Smologies with Alie Ward
by Alie Ward
Latest episode
SEWER RATS with Bobby Corrigan
SEWER RATS with Bobby Corrigan
About this podcast
Ologies → Smologies. It’s all of the science, with none of the swearing! Smologies are shortened, kid-friendly episodes of the award-winning science podcast, Ologies, which covers topics from Toads (Bufology) to the Moon (Selenology) and everything in between. Enjoy clean and witty bite-sized science delights as host Alie Ward asks Ologists of all kinds smart – and sometimes silly – questions. Get to know the charming and diverse array of experts who share not only their wisdom, but also their lived experiences.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 127 episodes
- SEWER RATS with Bobby Corrigan · 26 minRATS: They love pizza. They invade taquerias at midnight. They scurry. They cuddle. They outsmart. Proving that not just woodsy megafauna can be charismatic, rats have lives we…
- FEAR with Mary Poffenroth · 31 minEvery day, your brain tries to save your life by being terrified. Thanks, brain! Also, calm the heck down, brain. Alie hunted down Dr. Mary Poffenroth, an expert in the…
- DANCING SPIDERS with Sebastian Echeverri · 31 minThey dance. They make songs. They will steal your heart. They are spiders. Jumping spiders, specifically, and impassioned spider scientist Dr. Sebastian Echeverri is on board to…
- APPLES with Susan K. Brown · 31 minHosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- OWLS with R.J. Gutiérrez · 30 minOWLS. FINALLY. In no particular order: what’s up with their eyes, legs, hoots, nests, necks, barfs? Is it ok to hoot back at them? What do you mean one of their toes is…
- BRAIN CHEMICALS with Crystal Dilworth · 29 minSerotonin! Dopamine! Norepinephrine! Neurotransmitters: what's their deal? Dr. Crystal Dilworth, aka Dr. Brain, stops by to have a spirited discussion about how chemical…
- SPACE FOOD with Maggie Coblentz · 26 minDehydrated eggs. Airborne tortillas. Pouches of chicken. Tang. Work up an appetite for space food with artist, designer and Astrobromatologist, Maggie Coblentz. We talk…
- FERNS with Fay-Wei Li · 27 minFronds. Forest dwellers. Spores. Houseplants. Gametophytes? We’ve got ferns. The charming and hilarious professor, pteridologist and author of “Ferns: Lessons in Survival from…
- BEAVERS with Rob Rich · 28 minOrange teeth! Multi-purpose tails! Architecture with twigs! Field naturalist, conservationist, wildlife tracker and “beaver believer” Rob Rich works with the National Wildlife…
- GOOD FIRE with Amy Christianson · 29 minCultural burns. Prescribed blazes. A healthy forest. What exactly is “good fire?” Let’s ask Indigenous fire scientist Dr. Amy Christianson, who is a co-host of the podcast…
- WILDFIRES with Gavin Jones · 29 minAs Smashmouth said, “My world’s on fire, how ‘bout yours?” Why yes, Mr. Mouth, it is, indeed, on fire. As so many of us around the globe are sharing in this burning sensation…
- WASPS with Eric Eaton · 27 minWasps!? Don’t even THINK of skipping this one, my beautiful chickens. You’re about to change your outlook on the most maligned winged sky babies, and we are delighted that…
- DARK MATTER with Flip Tanedo · 26 minIt’s invisible. It’s mysterious. It’s all around us – and no one knows what it is. Let’s stretch our brains by pondering Dark Matter! The world’s most affable and endearing…
- SEA TURTLES with Camryn Allen · 29 minIf you think you like sea turtles, get ready to become wildly obsessed with them. Cheloniologist Dr. Camryn Allen met up with Alie on a tropical island (ok, in a hotel room on a…
- TORTOISES with Amanda Hipps · 29 minWhat's a tortoise? What's a turtle? Why do they live so dang long? What's up with their shells? Wildlife biologist and testudinologist Amanda Hipps studies gopher tortoises and…
