Have you ever experienced something so strange that you were convinced you were dreaming, crazy, or even living in a simulation? Did you think Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s? Do you think that we all died in a cataclysm and our consciousness transferred to an alternate dimension? This is the episode for you! We discuss the science behind the weird "glitches in the matrix" that can cause us to question our reality, as well as discuss some real experiments that show us how weird reality really is.

Periodic Round Table

S3E6: Glitch in the Matrix

Monsters are a part of every culture in the world, but how can we link them to discoveries in science, and how do they evolve based on these discoveries? We talk about this, as well as play a monster game, in today's episode.

S3E5: Who Is the True Monster?

Ghosts are a supernatural phenomenon that has captured the imagination -- and fear -- of people for millennia. But are there scientific explanations for the creepy, shadowy figures that plague our peripheral vision? Continuing our series of spooky episodes, we talk about the science behind what we can interpret as ghosts!

S3E4: Give Up the Ghost

We kick off our spooky science series starting with everyone's favorite flesh-eating ghouls, zombies! Did you know that there are lots of real examples in science that relate to these festering fiends? We talk about zombie-like cases including disease, mental illness, and parasites.

S3E3: All We Want To Do Is Eat Your Brains

We are currently 100 seconds from midnight in 2020, but what exactly does that mean? In this episode, we talk about the Doomsday Clock, invented by scientists during the height of the nuclear arms race. How close is humanity to wiping itself out? How much time do we have left? Have we become death, destroyer of worlds? So much doom!

S3E2: Tick Tock, On The Clock

Dinosaurs fascinated all of us as children, but did you know how many connections are found between these giant ancient lizards and creatures of lore and mythology? Join us as we discuss our fine, ferocious feathered friends and their links to thunderbirds, griffins, and dragons!

S3E1: Boom Goes the Dino-mite

We sit down with Trevor Motley to discuss organ and tissue recovery (or is it harvesting? Farming? Mining?), how tissues are recovered, and the organ donation process. We also discuss some common myths about being an organ donor. Neither of us woke up in a bathtub full of ice with no kidneys following recording, so we'll call it a win!

S2E12: Don't Fear the Reaper

We finish up our two-parter on personality disorders by discussing Cluster B, such as narcissistic and borderline personality disorders, and Cluster C, such as dependent personality disorder. Joel also discovers a new type, known as puppy personality disorder. It's a real thing, and we're real scientists.

S2E11: I Hate You, Don't Leave Me

In the first of our two-part series on personality disorders, we discuss the differences between mood, psychotic, and personality disorders, the clusters of personality disorders, and also go over Cluster A types.

S2E10: The Cult of Personality

Reproduction: a favorite pastime for many creatures. We talk about the various forms of reproduction, including self-love (aka asexual reproduction), the crazy world of animal sexual behaviors, and some interesting mating rituals.

S2E9: Do It Like They Do On The Discovery Channel

Black holes are one of the most mysterious and strangest objects in all of space. Once purely theoretical according to general relativity, astronomers now have compelling observational evidence, including direct imaging of the accretion disk around a black hole. In this episode, we’ll get into what a black hole is, how they’re formed, how scientists detect them, and some of the strange physics behind them.

S2E8: Bring Me That Event Horizon

A quick update on the Periodic Round Table concerning COVID-19.

S2E7: A COVID-19 Update

We interview entomology graduate student Mika Pagani about the creepy-crawlies of our world, and talk about everything from their effects on agriculture to what the coolest bugs undoubtedly are.

S2E6: Bug Out with Your Mug Out

We're all focused on being safe right now with the threat of a pandemic bearing down upon us. But what about lab safety? We sit down with Dr. Brian Tissue to discuss safety in research, academic, and industrial settings.

S2E5: I Feel the Nafety for Safety

With a bit of a delay thanks to our favorite pandemic virus COVID-19, we bring you today's episode with Lee Mason on investing in technology. What are the fastest-growing tech industries and which investment opportunities are the highest risk (or even lowest risk), but highest reward?

S2E4: Tech In Spec

A podcast by two STEM graduate students that brings sometimes incomprehensible science into an easy-to-digest package and combats misconceptions plaguing our current economic, political, and social landscape.

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Periodic Round Table

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