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Probably Science

Probably Science

Andy Wood, Matt Kirshen

Comedy

4.8715 Ratings

Overview

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.

619 Episodes

Episode 606 - Charles Star

Lawyer-turned-comedian and self-professed podcast slut Charles Star (@ugarles) returns to the show to talk about his podcast No Homework, celebrity roasts, Wings album covers, bad abbreviations, contact lenses that ease depression in mice, the insect with the biggest nuts, self-recognition in beluga whales and the link between sleep duration and accelerated aging.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2026

Episode 605 - James Frey

Comedian and former paramedic James Frey (@jamesfreycomedy) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about firefighter dreams and emergency medicine reality, James' Ventura comedy show, giving CPR in civilian life, a woman (well, women) who couldn't burp, getting fobbed off, sucker fish hiding in manta rays' butts, a quantum battery breakthrough and missing scientist conspiracy theories.

Transcribed - Published: 18 May 2026

Episode 604 - Shane Mauss

Comedian Shane Mauss (@shane_mauss) returns to the show to talk about his upcoming comedy special TRIPS: The First Dose, how LSD affects blind people, misophonia's link to anxiety and depression, the goring of a matador's ass, plants 'hearing' rain coming and Shane's comedy/science podcast Here We Are.

Transcribed - Published: 11 May 2026

Episode 603 - Brandie Posey

Comedian Brandie Posey (@brandazzle) returns to the show to talk with Jesse, Andy and Matt about the geography of Jersey, Brandie's label Burn This Records and her new comedy special Milk Job, Andy's other ska band, why humans can't regenerate limbs, a huge volcano refilling with magma, the dude who got both his arms reattached in 1992, whether Yellowstone is due for an eruption and Fruit Love Island.

Transcribed - Published: 3 May 2026

Episode 602 - Chandler Dean

Comedian/speechwriter Chandler Dean (@chandlerjdean) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his show Abolish Everything!, Jesse's over-the-top stuffed animal purchase, poop speed as a health indicator, the Bristol Stool Chart, medical fake poo, Jesse's obsessions with fake foods, giant stuff and really tiny stuff, Artemis II's avatar crewmates, the magic of Tiny Empath Babies, videos of Tiny Empath Babies and more videos of Tiny Empath Babies.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2026

Episode 601 - Amber Preston

Comedian Amber Preston (@prestonparty) returns to help Andy, Jesse and Matt celebrate the big six-oh-one and talk about Artemis II, frozen urine in space, a microbe that makes you stronger, Trump's insane handshakes, sharks testing positive for cocaine and sperm difficulties in zero-g.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2026

Episode 600 - Katie Novotny

Comedian Katie Novotny (@katienovotnyyyyy) joins Matt and Andy to discuss her special Son of Your Dreams, whale junk, headbutting whales, the 20-year cycle of fashion, an evolved arsenic tolerance, Thai children who can see underwater and a Warsaw Poland Bros. song Andy plays on.

Transcribed - Published: 6 April 2026

Episode 599 - Monica Nevi

Comedian Monica Nevi (@monicanevi) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about her special Big Stepdad Energy, what VO2 max means, esports scholarships, vasectomy rate spikes during March Madness, the effect of carbonated water on gamer performance, a bunch of human brain cells in a petri dish playing Doom, unlocking the antibacterial secrets of frogs and using frogs to keep milk from spoiling.

Transcribed - Published: 29 March 2026

Episode 598 - Matthew Coe

Comedian Matthew Coe (@matthew_coe__) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about parents watching comedy, Matthew's show My Therapist Knows Your Name, Matthew's hypoplastic right heart syndrome, the closing of the foramen ovale, a Japanese study of falling cats, a robot handling potato chips, and an averted Moon asteroid close call.

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2026

Episode 597 - Jackie Kashian

Comedian Jackie Kashian (@jackiekashian) returns to the show to talk with Jesse and Matt about her new standup special Alter-Kashian, huge amounts of hydrogen inside the Earth's core, weird things yawning does in your brain and a possible universal vaccine. See Matt on tour in Seattle and Portland, and Andy on tour in Santa Barbara.

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2026

Episode 596 - Forrest Shaw

Comedian and former marine biologist Forrest Shaw (@forrestshaw) returns to the show to talk with Matt, Andy and Jesse about his new live show The Ocean Hates You, his addiction podcast I've Got A Problem, bonnethead sharks, the rise of online sports gambling, a Kalshi market about aliens, and the myth of alpha wolves.

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2026

Episode 595 - Aisha Alfa

Comedian Aisha Alfa (@aishaalfa) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about comedy in Winnipeg, Jesse's Megyn Kelly-loved Olympics tweet, the cult movie Phantom of the Paradise, Andy's family friend Olympic ice dancer, the German word for a living stork with an arrow in it, the penis injection Olympic ski jumping controversy, an amazing artificial lung feat, Jesse's artificial lung cat bed, Aisha's newsletter and Andy's upcoming ska shows.

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2026

Episode 594 - David Huntsberger

Comedian David Huntsberger returns to the show to talk with Matt, Jesse and Andy about his podcast Intercepts, his new platform The Endless Abyss, the lost art of sketch comedy albums, the world's worst redaction, Redactle, how dogs build their vocabularies like toddlers, Stella the talking dog, dumb dogs, breed stereotypes, Bad Will Hunting, the worst logo and name in education, longevity in meat-eaters and the foresight of The Machine Stops.

Transcribed - Published: 4 February 2026

Episode 593 - Diya Basrai

Comedian/neuroscientist Diya Basrai (@diyabasrai) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about Moravec's Paradox, whether there's something meat-specific about intelligence, a less-pessimistic AI take, a tool-using cow, Diya's comedy special and his comedy/science live show Uncontrolled Variables.

Transcribed - Published: 30 January 2026

Episode 592 - Jon Stringer

Comedian Jon Stringer (@jonjstringer) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about living in a converted rural Kansas church, the intricacies of comedy competitions and cruise ship comedy, dry ice PVC soupcan launchers, the oldest known use of poison arrows, retail blowguns and their misuse, vibe-coding a band manager, why you should stop using hydrogen peroxide on cuts, sword canes and pendulous doorknockers.

Transcribed - Published: 21 January 2026

Episode 591 - Imaan Hadchiti

Comedian Imaan Hadchiti (@imaanfrankhadchiti) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about Rima syndrome, the movie Tiptoes, the passing of an art legend, sniffing farts to prevent Alzheimer's, what actually causes ice to be slippery, when physical aging really kicks in and making paralyzed rats walk again in a really creepy way.

Transcribed - Published: 13 January 2026

Episode 590 - Waen Shepherd

Comedian/actor/writer/composer Waen Shepherd (@waenshep) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about the new album from his alter ego Gary Le Strange, the biology of elves, the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, a runaway supermassive black hole, a lemon-shaped exoplanet and the music of Gary Wilson.

Transcribed - Published: 4 January 2026

Episode 589 - Chris Duffy

Comedian/host/author Chris Duffy (@chrisiduffy) returns to the show to talk with Jesse, Andy and Matt about his new book Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy, his radio show/podcast You're The Expert, his TED podcast How To Be a Better Human, the unintentionally phallic Covid-era Terry Crews video Chris worked on with Matt and Andy, prescribing standup to improve mental health, training Swedish crows to pick up cigarette butts and a frozen worm revived after 46,000 years.

Transcribed - Published: 28 December 2025

Episode 588 - Buddy Fitzpatrick

Comedian Buddy Fitzpatrick (@buddycomic) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about Batman's effect on subway chivalry, the rooms of Madonna Inn, ladyfingers, manmade fire from 350,000 years earlier than previously thought, monogamy across the animal kingdom and an insane chain of rabies transmission via organ transplantation.

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2025

Episode 587 - Adam Burke

Comedian Adam Burke (@atpburke) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about Adam's new comedy special Unamerican, debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment, classic '80s Arnold movies, Matt and Jesse performing together in Nashville, the preacher who shot an escaped lab monkey, AIs that believe themselves to be more rational than humans, 3D printing with a mosquito proboscis, Andy's upcoming orchestra shows and Matt's upcoming San Deigo standup show.

Transcribed - Published: 9 December 2025

Episode 586 - Ophira Eisenberg

Comedian/writer/NPR host Ophira Eisenberg (@ophirae) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about her podcast Parenting Is a Joke, her upcoming special produced by Lewis Black, the effect of venting on anger, a rage room show Andy worked on, why you should leave uncontacted tribes alone, the wombat-thief influencer and why you should speak up to seagulls.

Transcribed - Published: 28 November 2025

Episode 585 - Jeff Zenisek

Comedian Jess Zenisek (@jeffzenisek) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about tennis, homophobic sports stereotypes, Jesse's new ski persona, Mr. Wizard, Jeff's hair care regimen, a tiny tyrannosaur, a better rock-paper-scissors strategy, gray hair's relationship to cancer, the worst music to play during sex and the banger Parked By The Lake.

Transcribed - Published: 14 November 2025

Episode 584 - Drew Droege

Comedian/playwright Drew Droege (@drew_droege) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about his new off-Broadway play Messy White Gays, X-ray NBA poker fraud and why birds sing after a solar eclipse.

Transcribed - Published: 10 November 2025

Episode 583 - Mehran Khaghani

Wonderful NY comic Mehran Khagani (@themehran) joins Jesse and Matt to talk about escaping from Iran, working at the Harvard School of Public Health, hyrax  butt drag fossil marks, Canadian  heart transplants and the  most pristine star in the universe! In the patreon bonus we get into penguin micronaps. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon  

Transcribed - Published: 29 October 2025

Episode 582 - Jen Kober

Comedian/actor Jen Kober (@jenkober) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about comedy in Louisiana, Oktoberfest, buxom wenches, the connection between fish buttholes and fingers, a koala chlamydia vaccine, Jesse's newfound raccoon fame, light-powered gears that fit inside a strand of hair and Jen's membership in the Star Wars canon.

Transcribed - Published: 20 October 2025

Episode 581 - NASA Exoplanet Science Ambassador Anjali Tripathi

NASA astrophysicist and JPL Exoplanet Science Ambassador Anjali Tripathi joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about exoplanets and the different ways of finding them including radial velocity, transits and gravitational microlensing, the challenges of studying planetary atmospheres, why telescopes are built in deserts or in space, Anjali's time at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, science communication projects like the Logic 44ever rap video, the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, dark matter, lasers in astronomy, Halloween at the White House, the odd "smells" of other planets and how to take a virtual tour of JPL.

Transcribed - Published: 5 October 2025

Episode 580 - Michelle Murphy

Comedian Michelle Murphy (@meeshoffleash) joins Andy, Matt and Jesse to talk about playing tennis for Grinnell, the Enhanced Games, celebrities trying their hands at winter sports, Jesse's accidental mermaid book purchase and the Dr. Seuss book he was aiming for, Burning Man missionaries, LSD to fight anxiety and surprisingly not too uncommon iridescent mammals.

Transcribed - Published: 27 September 2025

Episode 579 - Ken Reid

Comedian Ken Reid (@kennethwreid) joins Jesse, Matt and Andy to talk about growing up a child of television, mud wrestling, Ken's podcast TV Guidance Counselor, an HIV prevention breakthrough, the insanity of Movie 43, the human washing machine no one asked for, blasting plastic waste with a plasma torch, Doja Cat's nod to Max Headroom, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, the reason plastic recycling mostly ended, Andy's Oktoberfest shows in Lake Arrowhead and John Williams polka music.

Transcribed - Published: 17 September 2025

Episode 578 - Ryan O'Flanagan

Comedian Ryan O'Flanagan (@ryanoflan) joins Matt, Jesse and Andy to talk about Ryan and Andy's chance encounter in a bar in Leadville, Married With Children tattoos, neanderthals and homo sapiens interbreeding, a novel telescope shape to help search for exoplanets, an insane impression of a neanderthal voice and Ryan's podcast Laser Show.

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2025

Episode 577 - Myq Kaplan

Comedian Myq Kaplan (@myqkaplan) returns to the show to talk to Andy, Jesse and Matt about growing out his eyebrows during the pandemic, babies distinguishing Ps from Bs, linguistics, sign language variations, standups aping Shane Gillis, the Mr. Beast voice, birds' preference for crapping in the air, strong link versus weak link problems, Ryan North, whether you should pay for bad art, what sequels always get wrong and Myq's great Substack.

Transcribed - Published: 29 August 2025

Episode 576 with Macey Isaacs!

Comedian and host of the SSRI'M OK podcast Macey Isaacs joins the gang to talk about a meteorite that's older than our planet! AI and attachment theory! And some more AI nonsense before Andy's connection quit in a fury! In the Patreon bonus we find out why living near the ocean extends your life. Follow Macey on instagram and check out her podcast, and her Don't Tell special when it drops! Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2025

Episode 575 - Matt Parker

Comedian/mathematician/YouTuber/author Matt Parker (@standupmaths) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his new book Love Triangle: How Trigonometry Shapes the World, his podcast A Problem Squared, his Edinburgh Fringe show Getting Triggy With It, Mathstodon, a hawk that uses traffic patterns to target prey, desire paths, Earth's leaking core, the Gibeon meteor, Matt's comedy tour dates and Andy's Colorado music dates.

Transcribed - Published: 11 August 2025

Episode 574 - Josh Gondelman

Comedian Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) joins Andy and Matt to talk about his new special Positive Reinforcement, his newsletter, his wife Maris Kreizman's new book of essays, the geek/nerd/dweeb/dork Venn diagram, Nancy Kerrigan and Chris Farley, a new ass-grass fad among chimps, ass/gas/grass bumper stickers, neanderthals eating maggots and rotten meat, how surprisingly warm Uranus is and Tylenol inducing risky behavior.

Transcribed - Published: 1 August 2025

Episode 573 - Kai Humphries

Comedian Kai Humphries (@kaihumphries) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to talk about his new special Gallivanting, the passing of Hulk Hogan, superheating solid gold, the Air Bud cinematic universe and an enormous 80,000-year-old blob in Utah.

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2025

Episode 572 - Eric Rocha

Comedian Eric Rocha (@ericrochacomedy) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about competing namesakes, fezzes, last suppers, Jesse's macronutrient gas, sleep hygiene, comedy on airplanes, what would happen if you threw a paper airplane from the ISS, a neanderthal fat factory, Matt's standup tour and Andy's Colorado ska tour.

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2025

Episode 571 - Bryan Cook

Comedian and Jimmy Kimmel Live! writer Bryan Cook (@bryancooking) returns to the show for a technical difficulty-laden episode in which Jesse and Andy talk with Matt while he's on a cruise ship, covering topics including comedy on a boat, candlepin bowling, a new interstellar object, crypto failures, Anthropic's Claude having an identity crisis, the Sean Connery classic Zardoz, an AI band with way too many Spotify plays, Matt's upcoming standup shows and Andy's upcoming Colorado tour with Warsaw Poland Brothers.

Transcribed - Published: 12 July 2025

Episode 570 - Matt, Jesse and Andy

The gang's back together again to talk about how your pets alter your immune system, a plan to bomb an island full of invasive mice, why the Pentagon wants you to believe in UFOs and a rare post-orgasm illness that causes days of flu-like symptoms.

Transcribed - Published: 24 June 2025

Episode 569 - JT Habersaat

Comedian and author of new book Doing Time: Comedians Talk About Standup JT Habersaat (jtcomedy.com) to talk about the other books on Jawbone Press! Making bespoke action figures! Changing your brainwaves to not feel pain! Infrared contact lenses for night vision! Other contact lenses to cheat at poker! How joke magazine x-ray specs "work"! A shapeshifting octopus! And whether the Loch Ness Monster is a whale penis! In the Patreon bonus we hear about a new Chinese space mission and a paragliding mishap. Please go and see Matt Jul 16 in Columbus OH, Jul 31 in Hartford CT, or Oct 12 in Virginia Beach VA.  

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

Episode 568 - Tom Rhodes

Globetrotting headliner Tom Rhodes (tomrhodes.net) has a new special, The Ripest Zebras, available on his website. He joins Jesse and Matt to talk about growing up in NASA's backyard! The chair challenge! Wasps having surprisingly good memories! While herrings might not! Tom's hummingbird facts! Plus how to drop an egg! And push straws through potatoes! In the Patreon bonus we hear about an update to the classic marshmallow test and Tom's key to a good relationship. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2025

Episode 567 - Ron Placone

Comedian and filmmaker Ron Placone (@ronplacone) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt to talk about his new movie Left at Wall, the guy who let venomous snakes bite him hundreds of times for science (kind of), a color no one had seen until now, retinitis pigmentosa and turning lead into gold.

Transcribed - Published: 24 May 2025

Episode 566 - Amy Silverberg

Comedian, writer and author of upcoming novel "First Time, Long Time" Amy Silverberg (@amysilverberg) joins the gang to talk about Andy's Irish landscape spotting! The optimal amount of bra bounce! Andy's Iberian adventures! Lions biting gladiators! Men fighting gorillas! And which glasses to wear to avoid the fight yourself! In the Patreon bonus we talk about lucid dreaming and a new state of mind. Please go and see Matt Jul 16 in Columbus OH, Jul 31 in Hartford CT, or Oct 12 in Virginia Beach VA. And Andy's band on May 31 at Coyote Run Studio in Joshua Tree. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher  

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2025

Episode 565 - Tony Camin

Great stand-up and co-creator of the Marijuana-Logues Tony Camin (@tony.camin) joins Jesse and Matt to talk about crows' geometry skills! Tony helping one of the fathers of decision analysis! Why seals don't drown! Unlikely animal friends! And whether your month of conception shapes your body! Tony's new album, An Ass Pocket of Whimsy will come out on Stand-Up! Records and you can find him at tonycamin.com. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2025

Episode 564 - Samantha Hale

Comedian and Horror Nerd Samantha Hale (@thesamanthahale) joins Jesse and Matt to talk about: A layer of life deep below us! The not actually back from extinction dire wolves! The Earth's mysterious pulsations! and Reagan's obsession with the Titanic! In the Patreon bonus we talk about bending sounds. Click here to support Probably Science via Patreon Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts Click here to subscribe in Stitcher

Transcribed - Published: 26 April 2025

Episode 563 - Live from Perth with Wil Anderson and Robyn Perkins

Friend of the show Wil Anderson (@officialwilanderson) joins Matt live in Perth along with marine biologist-turned-comedian Robyn Perkins (@robynhperkins) to talk all things coral, nudibranchs, poisonous sea creatures and surprising things to do with dry ice and mouths.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

Episode 562 - Shawn Carlow

Writer/comedian Shawn Carlow (@shawncarlow) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about his new book People of the Titanic: 30 Tales of Extra-Doomed Souls Who Sailed on The Ship of Dreams, mouse-to-mouse resuscitation, what your poop schedule says about your health and physicists creating a supersolid out of light.

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2025

Episode 561 - Live from Perth with Ross Noble, Kirsty Webeck and Paul Savage

Live from Perth, Matt is joined by Ross Noble, Kirsty Webeck and Paul Savage to talk about if you can cook a chicken by throwing ice cubes at it, dolphins communicating with pee streams, dormant volcanoes that aren't that dormant and astronauts' eyesight.

Transcribed - Published: 18 March 2025

Episode 560 - James P. Connolly

Comedian James P. Connolly (@jamespconnolly) joins Andy, Jesse and Matt on location from the SLO Comedy Festival to talk about centaurs and minotaurs, plum grenades, forcing comedy on bar patrons, the asteroid that was at one point maybe going to hit us, the return of measles, Jesse's update on the state of Nashville, overly clean living conditions in space and microscopic obelisks in your gut.

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2025

Episode 559 - Aidan Jones

Comedian Aidan Jones (@aidanjonescomedy) joins Matt, Andy and Jesse to talk about his musical comedy show Chopin's Nocturne, returning to classical music after a long break, piano tuning dorkery, doing Mozart covers, 66 million-year-old fish vomit, racy Mozart compositions, drawing dinosaurs with Zhao Chuang, talking dinosaurs with same and jerking it during a volcanic eruption.

Transcribed - Published: 8 February 2025

Episode 558 - Alice Fraser

Comedian Alice Fraser (@aliterative) returns to the show to talk with Jesse, Andy and Matt about Jesse's mistimed melatonin, Alice's new book A Passion for Passion: A Delirious Love Letter to Romance, Hot Frosty, Matt's upcoming Australia shows, how ants can beat humans at cooperation, increasingly dumb reality dating shows, Andy's Naked Attraction obsession, science lectures on Pornhub, burial site clues to ancient British matriarchies and the first-ever audio and video of a meteorite's impact.

Transcribed - Published: 24 January 2025

Episode 557 - Mary Lynn Rajskub

(Note: This episode was recorded before the Los Angeles fires) Comedian/actor Mary Lynn Rajskub (@marylynnrajskub) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to talk about filming her upcoming show North of North in Nunavut, her new standup special Road Gig, how Roman air pollution lowered the IQ of Europe, long eggs, the thick ice of Europa, Matt's upcoming Australia shows and Andy's upcoming Arizona ones.

Transcribed - Published: 15 January 2025

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