A Little Bit Of Science

A Little Bit Of Science
  • 4.7 (57)
  • Science
  • Updated Weekly

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

  1. Fake Microplastics, Freaky Lovebirds, and Numbers Too Big For Humans

    6 days ago

    Fake Microplastics, Freaky Lovebirds, and Numbers Too Big For Humans

    Microplastics are everywhere. Birds are masturbating. A trillion dollars is still not a real number. And somewhere in the middle of all that, a mushroom case study pops up and reminds you Alzheimer’s is not just a punchline. This week, we ping pong between lab gear that can fake a crisis, wildlife behaviour that is way more common than we pretend, billionaire maths that breaks your sense of scale, and one weird medical result that is making researchers quietly lean in. Microplastics might be getting overcounted because of something painfully basic: lab gloves. University of Michigan researchers measured outdoor microplastics and got results about a thousand times higher than earlier studies, then did the sensible thing and assumed their method was being sabotaged. It was. Vibrational spectroscopy can mistake stearate salts from glove manufacturing for polyethylene, meaning the “plastic everywhere” signal can be partly your own equipment shedding junk into the sample. Then we swing to birds, because science loves a tonal whiplash. Bird masturbation is real, widespread across species, happens in both sexes, and is more common in the wild than in captivity, which flips the usual “it’s a stress behaviour” assumption. After that, we try to make a trillion dollars make sense, and mostly fail because human brains were not built for it. And finally, there’s a single Alzheimer’s case study where a woman reportedly showed unexpected cognitive improvement after a large dose of psilocybin, which is not a DIY cure, but is exactly the kind of odd result that makes researchers lean in and pay attention.   CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Intro 00:45 Microplastics Shock Study 01:57 Lab Protocols And Jerkins 03:46 Glove Contamination Twist 05:40 How Bad Is Shedding 07:11 Science Skepticism Lesson 07:54 Onanism Bible Origin 10:41 Animals Doing It Too 13:38 Bird Masturbation Explained 17:19 New Research And Takeaways 20:18 Trillionaire Brain Melt 21:38 Why Big Numbers Fool Us 23:40 Time Scale Money Trick 24:33 What Buys A Trillion 27:07 Inequality Airplane Metaphor 29:07 Mushrooms And Alzheimer Case 32:44 Science Skepticism And Ethics 38:06 Signoff And Ratings SOURCES: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-found-a-big-problem-with-how-we-measure-microplastics  https://theconversation.com/scientists-may-be-overestimating-the-amount-of-microplastics-in-the-environment-and-the-culprit-is-lab-gloves-258545  https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ay/d5ay01801c  https://theconversation.com/birds-masturbate-and-thats-perfectly-normal-284232  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/15/can-you-spend-1-trillion-we-hand-you-musks-fortune-to-find-out  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-brains-underestimate-elon-musks-wealth/ https://futurism.com/health-medicine/elderly-woman-high-dose-psychedelic-mushrooms  https://www.newscientist.com/article/2531319-woman-with-alzheimers-starts-conversing-again-after-taking-psilocybin/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    39 min
  2. Banned Baby Names, The Onion Gene, Hackable AI and Accidental World Kayaker

