Episode 133 with Tim Minchin and Dr. Amy Parish live from LA PodFest!

This week's episode was recorded live from the third annual Los Angeles Podcast Festival, where Matt, Jesse and Andy welcomed musician/comedian/actor/skeptic Tim Minchin and bonobo expert/primatologist/Darwinian feminist Dr. Amy Parish to the program to talk about Mini Queen, honorary degrees, fixed-gear microphones, bonobos as a model for human feminism, DIY OB/GYNs, soap opera-obsessed apes, primates that get mad at unfairness, matriarchies in nature, the purpose of the female orgasm, keeping your baby's gender secret, animals that mate face-to-face, female bonobos ganging up on males, and World Vasectomy Day.

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Episode 132 - Burning Man with Jordan Morris and Dr. Matt Faulkner!

Returning Probably Science guest Jordan Morris of Jordan, Jesse, Go! and @midnight fame joins Matt, Jesse and Andy this week to share stories about Burning Man and to pick the brain of Caltech computer scientist Dr. Matt Faulkner, who built an insanely awesome musically controlled Tesla coil for this year's burn:

Topics discussed include deciduous breasts, Googling with Bing, lying about your Burning Man car rental, refilling your pudding phallus, $80 car washes, Camp HeartNSoul, "safety third," naked people everywhere, unbearable levels of EDM, the sweet release of Thunderdome heavy metal, showing your penis to get a snow-cone, Tesla coil hobbyists, how to create duophonic music with lightning, angering the gods with technology, electrical storms in the desert, machine learning and distributive systems, picking up your transformer at the railyard, the upcoming Steam Carnival put on by LA-based technology and entertainment collective Two Bit Circus, Dr. Brainlove and, of course, welding while listening to Rush.

Click here to purchase tickets to attend the LA Podcast Festival and see Probably Science live with TIM MINCHIN on Sunday, September 28th! 

Click here to purchase access to the live video stream of the LA Podcast Festival and use coupon code "science" for a $5 discount

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Episode 131 with Roisin Conaty!

British comedy phenom Roisin Conaty joins Matt, Jesse and Andy this week to talk about the oppressive Los Angeles heatwave, the vastly underrated music of Cheap Trick, growing up believing eyelashes were autonomous organisms, the Forer Effect explaining how psychics and astrology dupe people, using psychedelic mushrooms to quit smoking, a woman with no cerebellum, scorpions that live in your books and have weird sex, a decades-old fetus found inside a woman's abdomen, Jurassic squirrels, Andy's high school water polo teammate Andrew WK, the benefits of having your baby sleep on a sexy animal fur, the possible link between skipping breakfast and diabetes, unlicensed Halloween costumes and superfluid helium vortices.

Click here to purchase tickets to attend the LA Podcast Festival

Click here to purchase access to the live video stream of the LA Podcast Festival and use coupon code "science" for a $5 discount

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Episode 130 with Daniel Sloss!

Since his last appearance on the podcast, rising Scottish comedy star Daniel Sloss has become a favorite of US audiences, performing three times on Conan and signing with Conan O'Brien's production company Conaco. He's back stateside this week, returning to ProbSci to chat with Andy, Jesse and Matt about Bill Nye's comedy roots, Daniel's mother's Twitter activity, the Jack The Ripper story everyone's talking about, brain-to-brain communication, monocles, the surprisingly early invention of telegraphy, fake Victorian robot Boilerplate, a newly discovered dinosaur that's heavier than a 737, Buzz Lightyear's Flying Tossers, deep-sea mushrooms that defy classification, the ash that'll cover us all when Yellowstone blows and an amazing new video of a volcanic shockwave.

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Episode 129 with Bethany Dwyer!

Comedian/writer/producer Bethany Dwyer joins Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to talk about Internet indignation over leaked celeb nudes, Burning Man stories, a moment of silence for the dead space geckos, the effects of breastfeeding on depression, dead stars that reignite, resolving the paradoxes caused by traveling back in time, the downside of nurses who care and the language of deceit that tips you off to scientific fraud.

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Episode 128 with Adrian Poynton!

