In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Dave to discuss whether mermaids lay eggs or give live birth. Furthermore, are they monotremes??? Then, what F-tier superpowers would we take? And how bad is F-tier really? Panelists: Jim, Derek, DaveBy Vaguely Scientific

Steve Fleming is a professor in psychology at University College London. I invited Steve to talk about his work on meta-cognition, but we ended up spending the entire episode talking about lab culture, starting a lab, applying for funding, Steve's background in music, and what drew him to do cognitive neuroscience. There's even a tiny discussion ab…

We have some fresh new outtakes to share with everyone! These ones are (checks notes) three years old. Oops. Not so fresh anymore. You might have to dig into our back catalogue to figure out what we were talking about between episodes 92 and 104. Or not. They're fun either way!By Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Jeremiah to figure out how they can walk on lava for fun (and maybe profit). Then, we try planting enough plants so that we can perpetually live in a sealed environment. Panelists: Jim, Derek, JeremiahBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Joel to discuss which fictional tools, weapons, or other gizmos we would choose if we could have one. Then, would intelligent zombies be more or less dangerous than regular ones? Panelists: Jim, Derek, JoelBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Sydney to discuss why the smoke from a campfire always follows you specifically. Then, what would OSHA look like in a world chock full of superheroes. Panelists: Jim, Derek, SydneyBy Vaguely Scientific

In our 2025 April Fools Extravaganza, Jim and Derek are joined by Justin to answer our shortest and sweetest questions. We also play a game of Science Fact and Fiction and read through the best spam of all! Panelists: Jim, Derek, JustinBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Sierra to discuss what we would put into a time capsule for future generations. Then, why does it throw us off when we hear our own voice echoed back to us through a headset? Panelists: Jim, Derek, SierraBy Vaguely Scientific

Damian Blasi is a professor at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. We talk about his article 'Over-reliance on English hinders cognitive science', linguistic diversity, how to study across the world's languages, his career path, and much more. BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Be…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Anne to discuss whether or not it would be possible to actaully create Captain America in our world. Then, if we could sit down with three scientists of our choosing, who would we pick, and what would we serve? And how terrible can a scientist really be? Panelists: Jim, Derek, Anne…

Gordon Pennycook is an Associate Professor at Cornell University. We talk about his upbringing in rural Northern Canada, how he got into academia, and his work on misinformation: why people share it and what can be done about it. BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-S…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Brian to discuss whether or not a ghost could ride a human elevator. Clearly they can ride ghost elevators. Then, which movies would have wildly different outcomes if the characters had cell phones. Panelists: Jim, Derek, BrianBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Jonathan to determine how badly plummeting to the ground in an indestructible case might actually be. Then, can we make a perpetual motion machine? The answer won't surprise you. Panelists: Jim, Derek, JonathanBy Vaguely Scientific

Renzo Huber is a staff scientist at NIH. We talk about his work on layer-fMRI: what it is, how Renzo got into it, how to do it, when it makes sense to do it, what the future holds, and much more. Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon Timestamps 0:00:00: How Renzo got into high-resolution fMRI 0:11:28: The difference between 3T and 7T fMRI …

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Mark to discuss why people like rhymes. Then, can we bolt an infinite number of horses to a carriage to make it go infinitely fast? Panelists: Jim, Derek, MarkBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Chris to try and figure out how Merlin could have lived his life in reverse. Then, why do we continue to live in a place where the air hurts our face? Well, where else would we go? Panelists: Jim, Derek, ChrisBy Vaguely Scientific

In this very festive episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Joe to discuss the different types of Frosties we might get if we change out his hat or emotions (or both). Then, could you make and live in a real gingerbread house? And finally, what obscure media would we turn into a Hallmark ornament? Also, do we even know any media that's particularly o…

Ella Marushchenko is a scientific illustrator who runs a studio of artists and scientists that creates cover art, scientific and illustrations, and more. We talk about her unlikely path from artist in Russia to scientific illustrator in the US, digital vs classic art, how to interact as scientists with illustrators, how to improve scientific figure…

Roberto Bottini is an Associate Professor at the University of Trento. We talk about his recent work on unusual cognitive maps in blind people, image spaces, metaphors, and he gives me some advice for writing successful grant applications. BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin Jam…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Aly to discuss tomatoes as fruit, mushrooms as vegetables, and how multiple things can be true by stretching definitions. Then, we look at some of the best species team-ups in nature. Panelists: Jim, Derek, AlyBy Vaguely Scientific

Robert (Bob) Wilson is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Georgia Tech. We talk about his tutorial paper (w/ Anne Collins) on computational modelling, and some of his recent work on detecting phishing. BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith. Support the show:…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Dac to try and figure out how Katamari balls in Katmarai Damacy stick everything together. Then, we examine the toy society of Toy Story. Panelists: Jim, Derek, DacBy Vaguely Scientific

Nick Wise is a postdoc in fluid dynamics at Cambridge University. We talk about his 'detective work' on publication fraud which has gotten more than 800 papers retracted to date, including tortured phrases, discovering Facebook groups and Telegram channels in which people sell authorships on papers, how 'Special' issues can be exploited, and what w…

This is the 2nd part of my interview with Eugenie Reich, who is a lawyer who represents scientific whistleblowers, and a former investigative science journalist. We talk about her transition from journalism to law, and discuss the legal aspects of scientific fraud: why fraudsters rarely go to prison, what whistleblowers are legally allowed to do, h…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Big A to talk about how life might be different if we had perfect memory. Then, what appliances could we replace with animals like the Flintstones do? Panelists: Jim, Derek, Big ABy Vaguely Scientific

Eugenie Reich is an attorney who represents scientific whistleblowers, and a former investigative science journalist. We talk about her previous work as a science journalist, in particular her book Plastic Fantastic about one of the biggest fraud cases in physics, the case of Jan-Hendrik Schön. We'd planned to also discuss Eugenie's current work as…

