THE HEART with Herman Taylor

More from Smologies with Alie Ward All episodes →

1. 

   17 Jul 2026 · 29 min

   TORTOISES with Amanda Hipps

   What's a tortoise? What's a turtle? Why do they live so dang long? What's up with their shells? Wildlife biologist and testudinologist Amanda Hipps studies gopher tortoises and dishes about turtle nomenclature, cliques, roommates, behavior, burrows, evolution and more. If you don't dig tortoises yet, you're about to fall deep into a turtle tunnel in love with them.

2. 

   10 Jul 2026 · 27 min

   TASTE with Gary Beauchamp

   Sweet! Salty! Sour! Umami? Why do some people love their greens more than others? Can something taste “hot?” Come down to flavortown and let’s talk tongues. Gustologist Dr. Gary Beauchamp is a chemosensory scientist and an expert in taste. We chat about tastebud flim-flam, celebrity grade hot wings, super tasters, how much of taste is really smell, acquiring a taste for foods, and whether our four-legged companions have a sweet tooth. Delicious facts, served up hot.

3. 

   3 Jul 2026 · 27 min

   DOGS & HUMANS with David Ian Howe

   Ancient dogs! Domestic wolves! Anthropology! Archaeology! It’s all Ethnocynology: when and why humans and dogs became BFFs. The wonderful and iconic David Ian Howe is an educator and professional archaeologist whose focus is canines and people. So let’s curl up and be cute – like dogs – as we listen about breed histories, how wolves tamed themselves, why our relationships with canines make us what we are, talking dogs, if it’s fair to ask your dog to love you back, and why your dog is trying to make fetch happen.

4. 

   26 Jun 2026 · 26 min

   SECRET CODES with Simon Singh

   Secret ciphers. Hidden treasure. Mysterious manuscripts. And … hog Latin. Cryptology expert and author of “The Code Book,” Simon Singh finally lets me ask him about Indigenous code-talking war heroes, hidden messages, extinct languages, the oldest of codes and the mathematical padlocks keeping the internet secure. Also: the personalities of letters and words??

5. 

   18 Jun 2026 · 26 min

   CAPYBARAS with Elizabeth Congdon

   CAPYBARAS! Blocky faces. Chill vibes. Spa days. Finally. Hydrochoerologist, Dr. Elizabeth Congdon, leads us into the muddy pond of these beloved giant rodents. We chat weird feet, smelly noses, pet questions, interspecies hangouts, natural habitats, and a fossil record that will rock you. An instant classic that you’ll want to enjoy on repeat. Y’all, CAPYBARAS. I repeat: Capybaras.

6. 

   5 Jun 2026 · 27 min

   DRAGONFLIES with Jessica Ware

   They’re acrobatic fliers with long bodies and veined wings and their babies breathe through their butts: dragonflies. Let’s get into the difference between a damselfly and dragonfly, how fast they dart around, how big they were in the age of the dinosaurs, and lots more with scholar, American Museum of Natural History curator, and dragonfly expert: Dr. Jessica Ware.

7. 

   29 May 2026 · 29 min

   ATLATLS with Angelo Robledo

   Spears! Sharp rocks! Ancient tools, bows and arrows and ...atlatls? What’s an atlatl? Experimental archaeologist and decades-long ancient tool enthusiast Angelo Robledo is as passionate as an ologist can get. You likely have never heard of an atlatl, but by the end of the episode you’ll be carving one out of old lumber. Also covered: the earliest stone tools, neanderthal hunting strategies, Indigenous traditions, ancient action figures, what to do if you find artifacts on a hike, and the physics of how far you can lob ancient weaponry.

8. 

   21 May 2026 · 28 min

   GAR with Solomon David

   A long snout. Hundreds of teeth. Scales that could slice you. What is a gar and should we fear it? Should we hug it? One of the world’s most passionate and knowledgeable experts on this ancient, mysterious fish joins to make you fall in love with these slimy longbois. Dr. Solomon David is affable, charming, enthusiastic and absolutely shameless when it comes to fish puns. Slip into some hip waders and jump in the muck to learn all about a creature that -- despite decades of mudslinging -- is not a gar-bage fish. Also: why gar caviar is a very bad idea.

9. 

   15 May 2026 · 30 min

   ROCKS with Schmitty Thompson

   What is a rock? How big is a boulder? Why are they pretty and heavy? It’s rock talk with a true enthusiast, the charming and beloved Geologist Schmitty Thompson. Schmitty walks us through different types of rocks, minerals, crystals, geodes, roadside wonders, the best rock puns, and why you should take a closer look at your countertops. So pull up a petrified stump, take a seat, and enjoy Schmitty’s Geology Corner.

10. 

    7 May 2026 · 31 min

    SQUIRRELS with Karen Munroe

    Flying squirrels. Ground squirrels. Tree squirrels. Giant squirrels. Tiny ones. Grey ones. Red ones. Fluorescent ones? Alie is losing her mind talking to dream guest and Sciuridologist, Dr. Karen Munroe. This Baldwin Wallace University professor has studied squirrels for decades and addresses where they sleep, how many babies they have, how they find their acorns (or don’t), endangered squirrels, birdfeeder drama, the best place for squirrel tourism and more. You’ll scatter hoard so many nuggets of squirrel trivia. Enjoy.