    30 June

    Banned Baby Names, The Onion Gene, Hackable AI and Accidental World Kayaker

    Australia has a list of baby names you are not allowed to use, a church once removed a devil statue for being distractingly hot, and one German bloke accidentally kayaked from Europe to Australia. This week, Will and Rod bounce between naming laws, scandalous art, and a seven-year adventure that sounds fake, but absolutely wasn’t. We start with banned baby names and why governments step in when a name looks like it could cause harm, invite ridicule, or create a lifelong admin headache. Then we hit art history, where the Geefs brothers made the devil too handsome for church, plus Stendhal syndrome which is the idea that beauty can literally make you dizzy. Finally, we follow Oskar Speck’s kayak trip that escalated wildly, seven years, malaria, dangerous crossings, and prison camps, all because he was trying to outrun a collapsing economy. This week is a wild ride.  CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Banned Baby Names Setup 00:33 Germany Name Ban Game 01:50 Lucifer And Other Forbiddens 04:13 New Zealand Weird Bans 05:52 US Rules And Santa Claus 06:58 Australia Banned Names List 09:43 Name Roast Side Hustle 10:34 Hot Art Hospitalization 14:17 Stendhal Syndrome Explained 18:26 Hacking AI Agents 20:41 Prompt Hacking Agents 22:59 Ethical AI Sabotage 23:20 Nutrition Study Pitfalls 24:25 Genes As Diet Proxies 27:40 Onion Gene Surprise 30:22 Ice Cream Taste Debate 30:59 Button Sewing Fails 32:03 Kayaking To Australia 39:54 Just Do Stuff Mindset 41:30 Wrap Up    SOURCES: https://bsky.app/profile/caesarion10.bsky.social/post/3mnxix4uu7k2r https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220110-stendhal-syndrome-the-travel-syndrome-that-causes-panic https://maritimeheritage.org.au/documents/MHA%20September%202007%20journal.pdf https://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.24245 https://www.404media.co/it-is-trivially-easy-to-use-reddit-to-manipulate-ai-search-research-suggests/?_bhlid=efba6cdec7cbc45e0cd89dc96464988b2cd3bdd2 https://www.parents.com/banned-baby-name-in-germany-8779188 https://www.smh.com.au/national/todd-carney-wants-to-call-his-son-king-daryl-problem-is-it-s-one-of-89-banned-baby-names-20260225-p5o596.html https://www.sciencealert.com/your-taste-for-onions-may-reveal-something-about-your-future-health https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendelian_randomization See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    42 min
  3. Titanium Exosuits, Iceman Sourdough & Pokemon Spyware

    23 June

    Titanium Exosuits, Iceman Sourdough & Pokemon Spyware

    A robot exosuit now costs more than most people’s houses, scientists are pitching a telescope built from the solar system itself, and Pokémon Go has somehow ended up feeding the war tech pipeline. This week, Will and Rod bounce between expensive robotics, slow burn space ambition, biosecurity chaos, and a 5,000 year old gut microbe that can still create great beer. We start with a little shoutout. Unitree’s GD01 exosuit, a titanium priced reminder that “the future” is now a product page. It can move on two legs or four, it has onboard AI control, and it looks like it would smash through a wall just to prove it can. At around 650K USD, it is not exactly a casual purchase. Then we zoom out into gravitational lensing and the plan to use the sun as part of a giant telescope to see distant exoplanets in far more detail. The catch is the timeline, because the mission could take around 60 years, which is either inspiring or mildly depressing, depending on your mood. Finally, we hit Australia’s illegal cockroach trade, Pokémon Go scans being repurposed for drone navigation, and Ötzi the Iceman’s preserved gut yeast still being useful for baking and brewing. It’s a jam-packed episode that will leave you gasping at every turn.  CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Killer Exosuit Reveal 01:00 Meet the Hosts 01:45 Robot Reactions and Jaegers 02:55 Better Future Space Lens 04:24 Solar Telescope Challenge 07:08 Electric Sail Breakthrough 07:58 Seeing Alien Continents 09:13 Illegal Cockroach Bust 13:39 Why People Buy Roaches 15:19 Biosecurity Debate and Cleanup 17:27 Pokemon Go Tangent 18:15 Pokemon Go Scans 19:37 Drones Without GPS 21:25 Niantic Weapons Pipeline 22:50 Scientists Eat Headlines 25:26 Otzi Microbiome Bread 29:19 T Rex Leather Bag 32:48 Wrap Up And Sign Out   SOURCES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWOyUMJWptc https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/05/live-cockroaches-seized-nsw-breeder-australia https://futurism.com/science-energy/scientists-lab-grown-trex-leather https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117726007660?ref=404media.co https://dronexl.co/2026/06/09/pokemon-go-scans-niantic-vantor-military-drone-navigation/?_bhlid=59ba01ca00448ec948f397365da76b6ba3febdae https://bsky.app/profile/paulisci.bsky.social/post/3mnnanoe3d22y?_bhlid=f589393b1087d6a8bc116f8d50ae811790ddc525 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    34 min
  4. Mosquitoes Got Smarter, Mutant Pigs, Cows Know You And So Does Your Router