James (Mac) Shine is a PI and fellow at the University of Sydney. We talk about his background in sports, using fMRI to integrate various parts of neuroscience, collaboration, and much more. BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith. Support the show: https://geni.us…

In this Halloween adventure, Jim and Derek are joined by Jeremiah and Spooky Dave to figure out how to scare someone so bad that their hair turns white. Then, how do skeletons move even though they have no muscles or any other connective tissue? And finally, what's the best way to hand out your trick or treat candy? Panelists: Jim, Derek, Spooky Da…

Brandon Brown is a professor at University of California Riverside, where he studies global health and ethics. He also writes career columns for Nature and Science, which we talk about: negotiations in academia, his sabbatical, his life owning and working a farm, different types of grants and contributions in academia, and much more BJKS Podcast is…

Soledad Gonzalo Cogno is a group leader at the Kavli Institute for Science Neuroscience in Trondheim. We talk about how she went from studying physics in Argentina to working on the brain in Norway, the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to neuroscience, why researchers should give their research animals a nice life, mentorship, and discuss…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Catherine to try and figure out why we are frequently wide awake at bedtime and super sleepy in the mid-afternoon. Speaking of sleep, we discuss how life might be different if humans could hibernate. Panelists: Jim, Derek, CatherineBy Vaguely Scientific

Julie Old is as Associate Professor at Western Sydney University. We talk about her experiences and research with wombats, various aspects of wombat behavior, conservation efforts, challenges such as sarcoptic mange and roadkill, the Northern hairy-nosed wombat's critically endangered status and efforts to translocate them safely, and much more. BJ…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Justin and Aly to discuss what the world might be like if our moods directly affected the weather. Bring a poncho. Then, if we could go on a field trip with Ms. Frizzle, what would we want to go do? Panelists: Jim, Derek, Aly, JustinBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Joel to discuss whether Krang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is secretly a Dalek from Doctor Who. Then, would we rather never have to sleep again or never have to eat again? Panelists: Jim, Derek, JoelBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Sydney to figure out what would happen if we were literally all thumbs. On our hands, mind you. Not, like, our kidneys and shoulders and stuff. Then, it's time for the Animal Olympics! Which animal is doing what event against whom? Panelists: Jim, Derek, Sydney…

Tom Chivers is a journalist who writes a lot about science and applied statistics. We talk about his new book on Bayesian statistics, the biography of Thomas Bayes, the history of probability theory, how Bayes can help with the replication crisis, how Tom became a journalist, and much more. BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, …

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Anne, who helps us to unlock our potential to communicate with animals. Or something like that. Then, what is the best piece of playground equipment? Objectively, of course. Panelists: Jim, Derek, AnneBy Vaguely Scientific

Laura Luebbert just finished her PhD in computational biology and will soon be a postdoc with Pardis Sabeti, to hunt some viruses. We talk about how she got into biology, how she created a widely-used software project (gget) with no prior coding experience, her recent reports when she discovered questionable data in key papers about honeybee dances…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Mark to destroy Saturn's rings once and for all. Then, we desperately try to search through a print book by using Ctrl+F and come up short. Panelists: Jim, Derek, MarkBy Vaguely Scientific

Laura Wesseldijk works at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt at the Behavioral Genetics unit in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at Amsterdam UMC. We talk about her research on the genetics of music and mental health, methods in behavioural genetics, the role of large samples, the importance of twins for b…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Chris to try to pinpoint all of the dangerous near-Earth asteroids and destroy them! Or something like that. Then, we try to translate video game stat buffs over to the real world. Panelists: Jim, Derek, ChrisBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Sierra to ponder how a raven is like a writing desk. Somehow there are more similarities than we thought. Then, we discuss how life might be different if humans were somehow able to photosynthesize. Panelists: Jim, Derek, SierraBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Joe to discuss the types of jobs that AI would hate doing just as much as we do. Then, how can we more effectively harness all the wasted energy coming out of the sun? Panelists: Jim, Derek, JoeBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Ryan to discuss how we could bring the sport of Quidditch into the real world. Then, would we rather fight 100 trilobite-sized Hulks or 1 Hulk-sized trilobite? The answer may not surprise you! Panelists: Jim, Derek, RyanBy Vaguely Scientific

Arne Ekstrom is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where he studies spatial navigation and memory. We talk about how he got into psychology, his unusual path to getting a PhD, his work on using single-cells recordings from people, the relationship between memory and spatial navigation, why he uses multiple methods, and much mor…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Dave to discuss whether or not elevators are worthy enough to lift Thor's hammer. Then, we discuss what is more ridiculous--hollow Earth or flat Earth. Not that they're not both ridiculous. Panelists: Jim, Derek, DaveBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Jonathan to discuss which dinosaur species could cause the most ecological damage if we brought it back to life? Then, what is computer hacking really like? Panelists: Jim, Derek, JonathanBy Vaguely Scientific

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Aly to talk about how delicious human-shaped creatures like Saiyans and elves must be. Then, we ascribe genres to our favorite animals. Panelists: Jim, Derek, AlyBy Vaguely Scientific

Benjamin Ehrlich is the author of the recent biography of Santiago Ramon y Cajal (The brain in search of itself), and The Dreams of Santiago Ramon y Cajal. We talk about Cajal's life and work, Cajal's unlikely beginnings in a rural Spain, how he discovered that neurons were separate from each other, leading to the neutron doctrine, how Cajal became…

In this episode, Jim and Derek are joined by Dac to discuss which Pokémon could exist in the real world. Then, we flip that question on its head to talk about which animals could be Pokémon. Panelists: Jim, Derek, DacBy Vaguely Scientific