A Little Bit Of Science

A Little Bit Of Science

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

    6d ago

    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
  2. Robot Wolves, Neanderthal Brains and Why Snakes Are Winning

    May 26

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

    May 20

    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
  4. The Little Death, the Big Fraud, and the Bird That Stole Your Jerkin

    May 12

    The Little Death, the Big Fraud, and the Bird That Stole Your Jerkin

    A poll has asked people if they could win in a fist fight against Donald Trump, a survey on female orgasms has wandered into yawning, crying, and hallucinations, and vulture nests are quietly operating as accidental museums of human history. This week, Will and Rod bounce between political fantasy, private biology, and birds that apparently have a better archive system than most institutions. We start with the poll that turned politics into Fight Club, which is less about combat and more about confidence, identity, and how people relate to power. Then we get into the science of female orgasms, and why the data is far stranger than the usual “fireworks” story, with reports ranging from tears to yawns to hallucination like effects. Finally, we head to the vultures, whose nests can preserve scraps and artefacts for decades, creating accidental time capsules for archaeologists. And to end on a rare positive note, we’ve got some good climate news: renewable energy is still surging in the US, despite all the noise.   CHAPTERS: 00:00 Political Science Milestones 00:44 Poll Who Beats Trump 01:56 Meet the Hosts 02:50 Science Missed Female Biology 04:00 Mapping the Clitoris 05:49 Surveying Orgasm Effects 08:47 Peri Orgasmic Symptoms 14:08 Taboo and Medical Framing 15:20 Case Report Finger Cure 19:38 Altruism Games 21:38 Resenting Do Gooders 24:05 Tainted Altruism 27:07 Academic Award Hoax 30:49 Self Made Medals 34:11 Vulture Nest Time Capsules 40:07 Climate News Uplift See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    41 min
  5. Gut Microbiome Romance, Defensive Rewilding and Sharks on Cocaine

    May 6

    Gut Microbiome Romance, Defensive Rewilding and Sharks on Cocaine

    High school students launch blood samples into near space, a real life love story involves a faecal microbiota transplant (FMT), and scientists find cocaine in sharks off The Bahamas. Today we bounce between space medicine, the gut microbiome and mental health, and the uncomfortable reality of ocean pollution. We break down what those student rocket experiments could mean for space exploration and future medical procedures, then dive into the emerging science of gut bacteria, antibiotics, and how the microbiome may influence conditions like bipolar disorder. It is fascinating, hopeful, and also a bit gross, which is basically the scientific sweet spot. Then we hit the ocean for the headline nobody asked for: sharks on cocaine. It is not just a meme, it is a sign of how far human contaminants travel through marine ecosystems, and why environmental science keeps finding our mess in places we thought were pristine. We also unpack why we yawn, including research on brain temperature regulation and whether yawning patterns act like a physiological fingerprint.    CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 01:08 Chivalry Frog Meet Cute 03:37 Bipolar Confession Backstory 05:21 Gut Brain Link Evidence 06:50 DIY FMT Love Story 08:27 FMT Risks And Hype 11:10 Defensive Rewilding Idea 16:40 Cocaine Sharks Explained 17:52 Bahamas Study Findings 22:40 Pollution Everywhere 23:30 Why We Yawn 26:00 Contagious Yawns 27:22 Yawns in the MRI 28:37 Yawning Fingerprints 30:21 Brain Goo Hypothesis 32:06 Student Science Journal 38:12 Blood to Space 39:39 Four-Dimensional Minds   SOURCES: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-28/faecal-microbiota-transplant-credited-with-curing-bipolar/105541522 https://futurism.com/science-energy/sharks-high-levels-of-cocaine https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969724049477 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749126001880 https://emerginginvestigators.org/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03071847.2026.2646067#d1e362 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569904826000340?via=ihub See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    42 min
  6. Bixonomania, Adversarial Hermeneutics, and Strontium in Baby Teeth

