Probably Science
Comedy
Professional comedians with so-so STEM pedigrees take you through this week in science. Incompetently. Featuring hosts Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood (and sometimes Jesse Case or Brooks Wheelan) along with a rotating cast of special guests from the worlds of comedy and science.
Location:
Los Angeles, CA
Description:
Professional comedians with so-so STEM pedigrees take you through this week in science. Incompetently. Featuring hosts Matt Kirshen, Andy Wood (and sometimes Jesse Case or Brooks Wheelan) along with a rotating cast of special guests from the worlds of comedy and science.
Twitter:
@ProbablyScience
Language:
English
Episodes
Episode 529 - Sierra Katow
5/1/2024
Comedian Sierra Katow (@sierrakatow) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about her new standup special Funt, the upcoming appearance on Roots of Comedy with Jesus Trejo, the underrated Earth to Ned, Sierra's computer science background and childhood obsession with Neopets, Andy's head-scratching interaction with Anthropic's Claude AI, deadly pathogens that are attracted to human blood, the importance of robot insurance, the security issues raised by quantum computing, online Oregon Trail, a black hole lurking surprisingly close to Earth and To 29 and Beyond, coming to Outpost 29 on June 7-8, with Bobcat Goldthwait, NASA's Farah Alibay, stargazing, trivia, live music, karaoke and more, sponsored by Visit 29, Merch Kitchen and Sky Watcher Star Tours. For 15% off a Sky Watcher stargazing tour, use the code "29BEYOND".
Duration:01:05:14
Episode 528 - Bec Hill
4/25/2024
Comedian Bec Hill (@bechillcomedian) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about What3Words, Bec sneaking dicks into things, a surprise from decades-old cans of salmon, ghost particles, a possible Stonehenge moon connection, ancient Stonehenge feasts, Willy's LA Chocolate Experience, A Problem Squared, Enemy In Paris and of course To 29 and Beyond, coming to Outpost 29 on June 7-8, with Bobcat Goldthwait, NASA's Farah Alibay, stargazing, trivia, live music, karaoke and more, sponsored by Visit 29, Merch Kitchen and Sky Watcher Star Tours. For 15% off a Sky Watcher stargazing tour, use the code "29BEYOND".
Duration:01:06:51
Episode 527 - Joshua Snyder
4/14/2024
Comedian Joshua Snyder (@nerdyvirgin) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Bobcat Goldthwait headlining To 29 and Beyond, Jesse's love life, building a guitar, a lack of solar eclipse whimsy, the Star Trek punk on a bus, toxic epi-pens in space, a mouse with legs instead of genitals, dog comprehension, the great podcast Free With Ads and a SPATS update.
Duration:01:10:12
Episode 526 - Carmen Morales
4/2/2024
Comedian Carmen Morales (@TheFunnyCarmen) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about Matt's chipped tooth, the pros and cons of home dentistry, a nuclear fusion record, CRISPR and HIV, Andy's friend's Pioneertown-to-Big Bear breakdown, a million mice eating seabirds alive, letdowns from CBD, Carmen on HBO, updates from the Large Hadron Collider and our live event To 29 and Beyond, taking place June 7th and 8th.
Duration:01:12:43
Episode 525 - Marcus Monroe
3/23/2024
Comedian/juggler Marcus Monroe (@marcusmonroe) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about inventing the knorch, siteswap juggling notation, getting banned from Delta Airlines, a Montana man pleading guilty to creating massive franken-sheep, getting helium from the moon and To 29 and Beyond, now taking place June 7th and 8th.
Duration:01:06:23
Episode 524 - Tara Flynn
3/10/2024
Actress/writer Tara Flynn returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about having no sense of smell, Renaissance Faires, the magic of the Irish, fake Scottish Wikipedia, fake grunge slang, a death ray science project, a fish as loud as an elephant, boiling water to remove microplastics, a 13,000-year-old sand dune, Liver King, Oscar talk, To 29 and Beyond coming to 29 Palms on June 1st and Tara's podcast Now You're Asking.
Duration:01:10:46
Episode 523 - Adam Newman
3/3/2024
Comedian/musician Adam Newman (@adam_newman) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about sweep picking, Antarctic scientists developing their own accent, Adam and Jesse's dreadlock pasts, Adam's upcoming special Jew Versus The Volcano, Purim talk, how humans lost their tails, the Willy Wonka AI experience debacle in Glasgow and its insane script, Wake Up and Smile, the upcoming live event To 29 and Beyond and Adam's podcast PuzzyBoyz.
Duration:01:20:06
Episode 522 - Wendy Liebman
2/22/2024
Comedy legend Wendy Liebman (@WendyLiebman) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Wendy and Jesse's Letterman overlap, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Wendy's psychology background and transition into comedy, the evolutionary advantage of ADHD, bizarre AI rat genitalia, using AI to advance fusion research, OpenAI's amazing/terrifying Sora breakthrough and Will Smith actually eating spaghetti.
Duration:01:04:49
Episode 521 - Jeffrey Baldinger
2/10/2024
Comedian Jeffrey Baldinger (@Jeffbaldinger) joins Matt and Jesse to talk about earthquakes, Santa Claus' dad, a strange new type of star in the middle of our galaxy and distinguishing between earthquakes and nuclear tests.
Duration:01:16:14
Episode 520 - Matt Knudsen
2/4/2024
Comedian, actor and author Matt Knudsen (@mattknudsen) returns to the podcast to talk about his new book Have I Seen You In Anything?, working on soap operas, being in an iconic I Think You Should Leave sketch, going back to school, learning to tap dance, testosterone reducing the Audience Effect and a bat that uses its huge penis as an arm.
Duration:01:06:22
Episode 519 - Leah Bonnema
1/21/2024
Comedian Leah Bonnema (@LeahBonnema) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Matt and Leah's road gig adventure, Jesse being snowed in, going to the bathroom outside, the science behind the munchies, Japan's Moon Sniper making contact with the lunar surface, Leah's love of Love Island, 45,000-year-old tools and bones found in eastern Asia, the Levallois technique and everyone's lack of awareness of Bill Knapp's.
Duration:01:04:44
Episod 518 - Moshe Kasher
1/11/2024
Comedian and author Moshe Kasher (@moshekasher) returns to the show to talk with Andy, Jesse and Matt about his upcoming book Subculture Vulture, chronicling his deep involvement in the seemingly disparate worlds of Hasidic Judaism, deaf culture, comedy, sobriety, rave culture and Burning Man, as well as digging into the possible de-extinction of the dodo.
Duration:01:11:26
Episode 517 - Kim McVicar
12/30/2023
Comedian Kim McVicar (@KimMcVicar) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about famous hecklers, Kim's dancing background, musicals and their parodies, coin flips not being as 50/50 as you think, neanderthal early birds, Daylight Saving Time talk, holiday penile fractures and the crazy waves hitting the west coast right now.
Duration:01:10:59
Re-release - AI Alignment with Dr. Stuart Russell
12/23/2023
While the gang take a little holiday break, we thought it was worth revisiting Andy's conversation with AI researcher and UC Berkeley Professor of Computer Science Stuart Russell from wayyyyy back in 2019. Now that we're well into the era of generative artificial intelligence, it's interesting to look back at what experts were saying about AI alignment just a few years ago, when it seemed to many of us like an issue we wouldn't have to tackle directly for a long time to come. As we face down a future where LLMs and other generative models only appear to be getting more capable, it's worth pausing to reflect on what needs to be done to usher in a world that's more utopian than dystopian. Happy holidays!
Duration:01:00:43
Episode 516 - Shane Torres
12/17/2023
Comedian Shane Torres (@shanetorres) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his new special The Blue Eyed Mexican, his unique Covid experience, more SPATS chats, finding the lost space tomato, what happens when you take your gun into an MRI scanner, someone else who wasn't as lucky with the MRI, the most extreme rogue wave on record, and the sound that warns a tornado is coming.
Duration:01:10:42
Episode 515 - Ryan Conner
12/7/2023
Comedian and author Ryan Conner (@rconnercomedy) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his porn doppelganger, the process of researching and writing his new satirical novel The Party, an AI ProbSci ripoff, SpaceX rockets punching holes in the sky, deep brain stimulation to help TBI patients and a tree-dwelling shrimp found in the Cyclops Mountains.
Duration:01:12:56
Episode 514 - Dustin Ybarra
11/27/2023
Comedian Dustin Ybarra (@dustin_ybarra) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about the recent Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, Erdős–Bacon numbers, the first mammal embryos grown in space, space travel's effect on erectile dysfunction, trying to deter orcas with heavy metal, a message laser-beamed from 10 million miles away, the rise of 6G and the ouster and return of OpenAI's Sam Altman after a rumored AGI breakthrough.
Duration:01:22:08
Episode 513 - Jenny Zigrino
11/18/2023
Comedian Jenny Zigrino (@jennyzigrino) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about skunks, the Vegas F1 race, smelling in stereo, the upside of anger in completing tasks, dominant eyes, Iceland volcanos and the ultra-creepy hamster test or sperm penetration.
Duration:01:16:55
Episode 512 - Steve Benaquist
11/5/2023
Comedian Steve Benaquist (@stevebenaquist) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about Halloween, Unversal Monsters, neck bolts, Frankenstein's Doug, sandbagging, goldbricking, carpetbagging and teetotaling, a radioactive toy from the 1950s, an unfortunate pig heart update, people who can't feel pain, Frozen Dead Guy Days, physics-defying sperm, a wind-powered car that goes faster than the wind, a tiny particle accelerator and Andy's Airbnb.
Duration:01:10:24
Episode 511 - Aparna Nancherla
10/28/2023
Comedian Aparna Nancherla (@aparnapkin) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about her new book Unreliable Narrator, the ubiquity of impostor syndrome in Hollywood, childhood memories of carob, a new insanely hot pepper, roosters recognizing themselves in mirrors, a drunk dude fighting his reflection, and AI besting humans at Street Fighter.
Duration:01:08:43