- TASTE with Gary Beauchamp · 27 minSweet! Salty! Sour! Umami? Why do some people love their greens more than others? Can something taste “hot?” Come down to flavortown and let’s talk tongues. Gustologist Dr. Gary…
- DOGS & HUMANS with David Ian Howe · 27 minAncient dogs! Domestic wolves! Anthropology! Archaeology! It’s all Ethnocynology: when and why humans and dogs became BFFs. The wonderful and iconic David Ian Howe is an educator…
- SECRET CODES with Simon Singh · 26 minSecret ciphers. Hidden treasure. Mysterious manuscripts. And … hog Latin. Cryptology expert and author of “The Code Book,” Simon Singh finally lets me ask him about Indigenous…
- CAPYBARAS with Elizabeth Congdon · 26 minCAPYBARAS! Blocky faces. Chill vibes. Spa days. Finally. Hydrochoerologist, Dr. Elizabeth Congdon, leads us into the muddy pond of these beloved giant rodents. We chat weird…
- THE HEART with Herman Taylor · 26 minIt beats. It throws blood. It breaks – but not if Dr. Herman Taylor can help it. Cardiology is a vast field but Dr. Taylor joined for a 101 on how the heart works, and how to…
- DRAGONFLIES with Jessica Ware · 27 minThey’re acrobatic fliers with long bodies and veined wings and their babies breathe through their butts: dragonflies. Let’s get into the difference between a damselfly and…
- ATLATLS with Angelo Robledo · 29 minSpears! Sharp rocks! Ancient tools, bows and arrows and ...atlatls? What’s an atlatl? Experimental archaeologist and decades-long ancient tool enthusiast Angelo Robledo is as…
- GAR with Solomon David · 28 minA long snout. Hundreds of teeth. Scales that could slice you. What is a gar and should we fear it? Should we hug it? One of the world’s most passionate and knowledgeable experts…
- ROCKS with Schmitty Thompson · 30 minWhat is a rock? How big is a boulder? Why are they pretty and heavy? It’s rock talk with a true enthusiast, the charming and beloved Geologist Schmitty Thompson. Schmitty walks…
- SQUIRRELS with Karen Munroe · 31 minFlying squirrels. Ground squirrels. Tree squirrels. Giant squirrels. Tiny ones. Grey ones. Red ones. Fluorescent ones? Alie is losing her mind talking to dream guest and…
- BASKET WEAVING with James C. Bamba · 27 minThorny leaves! Geometric recipes! Watertight weaves! Tiny sculptures! Making cool stuff from invasive vines! Renowned weaver and teacher James C. Bamba shares how he connected…
- JELLYFISH with Rebecca Helm · 26 minWhat even *is* a jellyfish?! How do they eat? What are they made of? Do they breathe? Where are their brains? Your new favorite Medusologist, Dr. Rebecca Helm, is a ray of human…
- EARTH SAVING with Shah Selbe · 27 minLet’s get ready for Earth Day with this uplifting chat about saving the planet with some well-intentioned technology. Conservation Technologist Shah Selbe fills us in on all the…
- CAROB with Megan Lynch · 26 minYou might only know carob as not-chocolate, which is a tragedy of its disco-era branding. This tough, gnarly, drought-resistant plant is the real-life Giving Tree, explains…
- NOSES with John Craig · 25 minAllergies. Sinuses. Cartilage. Smell nostalgia. Snoring. Hang on to your faces because Dr. John Craig goes deep and shares his passion for rhinology. You'll have a whole new…
- PRAYING MANTISES with Lohitashwa Garikipati · 27 minPointy heads. Spiked arms. Genius disguises. It’s a whole episode about praying mantises with a real life Mantodeologist. Do they really eat hummingbirds? Are they…
- CAVES with Gina Moseley · 26 minCaves! Caverns! Grottos! Crystals! Let's get down and dirty with Speleology with explorer, researcher, professor, and paleoclimatologist Dr. Gina Moseley. We discuss the deepest…
- CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS with Katherine Hatcher · 25 minAhh, Daylight Savings Time: Does it mess with us? What time should you go to bed? How dark is dark enough? The wonderful and hilarious Dr. Katherine Hatcher got her PhD in…
- FIELDWORK with Corina Newsome · 26 minEarly mornings. Stunning vistas. Flood-ready bird nests. Semi-aquatic rats. Cute but invasive snails. Human-sucking mud holes. The long-awaited episode with bird nerd Corina…
- MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY with Joseph Saunders · 27 minLights! Cameras! Arachnids! And lizards and bees and beetles. Macro photography is like magic: curved glass gives an entirely new take on the world, from dust on a cricket’s brow…
- VOICE BOXES with Ronda Alexander · 26 minVoices! Singing! Anxiety busters! Breathing! Pull up a seat for kid voices, aging voices, hormones, hidden anatomy, why we sound the way we do, opera singing, high notes, low…
- TARDIGRADES with Paul Bartels · 27 minSmaller than you can imagine. Potato-shaped. Mysterious. Misunderstood. And tough enough to survive the vacuum of space or decades of desiccation. Join professor and…
- MEAT-EATING PLANTS with Hali’a Eastburn · 26 minVenus flytraps. Pitcher plants. Bladderworts. Sundews. Get ready to hear about physics, chemistry, biology and more, because we’re doing meat-eating plants with conservation…
- GARBAGE with Robin Nagle · 26 minLandfills! Composting! Recycling flimflam! An instantly classic conversation with the incredibly knowledgeable, frank and wonderful Dr. Robin Nagle: a clinical professor, author…
- LEMURS with Lydia Greene · 25 minHow did these tree-hopping furry angels evolve to be the cutest thing in the world, objectively speaking? They have saucer eyes, wet noses, chunky tails, toe claws, matriarchies…
- THE SUN with India Jackson & Michael Kirk · 31 minSunspots! Solar storms! Photons! Magnetic fields! Let’s get to know the center of our solar system: the Sun. What is it made of? How big is it? How old is it? When will it…
- PENGUINS with Tom Hart · 25 minDo penguins have flippers or wings? What’s up with pebble gifts? Are they squishy or dense? And why why why are they so cute? We sit down with renowned penguinologist Dr. Tom…
- WEATHER with Marshall Shepherd · 25 minPolar vortices! Atmospheric rivers! Cold fronts! Warm fronts! Hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones… Wait, what’s the difference anyway? One of the world’s leading Meteorologists, Dr…
- TREES with J. Casey Clapp · 25 minDo trees have feelings? How do they talk? Which trees can you use to make syrup? Do bananas really grow on trees? Possibly the world's most enthusiastic tree expert, J. Casey…
- GORILLAS with Tara Stoinski · 25 minGorillas. These chest-beating, salad-munching, communal living, thick-furred beauties have so many surprises for you. Gorillaologist (IT’S A WORD) Dr. Tara Stoinski has been a…
- HAIR with Valerie Horsely · 25 minPeach fuzz. Chin hairs. Mammalian ponytails. WHY DO THEY HAPPEN. Yale researcher and associate professor Dr. Valerie Horsley stops by California to chat with Alie about the…
- GRATITUDE with Neil Pasricha · 26 minGratitude: what’s the deal? Does it really make us happier? Or is being appreciative a bunch of hokey flim-flam? Author Neil Pasricha started a blog of 1000 Awesome Things in…
- INDIGENOUS COOKING with Mariah Gladstone · 25 minDig in for a bite-sized episode about how native foods aren’t just a part of a past, but an essential and exciting aspect of the future. We talk flower bulbs, acorns, sunflower…
- SEALS & WALRUSES with Luis A. Hückstädt · 26 minSeals. Sea lions. Walruses. What’s the difference, and how can you tell which is which? Spoiler: you’ll find out in this episode. We sit down with Dr. Luis A Hückstädt and talk…
- SPIDERWEBS with Randy Lewis · 25 minInvisible but stronger than steel. Complex architectural marvels. Things that stick to your face. Spiderwebs are much more than just Halloween decor or something to feather dust…
