We’ve got the goods on weight loss drugs, ketamine, pit bulls, skincare and more! Come for the science, stay for the jokes. Or vice versa. In your feeds March 23.
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Nerds, Assemble! Science Vs Is Back

There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Science Vs is the show from Gimlet that finds out what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between. We do the hard work of sifting through all the science so you don't have to and cover everything from 5G and Pandemics, to Vaping and Fasting Diets.

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Health & Fitness

Getting your heart broken sucks — and for some of us, it even feels physically painful. So why does it hurt so bad? And what can science tell us about how to get over it? We dive into all of this with neuroscientist Prof. Lucy Brown. 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsHeartbreak

In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Heartbreak sucks
(07:17) What heartbreak does in the brain
(12:14) What heartbreak does in the body
(15:07) How to get over heartbreak 

The episode does mention abuse. Here are some resources if you’re struggling to move on from abuse: 

https://resources.byspotify.com/

https://www.loveisrespect.org/resources/why-am-i-struggling-to-move-on-after-abuse/


This episode was produced by Michelle Dang, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Kaitlyn Sawrey and Lexi Krupp. Editing by Caitlin Kenney and Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly and Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard and Bobby Lord. Music written by Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to all the scientists we got in touch with for this episode, including Professor Larry Young, Professor Tiffany Field, Professor Ethan Kross, Professor Sandra Langeslag, and Professor Naomi Eisenberger. Thanks to Lori Segal. A special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 

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Heartbreak: Why It Feels So Achy Breaky

Comedian Tig Notaro, who just released her fifth comedy special, "Hello Again," joins us for a chat about the science of her comedy: telling us how she builds jokes, and of course sharing a bunch of dumb and fabulous jokes. Enjoy! 

Here's our Funniest Joke in the World Episode!! 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsTigNotaro


In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) We're interviewing Tig! 
(01:22) I could be a comedian? 
(02:47) How Tig creates a joke 
(08:59) The element of surprise
(12:27) The world's funniest joke?
(13:55) Tig's favorite jokes

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler and Meryl Horn. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord and Bumi Hidaka. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 


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Tig Notaro Shares Her Favorite Jokes

If you Google "The Funniest Joke in the World," you'll be very disappointed. The internet might serve you something like, "What has many keys but can't open a single lock??” (Answer: A piano). Screw that. That's not funny. Enter Science Vs. We’re going on a romp to find out once and for all: What is the funniest joke in the world. According to science. And for this quest we've interviewed a bunch of amazing comics including Tig Notaro, Adam Conover, Dr Jason Leong, Loni Love, as well as special guest Latif Nasser of Radiolab and, of course, some scientists: Neuroscientist Professor Sophie Scott and Psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman. Which Joke Will Win??? 
 
Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsFunniestJoke

In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) The Quest Begins
(08:40) Why laughing matters
(13:13) The scientific search for the world's funniest joke
(17:40) Woof, quack or moo?
(21:33) The comedy K
(26:30) Do different cultures have different senses of humour?
(28:27) The winner!
(32:15) Scientific theories of humour (lol)
(38:28) Why the winning joke isn't funny
(40:26) How do you stop a dog from humping your leg? 
(44:43) Meet the comedy gods

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Michelle Dang, Joel Werner, Rose Rimler and Meryl Horn. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Sarah Baum. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, So Wylie, and Bobby Lord. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Dr Andrew Farkas, Professor Penny MacDonald, Dr Maggie Prenger and a huge thank you to Professor Chris Westbury for sharing your amazing spreadsheet!! Thanks to all the comedians we interviewed in this episode including Tig Notaro, Adam Conover, Loni Love, Takashi Wakasugi, Urooj Ashfaq, Dr Jason Leong, Penny Greenhalgh and Mohammed Magdi. 
Another big thanks to Lindsay Farber, Roland Campos, Lauren LoGiudice, Andrea Jones-Rooy and the other comics at Ha! or Nah!: A Joke Lab; and all the comics that we spoke to and couldn't fit into the episode, we really really appreciate you and your time! Thanks to Ben Milam, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Stupid Old Studios, Paige Ransbury, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 
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The Funniest Joke in the World

[Video available on Spotify] Wendy and emma chamberlain of the Anything Goes podcast sit down for a chat and get deep about “the guru effect,” science garbage on the internet, accusations Wendy’s faced of being a pyromaniac, orgasms and much more.
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Wendy Talks About Her Pyromaniac Past — and More [Video]

Tons of us are feeling run-down and crummy and are wondering: What can we do about it? Well, lots of influencers have an answer: balancing our hormones. These influencers, including some doctors, recommend special supplements, diets, exercises, and prescriptions to tame our cortisol, boost our testosterone, and tackle our estrogen. Are they on to something? We get to the bottom of it with endocrinologists Dr. Deena Adimoolam and Prof. Anne Cappola; and urologist Prof. Mohit Khera. 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsHormoneBalancing

(00:00) Hormones are hot right now 
(02:57) A tale of cortisol and supplements
(14:25) Are we in a testosterone crisis?!
(20:42) Should you boost your T?
(27:35) Is estrogen the enemy?

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang,  and Meryl Horn. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, and Peter Leonard. Research help from Timmy Broderick. Recording help from Alex Stuckey. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Dr. Amit Raval, Dr. Andrea Sansone, Prof. Bob Spencer, Dr. Daniel Rippon, Dr. Emma Adam, Dr. Hannah Troxel, Dr. John Hough, Dr. Jonathan Little, Prof. Paul Cooke, and Prof. Paula Hillard. Special thanks to Joel Werner, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. 

﻿Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.
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Nerds, Assemble! Science Vs Is Back

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