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.
Scorpiology (SCORPIONS) with Lauren Esposito: Encore Presentation
This specific episode was cited in The New Yorker this week, so we’re giving it an encore refresh with bonus material and a 2020 update from Dr. Esposito herself!
Scorpions: the victims of undue shade. If you've ever wanted to impress a date with weird facts THIS IS THE EPISODE FOR YOU. A handful of people on planet Earth have a PhD in scorpions and Dr. Lauren Esposito is one of them. She spills the beans on how venom works, what's up with the blacklight glow effect, how dangerous they *really* are, what all the movies get wrong, the best names for scorpions, where she's traveled to look under rocks, where a scorpion's butt is, if scorpions dance or make out (SPOILER: YES), what good mothers they are, how big they used to be millions of years ago and how -- technically speaking -- they are not poisonous. Also: how much does a gallon of venom cost? Oh, and why she started the visibility campaign 500 Queer Scientists. Get this one in your ears right away.
Follow Dr. Esposito at twitter.com/arachnologynerd or instagram.com/caribales and check out 500QueerScientists.com
Mention in The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/podcasts/lolita-podcast-12-28-20
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Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris
Theme song by Nick Thorburn