Who knew a scientific examination of bookbinding would take us down such a macabre pathway? That's right, books made with human flesh are more common than you could imagine—Alison will explain. Bill tries to make "e Day" a thing, and we'll deepen your appreciation for tardigrades, naked mole rats and octopuses.

It's Only Science

Episode #15: Books Bound in Human Skin

Is it a vegan burger or witchcraft? Alison introduces the gang to the meatiest non-meat patty you can sink your teeth into. We ponder Albert Einstein's views on capitalism, Bill assures us the world is indeed getting smarter and Nate pays homage to a man who needs no introduction. It's only science (most of the time). Music: "Marie Curie" by The Crypts

Episode #14: Vegan Meat Should Bleed

When you shuffle a deck of cards, odds are you've assembled something that no one else has ever assembled, or ever will again. We take a walk around the world and suck droplets from the ocean to discuss the bewildering mathematics of a deck of cards. Then, we've got the scoop on the first image of a black hole, which is expected to be released sometime this year. Also, you have a keen ability to sense when a person is sick—whether through sight or smell. We'll dig into the sense you didn't know you had. And, finally, we play Nate's science metaphor game. Hopefully, we didn't embarrass ourselves.

Episode #13: 52! Pickup

The present doesn't exist, and the most accurate clock in the world is actually an email newsletter. We dig into the intricacies of time in this episode, so please make the time to listen! Also, Bill quizzes us on our knowledge of tautonyms, and teaches us how to construct a sentence using only "buffalo." What's a tautonym? Well, you'll find out. Nate dishes on yellow #5, and Alison rounds up some of the strange, heartfelt and downright cool things that astronauts have brought to the moon. Tune in, and we'll prove to you that time indeed flies when you're having fun.

Episode #12: What Is Time?

Over and over again, people tend to misperceive their true expertise on a given subject. Some people think they are smarter than they really are, and vice versa. Even the smartest people on the planet aren't immune to this common bias, as Bill explains. Carl dishes the dirt on dust in the latest installment of the Boredom Bin. And, speaking of dirt, Alison has good news for future Mars pioneers: french fries could be on the menu. And Nate takes us on a trip with some of his favorite psychedelic research studies.

Episode #11: Space Potatoes, the Dirt on Dust and Stupid Smarts

Yes, we're going there. In this episode of the podcast, Alison, our latest Boredom Bin victim, gets stuck explaining the science of urinal cakes. She's the one person in the room who hasn't actually seen one in person, but her stream of knowledge on the topic is on point. Carl follows up "topic #1" with "topic #2": poop. He spoke with David Waltner Toews, author of "The Origin of Feces," to see why we might want to consider polishing a turd, and rethinking excrement's stinky reputation. And as a nice palate cleanser, Bill busts out the Banach-Tarski paradox. In a nutshell, you can take one sphere, cut it up in a most precise way, and end up with two spheres identical to the first one. In fact, you could, theoretically, take a pea, cut it up just right, and make a sphere the size of the size. Believe it or not, it'll sort of make sense by the end of the episode...sort of. And finally, Nate wraps this whole thing up with bacon—that is, why meteoroids streaking through the sky can sound just like sizzling bacon. A very cool experiment reveals the fascinating physics behind this phenomena.

Episode #10: We're Talkin' Poop and Urinal Cakes

The science of boredom is actually quite stimulating, as Carl makes clear in an utterly meta segment of the Boredom Bin. And they're old, they're fast, they're huge, they're magical ... they're mushrooms. From "hat" tossing to cleaning up nuclear waste, Alison explores the fantastic capabilities of fungi. The brain is a mysterious thing, and the few scientists who have studied the "Tetris Effect" have revealed intriguing quirks about memory, and as Bill explains, there are plenty of questions remaining. And finally, Nate explores the linguistic nature of words that have no translation in English, such as tartle, Iktsuarpok or komorebi. Can we truly experience a feeling or idea if we don't have a word for it?

Episode #9: From Boredom to 'Sporedom'

This week on another rousing episode of "It's Only Science," Alison recounts the rich history of animals in space. Seriously, we've sent a lot of animals up there. Bill attempts some science stand-up. Nate takes us to the bottom of the ocean, where strange sounds travel to the deepest, darkest depths of the planet. And Carl asks a simple question, "Who determines when an organ in the body is an organ?" The answer is surprisingly complicated. And, thanks to the Boredom Bin, asphalt rears its ugly head...again.

Episode #8: An Homage to Spacefaring Animals

This week, Alison stuns the "It's Only Science" crew with a smorgasbord of facts about the uvula—you know, that thing that hangs from the back of your throat. Prepare to be shocked, horrified and utterly fascinated. Nikola Tesla belongs in the "Jerks of Science" club, and Bill tells us why. Carl explains the incredibly effective techniques of a WWII Nazi interrogator, and the team agrees that he's actually kind of a nice guy—for a Nazi. Plus: If Earth collapsed on itself, how big of a black hole would it generate? And what the heck is a time crystal? Nate and Alison have the answers you seek.

