Shabam!

It’s time for another BIG connection..and this one involves all of us. Well, not literally that would be crazy (we can’t include 7.7 billion people on a 15-minute podcast episode) - it’s a metaphor! And a metaphor is like a simile in that it exists only in our minds......which is also part of the episode! (Literally.)

In this episode of connections we’re using the month of April as a reminder of the important connection shared by Ben Franklin and George Washington Carver. Hint: it’s not the glasses (Carver didn’t wear glasses so that is obviously wrong).

Whether you're looking for flying humanoids or orange tree-dwelling rats, the scientific steps that lead you to the truth are the same. In this bonus episode we'll take a little trip with Dr. Lavery, our mammalogist from Episode 10, on his quest to find proof of a unique species of rat living on the island of Vanganu.

In this episode of Shabam Connections, we go down a rabbit hole; Roman symbols, talking omelettes, french suitcases, and sporks - if you’re gonna make some connections you have to break some nursery rhymes. ANNNNNNND it’s all connected to January!

We go from turkeys to smuggling poop to New Zealand!

In this episode of Shabam Connections, we take you on a journey of tangents and non-sequiturs (actually that's what every episode of Connections is, since that's kind of the point). It's like 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon except we start with Zebras and end with an 18th century classical composer. Also, tidbits from the Zombie Medicine Conference, aquatic animals, whiskey, and Shakespeare. It's a wild ride!

So, schools out and summer is here and no doubt there are a lot of listeners who are excited that they’re not sitting in a classroom or doing homework. Well, Shabam! is here to explain why doing homework and going to school is a luxury. Before 1938, if you were a kid who didn't have super wealthy parents, you’d probably be working…all day. Shabam will take you back less than a hundred years so you can appreciate last month.

The last piece of the puzzle falls into place as Nadine searches for answers. In this episode you’ll get more tips on how to hunt for monsters and seek out the truth. We turn our attention to the skies above Chicago and the trees on the Solomon Islands for a lively “bat chat.”

The kids finally arrive at Vandenberg but the journey’s not over. In this episode we’ll show you how to sort out fake truths from real fakes, and “truthier trues” from less “truthier trues” (to start, stop using the word “impossible”). Yes, that sounds impossible...but it’s probably not. Also we’ll answer the question: Should you trust your best friend?

The kids run into a problem. We explore the physiology of the zombie body.

The kids continue their journey. We explore the zombie brain.

A little more about snot and highways.

The bike journey continues. We explore navigation.

The kids begin their journey to Vandenberg on bikes. We find out about transportation.

The kids decide to hit the road in search of food and safety. We find out how crazy our food supply is.

The kids lose water. We find out why water is the key to survival.

The kids are without power. We find out why we need electricity.

The Nox Virus spreads. We find out how much we rely on digital communication. 

The Nox Virus gets released. We find out how an epidemic starts.

If you like having a brain but don't really care about having skin, please listen to this episode.

Your brain is a wonderfully complex piece of organic equipment that's supposed to tell you the truth about the world around you.

We’ll follow three kids separated from their families during a zombie apocalypse. Throughout the journey, hosts and creators Josh Kurz, Wendy Roderweiss, and Dr. Mel Herbert weave in jokes, science, historical factoids, and interviews with leading experts. Season 1 starts with the reason we do science in the first place and then tackles topics ranging from digital communication, the power grid, and the immune system, to Polynesian voyagers, and the Underground Railroad.