Goggles Optional

Nicole, Abhijit, and David discuss cells sensing magnetic fields and talking to people while dreaming before being joined by Berkeley graduate student Nathan Tessema Ersumo to chat about a device to better generate 3D light patterns, with applications in optogenetics and virtual reality.

Rebecca, Abhijit, and Amanda discuss what we can learn from candybots, from isotopically dating baboon mummies, and from the moon's power over methane emissions

Carmen, Rebecca, and Katie discuss some of their favorite science stories of the past year including with quiz features.

Abhijit, Rebecca and Amanda talk about getting new antibiotics from wood rats, and a new technology that might help save coral reefs.

Katie, Carmen, and Abhijit discuss allergies passed on during pregnancy, using tattoo inks for finding cancer, and the life and work of chemist Mario Molina.

Abhijit, Rebecca, Katie and special guest Tejaswini Mishra discuss what we can learn about COVID-19 from smartwatches, how maternal microbiomes impact pregnancy, and the recent Nobel prize announcements.

Abhijit, Amanda, Katie, and Nora talk about new research related to stress responses, space, dogs, and spikey animals.

Katie and Carmen discuss their favorite science books and podcasts.

This week, Katie, Adam and Rebecca take us back in time to discuss the history of sword fighting, fossilized feces, and an ancient blue dye.

Carmen, Katie and Nicole discuss immunity in both plants and pregnant organisms and the importance of animal models in scientific research.

Amanda, Kristen, and Nora tell us about Antarctica's tropical past, a COVID-19-related reduction in seismic activity, and translating brain activity into language

Katie gathers some of our favorite stories about a dancing parrot named Snowball, the time known as Snowball Earth, and a unique chemical property of limoncello

Nora, Kristen, and Carmen discuss facial recognition in babies, the importance of the transverse arch in foot stability, and the various detection methods currently in development for Alzheimer's disease.

Rebecca, Adam, and David discuss dogs that can sense thermal radiation, the evolution of rats in New York City, and an update on what we know about the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Kristen, Courtney, and Nicole discuss the short-lived killifish, how whale migrations can be disturbed, and how the late NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson broke barriers.

Katie, Abhijit, and Nora discuss the positive impact of flu vaccines on cancer patients, the retirement of NASA's Spitzer space telescope, and the costs and benefits of Medicare-for-All in the US.

Carmen, Kristen, and David talk about dating human artifacts, mutations in lung cells, and unusual viruses.

Adam, Rebecca, and Amanda talk about mice's reaction to pheromones, how sign languages evolved all around the world, and new methods of preserving the honey bee population.

David, Carmen, and Kristen discuss a newly-cultured archaeon, depth perception in cuttlefish, and a recent investigation into reporting standards for clinical trials.

Nora, Emily, and Amanda talk about climate prediction models, moving maple trees, and humans getting cooler.

Carmen, Kristen, and Abhijit share our favorite new research about dogs to celebrate our 300th episode... or #2000th in dog-episodes.

Nicole interviews David Gonzalez about mercury exposure in the Amazon rainforest, Kristen tells us how bacteria disguise themselves in our body, and Courtney teaches us about Snowball Earth.

In this special episode, Katie gathers some of our favorite stories about sleep. Curl up under a warm blanket and prepare for some winter hibernation!

Kristen, Katie, and Rebecca talk about the naked mole rat immune system, the universality of music, and biomimicking bees in water.

Abhijit, Carmen, and Courtney discuss unstable isotopes and the human impact on the environment from both plastic pollution and cryptocurrency.

Nicole interviews Margaret Antonio and Hannah Moots about ancient Roman DNA; and Nicole, Nora, and Katie talk about the brain processing vision and getting scooped in science.

Carmen, Dave, and Kristen are joined by first time host David in a special Beer Goggles Optional all about science communication!

Courtney, Abhijit, and Kristen discuss the Nobel-winning search for other planets, racial bias in healthcare management algorithms, and theories on megafauna extinctions.

Hosts Amanda, Abhijit and Carmen are joined by Nora and Katie at the annual Goggles Optional Live Show! This special Halloween themed episode discusses the science behind the spook, including creepy crawlers, carnivorous plants, and vampire bats.

Amanda, Carmen, and Kristen talk about fungi with plants, fungi in the pancreas, and the geology of Machu Pichu.

Emily, Dave, and Amanda discuss the sustainability of tuna fishing, the unusual patterns of drug delivery in hospitals, and groundwater movement and contaminants.

Adam, Nicole, and Dave talk about new research on an old disease, how ultrasound can be used to study genetics, and what the recent quantum supremacy buzz really means.

Emily interviews the author of a paper linking the microbiome to ALS. Plus, Emily, Carmen and Rebecca talk about finding hidden rock bridges and lost cities.

Carmen, Kristen, Dave, and new host Katie talk about rats playing hide and seek, cancer drugs working in unexpected ways and the potential for NK cells in cancer therapies.

Emily, Abhijit, and Kristen discuss how mouthwash affects post-exercise blood pressure, the rate of information transfer across several languages, and the winners of the Breakthrough Prize in science.

Adam, Amanda and Nora chat about how to overcome salty soil in agriculture, a major protein involved in touch, and the rise of e-cigarettes.

Kristen, Dave, and Adam tell us about treating cat allergies, gallstone formation, and what happens when scientists cite themselves.

Abhijit, Emily, and Carmen are joined by new host Courtney to talk about how eggs can communicate, immune cells attacking immune cells, and arctic warming.

Emily, Abhijit, and Rebecca discuss how Strawberry poison frogs might react to global warming, the eyes of baby jumping spiders, and the use of lab mice as model organisms in immunology.

Nora, Kristen, and Carmen discuss touch in prosthetic limbs, single-cell sequencing to investigate cancer, and how individuals can be re-identifed from supposedly anonymous data.

Greg, Emily and Amanda are joined by guest Mathieu Ardyna, a Stanford scientists studying how deep sea hydrothermal vents affect plankton populations. Plus, hear about the long term effects of nuclear testing on the Marshall Islands and a brand new type of apple.

Adam, Nora, and Nicole discuss the long history of sleep, dancing birds, and how a small change in medication policy could save millions of dollars.

Kristen, Rebecca and Carmen discuss programming bacteria to fight cancer, taking pictures of carbon capture in action, and the potential of reforestation to help fight the climate crisis.

Greg, Abhijit, and Emily talk about a hidden component of lightning, a special relationship between bacteria, algae, and super cute sea slugs, and how some might be taking the hygiene hypothesis a little too far.

Kristen takes us through three past segments all about CRISPR genome editing. Several past hosts discuss editing genes in sperm cells, how CRISPR could be used to treat HIV, and why we aren't quite ready to try this out yet in humans.

Alice, Nora, and Nicole discuss the itching response, how deep sea fish have developed a strange type of vision to match their strange environments, and why false confessions occur with surprising frequency.

On this week's episode Adam, Amanda, and Emily talk about how machine learning is being used to grow lettuce, tectonic activity on the moon, and a new method to alter blood types.

Rebecca, Nicole, and Nora talk about rare disease diagnosis with Dr. Laure Fresard and graduate student Nikki Teran, discuss a new method to kill mosquitos and the impact of leaving out female subjects in research studies.