Petri Dish

Ep. 89 Fusion Power Part 2 -- Even More 30 Years Away?!

22 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last episode we discussed the basics of plasma, fusion power, and a design called the tokamak. This week we dive into some of the dark horse fusion po...

Ep. 88 Fusion Power Part 1 -- Actually 30 Years Away?

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fusion power has been just beyond the horizon for 60 years -- when are we going to get there?! Join us as we learn the fundamentals of how fusion powe...

Ep. 87 Endometriosis

08 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Coincidentally, March is Endometriosis Awareness Month! Maybe up to 10% of women ages 15-50 have endometriosis (over 170 million people worldwide), wi...

Ep. 86 Whimsical Wine

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

*Special Note* This episode contains a trailer for an upcoming series of episodes on the True Crime podcast Riddle Me That -- the trailer contains men...

Ep. 85 The Chemical Accomplishments of Dr. Percy Lavon Julian

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have a special kind of episode for y'all this week! Nathan and Sean dive into the scientific work of the first Black chemist inducted into the Nati...

Ep. 84 The Dangers of Antibiotic Resistance

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last episode we discussed the history of antibiotics and alluded to RESISTANCE, the ability of bacteria to adapt to antibiotics to the point where the...

Ep. 83 What Even Are Antibiotics?

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What do ancient Anglo-Saxons, scientists in Nazi Germany, and moldy petri dishes have in common? They all were working hard to kill bacteria using ant...

Ep. 82 Xenotransplantation and 3D Printed Organs

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tens of thousands of organs are transplanted each year in the US alone, but this big number of transplantations still falls short of the need: many pe...

Ep. 81 Do Probiotics Work?

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our first episode ever was about the microbiome, all the little bacteria and fungi and other folks living on and inside of us. While maybe you might n...

Ep. 80 The Scale of Cell Biology

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Proteins, DNA, viruses, cells... they're all so small, it is hard to get a feel for what their deal is, they just seem so abstract! This week on Petri...

Ep. 79 So Many CoronaVaccines!

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of people have been vaccinated all over the world and by now you're probably at least somewhat acquainted with the two vaccines that have bee...

Ep. 78 The Mystery of Kimchi

04 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

*Note* Sean says napa cabbage may be from a hybridization between radish and bok choy, and that they are the same species -- he meant TURNIP and bok c...

Ep. 77 BioFuel = BioCool

28 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It is probably going to be a while before we can *totally* stop using things like jet fuel and diesel, but they are both non-renewable *and* leave a c...

Ep. 76 A Very Lycan Christmas

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Join Jimmy Coconuts by a roaring fire for a very jolly Winter Solstice Holiday Season episode! Ol' Man Sean and Uncle Nathan discuss what sorts of gen...

Ep. 75 Pickle Party

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Pickled foods are great! Achaar, kimchi, sauerkraut, dill pickles... so good.. Are all pickled foods fermented? How do you pickle stuff? What is the s...

Ep. 74 Cheese Part 2: Return of the Cheddi

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What is raw milk cheese? What is vegan cheese? Is velveeta even cheese at all!? This episode Nathan and Sean answer all your cheesiest questions! Also...

Ep. 73 Cheese, Glorious Cheese (Part 1!)

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the European Union alone over 9 million tons of cheese are consumed every year. 9 MILLION TONS! And hey, per capita the United States is second pla...

Ep. 72 The Earth's Hot Lovin: Geothermal Power

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Solar? Only good during the daytime. Wind?! What about the BIRDS!? How about a renewable energy source deep beneath our feet, Geothermal Power! Tongue...

Ep. 71 Lichen: Gateway to Polyamory

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

No! Not werewolves! Lichen, like the symbiotic life forms made up of a photosynthesis buddy (like an algae or cyanobacteria) and a fungus buddy! But a...

Ep. 70 Stress Eating: The Cookie Monster in Our Tummy

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Have you been eating lots of cookies during this whole 2020 fiasco because of all the STRESS? Or have you actually been eating LESS food because of st...

Ep. 69 Gut Ulcers! (And Stress?)

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is about peptic ulcers, the ulcers of your stomach and duodenum. For a long time they were considered to be linked to stress, but that id...

Ep. 68 Spooky Science Stories!

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Prepare yourselves, dear listeners, for a spooky Halloween episode of Petri Dish! Sean and Nathan have become trapped in a laboratory in Heck! They ca...

