Science Vs

The internet tells us that narcissists are everywhere — and that the problem is only getting worse. It’s like narcissism is oozing out of our celebrities, politicians, partners, parents, maybe even ourselves?? So today, we’re taking a long look in the mirror to find out: are we all a bunch of narcissists? And what should we do if we think someone in our life is a narcissist? We find out by talking to a real narcissist, Lee Hammock of the social media platform “The Self Aware Narcissist” as well as psychologists Prof. W. Keith Campbell, Prof. Kali Trzesniewski, and Dr. Craig Malkin. [REBROADCAST]



Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsNarcissistsRerun



We want to hear your ideas for new episodes of Science Vs! Tell us via:

Instagram at science_vs

X at @sciencevs 

Bluesky at sciencevs

Email at ScienceVsTeam@gmail.com

Voicemail at +1 774-481-1238‬ 



This episode does mention depression. Here are some crisis hotlines: 

United States: US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Dial 988 (Online chat available); US Crisis Text Line Text “HOME” to 741741

Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Online chat available)

Canada: Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (See link for phone numbers listed by province)

United Kingdom: Samaritans 116 123 (UK and ROI)

Full list of international hotlines here 

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsNarcissism 



In this episode, we cover:

(00:57) Lee’s Ratatouille Moment

(07:31) The Narcissism Test

(16:17) Are We In a Narcissism Epidemic?

(23:21) It Kind of Sucks to be a Narcissist 

(29:36) Narcissists in Therapy

(32:51) How to Deal With a Narcissist in Your Life



This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, So Wylie, Bumi Hidaka, and Bobby Lord.Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to for this episode, including Dr. Igor Weinberg,  Dr. April Ilkmen, Dr. Jennifer Gerlach, Dr. Betsy Edershile, Prof. Brad Bushman, Prof. Brent Donnellan, Prof. Chris Barry,  Dr. Glenn Geher, and Winkie Ma. Special thanks to Rachel Humphries for editing help. And big thanks to everyone who helped us this season! Jack Weinstein, Hunter, Chris Suter, Oscar, Elise, Dylan, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Willson.



Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raw milk is having a major moment, with fans claiming it’s a gut-healing superfood that can prevent everything from asthma to allergies. But others are like HOLD ON — we pasteurize milk to make it safe! Drinking raw milk can kill you. So, who’s right? Could there be some benefits to guzzling milk straight from the teat? Or is it a terrible idea? We talk to food science Prof. John Lucey and pediatric allergist and immunologist Prof. Christine Seroogy to find out.

Find us on YouTube at ScienceVsPodcast! You can also find the show on Instagram at science_vs and Wendy on TikTok at @wendyzuk.

Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsRawMilk 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Some people online claim raw milk is GREAT for you

(05:36) What is pasteurization??

(07:15) Is raw milk good for your microbiome?

(11:06) Can raw milk help prevent allergies and asthma?

(24:31) What are the risks of drinking raw milk?

This episode was produced by Blythe Terrell, with help from Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang and Wendy Zukerman. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Wendy Zukerman is our executive producer. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Research help from Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to for this episode, including Professor Markus Ege, thanks so much for your time. Thanks to Elsevier for sharing your raw milk book. 

Thanks to Elsevier for sharing your raw milk book with us. Thanks to the Zukerman family, Joseph Lavelle Wilson, and Jack Weinstein.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we’re revisiting caffeine. It’s a drug that tons of us take every day. So, is that a bad thing?? What is it really doing to our bodies and our brains? Plus — if we get it in the form of energy drinks, is that super dangerous? We talk to Dr. Astrid Nehlig, Prof. Gregory Marcus, and Prof. Sachin Shah. [REBROADCAST]

Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsCaffeine

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Our love/hate relationship with caffeine

(04:40) How coffee affects our gut

(07:29) How coffee affects our brain

(12:59) How coffee affects our sleep

(17:58) Coffee makes us go vroom vroom vroom!

(20:45) Are we caffeine addicts?? 

(28:15) Are energy drinks dangerous?

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Wendy Zukerman, as well as Nick DelRose, Joel Werner, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Sarah Baum. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger and Peter Leonard. Special thanks to all the researchers we spoke to for this episode – including Dr. Bryan Saunders, Dr. Sergi Ferré, Prof. Andreas Heinz, Prof. Christine Curran, Dr. Erikka Loftfield, Dr. Felix Oberhoffer, Dr. Alan Wayne Jones, and Dr. Vijay Yadav. Extra special thanks to Jason Vytlacil and the Zukerman family.

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A group of scientists meet a very unusual woman. A key part of her brain isn’t working: the amygdala. This is the part of the brain that we think is responsible for feeling fear. And in fact, this woman does seem pretty fearless. Researchers test her fear response using some very unconventional methods, but she takes everything in stride. Then, finally, they stumble onto the one thing that makes the woman who can’t feel fear absolutely panic. We scare up some science with neuropsychologist Dr. Justin Feinstein.



Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsWomanWhoFeltNoFear



In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Meet the Woman Who Felt No Fear 

(04:38) Fear and the Amygdala

(10:27) Scientists Start Running Experiments With the Woman Who Felt No Fear

(11:48) Scientists Try to Scare SM

(12:59) Scientists Try to Scare Her With Snakes

(16:08) Scientists Try to Scare Her with a Haunted House

(19:58) The Risks of Feeling No Fear

(25:46) Scientists Try a New Approach

(34:20) How Breathing Too Much Carbon Dioxide Causes Fear



This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman with help from Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang, and Meryl Horn. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Emma Munger, So Wiley, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. Thank you to all the scientists we spoke to for this episode including, Special thanks to Joseph Lavelle Wilson and the Zukerman family. 

Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. 


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peptides are huge right now. Influencers are telling us they can work wonders for all sorts of stuff. Struggling with an annoying injury that won't heal?? Belly fat that's pissing you off? Low energy? Gut issues?? There’s a peptide out there for you. People are buying peptides off the internet and injecting themselves with them, saying it's life changing. But away from the internet hype, there is actually a potential revolution happening in medicine around peptides. So we’re finding out what scientists are excited about here, and we look deeply at the science behind two massive peptides: BPC-157 and MOTS-c. And we’ll also look at the risks: Could peptides give you cancer? On this episode we talk to Dr. Hassy Cohen, Dr. Keith Baar, Dr. Dhruv Khullar and Dr. Cory Mayfield to get to the bottom of this.



Find us on Youtube! We're at https://www.youtube.com/@ScienceVsPodcast 



Find our transcript here:https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsPeptides



In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Peptides are everywhere right now

(03:56 ) What are peptides?

(04:39 ) The peptide revolution in medicine

(09:56) MOTS-c: Should you take it?

(15:56 ) BPC-157: Can it heal you?

(26:33) What are the risks?



This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from, Rose Rimler, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Meryl Horn and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Video editing and sound mix by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to for this episode including Dr. Dana Lis, Dr. Pouya Faridi and Dr. Timothy Piatkowski, as well as the Australian Science Media Centre. A big thanks to Joseph Lavelle Wilson and the Zukerman family. 



Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices