Ologies with Alie Ward

Alie Ward
  • 4.9 (22K)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
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.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Confectionology (CANDY) with Susan Benjamin

    Licorice opinions! War chocolate! Candy corn origins, circus peanut secrets, the sourest sourballs, and your great aunt’s purse. Stay until the very end for the biggest shocked laugh I have ever had on this show. The incredibly charming author, journalist, candy historian, and Confectiologist Susan Benjamin chats about everything from apothecary origin stories, ethnobotany, having horehound on hand, the warheads that could save you, vegan candy controversy, sugar sources from beets to corn, Turkish temptations, Roman flim-flam, marzipan mini-sculptures, sugar plum ballets, what she gives out for Halloween candy. and the best way to enjoy treats if you're trying to stay healthy. An absolute instant classic.

    1h 47m

  2. OCT 17

    Momiology (MUMMIFICATION) Part 2 with Salima Ikram & Kara Cooney

    Coffin engravings! Archaeology ethics! Linen wrappings! Repatriation! Sexy hippos! We’re back with more mummies in this Part 2 with the wonderful Drs. Salima Ikram & Kara Cooneywho chat about animal mummies, eating mummified remains, plant resins, the debate over human sacrifice, coffin reuse, Egyptian tourism, the worst temple gift shop in history, and what happens if you’re late to your own funeral. Also: is all religion magic? Let’s get into it.

    1 hr

  3. OCT 9

    Momiology (MUMMIFICATION) Part 1 with Kara Cooney & Salima Ikram

    Linen wrapping. Expensive resins. Sarcophagi. Preserving for eternity – or until someone raids their tomb. It’s a brand-new Spooktober episode with not one but two guests: Dr. Salima Ikram is a professor of Egyptology and expert on mummification of both people and animals, and is joined by veteran guest from the Egyptology episode, professor and author Dr. Kara Cooney. The two chat about mummification techniques, how food studies lead into the pyramids, controversy over the word “mummy,” whiffing the dead, socioeconomic factors in mummification, animal mummies, lingering mysteries, field work, a house mouse, and more. Next week in Part 2 we’ll dive into more ethics of collections, human sacrifice, the people who ate mummified remains, paint colors, coffin engravings and the meaning of “magic.”

    52 min

  4. OCT 2

    Urban Rodentology (SEWER RATS) Encore with Bobby Corrigan

    Let’s kick off Spooktober with… RATS: They love pizza. They invade taquerias at midnight. They scurry. They cuddle. They outsmart. They inspire movies that inspire musicals. Proving that not just woodsy megafauna can be charismatic, rats have lives we would never suspect. Globally-lauded Urban Rodentologist Dr. Robert Corrigan, or Bobby if you like, has been studying these animals in their big-city ecosystem for decades and he is a wonder-filled joy. Learn about rats’ origin story, the difference between a rat and a mouse, where they live, their preferred “food dialects,” and how to (hopefully humanely) keep one out of your house -- or car? Might as well start to love and respect them, because we’re not-too-distantly related and one day… they may be steering the ship.

    1h 19m

  5. SEP 26

    Modern Toichographology (MURALS & STREET ART) with Conrad Benner

    Murals! Frescos! Graffiti! Street art! Philadelphia is the birthplace of graffiti and the mural capital of the world so we sit down with city historian, journalist, curator, and Toichographologist Conrad Benner to chat about public vs. private art, cultural movements, commissioned vs. um… un-commissioned murals, how mural topics are chosen, how much it costs to make a mural, where to get that money, vandalism and murals and the fine line between, and how everything you do is art. Let Philly’s history and 5,000 murals inspire you to gaze at what’s in your city and find out who made it, how you can get involved, and why it matters. Also: this episode will have a bonus Field Trip we’ll release in a week or so that will take you to a series of murals in the process of being born.

    1h 19m

  6. SEP 18

    Tardigradology (TINY SEMI-INDESTRUCTIBLE WATER BEAR MOSS PIGLET CREATURES CALLED TARDIGRADES) with Paul Bartels

    Smaller than you can imagine. Potato-shaped. Mysterious. Romantic. And tough enough to survive the vacuum of space or decades of desiccation. Join professor and confirmed Tardigradologist Dr. Paul Bartels to saunter into a microscopic wonderland of bizarrely long naps, foreign genomes, moon landings, glow-in-the-dark moss piglets, cryptobiosis, kitten claws, knife mouths, balloon butts, spiders on Mars, splicing tardigrade DNA into ours, debunking flim-flam and the friends living in your gutters.

    1h 15m

  7. SEP 11

    Suicidology (SUICIDE PREVENTION & AWARENESS) with DeQuincy Meiffren-Lézine

    Give yourself a hug and take a deep breath and let’s chat with renowned Suicidologist Dr. DeQuincy Meiffren-Lézine. He is an absolute wonder and helps us understand the risk factors for suicide, prevention strategies, socio-economic factors, gender statistics, LGBTQ+ suicide prevention, what happens if you call a hotline, thoughts on hospitalization, how to support loved ones who have ideation, mourning those lost, learning to take care of yourself and your mental health and how living through the worst means by definition, shit gets better. ** IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A CRISIS, PLEASE CONNECT WITH THE 988 SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE. CALL OR TEXT 988 OR VISIT 988LIFELINE.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION. OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES, CONSULT WITH FINDAHELPLINE.COM **

    1h 59m

  8. SEP 3

    Coffeeology (COFFEE) with Peter Giuliano

    When did coffee get into our mouths? Who’s right when it comes to the best coffee? What’s the most ethical way to enjoy it? What about the cats that eat the beans? How will climate change affect your morning coffee? Peter Giuliano is the executive director of the Coffee Science Foundation explains folk stories behind coffee, what makes beans taste the way they do, why cold brew and nitro feel like rocket fuel, shade-grown coffee, roasting chemistry, flimflam, atmospheric pressure, dead espresso, and the best way to brew it, in his opinion. Also: why it tastes better outside – for some of us.

    1h 33m
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Alie Ward
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2024
  • Episodes
    419
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Alie Ward
  • Show Website
    Ologies with Alie Ward

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