Curiosity Weekly

Dr. Ishrat Husain, psychiatrist and researcher specializing in psychedelic-assisted therapies, discusses clinical trials and how classic psychedelics act on serotonin receptors. Short segments cover psilocybin for depression, MDMA for PTSD, dosing and safety in medical settings. Conversation also touches on regulatory challenges, Indigenous knowledge, and separating hype from careful science.

Suzanne Simard, forest ecologist who uncovered the mycorrhizal 'wood wide web', talks about how fungal threads link plants underground. Short, vivid stories cover trees sharing resources, recognizing kin, and inspiring films like Avatar. Conversations also touch on forest cycles, logging impacts, and the Mother Tree Project studying resilience and restoration.

Timothy Caulfield, a law and public health professor who debunks health misinformation, breaks down how overwhelming online info, social media echo chambers, influencers, and AI make false health claims feel believable. He discusses why ads, manipulated reviews, and celebrity stories sway people, and offers simple habits like pausing and checking trusted experts to avoid falling for convincing fakes.

Dr. Dawn Kernagis, neuroscientist and aquanaut who lived 16 days underwater for NASA research. She recounts life inside a submerged habitat, physiological effects of saturation diving, and parallels between undersea missions and space exploration. The conversation also touches on reef restoration work and new AI approaches to standardize pain measurement.

If everyone wants happiness, why does it so often seem hard to achieve? This episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by psychologist Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky to talk about positive psychology and what science tells us about how to be happy. Sam also explores a new study that says swearing can give you a physical boost and, to celebrate the Olympics, she digs into the physics behind curling.   Link to Show Notes HERE  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s not a stretch to say that everyone suffers from unwanted body odor from time to time. Whether it’s stress, exercise, or heat, there are plenty of reasons why we sweat and there is a lot to learn about our bodies from the odors they create. To learn more about the science of body odor, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Chris Callewaert, aka Dr. Armpit. Before that, Sam also digs into a new skin patch that might help out our friends with peanut allergies. Then, she explores a new theory into how the Black Death pandemic was able to spread so easily way back in the 1300s.   Link to Show Notes HERE  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Kaplan, science writer and author of I Told You So, who chronicles scientists punished for being right. He traces patterns of ridicule from Semmelweis to modern social media. Short segments also explore why women may feel more IBS pain and the surprising history and biology of kissing.

Exploring the science behind pet ownership is a more complicated process than you might think. This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by the author of The Science of Pets, Jay Ingram. They talk about the relationship between animals and humans and how we may not always see eye to eye when it comes to interpreting certain behaviors. Sam also looks into the history of species variation in dogs and how human emotions make it difficult to decipher dog emotions.   Puppy Bowl XXII simulcasts across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, TruTV, HBOMax, and Discovery on Sunday, February 8, 2026 at 2PM ET/11:00AM PT.   Watch it after on HBOMax and Discovery+.   Link to Show Notes HERE  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Kaylee Byers, assistant professor studying urban wildlife and One Health, blends science and community action. She talks about rats as indicators of city health, a rat risk index to guide management, genomics for tracking urban animals, and equitable greening and community-driven research. Short, sharp stories about city ecosystems and practical tools for healthier urban life.

There are always constraints when it comes to conservation. Finances, logistics, population dynamics, medicine, and general care all need to be considered when asking: how do we best care for our planet? This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Forrest Galante, a wildlife conservationist and biologist to discuss his new series Vantara: Sanctuary Stories, now streaming on HBOMax and Discovery+. Sam and Forrest talk about the peaks and valleys of modern conservation and how the animal sanctuary Vantara is unique in the way it cares for the hundreds of thousands of animals that live there. Sam also explores a new study that provides evidence that helping others slows cognitive decline and recent research on how elite performers reach the pinnacle of their fields.   Link to Show Notes HERE  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.