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PODCAST · comedy

Probably Science

Professional comedians with so-so STEM pedigrees take you through this week in science. Incompetently. Featuring hosts Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood (and sometimes Jesse Case or Brooks Wheelan) along with a rotating cast of special guests from the worlds of comedy and science.

  1. 620

    Episode 610 - Kirk Smith

    Comedian Kirk Smith (@kirksmithcomedy) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his books Rice Krispies with Ketchup and Movin, pools and jacuzzis, competitive eating champions, the science of fireworks, the lack of rap in the Billboard Hot 100 and Andy's upcoming Oregon tour.

  2. 619

    Episode 609 - Ryan Conner

    Comedian/author Ryan Conner (@ryanconnercomedy) returns to the show to talk with Jesse, Andy and Matt about his new memoir 12 Guys Walk Into a Kitchen, Vietnamese refugees, Tippi Hedren's nail salon legacy, British soccer fans cleaning up in the US, the worst year to be alive, 2020 vs. 1968, hipster nostalgia, stomp clap tall bikes and nuclear (not atomic) clocks.

  3. 618

    Episode 608 - Laura Sams Jordan

    Zoologist/producer/composer/podcaster Laura Sams (@lauramsams) Jordan joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about fliming grizzly bears in Alaska, studying hyenas in Africa, Laura's kid-friendly wildlife podcast The Happiest Animal Show, starting a production company with your sibling, interviewing six-year-olds, Laura's inflatable basking shark, the shocking actual appearance of basking sharks, the Horniman walrus, they're all in my Wildlife Treasury, a duck in a jersey and inserting a human language gene into mice.

  4. 617

    Episode 607 - Diana Hong

    Comedian Diana Hong (@dhongcomedy) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to discuss cat ownership, Shadow Force, Sawbones and the McElroy-iverse, Diana's golf career, outsider commemorative art, a new way to get your lithium, battery types, alkali metals reacting with water, Lithium Valley, bottle recycling in the US, Sonny Bono's Palm Springs legacy, awful bronze statues, RIP Primm (maybe), an optimal robot body with 20 legs and Old Glory Robot Insurance.

  5. 616

    Episode 606 - Charles Star

    Lawyer-turned-comedian and self-professed podcast slut Charles Star (@ugarles) returns to the show to talk about his podcast No Homework, celebrity roasts, Wings album covers, bad abbreviations, contact lenses that ease depression in mice, the insect with the biggest nuts, self-recognition in beluga whales and the link between sleep duration and accelerated aging.

  6. 615

    Episode 605 - James Frey

    Comedian and former paramedic James Frey (@jamesfreycomedy) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about firefighter dreams and emergency medicine reality, James' Ventura comedy show, giving CPR in civilian life, a woman (well, women) who couldn't burp, getting fobbed off, sucker fish hiding in manta rays' butts, a quantum battery breakthrough and missing scientist conspiracy theories.

  7. 614

    Episode 604 - Shane Mauss

    Comedian Shane Mauss (@shane_mauss) returns to the show to talk about his upcoming comedy special TRIPS: The First Dose, how LSD affects blind people, misophonia's link to anxiety and depression, the goring of a matador's ass, plants 'hearing' rain coming and Shane's comedy/science podcast Here We Are.

  8. 613

    Episode 603 - Brandie Posey

    Comedian Brandie Posey (@brandazzle) returns to the show to talk with Jesse, Andy and Matt about the geography of Jersey, Brandie's label Burn This Records and her new comedy special Milk Job, Andy's other ska band, why humans can't regenerate limbs, a huge volcano refilling with magma, the dude who got both his arms reattached in 1992, whether Yellowstone is due for an eruption and Fruit Love Island.

  9. 612

    Episode 602 - Chandler Dean

    Comedian/speechwriter Chandler Dean (@chandlerjdean) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his show Abolish Everything!, Jesse's over-the-top stuffed animal purchase, poop speed as a health indicator, the Bristol Stool Chart, medical fake poo, Jesse's obsessions with fake foods, giant stuff and really tiny stuff, Artemis II's avatar crewmates, the magic of Tiny Empath Babies, videos of Tiny Empath Babies and more videos of Tiny Empath Babies.

  10. 611

    Episode 601 - Amber Preston

    Comedian Amber Preston (@prestonparty) returns to help Andy, Jesse and Matt celebrate the big six-oh-one and talk about Artemis II, frozen urine in space, a microbe that makes you stronger, Trump's insane handshakes, sharks testing positive for cocaine and sperm difficulties in zero-g.

  11. 610

    Episode 600 - Katie Novotny

    Comedian Katie Novotny (@katienovotnyyyyy) joins Matt and Andy to discuss her special Son of Your Dreams, whale junk, headbutting whales, the 20-year cycle of fashion, an evolved arsenic tolerance, Thai children who can see underwater and a Warsaw Poland Bros. song Andy plays on.

  12. 609

    Episode 599 - Monica Nevi

    Comedian Monica Nevi (@monicanevi) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about her special Big Stepdad Energy, what VO2 max means, esports scholarships, vasectomy rate spikes during March Madness, the effect of carbonated water on gamer performance, a bunch of human brain cells in a petri dish playing Doom, unlocking the antibacterial secrets of frogs and using frogs to keep milk from spoiling.

  13. 608

    Episode 598 - Matthew Coe

    Comedian Matthew Coe (@matthew_coe__) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about parents watching comedy, Matthew's show My Therapist Knows Your Name, Matthew's hypoplastic right heart syndrome, the closing of the foramen ovale, a Japanese study of falling cats, a robot handling potato chips, and an averted Moon asteroid close call.

  14. 607

    Episode 597 - Jackie Kashian

    Comedian Jackie Kashian (@jackiekashian) returns to the show to talk with Jesse and Matt about her new standup special Alter-Kashian, huge amounts of hydrogen inside the Earth's core, weird things yawning does in your brain and a possible universal vaccine. See Matt on tour in Seattle and Portland, and Andy on tour in Santa Barbara.

  15. 606

    Episode 596 - Forrest Shaw

    Comedian and former marine biologist Forrest Shaw (@forrestshaw) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Andy and Jesse about his new live show The Ocean Hates You, his addiction podcast I've Got A Problem, bonnethead sharks, the rise of online sports gambling, a Kalshi market about aliens, and the myth of alpha wolves.

  16. 605

    Episode 595 - Aisha Alfa

    Comedian Aisha Alfa (@aishaalfa) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about comedy in Winnipeg, Jesse's Megyn Kelly-loved Olympics tweet, the cult movie Phantom of the Paradise, Andy's family friend Olympic ice dancer, the German word for a living stork with an arrow in it, the penis injection Olympic ski jumping controversy, an amazing artificial lung feat, Jesse's artificial lung cat bed, Aisha's newsletter and Andy's upcoming ska shows.

  17. 604

    Episode 594 - David Huntsberger

    Comedian David Huntsberger returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his podcast Intercepts, his new platform The Endless Abyss, the lost art of sketch comedy albums, the world's worst redaction, Redactle, how dogs build their vocabularies like toddlers, Stella the talking dog, dumb dogs, breed stereotypes, Bad Will Hunting, the worst logo and name in education, longevity in meat-eaters and the foresight of The Machine Stops.

  18. 603

    Episode 593 - Diya Basrai

    Comedian/neuroscientist Diya Basrai (@diyabasrai) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about Moravec's Paradox, whether there's something meat-specific about intelligence, a less-pessimistic AI take, a tool-using cow, Diya's comedy special and his comedy/science live show Uncontrolled Variables.

  19. 602

    Episode 592 - Jon Stringer

    Comedian Jon Stringer (@jonjstringer) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about living in a converted rural Kansas church, the intricacies of comedy competitions and cruise ship comedy, dry ice PVC soupcan launchers, the oldest known use of poison arrows, retail blowguns and their misuse, vibe-coding a band manager, why you should stop using hydrogen peroxide on cuts, sword canes and pendulous doorknockers.

  20. 601

    Episode 591 - Imaan Hadchiti

    Comedian Imaan Hadchiti (@imaanfrankhadchiti) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about Rima syndrome, the movie Tiptoes, the passing of an art legend, sniffing farts to prevent Alzheimer's, what actually causes ice to be slippery, when physical aging really kicks in and making paralyzed rats walk again in a really creepy way.

  21. 600

    Episode 590 - Waen Shepherd

    Comedian/actor/writer/composer Waen Shepherd (@waenshep) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about the new album from his alter ego Gary Le Strange, the biology of elves, the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, a runaway supermassive black hole, a lemon-shaped exoplanet and the music of Gary Wilson.

