More Research Required

Abby and Amy are BACK FROM HIATUS to talk about whether queer people sit in chairs weird! Discussion topics include: crayoning, exercise bikes in parking lots, and “hey, sport, I hear Coach has been hasslin’ you.” Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy are researching up a storm to ask: do hurricanes and serial killers affect trends in naming infants? Discussion topics include: respecting Ian's wish to be called IAN, the mere exposure effect, and our hosts' nemesis origin story. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy break a long-held vow of silence to ask: are the directives in 2006 self-help book The Secret more effective than pure spite-fueled determination? Discussion topics include: weather-controlling bootstrap magic, affable bros, and the positive effects of a heart full of hate. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy are taking a break from discovering their shared childhood interests to discuss: are adult friendships more likely to form among people who have a shared childhood interest? Discussion topics include: shameless cross-promotion, dubious correlations, and a disturbing lack of familiarity with Arnold Palmer. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

This week Abby and Amy are treating themselves to the Platonic ideal of a convenience store hoagie and asking: what are the factors at play in the Wawa/Sheetz rivalry? Discussion topics include: whim-based identity theft, Tiki the Wawa Cockatoo, and surcharge-free ATMs. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

This week Abby and Amy find out what's in a (hyphenated) name and ask: what are the naming strategies for passing on double surnames? Discussion topics include: podcast lore, moon sexism and/or the lack thereof, and very fancy British lads. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

This week Abby is too sick for research, so she's teaching Amy about Homestuck so they can ask: why is the Homestuck fandom so self-deprecating? Discussion topics include: Is That Vriska?, fond recollections of peak weird 2012 fandom, and garbage sensibility. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy get their hands dirty with a return to the topic of shower habits. Discussion topics include: shower oatmeal, Amy takes one for the team, #vindication. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

This week Amy and Abby sit down with a hot beverage and ask: is there a traceable original punchline for 'I like my [x] like I like my coffee?" Discussion topics include: serving the freshest burns on Edmund Pevensie, universally hilarious robot jokes, and a definitive judgment on Shakespeare. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

This week Amy and Abby rise from an all-consuming slumber and ask: is the 9 to 5 workday compatible with an adult sleep schedule? Discussion topics include: We Miss the Sun, being nothing less than a shining beacon of productivity in our 9 to 5 jobs, and how vaping is never going to make you cool. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

This week Amy and Abby go for the gold and ask: what sport is the easiest to master? Discussion topics include: unnecessarily sexy Canadian figure skating, the hosts' new least favorite sports, and What Skaters Actually Do Vs. What They Say They Do. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

This week Amy and Abby look mortality in the face and say: is there a time of day when people are more likely to die? Discussion topics include: Collin the Book Club Cryptid, the ownership of all of your hearts, and the relative advantages of being in Space Hufflepuff. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

The cat's out of the bag: Abby and Amy want to know if some languages have more idioms than others! Discussion topics include: What We Think Star Trek Is About, expressive methods of verbalization, and the favorite beverages of Western people. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

The ball has dropped and so has the newest episode of More Research Required, where Abby and Amy ask: do people feel more accomplished at the end of the year if they made a new year's resolution? Discussion topics include: sneak previews of future studies, misleading applications of the works of Oscar Wilde, and contracts drafted in crayon and blood. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