Matt is back from his travels abroad, and he welcomes British writer/actor/producer Adrian Poynton to the proceedings this week to talk with Jesse and Andy about the listener-made country/western re-imagining of the ProbSci theme, a pseudo-scientific look at the history of shoe sizes, secret codes for elevators, salmon cannons, getting your body freeze-dried, Jesse's naked haircut, the effect of exercise on pain tolerance, a study of British bum sex, capturing audio from silent videos of bags of chips and luring audience members to your hotel room.

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Episode 127 with Kulap Vilaysack and Mark Agee!

Actress, Who Charted? host and documentary director Kulap Vilaysack joins returning guest Mark Agee to talk with Andy and Jesse about Andy's Burning Man address (it's 5:30 and A), comic book jocks, discovering your parents aren't who you thought they were, Kulap's crowdfunded documentary Origin Story, the Laotian saying "bo penh nyang," bacteria that survive on electricity, repeating previous stories on the podcast, female snakes that save sperm for later, Jesse and Andy's awful attempts at Australian accents, removing 232 teeth from an Indian boy's head, Kulap's DC Comics alter-ego Katharsis, studying the best ways to avoid urine splashback, and getting soup spilled in your lap by 11-year-old waitress Kulap.

Click here to support Kulap's film Origin Story

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Episode 126 with Matt Champagne and Auggie Smith!

Comedian/actor Matt Champagne and frequent guest Auggie Smith join Jesse and Andy this week for a somewhat somber episode sharing stories about the great Robin Williams before getting into discussions on Jesse's current tiki music obsession, kilobot swarms, vibrating football games, an impossible space engine, the solar storm that almost rocked our world two years ago, and a tick whose bite can make you allergic to meat.

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Episode 125 with Brent Schmidt and Zach Pugh!

Up-and-coming comedians Brent Schmidt and Zach Pugh join Jesse and Andy this week to talk about the Pickathon music festival, growing up in Sturgis, South Dakota, re-purposing mines for science, teenage nervous breakdowns, falling off the wagon for a podcast sponsor, figuring out when Hogwarts abandoned muggle technology, the majesty of the "apparently" kid, feathered dinosaurs, the theory of humorism, tyrannosaurs that hunted in packs, growing up in a Chik-Fil-A family and making your body's organs transparent.

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Episode 124 with Beth Stelling!

Comedian Beth Stelling joins Matt and Andy this week for a special late-night recording in Andy's bedroom to talk about Google's mapping of the human body, Slim Goodbody, bats navigating via polarized light, real 3D vs. fake 3D, Stellaluna and megabats, gecko orgies in space and the cancer-fighting effects of cat poop.

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Episode 123 with Jordan and Ben Brady!

Comedian/director Jordan Brady and his rapping, backflipping son Ben join the festivities with Matt, Andy and Jesse this week to discuss Jordan's invention of "bow-chicka-wow-wow," Matt's Last Comic Standing experience, living on the cheap while filming I Am Road Comic, Lacerta lizard people, Pluto possibly getting reinstated as a planet, suspended animation for gunshot victims, fish-eating spiders, grolar bears, improving your sense of smell with the help of booze, good news and bad news about AIDS, a new way for the Chinese to extract sperm, Andy's video cracking the Morrissey Code and the gang's upcoming appearance at the LA Podcast Festival, September 26-28.

Buy Jordan's new movie I Am Road Comic here for just $5!

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Episode 122 with TJ Chambers!

Friend of the show and past guest TJ Chambers rejoins the festivities this week to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about listener-made indie video games, Brooks news, delicious Lagunitas IPA, chimpanzee fads, The short films of TJ Chambers, bear fellatio, the origins of Winnie the Pooh, a massive ocean inside Earth, an invisibility cloak for the sense of touch, the debatable cancer-prevention effects of farts, a real-world warp drive and the upcoming Los Angeles Podcast Festival.

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Probably History Episode 004 - Video Games with David Cope!

Probably History is back! New listeners to Probably Science may not know this, but when you subscribe to ProbSci you also occasionally get a dose of almost-history courtesy of Jesse Case, Richard Bain and Andy Wood. This week they welcome guest comedian and gamer David Cope as they set their sights on the 60+ year history of video/computer gaming, discussing OXO, Tennis for Two, Computer Space, the dude behind Chuck E. Cheese and Atari, the 1972 home console made by Magnavox, the Father of Video Games, Verbot: The 1980s voice-activated robot, Mortal Kombat tactics, Andy's stint working for Xbox, the Rockafire Explosion documentary, Brad Dourif's over-the-top performance in Myst 3: Exile, David and Richard's console recommendations, Leeroy Jenkins, The Call of The Blade, and Braid, the game that everyone agrees you should play.