    16 June

    Mosquitoes Got Smarter, Mutant Pigs, Cows Know You And So Does Your Router

    Mosquitoes are learning how to ignore your repellents, cows can recognise human faces on TV, and Wi Fi can identify you through a wall with the help of AI. This week, Will and Rod flick between animal intelligence, ocean weirdness, and technology that is getting a little too confident.  We start with mosquitoes and conditioning, because apparently even the most annoying creature on Earth can learn, grow and develop. Then we move to cows, who can tell familiar from unfamiliar human faces even when those faces are shown on a screen, and seem especially curious about strangers. Finally, we head underwater for remoras and their bizarre cloacal diving behaviour with manta rays, before finishing with the creepiest story of the week: Wi Fi signals paired with AI that can identify people through walls. That isn't worrying at all...   CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Animals That Learn 00:35 Mosquito Study Teaser 01:00 Show Intro And Segments 01:44 Arctic Trip And Flower News 02:41 Why Mosquitoes Bite 04:12 DEET Basics And Mysteries 05:13 Mosquitoes Adapt To DEET 06:06 Training Mosquitoes To Like DEET 09:12 Remoras And Host Hitchhiking 11:29 Cloacal Diving Explained 14:41 Can Cows Recognize People 15:07 Do Cows Recognize Us 15:59 Cows Watching Human Faces 16:50 What The Study Found 17:38 Mutant Super Pigs Explained 20:22 Where Is Your Self 21:34 Head Versus Heart Research 23:56 Touch To Shift Thinking 25:19 Wi Fi Privacy Shock 27:43 AI Identifies People Via Wi Fi 29:34 No Privacy Future Wrap Up 30:35 Final Recap And Sign Off   SOURCES: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2526370-where-do-you-think-your-self-is-your-answer-is-revealing/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446 https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/onanism Speedy’s Big O video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tSfLKTTxtc https://theconversation.com/mosquitoes-learn-to-link-the-smell-of-deet-with-a-blood-meal-new-study-283695 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.73548 https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/fukushima-nuclear-disaster-tsunami-radioactive-37180117?_bhlid=82764a8d956c8f1927ebd802c09640e569aeaaf9 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0329529&ref=404media.co https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3719027.3765062 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    32 min
  5. Real Life Good Will Hunting, Suspicious Scientist Deaths, and The Runit Dome Is Leaking

    9 June

    Real Life Good Will Hunting, Suspicious Scientist Deaths, and The Runit Dome Is Leaking

    A relaxing trip to Japan turns into an accidental run down a double black diamond, a mathematician solves “impossible” problems because nobody told him they were impossible, and missing scientists get pulled into UFO flavoured rumours. This week, Will and Rod bounce between snowboarding psychology, statistical legend, conspiracy culture, and the strange ways expectations shape what we think we can do. We start on the slopes, where fear is sometimes just signage, then jump to George Dantzig, who solved famous unsolved statistics problems after mistaking them for homework. Same theme, different setting: not knowing the odds can be a weird kind of advantage. Then things get darker with disappearances, military secrecy, and the internet’s favourite genre, plus a look at the gluten conundrum and why non coeliac gluten sensitivity is still messy science. Bodies are complicated, and belief can play a bigger role than people like to admit. Finally, we head to the Marshall Islands, where a concrete dome covering radioactive waste from US nuclear testing sits in the Pacific like a “temporary” fix that has to survive storms, rising seas, and time. CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Science Snack Intro 00:43 Snowboarding The Hard Way 02:48 Expectations And Limits 03:16 Dantzig And The Simplex 06:02 Accidental Unsolved Problems 09:26 Never Tell Me The Odds 10:04 Missing General UFO Links 12:52 List Of Scientist Cases 16:28 Politics And FBI Probe 18:07 Conspiracy Dots And Anti Gravity 21:05 Flood The Zone Meteorology Tease 22:10 Hurricanes Go Backwards 23:02 Weather Control Conspiracies 25:02 Meteorologists Under Threat 27:47 Lessons From Misinformation 28:40 Nuclear Tests In Paradise 30:34 Inside The Runit Dome 34:20 Cracks Leaks And Sea Rise 36:57 Good Gluten News 40:19 Gluten Sensitivity Reality Check 42:35 Nocebo FODMAPs And Advice 46:16 Wrap Up And Listener Callout SOURCES: https://futurism.com/conspiracy-meteorologists-hurricanes https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/07/marjorie-taylor-greene-hurricane-helene https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/hurricane-milton-misinformation-meteorlogist-death-threats-1235130352/ https://futurism.com/space/fbi-investigating-deaths-disappearances-top-scientists https://futurism.com/space/another-military-ufo-guy-died https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fbi-investigating-possible-links-between-deaths-and-disappearances-of-at-least-10-scientists/ https://www.sciencealert.com/this-infamous-radioactive-tomb-is-leaking-and-experts-are-worried https://theconversation.com/your-gluten-sensitivity-might-be-something-else-entirely-new-study-shows-267098 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    47 min
  6. Chimps Hoard Crystals, Talking Mushrooms and the Teddy Bear That Knows Your Kinks

    3 June

    Chimps Hoard Crystals, Talking Mushrooms and the Teddy Bear That Knows Your Kinks

    Crystals have been fascinating humans for hundreds of thousands of years, chimpanzees might share the same shiny object obsession, and mushrooms may be sending electrical signals through their underground networks. This episode bounces between ancient archaeology, animal behaviour, and the weird possibility that fungi are doing more than just quietly existing in the forest. We dig into evidence that early humans collected crystals long before cave paintings, then look at research showing chimps will pick crystals over plain pebbles and carry them around like prized possessions. It is either a shared cultural quirk or a shared ancestor who also could not walk past a sparkly rock without grabbing it. Then we head to Japan, where scientists have been measuring mushroom electrical activity with electrodes to see how fungi respond to things like water and chemical signals. It is not “mushrooms are speaking English”, but it does hint at complex, responsive systems in the mycelium that we are only just starting to understand. Finally, we get into the modern tech mess: AI powered toys like teddy bears that can be prompted into wildly inappropriate conversations, plus a brilliant detour where medieval Japanese poetry helps researchers track solar proton events using tree rings.  CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00 Introduction 00:42 Hippie Crystal Deodorant 01:59 Ancient Crystal Obsession 05:22 Chimpanzees Love Crystals 07:43 Crystal Plinth Experiment 09:55 Crystal Hoarding And Tradeoffs 11:41 Why Crystals Allure 13:30 Do Mushrooms Signal Pee 16:38 Urine Experiment Setup 18:48 Results And Dont Pee Dont Tell 20:17 Poetry Break And Limericks 21:25 Solar Proton Events Explained 22:23 Poetry Meets Space Weather 23:46 Kyoto Aurora Clue 24:07 Trees Confirm Proton Event 25:29 Trouble in Toyland Report 27:08 AI Toys Under Test 29:01 Guardrails Fail Over Time 35:49 Addictive Design Tricks 36:28 Privacy and Always Listening   SOURCES: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1633599/full?ref=404media.co https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-42673-y https://publicinterestnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/TOYLAND-2025-11-14-7a.pdf https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/medieval-aurora-poetry-provided-clues-to-historic-solar-storms/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    39 min
  7. Robot Wolves, Neanderthal Brains and Why Snakes Are Winning

    26 May

    Robot Wolves, Neanderthal Brains and Why Snakes Are Winning

    Robot wolves are now being used to scare bears away from Japanese schools, scientists have grown mini Neanderthal brains and plugged them into little robots, and snakes are quietly topping the lethality leaderboard while everyone keeps blaming sharks. This week, Will and Rod bounce between wildlife deterrence, prehistoric brain tech, and a public health reality check that hits harder than any movie monster. We start in Japan, where bears have been wandering into supermarkets and school grounds, and the solution is peak Japan: “monster robot wolves” with sensors, lights, and loud noises designed to scare bears off without harming them. They look like an 80s horror prop, but the goal is serious, keep people safe and avoid lethal control. Then we head into the lab, where researchers have grown tiny Neanderthal brain organoids, nicknamed Neanderoids, and connected them to small crab like robots. It is fascinating, slightly unsettling, and a reminder that science will always find a way to make the past feel uncomfortably present. Finally, we look at snakes as one of the world’s biggest killers, with India carrying a huge share of snakebite deaths, and we end with a cybersecurity story where a pen tester talked IT into handing over access on a phone call. Not ideal.     00:00 Japan Bear Surge 01:20 Meet the Hosts 02:58 Robot Wolf Deterrents 06:37 Upgrades and Risks 08:27 Neanderthal Mini Brains 12:03 Brains Wired to Robot Crabs 13:31 Fascism and Underlings 15:51 Torture Battalion Data 21:46 Animal Killers Teaser 22:35 Mosquitoes Kill Indirectly 23:30 Snakes Top the List 23:40 Floods and Snake Spikes 24:13 India Snakebite Mystery 25:07 Verbal Autopsies Explained 26:51 Antivenom Access Problem 28:22 Next Deadliest Animals Rundown 28:56 Parasites and Kissing Bugs 31:07 Elephants and Hunter Karma 33:15 Bears Sharks and Big Cats 35:06 Social Engineering Hack Story 38:40 Phone Calls Beat Security 39:05 Podcast Wrap and Callouts   SOURCES: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/japan-robot-wolves-high-demand-075406454.html https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/japan-built-robot-wolves-to-thwart-bear-attack-and-theyre-flying-off-the-shelves/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01533-8/abstract https://theconversation.com/your-gluten-sensitivity-might-be-something-else-entirely-new-study-shows-267098 https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/489067/snakebite-antivenom-deaths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schistosomiasis https://elifesciences.org/articles/54076 https://www.science.org/content/article/exclusive-neanderthal-minibrains-grown-dish https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/05/14/to-gain-root-access-intruder-just-had-to-ask/5239853 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/world/americas/actually-democracy-dies-in-hr.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    40 min
  8. Mouse Utopia Experiment, Constipation & Heart Attacks, and Phrases For When Things Go Wrong

    20 May

    Mouse Utopia Experiment, Constipation & Heart Attacks, and Phrases For When Things Go Wrong

    A 1960s mouse utopia that collapsed into a vanity-obsessed apocalypse, a global database of 150,000 enthusiastic stool photos, and a scientific quest to help humans regrow limbs like a salamander. This week, we bounce between rodent dystopias, AI-powered gut tracking, regenerating toes, and international idioms for absolute chaos. We start in the late 1960s with Universe 25, an experiment that gave mice everything they wanted and accidentally proved that absolute perfection leads to a total social meltdown and a faction of self-obsessed, grooming-addicted rodents. Then, shifting gears with a violent jerk, we check in on a health app that has amassed a staggering database of 150,000 human poo images to train AI to analyse gut health. From there, we look to the future, where scientists are trying to steal a trick from the salamander to see if mice and eventually humans can regrow missing limbs. And to end the episode, we take a quick detour into international linguistics to look at how different cultures describe things going completely wrong, from Swedish blue cupboards to vivid Brazilian panic.   CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 02:20 Why Universe 25 Happened 04:58 Building Mousetopia 08:43 Utopia Turns Violent 11:53 Behavioural Sink Theory 14:04 Misuse And Critiques 18:45 Poop App Citizen Science 24:58 Sharing Stool Online 25:44 Selling Poo Data 27:25 AI Data Hunger 28:23 Elvis Toilet Death 29:43 Constipation Studies 35:02 Mouse Toe Regrowth 41:17 Cactus And Sayings   SOURCES: https://www.404media.co/ai-poop-analysis-app-offered-to-sell-me-access-to-its-users-poops/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-72066-8 https://bsky.app/profile/adamcsharp.bsky.social/post/3mlqozoour22z https://theconversation.com/constipation-increases-your-risk-of-a-heart-attack-new-study-finds-and-not-just-on-the-toilet-237209 https://www.mamamia.com.au/elvis-constipation/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-38068-y https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32873621/ https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/nov/21/the-mad-egghead-who-built-a-mouse-utopia-john-b-calhoun See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    47 min
See All (437)

4.7
out of 5
57 Ratings

About

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

Information

  • Creator
    A Little Bit Of Science
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    437
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 A Little Bit Of Science
  • Show Website
    A Little Bit Of Science

You Might Also Like