Science Monkey

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, Science Monkey is once more brought to you from a distance, with Graham and Raywat recording from the comforts of their own homes. This is also our second ever video episode, which you can watch on YouTube. Or you can listen to audio version …

Science Monkey is back with a very special episode, from deep within the doldrums of pandemic quarantine. This is also our very first video podcast, which you can watch on YouTube. The audio was rendered from that Zoom video call so it is, shall we say, less than ideal. In …

Science Monkey is back! We took a lengthy sabbatical to mourn the passing of our mascot, Ouie the magical wonderdog, whose pawsteps are audible in this particular episode, which of course was recorded before his passing. On today’s show, we are joined by the erudite Dr Aparna Halpé for a …

The government puts fluoride in our drinking water. What is the evidence that this is safe? We examine two studies that purport to show a connection between fluoride in our water and both thyroid disease and lower IQ. We also learn a little about so-called “ecological” studies, some stuff about …

We go back to our roots and actually talk about the rigors (or lack thereof) of a scientific study. A famous JAMA paper suggested that slightly overweight people are healthier than “normal weight” people. Is that study rigorous…. or just ridiculous? We also learn where not to get stung by …

Recorded outside (hence the sound of passing airplanes) and with Graham annoyingly smacking the microphone (he’s learning, people, he’s learning), today’s episode features our second session of rapid-fire facts, and just the facts (ma’am). You’ll never believe what Alfred Kinsey put into his urethra, or what gas Henry Ford kept …

In celebration of Pride Week, today’s episode tackles the question of whether female sexual fluidity has evolutionary origins, based on a controversial article by Satoshi Kanazawa (link below). We recorded this outside, so you will hear sounds of actual nature –squirrels and birds– and the occasional airplane and siren… as …

Once again, a listener (Mary Ellen) asks us via Twitter to tackle a big topic: is there such a thing as free will? Graham and Ray examine this question from the perspectives of quantum physics, neurology, multiverse theory, semantics, and sociology. That’s an easy topic for a 30 minute podcast …

Once more, the whiskey has begun to flow. In this episode, Graham and Ray tackle the question of how many published studies are likely invalid or not reproducible. We learn about Type I and Type II statistical errors, publication bias, the Proteus Phenomenon and the Winner’s Curse.  As well, the wrath of …

Graham & Ray answer listener questions (yes, we have listeners now), including one from a dog who is very concerned about how dependent human civilization is on the existence of the sun. (Dogs are deep, man). We also answer that critical question currently plaguing the Internet: is 2016 a cursed …

Graham and Ray are once more deep into the grown-up juice (i.e., whiskey), so much so that they confuse Willy Nelson with John Denver, Bob Denver, Bob Dylan, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, and Cat Stevens. But they do eventually answer a question from a Twitter follower who asks, “Do we have too many …

Graham and Ray are deep into the whiskey, and are mumbling their way through this episode, which is ostensibly about whether an artificial computer intelligence can be …wait for it… artistic. Be forewarned: there was a weird hum when we did the recording, but it was removed in post-production. As a result, the audio quality…More Science Monkey episode 7

Responding to a question on our Facebook page, in this episode Graham and Ray talk about whether the flu vaccine is safe, why the formulation changes every year, what disease surveillance systems are, and introduce the epidemiological concepts, “bias” and “confounding.” We mention that many modern vaccines don’t have the actual infective organism, but instead…More Science Monkey episode 6

How do “they” know what your “recommended daily allowance” is? Are diets truly evidence based? What’s the difference between a wet lab and a dry lab? In this episode, Graham and Ray reply to an actual listener question, as Rashi on Facebook wants to know how to navigate the confusing world of recommended diets. Yes,…More Science Monkey episode 5

How would space aliens behave toward us? Can we even conceptualize something that is truly alien? In today’s show, Graham and Ray discuss the various ways in which human beings might interact with our galactic brethren. Carl Sagan and Charles Pellegrino are name-checked, as is comedian Jerrod Carmichael. In our Is This Still A Thing…More Science Monkey episode 4

Java, cup o’ Joe, brown sludge, learning juice, jet fuel, or even a euphemism for sex –today’s episode is all about everyone’s favourite (legal) drug: coffee! What does this have to do with gerbils? Well…. you’ll see. In today’s Rigorous of Ridiculous segment, Graham and Ray discuss “Coffee and Cancer of the Pancreas” and another…More Science Monkey episode 3

Graham and Ray discuss “moonshots”, those huge, government-led science initiatives that promise to change the world forever. Curing cancer? Living forever? Hover boards? Where should we focus our energies? We also introduce our new segment, Is This Still A Thing, in which we look at some examples of ancient civilizations dealing with scientific issues that…More Science Monkey episode 2

Welcome to Science Monkey! In today’s episode, Graham and Ray talk about pseudoscience and why we are still engaged with it, even in the modern, technological era. We also shamelessly plug our books, Words Well Put and Nothing To Do With Skin. And Graham recommends his translation of Six Records of a Life Adrift, by Shen Fu.…More Science Monkey episode 1