Smologies with Alie Ward

Thunder and lightning: very, very frighteningly interesting! Wildfire researcher and lightning scientist Chris Giesige answers questions about thunderclaps and lightning flashes in a laid back way th…

Feathery gills! Adorable smiles! Cultural icons! Habitat ecology! And superhuman limb regeneration? It’s an entire episode on axolotls. You either love these aquatic salamanders, or you’ve never hear…

Ahoy matey, we’ve brought ye another ensmol’d episode of Ologies, this time on: Shipwrecks. We get to talk with maritime archaeologist and wreck nerd Chanelle Zaphiropoulos about her experiences with…

An instant classic. You’ll listen on repeat as world-renowned author, botanist, Indigenous ecology professor and bryologist Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer talks about her passion for moss. Cozy up for the m…

Crosswords! Puzzles! Magic? Ah yes, world-renowned Enigmatologist David Kwong drops in to chat about the intersection of sleight of hand and brain games, covering everything from tips for solving cro…

Mammals. You’re one. Your dog is one. So are giant rats. What do we have in common? I promise you’ll find out the answer from the incredible Southern Illinois University professor, researcher, scienc…

This kid-safe edit of the classic Herpetology episode features frilly gills, frog tornadoes, legless lizards, and reasons to appreciate snakes. Also, why you shouldn’t kiss one. Dr. David Steen is a …

Skin color! Hair pigment! Biological anthropology! The incredibly informed and infectiously funny Dr. Tina Lasisi joins to chat sunscreen, redheads, light skin, dark skin, in-between skin, hair color…

A G-rated, kid-safe Smologies edit all about getting your Zzzzzs. Neurologist and somnologist Dr. W. Chris Winter is an expert on sleep, and since his first interview, he’s released a book called “Th…

Yep — it’s detective work! But instead of crime scenes, environmental scientist, marine biologist and Forensic Ecologist Dr. Tiara Moore travels the world to sample the sea and the soil looking for t…

Ichthyology is not easy to say, but fish are easy to love. Dr. Chris Thacker will get you so thrilled to stare into a pond or look up pictures of silvery sea serpent-looking fish friends. 

Hilariously…

Glaciers: Where are they? What are they made of? What happens when chunks splinter off into the sea? There are ICEQUAKES? CalTech Cryoseismologist Celeste Labedz sometimes wears a cape with her snowp…

Alligators! Crocodiles! The excitement never ends when you’re Laura Kojima, an Alligator Ecotoxicologist. A longtime reptile cheerleader, Laura has passion to match some truly bananas stories about f…

Another G-rated edit of a classic! This Smologies with Dr. John McCormack of Occidental College is all about evolution, Darwinism, birds, bacteria, natural selection and how our mutations can be our …

A kid-friendly, shortened version of our classic episode on …flags! E. Tory Laitila, a textile expert who has also handled Honolulu's flag protocol, gives the skinny on the oldest flags, skull and cr…

Grab your fire extinguisher and hang on to your eyebrows, we’re building FIRES today. We’ll hear all about how our ancient ancestors learned to wield a flame, tame it, transport it, and use it to mak…

Quite likely Alie's favorite subject ever: INSECTS, just straight up buuuugs. In this Smologized classic, Alie sits down with an ologist who quite likely also dramatically shifted her life. That woul…

What IS a deer? And an elk? And a moose? And a Rhiannon? One thing they all have in common: cervidology. Buckle up for some spirited, laughy chatter with a duo of deer scientists. They’ll explain wha…

It’s a shorter, swear-free version of the wonderful Genealogy episode with author Stephen Hanks -- who teaches genealogy classes in Portland, Oregon and has contributed to PBS genealogy documentaries…

Bison bison! Not just something to holler into the sky, but also the scientific name for North America's majestic wild bovines that once roamed the plains in the tens of millions. What's up with thei…