Butterflies flit through life as the pride and joy of the insect world. But when we saw photos of butterflies swarming the eyes of turtles, we wondered if there was a dark side lurking behind all those flashy colors. Assistant Professor of Biology Chandreyee Mitra lets us in on these butterfly secrets.
Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/36osuwx ... Show More
Nov 20
Never Put Meatballs on Spaghetti, with Samin Nosrat
Every day we’re all doing a little bit of chemistry: when we bake potatoes, add a little salt to our pasta, or even bake a box cake. And award-winning chef Samin Nosrat just loves to nerd out over all this. She's the author of the best-selling book “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” and has ... Show More
55m 49s
Nov 6
Seed Oils: Should You Switch to Butter?
We’ve been told that foods like butter and bacon are bad for us — because they're packed with saturated fats. And top dogs in nutrition say that a better option is vegetable oil, like canola oil. But lots of people, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are saying hold o ... Show More
43m 40s
Jan 2022
Do Spider Exoskeletons Go Out Of Style? with Dr. Maydianne Andrade
As the itsy bitsy spider crawls up the water spout, it dawns on her: her exoskeleton doesn’t fit. Is it a fashion emergency—or her moment to shine? This week, Dr. Maydianne Andrade joins Jonathan to share the ins and outs of spider growth, behavior, and reproduction.
Dr. May ... Show More
1h 7m
May 2023
How Do Great Apes Go Wild? with Dr. Laura Simone Lewis
Chimpanzees and bonobos know how to live it up. They hang out with their friends, they take self-care breaks, they eat fresh fruit, and when it’s raining they fashion umbrellas out of leaves. Dr. Laura Simone Lewis is back on the show this week to tell us all about the social liv ... Show More
1h 18m
May 2023
Special Episode: Mary Roach & Fuzz
<p>Where can you find banana-stealing macaques, dumpster-diving bears, flower-destroying gulls, and dangerously-exploding trees all in the same place? In a book by <a href="https://maryroach.net/">Mary Roach</a>, of course. In this TPWKY book club episode, we’re joined by world’s ... Show More
55m 1s
Jun 2023
Why DO mosquitos bite some people more than others? (new research!)
<p><strong>#163<br />
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We've talked about mosquitos many times around here, why they bite us, how they find us, how to prevent them from biting us, etc. One thing that's struck us is that research about some of those big questions is ongoing and always evolving. An ... Show More
43m 12s
Oct 2020
Butterflies Have Hearts In Their Wings. You Won't Believe Where They Have Eyes
Adriana Briscoe, a professor of biology and ecology at UC Irvine, studies vision in butterflies. As part of her research, she's trained them to detect light of a certain color. She also explains why they bask in the sunlight, and why some of them have 'hearts' in their wings. Plu ... Show More
12m 48s
Jun 2023
Do mosquitos bite some people more than others?
<p><strong>#052 Rebroadcast<br />
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<p>This week, Melissa and Jam continue the topic of mosquitos (If you missed last week's, listen to it first). It's time to answer the age-old, every-summer question. Why do some people get bitten by mosquitos more than other people ... Show More
34m 22s
Feb 2021
Why do things fade in the sun?
<p><strong>#081</strong></p>
<p>The sun. It's nice, it's warm, it helps things grow, it helps us see, it helps us exist in the first place. But it's also a massive burning molten ball of radiation and ultraviolet rays. So how does our mysterious yellow friend fade the poor items ... Show More
28m 21s