Smologies with Alie Ward

You might only know carob as not-chocolate, which is a tragedy of its disco-era branding. This tough, gnarly, drought-resistant plant is the real-life Giving Tree, explains passionate carobologist Megan Lynch. Dripping with leathery banana-shaped legume pods, this tree quietly dots suburban streets but can also be found in unexpected ingredients lists, beautiful furniture pieces, and tasty cheesecakes – when you let it be itself. Oh also? It can stand in for chocolate if you need it to. LET’S SHOW SOME RESPECT.  Check out Megan’s music on Bandcamp A donation went to STEMd.org Full-length (*not* G-rated) Carobology episode + tons of science links More kid-friendly Smologies episodes! Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes! Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jake Chaffee, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin Talbert Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Allergies. Sinuses. Cartilage. Smell nostalgia. Snoring. Hang on to your faces because Dr. John Craig goes deep and shares his passion for rhinology. You'll have a whole new relationship with your whiffer, appreciating what happens behind your nostrils and why they get so leaky, stuffy and everything in between. Also: what grosses Alie out more than creepy crawlies or smelly drain clogs? Follow Dr. John Craig on YouTube Full-length (*not* G-rated) Rhinology episode + tons of science links More kid-friendly Smologies episodes! Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes! Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jake Chaffee, and Steven Ray Morris Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin Talbert Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pointy heads. Spiked arms. Genius disguises. It’s a whole episode about praying mantises with a real life Mantodeologist. Do they really eat hummingbirds? Are they extraterrestrial? How can you convince them to visit your garden? Get your fill of evolutionary gossip, camouflage strategies, their alien egg cases, huge eyes, pet advice, and why they’re compatible with cat lovers with this delightful entomologist and longtime keeper of mantises, Lohit Garikipati.  Follow Lohit on Instagram and iNaturalist A donation went to the World Wildlife Fund Full-length (*not* G-rated) Mantodeology episode + tons of science links More kid-friendly Smologies episodes! Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes! Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin Talbert Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Caves! Caverns! Grottos! Crystals! Let's get down and dirty with Speleology with explorer, researcher, professor, and paleoclimatologist Dr. Gina Moseley. We discuss the deepest and darkest caves, who counts as a spelunker, what’s a stalactite, what’s a stalagmite, and are giant cave crystals real? Also: How caves can tell us about ancient climates and why nothing beats the longing for the underground. Grab a friend and wear a helmet. We’re goin’ in. Follow Dr. Gina Moseley on GoogleScholar A donation went to the British Cave Rescue Council Full-length (*not* G-rated) Speleology episode + tons of science links More kid-friendly Smologies episodes! Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes! Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin Talbert Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Katherine Hatcher, a chronobiologist who studies hormones and sleep cycles, explains circadian rhythms and the brain’s tiny timekeeper. They cover daylight saving time’s harms, how light and temperature cue our clocks, chronotypes like owls and larks, and why many body clocks—not just one—shape health and daily life.

Early mornings. Stunning vistas. Flood-ready bird nests. Semi-aquatic rats. Cute but invasive snails. Human-sucking mud holes. The long-awaited episode with bird nerd Corina Newsome is finally here and we talk all about the day-to-day-realities of being a Wildlife Ecologist. She dishes about nest checking, camera traps, salt marsh dramas and more. She is hilarious, informative, and dedicated to her work in avian conservation and truly has the best laugh. Also: find out whether or not animals are laughing at her. Visit Corina Newsome’s website, Instagram and Bluesky A donation went to SkypeAScientist.com Full-length (*not* G-rated) Wildlife Ecology episode + tons of science links More kid-friendly Smologies episodes! Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes! Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jake Chaffee, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin Talbert Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lights! Cameras! Arachnids! And lizards and bees and beetles. Macro photography is like magic: curved glass gives an entirely new take on the world, from dust on a cricket’s brow to a curious mantid stare to the elegant symmetry of spider whiskers. Joseph Saunders is an Oklahoma-based wildlife photographer whose larger-than-life photos of bugs and reptiles will make you realize just how little we appreciate the creatures on our window sills and skittering up our porches. Support Joseph’s photography on Patreon Follow him on Instagram and Bluesky A donation went to the American Chronic Pain Association Full-length (*not* G-rated) Aperiology episode + tons of science links More kid-friendly Smologies episodes! Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes! Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jake Chaffee, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, and Steven Ray Morris Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin Talbert Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Voices! Singing! Anxiety busters! Breathing! Pull up a seat for kid voices, aging voices, hormones, hidden anatomy, why we sound the way we do, opera singing, high notes, low notes, marine mammal notes and more with your new favorite Laryngologist, Dr. Ronda Alexander. We just… we love her so much. Follow Dr. Alexander on InstagramA donation went the Laryngology Education Foundation Health Equity GrantFull-length (*not* G-rated) Laryngology episodes + tons of science linksMore kid-friendly Smologies episodes!Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokSound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Mark David Christenson, and Jake ChaffeeMade possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin TalbertSmologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Smaller than you can imagine. Potato-shaped. Mysterious. Misunderstood. And tough enough to survive the vacuum of space or decades of desiccation. Join professor and Tardigradologist Dr. Paul Bartels to saunter into a microscopic wonderland of bizarrely long naps, glow-in-the-dark moss piglets, cryptobiosis, kitten claws, balloon butts, and the friends living in your gutters. Follow Dr. Bartels on ResearchGate and Google ScholarA donation went to the Xerces SocietyFull-length (*not* G-rated) Tardigradology episode + tons of science linksMore kid-friendly Smologies episodes!Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokSound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeMade possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin TalbertSmologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Venus flytraps. Pitcher plants. Bladderworts. Sundews. Get ready to hear about physics, chemistry, biology and more, because we’re doing meat-eating plants with conservation ecologist and carnivorous phytobiologist, Hali’a Eastburn. Why do they love bogs? How do they lure their prey? How do bugs pollinate them without being eaten? Do they poop? And who calls pitcher plants “home?” Plus: The world’s fastest hunters and nature’s grossest vending machines.Follow Hali’a Eastburn on InstagramDonations were made to North American Sarracenia Conservancy and KauluakalanaFull-length (*not* G-rated) Carnivorous Phytobiology episode + tons of science linksMore kid-friendly Smologies episodes!Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokSound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, and Jake ChaffeeMade possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin TalbertSmologies theme song by Harold Malcolm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.