  22. 599

    Episode 589 - Chris Duffy

    Comedian/host/author Chris Duffy (@chrisiduffy) returns to the show to talk with Jesse, Andy and Matt about his new book Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy, his radio show/podcast You're The Expert, his TED podcast How To Be a Better Human, the unintentionally phallic Covid-era Terry Crews video Chris worked on with Matt and Andy, prescribing standup to improve mental health, training Swedish crows to pick up cigarette butts and a frozen worm revived after 46,000 years.

  23. 598

    Episode 588 - Buddy Fitzpatrick

    Comedian Buddy Fitzpatrick (@buddycomic) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about Batman's effect on subway chivalry, the rooms of Madonna Inn, ladyfingers, manmade fire from 350,000 years earlier than previously thought, monogamy across the animal kingdom and an insane chain of rabies transmission via organ transplantation.

  24. 597

    Episode 587 - Adam Burke

    Comedian Adam Burke (@atpburke) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about Adam's new comedy special Unamerican, debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment, classic '80s Arnold movies, Matt and Jesse performing together in Nashville, the preacher who shot an escaped lab monkey, AIs that believe themselves to be more rational than humans, 3D printing with a mosquito proboscis, Andy's upcoming orchestra shows and Matt's upcoming San Deigo standup show.

  25. 596

    Episode 586 - Ophira Eisenberg

    Comedian/writer/NPR host Ophira Eisenberg (@ophirae) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about her podcast Parenting Is a Joke, her upcoming special produced by Lewis Black, the effect of venting on anger, a rage room show Andy worked on, why you should leave uncontacted tribes alone, the wombat-thief influencer and why you should speak up to seagulls.

  26. 595

    Episode 585 - Jeff Zenisek

    Comedian Jess Zenisek (@jeffzenisek) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about tennis, homophobic sports stereotypes, Jesse's new ski persona, Mr. Wizard, Jeff's hair care regimen, a tiny tyrannosaur, a better rock-paper-scissors strategy, gray hair's relationship to cancer, the worst music to play during sex and the banger Parked By The Lake.

  27. 594

    Episode 584 - Drew Droege

    Comedian/playwright Drew Droege (@drew_droege) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about his new off-Broadway play Messy White Gays, X-ray NBA poker fraud and why birds sing after a solar eclipse.

  28. 593

    Episode 583 - Mehran Khaghani

    Wonderful NY comic Mehran Khagani (@themehran) joins Jesse and Matt to talk about escaping from Iran, working at the Harvard School of Public Health, hyrax  butt drag fossil marks, Canadian  heart transplants and the  most pristine star in the universe! In the patreon bonus we get into penguin micronaps. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon  

  29. 592

    Episode 582 - Jen Kober

    Comedian/actor Jen Kober (@jenkober) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about comedy in Louisiana, Oktoberfest, buxom wenches, the connection between fish buttholes and fingers, a koala chlamydia vaccine, Jesse's newfound raccoon fame, light-powered gears that fit inside a strand of hair and Jen's membership in the Star Wars canon.

  30. 591

    Episode 581 - NASA Exoplanet Science Ambassador Anjali Tripathi

    NASA astrophysicist and JPL Exoplanet Science Ambassador Anjali Tripathi joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about exoplanets and the different ways of finding them including radial velocity, transits and gravitational microlensing, the challenges of studying planetary atmospheres, why telescopes are built in deserts or in space, Anjali's time at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, science communication projects like the Logic 44ever rap video, the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, dark matter, lasers in astronomy, Halloween at the White House, the odd "smells" of other planets and how to take a virtual tour of JPL.

  31. 590

    Episode 580 - Michelle Murphy

    Comedian Michelle Murphy (@meeshoffleash) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about playing tennis for Grinnell, the Enhanced Games, celebrities trying their hands at winter sports, Jesse's accidental mermaid book purchase and the Dr. Seuss book he was aiming for, Burning Man missionaries, LSD to fight anxiety and surprisingly not too uncommon iridescent mammals.

  32. 589

    Episode 579 - Ken Reid

    Comedian Ken Reid (@kennethwreid) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about growing up a child of television, mud wrestling, Ken's podcast TV Guidance Counselor, an HIV prevention breakthrough, the insanity of Movie 43, the human washing machine no one asked for, blasting plastic waste with a plasma torch, Doja Cat's nod to Max Headroom, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, the reason plastic recycling mostly ended, Andy's Oktoberfest shows in Lake Arrowhead and John Williams polka music.

