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Ologies with Alie Ward

Ologies with Alie Ward

Volcanoes. Trees. Drunk butterflies. Mars missions. Slug sex. Death. Beauty standards. Anxiety busters. Beer science. Bee drama. Take away a pocket full of science knowledge and charming, bizarre stories about what fuels these professional -ologists' obsessions. Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward asks smart people stupid questions and the answers might change your life.

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1 hr, 20 min•
12 Feb

Agnotology (WILLFUL IGNORANCE) Encore with Dr. Robert Proctor

Yes, there is an -ology for that. And yes, we’re airing this episode -– with a ton of 2025 updates -– because it’s never felt more relevant. Dr. Robert Proctor is a Stanford professor of the History of Science and co-edited the book “Agnotology: The Making & Unmaking of Ignorance,” having coined the word 30 years ago. We chat about everything from tobacco marketing, to the sugar lobby, to racial injustice, horse vision, the psychology of the Flat Earther movement, which countries have the highest rates of climate denial, empathy, how to navigate difficult conversations and why it's critical to dismantle the systems of willful ignorance, starting locally. Dr. Robert Proctor’s book: "Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance"His 2021 book: Science and the Production of Ignorance: When the Quest for Knowledge Is Thwarted.Donations in Dr. Proctor’s name went to: SavingBlackLives.org and the Public Health Advocacy InstituteAn additional donation went to The National Black Law Students AssociationMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Eschatology (THE APOCALYPSE)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Steven Ray Morris and Jarrett Sleeper of Mindjam MediaEncore editing by Jake Chaffee and Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio ProductionsAdditional encore producing by Mercedes MaitlandManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

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1 hr, 17 min•
29 Jan

Thyroidology (THYROID GLAND) with Kepal Patel

Sad? Cold? Hot? Wired? Blame the thyroid. Maybe. In your throat there is a butterfly-shaped gland under a shield-shaped Adam’s Apple and it controls your whole life, kind of. We asked Thyroidologist and surgeon Dr. Kepal Petal of NYU's Langone Hospital about libido factors, radioactive cats, stress and thyroids, how diet can affect them, deciphering labs, flim-flam and how being on TV might save your life. He’s a delight and your thyroid honestly DESERVES the attention. Pass it on to everyone who has ever talked to you about a thyroid. Learn more about Dr. Patel Follow NYU Langone Health on Instagram and YouTubeNYU Langone’s Thyroid ProgramA donation went to The American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES)More episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Diabetology (BLOOD SUGAR), Laryngology (VOICE BOXES), Trichology (HAIR), Evolutionary Anthropology (METABOLISMS), Environmental Toxicology (POISONS + TRAIN DERAILMENT)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

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1 hr, 4 min•
22 Jan

Eco-Odorology (SCIENCE-SNIFFING DOGS) with Kayla Fratt

Dogs doing science. With their faces. As a follow-up to last week’s Ethnocynology episode about humans domesticating wolves, we chat with conservation biologist and Eco-odorologist Kayla Fratt (and her working dog Barley) about how trained animals help scientists. Sit – and stay – to learn how rescue dogs can get their dog-torate degrees, which rewards work when training, dogs on a boat, dogs in the jungle, wolves in the sea, why noses are wet, how your sense of smell is trash, the price of a police dog, and how you can get into this field working with your best buddy. Visit Kayla Fratt’s website and follow her on BlueskyVisit K9 Conservationists’s website and follow them on Instagram, YouTube and TikTokListen to the K9 Conservationists podcast on Apple and SpotifyDonations went to K9 Conservationists and Fundación Naturaleza El SalvadorMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME), Field Trip: How to Change Your Life, Cervidology (DEER), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Urban Rodentology (SEWER RATS), Lupinology (WOLVES), Canine Speech Pathology (DOGS WITH BUTTONS), Felinology (CATS), Island Ecology (ISLANDS), Wildlife Ecology (FIELDWORK), Scatology (POOP)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

