Mosquitoes are learning how to ignore your repellents, cows can recognise human faces on TV, and Wi Fi can identify you through a wall with the help of AI. This week, Will and Rod flick between animal intelligence, ocean weirdness, and technology that is getting a little too confident. 

We start with mosquitoes and conditioning, because apparently even the most annoying creature on Earth can learn, grow and develop. Then we move to cows, who can tell familiar from unfamiliar human faces even when those faces are shown on a screen, and seem especially curious about strangers.

Finally, we head underwater for remoras and their bizarre cloacal diving behaviour with manta rays, before finishing with the creepiest story of the week: Wi Fi signals paired with AI that can identify people through walls. That isn't worrying at all...

 

CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Animals That Learn

00:35 Mosquito Study Teaser

01:00 Show Intro And Segments

01:44 Arctic Trip And Flower News

02:41 Why Mosquitoes Bite

04:12 DEET Basics And Mysteries

05:13 Mosquitoes Adapt To DEET

06:06 Training Mosquitoes To Like DEET

09:12 Remoras And Host Hitchhiking

11:29 Cloacal Diving Explained

14:41 Can Cows Recognize People

15:07 Do Cows Recognize Us

15:59 Cows Watching Human Faces

16:50 What The Study Found

17:38 Mutant Super Pigs Explained

20:22 Where Is Your Self

21:34 Head Versus Heart Research

23:56 Touch To Shift Thinking

25:19 Wi Fi Privacy Shock

27:43 AI Identifies People Via Wi Fi

29:34 No Privacy Future Wrap Up

30:35 Final Recap And Sign Off

 

SOURCES:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2526370-where-do-you-think-your-self-is-your-answer-is-revealing/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/onanism

Speedy’s Big O video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tSfLKTTxtc

https://theconversation.com/mosquitoes-learn-to-link-the-smell-of-deet-with-a-blood-meal-new-study-283695

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.73548

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/fukushima-nuclear-disaster-tsunami-radioactive-37180117?_bhlid=82764a8d956c8f1927ebd802c09640e569aeaaf9

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0329529&ref=404media.co

https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3719027.3765062

Mosquitoes are learning how to ignore your repellents, cows can recognise human faces on TV, and Wi Fi can identify you through a wall with the help of AI. This week, Will and Rod flick between animal intelligence, ocean weirdness, and technology that is getting a little too confident.&nbsp;
We start with mosquitoes and conditioning, because apparently even the most annoying creature on Earth can learn, grow and develop. Then we move to cows, who can tell familiar from unfamiliar human faces even when those faces are shown on a screen, and seem especially curious about strangers.
Finally, we head underwater for remoras and their bizarre cloacal diving behaviour with manta rays, before finishing with the creepiest story of the week: Wi Fi signals paired with AI that can identify people through walls. That isn't worrying at all...
&nbsp;
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Animals That Learn
00:35 Mosquito Study Teaser
01:00 Show Intro And Segments
01:44 Arctic Trip And Flower News
02:41 Why Mosquitoes Bite
04:12 DEET Basics And Mysteries
05:13 Mosquitoes Adapt To DEET
06:06 Training Mosquitoes To Like DEET
09:12 Remoras And Host Hitchhiking
11:29 Cloacal Diving Explained
14:41 Can Cows Recognize People
15:07 Do Cows Recognize Us
15:59 Cows Watching Human Faces
16:50 What The Study Found
17:38 Mutant Super Pigs Explained
20:22 Where Is Your Self
21:34 Head Versus Heart Research
23:56 Touch To Shift Thinking
25:19 Wi Fi Privacy Shock
27:43 AI Identifies People Via Wi Fi
29:34 No Privacy Future Wrap Up
30:35 Final Recap And Sign Off
&nbsp;
SOURCES:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2526370-where-do-you-think-your-self-is-your-answer-is-revealing/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/onanism
Speedy&rsquo;s Big O video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tSfLKTTxtc
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mosquitoes-learn-to-link-the-smell-of-deet-with-a-blood-meal-new-study-283695">https://theconversation.com/mosquitoes-learn-to-link-the-smell-of-deet-with-a-blood-meal-new-study-283695</a>
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.73548
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/fukushima-nuclear-disaster-tsunami-radioactive-37180117?_bhlid=82764a8d956c8f1927ebd802c09640e569aeaaf9
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0329529&amp;ref=404media.co
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3719027.3765062