  33. 588

    Episode 578 - Ryan O'Flanagan

    Comedian Ryan O'Flanagan (@ryanoflan) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Ryan and Andy's chance encounter in a bar in Leadville, Married With Children tattoos, neanderthals and homo sapiens interbreeding, a novel telescope shape to help search for exoplanets, an insane impression of a neanderthal voice and Ryan's podcast Laser Show.

  34. 587

    Episode 577 - Myq Kaplan

    Comedian Myq Kaplan (@myqkaplan) returns to the show to talk to Andy, Jesse and Matt about growing out his eyebrows during the pandemic, babies distinguishing Ps from Bs, linguistics, sign language variations, standups aping Shane Gillis, the Mr. Beast voice, birds' preference for crapping in the air, strong link versus weak link problems, Ryan North, whether you should pay for bad art, what sequels always get wrong and Myq's great Substack.

  35. 586

    Episode 576 with Macey Isaacs!

    Comedian and host of the SSRI'M OK podcast Macey Isaacs joins the gang to talk about a meteorite that's older than our planet! AI and attachment theory! And some more AI nonsense before Andy's connection quit in a fury! In the Patreon bonus we find out why living near the ocean extends your life. Follow Macey on instagram and check out her podcast, and her Don't Tell special when it drops! Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher

  36. 585

    Episode 575 - Matt Parker

    Comedian/mathematician/YouTuber/author Matt Parker (@standupmaths) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his new book Love Triangle: How Trigonometry Shapes the World, his podcast A Problem Squared, his Edinburgh Fringe show Getting Triggy With It, Mathstodon, a hawk that uses traffic patterns to target prey, desire paths, Earth's leaking core, the Gibeon meteor, Matt's comedy tour dates and Andy's Colorado music dates.

  37. 584

    Episode 574 - Josh Gondelman

    Comedian Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) joins Andy and Matt to talk about his new special Positive Reinforcement, his newsletter, his wife Maris Kreizman's new book of essays, the geek/nerd/dweeb/dork Venn diagram, Nancy Kerrigan and Chris Farley, a new ass-grass fad among chimps, ass/gas/grass bumper stickers, neanderthals eating maggots and rotten meat, how surprisingly warm Uranus is and Tylenol inducing risky behavior.

  38. 583

    Episode 573 - Kai Humphries

    Comedian Kai Humphries (@kaihumphries) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to talk about his new special Gallivanting, the passing of Hulk Hogan, superheating solid gold, the Air Bud cinematic universe and an enormous 80,000-year-old blob in Utah.

  39. 582

    Episode 572 - Eric Rocha

    Comedian Eric Rocha (@ericrochacomedy) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about competing namesakes, fezzes, last suppers, Jesse's macronutrient gas, sleep hygiene, comedy on airplanes, what would happen if you threw a paper airplane from the ISS, a neanderthal fat factory, Matt's standup tour and Andy's Colorado ska tour.

  40. 581

    Episode 571 - Bryan Cook

    Comedian and Jimmy Kimmel Live! writer Bryan Cook (@bryancooking) returns to the show for a technical difficulty-laden episode in which Jesse and Andy talk with Matt while he's on a cruise ship, covering topics including comedy on a boat, candlepin bowling, a new interstellar object, crypto failures, Anthropic's Claude having an identity crisis, the Sean Connery classic Zardoz, an AI band with way too many Spotify plays, Matt's upcoming standup shows and Andy's upcoming Colorado tour with Warsaw Poland Brothers.

  41. 580

    Episode 570 - Matt, Jesse and Andy

    The gang's back together again to talk about how your pets alter your immune system, a plan to bomb an island full of invasive mice, why the Pentagon wants you to believe in UFOs and a rare post-orgasm illness that causes days of flu-like symptoms.

  42. 579

    Episode 569 - JT Habersaat

    Comedian and author of new book Doing Time: Comedians Talk About Standup JT Habersaat (jtcomedy.com) to talk about the other books on Jawbone Press! Making bespoke action figures! Changing your brainwaves to not feel pain! Infrared contact lenses for night vision! Other contact lenses to cheat at poker! How joke magazine x-ray specs "work"! A shapeshifting octopus! And whether the Loch Ness Monster is a whale penis! In the Patreon bonus we hear about a new Chinese space mission and a paragliding mishap. Please go and see Matt Jul 16 in Columbus OH, Jul 31 in Hartford CT, or Oct 12 in Virginia Beach VA.  

