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Ologies with Alie Ward

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.

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52 min
Wednesday

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.” Visit Dr. Cooney’s website and follow her on Instagram, X, YouTube, and FacebookGet Kara’s latest book, Recycling for Death: Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt and the Theban Royal Caches, and browse her other books on Amazon or Bookshop.orgSubscribe to Kara’s Substack Ancient/NowVisit Dr. Ikram’s website and follow her on FacebookGet Salima’s latest book, Let a Cow-Skin Be Brought: Armour, Chariots and Other Leather Remains in Tutankhamun’s Tomb, and browse her other books on Amazon or Bookshop.orgDonations went to the Yellowhammer Fund and Doctors Without BordersMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Egyptology (ANCIENT EGYPT), Taphology (GRAVESITES), Desairology (MORTUARY MAKE-UP), Thanatology (DEATH & DYING), Ambystomology (AXOLOTLS … AND LIMB REGROWTH?), Melaninology (SKIN/HAIR PIGMENT), Spooktober episodes of the pastSponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow @Ologies on Instagram and XFollow @AlieWard on Instagram and XEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

Momiology (MUMMIFICATION) Part 1 with Kara Cooney & Salima Ikram
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1 hr, 19 min
2 Oct

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. Follow Bobby on XA donation went to the Yash Gandhi FoundationMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Sciuridology (SQUIRRELS), Hydrochoerology (CAPYBARAS), Procyonology (RACCOONS), Opossumology (O/POSSUMS), Columbidology (PIGEONS? YES), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF), Discard Anthropology (GARBAGE), Epidemiology (DISEASES), Maritime Archaeology (SHIPWRECKS)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow @Ologies on Instagram and XFollow @AlieWard on Instagram and XSound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, & Steven Ray MorrisManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

Urban Rodentology (SEWER RATS) Encore with Bobby Corrigan
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1 hr, 19 min
26 Sep

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. Follow Conrad on Instagram, TikTok and XVisit his guide to Philadelphia’s public art and public space at StreetsDept.comDonations went to the William Way LGBT Community Center and SkypeAScientist.comPurchase a Frog Facts Advent Calendar at SquidFacts.net More episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Political Sociology (VOTER TURNOUT & SUPPRESSION), Nomology (THE CONSTITUTION), Domicology (ABANDONED BUILDINGS, RECYCLED HOUSES & GHOST TOWNS), Wildlife Ecology (FIELDWORK), Very Special Episode: BlackAFinSTEM, Mythology (STORYTELLING), Museology (MUSEUMS)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow @Ologies on Instagram and XFollow @AlieWard on Instagram and XEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

Modern Toichographology (MURALS & STREET ART) with Conrad Benner
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1 hr, 15 min
18 Sep

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. Follow Dr. Bartels on ResearchGate and Google ScholarA donation went to the Xerces SocietyMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Bryology (MOSS) with Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Planariology (VERY COOL WORMS, I PROMISE), Benthopelagic Nematology (DEEP SEA WORMS), Radiology (X-RAY VISION), Microbiology (GUT BIOME), FIELD TRIP: My Butt, a Colonoscopy Ride Along & How-To, Diplopodology (MILLIPEDES & CENTIPEDES), Saurology (LIZARDS), Astrobiology (ALIENS), UFOlogy (UNEXPLAINED AERIAL PHENOMENA), Etymology (WORD ORIGINS), Ursinology (BEARS), Carnivore Ecology (LIONS, TIGERS, & BEARS)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow @Ologies on Instagram and XFollow @AlieWard on Instagram and XEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

Tardigradology (TINY SEMI-INDESTRUCTIBLE WATER BEAR MOSS PIGLET CREATURES CALLED TARDIGRADES) with Paul Bartels
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1 hr, 59 min
11 Sep

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 **Follow Dr. Meiffren-Lézine on ResearchGate, Instagram and LinkedInBuy his book, It is My Blood to Scribe: Poetry of a Suicide Attempt Survivor, on Bookshop.org or AmazonMore books by Dr. Meiffren-Lézine available on AmazonA donation went to Active MindsMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Dolorology (PAIN), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS), Addictionology (ADDICTION), Traumatology (PTSD), Eudemonology (HAPPINESS), Awesomeology (GRATITUDE FOR LITTLE THINGS)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow @Ologies on Instagram and XFollow @AlieWard on Instagram and XEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

Suicidology (SUICIDE PREVENTION & AWARENESS) with DeQuincy Meiffren-Lézine
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1 hr, 32 min
3 Sep

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. Follow Peter Giuliano on Instagram and LinkedInA donation went to the Coffee Science Foundation, an arm of the Specialty Coffee AssociationMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Gustology (TASTE), Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF), Scatology (POOP), Dendrology (TREES), Carobology (NOT-CHOCOLATE TREES), Critical Ecology (SOCIAL SYSTEMS + ENVIRONMENT), Agnotology (IGNORANCE), Pomology (APPLES), Lupinology (WOLVES)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow @Ologies on Instagram and XFollow @AlieWard on Instagram and XEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn

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