    Apr 28

    Bixonomania, Adversarial Hermeneutics, and Strontium in Baby Teeth

    AI chatbots (and lazy researchers) can be convinced a fake disease is real, Gen Z is side-eyeing the whole “helpful assistant” thing, and apparently, the best way to jailbreak AI is to ask it nicely in the form of cyberpunk short fiction. This week, we bounce between medical misinformation, bureaucratic chaos, nuclear fallout hiding in baby teeth, and the U.S. Space Force anthem doing whatever it is doing, which is a lot to process in one sitting, but here we are. We start with a medical warning that is both funny and genuinely unsettling. A researcher basically invented a fake illness, “Bixonomania”, then seeded enough convincing-looking nonsense online that AI chatbots started repeating it like it was in a textbook. After that, we head into one of the most ridiculous corners of AI safety. Researchers have found that you can sometimes trick chatbots into revealing restricted information by wrapping your request in a poem, or a short story, or a cyberpunk scenario. This has a name, adversarial hermeneutics, which sounds like a philosophy seminar, but is really just “jailbreaking with vibes”. Among other little bits of science, to finish, we step back to the 1950s, when researchers collected thousands of baby teeth to track radioactive strontium from nuclear fallout. It is one of those stories that feels spooky even when you know it helped. Tiny teeth, big consequences. The data showed contamination rising, and it played a role in pushing back against atmospheric nuclear testing. CHAPTERS:00:00 Science Chat Kickoff00:51 Fake Disease Goes Viral02:04 How It Fooled Chatbots03:55 LLMs Repeat It Everywhere04:55 From Preprints to Journals07:02 Medical Chatbot Accuracy Reality09:43 Gen Z Turns on AI13:29 Workplace AI Sabotage15:06 Adversarial Hermeneutics Hacks17:43 Adversarial Hermeneutics Hacks18:49 AI Flooding Regulations22:28 Gemini Speed vs Safety23:46 Humans as Test Cases24:45 Baby Teeth Fallout Study28:54 Strontium 90 and Test Ban29:40 Space Force Theme Song32:00 Wrap Up and Plug SOURCES:https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01100-y?_bhlid=a10e41ad7eb12d68ab8fd4f81a75625fc74323achttps://garymarcus.substack.com/p/please-dont-trust-your-chatbot-forhttps://ahb.icaro-lab.com/index.htmlhttps://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/ai-is-10-to-20-times-more-likely-to-help-you-build-a-bomb-if-you-hide-your-request-in-cyberpunk-fiction-new-research-paper-says/https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/trump-regulations-aihttps://www.propublica.org/article/trump-artificial-intelligence-google-gemini-transportation-regulationshttps://www.gallup.com/analytics/651674/gen-z-research.aspxhttps://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/zoomers-ai-sabotagehttps://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/gen-z-attitude-ai See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    35 min
  7. Bank-Swindling Deepfakes, Cigarette Butt Bird Nests, & Ocean Current Chaos

    Apr 22

    Bank-Swindling Deepfakes, Cigarette Butt Bird Nests, & Ocean Current Chaos

    Deepfake scammers are now running full Zoom meetings, birds are lining their nests with cigarette butts like it’s a homewares trend, and Europe’s climate could be one ocean current wobble away from doing something dramatic. This week, Will and Rod bounce between AI crime, urban wildlife hacks, climate tipping points, and a fruit fly brain getting uploaded like it’s just another file transfer. We start in Hong Kong, where scammers used AI deepfakes to impersonate colleagues on a video call and convinced a CFO to transfer a huge amount of money. We then headed outside, where birds have started collecting cigarette butts for their nests. From there, we get serious with the ocean currents that help keep Europe mild, and why scientists are worried about what happens if that system collapses. And because the future refuses to wait its turn, we also look at a fruit fly brain mapped neuron by neuron and uploaded into a virtual simulation, plus a quick detour into hats as status symbols and tools of punishment.   CHAPTERS: 00:00 AI Zoom Scam 01:31 Show Intro and Lineup 03:02 Pipe Smoking Animal Tales 06:28 Birds Using Cigarette Butts 08:32 Nicotine as Parasite Control 11:20 School Smoking and Odd Uses 15:29 AMOC Climate Tipping Point 19:33 Uploading Brains Fruit Fly Model 23:50 Connectome Driven Fly 24:47 Virtual Embodiment Claims 25:20 Scaling Up To Mouse 26:48 Hybrid Bio Machine Futures 28:13 Hat History Detour 30:27 Hats As Social Signals   SOURCES: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/critical-atlantic-current-significantly-more-likely-to-collapse-than-thought https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/04/asia/deepfake-cfo-scam-hong-kong-intl-hnk?_bhlid=3bc010593bc73c17aa86ed0b6e79b5ae720c787f https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/BE4E11BFE7F8CCF5A5A7081869710925/S0018246X26101460a.pdf/the-cultural-social-and-ideological-role-of-the-hat-in-early-modern-england.pdf https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ay/d5ay01801c https://futurism.com/science-energy/birds-cigarettes-nest https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347226000011 https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jav.01324 https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024BiInv..26.1705P/abstract https://futurism.com/science-energy/research-fly-brain-matrix https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07763-9 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39533006/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    35 min
  8. Organ-Growing Meat Sacks, Fart-Measuring Underwear, and Tropical Tree Friendships

    Apr 14

    Organ-Growing Meat Sacks, Fart-Measuring Underwear, and Tropical Tree Friendships

    Cloning is getting more useful and more unsettling, tropical trees may be better at cooperation than we are, and smart underwear is now tracking human flatulence in extraordinary detail. This week, Will and Rod move from organ-growing biotech to forest teamwork, fart analytics, and a deeply worrying case of AI gone wrong. They look at the push to grow organs using non-conscious biological structures, and why that could transform medicine while also sounding like the start of a sci-fi horror film. Then they head into the forest, where new research suggests tropical trees are better at helping their neighbours than trees in colder climates, raising some mildly awkward questions about whether plants are beating us at community building. And because science never knows when to stop, the episode also dives into the world of smart underwear, digestive health, and what actually counts as a normal amount of flatulence. Along the way, there is also a sobering look at a Tennessee grandmother wrongly jailed after faulty facial recognition, which is a useful reminder that technology can be both brilliant and deeply stupid.   CHAPTERS: 00:00 Cloning Nightmares Recap 01:45 Monkey Organ Sacks Idea 04:34 Human Organ Replacement Debate 07:45 How It Could Work 08:57 Surrogates And Storage Problems 12:39 Trees That Get Along 15:45 Why Tropical Trees Are Friendlier 17:25 Not All Prodigies Win 19:47 Late Bloomers And Training Myths 24:10 German Forest Bathing Tease 24:52 Forest Sounds Boost Mood 25:35 Massage Stories Detour 27:58 Local vs Tropical Forests 30:14 Fart Science Gets Serious 34:37 Smart Underwear Study 36:55 Farting Baselines Explained 39:19 Farter Types Atlas 43:00 AI Facial Recognition Fail 46:53 Why AI Enhancement Lies 49:13 Wrap Up and Callouts   SOURCES: https://futurism.com/health-medicine/startup-pitching-cloned-human-bodies https://www.wired.com/story/a-billionaire-backed-startup-wants-to-grow-organ-sacks-to-replace-animal-testing/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26935844-200-the-human-flatus-atlas-plans-to-measure-the-explosivity-of-farts/ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1115965 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590137025001268?via%3Dihub https://www.newscientist.com/article/2509261-high-achieving-adults-rarely-began-as-child-prodigies/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-023-01840-1 https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-grandmother-jail-mistake https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123556 https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123008 https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123312 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
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4.1
out of 5
8 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
    432
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 A Little Bit Of Science
  • Show Website
    A Little Bit Of Science

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