Ep. 67 Stress: The Seahorse in Your Brain

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

2020... The Year of Stress... We're past the halfway point in spooky October everyone, hope you've been having a nice time! This episode is part three...

[CORRECTED] Ep. 66 Stress: The HPA Axis of Evil

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This is a corrected version of the episode! The audio from the last release was all messed up! Sorry about the mistake! Are y'all done feeling stresse...

Ep. 65 We're All So Freakin' Stressed!

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

WE'RE SO STRESSED 2020! But what is stress, in a biological level? And how does it related to "feeling stressed"? In this episode we dive into biologi...

Ep. 64 The BBB2: The Crack in the Wall

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last episode introduced the blood brain barrier; it is a lot like a bouncer for the exclusive dance club that is your brain, keeping all the randos ou...

Ep. 63 The Brain's Bouncer: The Blood Brain Barrier

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We did a twitter poll and the people have spoken! You folks want to hear about the "Blood Brain Barrier"! But what is it, besides great alliteration?!...

Ep. 62 Bleedin' Gums and Vitamin C

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We all know *about* vitamin C but... what actually IS vitamin C? And what does it even do in your body? How can being deficient in vitamin C make pira...

Ep. 61 Measles, or, Why People are Dumb

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Measles! Super contagious, very tricky, no real treatments, can cause IMMUNE AMNESIA! But hey, we have a vaccine, so this disease should be history, r...

Ep. 60 Plastics Plastics PLASTICS!

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Plastics! So useful! But also filling up our landfills and gunking up our oceans! What are microplastics? Are they bad for human health and/or the env...

Ep. 59 Fungus: The Good, The Bad, and The Zombie

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we're doing our second episode about Fungi! Last week we talked about what fungi even are in a broad sense. This week we cover symbiotic and...

Ep. 58 Fungus: What Even Is It?

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we're talking about Fungi! They used to be grouped in with plants, then got their own Kingdom... But what do we think about them now? What e...

Ep. 57 Autoimmune: Why and What Can We Do?

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Howdy y'all! Today we're releasing our final episode on autoimmune disorders! If you haven't already, we highly recommend you check out our episodes o...

Ep. 56 Autoimmune: When Your Body Auto-Attacks You

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ahoy-hoy! Today we're releasing an episode on autoimmune disorders like lupus and MS! What is going on in these diseases where your adaptive immune sy...

Ep. 55 Chronic Inflammatory Disorders

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey folks! Today we're releasing an episode on chronic inflammatory disorders like osteoarthritis! If you haven't already, we highly recommend you che...

Ep. 54 Bacteria's Weapons of War Part 2

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey folks! Last week we divided our episode in two, and here is the second part of bacteria's weapons of war! This episode continues our coverage abou...

Ep. 53 Bacteria's Weapons of War Part 1

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey folks! Somewhat short episode this week! We originally intended to release the complete episode, but we've divided it in two because we're dealing...

Ep. 52 What Even Are Clinical Trials?

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone, it is still pandemic and you should still stay safe out there. This week Sean and Nathan discuss clinical trials! You might be hearing a ...

Ep. 51.5 Racism and IQ

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying safe during this pandemic. This is the second half of our final episode of this racism series -- we talked so mu...

Ep. 51 Racist Experiments

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying safe during this pandemic. We are continuing our series on the long intertwining history of race, racism, and sc...

Ep. 50 Eugenics and Human Genetics

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying safe during this pandemic. For our 50th full episode, we are continuing our series on the long intertwining hist...

Ep. 49 Racism in Science

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying safe during this pandemic. The murder of Black people like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd has led to a lot of d...

Ep. 48 Sun and Skin

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On this, the final skin episode of our four-part (!) series, Sean and Nathan speak again with skin scientist Matilde Miranda about skin aging and the ...

Ep. 47 Science of Trippin' Balls

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Nathan and Sean talk about psychedelic drugs, specifically classical psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD. How do they work? What do they ac...

Ep. 46.5 Bonus Minisode: COVID and Kawasaki

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Take care of yourselves out there, everyone. Racism is real and Black people have suffered the brutality of racist systems for their entire lives. Thi...

Ep. 46 Science of Sick

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What actually happens when you get infected with something? What are the steps your body goes through to protect you? Why do so many illnesses have "f...

Ep. 45 Some Super Special Cephalopods

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week we talk about some specific cephalopods and how weird/cool they are! Giant squids! Blue-ringed octopuses! Bigfin squids, argonauts, nautiloi...