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1 hr, 13 min•
15 Jan

Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME) with David Ian Howe

Ancient dogs! Domestic wolves! Anthropology! Archaeology! It’s all Ethnocynology: when humans and dogs started living and working together. The wonderful and iconic David Ian Howe is an educator and professional archaeologist whose focus is canines and people. So let’s curl up and be cute – like dogs – as we listen about breed histories, what evidence we have for doggies being friends, how wolves tamed themselves, why our relationships with canines make us what we are, talking dogs, if it’s fair it ask your dog to love you back, corn paws, and why your dog is trying to make fetch happen. Visit David’s website and his podcasts, The David Ian Howe Show & Ethnocynology with David Ian HoweFollow David on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Patreon and BlueskyA donation went to the Native American Humane SocietyMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Lupinology (WOLVES), Canine Speech Pathology (DOGS WITH BUTTONS), Felinology (CATS), Experimental Archaeology (ATLATLS), Momiology (MUMMIFICATION), Egyptology (ANCIENT EGYPT), Classical Archaeology (ANCIENT ROME), Mythology (STORYTELLING), Indigenous Cuisinology (NATIVE COOKING), Radiology (X-RAY VISION), Delphinology (DOLPHINS), Functional Morphology (ANATOMY), Zymology (BEER & YEAST), Columbidology (PIGEONS)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

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1 hr, 13 min•
31 Dec 24

Eudemonology (HAPPINESS) Encore with Laurie Santos

HAPPINESS RESEARCH, straight up. What is happiness? How do our circumstances affect happiness? Why is the word “gratitude” kinda cringey? What can we do to feel better? Should we feel guilty for feeling happy? When is positivity “toxic?” In this encore of an episode favorite,  Yale cognitive scientist, Eudemonologist, and host of The Happiness Lab podcast Dr. Laurie Santos chats about how scientists measure human happiness and what their research has shown helps achieve it, even during the worst of times. Also: silver medal face & countering counterfactuals, which will make sense when you listen.Visit Dr. Santos's website and follow her on Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, and FacebookHer podcast: Happiness LabA donation went to DonorsChoose.orgMore episode sources and links Other episodes you may enjoy: Awesomeology (GRATITUDE FOR LITTLE THINGS), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS), Thanatology Encore (DEATH & GRIEF), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Traumatology (PTSD), Sports & Performance Psychology (ANXIETY & CONFIDENCE), Phonology (LINGUISTICS), Neuropathology (CONCUSSIONS), Quantum Ontology (WHAT IS REAL?), Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH), Dolorology (PAIN)Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesSponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokSound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray MorrisAdditional editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

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1 hr, 2 min•
24 Dec 24

Cabinology (CABINS) Encore with Dale Mulfinger

The time is right to revisit cabins: Log cabins, woodsy getaways, A-frame cuties, cottages, tiny homes, lake houses. WE GET INTO IT, including 2024 updates. World famous Minnesota architect, author, professional cabinologist and human delight Dale Mulfinger sits down to discuss everything from what makes a cabin a cabin, to why we bond better surrounded by wood, Scandinavian hygge-ness, where to situate windows, cabin history, horror flicks and vacation activities. Alie sits there starry-eyed and stammers a bunch because she's so excited.More on Dale MulfingerSALA Architects on InstagramBuy Dale's books on Bookshop.org and AmazonDonations went to: Clarence Wigington Minority Architectural Scholarship & The Slave Dwelling ProjectMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Indigenous Cuisinology (NATIVE FOODS), Domicology (ABANDONED BUILDINGS), Bisonology (BUFFALO), Oneirology (DREAMS), Xylology (LUMBER), Dendrology (TREES), Sciuridology (SQUIRRELS), Ursinology (BEARS), Nassology (TAXIDERMY), Acaropathology (TICKS & LYME DISEASE)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokSound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray MorrisAdditional 2024 Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

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