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

A Little Bit Of Science

Mosquitoes Got Smarter, Mutant Pigs, Cows Know You And So Does Your Router

This week we went from “surely that can’t be true” to “oh… that’s actually happening”. We fact check the legendary pig orgasm claim, then get weirdly hopeful about placebo pills that work even when you’re told they’re fake.

From there, we look at research that points a finger at the iPhone era for a chunk of the fertility slide, and what that might really be measuring in modern life. Then we’re back on humanity’s favourite hobby, trying to control the weather, now rebranded as “weather jiu jitsu”.

We finish with a satellite reality check, because apparently we’re speed running our way to a sky full of moving dots. If you like your science with a side of disbelief, this one’s for you.

 

CHAPTER MARKERS

 

00:00 Wild Orgasm Facts

01:05 Guinness Pig Claim

01:45 Meet the Hosts

03:03 Darwinian Doubts

05:50 Fact Checking Begins

06:08 Boar Taint Explained

07:37 Collecting Semen Methods

10:33 Four Ejaculation Phases

11:44 Verdict and Takeaways

12:42 iPhone Baby Bust

14:55 How the Study Works

19:00 Placebos and Aging

20:25 Open vs Deceptive Placebo

21:54 Open Placebo Ethics

22:17 Study Design Breakdown

22:43 Results That Shocked

24:16 Why Placebos Work

24:55 Open Placebos Everywhere

27:26 Weather Control Obsession

28:55 Weather Jiu Jitsu Explained

33:17 Nudging Storms Risks

35:50 Satellite Boom Warning

39:19 Night Sky Light Pollution

40:42 Governance and Fixes

42:34 Wrap Up and Contact

 

SOURCES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJNwAKSL17s

https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2607/

https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000562&ref=404media.co

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0349765&ref=404media.co

https://www.nber.org/papers/w35310

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1665

https://apple.news/AtTrEygKCQkCxuXk4Sb6Ojg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar_taint

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/animal/industries/pigs/breed/boars/collect

This week we went from &ldquo;surely that can&rsquo;t be true&rdquo; to &ldquo;oh&hellip; that&rsquo;s actually happening&rdquo;. We fact check the legendary pig orgasm claim, then get weirdly hopeful about placebo pills that work even when you&rsquo;re told they&rsquo;re fake.
From there, we look at research that points a finger at the iPhone era for a chunk of the fertility slide, and what that might really be measuring in modern life. Then we&rsquo;re back on humanity&rsquo;s favourite hobby, trying to control the weather, now rebranded as &ldquo;weather jiu jitsu&rdquo;.
We finish with a satellite reality check, because apparently we&rsquo;re speed running our way to a sky full of moving dots. If you like your science with a side of disbelief, this one&rsquo;s for you.
&nbsp;
CHAPTER MARKERS
&nbsp;
00:00 Wild Orgasm Facts
01:05 Guinness Pig Claim
01:45 Meet the Hosts
03:03 Darwinian Doubts
05:50 Fact Checking Begins
06:08 Boar Taint Explained
07:37 Collecting Semen Methods
10:33 Four Ejaculation Phases
11:44 Verdict and Takeaways
12:42 iPhone Baby Bust
14:55 How the Study Works
19:00 Placebos and Aging
20:25 Open vs Deceptive Placebo
21:54 Open Placebo Ethics
22:17 Study Design Breakdown
22:43 Results That Shocked
24:16 Why Placebos Work
24:55 Open Placebos Everywhere
27:26 Weather Control Obsession
28:55 Weather Jiu Jitsu Explained
33:17 Nudging Storms Risks
35:50 Satellite Boom Warning
39:19 Night Sky Light Pollution
40:42 Governance and Fixes
42:34 Wrap Up and Contact
&nbsp;
SOURCES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJNwAKSL17s
https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2607/
https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000562&amp;ref=404media.co
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0349765&amp;ref=404media.co
https://www.nber.org/papers/w35310
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1665
https://apple.news/AtTrEygKCQkCxuXk4Sb6Ojg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar_taint
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/animal/industries/pigs/breed/boars/collect

Pig Orgasms, Placebo Power and How iPhones are Ruining Sex

Will’s gone walkabout, so Rod’s raided the archives and pulled out four of his favourite segments for you to enjoy.

You’ll get a philosophical gut punch about the Experience Machine and why a perfect fake life still feels wrong, a genuinely weird global mystery with Havana Syndrome and the uncomfortable question of what’s actually causing it, plus the bad news that venting might be making you angrier, not calmer. Then we finish with the surprisingly brutal social cost of being labelled “boring”, and why that stereotype sticks harder than it should.

Will’s back next week. Probably with a snake in one hand and a chunk of Antarctic ice in the other.

 

CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Just Rod Here

00:55 Nozick Experience Machine

03:37 Would You Plug In

04:50 Why Authenticity Matters

08:50 Havana Syndrome Origins

11:25 Weapon Theories and Reports

14:41 Norwegian Microwave Test

21:46 Official Flip Flops Summary

23:25 Why Venting Feels Good

24:25 Venting Myth Busted

25:57 Meta Analysis Breakdown

27:29 Calm Down Techniques

28:48 Jogging Makes It Worse

31:14 Why We Love Anger

32:42 Playful Exercise Exception

33:37 Boring People Study

34:28 Boring Jobs And Traits

36:29 Escape Boring Conversations

40:57 Pay To Hang Out

43:44 Stereotypes And Wrap Up

 

SOURCES:

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2024/04/13/april-11-boring-day

https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/Why-Is-April-11,-1954,-the-Most-Boring-Day-in-History#:~:text=Using%20an%20algorithm%20to%20scan,who%20was%20born%20that%20day

https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/seven-thought-experiments-thatll-make-you-question-everything/

https://slate.com/technology/2014/07/rokos-basilisk-the-most-terrifying-thought-experiment-of-all-time.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/14/havana-syndrome-cia-norway-experiment/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pentagon-reportedly-testing-radio-wave-device-linked-to-havana-syndrome/

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi

Will&rsquo;s gone walkabout, so Rod&rsquo;s raided the archives and pulled out four of his favourite segments for you to enjoy.
You&rsquo;ll get a philosophical gut punch about the Experience Machine and why a perfect fake life still feels wrong, a genuinely weird global mystery with Havana Syndrome and the uncomfortable question of what&rsquo;s actually causing it, plus the bad news that venting might be making you angrier, not calmer. Then we finish with the surprisingly brutal social cost of being labelled &ldquo;boring&rdquo;, and why that stereotype sticks harder than it should.
Will&rsquo;s back next week. Probably with a snake in one hand and a chunk of Antarctic ice in the other.
&nbsp;
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Just Rod Here
00:55 Nozick Experience Machine
03:37 Would You Plug In
04:50 Why Authenticity Matters
08:50 Havana Syndrome Origins
11:25 Weapon Theories and Reports
14:41 Norwegian Microwave Test
21:46 Official Flip Flops Summary
23:25 Why Venting Feels Good
24:25 Venting Myth Busted
25:57 Meta Analysis Breakdown
27:29 Calm Down Techniques
28:48 Jogging Makes It Worse
31:14 Why We Love Anger
32:42 Playful Exercise Exception
33:37 Boring People Study
34:28 Boring Jobs And Traits
36:29 Escape Boring Conversations
40:57 Pay To Hang Out
43:44 Stereotypes And Wrap Up
&nbsp;
SOURCES:
<a href="https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2024/04/13/april-11-boring-day">https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/2024/04/13/april-11-boring-day</a>
<a href="https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/Why-Is-April-11,-1954,-the-Most-Boring-Day-in-History#:~:text=Using%20an%20algorithm%20to%20scan,who%20was%20born%20that%20day">https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/Why-Is-April-11,-1954,-the-Most-Boring-Day-in-History#:~:text=Using%20an%20algorithm%20to%20scan,who%20was%20born%20that%20day</a>
<a href="https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/seven-thought-experiments-thatll-make-you-question-everything/">https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/seven-thought-experiments-thatll-make-you-question-everything/</a>
<a href="https://slate.com/technology/2014/07/rokos-basilisk-the-most-terrifying-thought-experiment-of-all-time.html">https://slate.com/technology/2014/07/rokos-basilisk-the-most-terrifying-thought-experiment-of-all-time.html</a>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/14/havana-syndrome-cia-norway-experiment/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/14/havana-syndrome-cia-norway-experiment/</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome</a>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pentagon-reportedly-testing-radio-wave-device-linked-to-havana-syndrome/">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pentagon-reportedly-testing-radio-wave-device-linked-to-havana-syndrome/</a>
<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi">https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/havana-syndrome-device-pentagon-hsi</a>

Rod's Best Of: The Experience Machine, Havana Syndrome, Venting Makes you Angrier and Boring People

Microplastics are everywhere. Birds are masturbating. A trillion dollars is still not a real number. And somewhere in the middle of all that, a mushroom case study pops up and reminds you Alzheimer’s is not just a punchline.

This week, we ping pong between lab gear that can fake a crisis, wildlife behaviour that is way more common than we pretend, billionaire maths that breaks your sense of scale, and one weird medical result that is making researchers quietly lean in.

Microplastics might be getting overcounted because of something painfully basic: lab gloves. University of Michigan researchers measured outdoor microplastics and got results about a thousand times higher than earlier studies, then did the sensible thing and assumed their method was being sabotaged. It was. Vibrational spectroscopy can mistake stearate salts from glove manufacturing for polyethylene, meaning the “plastic everywhere” signal can be partly your own equipment shedding junk into the sample.

Then we swing to birds, because science loves a tonal whiplash. Bird masturbation is real, widespread across species, happens in both sexes, and is more common in the wild than in captivity, which flips the usual “it’s a stress behaviour” assumption. After that, we try to make a trillion dollars make sense, and mostly fail because human brains were not built for it. And finally, there’s a single Alzheimer’s case study where a woman reportedly showed unexpected cognitive improvement after a large dose of psilocybin, which is not a DIY cure, but is exactly the kind of odd result that makes researchers lean in and pay attention.

 

CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Intro

00:45 Microplastics Shock Study

01:57 Lab Protocols And Jerkins

03:46 Glove Contamination Twist

05:40 How Bad Is Shedding

07:11 Science Skepticism Lesson

07:54 Onanism Bible Origin

10:41 Animals Doing It Too

13:38 Bird Masturbation Explained

17:19 New Research And Takeaways

20:18 Trillionaire Brain Melt

21:38 Why Big Numbers Fool Us

23:40 Time Scale Money Trick

24:33 What Buys A Trillion

27:07 Inequality Airplane Metaphor

29:07 Mushrooms And Alzheimer Case

32:44 Science Skepticism And Ethics

38:06 Signoff And Ratings





SOURCES:

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-found-a-big-problem-with-how-we-measure-microplastics 

https://theconversation.com/scientists-may-be-overestimating-the-amount-of-microplastics-in-the-environment-and-the-culprit-is-lab-gloves-258545 

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ay/d5ay01801c 

https://theconversation.com/birds-masturbate-and-thats-perfectly-normal-284232 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/15/can-you-spend-1-trillion-we-hand-you-musks-fortune-to-find-out 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-brains-underestimate-elon-musks-wealth/

https://futurism.com/health-medicine/elderly-woman-high-dose-psychedelic-mushrooms 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2531319-woman-with-alzheimers-starts-conversing-again-after-taking-psilocybin/ 

Microplastics are everywhere. Birds are masturbating. A trillion dollars is still not a real number. And somewhere in the middle of all that, a mushroom case study pops up and reminds you Alzheimer&rsquo;s is not just a punchline.
This week, we ping pong between lab gear that can fake a crisis, wildlife behaviour that is way more common than we pretend, billionaire maths that breaks your sense of scale, and one weird medical result that is making researchers quietly lean in.
Microplastics might be getting overcounted because of something painfully basic: lab gloves. University of Michigan researchers measured outdoor microplastics and got results about a thousand times higher than earlier studies, then did the sensible thing and assumed their method was being sabotaged. It was. Vibrational spectroscopy can mistake stearate salts from glove manufacturing for polyethylene, meaning the &ldquo;plastic everywhere&rdquo; signal can be partly your own equipment shedding junk into the sample.
Then we swing to birds, because science loves a tonal whiplash. Bird masturbation is real, widespread across species, happens in both sexes, and is more common in the wild than in captivity, which flips the usual &ldquo;it&rsquo;s a stress behaviour&rdquo; assumption. After that, we try to make a trillion dollars make sense, and mostly fail because human brains were not built for it. And finally, there&rsquo;s a single Alzheimer&rsquo;s case study where a woman reportedly showed unexpected cognitive improvement after a large dose of psilocybin, which is not a DIY cure, but is exactly the kind of odd result that makes researchers lean in and pay attention.
&nbsp;
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Intro
00:45 Microplastics Shock Study
01:57 Lab Protocols And Jerkins
03:46 Glove Contamination Twist
05:40 How Bad Is Shedding
07:11 Science Skepticism Lesson
07:54 Onanism Bible Origin
10:41 Animals Doing It Too
13:38 Bird Masturbation Explained
17:19 New Research And Takeaways
20:18 Trillionaire Brain Melt
21:38 Why Big Numbers Fool Us
23:40 Time Scale Money Trick
24:33 What Buys A Trillion
27:07 Inequality Airplane Metaphor
29:07 Mushrooms And Alzheimer Case
32:44 Science Skepticism And Ethics
38:06 Signoff And Ratings
 
SOURCES:
<a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-found-a-big-problem-with-how-we-measure-microplastics">https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-found-a-big-problem-with-how-we-measure-microplastics</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-may-be-overestimating-the-amount-of-microplastics-in-the-environment-and-the-culprit-is-lab-gloves-258545">https://theconversation.com/scientists-may-be-overestimating-the-amount-of-microplastics-in-the-environment-and-the-culprit-is-lab-gloves-258545</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ay/d5ay01801c">https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/ay/d5ay01801c</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://theconversation.com/birds-masturbate-and-thats-perfectly-normal-284232">https://theconversation.com/birds-masturbate-and-thats-perfectly-normal-284232</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446">https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2022.2044446</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/15/can-you-spend-1-trillion-we-hand-you-musks-fortune-to-find-out">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/15/can-you-spend-1-trillion-we-hand-you-musks-fortune-to-find-out</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-brains-underestimate-elon-musks-wealth/">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-brains-underestimate-elon-musks-wealth/</a>
<a href="https://futurism.com/health-medicine/elderly-woman-high-dose-psychedelic-mushrooms">https://futurism.com/health-medicine/elderly-woman-high-dose-psychedelic-mushrooms</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2531319-woman-with-alzheimers-starts-conversing-again-after-taking-psilocybin/">https://www.newscientist.com/article/2531319-woman-with-alzheimers-starts-conversing-again-after-taking-psilocybin/</a>&nbsp;

Mosquitoes Got Smarter, Mutant Pigs, Cows Know You And So Does Your Router

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