Science Vs

REBROADCAST. The Supreme Court is set to rule on a major abortion case this year, and the court could decide to overturn Roe v. Wade. Already, places like Oklahoma, Texas and Idaho are rolling out major abortion restrictions. So today, we’re going back to the pre-Roe years, when one group of women got fed up and decided to take their health into their own hands. We talk to “self-helpers” Carol Downer and Francie Hornstein, who led a movement for safe abortions and education for women by women...

Russia attacked Ukraine more than a month ago — and the war has raged ever since. From the beginning, Russia has been pushing out propaganda and disinformation about what’s actually going on. So this week, we’re sharing parts of a podcast from independent journalists Pyotr Ruzavin and Natalka Gumenyuk, who have been covering what’s happening in Ukraine and what the people who live there are experiencing. Their show is called Fuck War.  Find Fuck War here: https://zona...

[REBROADCAST] Is it possible that the pyramids were built with a helping hand ... from aliens? If not, how did the ancient Egyptians build them without modern technology? To get to the bottom of this, we speak to author Erich von Däniken, paleoanthropologist Dr. Shelby Putt, Egyptologist Dr. Mark Lehner, and archaeologist Prof. David S. Anderson. Check out the transcript here: https://bit...

U.S. politicians are trying to keep trans kids from getting the medical care they need to transition — and states are banning them from playing on the sports teams that match their gender. So we’re looking at the science here, and asking: are the medical treatments for trans kids dangerous? And do trans folks have an advantage when it comes to sports? We talk to Florence Ashley, Dr. Jack Turban, and Joanna Harper to find out...

There’s tons of misinformation, fads and strong opinions floating around out there — but then there’s SCIENCE. Find it here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Joe Rogan was accused of spreading Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on his podcast, Spotify landed in the hot seat. People (including us!) wanted to know what the platform was doing to stop it. In this episode, we look into how tech platforms are fighting misinformation — and find out what actually works. To find out we speak to Professor David Rand, Professor Hany Farid, Laura Edelson and evelyn duoek.  Find our transcript here: https://bit...

Recently, Joe Rogan aired an interview that scientists are up in arms about — with Dr. Robert Malone. Malone talked smack about the Covid-19 vaccines, talking about scary side effects and implying that the vaccines are a risk to our fertility. Enter Science Vs. We fact check the bejesus out of it and zoom out to talk about the bigger picture: what to watch for if you’re worried about getting sucked in by misinformation online. Find our transcript here: https://bit...

The moon race is back! Countries — and billionaires — are lining up to take a crack at returning to the moon. But why are we really going? Some say this is a lunar gold rush, that countries want to mine the moon for resources. Others are saying the real reason to go to the moon today is that it’ll help us get to Mars. To find out, we talk to engineer Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid, physicist Prof. Nicolle Zellner, and astronomer Prof. Gregg Hallinan.  Check out our transcript here: https://bit...

Dr. Anthony Fauci sits down with us to talk about omicron, how this pandemic actually ends — and how he’s fighting back against the haters.  Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/3Djq9jX Science Vs is produced by Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Michelle Dang, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Daniel Ramirez. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welp, the pandemic has served up yet another poop sandwich, and it’s called omicron. This variant is popping up in dozens of countries across the world, and scientists are racing to get a handle on it. So how bad could this be? And could it sneak past our vaccines? To find out, we talk to virologist and immunologist Professor Ann Sheehy, Prof. Art Wallace, epidemiologist Dr. Barbara Cohn, immunologist Dr. Ali Ellebedy and virologist Dr. John Tembo...