What's that coming down the chimney? It's Abby and Amy, with a bag full of research methods to answer: what holiday greetings are used between Christmas Day and the new year? Discussion topics include: are aliens real?, two different kinds of communism, and the Dreamwork's knockoffs of traditional winter salutations. Plus, a preliminary update to Episode 1: The Hunger Dames! Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy are traveling to the distant, mysterious city of Seattle and trying to uncover its secrets. Discussion topics include: mermaids in a horse costume, Pacific Northwest Noir That's Not Noir, and using cryogenic freezing for its intended purpose. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy come clean and ask: what determines the direction you face while in the shower? Discussion topics include: thoughts from A Real Science, bathroom SCUBA, and One Day More (solo version). Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy are on the road! Or, they're in Abby's car, anyway, which is pretty much the same thing, and they're asking the real questions about Charleston, SC.  Discussion topics include: keeping that Halloween train rolling, lying to teens, and the circuitous origin story of the name of the Charleston. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy are going door to door and asking: what's the optimal method for trick-or-treating?  Discussion topics include: Kids Become Test Subjects!, arguably logical methodology, and who we hold responsible when candy goes missing. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy keep up that autumnal vibe and ask: are queer people and feminists more likely to be witches?  Discussion topics include: witch familiars, dancing naked in the forest with your gal pals, and the one thing Amy knows about modern witchcraft. Make sure to stay tuned to the end to catch an important correction to Casting Vaguely Downwards, a podcast about the casting of the upcoming Good Omens miniseries. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy get spooky and ask: do people who prefer vampires to werewolves prefer cats to dogs?  Discussion topics include: Twilight and Teen Wolf, house fires, and the o m i n o u s  L a t i n  w h i s p e r s . Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

(cw: mentions of transphobia) Abby and Amy start to ask: do gender neutral bathrooms effect college students' perceptions of gender? And then they ask something completely different instead. Discussion topics include: the plural of data, reading way too much about bodily fluids, and the potential uses for college endowments. Our gender theory reading list, provided by a Friend of the Podcast, is: Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer by Riki Wilchins Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg Whipping Girl by Julia Serano Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy put on a definitive air of ennui and ask: are people with better eyesight better at art? Discussion topics include: crafting a nuanced and all-encompassing definition of art, surprise math, and an ancient curse that forces co-hosts to inhabit each other's bodies. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy get a little blue and ask: does the language you use to curse make you stronger? Discussion topics include: polite conversation in WWI, remembering the Ice Bucket Challenge, and calling the police for cussin'. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy meet up IRL with three research questions, two glasses of wine, and one microphone for this Chicago-themed minisode. Discussion topics include: pizza allegiances, Midwestern politeness, and second cities. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy engage in one of the most heated debates of our time to ask: do cat people like dogs more than dog people like cats? Discussion topics include: the anti-cat agenda, Milgram 2: The Sequel to the Milgram Experiments, and 2001 film classic Cats & Dogs. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy spend an exhausted post-Fourth of July episode asking: are there demographics that influence levels of state and city pride? Discussion topics include firework appreciation strategies, mercilessly trashing New York and other beloved American institutions, and Bog Hole, Texas. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy get into the Father's Day spirit to ask : are dads really the hardest kind of person to buy gifts for? Discussion topics include Gender Points, highly invasive testing, and dad jokes so potent that they jeopardize the very survival of the hosts' working relationship. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy set out on an expedition to discover: are the maps in fantasy novels always just Europe? Discussion topics include literature in translation, Warrior Cats as a high fantasy series, and robots(!). Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy consult the heavens to find an answer to the question: if you have the traits widely associated with your horoscope, are you more likely to believe in astrology? Discussion topics include Astrology Is Real, Astrology is Fake, and Omacron, the thirteenth star sign. You can find out more about misuse of research methods and Daryl Bem at https://redux.slate.com/cover-stories/2017/05/daryl-bem-proved-esp-is-real-showed-science-is-broken.html. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy get their heads in the game and ask: do hockey superstitions really work? Discussion topics include voting as an act of teen rebellion, octopus symbolism, and an ethically questionable use of research methods. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy could be talking about literally anything in this wide world of Oasis-free topics, but instead they’re asking: how frequently is Wonderwall really played on acoustic guitar? Discussion topics include virtually every musician that is not Oasis, pretending to have ever enjoyed Franzen, the Pokemon Go of research studies, and Abby’s illustrious musical past. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.

Abby and Amy get back to their linguistics roots and spend over an hour asking: Does the social media you use affect how you interpret the semantic content of a hashtag? Discussion topics include being too old to understand the #Youth, explaining Reddit to your academic adviser, code blending on the internet, and hashtagging words good. Our music is Marie Curie by The Crypts!, from the album Discover Science.