Let's dig right into Spooktober with ... BONES. You're a steak-covered skeleton and it's nothing to fear. The amazingly kind and committed osteologist Dr. Daniel J. Wescott of Texas State University's famed Forensic Anthropology Research Center sits down -- surrounded by skulls and femurs and ribs -- and chats about how bones are formed, how they break, why ... Show More
Apr 22
Dolorology (PAIN) Encore with Rachel Zoffness
In an encore of one of our top episodes ever, Dr. Zoffness is back to chat about her brand new book, Tell Me Where It Hurts. PAIN. What is it? Where does it come from? And how can we hurt less? Which hurts more, a kidney stone or heartache? Why does chronic pain persist? Can we t ... Show More
1h 42m
Sep 2025
The Life Scientific: Jacqueline McKinley
How much information can you extract from a burnt fragment of human bone?Quite a lot, it turns out - not only about the individual, but also their broader lives and communities; and these are the stories unearthed by Jacqueline McKinley, a Principal Osteoarchaeologist with Wessex ... Show More
26m 28s
Jul 2024
Space Archaeology with Sarah Parcak
<p>Who really built the pyramids? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice learn about space archaeology, LIDAR, and discovering tombs, pyramids, and new Nazca lines with space archaeologist Sarah Parcak. </p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free ... Show More
52m 22s
Feb 2025
A Germ of Truth: The 263rd Evolutionary Lens with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying
<p>In this week’s episode, we discuss the relationship between infectious and chronic disease, and between germ theory and terrain theory of disease. Pathogens are real, and exogenous treatments like antibiotics can kill them. The health of the body is affected by diet, exercise, ... Show More
1h 56m
Oct 2024
What Remains, Part 1: No Justice, No Peace
A classroom display of human skulls sparks a reckoning at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. A movement grows to “abolish the collection.” The Penn Museum relents to pressure. More skeletons in the closet. This episode contains swears. MORE ABOUT "WHAT REMAINS" Across the country, ... Show More
39m 17s
Oct 2024
Weekly: The gruesome story of the Viking skeleton found in a well
Episode 273
The mystery of “Well Man”, an ancient cold case, has just been solved. A Norse saga tells that in 1197, in the midst of a Viking raid, warriors dumped a body in a well inside a castle. Over 800 years later, archeologists recovered a body from that very well – but didn ... Show More
22m 17s