41 episodes
Ask us Anything by Popular Science Popular Science
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- Science
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4.6 • 66 Ratings
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Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions—from what the universe is made of to why not everyone can touch their toes. Join PopSci editors and producer Jess Boddy as they work through questions big and small. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/askusanythingbypopsci/support
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How do chatbots work?
If you remember chatting with SmarterChild back on AOL Instant Messenger back in the day, you know how far ChatGPT and Google Bard have come. But how do these so-called chatbots work—and what’s the best way to use them to our advantage?
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Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AskPopSciPod
Produced by Jess Boddy: https://twitter.com/JessicaBoddy
Music by Billy Cadden: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6LqT4DCuAXlBzX8XlNy4Wq
Art by Katie Belloff: https://twitter.com/Katie_Bellz
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
How is Voyager's vintage technology still flying?
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 launched back in 1977 with only a five-year mission to take a gander at Jupiter and Saturn’s rings and moons. Obviously, the Voyager spacecrafts have persisted a lot longer than five years: 46 years, to be exact. They’re still careening through space at a distance between 12 and 14 billion miles from Earth. So how have they lasted four decades longer than expected?
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Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AskPopSciPod
Produced by Jess Boddy: https://twitter.com/JessicaBoddy
Music by Billy Cadden: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6LqT4DCuAXlBzX8XlNy4Wq
Art by Katie Belloff: https://twitter.com/Katie_Bellz
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Can you become a morning person?
There's plenty of good reasons to be a morning lark. So is it possible, or is biology totally against us wannabe early birds?
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Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AskPopSciPod
Hosted by Lauren Young: https://twitter.com/laurenjyoung617
Produced by Jess Boddy: https://twitter.com/JessicaBoddy
Music by Billy Cadden: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6LqT4DCuAXlBzX8XlNy4Wq
Art by Katie Belloff: https://twitter.com/Katie_Bellz
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Where’s the best place to sit in a movie theater?
We all have our preferred seats at the movies. But is there scientifically a best place to sit? Stan Horaczek has the answer.
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Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AskPopSciPod
Hosted by Stan Horaczek: https://twitter.com/stanhoraczek
Produced by Jess Boddy: https://twitter.com/JessicaBoddy
Music by Billy Cadden: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6LqT4DCuAXlBzX8XlNy4Wq
Art by Katie Belloff: https://twitter.com/Katie_Bellz
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Are the bees still dying?
Five or ten years ago, all we heard was "save the bees." Well, are they still dying? PopSci's Philip Kiefer has the answers—and they're surprisingly complicated.
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Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AskPopSciPod
Hosted by Philip Kiefer: https://twitter.com/PhilipJKiefer
Produced by Jess Boddy: https://twitter.com/JessicaBoddy
Music by Billy Cadden: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6LqT4DCuAXlBzX8XlNy4Wq
Art by Katie Belloff: https://twitter.com/Katie_Bellz
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Why do we like pimple popping?
It's super gross, but you can't look away—why are pimple popping videos so magnetic?
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Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AskPopSciPod
Hosted by Chelsey B. Coombs: https://twitter.com/chelseybcoombs
Produced by Jess Boddy: https://twitter.com/JessicaBoddy
Music by Billy Cadden: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6LqT4DCuAXlBzX8XlNy4Wq
Art by Katie Belloff: https://twitter.com/Katie_Bellz
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Customer Reviews
Great podcast for a quick commute!
This podcast is the perfect length for my under 15 minute commute to work. The hosts are always positive and upbeat while teaching me a little tidbit of information. Great topics, too!
Short Science Snippets
Cool little podcast to listen to for answers to random questions (some simple, some more complicated). Short and sweet, so you won’t have to dedicate a lot of time to this one.
Some people seem to have issues with the hosts’ voices, but I don’t mind them. To me, none of that takes away from the interesting tidbits they share.
I love The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week, and this show is a bit like that, but bite-size.
Reading answers
Love the content, but editors need to try to have natural conversations, not read answers aloud. Take the chance, guys. Could be a great show, but put away the scripts.
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