Daniel and Kelly’s Extraordinary Universe

Epizodes

• Listener Questions #40 02.06.2026 52min

  Daniel and Kelly answer questions about relativistic paradoxes, parasitoid wasp viruses, and detector technologies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Are rural raccoons becoming domesticated? 28.05.2026 56min

  A recent paper found tantalizing evidence that rural raccoons are showing evidence of domestication. So how long until we all have pet raccoons? And how well do we really understand the domestication process anyway?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• What is quantum contextuality? 26.05.2026 51min

  Daniel and Kelly dig into the mysterious concept of quantum contexuality: how measurements depend on each other.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Listener Questions #39 21.05.2026 1h

  Daniel and Kelly answer questions about muscle memory, water-less showers, and why everyone can't be ambidextrous.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• The Deep Seabed (featuring Dr. Andrew Thaler) 19.05.2026 1h 15min

  Over 50% of Earth's surface is the deep seabed. Dr. Andrew Thaler joins Daniel and Kelly to talk about the amazing diversity of life on the deep seabed, the resources found here, and the rules that govern this region.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• How do signals get jammed? 14.05.2026 49min

  Daniel and Kelly explain how signals get jammed, how to avoid being jammed, and whose music makes the best jam.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Listener Questions #38 12.05.2026 1h 1min

  Daniel and Kelly answer questions about aliens watching Earth, about lone species, and about the size limits of intelligence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• The discovery of parasite life cycles 07.05.2026 59min

  Parasites can have amazingly complicated life cycles - moving through a series of host species, and looking quite different while residing within each type of host. Frankly, this stumped scientists for a long time. In today's episode, Daniel and Kelly take a stroll through the history of science to explore how we finally started to figure parasite life cycles out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Can we use zero point energy? 05.05.2026 52min

  Daniel and Kelly explain the nature of the quantum vacuum, whether its real or philosophical, and if it's possible to use to make your toast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Listener Questions #37 30.04.2026 56min

  Daniel and Kelly explain how cells in a fetus or in an adult know what they're supposed to do, and discuss whether opposable thumbs are necessary for the development of tools and technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Story of Birds (featuring Dr. Steve Brusatte) 28.04.2026 1h 7min

  Daniel and Kelly talk to Dr. Steve Brusatte about his new book "The Story of Birds". We discuss if chickens are really dinosaurs, if we know what color dinosaur feathers were, and why birds survived the devastating asteroid collision with Earth while pterosaurs didn't.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Will AI solve physics? 23.04.2026 57min

  Daniel and Kelly explain the role of AI in physics and speculate about its future impact on discoveries and curiosity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Listener Questions #36 21.04.2026 42min

  Daniel and Kelly answer questions about Odderon particles, Langerhans cells, and black holes within black holes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Biofilms (featuring Dr. Katrine Whiteson) 16.04.2026 57min

  Daniel, Kelly, and Katrine talk about biofilms, and how they can be delicious, adorable, and bad. For the bad ones, we discuss current tactics for overcoming them.Show links: 1. Nature's cutest symbiosis: The Bobtail Squid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ivMSCi-Y2Q 2. The Joyful Microbe's guide to Kombucha: https://joyfulmicrobe.com/kombucha/(Notice the lighthearted joy, no fear mongering here!) 3. Beautiful image of a phenazine mutant of Pseudomonas: https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/883781 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Does science fiction inspire real tech? 14.04.2026 50min

  Daniel and Kelly discuss whether ideas from science fiction have inspired real scientific or technological progress.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Listener Questions #35: Genetics (featuring Dr. Benjamin de Bivort) 09.04.2026 1h 17min

  Daniel and Kelly answer questions about innate behaviors and what it means to "decode" a genome with help from Dr. Benjamin de Bivort.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Snakes vs Octopi (featuring Dr. Matt Giorgianni) 07.04.2026 1h 5min

  If a rattlesake bit an octopus, would its venom have any effect? Daniel and Kelly bring venom expert Dr. Matt Giorgianni on to the show to answer this listener question, and to talk about the evolution of snake venom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Does consciousness come from quantum processes in the brain? 02.04.2026 54min

  Daniel and Kelly explore Penrose's Orchestrated Objective Reduction Theory that aims to explain consciousness, quantum measurements, quantum gravity and anaesthesia!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• Listener Questions #34 31.03.2026 48min

  Daniel and Kelly answer listener questions about what creates the morning fog, why bats don't get dizzy, and the cauchy horizon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
• How cholera kills you and how we kill it 26.03.2026 47min

  Daniel and Kelly talk about what Vibrio cholerae does to your body, and the methods we have to combat it. They also talk about some of the really bad methods we tried using in the past. Like, real bad.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.