Explore every episode of the podcast ScienceStuff

Ever wonder if your pet is lying to you, what's inside a black hole, or whether you'd survive being cryogenically frozen? With infectious curiosity, cartoonist and former roboticist Jorge Cham makes science fun and accessible as he answers your biggest questions on the ScienceStuff podcast.

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It's a rule that has frustrated kids everywhere. But is it a myth, or is there real science behind it? Jorge finds out if it passes the float test.

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Is your feline friend fibbing? Is your dog duplicitous? Jorge dives into the world of animal lying and finds out if they have the same tells as humans. Special guest: science fiction author Mary Robinette Kowal.

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Want to travel to a distant star? Or fast-forward to the future? Jorge chills with scientists to figure out if freezing your body (or just your brain) is the answer.

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What is this mysterious technology, and how is it going to affect our lives? Jorge talks to a Quantum scientist and visits their lab to see and hear these machines in action.

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A light at the end of a tunnel, your life flashes before your eyes, an angel speaks to you. Are these signs of an afterlife, or can science explain them?

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What do chimpanzees, whales, and dogs understand about the concept of dying? Do possums ponder their passing? Jorge talks to two animal mind experts to find out.

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What's the deepest hole we can dig? And what would we find there? Jorge digs deep with drilling engineers to get to the bottom of things.

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Look closer. You are getting sleepier and sleepier. But is it real science? Jorge interviews and gets mesmerized by two hypno-experts.

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Should artificial food dyes be banned? What does science say about this colorful topic? Jorge drinks the kool-aid with food and health scientists to learn the answer.

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Is your reality a lie? Jorge talks to a philosopher and a quantum scientist to learn if we're real or not.

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How does going to space change you? Jorge talks to several people who've been to space to find out.

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What's hidden inside the most mysterious object in the Universe? Jorge gets sucked in with three astrophysicists to learn the truth.

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Sure, there's a lot of space out there, but not all of it is prime real estate. Jorge answers questions about exoplanets for popular cartoonist Randall Munroe (XKCD).

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Why do canines go cuckoo from cocoa? Jorge talks with veterinary toxicologists to find the real reason behind this animal health hazard.

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Is the ability to regrow missing limbs hidden in our genes? Jorge talks to animal regeneration experts to find out what's been cut off.

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Which animals like to booze it up? Jorge takes a swig of science with animal expert Katie Goldin to find out.

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Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Not according to science! Jorge takes on a beauty of a topic.

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Is it humanity's destiny to colonize Mars? Jorge talks to Martian experts to learn whether we can ever move to our sister planet.

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What makes diamonds so hard? And could anything beat it? (The answer is yes.) Jorge gets the hard answers from physicist Jodie Bradby.

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It's an old joke that lots of meats taste like chicken. But why is that? Jorge takes a bite out of this meaty topic.

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Going up! Can an elevator take you all the way to space (and beyond)? Jorge talks to two scientists trying to make this happen.

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Is five a magic number? Why don't we have 3 fingers, or 7? Jorge gets the digits on this mystery with two evolution experts.

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Can animals, A.I. or signals in the sky tell us when the ground is going to tremble? Jorge shakes things up at an earthquake research center and experiences an earthquake in the process.

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Eggcellent question! Jorge goes beyond the shell to find out why there's no consensus on whether to keep eggs cool or not.

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Can we go faster than light? Jorge goes into overdrive with two physicists to see if we can ever catch up to the fastest thing in the Universe.

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They're huge, they're deadly, but are they unstoppable? Three experts take us inside a hurricane and reveal whether we could ever stop one. 

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Some say the pursuit of it defines our existence. But is there science behind it? Jorge talks to some happy experts about what really makes you happy.

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Is there life out there in the cosmos? Jorge talks to scientists about whether we are truly alone in the Universe.

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They are clever and flexible thinkers, but what's the limit of their intelligence? Jorge wraps his arms around this mystery with three cephalopod experts.

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Would you be the same person inside a chip? Jorge gets his head in the cloud with two scientists and a philosopher to discuss this possibility.

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And why does the day have 24 hours? Jorge explores the science behind the time units we use in our everyday lives.

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What's an animal's favorite song? And can music make them feel better? Jorge talks to three experts who play music to animals.

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When exactly did feathers evolve? And for what purpose? Jorge digs in with two dinosaur paleontologists to find out.

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What other factors affect your happiness? And does more money mean more problems? Jorge continues his quest to find a formula for happiness.

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Happy New Year! To celebrate, we're digging into the science of the year: Why is it 365 days, is it changing, and will we always celebrate New Year's the same way? Plus, we recap our favorite episodes of the year.

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Santa better pack his bags because the North Pole is on the move. Jorge talks to planetary scientist Matt Siegler to find out what's causing this magnetic shift.

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In this follow-up mini-episode, Jorge talks to an anthropologist about how humans would react if we ever discover alien life.

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Jorge catches up with science fiction author Mary Robinette Kowal to learn what her cat and dog have to say.

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Can you chat with your cat? Or dialogue with your dog? Jorge talks to Christina Hunger and Federico Rossano about the global movement to teach pets to talk.

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It won the Nobel Prize in 2025, but what is it and what can you do with it? Jorge talks to one of the Nobel Prize winners to get the inside scoop.

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Why are we so hooked on love? Jorge and neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin take a deep dive into the loving brain.

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Want to upgrade yourself and be taller, fitter or smarter? You could do it by editing your genes. But is it safe, or ethical? Jorge talks with two gene experts to get the answers.

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Wrrraaohhh! Is it possible to make a REAL lightsaber that can glow, cut, and feel solid? Jorge duels with four physicists (or is it physi-Siths?) to find out.

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Is your dog self-aware? Do bees have feelings? Can octopuses dream? Jorge dives into the minds of animals with two sentience experts to figure it out.

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Bears, squirrels and birds (oh my!) can do it, but can humans? Jorge explores how this technology could be a game changer for medicine and space travel.

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AI is everywhere these days. What happened to make it so powerful all of a sudden? And what is all this AI content doing to our brains? Jorge talks to three experts to find the answers.

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Is there hope for the eternal procrastinator? Jorge gets some tips for living with procrastination from three expert psychologists.

Learn more about our experts' work: 

• procrastinus.com (Dr. Piers Steel) 
• fuschiasirois.com (Dr. Fuschia Sirois)

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We finally got around to it: an episode about procrastination. Why do we do it? Is it really bad? And is there such as a thing as productive procrastination? Jorge talks to three psychologists about the science of putting things off.

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What's the skinny on why we lose our hair? Is it genetic or avoidable? Or do we need to comb over society's stigma about it? Jorge gets to the hairy truth.

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