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Alie Ward

Volcanoes. Trees. Drunk butterflies. Mars missions. Slug sex. Death. Beauty standards. Anxiety busters. Beer science. Bee drama. Take away a pocket full of science knowledge and charming, bizarre stories about what fuels these professional -ologists' obsessions. Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward asks smart people stupid questions and the answers might change your life.

Ologies with Alie Ward

Porcelain. Earthenware. China. Archaeology. Stoneware. Anthropology. Amphora. Throwing wheels. We got it all. Master potters, history aficionados and Potted History’s icons Sarah Lord Taylor and Graham Taylor are here for our 8th anniversary episode. We get the dirt on ceramics versus pottery, where clay comes from, if there’s enough in the world, how can you spot clay in the wild, how long have humans being making pots, what were the first ceramics, what is glaze exactly, why did your pots explode, what excavations of stoneware have revealed about our ancient ancestors, the Venus figurines of history, the hidden ingredients that might surprise you, and how to feel about thrift store finds. Also: how to bond with a potter instantly. 

Visit the Potted History website and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube

Donations went to Cancer Research UK and Little Lifts

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: 5th Anniversary Special! Xylology (LUMBER), Experimental Archeology (OLD TOOLS/ATLATLS), Canistrumology (BASKET WEAVING), Museology (MUSEUMS), Indigenous Pedology (SOIL SCIENCE), Geology (ROCKS), Scatology (POOP)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Ceramology (POTTERY) with Potted History’s Graham Taylor & Sarah Lord Taylor

Neurons. Immune systems. MRIs. Weed gummies? One of the greats in neurology, Dr. Aaron Boster, takes time to chat all about Multiple Sclerosis, a neurological autoimmune disease close to our hearts. Alie’s mom, your grammapod a.k.a. Fancy Nancy, was diagnosed with MS over two decades ago, and this episode explores in depth the factors that can cause MS, therapies that do – and don’t – show promise, how diet, exercise and mindfulness actually can help folks who have MS, the oftentimes agonizing journey to a diagnosis, and advice for those who’ve MS for a while – or are newly in the community. Also: yeah, weed. 

Visit the Boster Center for Multiple Sclerosis and follow Dr. Boster on YouTube

A donation went to MS Views and News

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Diabetology (BLOOD SUGAR), Post-Viral Epidemiology (LONG COVID), Dolorology (PAIN), Salugenology (WHY HUMANS REQUIRE HOBBIES), Psychedeliology (HALLUCINOGENS), Cardiology (THE HEART), Somnology (SLEEP)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Neuropathoimmunology (MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS) with Aaron Boster

YOU’RE NOT READY. But it’s time. Otters. Sea otters. River otters. Big beefy otters. Tiny otters. Giant river otters. Otters chasing you down the street. Dr. Chris J. Law, a professional Lutrinologist, shares tales about coastal vs. inland otters, otter terrorism, magical teeth, lustrous fur, rock pockets, kelp naps, otter terrorism, cautionary motherhood, toxic relationships, hand holding and why otters make you trust them, despite the fact that you should perhaps not trust an otter. 

Visit Dr. Law's website and follow him on Bluesky and Instagram

A donation was made to SeaOtterSavvy.org

More episode sources and links

You may also enjoy our episodes on: Echinology (SEA URCHINS & SAND DOLLARS), Osteology (SKELETONS/BODY FARMS), Ichthyology (FISHES), Oceanology (OCEANS), Macrophycology (SEAWEED), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Selachimorphology (SHARKS), Malacology (SNAILS & SLUGS), Carcinology (CRABS), Scatology (POOP)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Lutrinology (OTTERS) Encore with Chris J. Law

Train tracks. Split decisions. And a philosophy humdinger worth debating. Dr. Joshua Greene is a Harvard Psychology professor, neuroscientist, and *actual* Trolleyologist. The moral humdinger that has been used in everything from Supreme Court decisions to board games looks at: What makes you a good person? How do you reason with people who make you scream into a jar like Yosemite Sam? How far would you go to save others? Which charities should get your money? What is active versus passive harm? And what would a monk do? Also: how neurodivergence influences moral decisions, religion used as a moral compass, and your new favorite skeleton on the planet. 