Ep. 44 Octopuseses: Ink, Camo, and Smarts

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is about cephalopods! Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish! All the jabronis! This is actually a two-parter. In this episode we're talking about...

Ep. 43 Prions: Mad Cows and Mad Proteins

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is about the causative agent for mad cow disease, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob -- prions! It's not a bacteria, it's not a fungus, it is...

Ep. 42 A Conspiracy of Ravens

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ravens, crows, and other corvids have held a special place in the human imagination for centuries, and deservedly so! In this episode, we discuss ANIM...

Ep. 41 Bats Part 2: They're Good!

01 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In part 1 we talked about bat diseases and bat immune system stuff, but this episode is is all about how bats are cool! Bat pollination! Bat pooping! ...

Ep. 40 Cellulite and Skincare

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey! New episode! Part 3 of our series on skin, we welcome back Scientist Matilde Miranda to discuss cellulite and skincare -- a topic she is very pas...

Ep. 39 Bats Part 1: Awesome AND Diseased

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Bats are awesome and do so many useful things for the environment -- BUT that is all for part 2! Part 1 is about bats as disease reservoirs -- somethi...

Ep. 38 Immune System Part 2: Adaptive

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey! New episode (and coronavirus free!) on the adaptive immune system! These are the cells that pump out antibodies, coordinate immune responses, and...

Ep. 37.5 Bonus Minisode: COVID-19 Part 5

16 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi everyone, this is a SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 update episode on a treatment's (remdesivir) early experimental results, why antibody tests might not be th...

Ep. 37 Acne and Wrinkles

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey! It is part 2 of our 4 part series on skin, this time on acne and wrinkles! In our first episode we had Matilde Miranda, skin researcher extraordi...

Ep. 36 Immune System Part 1: Innate

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi everyone! Hope you are keeping it safe out there! This week we give you part 1 of 2 on the immune system. We'll be beginning with innate immunity t...

Ep. 35 Skin Biology

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey folks! How about a corona- and disease-break? This special mid-week release of Petri Dish is about SKIN! This episode is part of a (non-sequential...

Ep. 34 Epidemic: Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey! This is another in our series on pandemics... except there hasn't really been a pandemic of viral hemorrhagic fevers, just epidemics! But that do...

Ep. 33.5 Bonus Minisode: CoronaTreatments

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For the 16 people out there that aren't sick of COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 information already, here is another BONUS MINISODE on just that topic! This time ...

Ep. 33 Pandemic: PLAGUE

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The second episode in our pandemic series is about one of the OGs, plague! This sucker has killed hundreds of millions of people in the past couple mi...

Ep. 32 Pandemic: Tuberculosis

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This new series of episodes we're doing is on different pandemic diseases throughout history, with our first disease being tuberculosis! The series wo...

Ep. 31 Dogs! Pupperinos Part 2

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second half of our two-parter on mankind's best friend! Last week's episode covered domestication and breeds. This week is about dog behav...

Ep. 30.5 Bonus Minisode: Corona-USA

10 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

SARS-CoV-2, HCOV-19, nCoV-19... Whatever you want to call this coronavirus, it is making a splash in countries all over the globe: big outbreaks in It...

Ep. 30 Dogs! (Because We Did One On Cats) Part 1

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Humankind's best friend! Pupperinos! In this week's episode of Petri Dish Nathan and Sean talk about dogs! This is part 1, where we talk about the dom...

Ep. 29 Vaccines! Part 2

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Folks! If you're just stopping by, consider listening to Vaccines Part 1 to get info on the types of vaccines and what ingredients go into making t...

Ep. 28.5 Bonus Minisode: Still Coronavirus!

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey! The novel coronavirus (now SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19) is still out and about, doing naughty stuff! But what do we know about this sucker ...

Ep. 28 Vaccines! Part 1

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you're a listener to this podcast, it is probably safe to assume that you have heard of vaccines and likely are pro-vaccine. But there is a lot of ...

Ep. 27 Intermittent Fasting: How, What, and Why?

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Heya folks, today's episode is about intermittent fasting, a new(ish) and increasingly popular way of trying to lose weight. Is it just a fad diet, or...

Ep. 26 CATS! (Not the Musical)

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This topic was requested by co-host Nathan, who had read several news articles recently suggesting that cats are menaces, plagues upon the world and h...

Ep. 25 Aging and Immortality Part 2

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone, I hope you checked out our bonus minisode on the new coronavirus! Here is our regularly scheduled full episode, the part 2 on Aging and ...

