Truth or Total BS?

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Every week, co-hosts Alex and Maya pick a viral claim, debate both sides with real evidence, and deliver a verdict. Casual, fast-paced, and always grounded in facts.

Episodes

  1. 17H AGO

    Did James Webb Kill the Big Bang?

    This claim is false. As of March 2026, no peer-reviewed scientific body or credible institution has concluded that JWST disproved the Big Bang theory. NASA explicitly rejects this framing. JWST has revealed unexpectedly bright and mature early galaxies, prompting refinements to galaxy formation models — but the Big Bang's core evidence (cosmic microwave background, expansion, primordial nucleosynthesis) remains uncontradicted. The "disproof" narrative traces to fringe sources, creationist outlets, and a mischaracterization of normal scientific model adjustment as theoretical falsification.

  2. MAR 24

    The Three-Year Love Myth

    The claim conflates early-stage passionate intensity — which research does show fading within roughly 1–3 years — with romantic love broadly. Multiple high-authority sources, including the American Psychological Association and Harvard Medical School, explicitly distinguish these constructs. Neuroimaging studies show couples married over 20 years can exhibit the same dopamine-rich romantic brain activity as newly in-love individuals. The blanket assertion that romantic love "typically lasts no more than three years in most relationships" is not supported by the preponderance of scientific evidence.

  3. MAR 17

    The Sugar Parasite Myth: What's Really Making You Crave Sweets?

    This claim is not supported by credible evidence. No peer-reviewed studies link parasitic infections to sugar cravings in healthy adults. The CDC does not list sugar cravings as a parasitic symptom, and a PubMed search returns zero direct evidence for this connection. The only sources asserting this link are low-credibility wellness blogs and holistic clinic websites citing no clinical research. Well-established causes of sugar cravings include stress, sleep deprivation, hormonal fluctuations, and dietary patterns.

  4. MAR 10

    The Raw Truth: Why Unpasteurized Milk Isn't Worth the Risk

    The claim is well-supported. The CDC, AAP, and multiple peer-reviewed studies consistently document that raw milk can harbor dangerous pathogens (Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Campylobacter) and has been linked to hundreds of outbreaks, thousands of illnesses, and hundreds of hospitalizations. Unpasteurized dairy causes far more illness per serving than pasteurized dairy. While some observational studies correlate farm-exposure raw milk consumption with lower allergy rates, these findings are non-causal and no authoritative body recommends raw milk consumption based on them.

  5. MAR 3

    Can You Train Your Body to Function on 5 Hours of Sleep?

    This claim is false. Major health authorities (AASM, CDC, NIH) agree that most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep and cannot train themselves to need less. While a rare genetic mutation allows under 1% of people to function on 4–6 hours, this is an inborn trait — not something achievable through training. Research shows that people who chronically sleep only 5 hours experience measurable cognitive and health impairments, even when they believe they've adapted.

  6. FEB 24

    Bomb-Sniffing Bees: Can Honeybees Really Find Landmines?

    The claim is well-supported. Multiple peer-reviewed studies and government-funded research programs (including Sandia National Laboratories and DARPA) have demonstrated that honeybees can be classically conditioned to respond to TNT and other explosive odors associated with landmines, with successful field tests confirming detection capability. The research spans two decades and includes both active conditioning and passive biomonitoring approaches. However, this training enables area-level surveying of minefields rather than precise pinpointing of individual buried mines.

  7. FEB 17

    Can Your Pet Be Allergic to YOU?

    The claim is largely accurate. Multiple veterinary dermatologists and biomedical sources confirm that animals — particularly dogs and cats — can develop allergic reactions to human dander (shed skin cells and hair proteins). The underlying immune mechanisms are well-established. However, such allergies appear to be uncommon, prevalence figures vary widely depending on the study population, and diagnostic testing has limitations. The claim is valid but would benefit from noting that these reactions are rare and specific to human dander rather than to humans broadly.

  8. FEB 10

    The Radioactive Banana: Fact or Fruity Fiction?

    This claim is true. Bananas contain potassium-40 (K-40), a naturally occurring radioactive isotope that makes up about 0.012% of all potassium. This is confirmed by the US EPA, the Department of Energy, and peer-reviewed scientific literature. However, the radioactivity is extremely small — about 0.1 microsieverts per banana — and eating bananas does not increase your net radiation dose because the body maintains potassium balance and excretes excess potassium. Bananas pose no radiation health risk.

  • 8 Episodes

About

Every week, co-hosts Alex and Maya pick a viral claim, debate both sides with real evidence, and deliver a verdict. Casual, fast-paced, and always grounded in facts.

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