website, www.entomoanthro.orgSubscribe to her brand new YouTube channel, Octopus & ApeTo try crickets: EatChirps.com, use code Ologies10 for 10% off Chirp ChipsAly Moore's Bugible.com and EatBugsEvents.comMore links at www.alieward.comBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray Morris and Jarrett SleeperTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

Birds! Horned screamers! Winged pirates! Just in time for the Audubon's winter Christmas Bird Count (which goes until Jan. 5) here is an encore presentation of an early episode. Professional bird-person and all around cool dude James Maley joins Alie to talk about bird mating, monogamy, the cult of ornithology, absurd birds, parrots that are smarter than your friends' kids, a surprising fact about owl ears and history's most tragically zealous bird nerds. If you love birds, you'll be at home. If a bird did you dirty, you'll open your heart and learn to love again.Moore Lab of Zoology on Instagram @mlzbirdsJames Maley on Twitter More links at www.alieward.comBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

Foraging, infusing, shaking, stirring: this one's got it all. How do you make weird, fancy drinks at home? How much booze should you buy for a party? What drinks do bartenders hate to make? How can you avoid a hangover? What are the best mocktails? Famed bar chef and mixologist Matthew Biancaniello tours Alie through Malibu fire aftermath and talks about his boggling backstory, why he doesn't go out much, the secret formula to making good drinks and why you shouldn't be afraid to be weird. Matthew's website and Instagram @EatYourDrinkMore links at www.alieward.comBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologiesOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter or InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter or InstagramSound editing by Steven Ray Morris and Jarrett SleeperTheme song by Nick ThorburnSupport the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies