PODCAST · science
Ideas Worth Exploring
by Mark McDonald
Science is the best way we have for understanding how the world works. And you know what makes science better? Puns! This podcast is meant to introduce a variety of scientific topics in a way that is approachable for people without a scientific background and entertaining even for the nerds who think they know everything.
Episodes
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Optimization algorithms and the life lessons they taught me
Optimization is about maximizing or minimizing something. The math behind how you do that has taught me some important life lessons, including: (Gradient descent) Incremental progress with regular course corrections will eventually get you where you want to go. (Soft constraints) Giving yourself...
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The secret to getting rich is to be boring
I’ve been interested in investing recently, the idea that if you have money then you can use it to make more money. This is a really important topic that I wish my past self had understood better, and so I’m going to break the usual rule of only doing science so that I can dive into this other...
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Climate Change Part 3: The solutions to global warming and what they have to do with cows
If we want the globe to stop warming, then we need to get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Methods to reduce emissions include: renewable energy, electric vehicles, feeding seaweed to cows to stop them from burping so much, turning poop into jet fuel, and resurrecting the mammoths. We’re…
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Climate Change Part 2: Blind octopuses and lonely turtles
Climate change will cause droughts, floods, heat waves, and might even make our vegetables less nutritious. In this episode we will talk about some of the consequences global warming will have on animals and humans, and how much of an impact we should expect. This is the second of a 3-part series...
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Climate change part 1: Your car is a greenhouse
Cow burps and car emissions are making the atmosphere heat up. This is the greenhouse effect, and it’s the same thing that turns your car into an inferno in the summer, with some nuance added. In this episode, we will discuss the physical science behind global warming. This will be the first of a...
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Game Theory part 2: playing chicken with potatoes
If you ever encounter a situation where you think “who’s going to give in first?” it’s probably a game of chicken. This is the dynamic that shaped the arms races of Cold War, much of modern politics, and probably also quite a few of your interactions with other people. The game of chicken can be...
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Game Theory Part 1: Society is in a prisoner’s dilemma
What do tic-tac-toe, international politics, and animal grooming behaviors have in common? Much more than you might expect. In this episode we’re going to talk about game theory, a field of economics that lets us analyze social interactions by treating them as multiplayer games, and then using…
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Oh no! Polymers are taking over the world!
Polymers are everywhere. There are dozens of types of plastics, but there are also biological polymers such as DNA and proteins, and together, most of the materials you use every day are made of one of the two types of polymer. Even I’m made out of polymers! Let’s talk about what they are and why...
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Thinking, fast and slow
Gambling, advertising, politics, and household chores. What do these have to do with each other? They’re all areas where your brain can steer you wrong when making decisions, as we’ll see in today’s episode. We’re going to be talking about one of the most influential ideas in the science of...
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A brief history of life, the universe, and everything
A walk through the history of the universe, starting with the Big Bang and the creation of the elements in stars, moving through the first molecular replicators, the RNA world hypothesis, and the evolution of life by natural selection. Punctuated equilibrium. The extreme destruction caused by the...
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Building a planet, one climate at a time
Pretend you’re making a new planet from scratch, and you want to know how the climate and weather patterns will be affected by each new feature you add. In this episode we will answer the questions: why is it warmer near the equator? Why does going up in elevation make it colder? We’ll also talk...
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Evolution through natural selection: “I choose you, Darwin!”
Unlike in Pokemon, evolution in our world happens slowly, over many generations. In this episode, we talk about how all life on earth is part of the same family and arose from a single common ancestor through a branching pattern of evolution, and how this happens through natural selection, or...
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The Big Bang and the fate of the universe
You may have heard of something called the Big Bang, where all the stuff in the universe spread out from a single point. Did you know that the Big Bang is still happening? Well, it is, and you’re in the middle of it! This episode is about the universe, what it looks like, and how it is changing....
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Matter, antimatter, and beyond!
The universe is full of stuff. Big stuff, small stuff, red stuff, blue stuff, normal stuff, ridiculously weird stuff. Most people don’t understand just how weird some of that stuff is. That stuff is called matter. It’s finally time to answer that classic question: what’s the matter. This episode...
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Brains! Part 2: Memory matters
What is a memory, physically? Do people really only use 10% of their brain? Is my short term memory bad, or is it just my short term memory? Answers to follow!
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Brains! Part 1: The humble neuron
Brains! Brains are made of neurons that use electrical and chemical signals in a way that somehow gets turned into us thinking and writing podcasts about brains. This episode is about how neurons do math by using salt to power a rollercoaster.
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Eat your nutrients!
Keto, paleo, flexitarian, Mediterranean, it seems like everyone is interested in the newest diet fad. But does eating soy protein puree really make you healthier than eating chocolate covered caramels? Today we’re talking about nutrients: fats, proteins, carbs, and all the other yummy-sounding...
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Archimedes’ Principle of Floatiness
How do ducks float? Is it because they’re made of wood? Well, why does wood float? The answer, in a way, has to do with a naked man and a crown. But the real answer is found in the physics of buoyancy. This episode is all about buoyancy, the upward force you feel when floating in fluid.
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Black holes don't suck!
You’re flying through the universe on your spaceship, seeing the sights, having a great time, when all of a sudden you see a black hole! Oh no, it’s sucking you in! Then it touches you and you get spaghettified, and that’s the end of you. That’s how you imagine an encounter with a black hole…
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Microwaves, eyeballs, and why the sky isn't purple
X-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, radio waves, what do they have in common? They’re all colors of light that you can’t see. This episode about electromagnetic radiation, the thing that makes your eyes, your phone, and your oven function as intended. I hope you find it enlightening!
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Viruses: Tiny robots that make us sneeze
People once believed that when you sneezed, your soul left your body, and so they would say “bless you” to prevent the devil from snatching your soul. Now, people don’t tend to worry about that as much, instead they worry about getting infected by invisible creatures floating in the sneeze...
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Your bacteria: Poop, soap, and alcohol
You know the 10 second rule: if you drop a piece of bacon on the ground, you have 10 seconds to pick it up before the bacteria attack. That’s obviously a myth, right? Right? Right. That one is a myth. But today you’ll learn about several things that sound crazy but are actually true. For example,...
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Relativity: How to time travel to the future
If you visit the Mütter museum in Philadelphia, you’ll see pieces of Einstein’s brain preserved on microscope slides. This episode is about an amazing secret that his brain discovered, the fact that time and space change when you move really fast: special relativity.
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A tomato is a vegetable
Today we’re talking about how plants make babies! Spoiler alert: they're clones, many of them are clones. Also, the answer to a very controversial question: is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
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Nuclear espionage and E=mc2
When you hear the word “nuclear”, you probably think of explosions, radiation, and disasters. And yes, there was some of that, but it gets better. This is a story of spies and discovery. Also, if you didn’t know, the sun is a nuclear reactor.
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Dinosaurs: The Bone Wars
My favorite dinosaur is the chicken. What’s yours? Today we’re going to be talking about two of the most cutthroat paleontologists to ever live, and how fossils can tell us that the chicken is related to the T Rex.
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Bus ride through the solar system
How does NASA organize a party? They planet. Today we’re talking about the solar system! You’ll learn about a planet that was almost named George, two planets that literally rain diamonds, and the answer to the most controversial issue of 2006: why isn’t Pluto a planet any more?
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You don't know how magnets work
Does compasses in the southern hemisphere point south? Why does a magnet stick to your refrigerator but not to your doorknob? How are magnets related to socks? Learn all the things you didn't know you wanted to know about magnetism in today's episode!
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Electricity: Ben Franklin and not getting electrocuted
Every child asks it at some point: where does lightning come from? The answer may shock you! Learn about the prankster Benjamin Franklin and his exploits with electricity!
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DNA and Darwin's mistake
If you took all the DNA from your body and stretched it out in a line, it would be twice the diameter of the solar system! Learn all about DNA and what makes it is the key to inheritance, and also a little bit of how animal cloning works.
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Why is the table periodic?
What’s a chemistry? Today we’re talking about atoms! (Don’t trust them, they make up everything!) and uncovering the mystery of why the table is periodic.
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Newton's laws applied to gumballs in space
You're stuck floating in space, ten feet from your spaceship, with no way to move, except... a sack full of gumballs. What do you do?
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Science is the best way we have for understanding how the world works. And you know what makes science better? Puns! This podcast is meant to introduce a variety of scientific topics in a way that is approachable for people without a scientific background and entertaining even for the nerds who think they know everything.
HOSTED BY
Mark McDonald
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Ideas Worth Exploring have?
Ideas Worth Exploring currently has 32 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Ideas Worth Exploring about?
Science is the best way we have for understanding how the world works. And you know what makes science better? Puns! This podcast is meant to introduce a variety of scientific topics in a way that is approachable for people without a scientific background and entertaining even for the nerds who...
How often does Ideas Worth Exploring release new episodes?
Ideas Worth Exploring has 32 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Ideas Worth Exploring?
You can listen to Ideas Worth Exploring on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Ideas Worth Exploring?
Ideas Worth Exploring is created and hosted by Mark McDonald.
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