Ep. 24.5 Bonus Minisode: Coronavirus!

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone, Happy Year of the Rat! This is a special mini-episode we are releasing on the novel coronavirus currently infecting people in China (and ...

Ep. 24 Aging and Immortality Part 1

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For folks in the USA, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! This week on Petri Dish Nathan and Sean discuss the biology of aging. What does it actually me...

Ep. 23 Booze and Hangover Science

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the first Petri Dish episode recorded in 2020! This one is about the science behind the effects of booze (ethanol), and our current best un...

Ep. 22 What is Epigenetics?

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode, Sean and Nathan are joined by guest Liliana Escobedo to discuss epigenetics, which is either all of the stuff besides your gen...

Ep. 21 Human Sex and Evo Psych

30 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone, this week is part 2 of our episodes on sex, this time focusing on sex determination in humans and Sean's rocky relationship with the fie...

Ep. 20 Animal Sex! Part 1

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Petri Dish Sean and Nathan dive into the apparently controversial topic of biological sex. In this part 1 of a two part discussion, Sean ...

Ep. 19 Cancer Part 2

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone, this week we complete our discussion about cancer. Last episode we talked about what cancer is, where it comes from, and what the differ...

Ep. 18 Cancer Part 1

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide and it is a biologically complex set of diseases, so Sean and Nathan dive in to the biology this week (...

Ep. 17 Cannabinoids Part 2

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to Petri Dish! Hope Americans had a nice Thanksgiving break, and are refreshed and recharged for another episode. We're picking up where ...

Ep 16. Cannabinoids Part 1

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hello and happy almost Thanksgiving to folks in the USA! In honor of a holiday that features stuffing yourself, we're covering the muchies-inducing pl...

The Wonders and Dangerous of Vaping

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone! This week Sean and Nathan are joined by certified young person Griffin Allen, who has street-level knowledge about VAPING -- the recently...

SPAAAACE!

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this week's episode, Sean and Nathan explore the human side of outer space! What happens to our bodies in microgravity? What are galactic cosmic ra...

Bite Me: Ticks and Mosquitoes

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Spooky episode 13 is just dropping just a few days after Halloween! This episode is about disease vectors -- specifically ticks, mosquitoes, and the d...

Mind-Machine Interfaces

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This weeks episode is a spooky sci-fi romp about how we're hooking up brains to computers and minds to machines back to minds again! Except it is all ...

Crispy CRISPRs and Gene Editing: Part 2

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of CRISPR and genetic editing! This time, we talk about what plants and animals we have already CRISPR'd! Also, we discuss CRISPRs in the con...

Crispy CRISPRs and Gene Editing: Part 1

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tenth episode of Petri Dish! Going to be honest, didn't think we'd make it this long. Sean and Nathan have a special guest for this episode, Andrei Da...

Extremophiles!

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our animal episodes seem popular, so episode 9 is a return to silly beasties -- in this case Sean and Nathan are talking about organisms that like to ...

The Origin of Life

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week Nathan and Sean discuss the origin of life on Earth! Every cell in your body came, ultimately, from the zygote that was made when your dad’...

Climate, It Is (Still) A-Changin' Part 2 Redux

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Woah woah, we got the end of our first little microseries -- this time wrapping up CLIMATE CHANGE. In this episode, Sean tries to convince Nathan that...

Climate, It Is A-Changin'

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week is part one of our two-part series on CLIMATE CHANGE. For part one, Sean and Nathan talk about what is causing climate change and how humans...

Elephants: TREE KILLERS!

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 5 of PETRI DISH! This episode is a prequel of sorts to our upcoming 2 part series on CLIMATE CHANGE (oh no!). In this episode, Sean tries to d...

Stick It To Me

02 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sean and Nathan wrestle with their doubts over acupuncture in the face of its glorious and undeniable efficacy! Learn about what the current science i...

Strange Animals and How To Make Them

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What do the duck-billed platypus, antarctic toothfish, and sleepy lizard have in common? They exist, they're weird, and it is evolution's fault. In th...

Petri Beef

17 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Learn more about the future of meat on the second episode of PETRI DISH. Sean and Nathan discuss lab-grown meat, the not-yet-in-stores futuristic food...

Baby Got Gut

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the inaugural episode of PETRI DISH. In this episode, Sean and Nathan discuss what is living inside you -- the wonderful and e...

Petri Dish (Trailer)

11 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas