This week’s episode is what happens when science stops asking “should we?” and gets very focused on “could we?”. Cockroaches are being upgraded into tiny rescue workers, a Silicon Valley crew pitching brain tech you might one day take through your nose, and the Ig Nobels are back to remind everyone that the line between genius and ridiculous is thin.

First up, cyborg cockroaches. Engineers in Seoul are developing “Paraborgs”, insects fitted with cameras and tiny syringe systems designed to crawl through disaster zones and reach people trapped under rubble. The research claims a 95% success rate for close-range injections, which is impressive, even if it does mean trusting a cockroach to stay on task.

Then we swing into the future with Ray Kurzweil and a startup working on brain-computer interfaces without surgery, using nanobots instead of implants. The part you’ll remember is the proposed delivery method: you might one day “snort” the nanobots like a nasal spray, and they’d travel up to help create a connection between your brain and your devices. It’s early days, but the message is clear: tech wants to move in closer.

To round it out, we hit the Ig Nobels for silly science with real curiosity, from cockroach milk as an energy-dense food source to a splash-reducing urinal redesign, then  a quick detour into a wholesome data point: Dolly Parton’s bipartisan popularity in the US. 

So that’s the week: bugs with medical kits, brain bots via the nose, science that makes you laugh before it makes you think, and Dolly reminding us that being likeable is still a rare superpower.

 

CHAPTER MARKERS:

00:00 Intro

01:43 Roaches With Cameras

03:19 Paraborgs Explained

04:47 Remote Syringe Injections

08:00 The Ig Nobels

18:03 Bucket Bong Rabbit Hole

21:17 King Zog Chain Smoking

25:37 Joint Year Metric

26:55 Dolly Parton Popularity Data

32:03 Kurzweil Brain Interface

37:00 Snortable Nanobot BCI

 

SOURCES:
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106788
http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.111837310
http://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252516008903
http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59416-6
http://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf087
http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adw9953
http://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-017-9230-x
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.02.008
http://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw0030
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocrat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_Kingdom_(1928%E2%80%931939)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Albania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Albania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Albania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gjakmarrja
https://improbable.com/2026/09/03/the-2026-ig-nobel-prize-winners-are-announced/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9872797/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12516480/
https://bsky.app/profile/eschares.bsky.social/post/3mueyi6xb322h
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11419-023-00666-w
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10622464/

This week&rsquo;s episode is what happens when science stops asking &ldquo;should we?&rdquo; and gets very focused on &ldquo;could we?&rdquo;. Cockroaches are being upgraded into tiny rescue workers, a Silicon Valley crew pitching brain tech you might one day take through your nose, and the Ig Nobels are back to remind everyone that the line between genius and ridiculous is thin.
First up, cyborg cockroaches. Engineers in Seoul are developing &ldquo;Paraborgs&rdquo;, insects fitted with cameras and tiny syringe systems designed to crawl through disaster zones and reach people trapped under rubble. The research claims a 95% success rate for close-range injections, which is impressive, even if it does mean trusting a cockroach to stay on task.
Then we swing into the future with Ray Kurzweil and a startup working on brain-computer interfaces without surgery, using nanobots instead of implants. The part you&rsquo;ll remember is the proposed delivery method: you might one day &ldquo;snort&rdquo; the nanobots like a nasal spray, and they&rsquo;d travel up to help create a connection between your brain and your devices. It&rsquo;s early days, but the message is clear: tech wants to move in closer.
To round it out, we hit the Ig Nobels for silly science with real curiosity, from cockroach milk as an energy-dense food source to a splash-reducing urinal redesign, then&nbsp; a quick detour into a wholesome data point: Dolly Parton&rsquo;s bipartisan popularity in the US.&nbsp;
So that&rsquo;s the week: bugs with medical kits, brain bots via the nose, science that makes you laugh before it makes you think, and Dolly reminding us that being likeable is still a rare superpower.
&nbsp;
CHAPTER MARKERS:
00:00 Intro
01:43 Roaches With Cameras
03:19 Paraborgs Explained
04:47 Remote Syringe Injections
08:00 The Ig Nobels
18:03 Bucket Bong Rabbit Hole
21:17 King Zog Chain Smoking
25:37 Joint Year Metric
26:55 Dolly Parton Popularity Data
32:03 Kurzweil Brain Interface
37:00 Snortable Nanobot BCI
&nbsp;
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106788">http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106788</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.111837310">http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.111837310</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252516008903">http://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252516008903</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59416-6">http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59416-6</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf087">http://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf087</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adw9953">http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adw9953</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-017-9230-x">http://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-017-9230-x</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.02.008">http://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.02.008</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw0030">http://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw0030</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocrat">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocrat</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_Kingdom_(1928%E2%80%931939)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_Kingdom_(1928%E2%80%931939)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Albania">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Albania</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Albania">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Albania</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Albania">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Albania</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gjakmarrja">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gjakmarrja</a></li>
<li><a href="https://improbable.com/2026/09/03/the-2026-ig-nobel-prize-winners-are-announced/">https://improbable.com/2026/09/03/the-2026-ig-nobel-prize-winners-are-announced/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9872797/">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9872797/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12516480/">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12516480/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/eschares.bsky.social/post/3mueyi6xb322h">https://bsky.app/profile/eschares.bsky.social/post/3mueyi6xb322h</a></li>
<li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11419-023-00666-w">https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11419-023-00666-w</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10622464/">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10622464/</a></li>
</ul>

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed.

Bizarre science history from academics with beers