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Episode 121 with Renee Gauthier and Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson!

Comedian Renee Gauthier and nuclear physicist/comedian Dr. Kevin Peter Hickerson join Matt and Andy this week to talk about Matt's inability to wink, the actual cost of going to the moon, Renee's dance lessons, Kevin's study of neutrinos, shielding your experiments with lead from sunken Roman ships, a computer that may or may not have passed the Turing test, a massive ocean inside the Earth, the tongue strength of a horned frog and the upcoming PhD Movie sequel that you can help support.

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Episode 120 with Dr. Christopher Schmitt!

It's an episode of actual science this week, as Jesse, Matt and Andy welcome primatologist/anthropologist and UCLA postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Christopher Schmitt to the podcast to introduce us to the world of primates and teach us why capucin monkeys stick their fingers in each other's eyes, how to collect howler monkey urine, why certain primates are getting obese, and why it's best not to take selfies with hippo corpses when there are lions around.
 

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Episode 119 with Adam Buxton!

British comedian, actor, writer and radio personality Adam Buxton makes his first Probably Science appearance to chat with the gang about sci-fi coverage of the papal inauguration, the history of the Shriners, deciding on a uniform for an evil empire, Jaundice Shitstone, the counting skills of black bears, Glands of Montgomery, whether female-named hurricanes are actually deadlier, how chimps beat humans at game theory, a recently discovered mega-Earth 560 light years away, Jesse's incredible Rocky impressions and Adam's hilarious show 'Bug.'

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Episode 118 with Jason Nash!

Comedian/podcaster/director/writer/producer/Viner Jason Nash returns to the show this week just ahead of the release of his first feature film to talk with the gang about his recent Ron & Fez appearance, the upcoming movie Jason Nash Is Married that Andy produced, shooting scenes with Andy Richter and Jon Benjamin at Bluebell, erasing memories and bringing them back, more reasons why sleep is good for your memory, Jason’s upcoming appearance on Funniest Wins, new information on how the Moon was formed, asking listeners to help us record the podcast in zero gravity, the reason why Facebook bums you out, the discovery of the largest dinosaur ever and how changing your facial expression changes first impressions.

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Episode 117 with Sarah Morgan!

British comedy writer Sarah Morgan collaborated with Probably Science's own Matt Kirshen on BBC Radio 4's Bigipedia, and as she was stateside this week for MaxFunCon we were lucky enough to have her join the proceedings to chat about teaching British comedy, the lyrical prowess of Boynie Toypin, head trauma that created a math savant, children's natural skepticism of circular arguments, Jesse's nightmarish stuffed animals, turning light into matter, why we still don't understand static electricity, Matt chipping his teeth in a children's science museum, the protein that unites sperm and egg, and our first on-air earthquake.

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Episode 116 with Myq Kaplan!

Comedian, host of the podcast Hang Out With Me and literal master of linguistics Myq Kaplan joins Matt, Jesse and Andy this week to chat about birthday shenanigans, John Lennon's true assassin Stephen King, Myq's new album Small, Dork, and Handsome, competing against a computer in a joke-off, a smartphone app that detects bipolar mood swings by the sound of your voice, why octopuses' tentacles don't stick to themselves, how holding a hot beverage makes you cooperative and making sperm precursors from the skin cells of infertile men.

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Episode 115 with Paul Provenza and Amber Case, Live from Bridgetown Comedy Festival!

Matt and Andy venture to Portland this week for a live Probably Science from the seventh annual Bridgetown Comedy Festival featuring comedian/director/actor Paul Provenza and cyborg anthropologist Amber Case, who join together to discuss the early days of Comedy Central, confusing The Aristocrats with The Aristocats, Alan Dershowitz consulting on Kids Court, why we're all cyborgs now, computer-induced junk sleep, Andy's discovery about the house he owned in Portland, digital hoarding and royal portraits as proto-Internet dating profile pics.

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