Visit Dr. Greene’s website, his charity platform Giving Multiplier, and his online quiz game Tango

Buy his book, Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them, on Bookshop.org or Amazon

A donation went to Giving Multiplier

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Eudemonology (HAPPINESS), Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY), Obsessive-Compulsive Neurobiology (OCD), Bonus Episode: The OCD Experience, Artificial Intelligence Ethicology (WILL A.I. CRASH OUT?), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Suicidology (SUICIDE PREVENTION & AWARENESS), Dolorology (PAIN), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS), Personality Psychology (PERSONALITIES), Ferroequinology (TRAINS)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Trolleyology (MORAL DILEMMAS + THE TROLLEY PROBLEM) with Joshua Greene

The info storm continues! Part 1 covered the anatomy of a cyclonic storm, the bizarre histories behind the category system, and where hurricanes come from, but this week’s conclusion with Matt Lanza and Dr. Kim Wood gets you covered on emergency preparation for any disaster occasion, climate change trends and despair, the latest on the government funding drama, if you should trust a waffle house more than a weather person, and literally what is on the horizon in the future. Also: Sharpiegate. 

Read Matt Lanza’s tropical weather forecasts at The Eyewall and Houston-based forecasts at Space City Weather

Follow Matt Lanza on Instagram and Bluesky

Visit Dr. Wood’s website and follow them on Google Scholar and Bluesky

Donations went to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country's Kerr County Flood Relief Fund and The Trevor Project

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Meteorology (WEATHER & CLIMATE), Oceanology (OCEANS), Nephology (CLOUDS), Disasterology (DISASTERS), Fulminology (LIGHTNING)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Tempestology (HURRICANES) Part 2 with Dr. Kim Wood & Matt Lanza

Hurricanes. Typhoons. Cyclones. Tropical storms. Tropical depressions. What does it all MEAAAN? Let’s dive in. Career meteorologists Dr. Kim Wood of the University of Arizona and Space City Weather’s Matt Lanza join for a two-guest two-parter to address the “deadlier” female-named hurricanes, why hurricane season happens, the category system, where hurricanes come from, why they have eyes, and how we track cyclones’ paths so we can stay out of them. 

Next week we’ll be back with Kim and Matt to chat about climate change, emergency preparation – for any disaster occasion –, the latest on the government funding drama, if you should trust a waffle house more than a weather person, and literally what is on the horizon in the future. Also: cows. 

Read Matt Lanza’s tropical weather forecasts at The Eyewall and Houston-based forecasts at Space City Weather

Follow Matt Lanza on Instagram and Bluesky

Visit Dr. Wood’s website and follow them on Google Scholar and Bluesky

Donations went to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country's Kerr County Flood Relief Fund and The Trevor Project

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Meteorology (WEATHER & CLIMATE), Oceanology (OCEANS), Nephology (CLOUDS), Disasterology (DISASTERS), Fulminology (LIGHTNING)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Tempestology (HURRICANES) Part 1 with Matt Lanza & Dr. Kim Wood

When were glasses invented? What happened back then if your horse stepped on them? How is the digital age changing adults’ and kids’ vision? The first half of this special bonus episode about Optical Technology features the charmingly hilarious director of the Museum of the Eye in San Francisco, Jenny Benjamin. Then we bop over to Houston, Texas for the ultra-knowledgeable real-life optometrist, Dr. Nadia Sledge to chat about the importance of annual exams and where our eyesight is trending in the digital age. Also: dark Roman trivia, Downton Abbey fashion, how online eye tests overlook critical conditions, and how you would have survived in the past without spectacles. 

Donations went to Onesight and the Museum of the Eye

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Ophthalmology (EYES), Medieval Codicology (WEIRD OLD MANUSCRIPT ART & MEMES & SNAILS), Experimental Archeology (OLD TOOLS/ATLATLS), Literary Olfactology (THE POLITICS OF SMELL), Proptology (THEATER & FILM PROPS), Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Funology (YES, FUN), Salugenology (WHY HUMANS REQUIRE HOBBIES)

400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Bonus Episode: Optical Technology (HISTORY OF EYEGLASSES + MODERN DAY VISION)

Smell and culture. Scent descriptions in novels. Fragrances and class. Stink and stigmas. We cover it all. Scholar, author, and Literary Olfactologist Dr. Ally Louks burst into the zeitgeist in 2024 with her PhD thesis “Olfactory Ethics: The Politics Of Smell In Modern And Contemporary Prose” and we finally got to sit down and talk about the intersection of art and smell and culture. Breathe in the foul, the fragrant, the peppermint, the tobacco, why motel rooms smell the way they do, the forgotten organ that could control your love life, spices at the root of xenophobia, perfume ads that cruised a movement, obscenity trials, explosions, following your first love and getting the last laugh.

