Episode notes
We’ve all been there. Feeling stuck with a problem because no one in our life can relate. Or because the one person we need to talk to … won’t. Or can’t. Enter Yowei Shaw and the show Proxy. Proxy is built on a simple idea: no one is ever as alone with their problem as they think. So Yowei brings in a proxy, a perfect stranger, to help her guests work through their dilemma. Today we’re sharing the case of Brian, a journalist whose mother-in-law has Alzheimer's. Even though Brian knows she can’t help misremembering things, he can’t stop losing his patience with her, and with himself. This…
Science Vs
by Spotify Studios · English · Tech & Science
There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Science Vs is the show from Spotify Studios that finds out what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between. We do the hard work of sifting through all the science so you don't have to and cover everything from…
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12 Mar 2026 · 27 min
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People are reporting a very strange phenomenon: They say that when their nipples get touched, they feel this weird sinking feeling. People describe it like being homesick, or hung over. Some feel anguish and despair, others call it dread. The condition has a name: "Sad Nipple Syndrome." But how could just touching a nipple set off all of these feelings?? To get to the bottom of this booby baffler, we go deep into the mysteries of anatomy and through a world of hormones and nipple erections. You might never look at your nipples the same way again! Distinguished Professor Barry Komisurak and…
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26 Feb 2026 · 26 min
How Do You Get Pregnant With No Vagina?
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8 Oct 2026 · 35 min
Collagen Peptides: Should You Take Them?
Collagen peptides!! Can they make you look younger and be healthier? It feels like everyone wants to be bursting with collagen, and apparently the way to do it is by scooping up that white powder of collagen peptides and guzzling it down. Do that, and — according to the wellfluencers — not only will your skin be as bouncy as a baby's bottom, but you'll also be stronger and you'll heal from injuries faster. But of course, not everyone is on the collagen train. There are the collagen haters, who say that eating collagen is a load of baloney. So who's right? To find out, we talk to dietetics…
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1 Oct 2026 · 59 min
Why We Never Forget Our Teen Years, with Lisa Damour
Our brains go completely WILD when we go through our teenage years. It’s a time where it feels like every disagreement with our parents turns into World War III, and every idea that could get us killed sounds like the most fun we could ever have. In this episode, we get into the science of what the brain is doing during the teenage years with clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour. Lisa co-wrote the college textbook “Abnormal Psychology” and was a consultant on Disney's “Inside Out 2.” She takes us deep into the developing brain to explain what makes teens tick. Plus, we talk about mental…
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24 Sep 2026 · 40 min
Stress: The Science of Chilling Out
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17 Sep 2026 · 45 min
Could AI Really Kill Us All?
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10 Sep 2026 · 46 min
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Bugs are disappearing at alarming rates, scientists are telling us. Bees, butterflies, beetles: all of them have been dropping like flies. And scientists say there are a bunch of reasons to care about this — for example, fewer bugs means less pollination, which means less pasta in your pantry. But recently, some have suggested that all these scientists crying out about the insect apocalypse might just be crying wolf. They say that the math isn’t math-ing and that the insects are doing all right. And this has been bugging us! So we called up Dr. Jessica Ware, an entomologist and a curator at…
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3 Sep 2026 · 31 min
Protein-Maxxing: Is It Actually Bad For Us?
Protein is everywhere — tons of us are trying to cram more of it into our diets, and it's showing up in our lattes, our snack bars, even our popcorn. But just as we’re getting on board with protein-maxxing, a bunch of headlines have started saying the opposite: that eating LESS protein could actually help you live longer. So what's going on here?? Should we be piling on the protein — or pulling back? And could going too low actually be dangerous? We talk to biologist Prof. Dudley Lamming and exercise physiologist Prof. Stuart Phillips to find out. Note: This episode mentions calorie…
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27 Aug 2026 · 51 min
Sunscreen: Could It Be Toxic??
Sunscreen is supposed to protect us from dangerous stuff like cancer, but all over social media, people are saying that we’ve been getting it all wrong. We’re being told that our sunscreen is full of toxic chemicals, that wearing it could mess with our vitamin D levels — even that sunscreen itself actually increases our risk of skin cancer. So, what can the science tell us here? Should we toss our SPF-filled creams and sprays in the bin?? And could the answer here be different depending on your skin tone? We talk to researchers Dr. Brandon Adler, Prof. Rachel Neale, and Dr. Adewole Adamson…
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