CAVES with Gina Moseley

More from Smologies with Alie Ward All episodes →

1. 

   23 Apr 2026 · 26 min

   JELLYFISH with Rebecca Helm

   What even *is* a jellyfish?! How do they eat? What are they made of? Do they breathe? Where are their brains? Your new favorite Medusologist, Dr. Rebecca Helm, is a ray of human sunshine in the depths of the deep sea. Truly one of the finest biology conversations you may ever hear. Get ready for fuzzy babies, clones, the biggest and smallest jellies, new band names, live medusas, and the lengths that she will go to to see a jelly bloom.

2. 

   16 Apr 2026 · 27 min

   EARTH SAVING with Shah Selbe

   Let’s get ready for Earth Day with this uplifting chat about saving the planet with some well-intentioned technology. Conservation Technologist Shah Selbe fills us in on all the ways in which sensors, drones, recycled smartphones and real-time data reporting can help conserve species, spaces and communities that are threatened. Hear inspiring tales of travel, art, adventure, and putting engineering to good use from a former rocket-science turned professional do-gooder.

3. 

   3 Apr 2026 · 26 min

   CAROB with Megan Lynch

   You might only know carob as not-chocolate, which is a tragedy of its disco-era branding. This tough, gnarly, drought-resistant plant is the real-life Giving Tree, explains passionate carobologist Megan Lynch. Dripping with leathery banana-shaped legume pods, this tree quietly dots suburban streets but can also be found in unexpected ingredients lists, beautiful furniture pieces, and tasty cheesecakes – when you let it be itself. Oh also? It can stand in for chocolate if you need it to. LET’S SHOW SOME RESPECT.

4. 

   26 Mar 2026 · 25 min

   NOSES with John Craig

   Allergies. Sinuses. Cartilage. Smell nostalgia. Snoring. Hang on to your faces because Dr. John Craig goes deep and shares his passion for rhinology. You'll have a whole new relationship with your whiffer, appreciating what happens behind your nostrils and why they get so leaky, stuffy and everything in between. Also: what grosses Alie out more than creepy crawlies or smelly drain clogs?

5. 

   19 Mar 2026 · 27 min

   PRAYING MANTISES with Lohitashwa Garikipati

   Pointy heads. Spiked arms. Genius disguises. It’s a whole episode about praying mantises with a real life Mantodeologist. Do they really eat hummingbirds? Are they extraterrestrial? How can you convince them to visit your garden? Get your fill of evolutionary gossip, camouflage strategies, their alien egg cases, huge eyes, pet advice, and why they’re compatible with cat lovers with this delightful entomologist and longtime keeper of mantises, Lohit Garikipati.

6. 

   6 Mar 2026 · 25 min

   CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS with Katherine Hatcher

   Ahh, Daylight Savings Time: Does it mess with us? What time should you go to bed? How dark is dark enough? The wonderful and hilarious Dr. Katherine Hatcher got her PhD in hormones, sleep cycles and circadian rhythms, and helps Alie understand why she should make better sleep habits. We also chat about a tiny magical area in our brains that acts as your body's Big Ben. By the end of the episode, you'll be in footie pajamas eager to change your whole life.

7. 

   26 Feb 2026 · 26 min

   FIELDWORK with Corina Newsome

   Early mornings. Stunning vistas. Flood-ready bird nests. Semi-aquatic rats. Cute but invasive snails. Human-sucking mud holes. The long-awaited episode with bird nerd Corina Newsome is finally here and we talk all about the day-to-day-realities of being a Wildlife Ecologist. She dishes about nest checking, camera traps, salt marsh dramas and more. She is hilarious, informative, and dedicated to her work in avian conservation and truly has the best laugh. Also: find out whether or not animals are laughing at her.

8. 

   19 Feb 2026 · 27 min

   MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY with Joseph Saunders

   Lights! Cameras! Arachnids! And lizards and bees and beetles. Macro photography is like magic: curved glass gives an entirely new take on the world, from dust on a cricket’s brow to a curious mantid stare to the elegant symmetry of spider whiskers. Joseph Saunders is an Oklahoma-based wildlife photographer whose larger-than-life photos of bugs and reptiles will make you realize just how little we appreciate the creatures on our window sills and skittering up our porches.

9. 

   16 Feb 2026 · 26 min

   VOICE BOXES with Ronda Alexander

   Voices! Singing! Anxiety busters! Breathing! Pull up a seat for kid voices, aging voices, hormones, hidden anatomy, why we sound the way we do, opera singing, high notes, low notes, marine mammal notes and more with your new favorite Laryngologist, Dr. Ronda Alexander. We just… we love her so much.

10. 

    29 Jan 2026 · 27 min

    TARDIGRADES with Paul Bartels

    Smaller than you can imagine. Potato-shaped. Mysterious. Misunderstood. And tough enough to survive the vacuum of space or decades of desiccation. Join professor and Tardigradologist Dr. Paul Bartels to saunter into a microscopic wonderland of bizarrely long naps, glow-in-the-dark moss piglets, cryptobiosis, kitten claws, balloon butts, and the friends living in your gutters.