Dope Labs
Dope Labs
Dope Labs is a new podcast from Spotify Studios hosted by best friends (and two of the dopest scientists you will ever meet), Titi and Zakiya. In each episode, they serve up scientific principles with a healthy dose of tea. From cuffing season to Cardi B, they’ll take what’s trending and put it under the microscope with the help of some very smart (and cool) scientific friends. At Dope Labs, we be…Social links:
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Low-Stakes Love: Hallmark’s Holiday Comfort Movies - Lab 121
Why do Hallmark Christmas movies hit so hard when life feels complicated? We talk cozy psychology, evolving tropes, and which holiday movies are actually worth watching with Hallmark super-reviewer Jenna Golden. Happy Holidays! Dope Labs is where science meets pop culture. Because science is in ev…
23:43
Remixed: The Unexpected Side of Science - Lab120
In this episode, Titi and Zakiya take listeners behind the scenes of their new planetarium film, Remixed: The Unexpected Side of Science. They share how a four-year idea turned into a full-dome experience at the Museum of Science in Boston, and how the film helps people see themselves as scientists…
27:26
Lab 018: Truth Pie (Re-Air)
This episode originally aired November 21, 2019 With Thanksgiving right around the corner, Titi and Zakiya discuss the huge impact of European colonialism in North America, not only from the severe depopulation of Indigenous peoples, but also the relationships they cultivated with the plants, anim…
28:52
The Psychology of Black Friday - lab 119
Show Notes: Titi and Zakiya talk to behavioral economist Dr. Dan Ariely to unpack why Black Friday still pulls us in even when we swear we’re “saving.” They dig into the psychology behind sales, scarcity, cart reminders, buy now pay later, and why credit cards numb the pain of paying. They also loo…
32:53
Inside the 2025 Economy - Lab 118
Titi and Zakiya sit down with Dr. Darrell West from the Brookings Institution to unpack what’s really going on behind the economy and job numbers. We talk about why unemployment stats can underestimate pain, how cuts to NIH/NSF and university funding hit entire local economies built on “eds and med…
40:05
Allergies: What’s Real, What’s Hype, and What’s Making It Worse - Lab 117
It feels like everyone’s sneezing, coughing, or cutting out gluten—but what’s really behind the allergy explosion? Titi and Zakiya dig into why seasonal allergies seem worse than ever, how climate change and “too much cleanliness” play a role, and what the difference is between an allergy, an intol…
40:43
We Built This Internet (So We Can Fix It) - Lab 116
Screen names with your graduation year are out; but Ring cams, smart fridges, and “accept all” cookies seems to be in. This lab is all about how we’re using the internet! Titi and Zakiya sit down with Bridget Todd, host of There Are No Girls on the Internet, to talk about surveillance disguised as …
45:13
Tenderheaded: Hair, History, and Healing with Michaela Angela Davis - Lab115
Titi and Zakiya sit down with writer and image activist Michaela Angela Davis to talk about her book Tenderheaded and the tangled relationship between hair, colorism, and identity. From childhood memories to the legacy of magazines like Vibe and Essence, Michaela unpacks how beauty standards and me…
23:56
Scream With Me - Lab 114
It’s spooky season and the Dope Labs crew LOVES a good horror film. From Rosemary’s Baby to Get Out, horror movies have always reflected the fears and tensions of their time. This week, Titi and Zakiya dig into the art, psychology, and sociology of horror with Dr. Eleanor Johnson, a professor at C…
31:16
Falling For it: Brains Wired for Bias - Lab 113
Jumping to conclusions, letting stories override statistics, and getting swept up in the crowd—turns out, we’re all wired for it. Titi and Zakiya explore how evolutionary psychology and group identity shape the way we process information, especially in our fast-paced digital world. From the spread …
24:42