  43. 578

    Episode 568 - Tom Rhodes

    Globetrotting headliner Tom Rhodes (tomrhodes.net) has a new special, The Ripest Zebras, available on his website. He joins Jesse and Matt to talk about growing up in NASA's backyard! The chair challenge! Wasps having surprisingly good memories! While herrings might not! Tom's hummingbird facts! Plus how to drop an egg! And push straws through potatoes! In the Patreon bonus we hear about an update to the classic marshmallow test and Tom's key to a good relationship. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher

  44. 577

    Episode 567 - Ron Placone

    Comedian and filmmaker Ron Placone (@ronplacone) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about his new movie Left at Wall, the guy who let venomous snakes bite him hundreds of times for science (kind of), a color no one had seen until now, retinitis pigmentosa and turning lead into gold.

  45. 576

    Episode 566 - Amy Silverberg

    Comedian, writer and author of upcoming novel "First Time, Long Time" Amy Silverberg (@amysilverberg) joins the gang to talk about Andy's Irish landscape spotting! The optimal amount of bra bounce! Andy's Iberian adventures! Lions biting gladiators! Men fighting gorillas! And which glasses to wear to avoid the fight yourself! In the Patreon bonus we talk about lucid dreaming and a new state of mind. Please go and see Matt Jul 16 in Columbus OH, Jul 31 in Hartford CT, or Oct 12 in Virginia Beach VA. And Andy's band on May 31 at Coyote Run Studio in Joshua Tree. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher  

  46. 575

    Episode 565 - Tony Camin

    Great stand-up and co-creator of the Marijuana-Logues Tony Camin (@tony.camin) joins Jesse and Matt to talk about crows' geometry skills! Tony helping one of the fathers of decision analysis! Why seals don't drown! Unlikely animal friends! And whether your month of conception shapes your body! Tony's new album, An Ass Pocket of Whimsy will come out on Stand-Up! Records and you can find him at tonycamin.com. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher

  47. 574

    Episode 564 - Samantha Hale

    Comedian and Horror Nerd Samantha Hale (@thesamanthahale) joins Jesse and Matt to talk about: A layer of life deep below us! The not actually back from extinction dire wolves! The Earth's mysterious pulsations! and Reagan's obsession with the Titanic! In the Patreon bonus we talk about bending sounds. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher

  48. 573

    Episode 563 - Live from Perth with Wil Anderson and Robyn Perkins

    Friend of the show Wil Anderson (@officialwilanderson) joins Matt live in Perth along with marine biologist-turned-comedian Robyn Perkins (@robynhperkins) to talk all things coral, nudibranchs, poisonous sea creatures and surprising things to do with dry ice and mouths.

  49. 572

    Episode 562 - Shawn Carlow

    Writer/comedian Shawn Carlow (@shawncarlow) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his new book People of the Titanic: 30 Tales of Extra-Doomed Souls Who Sailed on The Ship of Dreams, mouse-to-mouse resuscitation, what your poop schedule says about your health and physicists creating a supersolid out of light.

  50. 571

    Episode 561 - Live from Perth with Ross Noble, Kirsty Webeck and Paul Savage

    Live from Perth, Matt is joined by Ross Noble, Kirsty Webeck and Paul Savage to talk about if you can cook a chicken by throwing ice cubes at it, dolphins communicating with pee streams, dormant volcanoes that aren't that dormant and astronauts' eyesight.

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Professional comedians with so-so STEM pedigrees take you through this week in science. Incompetently. Featuring hosts Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood (and sometimes Jesse Case or Brooks Wheelan) along with a rotating cast of special guests from the worlds of comedy and science.

HOSTED BY

Andy Wood, Matt Kirshen

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Probably Science have?

Probably Science currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Probably Science about?

Professional comedians with so-so STEM pedigrees take you through this week in science. Incompetently. Featuring hosts Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood (and sometimes Jesse Case or Brooks Wheelan) along with a rotating cast of special guests from the worlds of comedy and science.

How often does Probably Science release new episodes?

Probably Science has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Probably Science?

You can listen to Probably Science 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 Probably Science?

Probably Science is created and hosted by Andy Wood, Matt Kirshen.
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