This week, Emily and Perry tackle the weirdest, most wonderful thing all living things do: sleep. If evolution has forced us to be completely vulnerable for eight hours at a stretch, there must be a darn good reason. So what is actually happening to our brains when we sleep? What disrupts it, and how do we optimize for quality and quantity? And what are the risks of getting too little sleep...and enlisting chemical help to get more?

Plus: screwworm is (appropriately) nightmare fuel, a cure for Ozempic butt, and hard seltzer vs. your kidneys.

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ParentData episode on the placenta.