Episode #7: Wonders of the Uvula and the 'Nice-Guy' Nazi Interrogator

Scientists are five steps closer to synthesizing the entire genome of baker’s yeast, a feat that, once accomplished, will push the field of synthetic biology into a new frontier. An international team of researchers led by NYU Langone geneticist Jef Boeke on Thursday announced it constructed and integrated five “designer” chromosomes into Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This collaboration, known as the Synthetic Yeast 2.0 project (Sc2.0), unveiled its first-ever “designer chromosome” back in 2014, which brings the official total of made-from-scratch chromosomes to 6 of baker’s yeast 16. Carl spoke with Boeke Thursday before the news broke.

Uncut: Five Steps Closer to a Synthetic Genome

In this episode of the podcast, we welcome Alison Mackey, Discover's associate art director, to the show. In her debut, she provides a rundown off a conceptual Venus rover that would be powered by the wind and record data on vinyl records. Bill dusts off the "nyan cat" video and dives into animal sounds in languages around the world. Carl shares the latest developments in the ancient field of breath research, and Nate brings it home with trends in body hacking. LINKS Breath research in the theater: http://bit.ly/2maoNoi Neuroskeptic's takedown of the story you just read: http://bit.ly/2maqiCU That asteroid spaceship: http://bit.ly/2mawVF9 And, as always, check us out at www.discovermagazine.com for more!

Episode #6: Steampunk Rovers, Body Hacking and Breath Science

What if electrons and positrons are a single entity moving backwards and forwards in time? The one-electron universe is a far-out theory posited by John Wheeler, a respected physicist. Bill guides us through this heady topic. Nate bangs on our eardrums with some audio illusions, and Carl digs into the surprising science of rainbows. LINKS The McGurk Effect: http://bit.ly/2lsLnIt Smelly plastic: http://bit.ly/2lsFQBI Music: "Marie Curie" by The Crypts

Episode #5: Rainbows, Audio Illusions and the 'One-Electron' Universe

Are we born to fight, or are we born to get along? Gemma breaks down the latest in this fierce scientific debate. Bill describes the wonders of petrified mud and mnemonics. Carl attempts to aggravate the group with speech-jamming technology, and Nate jostles our memories with a riff on the the Berenstein...wait...Berenstain Bears. LINKS Born to Be Mild? http://bit.ly/1NZpdVW Are Humans Bad to the Bone? http://bit.ly/2lssE00 Earliest Evidence of Organized Violence: http://bit.ly/2lsraCP 20 Things You Didn't Know About the Human Voice: http://bit.ly/1SKYf2n Voice Jammer Gun: http://bit.ly/2lssbe6 The Periodic Table Song: http://bit.ly/2lsoLYQ 'Mandela Effect' Quiz: http://bzfd.it/2lsw17e Music: Marie Curie by The Crypts

Episode #4: Are We Born to Be Bad?

John Edgar Browning spent five years conducting ethnographic studies of real-life vampires. Nate shares his conversation with Browning, and we sink our teeth into this topic. Gemma, our resident dinosaur expert, challenges us to a game of “Is That a Real Dinosaur?” Reality may surprise you. We meditate on the wonders of pi, and Bill shares a theory that stretches our mind. Nate also somehow manages to make polystyrene interesting. LINKS The vampire article: http://bit.ly/2l5oxnb Ants behaving like syrup: http://bit.ly/2l5xtce Pie world ranking list: http://bit.ly/2l5wIjp Akira Haraguchi, the pi champion: http://bit.ly/2l5DxkT Music: “Marie Curie” by The Crypts Send us feedback: podcast@discovermagazine.com

Episode #3: Vampires, Pi's Profundity and Is That a Dinosaur?

This week, as the first victim of the Boredom Bin, Gemma will kick some asphalt and share the science of this integral building material. She'll also sing the praises of a meticulously preserved, feathered dinosaur tail. Meanwhile, Bill gives us the tingles, Nate links faces to monkey butts and Carl challenges the gang to a game of who said it: Stephen Hawking or William Shatner? LINKS TO CLICK Gemma's story about that tail: http://bit.ly/2kv9EKx Nate's monkey butt breakdown: http://bit.ly/2kv5JgO That sine-tingling ASMR video: https://youtu.be/B8jUVci17vE Music: "Marie Curie" by The Crypts

Episode #2: Nice Tail, Tingles, Monkey Butts and Shatner

"It's Only Science" is a podcast from the editorial team at Discover Magazine. Every episode, we get the band of nerds together to talk about science. We might discuss the news, play some games or just share something that blew our minds recently. We don't take ourselves too seriously, so join us and have some fun. After all, it's only science.

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It's Only Science

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