Frivolous Science

Podcast by Frivolous Science

English

Technology & science

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20 hours of audiobooks / month
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About Frivolous Science

Politicians love to mock "wasteful" government spending on research—from shrimp on treadmills to the sex lives of screwworm flies. But what's the real story behind these headline-grabbing studies? In Frivolous Science, we go beyond the soundbites to talk with scientists about the research that gets ridiculed. Discover what your tax dollars are actually funding, why this research matters, and experience the unexpected joy of scientific discovery that happens when curiosity leads the way. Creator & Host: Houda Khaled Artwork: Houda Khaled

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3 episodes

Sweet, Salty & Savory Dreams

Dr. William Ja uses fruit flies to study food comas. Do flies get sleepy after eating? Do we? Why is that even worth knowing? And what do flies and Lamborghini's have in common? Dr. Ja discusses his research, the unknown purpose of food comas, and how what we eat might affect our sleep (and vice versa)! Creator & Host: Houda Khaled Music by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Link to paper: https://elifesciences.org/articles/19334 [https://elifesciences.org/articles/19334] Full transcript at: https://frivolousscience.substack.com/ [https://frivolousscience.substack.com/]

Yesterday - 46 min

Squeaky Sonnets

Dr. Ralph Emilio Peterson follows rats around New York City with a mic and a camera. Is it a silly pet project, or a creative pest control solution? Dr. Peterson discuss his research, and we get a sneak peak into the secret "language" of rats. Creator & Host: Houda Khaled Music by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue [www.sessions.blue]) Link to the preprint: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.21.665423v1.full [https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.21.665423v1.full] Full transcript and rat videos at https://frivolousscience.substack.com/ [https://frivolousscience.substack.com/] ***Correction: I say that the rat recordings are pitched up for us to hear, but they are actually pitched down! They are altered from high frequency (that we can't hear) to lower frequency.***

3 Dec 2025 - 33 min

Meet Frivolous Science!

Are your taxes being wasted on scientist pet projects? What do headlines get wrong when they lambast studies on "fruit flies in Paris" and "shrimp on treadmills"? Welcome to Frivolous Science, where we meet with scientists behind some of the silliest sounding studies to get to the bottom of what their research is really about. The first episode premieres December 1st - tell all your friends! Creator & Host: Houda Khaled Music by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue [www.sessions.blue]) Full transcript at https://frivolousscience.substack.com/⁠ [https://frivolousscience.substack.com/]

23 Oct 2025 - 2 min

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