Science Vs

The smash hit Netflix documentary “Unknown: Cave of Bones” has kicked off an all-out science brawl. The film makes extraordinary claims about a strange ape-like creature that lived hundreds of thousands of years ago — claims that rewrite what it means to be human. But some scientists are pushing back, saying that at this point, these extraordinary claims aren’t backed up by extraordinary evidence. So, what’s going on? Is “Cave of Bones” a Cave of Lies? We chat to the man at the center of the controversy, National Geographic Explorer In Residence Lee Berger, as well as a couple of the scientists pushing back against his work: Professor Andy Herries and Associate Professor Jamie Hodgkins.

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

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) ‘Cave of Bones’ is a hit!
(02:55) Lee Berger, Explorer in Residence
(07:10) Meet Homo naledi
(14:09) Extraordinary claims
(20:54) The media campaign and the backlash
(25:16) The evidence for burial
(32:00) The evidence for rock art
(40:54) Cave of Insufficient Evidence?

This episode was produced by Joel Werner, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler, and Nick DelRose. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, Peter Leonard, So Wylie, and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Dr Bridget Alex, Professor Michael Petraglia, Dr Kimberly Foecke, Dr Sven Ouzman, Dr Elizabeth Grace Veatch, Dr Flint Dibble, Professor Tim White, and Professor Bernard Wood. And a big thank you to Lindsey Cherner, Jill Harris, Jack Weinstein, Katie Vines, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. 
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More and more people are puffing on vapes — but some governments are making moves to ban them. So how dangerous is vaping, really? And as we inhale that sweet cherry flavor into our lungs, could we also be changing our brains? To find out, we talk to tobacco researcher Dr. Michael Chaiton, inhalation toxicologist Professor Ilona Jaspers, and pharmacology researcher Melissa Herman.

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

In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) The fears around vaping
(03:41) Could vaping make you sick?
(09:45) Are vape flavors dangerous?
(20:17) Nicotine and depression
(32:03) Is vaping worse than smoking?

This episode was produced by Nick DelRose with help from Wendy Zukerman, Joel Werner, Rose Rimler and Michelle Dang. Our original vaping episode was produced by Kaitlyn Sawrey with help from Lexi Krupp and Meryl Horn. Editing by Caitlin Kenney and Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka and Peter Leonard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Bobby Lord, So Wylie, Bumi Hidaka, and Emma Munger. A huge thanks to all the people we spoke to for this episode including: Dr Jamie Harmann-Boyce, Prof Charlotta Pisinger, Prof Neal Benowitz, Dr Emily Stockings, Dr Mohammed Al-Hamdani, Prof Nancy Rigotti, Dr Elizabeth Stevens, Dr Matt Springer, Prof Paul Kenny, Dr Yasmeen Butt, Dr Sean Callahan, Dr Travis Henry, Professor Irfan Rahman, Christopher Harvel, Alex Sandorf, Dr James Pankow, Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos, Professor Lorraine Martin, Professor Moon-Shong Tang, Dr. Kevin Davidson and Myron Ronay. Extra thanks to Conor Duffy, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. 

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The latest hot new trend is: breathing. Yeah, that’s right — there are claims that so-called breathwork can cure depression and supercharge your brain. Breathfluencers reckon that we're breathing all wrong but that with the right kind of breathing, you could be living a happier, healthier life. So what's the deal here? Are you really breathing badly? And if you learned the right way to breathe, could you become a better you? To find out, we talk to psychiatrists Professor David Spiegel and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, memory researcher Dr. Artin Arshamian, and speech pathologist Ann Kearney. 

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

In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Meet the Breathfluencers
(05:27) Can breathwork reduce stress?
(10:18) Can breathwork help with depression and PTSD? 
(14:48) How does breathing work? 
(21:04) Are you a mouth breather?
(23:58) Can mouth-breathing ruin your memory? 
(31:05) Benefits of nose breathing
(33:41) Should you use mouth tape? 
(35:47) Are the Breathfluencers right?


This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Joel Werner, Rose Rimler, Nick DelRose and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, Peter Leonard, and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Professor George Dallum, Dr Theresa Larkin, Dr Justin Feinstein, Dr Daillin Tavoian, Professor Margaret Chesney, Dr Anthony Bain, Dr Jayakar Nayak, Professor Leslie Kay, Professor John Hanrahan, Professor Andrew Allen, Dr Shirley Telles, Guy Fincham, and Shikha Malviya. And a big thank you to Jill Harris, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.


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.
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Brand-new episodes will drop starting next week! Stay tuned for science deep dives on breathing and breathwork, seed oils (what SHOULD we cook with??), UFOs, self-care, energy drinks, personality tests and much much MUCH more.


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This week – our episode that you voted as our BEST wild card episode!! You’ll have to listen to find out what it is. 

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

In this episode talk to Brie Smith, Micah Truman, Katrina Spade and Thomas Bass. 

This episode was produced by Blythe Terrell and Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler, Courtney Gilbert and Disha Bhagat. Were edited by Blythe Terrell and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Eva Dasher. Mix and sound design of this episode was by Bobby Lord. Mix and sound design of our original episode was by Sam Bair. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger, Bobby Lord, So Wylie and Peter Leonard. Thanks to all of the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr John Paul, Dr Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, Dr Muriel Lepesteur, Jean F. Bonhotal, Dr Mark Pawlett, Professor Komla Tsey, Dr Ruth McManus and Dr Julie Rugg. Special thanks to Jimmy Olson, Jonathan Goldstein, Julia Martin, The Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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. 


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