Follow Dr. Louks on Instagram and Bluesky

A donation went to UN Crisis Relief’s Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund

More episode sources and links

Other episodes you may enjoy: Rhinology (NOSES), Gustology (TASTE), Misophonology (DISTRACTING SOUND & NOISE RAGE), Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF), Coffeeology (YEP, COFFEE), Black American Magirology (FOOD, RACE & CULTURE), Indigenous Cuisinology (NATIVE COOKING), Cosmetology (GLAM/GROOMING), Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY)

400+ episodes sorted by topic

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Literary Olfactology (THE POLITICS OF SMELL) with Ally Louks

This one’s all about lived experience: What's it like to have OCD? What’s the therapy all about? How do you support people with it? And how to accept the darkest thoughts that might haunt you. As a bonus to last week’s OCD Neurobiology episode with Dr. Wayne Goodman, the wonderful neuroscientist, board-certified mental health peer specialist, and survivor Uma Chatterjee joins to share her experience living with OCD, and how it inspired a career in research and mental health advocacy. This bonus episode is wall-to-wall heart-warming compassion and real world perspective from someone who cares deeply. OCD is a bitch, but Uma’s a gem. 

Ologies episodes, listed by topic

Visit Uma’s website and follow her on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Bluesky

Listen to her podcast, A Chat with Uma

A donation went to OCD Wisconsin

More episode sources and links

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy: Obsessive-Compulsive Neurobiology (OCD), Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS), Volitional Psychology (PROCRASTINATION), Suicidology (SUICIDE PREVENTION & AWARENESS), Traumatology (PTSD), Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Tiktokology (THE TIKTOK APP) with Hank Green, Psychedeliology (HALLUCINOGENS)

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Bonus Episode: The OCD Experience with Neurobiologist Uma Chatterjee

Ruminations and reassurances. Checking and counting. Suffering and stigmas. It’s OCD, babes! OCD is now considered one of the most common psychiatric conditions, afflicting 2% to 3% of the general population, and this episode is among our top-requested topics. So we snagged a top-shelf ologist: psychiatrist, researcher, advocate and OCD Neurobiologist, *the* Dr. Wayne Goodman. We cover myths, misconceptions, diagnosis and treatment options for OCD, as well as advice for loved ones. Also: PANDAS, famous folks who are helping break the silence on it, intrusive thoughts, deep brain stimulation, genetic components, links to Tourette’s Syndrome, finding the right doctor, and the behavioral therapy that is the gold standard for OCD. 

And surprise! Later this week we’ll have a bonus episode on OCD lived experience with neuroscientist, mental health advocate and OCD-haver, Uma Chatterjee. 

View Dr. Goodman’s publications on ResearchGate and follow him on Google Scholar

A donation went to International OCD Foundation

Find more episodes you'll like at Ologies.com

More episode sources and links

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy: Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD), Molecular Neurobiology (BRAIN CHEMICALS), Volitional Psychology (PROCRASTINATION), Suicidology (SUICIDE PREVENTION & AWARENESS), Post-Viral Epidemiology (LONG COVID), Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Gustology (TASTE), Oikology (DECLUTTERING)

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Obsessive-Compulsive Neurobiology (OCD) with Wayne Goodman

With some fresh updates, ocean and policy expert Dr. Ayana Johnson guests in an encore presentation of a fan favorite episode. Hear updates from her, learn about her new podcast “How to Save a Planet,” and what she’s been up to since this episode originally aired in 2018. Are plastic straws really that bad? What's the oldest message in a bottle? Any scuba vs. snorkel strategies? Does sunscreen kill coral? Can we reverse ocean warming in our lifetime? Alie struggles with finding a balance between the wonders and the bummers, and in the first 20 or so minutes, we’ll learn weird ocean trivia, why we love the sea, and facts about the ocean's depths and beauty. Then, we get to the sad stuff: ocean health, climate change, acidification, pollution, policy and what we can all do.

If you've been feeling helpless, this episode gives you all the tools you need to understand and help our friend, the World Ocean.

Also: some great information about whale pee.

A donation went to UrbanOceanLab.org 

Buy her book, out on September 22: https://www.allwecansave.earth

Her podcast: “How to Save a Planet” 

https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet

Dr. Johnson's OceanCollectiv.co

Dr. Johnson on Twitter @ayanaeliza and Instagram @ayanaeliza

Dr. Johnson's website: ayanaelizabeth.com

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month: www.Patreon.com/ologies

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!

Follow @Ologies on Twitter or Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on Twitter or Instagram

More links at www.alieward.com

Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Support the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

Oceanology (THE OCEAN) with Ayana Johnson: Encore Presentation

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